WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Little Prince in the Ossuary

00043 #Internal Affairs (4), Camp Roberts

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Gyeoul Alliance had grown fast. It started with four large tents and fewer than eighty people. Now they were closing in on three hundred. Screening new applicants fell to the two vice-captains. Jang Yeon-cheol and Min Wan-ki had agreed to stop taking people in and brought the decision to Gyeoul after the fact. Their reasoning was simple: any more, and management would become impossible.

The side effects were already beginning to show. Yu Jae-heung the dog thief was a prime example. But he wasn't the only one. Plenty of people had joined hoping to coast on borrowed authority. Until now, that had been the law of the refugee zone. A predatory pyramid built on exploitation.

Other problems weighed on Gyeoul too. Stopping new individual admissions had been unavoidable.

Instead, they pulled in groups, offering protection and asking for cooperation in return.

With that, the Gyeoul Alliance had become a true alliance in every sense of the word. It was the natural next step. The Damul Promotion Association alone had over a thousand members. Real safety meant a larger force.

Yeon-cheol was the one who suggested a symbol. He found a skilled craftsperson among the members and set them to work making white ribbons tied into multiple knots. He called it the "Snowflake."

Allied organizations hung Snowflakes at the entrances of their tents. The practice caught on fast. Whole sections divided by barbed wire fell entirely under their control.

Where Wan-ki's stamina fell short, Yeon-cheol more than made up for it. He moved with the energy of a man who had finally found something worth living for. He became the go-between as well, carrying the allied groups' requests back to Gyeoul.

When even that outward expansion hit its limits, he came forward with something bolder.

"Let's split the other organizations from the inside."

Cough, cough. Min Wan-ki, who had come down with a cold from accumulated exhaustion, managed to ask between fits.

"That won't be easy. Can you really do it?"

"Absolutely!"

The younger vice-captain was tense, but his conviction came through.

"Organizations like the Korean Patriotic Association are rotten with internal corruption. Until now they managed to keep the lid on it by bullying weaker groups and taking what they wanted, but we've made that a lot harder for them. The resentment building from the bottom up is enormous."

"So you want to blow that open? Isn't that too dangerous?"

Gyeoul asked. Yeon-cheol shook his head.

"I've built good contacts doing this work. I won't be the face anyone sees."

A very different side of him from the first impression he had made. Then again, if he was capable of this, it made sense he had been at the center of things before Gyeoul arrived.

'Responsibility alone can carry a person a long way, even without raw talent.'

If someone had no talent whatsoever, that was one thing. Yeon-cheol was clearly not that kind of person.

Gyeoul pushed back.

"From where I'm standing, it still seems risky. I appreciate how hard you're working, but if something happened to Vice-Captain Jang, that would be a real problem. The Gyeoul Alliance is still finding its feet."

"Honestly, I'm not that important a person."

Yeon-cheol laughed, though his shoulders stayed tight.

"No one can fill Little Captain's role, but mine is different. In terms of ability, there are plenty of people who could do what I do. I could even recommend some."

"If we're only talking about ability, sure."

That answer landed wrong. There's a difference between saying something about yourself and having someone actually agree. Reason and feeling don't always move together. He'd probably been hoping for a different answer. Gyeoul continued quietly.

"But look at what you've actually built. Nobody doubts the work the two vice-captains have put in, do they? Having the ability to do something and having actually done it are entirely different things, don't you think? Who could replace the trust Vice-Captain Jang has built?"

"Trust..."

"Even if I brought in someone capable right now, would I be able to trust them the way I trust Vice-Captain Jang?"

Responsibility is only proven through action. That was what Gyeoul meant. Yeon-cheol was visibly moved despite himself, and Gyeoul pressed the point home.

"I want to say no to this plan. This is a time to strengthen what we have. I can't afford to have Vice-Captain Jang in danger."

"I agree."

Between coughs, Min Wan-ki took Gyeoul's side.

"Even if Vice-Captain Jang's plan succeeds, there's still a problem. Ahem! That would push the other organizations too far into a corner. There's no guarantee they won't make extreme moves. Cough. Even if they don't come after us directly, what if they start going after our allied groups instead?"

Yeon-cheol pushed back.

"Then we find the culprits and punish them hard."

Wan-ki frowned.

"We've grown too big too fast. The territory is too wide. Can we track down culprits every time something happens? And even if we do, what if they cut their losses and hand over some fall guy? What do we do then? Cough, ahem! Just turn around and tear down their home base? No. We can't. We're the role model the U.S. military has held up. We can't do anything insane."

His voice was heavy with exhaustion as he drove it home.

"If that happens a few times and trust in the Gyeoul Alliance crumbles, everything we've worked for until now will have been for nothing."

A fair point.

"Then what about this?"

Undeterred, Yeon-cheol tried again.

"We do it quietly. Nothing surfaces."

"Nothing surfaces... ah. Spies?"

Yeon-cheol nodded.

"Why should we be the only ones taking hits? A few small favors here and there, and you'll have more people willing to feed us information from the inside than you can count."

"Vice-Captain Jang, you've changed a lot from when I first met you."

At that, Yeon-cheol went red. He seemed to have taken it as an accusation of becoming underhanded.

"No, well, that is, experiences pile up and you can't really help it..."

He snuck a glance at Wan-ki, who was too busy coughing to notice. Gyeoul had picked up on it for a while now, that edge of inferiority Yeon-cheol felt toward his fellow vice-captain. This confirmed it.

'He's been watching and learning.'

Imitating a rival is natural. And you can only mimic what you're already capable of doing.

"What are you embarrassed about? That was a compliment."

"...Was it?"

Still too sheepish to qualify as truly underhanded. Yeon-cheol tried to pull the mood back together.

"Ah, anyway. Now or never. The Gyeoul Alliance has been growing so fast that everyone's off balance. They all think we're the winning side now. We have to move before people's heads cool down. It'll help with the problem you mentioned before too, Little Captain. The drugs, or whatever..."

"You want to gather inside information on the other organizations."

"Exactly!"

Gyeoul turned it over in his mind. Given how hard Yeon-cheol had pushed for it, this was clearly his trump card, something prepared carefully before bringing it to the table. Not just the personal risk, but Yeon-cheol's motivation going forward. That had to factor in.

"Give it a try."

Finally, Gyeoul agreed.

"Really?!"

His face lit up. Gyeoul urged him to be careful.

"On the condition that safety always comes first."

"Of course! Nothing matters to me more than my own life."

"Good. I'll trust you on this. Vice-Captain Min, please give him all the support you can."

"Cough, ahem. I will."

Wan-ki answered in a phlegm-roughened voice. Now that Gyeoul had given the go-ahead, he clearly had no intention of continuing to object. He looked drained, too.

Gyeoul thought that was the end of it. But Yeon-cheol still had more to say.

"There's one more thing I'd like to bring up..."

"Go ahead."

"There are people who want to join the Gyeoul Alliance."

Gyeoul tilted his head.

"Weren't we done accepting new direct members for now?"

"Well, they're people who genuinely can't manage on their own..."

"Can't manage on their own?"

"They have disabilities."

"I'm opposed."

That last line was Wan-ki's. It came so fast that Yeon-cheol blinked. The feelings surfaced a beat later. Before Yeon-cheol could get a word in, brow already furrowing, Wan-ki pressed on.

"The Gyeoul Alliance's composition is already out of balance as it is. The gender ratio... cough... the gender ratio can't be helped, but there are too many elderly people, too many children, too many mothers with young children. Before the Miracle of Santa Maria, other organizations openly mocked us for it. Adding people with disabilities on top of that would be a problem. Ahem, ahem. I know full well how those people are treated, and I do feel for them, but we have to be cold-eyed about this."

Yeon-cheol's face darkened. A flicker of anger, too.

Gyeoul watched them both. There were times when Wan-ki seemed to oppose things purely for the sake of opposing Yeon-cheol. This felt like one of those moments.

'Is he showing me something?'

He knew exactly why there were two vice-captains.

'Or maybe this is for Yeon-cheol's sake.'

He knew Gyeoul's tendencies. If he had raised an objection precisely because he anticipated Gyeoul granting Yeon-cheol's wish, what then? If Gyeoul sided with Yeon-cheol, Yeon-cheol would walk away with a little more confidence.

Of course, there was no guarantee that was purely selfless. Wan-ki had his own reasons too. Inferiority has a way of turning into hostility. True mutual counterbalance.

So both readings could be true at once.

Yeon-cheol's voice rose.

"These people came looking for us before. Before Little Captain arrived. Vice-Captain Min, don't you remember? Even we, people with nowhere to turn ourselves, turned them away because we couldn't take them in. And now you want to push them out again?"

Something like that had happened, then.

"Have you forgotten Little Captain's inaugural speech? We're the people choosing the harder road. People who want to live with their dignity intact. Isn't that right, Captain?"

Setting aside the rest of it, Gyeoul nodded.

"That's right. Still, I'll meet them before deciding. I can't bring people in without knowing who they are."

Yeon-cheol's face brightened.

"When would you like to meet them?"

"Is right now possible?"

"Of course! They said they'd be waiting. I'll go get them right away."

He was up and out in an instant. Predictably, Wan-ki didn't look particularly disappointed. He coughed harder than before, said he needed to rest, and went looking for his bedding.

A little while later, Yeon-cheol came back with seventeen people in tow. From the way they were all hunched in on themselves, you could read what kind of treatment they had been getting. Their representative, at least, appeared composed on the surface. An elderly woman who had aged gracefully. Even in dirty clothes, she wore them with care. Yeon-cheol made the introduction.

"This is Grandmother Kang Yeong-sun, who leads this community of people with disabilities. She has a speech impediment, so she'll communicate in writing. Ah, do you happen to know sign language?"

Gyeoul shook his head. It wasn't a critical skill, so the experience cost was low, but his available pool was limited too. Because of Instruction. He needed to keep a reserve for survival skills, just in case.

She had apparently been hoping. Yeon-cheol was a little crestfallen. There were signs he idolized Gyeoul, viewing him as some kind of superhuman who never fell short. He said,

"He can hear just fine, so you can speak freely."

"I will. Vice-Captain Jang, would you mind stepping out for a moment?"

"Pardon?"

He had clearly assumed he would be part of the conversation. Yeon-cheol hesitated. When Gyeoul just kept looking at him quietly, he slowly stood. Before leaving, he turned to the old woman with a word of encouragement.

"Grandmother, it'll work out. Little Captain is a good person."

Said right in front of the person in question. The old woman smiled, clearly amused. Gyeoul offered a polite greeting.

"You probably already know who I am, but let me introduce myself properly. I'm Han Gyeoul. I lead the people here. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The old woman opened a small notebook, wrote for a moment, and turned the page toward Gyeoul.

「It's a pleasure. I'm Kang Yeong-sun. You carry yourself well. Up close, you're even better than from a distance.」

Gyeoul smiled.

"Thank you for the kind words. Your handwriting is beautiful."

She wrote one more line and showed it to him.

「For me, it's like a voice.」

A lovely comparison. It said something about who she was as a person.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried