WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ My Platinum-Blonde Childhood Friend Is Too Pretty ◈

Chapter 130: 52. Recruit Lee Do-yoon, Military Sweetheart Elli -2

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Every second felt like an hour.

When would the call come. What if something had happened and he couldn't call today.

Kneeling on the floor with her phone in her lap, Elli found all kinds of dark thoughts creeping into her head.

'...No. It'll come. Plenty of people are already posting that they got their first calls.'

She steadied herself, gathered her platinum hair from either side back to the center, and sat waiting as if in prayer. And then, right in front of her.

-Bzzzzzzt!

The phone rang with sudden force.

"It's here! Ma'am... Mother-in-law! Hurry!"

"Okay, okay! The number... it's the military, alright!"

Elli urgently pressed the phone into her mother-in-law's hands and immediately fell quiet. Everyone leaned in with tense faces.

A moment later.

-Hello? Mom?

"Son! It's Mom! Are you hurt anywhere? Is training going okay?"

-Of course. Honestly, I'm too healthy to complain. How are things there? Everything fine?

"Fine! Oh, it's been so long since I've heard your voice, I'm just so happy~"

"Do-yoon~ Did you get the letters we sent?"

-Good to hear your voice too, Mom. I got the letters. Thank you so much for writing, Mother-in-law.

"Oh my, don't thank me~"

His voice came through the speakerphone, the voice she had missed so desperately for two whole weeks.

Something tightened in her chest, her throat closed up, and she couldn't bring herself to cut in.

"Son, son! Your wife's sitting here trying not to cry, so I'll hand her over now."

The smartphone was pressed into her hands.

Elli's fingers trembled. No words came, but she forced her voice out anyway.

"Hel... lo...?"

-Elli! You're finally letting me hear your voice?

"...I just... yeah. You said you're not hurt?"

-Completely fine. So don't worry. We'll be doing calls every week now, and... ah, I should've just enlisted next year. Starting next year they're letting recruits use their smartphones at the training center, apparently.

"...Hmph. You made such a fuss saying no when I told you I wanted to have a baby."

-Come on, I never said no. Oh, and thank you for all the letters. I've been reading each one about ten times over.

"I'll write more. More often... every day."

-I'll be waiting. I wrote one and tucked it in the package I sent, though I'm not sure when it'll arrive. I didn't write much.

"It'll come soon, I'm sure. Is there anything you need? I can send it in the next package..."

-Anything I need? Hmm... wait, what? Already? Elli, I'm sorry! My time's up, I have to go now, okay? I love you! I'll call your phone directly next time!

"What? No, wait, just a-"

-click

"...Oh."

The call was over.

Just like that.

She'd barely said anything.

She hadn't managed a hundredth of everything she'd wanted to tell him, everything she'd wanted him to hear.

She hadn't even said she loved him.

Even after sixteen years of hearing it, his voice had never stopped making her heart race. Now it was gone in an instant, vanishing like something she'd only imagined, leaving nothing but a hollow ache in her chest.

That was it? Elli couldn't believe it.

She couldn't believe she'd have to wait another whole week just to hear his voice again.

"Look at her, she's completely out of it."

"I know~ Elli, come back to us. He said he'll call you directly starting next week."

"Come here next week too and take the call. I won't steal him, we can wait together and chat. I want to hear my son's voice too, even if just a little."

"I trusted Do-yoon to handle himself, but... I'm so relieved his voice sounded bright."

"Exactly."

"......"

None of it reached Elli's ears.

She sat there, blank and still as a statue, blaming herself for being so foolish and tongue-tied. Eventually she went home.

And until she fell asleep that night she kept going over it, again and again. Why hadn't she said that. Why hadn't she led with I love you.

She closed her eyes drowning in regret.

Two days later.

Word came that a package had arrived at Do-yoon's family home. Elli rushed over immediately, and the sight of the clothes he had worn on enlistment day made her eyes sting. She just barely held back the tears.

But then.

She read the letter Do-yoon had tucked inside the package.

[ Life at the training center isn't that hard. Training's manageable. ]

[ But missing you, that part's a little rough. ]

[ I carry our photo around and look at it every day to make up for it, and that helps, but it's still not enough. ]

[ So I'll come back to you soon. Just hold on a little longer. ]

[ I love you, Elli ]

[ My princess ]

It covered all the little things that had happened at the training center, and it was full of her husband's longing for her.

She had known she wouldn't be able to hold back the tears, so she went home, pulled the blanket over her head, and read it there.

"...Hic."

She cried anyway.

She read the letter ten times, then dozens of times more.

She filled the ache of missing him with his words on paper.

And got through another day.

* * *

Before the phone call and the letter from Lee Do-yoon arrived, Elli's days were simple and flat.

She worked through her growing schedule of modeling shoots, and everything else was spent at home missing the empty space her husband had left behind.

The warm arms that used to wrap around her when she opened her eyes in bed were gone. The soft, fond gaze that watched her from the sofa while she lazily brewed her morning coffee was gone.

She kept up with her home workouts, Pilates and the rest, if only so she could look prettier for him when he came back. But aside from that she lay around the apartment like a doll with its strings cut.

Then, one day, while searching online for information about training center schedules, phone call times, package delivery windows, and postal service letters.

Elli found herself on the military sweetheart cafe.

[ (Army) Does anyone know the exact address for the 15th Division Recruit Training Center?,, (sad face) ]

[ (Army) I don't want to use the postal service letter, I want to put a letter and some snacks in a unit envelope... ]

[ Graduation ceremony q ) Fellow military sweethearts, what did you all do on graduation day?? ]

She had never had any interest in online communities beyond looking up beauty posts, but reading the posts of other military sweethearts going through the same thing was more comforting than she'd expected.

A sense of kinship, maybe.

She also picked up information she hadn't known she needed. Most of it was right there in the cafe's search function, and anything she couldn't find just needed one post and the replies came quickly with answers.

Because of that, Elli found herself drawn further and further in.

When she'd been waiting for that first call, what had kept her heart a little calmer was the quick updates from the other military sweethearts. The girls waiting for Do-yoon's training cohort members from the same division had posted first when their calls came through.

After the phone call.

After receiving the letter from the package.

She checked the cafe even more often.

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[ (Army) When will photos of the 28th Division recruits be posted? ]

Does anyone know when they'll put up the 28th Division ones?

I heard other units already have theirs up but there's still no news here...

Comments (2)

bearsweetheart

They usually go up around week three. My boyfriend came through the 28th and his posted in week three!

beargirl (OP)

So it should be soon... finally (crying face) Thank you so much!!

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"Looks like I have to wait until week three..."

She wasn't someone who wrote posts frequently or threw herself into community life, but reading the posts of others missing their boyfriends gave her something to hold onto. Like she wasn't alone in it.

And sometimes she came across information she hadn't even thought to look for.

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[ (Army) Must-haves to put in your training center package! ]

(!) Please search for prohibited items before sending, there are things that aren't allowed!

You all probably already packed everything carefully before seeing him off, but just in case...

Functional insoles <<<

A lot of people overlook this, but they're allowed and apparently get used constantly! Not just for marches but for all the walking they do every day, very helpful!

***Unit envelopes are NOT for this! Apparently post offices sometimes won't send them if anything other than letters or documents is inside!

Comments (3)

Yunyeon

Recommending the Balmitae ones here! My boyfriend praised them like crazy in his letter lololol

military sweetheart Elli

Thanks for the info.

Satoyam

Heard someone's soothing gel got stolen so I'm sending some of that along with insoles too. His feet are already weak and I'm worried they'll swell up (sad face)

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Every time she found a post like this, Elli immediately looked up whatever was being recommended and ordered it.

If it wasn't going to arrive in time for the next package, she went out herself and tracked it down at a physical store.

Anything to make Lee Do-yoon's days a little more comfortable.

She spent her days like that, aside from shoots and workouts and whatever she absolutely had to do. Holed up at home, scrolling through the military sweetheart cafe for hours on end.

A few days passed.

Then another call came.

A military number.

Completely out of nowhere, on a day that wasn't even a weekend.

She picked up fast, half-afraid something had gone wrong.

-Elli!

"Hello? What's going on? Did something happen? How are you calling today..."

-I scored well at shooting so I got extra phone time! Isn't that great?

"...You did great! You really did!"

-Will you reward me later?

"Absolutely. Are you on a break right now?"

-Yeah. Right after lunch, just a short one. Ha... it's so good to hear your voice. Last time was so short, I felt awful about it afterward.

"Me too... oh, I sent a package yesterday, by the way. I put in some insoles and a few other things, so make sure you get it."

-Oh, really? I actually needed insoles. The ones I brought with me ripped pretty fast... thank you.

"I got the Balmitae ones that people said were good. If they feel off, let me know. I'll send different ones."

-Oh, those are good ones, right? I think I heard about them from one of my bunkmates... thank you, Elli. I love you!

"Heh... yeah. I love you too."

They made a fuss over each other, delighted to be cheered on and praised, happy just from talking like this.

And this time she made sure to say I love you before it was too late.

The call was longer than the last one, though still short for a couple as in love as they were, and it came to its end.

-I'll call again on the weekend. And I'll write a letter too.

"Okay. Go rest. I love you, Lee Do-yoon."

-I love you!

It wasn't too abrupt this time, at least. She was satisfied with that, even as a quiet longing crept in that it could have gone on longer.

The unexpected windfall left Elli's chest swelling. She climbed off the bed, sat down in front of her laptop, and wrote a post.

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[ (Army) Got a call from my boyfriend! ]

Was just sitting there relaxing when he called out of nowhere saying he did well at shooting and got rewarded with extra phone time haha

Happy but now that he hung up I'm already sad again...

Why does the smartphone thing have to start next year, it's actually so annoying (sad face)

Comments (8)

Feb13th

So jealous (crying face) My bear must have shot with his feet, no news at all (sad face) Which division is he in, by the way?

military sweetheart Elli (OP)

28th Division!

Jihwan'ssweetheart

Mine called earlier too lolol Amazing!! Because I wasn't even thinking about it when it came, the surprise made it even better (sad face) Felt like getting a gift!

military sweetheart Elli (OP)

That's exactly how I felt...

Jiwoo'sHyunjin

Same... why oh why does the pilot program start next year; they could've just done it this year (sad face) Apparently video calls will be allowed too (sad face)

military sweetheart Elli (OP)

Right. I should've just gotten pregnant and sent him later.

Jiwoo'sHyunjin

Sweetheart, calm down lololol That's a bit much;;

softbearsweetheart

The pregnancy attack lmaooo

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A tiny part of it was showing off. Wanting to put this joy somewhere, wanting it seen.

She was planning to tell Lee So-yeon and Joo Hye-ryeong soon too, to chatter about it with them. But the ones who would really understand, who would share in it the same way, were the other military sweethearts. The cafe came first.

Elli smiled at the string of replies coming in, felt a small pang that no one had quite gotten behind the pregnancy comment.

Then she kept scrolling through the new posts, checking whether there was anything else she could send Do-yoon.

That was how she spent another day.

With just a little bit of enjoyment in being a military sweetheart herself.

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