WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 318: Return (1)

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“What song was that?”

Lieutenant Murray’s question brought Gyeoul back to himself. Inside the cargo bay of the transport plane bound for Fort Roberts, the staff officers and NCOs sitting in rows had all turned to look at him, as if they had just seen something terribly fascinating. The only exception was Communications Officer Evans, who was suffering from airsickness as usual.

“Ah...”

Gyeoul felt a little embarrassed. That had been a mistake. Without realizing it, he must have been humming something from the time he had spent with Gaeul. He had sunk into a peaceful memory and forgotten his surroundings.

“It’s just... a Korean song. You probably wouldn’t know it even if I told you the title.”

His answer was calm, but his cheeks warmed a little. As he had told Star Child, Gyeoul did not sing in front of people easily. It felt too much like showing them what was inside him exactly as it was.

Murray smiled, and the other staff officers seemed amused too.

“That’s rare. The Company Commander must be in a good mood as well.”

“Yes. I suppose I am.”

They were thinking of different reasons, but the words still fit.

Whoa. A cheerful stir spread through the cabin. The center of gravity had tilted forward. It could have been an altitude adjustment due to turbulence, but nearly forty minutes had already passed since takeoff, so they were more likely descending to land. Sacramento to Fort Roberts was only 330 kilometers one way.

Sure enough, an announcement came from the cockpit that they had reached their destination.

The soldiers cheered.

Lieutenant Foster spoke to Gyeoul.

“If we’d moved under our own power according to the original plan, we’d be having a pretty rough time right about now. Being assigned three transport planes... It really makes me feel how much better our situation has gotten.”

“It will get even better from here.”

“I’m looking forward to it. At the same time, I’m a little nervous.”

“Nervous?”

“We’ve never experienced a refugee zone, have we? I imagine it will be very different from ordinary civil affairs operations.”

“You don’t need to worry. Most matters will be handled by the military government office.”

Unless a riot broke out, there would be no need for the army to intervene. Except for those connected to the military government office, including Gyeoul.

The troops aboard the cargo bay amounted to about half the company. Two following transport planes were carrying the other half of the troops and the equipment essential to operating the unit. The remaining vehicles would be handed over later, over time. In fact, the issue of transporting that equipment had almost forced the company to move to Fort Roberts under its own power.

With the whir of motors, outside light and wind began to leak into the passenger compartment. The soldiers reached out haphazardly toward the sunlight coming through the widening crack in the door. Over the speaker, the pilot imitated a passenger airline attendant.

「Opening ramp. Please make sure you do not leave any belongings behind when disembarking. Have a pleasant and happy day, everyone. Thank you.」

Controlling the troops was the job of the platoon leaders and the First Sergeant.

“All personnel, stand!”

The cabin fell quiet, while loud noise poured in from outside. Heard one way, it almost sounded like screaming. Across the airport, beyond the restricted line, countless people were waving Snowflake knots. A few soldiers quietly wiped at their eyes.

A short distance from the runway, the company members’ families and acquaintances had come out to meet them. Along with the military police guiding them, the current base commander, Colonel Laughlin, could also be seen.

No, he was not a colonel anymore.

While the company members from the refugee zone shared tearful reunions with the people waiting for them, Gyeoul saluted Brigadier General Laughlin.

“Sir.”

“Good to see you. It really has been a long time.”

The brigadier general held out his hand. After shaking it, Gyeoul looked at his rank insignia and said,

“Congratulations on your promotion. You became a general, just as you wanted.”

At those words, Laughlin showed playful discomfort.

“Oh? You still remember that conversation?”

“I have a fairly good memory.”

“I can’t beat you. Congratulations to you as well. When I last saw you, you were a Lieutenant, and now you’ve come back as a Lieutenant Colonel before even a year has passed. At this rate, you might be wearing a star in your twenties.”

“That is far too distant a future.”

“Well. I wonder how it will turn out...”

Gyeoul changed the subject.

“Will you begin the handover of base operations today?”

“No. We’re not exactly drowning in time, but there’s no need to rush that much. I only came out to see your face for now. I don’t intend to take much of your time. You and your soldiers must all have people you’ve missed. Look over there.”

The brigadier general pointed beyond the wire fence. Since they had not been allowed into the airport, they probably had no connection to the company members. In other words, most of that crowd had gathered to see Gyeoul.

“Those people heard you were coming and have been waiting since dawn.”

“Yes... Their nationalities are surprisingly diverse.”

“Surprising?”

Laughlin reacted as if he had heard an amusing joke.

“Well, fine. Let’s call it surprising. I’ll tell you in advance, the Chinese refugees wanted to come out too. But every request was blocked at the police level. They said there was a possibility of assassination.”

The words were spoken casually, but their content was heavy. If he was bringing it up this way when he had only come out to see Gyeoul, unrelated to official duties, then it was likely an issue he had been paying close attention to for some time.

“Is the atmosphere still bad?”

“Well, yes. There are lunatics who treat you like the enemy who stopped their country’s revenge.”

Contempt and disgust passed over the brigadier general’s face. What Gyeoul read inside him, and the emotions conveyed through 「Perception」, were deep and dark from beginning to end. Dark enough to be closer to hatred.

There must have been a lot of friction during administration all this time.

At a guess, the trouble caused by the Chinese refugees had probably been worsened by discrimination against them. Cause and effect might even have been reversed. Even measures to isolate and intern Chinese citizens were being discussed, so how much worse must the treatment of Chinese refugees have been? The person in charge of the base himself held resentment toward them.

“The revenge I supposedly stopped must be the nuclear attack.”

“Yes. I even hear insane talk about how it’s a shame more American bastards didn’t die back then. They watch themselves and keep it hushed up, but there are still plenty who firmly believe Morgellons is a weapon made by us Americans. Even the quiet-looking majority tacitly sympathizes with that belief. Truly irritating people. I’d rather gather every last one of them and drive them outside the border.”

“...”

“By comparison, the other residence districts were very easy to handle. They followed control measures well too. As for the Japanese, though... hmm... After the cannibalism incident, they’ve been so quiet it gives me chills, I suppose...”

The longer he spoke, the deeper the ill will he revealed became. He had not originally been this sort of person. The circumstances he had described so far also seemed to contain personal assumptions.

Perhaps he realized something was off himself, because the brigadier general gave an awkward smile.

“It seems I’m holding you here with pointless talk.”

“No, sir.”

“Don’t be polite. We can discuss the serious matters tomorrow... hmm, would nine-thirty in the morning work?”

“Of course.”

“Then I’ll send someone at that time. The military police will guide you to the garrison. The zone must look very unfamiliar now, so take a good look.”

“Anyway, it was good to see you.”

After patting Gyeoul on the shoulder, the brigadier general climbed into the waiting Humvee.

Not long after the first transport plane cleared the runway, the second transport plane crossed the northern ridge and landed. The clothes of the people waiting fluttered in the strong wind for a moment, and when Captain Singh led the 3rd Platoon and Weapons Platoon down the ramp, another passionate welcome rose up.

The soldiers who, like Gyeoul, had neither family nor acquaintances there looked a little gloomy.

Normally, Yura would have looked after them, but right now, she had tears brimming in her eyes and no attention to spare. She was nestled in the arms of a small, wrinkled old woman, rubbing her head against her.

“Grandma. Grandma...”

“There, there, my Yura. My sweet girl, how hard must it have been for you all this time? Do you know how worried this old woman was when I heard you were hurt?”

“Yeah...”

“I’m glad you look all right.”

The old woman who had been warmly embracing her granddaughter suddenly went, “Hm?” and looked at Gyeoul, as if she had only just noticed him. Then she calmed Yura down. In a soft whisper, she said she needed to greet him. After wiping her tears and nodding several times, Yura led the old woman in front of her superior.

“Commander. This is my grandmother. She said she wanted to greet you.”

Gyeoul politely lowered his head.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Han Gyeoul.”

The old woman clasped Gyeoul’s hand.

“Our Lieutenant Colonel has such fine manners. I am Park Dal-ja, written with the characters for Dal-ja. Thank you very much for taking good care of our Yura.”

She spoke in Korean, likely because she was too old to learn English now, and even that sounded quite awkward because standard Korean seemed difficult for her. Gyeoul added a smile to his courtesy.

“You may speak comfortably, elder. And Lieutenant Lee Yura is actually the one who helps me far more. The company members rely on her emotionally as well.”

At times like this, what a commander should say was practically set in stone, but dialect slipped out of the deeply pleased old woman.

“This girl was always real kind since she was little, always helping others too. Though I worried because she never looked after her own share. Still, after she went out saying she’d become a soldier, I worried a lot, so hearing she’s doing well makes me surprised and proud both... Oh my, I went and stopped using Seoul speech.”

Yura looked at the embarrassed old woman with a soft gaze.

But that lasted only a moment. The old woman clasped her hands and asked Gyeoul,

“What do you think of our Yura, Lieutenant Colonel?”

“As I said a moment ago, I think she is an excellent officer...”

“Not that. As a man, how do you see her-”

“Grandma!”

Yura flushed in an instant and shrieked. Old Park Dal-ja jumped in surprise.

“You girl, this old woman’s heart near fell right out!”

“My heart is falling out too! Why would you ask that?”

“Why else? I want to see you get married before I die. How much longer will this old woman live?”

“...”

“Seeing how you’re acting, I guess nothing happened with the Lieutenant Colonel.”

The old woman spoke with regret.

“A man’s heart comes first. Even if it isn’t the Lieutenant Colonel here, this old woman hopes you find a good-hearted person soon.”

“...”

“And after the heart comes that thing. If it’s too big, it acts like it’s worth the size, and if it’s small, there’s no fun at night, so you make sure to find a man with pale skin and something solid-”

“Grand-ma!”

When Yura looked close to tears, Park Dal-ja seemed disappointed.

“What, are you ashamed of this old woman?”

“No, that’s not it...”

“Listen well to what I’m saying. It’s all talk that becomes blood, flesh, and babies.”

“What do you mean, becomes babies!”

“Aaaaaaah! I’m sorry, Commander! Excuse us!”

Leaving behind an apology that sounded like a scream, Yura lifted the old woman with her trained strength and carried her away. Amid the gazes peeking over to see what had happened, Gyeoul felt slightly stunned.

Footnotes:

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