Chapter 31
“Fall in―!”
At the platoon leader’s shout, the soldiers lined up in a straight row. This was the final stage of their guerrilla training.
Immediately after, they would begin the return march.
“If the headquarters battery starts marching first, we just follow in order. Got it?”
“Yes, sir!”
The closing ceremony had ended, so there was no need to respond in unison with the usual “Yes, sir!” anymore.
Perhaps because they were shouting the responses they usually used, it felt strangely awkward.
Seohwan grinned and said,
“The slope we climbed just before the enlistment march… at least now we won’t have to go up it again. Only downhill from here. Makes me feel relaxed.”
“Yeah, when we went up that hill before, I really thought I was going to die,” someone replied.
“Right? Today we just go downhill. Piece of cake, huh?”
Following Seohwan, Wonsang and Juhyung commented that it was lucky the path was downhill.
I felt a little bad for shattering their expectations, but I had to say what needed to be said.
“The return march isn’t going through that path.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Not the slope. There’s another flat path. We’ll take that one. Look over there.”
Just as I said, the headquarters battery, which had set off ahead of us, was walking in the opposite direction from the route we had taken on the first day of training.
We followed them.
Not long after, a perfectly flat, easy-to-walk path appeared before us—so flat that the slope we had dreaded seemed almost imaginary.
Gojunho muttered to himself in disbelief,
“No way… we definitely came up that mountain path before.”
The soldiers exchanged glances, their expressions a mix of disbelief and confusion.
When they had enlisted, they had scrambled up a mountain so steep it felt like their thighs would tear apart, yet the return march left no trace of that struggle.
Private Yang Seungcheol voiced his frustration incredulously,
“Damn it, they could’ve just brought us this way from the start!”
“Did they make us suffer on purpose?”
“Just look at it. Pretty obvious, right?”
“This damn army…”
Once again, each soldier’s distrust and anger toward the army increased slightly, though I…
‘Had already reached MAX long ago.’
So no additional “stack” would accumulate.
The march continued leisurely over the flat terrain for a while.
As the sun set, the shadows cast by the moon stretched long along the road.
Thud-thud. The rhythm of the boots matched the cadence of their steps.
Sergeant Jiseokho, now back to being an ordinary artilleryman after completing the guerrilla training, gestured to us.
“A vehicle’s coming from behind. Keep tight to the left.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Left, tighten up!”
Perhaps it was because he had been a drill instructor once, but Sergeant Jiseokho seemed more aware of his surroundings than before.
Once Sergeant Choi Minheon discharged, Sergeant Jiseokho was slated to become the next squad leader.
‘Maybe he’s already preparing to take over the squad leader duties.’
He was the kind of person who took responsibility seriously, always striving to do above average in whatever task he was given. Even the squad leader role, which everyone tried to avoid, he was already determined to handle to the best of his ability.
A motivated squad leader. In civilian life, that sounds great.
‘But for us, who have to deal with it directly, it’s exhausting.’
Just as in training, in the army, it’s best when senior officers or leaders don’t micromanage the soldiers.
Sergeant Jiseokho, however, showed no signs of leniency.
Having experienced his leadership before, I could already anticipate the future… which made it all the more troublesome.
I sighed unconsciously.
Seohwan, walking nearby, tilted his head.
“Why the sigh when we’re marching comfortably?”
“Just… you know. Things like that.”
I couldn’t exactly badmouth him while he could hear me. Maybe I should call it “talking ahead” instead of gossiping behind his back.
While I kept my thoughts to myself, the soldiers’ mood lightened compared to the enlistment march. They even seemed somewhat relaxed.
The tears and snot from yesterday’s chemical and biological defense training were gone; only the relief of finally heading back lifted their steps.
Since the very beginning of the guerrilla training, no particularly difficult sections had appeared on the return route—just flat, well-paved asphalt.
Though occasional vehicles forced them to step aside, it didn’t make the march significantly more difficult.
Thanks to this, the soldiers looked quite comfortable on the return march.
But I had different thoughts.
Far off in the distance, I could see a dark, massive mountain.
‘That mountain… must be the final course.’
Of course, the officers wouldn’t lead us only on flat ground. If they had, they wouldn’t have chosen that cursed slope over the flat path during the enlistment march.
And if the army were that easy, guerrilla training wouldn’t even exist.
Something big is coming.
I tightened my straps unconsciously.
Sweat formed on my forehead, yet nobody else seemed to sense the looming threat of the mountain.
Instead, they chatted and laughed, completely at ease.
‘Alright. I might as well enjoy this moment.’
Better to savor this comfort before the real challenge comes. That way, I’ll be able to endure it when it arrives.
Several hours into the march, close to midnight, the commander shouted,
“Stop! We’ll provide a midnight snack here.”
“Wow―!”
The soldiers’ cheers tore through the night.
Just like the enlistment march, cup noodles were distributed at midnight.
This time, however, instead of eating at another unit’s location, we stayed at the closed school’s playground to eat.
Seohwan looked uneasy.
“That means we’re supposed to cook the noodles with hot water from the dispenser. It’s not like during field camping, when we got lukewarm water, right?”
Apparently, the memory of almost crushing the noodles like snacks during past training still haunted him.
I kept my eyes on the front.
A wisp of steam was rising in the distance.
“Don’t worry about that. Look.”
Seohwan let out a sigh of relief when he saw what I was pointing to.
Next to the exit, white lights spilled out onto a large pile of stainless steel thermal containers and boxes of cup noodles.
When it was our turn, we went there.
The orderly shouted loudly,
“One noodle and one drink per person. Take them and move along. Got it?”
“Yes, sir!”
The soldiers who went first grabbed their noodles with both hands and blew on them as they ate.
The hot steam mingled with the cold night air, forming a haze before our eyes.
It’s always true—noodles taste especially good at night.
Add the condition of “eating in the army,” and the flavor somehow feels even better.
Yet even as I savored the hot, spicy broth, my eyes kept glancing toward the giant mountain in the distance, as if it were watching us.
‘It’s almost time… not much longer now.’
Soon, the massive mountain would appear before us.
After finishing the noodles, the column resumed marching.
About an hour later,
“Stop!”
The commander raised his hand, and the column came to a halt.
Right where I had feared.
From the darkness, the giant mountain loomed like a black monster.
Its peaks, illuminated by moonlight, were steep and seemingly endless.
“That mountain… what is it?”
“Do we have to climb that?”
Fear immediately flashed across the soldiers’ faces.
Only moments ago, they had been relieved to walk on flat ground, but the sight before them stole all that comfort.
I muttered quietly toward the anxious soldiers,
“That’s the highlight of the return march. The toughest part.”
Murmurs spread among them.
“What? Seriously?”
“So all the flat ground we’ve been walking on… was just to prepare us for that one challenge?”
“Exactly.”
My words left them speechless.
Soon after, the battery commander announced,
“From now on, we climb this mountain. It’ll take about two hours. Prepare yourselves! Got it?”
The soldiers forced their voices out in acknowledgment.
Seohwan sighed deeply.
“Better just to do PT exercises instead.”
No one would have expected that after finishing guerrilla training, they’d find themselves longing for PT exercises.
As soon as we began the first ascent, the soldiers’ breathing grew heavy. All of this happened in less than ten minutes.
Those who had been joking on the flat path now looked as if they were showered in sweat.
“Huff… huff… damn it, why is my pack so heavy today?”
“Because of the noodles we ate, I’m sleepy too.”
The straps dug into shoulders, and the sweat-soaked uniform clung to skin.
Though the mountain breeze was cool, the heat of our exertion rose with every step.
The field officer called out as he moved along the column,
“Help your comrades if anyone’s struggling! We still have a long way to go!”
Following his instructions, the soldiers pushed and supported each other, helping move packs from behind.
Halfway up, the column began to stretch out.
Some crouched to catch their breath; others nearly lost their balance under the weight of their packs.
Step by step, we climbed the mountain.
The darkness mixed with the smell of sweat and heavy breathing.
Boots kicked up dust as they struck rocks.
I walked silently, sweating profusely but ignoring it.
My body was tired, but my mind was light.
Because before the march began, the orderly had approached me and said:
“The leave you earned from this guerrilla training can be used immediately. Take it whenever you want.”
‘I was already planning to go on leave next week after training anyway.’
Perfect timing.
Thinking about leave gave me a surge of energy.
Step by step, pushing forward slowly, the final ridge finally came into view.
“Once we get over that, we’re done! Focus, everyone!”
“Yes, sir!”
At the word “final,” a gleam of excitement appeared in the soldiers’ eyes.
Just beyond that mountain…
‘We go home!’
I wished time would pass quickly.
