WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 323: Return (6)

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The next day, Gyeoul had an early breakfast with the two department heads. The restaurant, open since dawn, was packed with people ordering baekban. Most were Korean refugees, though here and there were people with different hair and skin colors. They handled their chopsticks awkwardly, and although they were armed, they did not look like soldiers.

“They are civilian transport contractors hired by the Ordnance Bureau.”

Min Wan-ki, having emptied the bowl, set down the spoon and chopsticks.

“I heard they originally only went as far as the blockade line, but once Boar Hunt began producing real results, volunteers started going into the contaminated zone as well. The area around Fort Roberts had already been classified as safe before the mainland reclamation was complete, after all. They do get hazard pay, apparently.”

That made sense. The current U.S. military had a high proportion of combat personnel, so there was only so much the Ordnance Bureau could do to move supplies forward on its own. Just as the Air Force had used civilian pilots to search for missing persons after Shangjiang Yang Yongbin’s nuclear attack, the Army also used civilian manpower for logistics and supply.

“Hmm. They look uncomfortable, but they’re still eating diligently. I wonder if it suits their tastes.”

At Gyeoul’s words, Jang Yeon-cheol smiled.

“I would say it is more of a cultural trend than a matter of taste. In the end, even this is thanks to you, Captain.”

Even though the mood seemed pleasant, from the moment they sat down until now, the two department heads had treated each other as if the other did not exist. Outwardly, they still had to look as though they were on bad terms.

Min Wan-ki had once said that the factions had been deliberately split for Gyeoul’s return. The idea was to make people exhausted by repeated conflict long for the days when Gyeoul had been there.

In the end, this meeting was half for show too. The eyes inside the restaurant had been fixed on them for some time.

“After breakfast, will you be going to see Brigadier General Laughlin?”

Gyeoul nodded at Jang Yeon-cheol’s question.

“I should. It’s not as if I have all that much time.”

“Has any plan been made regarding the newly established Companies?”

It was time to exchange the questions and answers they had prepared in advance. Gyeoul shook his head.

“No. Still, I do have something in mind personally.”

“Oh. Now I am curious. As you know, expectations within the alliance are extremely high. They believe you will make positions for them, Captain. Around here, there is no surer path upward than becoming a soldier.”

“Well. I think things may be a little different from now on.”

“What do you mean by different?”

“I mean that if we have manpower to spare, especially men, it may be better to send them to reconstruction projects.”

“Why is that?”

“Department Head Jang, look at the composition of the troops under my command right now. Even when selecting combat soldiers, male applicants still make up the larger share. Even Lieutenant Lee Yura’s platoon is like that... The problem is, the people with the skills needed for reconstruction projects are also more often men. Electricians, construction engineers, specialized welders, heavy equipment license holders, lathe operators, things like that.”

“Ah...”

“I understand wanting to enlist, even if it’s only for citizenship. Still, we have to look farther ahead. California’s reconstruction projects will mean money, yes, but they’ll also be a chance to build careers that count in America. If people don’t want to struggle with local gatekeeping later, they need to start securing places in each industry now.”

“That makes sense. You have thought about this a great deal.”

It was a slightly embarrassing bit of theater. As if Yeon-cheol had not already expected it.

Min Wan-ki affirmed Gyeoul’s words, still without so much as glancing toward Yeon-cheol.

“It feels rather like looking at the old United States.”

“The old United States?”

The middle-aged scholar smiled at Gyeoul’s question.

“Yes. There was a time when the landowning class formed this country’s upper class. The descendants of the founding powers, English immigrants who owned vast farms.”

“And?”

“While they remained satisfied with their existing privileges, the poor who arrived in America later had no choice but to enter commerce and industry, whether they liked it or not. There were no other options. But in the end, that led to a reversal of social advantage. In other words, the Irish immigrants who had once been treated like beggars ended up standing on the heads of the plantation owners. Depending on one’s view, this is considered one of the causes of the Civil War. After the war, the ruined landowning class came to be treated as southern hicks.”

“Rednecks.”

“Correct.”

It had not been part of the plan, but the intent was easy to understand.

“There is definitely something in common. It’s better to prepare for the future than cling to what looks stable and attractive right now. And economic power matters too.”

Gyeoul nodded and brought up another argument.

“Honestly, we should worry about the sex ratio too. We’re already badly short on men, aren’t we?”

Jang Yeon-cheol cut in with an answer.

“Yes. It was a problem even before the alliance was formed, but it has grown worse recently as refugees from elsewhere have joined us. Among the maritime refugees who escaped Korea late in particular, you could almost say there are no young men.”

“They must have been spent buying time for the escape. To begin with, people of conscription age likely weren’t even allowed onto the ships... And some of the survivors would still be on active duty.”

The Korean government had currently given up on the Korean mainland and was waiting only for the United States to approve its asylum request. Therefore, the remaining military would also be tied down on a few secured islands.

Because of that, the sex ratio from the late teens to early thirties was skewed to an abnormal degree.

“Anyway.”

Gyeoul changed his tone.

“For now, it isn’t realistic to select a full Company only from Koreans. We’ll have to fill it with other nationalities. If enough women volunteer for combat roles, then we can review it again.”

The prepared conversation ended there.

If the words exchanged here spread by word of mouth, there would be less noise later when Companies of other nationalities were organized. Resentment that good opportunities had been taken by refugees of other nationalities. At the very least, complaints that it had been a rash decision would not appear, or even if they did, they would be quieter.

To some people, Gyeoul’s age was still a weakness. They thought he might lack experience.

“I’ll get going now. There is still quite a bit of time until my appointment, but I have duties to handle as a unit commander.”

At Gyeoul’s words, the two department heads stood together. Gyeoul opened his wallet to pay, but the old owner waved both hands and refused. The owner said it was enough that Little Captain had come. But Gyeoul insisted on paying. If it had been last year, he would have accepted it as pure goodwill, but his position had changed now. At least when dealing with ordinary people. The owner looked disappointed after taking the money.

Afterward, at 9:30 in the morning.

Brigadier General Laughlin, whom Gyeoul met in the office, began with this out of nowhere.

“I had this thought last night. Since I’ll be leaving soon anyway, what if I take the hit?”

Gyeoul tilted his head.

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“The Chinese. Even if there is nothing to be done about the officers, I’m thinking of canceling the call-up for the volunteers, at least. If the troops they’re supposed to command disappear, the officers will effectively be relieved of their posts too. Hmm, nominally, would it be an indefinite standby for assignment?”

“...”

“Of course, they’ll be furious. Even so, they won’t explode. They know very well that causing a disturbance in times like these will only hurt them. There is also the expectation they have of you, isn’t there? That if Lieutenant Colonel Han Gyeoul becomes base commander, he may set things back to how they were. That they should endure and wait until then.”

“You’re telling me to use that expectation?”

“Exactly. They will be quite grateful even if you simply restore their original status. In truth, nothing will have changed from now... But wouldn’t it be a good way to make them feel indebted from the start without actually giving anything extra? It would also help a little in running the base.”

There was no way they had coordinated beforehand, but it was a suggestion in the same vein as the conversation that had passed between Gyeoul and Kathleen. It was simply more active. The dark-skinned brigadier general showed white teeth.

“Well, if you don’t feel like doing it when the time comes, you can simply leave them be. They are troops with nowhere in particular to send anyway. An ally you cannot trust is the worst enemy.”

“Do you see them as dangerous?”

“Of course.”

The answer was crisp and firm.

“Let’s set aside the fact that they used to call themselves gangsters. Even ex-convicts can become police officers. But they are also, in effect, enemy aliens. You... judging by your face, you disagree. Let’s move past that. I mean that is how it looks in general. At any rate, if it wouldn’t be strange for those fellows to hold a grudge against the country called America, what could make us trust them enough to deploy them on the quarantine front?”

Given the nature of the plague, even a small crack became a threat that could not be ignored. The brigadier general was hinting at the possibility that one platoon, or one Company, blinded by revenge, could become a second Yang Yongbin. Even if the probability was extremely low, with countless lives at stake, it was difficult to ignore. Even if they were assigned only to convoy escort, concerns about betrayal would arise. Stabbing allies in the back, or becoming carriers of the plague.

‘If Chinese soldiers were dispersed as individuals... no, that still won’t work.’

Gyeoul briefly thought of a simple alternative, then realized it was something he could not bring himself to do. Aversion toward Chinese people would likely be common even among front-line soldiers. Ostracism and abuse would be inevitable. The death of Private Danny Chen, which the president had mentioned before, had also been caused by that.

Ah.

Only now did Gyeoul finally understand Jeffrey’s decision. When he heard that someone with Jeffrey’s personality had refused to accept soldiers from Chinese refugee backgrounds, he had honestly found it strange, but he had not thought deeply about it. He had simply let it pass. Looking back now, there had been a reason.

No matter how moderate and sensible a commander might be, they would naturally hesitate to accept recruits whom most of their subordinates disliked. Who knew what violence might be inflicted out of sight? And since Jeffrey was not the commander of an independent unit, he also had to consider the tendencies of his direct superior and senior commanders.

It was an endlessly favorable interpretation, but the strengthened 「Insight」 affirmed Gyeoul’s intuition.

From that perspective, the request Lieutenant Colonel Capston had supposedly made struck him in a new light. Capston must have had confidence in being able to keep firm control over the unit. It seemed that had not worked on Brigadier General Laughlin, though.

Coincidentally, the brigadier general also pointed out that same issue.

“The biggest problem is that I’m probably not the only one who feels this way. Even I wonder how I ended up like this, so how much worse would soldiers with relatively less responsibility be? Would the other commanders be fine? Even among the officers who passed through this base, there were many who openly hated them.”

“I understand. So for the sake of the Chinese soldiers themselves, they cannot simply be assigned to any unit.”

“Right. Send them separately, and they’ll die. Send them together, and something will blow. With very high probability.”

Therefore, the concern the brigadier general had mentioned first was cast in a new light. It meant that if unjust treatment kept piling up, even madness that had not existed before might be born. It had a logic of its own.

After a quiet moment, Laughlin gave a dry laugh.

“Somehow I feel like I got pointlessly worked up. I thought it was a decent plan, in my own way. A plausible gift for the lieutenant colonel who will have to take over this troublesome base.”

“No. Thanks to you, I realized there was something I had failed to see.”

“Hmm. You? Really?”

The doubtful brigadier general shrugged.

“That hardly matters... So, Lieutenant Colonel, are you for it or against it? Judging by your expression so far, you do not seem inclined to bury those fellows entirely. Even so, it should help.”

“I’m against it.”

“Why? Does it feel too much like trickery for your taste?”

“No. I think methods like this are sometimes necessary for good outcomes. People have limits, don’t they? I simply judged that there is a high chance they will see through our intent.”

“Are you speaking from experience?”

“Yes.”

“I see...”

Brigadier General Laughlin trailed off and gave up with a somewhat regretful look.

“If you say so, then that’s how it is. A pity.”

“I’m grateful that you considered it for me.”

“No need for thanks. It wasn’t even useful. Enough of that. From now on, let’s talk about actual work. Before you go to D.C., you need to experience acting commander duties too, so I can hand the position over as soon as you return. If I get stuck here even one day longer than the scheduled date, I may suffocate to death.”

From the shuddering brigadier general, Gyeoul caught a glimpse of plain sincerity.

Footnotes:

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