WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ My Platinum-Blonde Childhood Friend Is Too Pretty ◈

Chapter 131: 53. After Training Ends

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Getting packages from a girlfriend or parents while at the training center isn't exactly unusual.

But it's the kind of thing that, common as it is, you look around and realize isn't actually all that frequent either. That sort of feeling.

So near the end of week three, when the package Elli sent arrived, everyone got curious and crowded around me.

"Hey, look at this! Aren't these insoles the same ones I have? Did you ask her to get them?"

"Apparently it's a brand that's popular on the military sweetheart cafe. She saw it there and bought them. Sent them before I even mentioned it."

"Whoa."

"She packed so much stuff. Knee pads, hand warmers, a letter and envelopes, a notebook, ballpoint pens... what's this, blister prevention pads?"

"There's foot soak pads too? Give me just one of those. My calves are dying."

"I'll share them, we can all use them together. I told her to send plenty for that reason."

"Seriously, what the hell, all this is allowed in? Life's too cruel for guys without girlfriends."

"And she sounds like a sweetheart on top of it."

"Chan-hu hyung is going to get a package soon too, right? Didn't you say your girlfriend was sending one?"

"She didn't really know what was allowed so she just sent insoles and pads."

"That's still something to be grateful for. This guy's over here complaining."

When we'd talked on the phone I hadn't heard the full list of what she'd sent. She'd packed in a much wider variety of things than I'd imagined.

She'd done her research well too, because nothing seemed to have been pulled out during inspection.

The instructor who'd handed over the box was giving me a look that could start a fire, but at that point we were already receiving all kinds of extra drills that felt both unreasonable and technically within the rules, so it didn't mean much.

Warm with the feeling of Elli's love filling every corner of that box, my eyes landed on the pretty envelope tucked deepest inside.

While my training cohort split up the things I'd said they could have, I carefully opened the envelope.

And then.

-thunk, thunk... slide.

A letter and several photographs slipped out and fell.

At a glance, most of the photos were either solo shots of Elli or couple photos of the two of us. But one of them had other people in it.

A bunkmate nearby caught it with eagle eyes and picked it up.

"Hey, who's this? What, is that an older sister? A friend? Come on, who is she!"

"What's the fuss?"

"The girls in the photo with his girlfriend are seriously pretty!"

"What?"

It was a photo of Elli in the center, with Lee So-yeon and Joo Hye-ryeong on either side, both smiling softly and throwing up peace signs.

It looked like it had been taken recently and printed out.

To me they were just the faces of close friends, so all I felt was warmth at seeing them. But for the guys around me it was clearly the kind of photo that made your eyes go wide.

It went without saying that Lee So-yeon and Joo Hye-ryeong were cute and pretty.

Elli was still the best, of course.

"That's me and my girlfriend's friends."

"Same age as you? Introduce us."

"No. They're not into that kind of thing."

"Please! Come on, introduce us!!"

The bunkmates lost their minds, dropping to their knees on the floor in front of my bunk begging for an introduction. I just laughed it off and picked up Elli's letter.

[ To my beloved husband ♡ ]

The first line, complete with a heart of all things, written in Elli's round, soft handwriting, made me smile right away.

Something warm spread through my chest.

* * *

"...Really? You sent that too?"

"Yeah. You've been training so your skin must have taken a beating. I checked that it was allowed in. Don't forget to put it on morning and evening."

"I'll be diligent about it. Thank you."

"And for the graduation ceremony visitation, is there anything you want to eat? There's not much around there so I'm planning to bring something."

"What I want to eat... your homemade gimbap?"

"Is that enough?"

"Elli's gimbap is the best. It's my favorite. But gimbap takes so much work to make. That's what makes me feel bad asking..."

"Hmph. It's not that hard to make gimbap. Alright, I'll keep that in mind. If you think of anything else you want, tell me."

"Okay. Oh, time's almost up so I'll hang up now. I love you, Elli."

"I love you too. Don't get hurt before the end. Okay?"

"I'll be careful."

Hanging up, I smiled a little.

Another package is going to come.

Since the first one she'd sent, I'd lost count of how many I'd received over the past two weeks.

Elli's worry and thoughtfulness and love were all things I was glad to have, but because she sent things so often, the platoon commander and the instructors had been giving me some pointed looks.

Understandable enough, since everything had to pass through their hands and it added to their workload. Not to mention they were watching another couple's long-distance sweetness play out in real time.

On top of that, somewhere along the way it seemed like they'd caught a glimpse of Elli's photos while inspecting the packages, because the looks had turned noticeably more hostile.

Then one day during training.

During a break, the drill instructor asked "Any married men here?" and I raised my hand honestly.

Thanks to one of the instructors who'd been there, word also got out that Elli and I were actually married.

"......"

-grind.

Not that anyone felt sorry for me for being a married man.

From that point on they glared at me like they wanted me dead and ground their teeth harder.

Well.

Being married to Elli didn't exactly invite sympathy. She was too pretty for that.

Even someone who knew nothing about her at all, just seeing her face, would feel the urge to marry her well up inside them. That was the kind of beauty she had.

And the photos Elli sent were already pretty even when shot casually, but she'd handpicked only the most flattering ones, which made it even worse for everyone involved.

All of it stacked up together, and I resigned myself to the fact that whenever a package from Elli arrived, I would, for some reason or another, end up on the receiving end of extra drills.

It was Elli's fault for being too pretty. Nothing to be done about it.

* * *

Week five after induction.

The march completed the last of the main training schedule.

After that, daily sessions like moral education continued, and once the following week arrived, the only thing left was practicing for the graduation ceremony.

Once the march was over, the instructors stopped riding us as hard as they had at the start. The atmosphere loosened up considerably, to the point of occasional small talk.

Around that time, the instructors who'd been giving me extra drills started quietly drifting over. They'd press some food into my hands and ask me direct questions.

"Are you really married? To, that girl in the photos?"

"Yes."

"How long have you been together?"

"Sixteen... no, wait. Dating, it's been four years?"

"Hold on, sixteen? You've known each other since you were really little?"

"Yes. We were childhood friends. She immigrated here when she was five."

"......"

We'd be leaving soon enough anyway and I'd never see these faces again, and they said to just drop the formal speech and talk normally, so I did.

They'd given me a few extra drills out of jealousy, but it hadn't been anything particularly harsh, and lately they'd been slipping me snacks on the sly.

Even so, by the time the conversation ended they walked away carrying an even heavier burden of envy and resignation than before, like they'd pried open Pandora's box.

Aside from those occasional exchanges.

I spent the excess free time just drawing.

Early on I'd been self-conscious and didn't want to stand out, so I kept to myself. But by around week three the instructors mostly left people alone during personal maintenance time, so that's when I started. Drawing in the notebook Elli had sent, with pencils and ballpoint pens. Drawing was my most cherished and enjoyable hobby.

My bunkmates saw that I was good at it and started putting in requests, and I took those on too.

"Can you do something dirty?"

"Only up to PG-15."

They asked for something explicit as though it were the obvious thing to want, so I shut that down firmly.

In freelance work I'd take commissions up to about R-15 levels of sexy content, but right now I didn't feel like it.

Training had physically worn me out so much that my drive had mostly died down, but as my body recovered, those kinds of thoughts were starting to creep back up.

Memories of the heated days with Elli kept trying to surface...

After all that idle, unhurried time drifted by.

Finally.

Week six after induction.

The graduation ceremony began.

* * *

The graduation ceremony rehearsals had been dull.

But that dullness vanished completely the moment the actual day arrived.

It wasn't just me. Every single recruit moved with energy and snap.

Because in this space, right now.

-click, click!

"Where's Jeong-hun? Is that him over there?"

"Min-woo!!!"

Just like at the induction ceremony, family members were watching. Voices filled the building with noise.

And among those family members, naturally, was Elli.

Her beautiful platinum-blonde hair swayed as she stood there, impossible to miss from anywhere in the room. Dad and my father-in-law must have been at work, because she was flanked only by my mom and Auntie Ye-rin.

"......"

The distance made it hard to see clearly, but she seemed to be watching me with a slightly dazed expression.

With everyone in the same uniform and cap, she shouldn't have been able to tell us apart easily. Still, she had her body and gaze fixed precisely in my direction.

"I've spotted Lee Do-yoon's girlfriend."

"Me too."

"Anyone with eyes can't help but notice. That blonde hair is insane."

"Of all places, she's standing right in front..."

"I'm so jealous I could die."

My bunkmates spotted Elli during the graduation ceremony and were mouthing their reactions silently in admiration.

Elli's platinum-blonde hair was the kind of thing that forced its way into your field of vision even when you weren't looking for it. It stood out so completely that you couldn't miss it.

Same as my bunkmates, I couldn't take my eyes off Elli either, and my heart pounded without pause.

We'd exchanged plenty of letters, and we'd talked on the phone quite a few times too.

But none of it came close to actually seeing her in person.

About thirty minutes later.

The graduation ceremony, far shorter than all the preparation for it had suggested, came to an end, and the long-awaited visitation time arrived.

Each recruit made their way toward their family, and I practically ran down to meet the three of them.

"Attention!"

"My son! How are you looking this dependable? I hate that you're in the military but why do you look so good in that uniform!"

"Do-yoon looks so amazing. Haven't your shoulders gotten broader?"

I gave a playful salute and Mom and Auntie Ye-rin came rushing over, fussing over me.

Listening to them, I couldn't help laughing.

How much I'd missed this small chatter. These voices. I hadn't realized how much until now.

And two, three steps behind them.

"......"

Elli was there.

My girlfriend, who had clearly put tremendous care into her appearance for this short visitation of four or five hours, looked like she was lit from within, head to toe.

Clean jeans and a knit sweater. An elegant coat draped over them.

She held a lunch box in both hands, and on her left ring finger our couple rings caught the light.

Beneath her wavy platinum-blonde hair, gently stirred by the breeze, her face was flushed and faintly dazed.

"Elli."

I called out to her as she stood there hesitating, somehow almost shy about it.

"...!"

She flinched with surprise, then slowly, steadily walked toward me.

One step, then another.

Light-footed.

"After all that fuss getting ready since morning, she's practically a blushing bride."

"Hehe, isn't she adorable~"

Mom and Auntie Ye-rin tactfully stepped aside, and I spread both arms wide and waited for my lovely wife.

A moment later, a slender frame settled into my arms.

-thud... squeeze...

She let the bag she was holding drop to the ground, wrapped both arms around my waist, and pressed her slight, soft body close, tucking her small head against my chest.

"...I missed you."

She peeked her head up, blue eyes tilted toward me, and said those words.

I answered her with a bright smile.

"I missed you too. I love you, Elli."

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