WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 446: Stuffed Paradise (8)
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Since Gyeoul began staying in Carlisle, one of his main ways to unwind after work had been browsing flowers on the internet. He was choosing arrangements for bouquets to send to Anne's home and office. Once he finished the consultation and placed the order online, the actual delivery would be made either that day or the next.
The rise and fall of this industry was an indirect indicator of America's mood. Countless businesses had closed around the spread of the Great Plague, but after the success of Operation Boar Hunt began turning the general mood of society around, new companies started opening one by one.
Marketing by flower delivery companies aimed at soldiers on the front lines met with moderate success. They had zeroed in on longing for family and lovers.
Gyeoul, worn down by a long-distance relationship, fell for it too. Having used such services now and then since last year, Gyeoul was now paying about two thousand dollars a month as a top-tier member. It was a large sum, but for Gyeoul, who now received more than forty thousand dollars a year from pensions alone, on top of his salary, it was an expense he could handle.
In truth, Gyeoul would not have cared if it had cost more. Anne's smile was worth that much. He also did not place much weight on wealth and glory after death.
Flower delivery companies also offered gift-buying services. In the past, they had only sold fruit baskets, chocolates, and snacks they distributed themselves, but lately, after listening to soldiers' requests, they had expanded their business.
The time he spent looking at flowers and gifts was also time spent imagining Anne receiving them, so for Gyeoul, it was a kind of precious mental rest.
Still, just because the workday was over did not mean he could let his mind drift forever. After confirming the purchase, Gyeoul closed the window on the screen with lingering regret. Then he checked his newly arrived mail.
'More than usual, but...'
Fewer than expected.
Over the past few days, Gyeoul had dealt sincerely with the officers from refugee backgrounds. As a result, they had gathered their opinions as best they could, chosen representatives, and drawn up concrete blueprints for the new refugee corporations they wanted.
Of course, the process could not have been easy. Once the chance was actually given to them, even within the same group, opinions had begun to split in ways obvious even to Gyeoul.
Even so, the fact that they did not drag things out and sent fewer proposals than Gyeoul had expected probably meant they had something called Survival Instinct too.
'If they all came forward claiming they each wanted to be leader because they did not trust one another, or because they wanted honor, power, or whatever else, there is no way I would accept that. I clearly told them I would be taking on debt too.'
In a manner of speaking, gathering opinions was itself a test. Gyeoul had limits, and no matter how pitiful their circumstances were, he had no ability to help every last person trapped in cognitive dissonance or acting however they pleased. Wasn't it common sense to avoid behavior that would put you out of favor with the person offering to help?
The corruption of refugee leaders was also no different from a time bomb. With a bomb that could explode at any moment in their arms, dragging things out because they could not agree was never a wise move.
Who had time to argue over defects in a lifeboat while the ship was sinking? To some extent, they had no choice but to leave it to luck.
Gyeoul glanced at the clock.
After reviewing the proposals, Gyeoul attached his own opinions as planned and forwarded them to the lawmakers he had ties with. If it was only registering a dozen or so additional refugee leaders, perhaps he could see results in the near future. As he had already thought through, the budget was not increasing, was it?
Of course, from the perspective of the refugee leaders who had likely kept the officers breaking away under their corporations, it would feel like a sudden bolt from the blue. In principle, they had nothing to lose, but if even half the testimony from the junior officers clinging to Gyeoul was true, their monetary losses would be substantial.
On the other hand, the junior officers setting up new corporations would have to endure some discomfort for a while.
'Even if the corporation separates, the unit does not.'
Until the White House set off the bomb, they had no choice but to rub shoulders in the same unit. But from the moment they came to Gyeoul, they must have been ready for at least that much.
Gyeoul checked the time once more.
The next mails he opened were mostly from Jang Yeon-cheol and Min Wan-ki. They reported the current situation, received post-approval for work matters, and asked for his opinion on future policy.
The fact that operations ran without trouble on only this much communication was one of the Gyeoul Alliance's strengths.
Min Wan-ki, being who they were, had even used the expression ideal community.
「When I look at the Gyeoul Alliance these days, I find myself thinking it is as if only the strengths of aristocratic society have been extracted and transplanted into a modern community.」
Still a cynical observer of people, Min Wan-ki found the alliance's transformation interesting.
「During the period when imperialism was beginning to sprout, British aristocrats tried to serve as officers even if it meant taking financial losses. Even royalty, in principle, began as an Ensign. That was because it was seen as an honorable thing to do and as the class justification of the aristocracy.」
「Their mindset was that one was not an aristocrat simply because one was born of noble blood, but became an aristocrat only by carrying out noble obligations... Aristocrats like that also looked down on aristocrats who clung only to bloodline.」
「The fact that these so-called noble obligations were stained with invasion, massacre, and base plunder certainly deserves contempt, but in any case, they were far better people than the old-fashioned aristocrats. Within their own fences, they were heroes who pursued Britain's interests with fierce patriotism...」
Gyeoul stopped reading and glanced at the clock again. The time he was waiting for had not come yet, so after staring at it for a long moment and letting out a short sigh, he continued reading.
「...In that context, Little Captain's path is extremely aristocratic. Unlike the British imperialists, even your cause is perfect. Is the quarantine war not a holy war staked on the continuation of humanity? No flaw can exist in the honor that comes from it. As long as we are human, that is.」
「The alliance is, in effect, an organization built from beginning to end by your devotion, and every life enjoyed by belonging to it derives entirely from your honor.」
「So it is understandable that the awareness that one must carry out noble obligations as an example to others in order to become an aristocrat would spread across the alliance.」
The word aristocrat here was being used as a metaphor for the leadership of the community.
'The health of the community... is it?'
Min Wan-ki had written that the people of the alliance were being "purified" or "edified." Visible misconduct was decreasing, selfish conflicts were also declining, and people's willingness to cooperate was growing more and more.
「Of course, generous hearts come from a full storehouse. When life was uncertain day by day, the alliance was quite ugly too.」
「But with material stability and prospects for the future supporting them, it is clear that the identity of the alliance you carved through your actions is being internalized by each of its members. I suppose it would be fair to say that the desire for higher status, which everyone has, has converged into awe and admiration for Lieutenant Colonel Han Gyeoul personally. Pride in the group one belongs to becomes the moral law that corrects behavior...」
Reading that part, Gyeoul remembered what Anne had once told him.
"President Washington said this. Virtue is the source of popular government."
The sensation of their intertwined fingers came back clearly, even now as he remembered that time.
"I believe Gyeoul is already a virtue dwelling in many people's hearts. A virtue that has a positive influence just by being there."
Gyeoul sat dazed for a moment. These days, every time he realized the absence of that kindness and warmth, he felt hollow all over again. This emptiness came to him regardless of time or place.
Min Wan-ki's view was a little different from what Anne believed.
「...This is all thanks to the fact that you have long maintained convictions beyond human limits, but on the other hand, it was also a change possible only because the alliance was a small society, and because humanity stood at the crossroads of survival and extinction.」
「It is unfortunate that this beauty cannot last forever.」
「When the world grows bright, starlight is hidden. From what I have experienced, humans are creatures who lose their way more easily when it is bright.」
「Even so, the star will always remain where it is.」
「I hope that you, the person who was like a star in the darkness, will remain so forever as well.」
"..."
In the end, the personal note Min Wan-ki had written at greater length than the work-related content was an expression of concern in advance, in case the alliance's ideal nature, which would not last forever even as a stuffed paradise, left Gyeoul disappointed. The underlying meaning was that no matter how people changed, Min Wan-ki hoped Gyeoul alone would stay pure as he was now.
For Gyeoul, who had often found himself thinking lately that this seemed to be as far as he could go, it was a passage that left him no choice but to smile bitterly.
Even flowers blooming in snow would wither someday.
Eternity was not a realm granted to people.
Pushing aside the complicated aftertaste, he opened the next mail. The sender was Ross Stallworth, the public defender he had met in D.C. before. Stallworth had defended Clarissa Chadwick and Lieutenant General Xieru. Having become a federal judge through an election, Stallworth had sent Gyeoul a somewhat belated message of thanks.
When they had once walked together inside the federal Supreme Court, Gyeoul had mentioned financial help, but Stallworth had not needed a huge campaign fund to win the judicial election. Gyeoul had merely mentioned Stallworth's name on SNS and elsewhere, saying he had been impressed by the public defender's strong professional ethics.
This was the influence of Gyeoul, who had even been called a second running mate during the presidential election. Many citizens had cast their votes for someone Lieutenant Colonel Han Gyeoul had expressed goodwill toward.
Of course, it was not as if no money had been spent at all. But since the donations used had been screened by source and were not government funds, it was fair to say no one could pick at that part. In America, it was very common for nonprofit corporations like the alliance to provide campaign funds.
This was an issue the Supreme Court had ruled constitutional.
Among those who made these donations was Ju Wei. Thanks to her looks and singing ability, called one in a billion in the literal sense, and her role in testifying to the corruption and political oppression of old China, she had built a foothold in the American entertainment world. By now, she had become one of the sponsors of the Gyeoul Alliance.
'Is there no mail from Lieutenant Colonel Tan Guosheng?'
Even after Gyeoul scrolled all the way down, Tan Guosheng's name was not among the senders.
Since the execution of his mother, Lieutenant General Xieru, he had continued refusing contact from Gyeoul. He did not pick up calls and did not reply to texts. So Gyeoul had found out his mail account and sent him several proposals.
Just in case, Gyeoul clicked the read receipt, and it seemed he had at least read it.
This world's present owed a debt to Lieutenant General Xieru. As long as that debt existed, Gyeoul would remember the general's last words.
But one could lead a horse to water, not force it to drink. From Tan Guosheng's perspective, it would not have been strange if he felt insulted by the proposal to join the U.S. military. Gyeoul, who had deceived him in the first place, was U.S. military too. Also, his mother had been sentenced to death in an American court. Even if it had been what she herself wanted, if he wished to resent someone, he could have found reasons as much as he liked.
It was the difference between resenting because there was a reason, and looking for a reason because you wanted to resent.
Fortunately, if that was the right word, just as Lieutenant General Xieru had predicted, among the officers and soldiers other than Tan Guosheng, there were some who had sent positive signals toward Gyeoul's proposal.
If Tan Guosheng stubbornly refused to come out into the world, Gyeoul would have to choose someone among the others to become their representative.
'I need to sort things out one by one...'
Contrary to Lieutenant General Xieru's request, Gyeoul did not necessarily have to take them directly under his command. Unless something unexpected happened, Gyeoul would be promoted to general officer during Kramer's term. Once he wore a star, he would be able to manage them in more varied ways.
Related to that, though it was a slightly different matter, people who liked Gyeoul were disappointed that he had missed promotion to the youngest brigadier general.
The person who became a general at the youngest age in American history was Major General Pennypacker, the "Hero of Fort Fisher," who enlisted at sixteen and became a brigadier general at twenty. Like Gyeoul, Pennypacker was also a Medal of Honor recipient.
There had also been someone during World War II who was promoted faster than Gyeoul. The late Brigadier General James Stewart began military service as an army private in March of 1941 and put on the rank of colonel in January of 1944. In other words, James Stewart had risen from private to colonel in only two years and nine months.
Gyeoul learned these facts through feature articles about him. They compared and analyzed him against other war heroes in history.
President Kramer, sensitive to approval ratings, was aware of this public opinion too. Since he had a strong flair for showmanship, he often left suggestive remarks on social media that stirred people's expectations.
This was one of the grounds on which Gyeoul predicted the possibility of his own promotion to general officer. Even if it was difficult right now, he would probably wear a star before the administration changed... That was what he thought.
Footnotes:
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