Commando March.
As the name suggests, it’s the march included in the commando training. It usually refers to the marches to and from the commando training field.
This year was the first march since Haeun Military Academy adopted it as part of the curriculum. Though it was the first, the officers whimsically declared it a future highlight.
The first-ever grand commando march, now spotlighted as a future attraction, was first undertaken by the second-year students.
With a star like Kim Seyun, who didn’t pale even compared to the third-year sergeants, and preferring to toughen up the growing second-year students rather than sending off the graduating sergeants, the choice was clear.
The first implementation of this training drew attention not just from the officers but even from the media.
No one really wanted to imagine how tough it would be.
The destination, the commando field, was located about 30 kilometers away from the academy, nestled in the middle of a mountain.
Yay!
A journey of walking 30 kilometers while carrying a 40-kilogram load!
Just walk for 50 minutes and rest for 10 minutes, and repeat this only 5 times!
The commando and marching instructors were composed of third-year sergeants, with Sergeant Ahn Sungho already famous for being at the commando field.
“Yay! I can’t wait to get home!”
Park Jinsung, along with the other second-year students of the 2nd Company, gathered in the training field.
Naturally, the training field was packed with soldiers. Many eyes curiously watched Kim Seyun and the mysterious F-grade soldier.
“Deputy, are you okay?”
“What is?”
“If you’re okay, then that’s good.”
“Don’t start asking something then stop halfway.”
Kim Seyun was particularly on edge at the moment.
The weather was scorching hot, adding to the annoyance of carrying unnecessary loads.
Everything was irritating – those who filled their military gear with boxes, those who sneaked peeks, and most of all, those who blatantly scorned Park Jinsung.
“Hehe.”
Honestly, even the seemingly oblivious Park Jinsung, whether he noticed the scorn or not, was slightly annoying to her.
To dismiss Park Jinsung’s performance simply because his Edeya is F-grade seems unfair.
“Sigh. If only his overall combat ability could be reassessed, it might be better.”
“Kim Seyun? Kim Seyun? What do you mean by ‘it might be better’?”
“Well, for one, I’m not okay at all.”
“Ah.”
The 2nd Company’s first vehicle, carrying the officers, was the first to leave the parade ground, followed by an ambulance with the battalion’s top military doctor.
Finally, the 1st Platoon of the 2nd Company started.
Since the departure was in platoon order, the 10th Platoon would be the last to leave.
“Hey, trainee. Did you bring enough water and blister patches?”
“What are blister patches? Isn’t it enough to just bring a lot of water?”
“Ha. Don’t come asking to borrow any later.”
Kim Seyun adjusted her military boots as she spoke. Park Jinsung gently supported her load as she bent down with her gear on.
“Kim Seyun, can you ask if we can take off these berets? Why do we have to wear these?”
“Be grateful it’s not a bulletproof helmet. In the past, they even had to carry guns. A gun alone weighs about 3 kilograms, imagine carrying that in your hand.”
“No way! That method! It seems like it would help with biceps growth!”
“…And there goes someone who doesn’t want to wear a beret.”
The 10th Platoon also slowly began to move.
The movement was the same as usual, with the squad leader leading and the deputy squad leader at the rear.
“Hehe. I actually debated a lot about bringing dumbbells.”
“You have dumbbells at home? I thought you focused on bodyweight training?”
“They are at the gym, so I hesitated.”
“Oh, that’s… Anyway, hey, weren’t you the one who hated going to HT? Why are you showing off all of a sudden?”
“Uhh…”
“Huh? trainee?”
At the mention of HT, Park Jinsung trembled uncontrollably, not just like a leaf in the wind but completely shaking.
“HT is different… Sergeant Ahn Sungho, he’s a real monster. If classroom life is like a café mocha, then HT is like an Americano…!!”
“Oh, is that so.”
Kim Seyun quietly acknowledged this as she imagined Ahn Sungho spinning around on the horizontal bar.
As they entered the downtown area, many people turned their attention to the company members.
Some cheered loudly, while others approached to take selfies – it was quite a commotion.
Especially Kim Seyun, who was as popular as a major brand.
Many were attracted simply by her fair complexion, but there were also many who greeted her as the “White Jade Goblin.”
While Kim Seyun was busy dealing with the public,
The platoon members in front of Park Jinsung sneakily glanced at her. Looking ahead, he could feel the attention from the 9th Platoon as well.
‘What now? Why are they… Ah.’
Park Jinsung quickly realized the reason.
On the left side of the march route was a building that had once been familiar.
A building, which once resembled a giant mirror with its glass facade, was now shattered, its interior completely destroyed.
Now with its roof gaping open, it was hard to even call it a bank – a complete ruin.
‘I will change.’
He had chosen to be branded F-grade due to his intense self-loathing.
These accusations had eventually shackled his entire being.
But then came the encounters with Ahn Sungho and Kim Seyun.
‘I am above the soul. And there are no grades in souls.’
He would prove that he, as an individual, stands above a predetermined soul.
Reorganizing his thoughts brought him a sense of inner peace.
With a newfound sense of ease, he made his way towards the crowd around Kim Seyun.
“Ah, Kim Seyun, Kim Seyun, are you still alive?”
“About to die, so don’t talk… Ah! Yes! Thank you for all your support! Ha, haha!”
“Ah, our deputy squad leader. You’ve become a complete celebrity. Now I can die without regrets.”
“Hey!! Then walk this march with your eyes closed! No, not you guys! Haha! Hoho! I mean, thanks to everyone here, I could even march blindfolded!”
Even the bold Kim Seyun couldn’t easily deal with the unpredictability of the crowd.
Having received a lot of attention from a young age, she knew all too well the terrifying power of the masses.
It wasn’t until the 2nd Company’s lead vehicle reached the very end of the line that Kim Seyun finally had a chance to catch her breath.
“Wow, the lead vehicle of the 2nd Company came all the way here.”
“Just leave me alone already…”
“Hehe, are you okay?”
Park Jinsung placed his hand on Kim Seyun’s slumped shoulders.
“Jinsung… Considering we just passed the bank, you seem surprisingly okay?”
“Oh. Did you know about it? I overcame that bank thing a long time ago. Hehe.”
“Really… then how about you take your hand off my shoulder? It’s heavy.”
The march moved onto a relatively less crowded coastal road. Vehicles occasionally slowed down to pass the marching column.
As the weather got hotter, more members of the company began to take off their berets.
With not a single cloud in the sky, the heat was subtly oppressive, so even the officers somewhat turned a blind eye to it.
“2nd Company, take a breaaaaak!!”
“Rest, it’s rest time!”
“Rest! Relay the message to the back with echo!”
This was the first break after starting the march. Everyone tried to sit down as close to the roadside as possible.
It didn’t feel too bad while walking, but as soon as they tried to sit down, their legs started to ache.
“Hehe, this is just the right amount of training.”
Park Jinsung, now a training enthusiast, contentedly observed his thighs.
“Jinsung, sorry to keep nagging you, but are you some kind of a weirdo?”
“Ah, please don’t say such things with a serious face. It hurts my feelings.”
“Arghhh!”
While Kim Seyun was looking at Park Jinsung as if he were a bug, a terrible groan erupted from not too far away.
“My ankle!!”
It was someone from the 9th Squad.
During breaks in a march, it’s better to first take off the military pack before resting. Of course, sitting with it on is possible, but carelessness can lead to absurd injuries.
“Argh!”
As expected, a member of the 9th Squad had sprained their ankle while trying to sit down hastily. Their ankle was mercilessly crushed under their body weight plus the weight of the pack.
An ambulance from the 1st Squad area came to pick up the injured member of the 9th Squad.
Watching this scene for a while, Kim Seyun contorted her face in disapproval.
“Pfft. Such a weakling.”
“Hey, Seyun. That’s not a nice thing to say about someone who’s hurt.”
“You’re right. Now that I think about it, that guy isn’t weak, he’s cunning.”
“Huh?”
Park Jinsung, with a puzzled look on his face, followed Kim Seyun’s gesture towards the ambulance.
Though it was quite far, Park Jinsung could see clearly.
The corner of the mouth of the 9th Squad member, who had his head bowed like a criminal, was twitching slightly.
“You mean, he fell on purpose?! Just because he didn’t want to walk this much?!”
“To you, it’s just ‘this much’.”
“To choose injury over marching! Is this some kind of joke?!”
Other company members didn’t seem to pity the injured member from the 9th Squad but rather looked at him with a mix of envy and resentment.
“Break’s over! Everyone up!! March!!”
With the loud command from an officer, the march resumed.
Kim Seyun, who had slung her pack back on, quickly pulled out some snacks from her gas mask bag, which was tied around her thigh for easy access.
“Hey, show-off.”
“Ah, please, don’t call me ‘show-off’. There are better nicknames, aren’t there?”
“Want some chocolate?”
“Hehe. Actually, I’ve grown quite fond of the nickname ‘show-off’, you know.”
“Here, hehe, take this.”
“Why are you laughing all of a sudden? But thank you. Hehe. How did you know I was feeling low on energy… huh?”
It wasn’t ordinary chocolate.
This concoction, naturally tinged with green, was what’s known as mint chocolate.
“Hehehe. Aren’t you going to eat it?”
“No, it’s okay. You have more, Deputy.”
“Oh, I’m fine. I have plenty of my own.”
“Just… regular chocolate…?”
“Mint chocolate is still chocolate, isn’t it? Don’t tell me you’re looking down on people who like mint chocolate?”
Seyun was enjoying a traditional dark chocolate, which looked much more appetizing.
“Deputy, mint chocolate is nice, but I think I prefer regular chocolate more.”
“Eat it.”
“Oh no. I think it’ll make me thirsty, so I’ll just not eat it.”
“Eat it, I said.”
Seyun added another piece of mint chocolate while insisting.
“Sob… I’ll tell the officers… you’ve got snacks in your gas mask bag… all of it…”
“What? What did you say?”
Seyun grinned and added another mint chocolate.
“Sob, sob. There’s a devil next to me…”
“Hmph. Ever seen a devil as pretty as this?”
“Ugh. One thing’s certain, I’ve never seen such a fair-skinned devil before today.”
Park Jinsung said, holding back his tears, which seemed to well up with every piece of mint chocolate he put in his mouth.
After two more breaks, they finally entered the hellish hill road.
It was a road with an incline that felt well over 45 degrees, with no buildings around, and unremarkable as a waypoint, consisting only of shiny asphalt.
True to its hellish title, the road soon saw a slew of dropouts beginning to occur.
While some of the squad members genuinely collapsed from exhaustion, most did not.
“Hmph. Even on their first march, they perform so poorly.”
“Oh my. They can’t even endure this much.”
Seyun and Jinsung grumbled for different reasons.
“Hey, Jinsung. Look back there. That’s why I dislike this. They’re just going to return anyway… Tsk, tsk.”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
The ambulance reached the end of the 10th Platoon, disgorging those who had previously dropped out.
The teachers at Haeun Special Training Battalion were mostly elites. To teach others, they had to be above average themselves.
Among them, the health teacher was exceptionally outstanding. Her skills, overshadowed by her reputation as the battalion’s beauty, were superior to other officers by at least a head.
Those treated by the health teacher rejoined the marching column, trailing behind the 10th Platoon with sour expressions on their faces.
“Hmph. Serves them right. As expected from your dedicated medical officer, right?”
“Haha. I wish I could afford to hire a pro like the health teacher.”
As Jinsung and Seyun were engaged in light banter,
Swoosh.
A sleek four-seater military vehicle silently joined the marching column.
Leave a Reply