“Attention, everyone!”
“Ah, please don’t.”
Park Jinsung waved his hands dismissively with a smile, but his expression didn’t really mean “don’t do it.”
“To the captain, saaalute!”
“Saluuuute! Swiiiiiing!!”
The members of the Mad Zombie Squad saluted Park Jinsung as he was heading towards the gym.
There were fifteen members lined up on each side from the entrance of the gym, all standing in the same pose, looking quite impressive.
Originally, the members of the zombie squad were scattered like Dragon Balls or fragments of soul orbs. They only gathered based on their combat power ratings during the guerrilla training.
“Come on, don’t be so stiff. You all know what day it is.”
That all these members were gathered meant, naturally, it was after-school club time.
“No, captain. We have to do it at least once, especially when others are watching.”
“Yeah, yeah. You like it, so stop pretending you don’t.”
There were quite a lot of people gathered around the gym, aside from the zombie squad. They deliberately showed off their well-organized appearance to flaunt their power.
“Hmm. You’ve arrived.”
“Oh! Sergeant Ahn Sungho!”
Park Jinsung exaggeratedly raised his hand upon spotting Ahn Sungho, trying to appear close to Ahn Sungho, but it was no more effective than a wooden puppet gesture.
“Huh. Come in.”
Gulp!
Everyone except Park Jinsung swallowed at the same time, as if they had synchronized the action to a count of one, two, three, and the sound directly hit their eardrums.
As Park Jinsung followed Ahn Sungho inside, the Mad Zombie Squad hesitated for a moment before following them. The self-appointed audience discreetly peeked into the gym.
“It’s starting, it seems.”
“It’s my first time seeing it for real.”
The crowd began to grow. Centered around the second years of the 2nd company, even the first-years clung around.
The reason so many people were sneakily watching.
“You have 3 minutes for personal stretching. Warm up on your own.”
Ahn Sungho turned his shoulder and spoke indifferently.
Ahn Sungho and Park Jinsung were almost always volunteering for training, the crazy ones.
“Heheh. Sergeant, you can start right away.”
“Hmm. I see.”
They were the battalion’s officially recognized idiots for doing invisible chair exercises even during class time. They were already warmed up, not even needing a warm-up.
As Ahn Sungho got ready for push-ups, Park Jinsung lay down beside him.
“Thirty burpees, thirty push-ups, thirty burpees, thirty squats make one set. Continue for ten sets.”
“Heheh. Just follow me. Haven’t we been doing well so far?”
Indeed.
The long-awaited and much-anticipated Hard Training initiation test!
As promised in Room 5, Park Jinsung introduced Ahn Sungho to the zombie squad members. While the zombie squad felt immense emotion and honor, in truth, Ahn Sungho was even more moved.
‘Please pass!’
Ahn Sungho bit his lip.
He always felt lonely training by himself. No one could even come close to catching up to Ahn Sungho’s heels, his very heels. As soon as Ahn Sungho was about to open his sweat glands, everyone else was too busy gasping for breath.
‘Huh…!’
Honestly, how long had he waited for a No. 2 like Park Jinsung? Just when he was about to give up on giving up, the cute Park Jinsung came along.
‘Well done, Park Jinsung!’
Just the inclusion of Park Jinsung felt like owning the world.
But, behold.
This cutie, Jinsung, brought along not one, but thirty similar cuties?
“Park Jinsung, I love you.”
“Eh?! Sergeant, are you into that?! I, I, I’m a bit, uh… There’s this handsome guy named Lee Sunghwa, I could introduce you to him….”
“I want to love all of the zombie squad. I’m serious.”
“Eek?! I respect homosexuality, but octopus-style love is the worst!! How many legs do you have?!”
Park Jinsung’s face turned red and blue as he snorted through his nose.
Suddenly, the atmosphere was ripe. Except for Park Jinsung, everyone was in a state suitable for taking the test.
“Sigh.”
Ahn Sungho took a deep breath for the rigorous test.
I hope to fall in love, but I haven’t yet. There was no thought of taking the test lightly.
“Hmm… HT, Hard Training. Entrance test. Begin!”
“Hmph. Move, move. I have a free pass here.”
As the test began, a person as white as jade entered the examination hall. Ahn Sungho and Park Jinsung welcomed her by progressing through the routine at a terrifying speed.
Trudge, trudge.
Kim Seyun walked past the floundering zombie squad to Park Jinsung’s side. She looked down at Park Jinsung with her arms crossed, like a wife disdainfully looking at her pathetic husband.
“Hey, show-off. Why are you showing off here again? Wasn’t it your lackeys’ entrance test today?”
“Heheh. It’s training, training. It would be nice to guide the members while training.”
“Ugh. That’s exactly what showing off is. Do you think your lackeys have the leisure to look at you? Only Ahn Sungho and you can talk like this.”
As Kim Seyun said, the zombie squad members were already exhausted. They were desperately trying not to fall behind.
“Aaaaaaah!”
“Kooooooh!”
Despite their exhausted appearances, they quickly performed 5 sets, 6 sets, 7 sets. The zombie squad was desperately continuing the routine in their struggle mode.
‘Excellent! Truly excellent! Zombie squad!’
Instead of sweating, Ahn Sungho beamed with a smile. It was a stark contrast to Park Jinsung, who was starting to get soaked with sweat.
“As expected from Sergeant!”
However, Park Jinsung also maintained a smile, but to Kim Seyun and the spectators, both seemed like madmen beyond common sense.
“Ha! 10 sets finished!”
“Hmm.”
Park Jinsung and Ahn Sungho returned to attention simultaneously.
“We did it! We did it!”
“Mom! I passed HT!”
The zombie squad erupted in unison. Ahn Sungho also couldn’t hide his pleasure, constantly curling his lips.
For the zombie squad, HT was a much higher place than ordinary corporations. Thinking they could never get close in their lifetime, the hurdle might have been even higher.
But they managed to pass.
The lives of the zombie squad members would change from this moment on.
“Ha ha ha! More members have joined…!”
“Good job, everyone!”
However, this was not just because of forming a connection with ‘Monster Ahn Sungho’ or ‘F-killer Park Jinsung’.
They were bound to undergo some form of change because of these two people. The defective products that they were would become even better products.
“Welcome to HT! Zombie squad! This is sincere!!”
“Waaaaaaaah!”
As Ahn Sungho spread his arms wide, the zombie squad screamed almost in a fit. Spectators loitering outside the gym also expressed their irresistible envy.
HT had a sacred feeling even before Park Jinsung joined. It was like the Olympus of the heavens because not everyone could enter.
“I’m jealous…”
“I should have exercised too…”
Even after Park Jinsung joined HT, its sacredness did not diminish. Instead, as Park Jinsung’s reputation skyrocketed, it became even more inaccessible.
But as bright as the light shines, the darker the shadow it casts.
1st and 3rd companies.
That is, the freshmen and juniors couldn’t fully believe the stories brought by the guerrilla instructors and officers.
Can it make sense that F turned into D+++ and knocked down all 200? And it was so overwhelming that the return was delayed?
[How weak is the 2nd company?! Ah, but Kim Seyun and Byun Kiyoung are there. Yeah, they must have been complacent. Isn’t the squad that survived Pest from 2nd company, 10th platoon, 3rd squad? Then, did all of them lose to Park Jinsung? No, more than the name value, the 200-to-1 itself doesn’t make sense.]
The 1st and 3rd companies didn’t hide their skepticism.
But they had to concede, even reluctantly, when they saw the officers in distress, especially the health teacher’s words to Park Jinsung.
[Oh… Jinsung, sorry, but every time I see Jinsung, my eyes get too heavy. Can you stop bothering me now?]
Moreover, no one from the 2nd company touched Park Jinsung and his guard. As if the measurement of combat power was reversed, they discreetly avoided Park Jinsung and his group.
Moreover, on top of that.
“Hey, show-off! Once we’re done, let’s go eat tteokbokki!”
“Hehehehe.”
Park Jinsung had become close friends with Kim Seyun and Ahn Sungho. He was with these two, whom even the officers couldn’t handle, every day.
He was already someone the officers were wary of, and now he was close friends with these superhumans.
“Hey! Hurry up… Eek! You smell like sweat!”
Look at how the superhumans treat Park Jinsung. It’s definitely the manner, posture, and atmosphere of treating another superhuman.
At this point, one has to accept the reality, whether it’s about light, shadow, or skepticism.
To think he’s laughing and spending time with talents who could be responsible for South Korea’s future. How bright is that future?
For the first time, the spectators, who had an Edeya grade higher than the zombie squad, felt a sense of defeat.
“I should have exercised! Isn’t it enough to just have a good soul?!”
“Csik, you bastards.”
“Csik, csik!”
The zombie squad scoffed at the teary-eyed spectators. They didn’t forget to mimic their leader’s catchphrase. Laughing and grinning like the leader somehow made them feel as strong as he was.
“Hehehehehehe.”
Ahn Sungho, who had been smiling since earlier, chuckled as he looked at the new list.
The current number of HT members is 32.
Including the face of the group, Kim Seyun, that makes a whopping 33!
“Hehehe. Park Jinsung and I will start the follow-up exercise now. Good job, zombie squad! We’ll start fresh tomorrow!”
“What about going to eat tteokbokki with me?!”
“No wayyyyyyyyy! We’ll start right nowwwwwwwwwww!!”
The zombie squad, fired up in every way, began exercising as soon as they entered HT.
After HT became bustling, the environment surrounding Park Jinsung changed dramatically.
The zombie squad seemed not just to have joined HT but to have been hired outright. They came to fetch Park Jinsung as soon as every class ended.
“These trash… aren’t you going to disappear quickly?!”
“Be gentle, don’t underestimate them. Combined, they’re stronger than you.”
“Tch. It’s just what trash does best, damn it.”
Byun Kiyoung occasionally lost his temper at the zombie squad, but their status changed Byun Kiyoung to become an “anger management expert.”
The zombie squad’s timely visits were appreciated, but sometimes even Park Jinsung felt frustrated.
“Deputy… what if I suddenly want to take a break?”
“Hmph. You reap what you sow. What, do you want to skip exercise today? Want to go on a date with me? Should I talk to Ahn Sungho?”
“Your words got strange from the middle….”
Kim Seyun walked with him up to the front of the gym but did not participate in the exercise. She wasn’t in any other club, so she just went home.
“My beloved show-off, if you miss this sister, call me. Got it?”
“Ow! Now are you even calling me by a different name?!”
Of course, she didn’t forget to tease Park Jinsung one last time before leaving.
Every time Kim Seyun parted ways with Park Jinsung, she always seemed to want to say something, her lips twitching. But then she would shake her head and move on.
Anyway, it was another day just like any other.
After finishing their exercise, Park Jinsung and the zombie squad were heading to the nurse’s office for recovery.
“Everyone, hurry up. We can’t let the nurse run away.”
The nurse had to endure overtime every day because of the zombie squad’s ‘enrollment’. Initially unable to firmly refuse, she became their dedicated recovery shuttle.
“Let’s go!”
Park Jinsung sped up his steps.
Outside the gym, the sunlight had already completely vanished. The chilly night air was starting to make its presence felt.
Given the time, not a single other student was in sight. The empty training ground was particularly eye-catching.
Tap, tap.
“Huh…?”
“Excuse me, are you Private Park Jinsung?”
Someone tapped Park Jinsung’s shoulder.
Park Jinsung stopped dead in his tracks with a stiff face, prompting the zombie squad members to show signs of confusion as well.
“Uh, ugh…”
“Boss? Why the sudden change?”
“Hold on! Boss! Who, who is this person?!”
The first reason for Park Jinsung’s hardened face.
He was running quite fast, yet he was easily caught up to.
“Pleased to meet you.”
The second reason.
Park Jinsung’s spider-like senses didn’t pick up on him at all. Even the zombie squad right behind him had no clue.
“I am.”
The third reason.
The sense of presence he carried was different from anyone Park Jinsung had met before.
“My name is Lee Shin.”
“…Oh dear.”
Park Jinsung inadvertently let out a short groan.
Leave a Reply