Chapter 44 – [What Is Life, Just Live as You Live]

I left the company halfway to team leader Jeong, and I returned to my original workplace, a chicken restaurant. A pleasant smell of oil. I don’t intend to be a nobleman in working, but I still prefer to work with my body. Especially catering.

When people eat deliciously, it is rewarding and fun. Of course, you have to keep working. Things like the freshness of ingredients and the cleanliness of the kitchen.

“How was your trip to the game developer yesterday?”

“That’s good. I’ve left that to the team leader, so I’ll just have to coordinate it for the time being.”

“If it’s the boss, it’s comfortable because all you have to do is give instructions.”

“I don’t think it’s comfortable to give orders. If you do something wrong, it’s only a matter of time to ruin the company in Hankyu.”

“Ah, that’s right”

A high-ranking job might be just as comfortable, but it comes with a lot of responsibility.

The position of chairman of a conglomerate may seem good at first glance, but it is a position that can ruin the company. If I can’t make good decisions, I’d rather not do it.

It’s hard for me to take care of my own people, so I don’t want to take on such a position. The person I can be responsible for is at most the person I can hold in my arms.

“By the way, how are you these days? I taught you roughly, but you still get beaten up by Ruri, don’t you?”

“That was great. Seeing him sparring with Ruri these days is like a match.”

“There are things that Ruri takes care of, but Taegeuk Naseonkyung is based on Taijiquan, so it has a strong personality to spill attacks. That’s why it’s like that.”

The martial art Baekri chose last time was the Taegeuk spiral mirror. It seems that I chose martial arts with the concept of Taegeuk, which I have heard of, rather than martial arts that I have heard of for the first time. Of course, I also think it’s a good choice.

To be honest, if I were asked to choose one of them, it’s a martial art that I would choose. Taegeuk Spiral Gyeong is a martial art made by improving Taijiquan based on the algorithm of ‘decomposition’ among my ‘interference’ or ‘sensation’ abilities, so it is different from general martial arts.

There was a time when I was born in a world similar to Moorim, but everyone who saw it praised it as a mysterious martial art. I didn’t even make it.

In any case, Taegeuk Naseonkyung is a martial art that combines both defense and defense. In the beginning, it tends to focus only on defense, but as you become more proficient, you can switch to attack as well. We’ll have to wait and see how far Baek-ri can climb, but he won’t go anywhere and live.

“The important thing is how you realize the principle of Taiji. Chaos is divided into yin and yang by Taiji, and in that way gradually it is divided into pure power, establishing the basic laws and concepts of the world. In other words, Taiji is the highest level. It’s a concept. I won’t tell you to understand it overnight, but it’s enough if you know how to use it.”

“It seems like a mixture of half philosophical and half fantasy.”

“If you look at a martial arts book, most of them write down some floating voices. No, is there a way to write down what the sky is like and what the ground is like when you swing a sword.

“I want to see you sometime”

“However, Taegeuk Spiral Gyeong is a nobleman.”

To be honest, if you go into the advanced course, that’s no joke.

I couldn’t learn it if there was no explanation for the solution for the idiot. You gray bastard…You think I’m just a crazy talent like you guys, right?

“First of all, your goal is to become stronger and not be beaten by her sister. Her brother has pride, but he’s weaker than her sister, so where are you going to protect him?”

“I don’t think Ruri is going to get hit anywhere. I don’t know if she hits me.”

“…That’s right.”

Even if I think about it, I can’t imagine Ruri going anywhere and getting hit. She was a child who could have slept soundly while eating fried chicken after feeding her big taffy and even taking care of her corpse.

How do you know so well? Because during my reincarnation, I met a girl named Ruri often.

“Still, does it have to be that her brother is beaten? So… Oh, wait a minute. I’ve got a call.”

There aren’t many people I can call at this hour… I took out my cell phone and checked the name that popped up. Uh? Is it a format?

“Oh, formal? What’s the matter?”

[Bitch, did you forget that I was discharged the day after tomorrow?]

“Wasn’t it the week after you were discharged?”

[It’s because the battalion let me get discharged by subtracting the matcha vacation period. You know I saved up vacations because I didn’t want to be in the army in my later years. And it’s just that I don’t return to the unit, but I’m a soldier until the day I’m discharged]

“Did you do that in the first place?”

[It’s because of my father’s surgery. Originally, there is no difficulty. Oh, there was a similar thing because of MERS in the past]

“Oh, it’s not like that”

Usually, the discharge date for military service is pushed back, not advanced. It’s because the military life clock stops when you go to the detention center.

In the past, sergeants who had been on vacation because of MERS were discharged outside. It’s a big deal if you get sick and get infected.

Hyung-sik has to leave for his uncle’s surgery, so it wouldn’t be strange if he was discharged a little earlier.

“This bastard is discharged the day after tomorrow, so look at his voice full of life.

[Did you have a car?]

“My wife picked me up”

[Baby, your sister-in-law met you well, bought a car, and sold it very much. What’s cold? Is it a foreign car?]

“Foreign cars are foreign cars”

Lamborghini is an Italian company, so it’s a foreign car. To be honest, even a domestic car should be purchased overseas, Korean companies with no conscience make it different for domestic use and for export.

“See what kind of tea it is when you go out to meet it. Anyway, I’m going to have a drink with the other kids soon. Sang-cheol and Jong-soo, too?”

[Cheer, now we can both look at them and call them unfilters]

“Anyway, they’ll be there in a year or two, so what?”

[The difference between going early or late]

Hyunsik and I either went straight after graduation or enlisted in the military a little later. However, Sang-cheol and Jong-soo, who are high school best friends, have yet to go because they are in college.

To be honest, Hyeong-sik and I left early, and Sang-cheol and Jong-soo went in moderation even if they went next year. It’s not like we’re late, but we go early and get compared.

It is better to go to the army late. They say that even these days they raise the salary and reduce the military service…But I’m not envious.

“I’ll go out to the base in the morning to meet you. Don’t get in the car and come out to the base, okay?”

[Are you really going to come?]

“Hey, you’re going to drink all day, but it takes hours to drive from the base, take the bus from the terminal, and take the subway back.

[This is why you should take good care of your friends. Okay. But if you don’t come back like this, you’ll get a taste of the military fist]

“Ouch! Soldiers are fans of civilians!”

I giggled and hung up the phone. The day after tomorrow, after a while, I will get together with the kids and have a drink. Everyone is in the military or college or something, so it’s been a while since we met.

Anyway, Sang-cheol and Jong-soo, who both go to college, have finished their final exams and although it may be different for each university, it must be vacation or just before vacation. If you say you don’t have time, go and pick it up.

“Who are you? Friend?”

“Yeah, my friend who just got discharged. Why did he say his father was sick before?”

“Ah, are you discharged this time?”

“I’m sorry I’ve missed you so often these days. I’m going to have a drink with the kids in the morning to commemorate my discharge.”

“It’s okay. As long as you give me more bonuses.”

“Dil”

“Oh yea!”

It’s okay because I’m at the age where I like money.

I picked up my cell phone again and called Sang-cheol and Jong-su. It’s the first time in a while that all my high school ball friends get together.

*        *    *

Both I and Hyung-sik work in the same area as Gangwon-do, but I am near Hwacheon and Hyung-sik is near Hongcheon. To be honest, I was more advanced, but I served as an engineer, so I worked more with plumbing than combat training.

In fact, I thought he was just building a bridge because he was a sapper, but rather than that, he was doing repair work. It was comfortable on comfortable days, but in the winter, the plumbing freezes and the work explodes, so it’s very crazy.

I worked hard for a week without a break, and earned a week of vacation including rewards… But if you tell me to do it again, I’ll fucking desert. It’s not hard, but it’s fun.

……And where are you going to hit a professional sergeant for doing this bastard’s job well? Even thinking about it now makes me cringe.

Anyway, I came out of the 27th Division, and Hyung-sik served as an artilleryman in the 11th Division. It is said that people grow up when they go to the army, so they grow up.

If you want to meet a child coming out of the unit after being discharged in the morning, you have to come out at least early in the morning, almost before dawn. Even if I went to Hongcheon quickly, it would take about an hour, but considering that the army wakes up at 6:30 on weekdays, I had to wake up at 4:30.

“Are you not coming home today?”

“Look at it first. But I think I won’t be able to come in until today’s date passes.”

I’m planning to meet men after a long time and have a drink in broad daylight, but it’s unreasonable to come in early. Even if I wanted to go in, the other kids would push and grab the soju bottle.

“Today is going to be an independent workshop, so I’ll go to bed early then.”

“You’d better do that. I’m sorry.”

“No. I’m going to see a friend, of course.”

As he said that, his expression was a little stodgy. He gently hugs her and kisses her on the forehead. It’s scary to have bean pods in your eyes, but in my eyes, it’s cute that you’re pouting.

“Let’s go on summer vacation this time. There’s the mountain we talked about last time. Go with a few acquaintances, grill some meat, and swim in the valley. Isn’t that good?”

“…If anyone sees it, they’ll think I’m mad, right?”

“You weren’t upset?”

“I’m not squeamish”

Sometimes when I go there, my wife is like a cat. Pretending not to be on the outside, sneaking up on you and acting cute.

That’s so cute It’s not openly acting like a doggie, but it’s more cute because it’s like an angst. This is why it is natural for me to be a newlywed even after hundreds or thousands of years.

“Anyway, it’s good. Come to think of it, there was no such thing as a tent, but I’ll buy a good one.”

“Other people will use it, so it’s better to buy a slightly larger one. Or buy a couple of suitable ones.”

You don’t have to worry about it later because you can just throw it in the warehouse anyway. If you need to, you can buy it from the car.

Come to think of it, I need a multi-passenger vehicle. Lamborghini is a two-seater, so it is impossible to ride with a group of people. If you think about the burden you will bring in the first place, it should be bigger.

“Then let’s think of another car. Buy or borrow?”

“It’s a bit of a waste to buy it because it’s going on a trip, but it’s a bit wasteful to buy it. I could use it for a long time, but I don’t think I’ll use it that often in the house where we both live.”

If you didn’t know if you had bought such a multi-seater vehicle from the beginning, there is a car called Lamborghini that is blatant, but there is no need to buy another car here. Better to borrow

What is that? These days, there are a lot of good things like leases, so it won’t be too hard to borrow. It will be convenient if you do it in advance.

Because it is summer, the sun rises early. I woke up early in the morning and saw the sun starting to rise. When you get on the highway, the sun will rise in earnest.

However, it was early morning on a weekday, so there were fewer cars than usual. However, I feel relieved after driving my Lamborghini and driving on the wide highway to my heart’s content. It’s scary when you think about fuel economy, but if you paid attention to that, you wouldn’t have ridden it in the first place.

I didn’t turn on the air conditioner and only slightly opened the window to let in the fresh air. It’s not too bad to drive without thinking.

I don’t think I’ve passed much, but I arrived in Hongcheon before I knew it. To be exact, on the Hongcheon terminal side. Let’s see, how did Hyeong-sik’s unit get from here…

“Mister, where is the artillery battalion?”

“An artillery battalion? If you meet the 53rd artillery battalion, you can go all the way.”

“Ah, thank you”

I found it right away after asking around. For security reasons, you cannot find military bases even with navigation, but you can find out where they are by asking nearby residents.

I know all the battalions and regiments that were around my unit… There is no unit I haven’t been to in my two years of military service.

I went straight in the direction I was taught, and there was a unit that stood out. I went to see if it was there, and it seemed right.

Civilian vehicles could not enter the unit, so they parked in front of it. Whether it’s a parking lot for executive cars, this or that car catches my eye.

“Hwarang! How did you come?”

A soldier who was on duty at the guardhouse came and asked about his business.

Is the 11th Division’s salute slogan Hwarang? Let our troops win! It was this, but they were all unified with loyalty. I don’t know why each unit is so unique and changed.

“I came to pick up my friend today because he said he was discharged. Isn’t it time yet?”

“Wait a minute. Let me check.”

Perhaps it was the shooter, the soldier who asked about his business asked the assistant shooter behind him.

“Hey! Jinsu! Are there any discharged today?”

“Private Private Lee Jin-soo! Sergeant Kang, aren’t you going out today? It’s supposed to be a vacation, but since you were discharged yesterday, you must be discharged!”

“Okay?”

Oh, come to think of it, I just let you go and don’t return to the unit. Didn’t I say it was treated like a vacation?

“If the name of the person being discharged today is Kang Hyeong-sik, I think it would be someone I know… How long will it take?”

“I’m probably eating breakfast, and I’m getting ready right now. I’ll report it to the duty commander and come down, so just wait a bit.”

“Ah yes”

I parked my car in a small parking lot next to the guardhouse and waited for a while.

I was bored with being alone, so I decided to peel the children who were on duty at the guardhouse. I’m sorry if I just talk to you, so I stopped by at the rest area in the middle and gave you a little drink I bought.

“It’s a lot of hard work, right? I’m discharged this year too, so I don’t feel like a stranger. Still, if I were a corporal this year, I’d only have a few months left.”

“Ah, thank you for the drink. By the way, are you Sgt. Kang’s friend?”

“You must be in the same company as Hyeong-sik?”

“Yes that’s right”

He secretly looks at the Lamborghini parked in the parking lot and exclaims, “Oh,” In a small exclamation.

“I never thought I would see something like a Lamborghini up close like this in my life.”

“I didn’t know I’d be riding that too. I didn’t buy it, but my wife is good at it.”

“How much?”

“They said it was a limited edition, so it cost about 6 billion won.”

“Awesome……!”

6 billion for a car is really crazy. Of course, there may be brand washing, but it seems to be somewhat expensive. It kills the ride.

Thirty minutes passed before I knew it while I was peeling the nogari for a while. Someone was walking towards the guardhouse, but the form was familiar.

“Hwarang! Sergeant Kang, are you discharged?”

“Hey, you’re a man you won’t see again if you leave now. You don’t have to salute.”

“Goodbye hyung-ah! Being together was dirty, let’s never meet again!”

“Jinsu Lee! PX was taken when I was a second -class disease!

To be honest, everyone who is discharged is a man. Because you will rarely see it in society. I don’t know if it’s intentional or not. I also barely keep in touch with the kids I met in the military. I don’t know if it’s something like Facebook in the first place, but I don’t do it because I think it’s a waste of time.

When I wave my hand, Jin-soo waves and welcomes me in the same way.

“Bastard! You came to meet me! If you didn’t come, I was going to go and hit you!”

“You know I’ll keep what I say, no matter how much I say stupid things.”

“That’s right. Anyway, this filthy unit is over! I’m not coming here again!”

“Maybe he will come if he trains the reserve forces.”

“Don’t talk shit about me when I’m discharged!”

After going through various procedures, Hyung-sik came out of the guardhouse and waved his hand toward the unit.

“Goodbye! Jinsu! Jongseong-ah! I’m going!!!”

“Goodbye, Hyung-sik! Good luck with your surgery!”

“Come on! Don’t worry!”

After greeting the two subordinates at the guardhouse, I moved toward the parking lot.

“Hey, but what kind of car is yours? I picked a good one…Wow! It’s a Lamborghini! It’s so cool!”

“Let’s change clothes first”

Hyeongsik and I are similar in how we dress, so I brought them from home. Since the military uniform is a cursed object that reduces one’s morale and strength just by wearing it, one should take it off as soon as possible and put it in a corner of the house until the reservists.

I took out the car key and pressed the button. Beep! And lights up the Lamborghini.

Seeing this, Hyunsik put on a puzzled expression.

“Uh……? Wait, is your car?”

“I brought clothes for you to wear in the passenger seat, so change them roughly. The clothes smell like soldiers, so put the military uniform in plastic and put it in the corner.”

“Wow, that’s really cool. I guessed it when I saw how many millions of dollars were given to my father for surgery, but I guess I was a bastard with poor imagination.”

“I haven’t been burning this car in a while. See, I haven’t even opened the vinyl yet.”

“I never thought there would come a time in my life when I would ride a Lamborghini. Wait a minute. Take some pictures and post them on Facebook.”

“They say Facebook is a waste of life!”

“It doesn’t matter if I do it or not! You should brag about this!”

Hyung-sik took pictures with his cell phone. Then I changed my clothes and got into the car. Now all that remains is to go back to Seoul.

“It kills the comfort of riding. Expensive cars cost a lot!”

“Instead, fuel economy kills the wallet. Every time I step on the accelerator, it feels like my wallet costs 10,000 won.”

“What about a rich bastard?”

“You have to save it so you can live well”

“They say there are more people”

“Do you want to get off?”

“Sorry”

I giggled and drove to Seoul again. There were more cars than at dawn, but it was still morning, so not that many. Even though I stepped on it slowly, I arrived in Seoul a little before 10:00.

“Sangcheol and Jongsu?”

“I’ve already contacted everyone. Sang-cheol took a leave of absence.”

“Huh? Yes?”

“Jong-su got a physical examination to enlist this time, but he said he was in the public interest.”

“Ugh, that bastard told me to lose some weight. They say it’s because I gained weight?”

“I also have high blood pressure, so it’s a little bit. Anyway, that’s why I’m in an ambiguous situation right now. Of course, it’s the same for both of them to play.”

The four of us who used to hang out together in high school were ball friends who hung out together even when our classes changed. Even though I’ve been out of touch lately because of the military, that fact hasn’t changed.

I have been discharged and Hyeong-sik has also been discharged, so to commemorate that, I plan to gather with the kids today and have a good time.

“What are you going to eat?”

“Is there anything other than meat for the discharged bastard to eat? That’s beef!”

“Money?”

I took out a black card from my wallet and showed it. Even on the outside, the decorations that look cool have American Express written on them.

“If you can’t eat one cow today, there’s no second round”

“Fuck, I ate stir-fried sausages and vegetables for breakfast and seaweed soup, but I shouldn’t have eaten it.”

No, there is a diet that even the late sergeant eats?!