WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 313: Greek Islands (13)
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When Gyeoul returned, the independent company’s garrison was restless in more ways than one. If he had to compare it to something, it felt like Christmas Eve. Political exposés and everything else aside, tomorrow was the day they would finally return to Fort Roberts. Plenty of soldiers had already more or less packed, and even the noncommissioned officers under the first sergeant, strict as they had been until now, had not received approval for any special schedule today. In truth, they needed the rest too. Anyone would be even more exhausted after forcing themselves to act according to their position when all they wanted was to loosen up.
In the middle of all that, Yura was waiting for Gyeoul.
“Yaja Time?”
Yura explained to the puzzled Gyeoul.
“Yes! I thought everyone should let out their bottled-up feelings before we go back. Everyone is in a good mood right now, so even if harsh words come out, they should be able to move past it without holding much of a grudge.”
He understood that her intentions were good, but first Gyeoul wanted to know what this Yaja Time she mentioned actually was. He had never experienced it in life or after death. Just as he was about to ask, common-sense correction activated. After checking the sentence only he could read, Gyeoul agreed a beat late.
“That sounds fine. Then the preparations...”
“The preparations are done! Everyone in the company said they liked the idea. Even Lieutenant Park Jin-seok. I also told the deputy company commander in advance, so now we only need permission from Little Captain.”
She was well prepared. Gyeoul smiled faintly.
“I permit it.”
“Thank you!”
“No need to thank me. In areas like this, Lieutenant Lee Yura really is better.”
“Areas like this?”
“Taking care of every person so carefully.”
Yura flushed a little.
“That was praise, right?”
“What else would it be?”
Gyeoul’s question made Yura laugh.
“Ugh. I’m happy, but I’m embarrassed too... Anyway, it’s decided! Follow me. Everyone should be waiting. They said they had a lot they wanted to tell Little Captain too.”
A faint scent of chocolate drifted from her as she walked lightly ahead.
‘If only there were no chance of fighting the same U.S. military, I wouldn’t have to worry so much.’
Gyeoul remembered the sight of Ensign Cheon So-min crying as she leaned on Yura.
The company members had gathered in loose, disorderly groups of three or four. The slips of paper in their hands seemed to have their turn numbers written on them. Apparently, Gyeoul’s permission had been treated as a given. They welcomed their company commander, now a lieutenant colonel, with unusual enthusiasm. It came from anticipation for the words they had kept inside.
He also saw Jin-seok trying to soften his expression. If he looked as sharp as usual, words that might have come out would not. But his attempt to force a gentle expression only produced a strange result. After someone whispered something, Jin-seok let out a heavy sigh and returned to his usual face.
Before they began, Yura asked, “We put Captain’s turn last. Is that all right?”
“I’m doing it too?”
“Of course! Don’t tell me you thought you could sit out alone?”
Yura looked as if the very idea made no sense. Gyeoul made a small smile.
“...I suppose I have no choice.”
Hmph-hm. Yura, in a good mood, made a rare nasal sound.
Their little company event was intense from the very start.
“Jin-seok! Save me!”
At the solemn cry from a 2nd Platoon member, everyone burst out laughing except one person. The one covering his face alone was, naturally, Jin-seok, the platoon leader. Gyeoul could see his ears turning red. Jin-seok glanced toward Gyeoul and looked even more miserable.
“Jin-seok, do you know what your nickname is inside the platoon? You’re always pissed off, so you’re Pissed-seok!”
The delighted uproar grew even louder. Gyeoul wondered why the words were in Korean, but with the surrounding soldiers translating, the laughter crossed nationality lines.
“I know you work hard! Watching you, I seriously can’t believe you’re the same age as me! You’re amazing! I’m not joking, I really mean it! But respect is respect, and scary is scary! You say monsters show up in your dreams, but you show up in mine! Ah, well, thanks to you, monsters are less scary now, so I guess that’s nice!”
The 2nd Platoon members responded enthusiastically. Their voices were easy to distinguish because their gender ratio differed from the other platoons.
“I’ll admit it! Without you, we’d still be dragging ourselves around like losers! But things are different now, aren’t they? Everyone knows what they need to know and does what they need to do! So you can relax your shoulders a bit! Don’t try to handle every important thing yourself either! Share things with us properly! Even when we say we’ll help, you still do that! Isn’t it about time you trusted us and left things to us?”
Judging by the sergeant’s expression, this was not a sugarcoated speech made out of fear of the aftermath. The sergeant who had been shouting all this time pressed the embarrassed Lieutenant.
“Answer?”
“Fine. I’ll try...”
“I trust you, Jin-seok!”
Gyeoul thought that was the end, but instead of leaving, the sergeant looked in his direction.
“And our Little Captain, Han Gyeoul!”
Instead of answering, Gyeoul pointed at himself with his fingertips and tilted his head. The people around him shifted aside slightly. The sergeant who had called out a lieutenant colonel nodded hard.
“Yeah! You, Gyeoul! What the heck is your iden... ahem. What exactly are you?”
It seemed he had bitten his tongue from nerves. Unlike before, the audience response was lukewarm. The very act of speaking casually to Gyeoul felt deeply awkward to them. Jin-seok was particularly on edge.
With both hands tucked into his pockets, Gyeoul asked back with a slight smile.
“Why?”
Coughs broke out here and there.
“Uh... you, you know, you’re too amazing in too many ways, so you don’t feel human!”
“So you hate me?”
“What are you talking about! Who would hate you? I’m saying this because your abilities make no sense, and you don’t have any human flaws either! So sometimes I get suspicious! I wonder if I’m really seeing you properly!”
“Mm. Does that mean you’re worried?”
“If I had to put it that way... yeah! After we decided to do this, I sat and thought about it, and I realized I don’t know nearly enough about the person called Han Gyeoul! Until yesterday, I thought I knew you really well!”
“...”
“It feels like you’re on a different level, but you’re still human, right? You must have worries or something. But up to now, not once, not even once, have I ever seen you struggle or complain! It’s hard to even imagine! Even with our straight-as-a-ruler... no, spear-like platoon leader, sometimes it suddenly hits me that he’s a person just like me. So...”
Ah, this is hard. The sergeant cut himself off and muttered to himself. That was not what he had originally meant to say. Faced with gazes urging him to continue, he panicked, and as the silence stretched on, his face grew redder. He ended clumsily.
“That, uh, I feel like I’ve only seen what you chose to show us... Argh! I’m sorry, everyone! I don’t know what I was trying to say either! I’ll end it here! Company commander, I love you!”
Urgh. Yura made a strange sound. The expression of love between men seemed to bother her. The sergeant came down to both applause and jeers.
The turns after that were mostly the history of Jin-seok’s suffering. Jin-seok, brother is having a hard time! Jin-seok, big brother! Why are you like this to me? Jin-seok brother! And so on. Voices came from every company member, across platoons. Maybe the first speaker had ruined the flow, or maybe it had been difficult from the start, but everyone held back when dealing with Gyeoul.
“I mixed up the order because I thought this might happen, but it’s no use. With Jin-seok’s personality, I wonder how much he’s boiling inside.”
Yura, frowning with candy in her mouth, pressed her temples.
Gyeoul said, “Still, seeing all this come out, it doesn’t look like anyone sincerely hates Lieutenant Park Jin-seok. If anything, it seems like they trust him... If they were worried about what came afterward, they wouldn’t have brought it up.”
“Well, that’s true. They separate public and private matters. Have you decided on the next company commander?”
It was a light question, asked in passing.
“No, not yet. A new problem came up.”
“A problem?”
“I’ll tell you later. It’s something you two need to know before I decide.”
“You can’t tell me now?”
“It’s not something to say in a place like this...”
“Looks like it’s something troublesome again. Ah, I really shouldn’t gain any more weight.”
Yura sighed while saying something he did not understand. A rattling sound came from inside her mouth.
“What do you mean, gain weight?”
“Lately, when I get stressed, I crave sweet things. Chocolate, candy... Look. I even carry this many Charms around.”
She rustled around for a moment, then pulled a handful of colorful candies from her pocket. Most of them were Charms, fruit-flavored candies provided as a side item in combat rations.
“Wow. Where did you get so many?”
When Gyeoul asked, Yura shrugged.
“I don’t know why, but a lot of people throw this candy away because they say it’s unlucky. If they were going to throw it away, I told them to give it to me instead. Before, only First Sergeant Merriweather and Corporal McArdle hated them... but after I came back from treatment, everyone was avoiding them.”
It was a superstition Gyeoul had run into a few times. If you ate one, you had bad luck. Was it because the spelling was the same as charm? But at least in the army, few people believed it, and somehow the first sergeant seemed to be one of them. And in the military, taboos spread easily.
Yura did not seem to care at all.
“It doesn’t bother you, Lieutenant?”
“Not really. I actually like them because they remind me of the candy my grandmother often gave me when I was young. Ah, I’ll finally see her again. I missed her so much.”
Just saying it brought tears to her eyes. She blinked quickly, wiping the moisture from her reddened eyes.
The other company members were in a similar state.
“Company commander, we made it this far alive thanks to you! Thank you so much for everything! And you worked hard!”
When Private Kang Do-yoon’s turn came near the end, his voice was almost tearful. The others were the same. At some point, the purpose of the gathering had changed into celebrating the end of their long suffering. In reality, even without considering the military rebellion that was unlikely to happen, it was still too early to relax completely. Receiving thanks again and again, Gyeoul hid a little discomfort.
‘I understand, but...’
In abbreviated officer training, they taught that most members of a unit that stayed on a battlefield for sixty days would suffer mental issues. The independent company had been deployed for a shorter time than other units, but even so, they had carried out many operations in succession over several months.
“What’s wrong?”
Perhaps she noticed something off, because Yura studied him carefully. Gyeoul shook his head.
“It’s nothing. I was just thinking about something else.”
“Hmm.”
Yura, still doubtful, soon softened her expression.
“If you have something troubling you, tell me. I won’t be much help, but usually, just having someone listen makes the heart feel lighter. That’s how it is for everyone.”
“I’ll remember that.”
“Now, go out. It’s Captain’s turn.”
As she said, no one was shouting anymore. Gyeoul stepped up onto the slightly raised spot, looked over the company members, and made a troubled expression.
“Mm, what should I say now?”
It was nothing special, but everyone enjoyed it.
“All the decent lines came out earlier. Thank you, I love you, you all worked hard. Things like that. So there’s no need to drag this out now.”
Gyeoul met several people’s eyes and continued lightly.
“We’re going back now. Just as everyone expects, when we arrive, life will be better than before. Someone you want to see will be waiting too. You could call it a reward for all your effort. You all deserve it. You did your best wherever you were. If anyone here honestly thinks, not me, I didn’t try hard enough, raise your hand. I’ll arrange to send you to the front line.”
Pebble-like laughter rolled through the listeners.
“As expected, no one. I thought so. I trusted you all.”
Once again, the company members laughed regardless of rank.
“Still, there is one fact you must remember. It isn’t all over yet. The fight against the variants will continue, and other crises may come too. Even after you go back, you will still be soldiers. You can’t completely let down your guard here. No matter what happens, you must always be ready to respond.”
For the moment, though, it was an unreasonable demand. So Gyeoul added a crafted smile to his light tone.
“I’m not saying you shouldn’t rest. It just means that even when you rest, you need to rest while keeping what you need to keep. Something like that.”
Before he even finished speaking, complaints rose with a loud boo.
“If that feels unfair, get discharged. Your citizenship will be revoked, though.”
The jeering grew louder. It was impossible from the start. In wartime, there was no way to discharge at will. With citizenship on the line, few would give it up, and even fewer would want to be hunted as deserters. Gyeoul waited for the playful protests to settle, then announced the end in a calm tone.
“Hmm, I have nothing else to say. The remaining time is for personal maintenance. Unit, dismissed.”
The soldiers scattered while chatting. Gyeoul rolled up his sleeve and checked his wristwatch. There was neither too much nor too little time left before the government statement on Kramer’s exposé.
Footnotes:
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