WeTried Translations
Translator: NEET_Romulus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Dropped into the Ending of a Trash Show as an Extra ◈
Chapter 3: Marine
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Seo Yu-jin narrowed her eyes as she watched Lee Jin pass her and climb into the limousine.
When Seokjo Hall had been engulfed in flames, the Imperial Secretariat and Imperial Security Office had fallen into utter panic.
In that situation, she had rushed all the way to Ganghwa Island, making it her priority to secure the sole survivor.
And when she found Lee Jin, all she had expected of him was a symbolic role: preserving the Imperial Household and serving as a rallying point.
Yet Lee Jin had flatly rejected her advice to first withdraw somewhere safe.
As an imperial secretary, whose highest priority should have been the Emperor's safety, she ought to have prioritized evacuation.
But Seo Yu-jin could not.
No, she chose not to.
Because this was something she had not seen even in the trained Crown Prince: the bearing of a sovereign.
Seo Yu-jin swallowed dryly without realizing it and straightened her posture.
Lee Jin was staring through the heavily tinted window, lost in thought.
Yet an entirely different figure was overlapping with him in Seo Yu-jin's mind.
'...The Great Emperor.'
The title Great Emperor might conventionally be appended to a temple name, but in this country's history, there had been only one person who could truly be called a great emperor.
The great sovereign who laid the foundations of Korea's Imperial Household. The iron-blooded Emperor who rose from an obscure imperial relative and prevented the nation's collapse.
Just like Lee Jin now.
Seo Yu-jin felt a thrill run down her spine.
No, don't get ahead of yourself. Until now, there had not been a single person in Korea's Imperial Household who could be said to resemble that Emperor's bearing.
Still, the way Seo Yu-jin looked at Lee Jin was vastly different from only moments ago.
Of course, from Lee Jin's perspective:
'History proves it. If you hide, you can't accomplish a damn thing!'
Whether it was the May 16 coup or the December 12 coup, the commander-in-chief had hidden instead of taking command and ended up arrested.
That was the hard-earned instinct of a citizen from a country with experience in coups.
* * *
There was an emperor called Zhao Bing in the Southern Song.
He had never been meant to become Emperor, but when the Song Dynasty fell and a government in exile was cobbled together, this child was enthroned, probably against his will. At only seven years old, everything came to an end, and he was surrounded by Mongol forces.
The loyal retainers at his side apparently said, "The country's fallen, so you need to die too, right?" Then they picked him up and leapt into the sea.
They say Zhao Bing's final words, as he met that heroic death, were, "May I never be born into the imperial family again!"
Why was I suddenly thinking about that?
Because his situation felt all too close to mine. I had never gotten a single benefit from being royalty, yet I had suddenly been shoved into a fight.
But I had no other choice.
"Secretary Seo."
I pulled my gaze from the window and spoke toward the front seat.
"Please, speak."
Seo Yu-jin, seated in the passenger seat, slowly turned around.
Her blouse was soaked in blood and her face was deathly pale, but her posture remained perfectly straight.
"Let's think about this logically. The rebels."
"Yes."
"Normally, when staging a coup or rebellion, isn't it standard practice to take a symbolic figure like the Imperial Household hostage and use them to legitimize your actions?"
Considering what the Emperor meant in this country, it would have been safer for the coup forces to set aside at least one imperial relative beforehand.
Yet they had wiped out dozens of direct and collateral imperial relatives gathered at Seokjo Hall all at once.
'That means they were desperate. Something forced them to set this off in a rush, with the attitude of killing everyone first. Or...'
There was an even more chilling possibility.
'Or they mean to abolish the Imperial Household altogether.'
They had culled every person who might inherit the throne. If they were that sort, an imperial life would have no value as a hostage. The imperial family would simply be obsolete, corrupt trash that needed clearing away.
"Either way, the rebels' justification will be the Imperial Household's corruption and incompetence. The late Emperor and His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince..."
Seo Yu-jin paused, lightly biting her lip before continuing.
"It is true that they have governed rather recklessly in recent years."
Their attempt had nearly succeeded.
Except for one miscalculation: an imperial relative whom nobody cared about had been holed up here on Ganghwa Island.
"Something I've been wondering since earlier. How did you find me so quickly? It hasn't even been a few hours since this happened. You couldn't have had time to search through the imperial clan registry."
But Seo Yu-jin's answer was unexpected.
"As Chief Secretary of the Imperial Household, I have memorized the personal information, current residences, emergency contacts, and even certain special notes for every imperial relative registered with the Imperial Clan Office."
"...What? Every one of them?"
"Twice a year, whenever we send imperial gifts, I personally confirm their addresses. Your Majesty's residence at this Ganghwa Island farm had remained unchanged, so immediately after the incident, I was able to come here by the safest route."
What a crazy workaholic.
"Is that all?"
"Yes. Is there perhaps something troubling you?"
Seo Yu-jin tilted her head as she asked.
"No, nothing."
Once I answered, Seo Yu-jin spoke again.
"Your Majesty. It is presumptuous of me as your servant, but there is one concern I must raise."
"Go ahead. I can't guarantee my judgment is one hundred percent right either."
"Even the Imperial Guard Brigade joined the rebellion. It would be dangerous to blindly believe that the Marines, an outlying unit, will offer unconditional loyalty. After securing Your Majesty's person, they may try to negotiate with the rebels or seize the initiative for themselves."
She was not wrong.
Seo Yu-jin's concern was entirely reasonable. In these chaotic times, no one could know what ambitions those holding guns might harbor.
But I shook my head.
"That's taking it a little too far, Secretary Seo."
"What makes you so certain?"
"What day is today? It's the imperial wedding of the century, the day the whole country has been buzzing about. And it's a public holiday."
I murmured as I stared into the night beyond the window.
"On a festival day practically on the level of a national holiday, there's no way commanders at regimental level and above, the people who would keep their units firmly in hand, are quietly staying inside their garrison districts."
Whether it was a golf gathering hosted by the division commander or a high-level dinner.
At minimum, the big shots capable of immediately controlling the unit and playing politics with me were all away from base.
Probably in Seoul, too.
There was a reason Kwak Ji-hoon wanted to take off his uniform.
"Besides, there's exactly one guy in that unit I can trust."
Then, as if on cue, one of the guards spoke.
"We'll arrive in five minutes. I will escort you inside immediately, Your Majesty."
* * *
"Stop! Stop! Approaching vehicle, halt immediately and identify yourselves!"
At the main gate of the 5th Independent Mobile Regiment, subordinate to the 2nd Marine Division, Marine sentries wearing camouflage paint and carrying K2 rifles had thrown up barricades before the limousine.
They must have received word of the coup. The entire unit was on high alert. An armored vehicle had its cannon trained on the gate.
Screech!
Our limousine came to a rough stop before the gate. As the imperial guards moved to leave the vehicle, the Marines' rifle muzzles swung toward the limousine in unison.
"Do not leave the vehicle! Take one step, and we will open fire!"
"How dare you level weapons at us during this national emergency! Bring your commanding officer here at once!"
The guard shouted, but the Marines, bristling with killing intent, did not budge. One wrong move, and friendly forces would start shooting one another.
"Secretary Seo, hand me the State Seal."
"Your Majesty, it is dangerous!"
"Sitting in the car until we're turned into a beehive is more dangerous."
I snatched the box containing the golden State Seal from Seo Yu-jin's hands and threw open the limousine's rear door with a bang.
"Don't fire! I'm with the Imperial Household!"
When I emerged from the limousine bearing the plum-blossom emblem, dressed in a shabby padded jacket and worn-out sneakers, the sentries' eyes wavered.
"Lower your weapons! All personnel, hold your fire! Fingers off the triggers!"
From behind the heavy concrete blast wall inside the guard post came a familiar, rough bellow that rang in my ears.
With the clatter of hurried military boots, a man in full combat gear, his ballistic helmet pulled low, shoved roughly through the troops and burst forward.
His face was flushed red from the cold wind, and he was breathing hard.
"Captain Kwak."
Captain Kwak's gaze moved between my dirt-stained, shabby clothes and the imperial security agents lined up behind me, radiating menace.
"Big bro... sir?"
"Uh... yeah. That's what happened. You saw the news, right?"
Unlike his fierce expression moments earlier, Captain Kwak looked utterly dumbfounded.
Then he saw the golden State Seal in my hand.
"Unit, attention!"
Captain Kwak snapped rigidly to attention as though he were an automaton.
"Three cheers!"[1]
He shouted the command at the top of his lungs, veins standing out in his neck.
At that lion's roar, even the enlisted Marines behind him froze in place and turned toward me.
"Long live! Long live! Long, long live!"
Before the guard post, which had been in complete disarray only moments earlier, a thunderous salute and three cheers meant solely for me rang out.
My heart sank, yet at the same time, an odd feeling ran down my spine.
Only now did the situation feel real.
It was true. I had really become the Emperor in this insane trashy drama.
Seeing Kwak Ji-hoon, whom I had thought of as an easygoing kid brother, act like a genuine person from this world made it impossible to deny.
"All right, enough. Put your hands down and relax. This isn't the time for formalities."
I hurriedly waved my hands to stop their salute.
If I let them get through two more cheers, the rebels would come for my head.
"We will escort Your Majesty to the Command and Control Room immediately!"
The personnel officer, who had remained at the base in place of the regimental commander, also started to call for three cheers before being stopped.
I looked at the central screen in the Command and Control Room. Most CCTV feeds from Seoul had been cut off, and the military intranet was also going down intermittently.
"The situation is terrible. We need to announce that I've ascended the throne so the rebels and the suppression forces can tell friend from foe. What, should I start a YouTube livestream and announce my accession?"
I could ask them to subscribe and like while I was at it.
Seo Yu-jin's expression hardened as she shook her head.
"That is impossible, Your Majesty. The Capital Defense Command rebels have already taken control of major cell sites and communications networks throughout Seoul. Civilian networks are completely paralyzed by traffic overload. More importantly, if Your Majesty's location is identified, an airstrike could arrive immediately."
"Then what do we do?"
"We will use this unit's military communications network to attempt emergency contact with Marine Corps Command and Navy Headquarters. Since this is an Army-led coup, it is unlikely that the Navy has joined it. In addition..."
I could guess what Seo Yu-jin was about to say.
If the internet was down, there was only one place the entire country's eyes and ears would turn.
"We'll have to go to a broadcasting station."
* * *
A little later, with engines roaring loud enough to tear the air apart, the KAAVs and troop trucks assigned to the 5th Independent Mobile Regiment began to move.
Ganghwa Bridge was blocked by military police and directly controlled units urgently dispatched from 2nd Division Headquarters, but...
[Crackle... Hey, you bastard Kwak Ji-hoon!]
The radio inside the armored vehicle blared as a furious voice from the division poured through.
[What the hell do you think you're doing?! A subordinate regiment is moving on its own without the division commander's orders?! Shut off the engines, get out of the vehicles, you damned rebel bastards! Drop your weapons before we open fire!]
Captain Kwak held the radio and glanced at me.
Even in the eyes of that usually boisterous guy, tension was plain to see. At this rate, Marines might have to engage in a bloody firefight against their own comrades.
Seo Yu-jin stepped in. She roughly snatched the radio from Captain Kwak's hand.
"This is Seo Yu-jin, Chief Secretary of the Imperial Household of Korea. We are currently escorting the person of His Majesty the newly enthroned Emperor into the capital. Division forces are ordered to open the barricades immediately and permit our passage."
[...W-what? His Majesty the Emperor?]
Then voices could be heard over the radio on their end. The person who had been shouting soon lowered their voice respectfully.
[...We have received the order to provide immediate cover.]
As we crossed Ganghwa Bridge without bloodshed, Seo Yu-jin spoke.
"The three broadcasting networks in Seoul will have been the rebels' highest-priority targets."
Seo Yu-jin looked at me.
"Then what do we do?"
"There is IBS Second Broadcasting Station in Ilsan. How about heading there?"
The moment she finished speaking, a guard turned up the radio and spoke.
"Your Majesty, Secretary. I think you need to hear this urgently."
Seo Yu-jin frowned slightly.
"IBS1?"
"Yes, it is."
I gave Seo Yu-jin a look, and she raised the volume to its maximum.
Soon, the stiff voice of an announcer came through the radio.
[Soon... there will be an announcement of the Revolutionary Commander's proclamation...]
Footnotes:
[1] This is an imperial acclamation in which those present call “long live” three times for the sovereign.
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