Chapter 23

In the end, Ha Soo-Yul won.

It was something everyone expected, so there weren’t any unnecessary comments flying around.

However, there was plenty of talk about the 2nd and 3rd places.

When the judge made the final decision, everyone accepted it without protest.

Ha Soo-Yul was like a land crab in the sports game—a crawling chaos.

"Did I do well?"

"You did great. Let’s head to the snack bar later."

"Okay."

I offered her some casual congratulations as she came back, then turned my attention elsewhere.

There was a clock attached to the outskirts of the dorm.

It was 3:30 PM.

According to the schedule, we’d be having dinner in two hours.

So, I guess we can go back to the dorm now?

The schedule didn’t mention anything else.

But my thoughts were shattered by the soldier’s shout.

"Take a short break, then we’ll move to the training room!"

Typical of these retreats—they always show educational videos when you least expect it.

The tired students groaned as they reluctantly stood up, making faces.

"Can’t we just go back to the dorm?"

"I know, right? I’m exhausted."

"Hahaha... Guys, this’ll be the last one."

There were complaints coming from all around, but the students got up without further fuss.

The class presidents took charge, soothing everyone and pushing them to move along.

We made our way to the training room, watched an educational video, then went back to the cafeteria for dinner.

Hmm... Something definitely felt wrong about this.

At least today’s training was over.

Though I didn’t participate in it, the others had to do crawling drills.

After dinner, we were heading back to the dorm.

I asked the teacher, who was trailing behind.

"Teacher, please tell me tomorrow won’t be like this again?"

"It probably will."

"Poor students."

I might be able to skip out, but the others would find it hard to avoid the training unless they pretended to be sick or pulled some other trick.

‘In today’s world, I bet they’ll let you skip if you just say you’re sick.’

They couldn’t really force kids who aren’t even adults yet to do that, right?

But if everyone says that, it messes up the schedule.

I could only feel bad for them.

There was nothing I could do.

"But teacher."

"What?"

"Why do they take our phones during the retreat? We don’t do that on school trips."

"I don’t know. You should ask the principal about that."

"That’s not something I can easily ask."

This is all, what? An old-fashioned idea from back in the day?

We’re paying to be here, and yet everything’s controlled?

As I chatted with the teacher, we arrived back at the dorm quickly.

It wasn’t far, but when you’re talking to someone, time flies by.

"Everyone, wash up and prepare for bed by 10 PM."

Our class's assigned soldier passed on the message before heading out.

Left behind in the dorm, we all looked at each other.

"...Wait, are the showers communal?"

Of course, they were. It’s not like there are private bathrooms in the military.

At least there was a separate shower room.

It wasn’t very big, but about ten people could shower at the same time.

I wasn’t particularly dirty, so I could wait to shower later.

In the hallway, students were waiting with their toiletry bags.

With nearly 100 male students, it was going to take a while for me to get a turn.

Lying on the bed, I passed the time waiting aimlessly.

"Hey, Eun-A."

From the opposite bunk, the class president, Kim Jin-Hyuk, approached and looked up at me.

Since I was on the top bunk, I had to peek my head out to meet his eyes.

"Kim Jin-Hyuk? What’s up?"

I knew his name, at least.

I stuck my head out and locked eyes with him.

"Heh... Can you check something here for me?"

Kim Jin-Hyuk was holding a piece of white paper in his hand.

Upon closer inspection, it was about tomorrow morning’s march, with a form where we could check "attend" or "don’t attend."

I took the paper from Kim Jin-Hyuk, drew a circle next to my name under "don’t attend," and handed it back.

"Thanks. Now get some more rest."

"Yeah, you too, good luck."

I figured the class president could have just filled it out for me.

Right before he handed me the paper, I noticed a familiar name on the list.

Kim Byung-Jun.

A name listed in Class 1. Could it be him?

He was the guy I had some trouble with years ago.

The list had names from all classes, not just mine.

I happened to notice the name by accident.

But what really surprised me was that Kim Byung-Jun had marked himself as attending the morning march.

"Eun-A?"

"Ah, sorry. I just saw a familiar name."

"Yeah? Anyway, I need to get this to the others..."

"Sorry, sorry. Here."

"Thanks. See you later."

Kim Jin-Hyuk finished his task and passed the paper to someone else.

Kim Byung-Jun, huh. I didn’t expect him to be into sports.

After thinking about it for a while, I realized this didn’t mean much to me, so I dropped the thought.

It was just a name from my past.

There were no deeper feelings attached.

"Shall we go shower?"

After a warm shower, walking back into the dorm with the air conditioning on...

Ah, that’s heavenly.

By the time I got out, it was already 9:30 PM.

I better shower quickly and get back.

***

"Now, let me explain the roll call."

The soldier in charge entered the dorm and spoke up.

I was still drying my hair.

"Please gather around the table in the center."

Students stood up one by one, awkwardly making their way to the table.

"Starting from the left, one."

"One!"

"Next person, number two."

"Two."

And the number game continued.

"Say the number and look at the person next to you."

The rules were gradually getting more complicated. I felt like I was about to get dizzy.

"The last person will confirm that all students in this dorm are accounted for. When it’s done, we’ll say 'Dinner roll call complete.'"

"Understood!"

Class president Kim Jin-Hyuk responded loudly.

"Alright, starting from the top. One!"

The numbers continued to follow.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three."

When it was my turn, the fourth number...

"Hey!!"

Oh no, I messed up. I’ve watched Crayon Shin-chan way too much.

All eyes turned to me. I could see everyone’s mouths trembling, trying to hold back their laughter.

"Ha-ha!"

Even Kim Jin-Hyuk couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing.

"...Let’s start again."

Hey, soldier, you’re laughing too, aren’t you?

We started again, and this time the relay game ended without any further issues.

Damn it. I instinctively shouted "hey" in the middle of it all.

I need to cut down on watching Tooniverse.

"Total of eight people. No one excluded. All students accounted for. Dinner roll call complete!"

Kim Jin-Hyuk’s enthusiastic declaration marked the end, and the soldier moved on to the next room.

Finally, we were free.

One by one, the students turned to me, commenting:

"Lee Ha-Eun, you’re so damn funny."

"Hey, do that again, do that again."

"Shit... pfft."

I kind of get why they were laughing, but was it really that funny?

Still, it didn’t feel bad.

A faint smile rose on my face, and I couldn’t help but feel a little better.

Maybe I just needed some attention?

"What’s this?"

The lights suddenly went out. We didn’t turn them off.@@novelbin@@

Maybe someone in the control room switched off the power.

It was 10 PM.

Guess that’s a sign it’s time for bed.

"Alright, alright, time for bed."

The class president’s words made everyone nod. Well, even though we couldn’t see it.

I also reached out and climbed the ladder to my top bunk.

As time passed, my eyes slowly adjusted to the dark, and I could start to make out the interior.

The darkness had become familiar, and my gaze turned upward toward the ceiling.

Sometimes, when it’s this quiet and I can’t sleep,

I start to get lost in my thoughts.

Writing monologues, drawing words on the blank white ceiling.

Even if it’s just a delusion that only exists in my head,

With two lives, I still don’t quite understand it all.

In my past life, everything was painful.

But now, in this life, I’ve become afraid of losing everything.

I still carry complicated feelings, but I can’t let them out.

I don’t avoid people, but I don’t feel the need to get involved with them either.

If they don’t care about me, then I don’t need to care about them.

I exhaled quietly and closed my eyes.

It seems I haven’t been able to escape the past yet.

Suddenly, I felt like drawing again.

***

Ah, wake up, wake up.

The crackling announcement made the students groan in response.

"Ugh, what’s this...?"

Complaints came from below me.

I, too, frowned at waking up earlier than usual.

I scratched my messy hair and slowly got up.

Only those participating in the morning march need to be on the field by 7 AM.

At those words, students rolled back into their beds.

"Who’s going from our group...?"

A sleepy voice echoed through the room.

Then, the class president and vice president weakly raised their hands.

"...They said the company and platoon leaders have to attend, no exceptions."

Oh, poor them.

The two of them sluggishly changed into their military uniforms.

Ahem. The rest of the trainees must gather on the field after the morning roll call by 8 AM.

The students who were about to crawl back into their beds groaned.

And at the same time...

Bang!

"Morning roll call starting now!"

The soldier entered and placed his hand on the desk.

The eight of us, including me, reluctantly gathered around the desk.

"One..."

"Two..."

It felt like a zombie movie.

After the class president finished his part, the soldier added,

"We’ll move out by 8:50 AM. Get ready."

With that, he quickly left.

Ugh. How bothersome.

But I still had to shower. I begrudgingly dragged myself toward the shower room.

I’d be sweating again soon anyway, so was it really worth using shampoo?

For a moment, Ha Soo-Yul and Choi Ye-Seo flashed through my mind.

I opened the shampoo bottle and squeezed out some liquid.

Still, cleanliness is important. Hmm.

After quickly showering, I noticed a long line of students.

This was the line for those waiting to shower.

I’m glad I got there early. If I had waited, I would’ve run out of time.

When I returned to the dorm and checked the clock, it was just 7 AM.

There was still plenty of time to prepare.

As long as I changed clothes, I’d be good to go.

I took my time getting ready and putting on my helmet.

It was 7:40 AM by the time I finished.

That’s when I heard the commotion in the hallway.

"Crazy—what—?"

"Move—!"

Curious, I went out into the hallway.

Hmm.

I closed the door and returned to my room.

"What’s going on?"

I shook my head in response to a question from a roommate.

"Nothing... nothing at all...!"

I crossed my arms and said it with a serious face.

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

They snorted and lay back on their bed.

...It’s sad.