WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Alyo

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Surviving Among the Anomalies ◈

Chapter 33: Unit Assignment

──────

A sheet of paper with nothing supporting it is easily pierced by a pen.

“Sit...”

That was why I had been about to suggest moving somewhere else to sit and fill out the survey.

“I am sitting.”

By the time I came to my senses, I was already seated, with a round patio table set up before me.

“Thank you.”

The pen in my right hand was a given. First, I looked over the questions on the survey I had received.

[1. Did you have a good relationship with your seniors during your military service?]

[2. Did you have a good relationship with your juniors during your military service?]

[3. When you were discharged, did your superiors say, “Ah, you were finally becoming useful, and now you’re leaving!”? (Statements with a similar meaning are also acceptable.)]

[4. When you were discharged, did your juniors regret your departure or throw you a party?]

[5. When you were discharged, did your juniors roll you in a blanket?]

[6. Since your discharge, have you contacted your juniors or seniors in civilian life at least once?]

[7. When you contacted them after your discharge, did your juniors or seniors welcome you warmly without reacting coldly or making sarcastic remarks?]

[8. Did you ever cause trouble for others through your own mistakes during your military service?]

[9. When you were a corporal or above, did you make frequent mistakes in your duties and get scolded by other soldiers or officers and NCOs at least five times?]

It was exactly like the game. It was the very survey that asked ten questions and abducted people into a special space depending on the results.

‘I should answer honestly, right?’

Even if I did not want to, I felt compelled to be honest. It was probably this Anomaly’s peculiarity.

‘My relationship with my seniors? It was good. We talked a lot, too.’

Unfortunately, I had no juniors because I had been discharged as a private, so that was irrelevant. When I was discharged, all the officers and NCOs had been busy, so I had not met them.

‘Looking at it now, a lot of these questions can only be answered by someone who completed their full service.’

With no other choice, I marked “Unable to answer due to lack of experience” until I reached the final question.

[10. Are you a useless soldier?]

It was a difficult question to understand, so I raised my hand.

“Does ‘useless soldier’ refer to the type of person commonly described online as someone who is scatterbrained, repeatedly makes mistakes, and cannot adapt to military life?”

“Yes.”

The man answered bluntly.

“I need a standard by which I can accurately determine whether I am a useless soldier. People tend to be lenient with themselves by nature, so without a reference point, it would be difficult to make a fair judgment.”

“...Please wait a moment.”

After thinking for a while, the man gave me a criterion.

“If 50% or more of the people around you have directly called you a useless soldier, then you are definitely one.”

Fifty percent.

I quietly recalled my time in the military.

[You crazy bastard!!!]

[Don’t do it!!!]

[Get down right now!!!]

[You fucking bastard!!!]

[Seung-hoon, please just stay still until you’re discharged, okay? Please. Your company first sergeant is begging you.]

“I was not a useless soldier.”

The moment I wrote no for the tenth question, the world twisted.

『Are you saying you’re not a useless soldier? My eyes say otherwise. And useless soldiers always claim they aren’t useless.』

Soon, an unfamiliar scene long buried in an old memory unfolded before my eyes.

『Then prove it. By reenacting your military service one more time.』

The shaking backseat of a military Retona, and Cheorwon’s mountains rushing past outside the window.

‘It’s the day I went to my assigned unit.’

What a shame.

‘It should have started from boot camp.’

That had been the really fun part.

＊＊＊

“Rookie, was your name Lee Seung-hoon?”

“Private Lee Seung-hoon.”

Before I had time to adjust, the NCO in the passenger seat spoke to me. If it were me now, I would have answered differently, but the way to escape this Anomaly had already been decided, so I followed my past self.

“Right, Seung-hoon. Wow, your seniors are going to love you. Our unit is an independent company, so it’s a little small. We have few openings, so people are valuable.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. You probably heard all sorts of stories before enlisting, like how seniors bully you and beat you up. Our unit isn’t like that, so don’t worry.”

The Master Sergeant insignia on the company first sergeant’s collar swayed as they turned around on the mountain road.

“Come on, Company First Sergeant. Who beats soldiers these days? It’s not the army from the eighties.”

“Hey, I heard that in my day, too. That it wasn’t an army where people got beaten. That there was no Barracks Abuse. People always say that, so how am I supposed to trust you lot?”

The company first sergeant playfully smacked the back of the driver’s head.

“Anyway, if anyone does anything strange to you, come straight to my office. Got it?”

“Yes, understood.”

The shaking vehicle cut off the conversation. During that time, I thought about the Anomaly.

‘The Anomaly called Reserve Forces Survey approaches people who have completed their Reserve Forces service and gives them a survey. If they are determined to be a useless soldier but answer no to the final question, they are abducted into a subspace that reenacts their military service.’

As mentioned earlier, I could only escape this place by reenacting at least 90% of my military service.

‘In the game, I could escape easily by selecting a few choices, but now that it’s reality, I have to act it out myself. That has drastically increased the difficulty.’

Fortunately, I had written down my entire military service in the Notebook in My Head beforehand, so it was not difficult for me.

“Here we are. Seung-hoon, let’s go.”

“Private Lee Seung-hoon, yes, understood.”

I picked up my duffel bag and followed the company first sergeant. I was immediately interviewed in the administrative office.

“Let’s see. What did you do in boot camp?”

While the company first sergeant prepared, I looked around as my past self had.

[Organization Chart]

[Higher Unit: 6th Division Commander, Major General Kwak Yun-seon]

[Higher Unit: 15th Infantry Regiment Commander, Colonel Lee Deok-gu]

[Baekseokbong Company Commander, Captain Ryu Se-hyeon]

The organization chart of my assigned unit on the wall was exactly as I remembered it.

‘Thirty-two officers and NCOs, and 114 enlisted soldiers.’

The unit was called Baekseokbong Company. I had heard it was a General Outpost border guard unit, though I had never been deployed there.

“Hmm... Seung-hoon?”

The company first sergeant, who had been looking at the monitor, asked me a question.

“Um, did both your parents die in an accident?”

“Yes. They died in a traffic accident.”

“When you were in high school?”

“More precisely, I did not attend high school, so they died when I was eighteen.”

“Ah... Is that so? You didn’t attend high school?”

“I dropped out because I felt there was no need to attend.”

For a moment, the typing from the other soldiers in the administrative office stopped.

“Why?”

As we talked, I checked the condition of my body.

“High school classes are tailored to the college entrance exam, so I did not consider them worth learning.”

“You didn’t want to go to college?”

“No. University knowledge was readily available because university libraries were open to the public. In addition, several generous professors gladly allowed me to audit their classes, so there was no need for me to take the entrance exam separately.”

I could no longer feel the physical enhancements granted by The Girl with Her Eyes Closed. Still, my senses remained sharp, allowing me to notice things I could not have noticed in the past.

“I see. Is that so...?”

For example, I could now see the words reflected in the company first sergeant’s eyes.

[A-Grade Soldier of Concern, Caution Required.]

“Hey! Corporal Kim! If he dropped out of high school, shouldn’t he have been assigned public service?”

“Yes, I believe so.”

“Seung-hoon, didn’t you know? If you didn’t, then even now...”

“I knew. However, I voluntarily enlisted because I wanted to experience active-duty service firsthand.”

I caught a quiet mutter of, “Crazy.”

That, too, was a new experience I had not had before.

“Voluntarily enlisted. Voluntarily enlisted, voluntarily...”

The company first sergeant stared at the monitor with a troubled expression, then asked me.

“Seung-hoon, do you really know a hundred kinds of grasshoppers?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“Yasanmo grasshopper, mottled bell cricket, blue pine cricket, pink-eyed katydid, rice grasshopper, giant mole cricket, great beaked katydid, katydid bush cricket, leaf giant katydid, Baekdusan katydid, Riok, black lark, ttaktaki, mole cricket, mountain katydid, long-tailed saeksae...”

“Uh, stop. You really do know them.”

Unlike before, the company first sergeant’s voice was extremely soft and calm.

“Wow, that’s amazing. Our Seung-hoon knows so many.”

It was exactly like soothing a child.

“Hmm.”

Silence fell again. The administrative office was quiet, with only the sound of the company first sergeant clicking a mouse.

‘Interesting.’

I also peeked at the monitor reflected in the company first sergeant’s eyes.

[Boot Camp Special Notes]

[Exempt from marksmanship training. Reason: High likelihood of causing unforeseen situations.]

[Exempt from grenade training. Reason: High likelihood of causing unforeseen situations.]

“Seung-hoon, sorry for asking again, but you didn’t receive marksmanship or grenade training in boot camp, right?”

“No, I did not.”

“Did you want to?”

“Yes, very much.”

“Why?”

“Because boot camp was the only place in the country where I could fire a gun and throw a grenade.”

“You wanted to use them that badly?”

“I had knowledge of them, but I had never used them in person.”

At the time, I had been a beggar starving for new knowledge, and I had not wanted to miss the rare treasure trove of knowledge that was the military.

“That must have been disappointing. The drill instructors wouldn’t let you?”

“After consulting with the boot camp company commander, I was ruled exempt from the training.”

“Right, I see... I’m going out for a cigarette for a moment, okay?”

The company first sergeant stepped out for a while. The smoking room was visible right beyond the window, and they made a call while smoking.

『Why would they let a kid like this voluntarily enlist? Are they crazy? There’s obviously something wrong with his head! The Military Manpower Administration is supposed to screen out people like this! Do they just let in anyone who says they want to voluntarily enlist? Huh!? Then why not let in spies, North Korean defectors, and Kim Jong-un too!? Things have already been tense lately, so what the hell is this!』

Using my enhanced eyesight, I read their lips and eavesdropped on the conversation.

‘Even the same experience can feel so different.’

It was so moving and enjoyable that I felt like I could go mad.

‘Something wrong with my mind? My behavior may be a little unusual, but not to that extent. What a hasty judgment.’

The administrative office was still quiet. Instead, recent news played on the television.

[As North Korean soldiers continue to defect one after another, suspicions have arisen that the authorities may not be properly tracking their defections. Some suspect there may be holes in the surveillance system, as in the 2012 North Korean knock-and-defect incident. At the same time, allegations are also surfacing that the authorities secretly manipulated the defectors’ movements.]

A little later, the company first sergeant returned.

“Seung-hoon, how about becoming the Sergeant Major’s Runner? Got it?”

＊＊＊

My assignment was decided on the first day at my unit.

“This is the barracks where you’ll be staying.”

Several people waiting in the old-fashioned barracks, which was still in use, looked at me curiously.

“All right, we’ve got a new soldier, so treat him well, everyone! And Jang Hyeon-gu! Come see me.”

“Yes? Me?”

“Ah, hurry up!”

The sergeant with a squad leader’s insignia disappeared with the company first sergeant.

“Oh, a rookie?”

“Private Lee Seung-hoon.”

A soldier tightly wrapped in a blanket at the corner of a bunk emerged from it.

“You’re pretty quiet.”

Seeing that face I had missed, my act nearly slipped without my realizing it.

“Rookie, rookie, rookie.”

“Did you call for me?”

“Why aren’t you giving your name and rank? Hey! Who’s this bastard’s immediate senior?”

“Private First Class Min Seong-ho!”

“Plant your head on the floor.”

Private First Class Min Seong-ho planted their head on the floor and put their hands behind their back. A soldier in an undershirt, shuffling along in slippers, sat on Min Seong-ho as though they were a chair.

“Hey, there’s a lot of talk about how much better the military has gotten these days, right? But what are you going to do?”

Despite being inside the barracks, Lee Hyeong-seok had a cigarette in his mouth. Lee Hyeong-seok was heavily built and muscular, with the rough appearance people often talked about. It looked like a scene from a noir film.

“Our unit isn’t like that.”

The words printed on the undershirt caught my eye.

[Sergeant Lee Hyeong-seok’s. Touch It and You’ll Be Executed.]

“So, rookie, name and rank?”

I answered exactly as I had in the past.

“Sergeant Lee Hyeong-seok.”

Everyone’s attention focused on me.

“Smoking indoors violates basic regulations.”

Not even a breath could be heard.

“And only a squad leader has the authority to physically punish another soldier.”

There was, at least, the sound of someone choking on their breath.

“Therefore, Sergeant Lee Hyeong-seok’s actions cannot be tolerated under military law.”

“Ha.”

Lee Hyeong-seok threw the cigarette onto the barracks floor and crushed it beneath a slipper.

“There. Happy?”

“The cigarette butt should go in the trash...”

“You fucking bastard!”

Right, it had been like this then, too. If it were me now, I would have easily dodged and continued the conversation, but I had been a little hot-blooded at the time.

“Guhk!”

I wrapped an arm around Lee Hyeong-seok’s neck and put him in a chokehold hard enough to compress his carotid artery.

I lifted the limp Lee Hyeong-seok onto a bunk and placed my duffel bag beside him.

“You appeared agitated, so I knocked you unconscious for a moment.”

“Where is my spot?”

Footnotes:

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