WeTried Translations
Translator: NEET_Romulus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Dropped into the Ending of a Trash Show as an Extra ◈
Chapter 4: Crossing the River
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Not long after the announcer finished speaking, a voice filled the vehicle as though the live broadcast had connected.
It was not, as I had expected, the voice of a soldier steeped in authority, nor that of a revolutionary burning with uncontainable fervor.
It was simply the husky, earnest voice of an old man who seemed to have weathered many storms.
[Dear citizens, and patriotic service members. I am Song Haksu, Marshal of the Army and acting commander of the revolutionary forces.]
The moment that name came over the air, Seo Yu-jin visibly stiffened.
Seo Yu-jin's delicate brows drew together, and even the bodyguard in the front seat flinched.
[Today, we have taken up guns and swords. But they are not aimed at people. They are aimed at a rotten tumor.
A tumor so festering that, unless it is cut away now, the whole body will die. I stand here to cut it away.]
[The military has been loyal to the Imperial House.]
[We remained loyal when we lost more than half the territory bequeathed to us by our ancestors. We remained loyal when imperial in-laws ran rampant and manipulated state affairs for decades. And was that all? Even when the Crown Prince, who ought to embrace the whole realm, fell into selfishness and depravity until the stench of disloyalty and filial impiety blanketed this country, the national army remained loyal to the Imperial House.]
[And now, our military, which should be fulfilling its sacred duty of national defense, has been reduced to the plaything of the two courts fighting over the throne.]
I had no answer.
‘...He’s not exactly wrong.’
Whether I looked at it with the common sense of a citizen of the Republic of Korea or as a victim of this train-wreck drama, honestly, he was not exactly wrong.
[Therefore, we revolutionary forces seek to honor the Great Emperor’s final instructions and bring an end to the corrupt old age.
I am not a man who sells revolution in pursuit of power. Until recently, I was merely an old soldier who wished for the Imperial House, with its long history, to endure forever. Yet at this moment, I stand here to save the nation from the Imperial House.
The nation must be renewed. The imperial in-laws must be swept away. The glory stolen from us must be reclaimed. And this country must once again become a country of its people.
That is the whole of this revolution.
I earnestly ask the people to understand a soldier’s loyal heart.
Long live the revolution!
Long live the Republic of Korea!]
Click.
Seo Yu-jin shut off the broadcast with a rough hand.
“A troublesome opponent has appeared.”
“Do you know him?”
“Marshal Song Haksu, the Tiger of Manchuria.”
Seo Yu-jin spoke cynically.
“I thought he’d gone to the National Cemetery long ago. So he was still alive.”
I stared blankly at the seat for a moment.
I could understand calling the Crown Prince depraved and lawless.
I mean, even if he thought his dad was a pushover, what kind of asshole told him to his face, “Start acting like a king already!” Wasn’t that around episode eleven?
I had only seen it through clips uploaded with the #catharsis tag, though.
Still, being disloyal and unfilial in the twenty-first century did not mean someone deserved to die.
“Isn’t that right, Secretary Seo?”
“No matter what reason they give, they are nothing but rebels. Do you truly think there were no innocent lives in Deoksu Palace?”
That was true.
I nodded and asked, “Kwak Ji-hoon. What do you think?”
“A descendant of Admiral Yi Sun-sin does not rebel.”
“Good.”
With that one sentence, I shook off the old marshal’s words completely.
“Let’s go crush that rotten delusion.”
* * *
Ilsan Bridge was drawing near.
“We’ll take the lead and check the approach to Ilsan Bridge.”
Marine Captain Kwak Ji-hoon.
He had not lived very long, but the military life he had known had been a treadmill where yesterday resembled today, and today resembled tomorrow.
Yet surely no other soldier was having as eventful a day as today.
Anyone excited to have escaped their boring routine would have to be insane.
Captain Kwak Ji-hoon, who prided himself on being a perfectly normal person, had been tense from the start in this crazy situation.
Still, they said time was medicine.
When he first climbed into the armored vehicle and deployed, his palms had been damp. Now, he could assess the situation more clearly and calmly.
His throat was still painfully dry, though.
“Just a little. Just enough to wet my throat.”
He opened the cap and tipped a small sip down his throat.
“Ah... haah.”
The feeling of something prickling down his esophagus was far too hot, but he assumed it was because adrenaline was pumping in this emergency.
Kwak Ji-hoon licked his lips and tipped up the canteen again.
The more he emptied it sip by sip, the more his fear strangely faded, replaced by an inexplicable swelling emotion from deep in his chest.
‘I’m a soldier protecting His Majesty’s person right now.’
How many soldiers in this country had not dreamed of that?
...Though he had never imagined it would become reality this way.
Ah, fuck it. What was the point of thinking about it?
Might as well have another sip of this strangely sweet canteen water...
‘The water... is sweet?’
Only after his tension eased did the sensation return to his tongue, making Kwak Ji-hoon tilt his head.
And the strangeness was not limited to his tongue.
The liquid that had gone down his throat was strangely hot.
A burning heat traveled down his esophagus and dropped heavily into his stomach.
That smell. That taste.
‘It’s alcohol...’
Kwak Ji-hoon’s eyes shook as though an earthquake had hit.
Of course, he sometimes filled his canteen with alcohol while on duty. He had cracked open a bottle of liquor earlier and poured some in for later, but surely he had not brought that in this situation?
But reality did not change.
This was insane. Drinking in a wartime situation.
...Before that thought, though, another came to him first.
‘Uh... I make mistakes when I drink.’
But it was too late to take it back. The liquor he had been sipping as if it were plain water to calm himself down was a full 40 percent alcohol.
Alcohol began coursing through his blood and mercilessly striking his brain.
Yet Kwak Ji-hoon had a habit of seeming even calmer when drunk.
His racing heart settled as though it had all been a lie. The sweat on his damp palms dried completely.
Fear, tension, confusion.
Every distracting thought dissolved away in the powerful solvent of alcohol.
In their place came an abnormal calmness and decisiveness.
“Company Commander! Three kilometers ahead, the south end of Ilsan Bridge!”
“Report the situation.”
There was not a trace of trembling in Kwak Ji-hoon’s deliberately steady voice.
Unlike Captain Kwak, who usually slurred his pronunciation, his diction was precise and cold enough to rival an announcer’s.
“The approach to the south end of the bridge is completely blocked! It’s packed with troops!”
“Enemy or friendly?”
“Unable to confirm! There are two units facing off ahead!”
“The bridge approach is fully blocked. Anti-tank weapons have also been identified!”
As the subordinate finished reporting, they glanced at Kwak Ji-hoon’s face.
Even in the dark interior of the armored vehicle, Kwak Ji-hoon’s face was visibly red enough to burst.
Thick veins stood out all the way up his neck.
‘The Company Commander’s blood is boiling with vengeance for the late Emperor, who died unjustly!’
They had no idea that his face was only red because he was desperately suppressing the effects of strong liquor.
Beep.
The command-net radio sounded. It was Lee Jin’s vehicle, waiting in the rear.
[Captain Kwak. Why is the road blocked? What’s going on?]
It was Lee Jin’s voice, tinged with urgency. Kwak Ji-hoon gripped the microphone.
“Large Army forces are facing each other at the north and south ends of Ilsan Bridge.”
[Facing each other? Which side are the rebels?]
Kwak Ji-hoon quickly turned the matter over in his head.
The south end of Ilsan Bridge was under the Army’s 17th Division, while the north end was under the 60th Division.
And honestly, there was a good chance even they did not know among themselves who were the rebels and who were the suppression forces.
So...
[Are we stuck here?]
Stuck.
That word fiercely stirred Kwak Ji-hoon’s Marine spirit.
Marines did not stop.
His drunkenness reached its peak. A thought that was perfectly logical and perfectly insane came to Kwak Ji-hoon.
“No. We will first break through the 60th Division, which is blocking our river crossing from the far side.”
Kwak Ji-hoon opened the radio network so every unit, including Lee Jin’s vehicle in the rear, could hear.
“Listen up, all vehicles.”
Inside the armored vehicles, every subordinate holding a radio stopped breathing.
“It doesn’t matter whether the guys ahead are rebels or suppression forces.”
Then Kwak Ji-hoon solemnly declared,
“We are the imperial loyalist forces.”
The imperial loyalist forces.
A force raised to save the Emperor.
Those weighty words traveled over the radio and struck sharply into the Marines’ hearts.
[...Captain Kwak?]
Lee Jin called out in startled confusion, but Kwak Ji-hoon did not stop.
“We are the only unit directly escorting His Majesty the Emperor. That means we are the Imperial House’s shield and the only legitimate government force.”
And so, there was no retreat for the imperial loyalist forces.
[...Captain Kwak. This is Seo Yu-jin. Are you planning to go around, then?]
“Those Army bastards can’t cross a river without a bridge. We’re Marines.”
Yes. This was it.
Kwak Ji-hoon spoke into the radio.
“All units, listen.”
As the alcohol rose, his fear of the battlefield completely evaporated. In its place remained the Marines’ inexplicable stubbornness.
“Turn! Into the river!”
[Aye!]
The moment he finished speaking, piercing cries burst from the radio speakers.
[Aye! First Platoon is ready to cross the river!]
[Second Platoon! Close the hatches!]
Vroooom!
The massive amphibious assault vehicles roared together as they turned.
Leaving the road, the vehicles kicked up clouds of dust as they raced over the rough riverbank toward the dark currents of the Han River.
The subordinates moved with perfect coordination, as if they had been waiting for this order.
“Vehicle commander, prepare for the crossing!”
“Check the water propellers and bilge pumps!”
“Confirm all hatches are closed!”
Even amid this atmosphere of utter madness, Kwak Ji-hoon’s expression remained as solemn as a principal during an assembly.
“I’ll lead as the company commander. Everyone, follow me!”
Rumble!
The moment the first armored vehicle went over the steep riverbank,
A massive splash rose as it plunged without hesitation into the black water.
The armored vehicles following behind also rammed their heavy hulls into the Han River at full speed.
“Twelve o’clock, Ilsan riverbank. Drive straight without wavering.”
After Kwak Ji-hoon gave the order,
“One minute to landing on the forward riverbank!”
“Immediately after landing, deploy the armored vehicles in a wide formation!”
Kwak Ji-hoon opened his eyes wide inside the violently rocking armored vehicle.
He could not tell whether it was the alcohol or whether a man’s blood was truly boiling within him.
Only one thing was certain.
Once this crazy day ended safely, his fate would be decided.
Either he would be a corpse, cut down by rebel bullets.
Or he would become the foremost contributor to putting down the rebellion.
“Let’s go.”
The instant the first vehicle reached the Ilsan riverbank, Kwak Ji-hoon spoke.
Every Marine aboard the armored vehicles charged forward with a roar.
“Long live His Majesty the Emperor!”
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