Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Physical Assessment (Part 3)
Thud thud thud thud!
High speed!
I ran with a huge burst of speed and immediately caught up with Jae-yoon. As soon as I was right behind her, I tapped her on the shoulder.
Tap tap.
“Huh?”
Jae-yoon glanced over her shoulder before her eyes widened at the sight of me.
“What the…?”
Her face was clearly asking ‘when did she catch up to me?’
I slowed down to run next to her. As I did, I whispered, “Wait here for a bit.”
I made sure to let out some of my inner murderous rage, and that was pretty much all it took to end Jae-yoon.
“Um…!”
Jae-yoon had trouble catching her breath, which made her slow down. I began to speed up again.
Whoosh!
I could hear the dust blowing behind me as I ran. Of course, I didn’t speed up so much that it looked impossible. I kept it within the average human limit. Think Usain Bolt. I kept running, eventually finishing another lap and reaching Heejin. At this point, a zombie could have outwalked her. She had one hand on her hip as she limped like a grandma. Simply put, she looked extremely exhausted.
“Hey, Heejin.”
“Hey…Si…Sian…”
“Quit making those weird sounds.”
“Ha…okay…haa…Sian…haaa….”
“Just wait here for a bit, okay? I’ll be back and then I’ll run with you again. Got it?”
“O…okay…Sian…ha…”
And so, she began walking again. At least she wasn’t giving up. Good for her. I gave her an encouraging pat on the butt and then started to run again. I saw one of the instructors ahead staring at me, so I gave him a casual wave.
“What’s up with him?”
His face looked rather confused. Anyways, I soon caught up with Soomin and ran next to her. I could see Jae-yoon just a few yards ahead, but she was slowing down. After feeling some of my inner wrath, she seemed to be having trouble breathing, which was affecting her performance. Then again, she was still so ahead of Soomin that even at this rate, she could still get first place. Of course, that wasn’t going to happen….because I wasn’t going to let it happen.
“Hi, Soomin,” I said with a bright smile. I wasn’t going to overtake Jae-yoon just yet. I would wait until we were near the finish line. That’s more fun.
“Oh, hello…ha…ha…”
Soomin also seemed exhausted. That’s to be expected. It’s not easy for a girl to run for 1600 meters.
“So how long have you and Jae-yoon been friends?”
“Um…ha…ha…that…haha…ha…it’s been…haa…a while…”
Soomin was finding it rather hard to catch enough breath to answer my question. Just then, Jae-yoon glanced over her shoulder to look at me and I gave her a casual wave. With a gasp of surprise, Jae-yoon sped up again…only to slow down once more.
“Alright, then.”
I ran up to the instructor, who was running right behind Jae-yoon. I wanted to talk to him. We still had one lap left, so it’s okay.
I soon caught up with him.
“Hello, Sir!”
“Huh? Wha…?”
The instructor stared at me with his mouth wide open, trying to figure out where I had come from.
“I’m in second place,” I said, my breath completely stable as I ran. The instructor’s eyes widened. “What…how…?”
The instructor stared at me in disbelief. It’s one thing that I caught up so quickly, but it was another that I didn’t seem to be exhausted at all. So, I couldn’t blame him.
“There’s no need to be surprised.”
“….”
“But, um, Sir?”
“….?”
“Are you mad that I didn’t give you the chicken?”
“What?”
“I said, are you mad that you didn’t get the chicken?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.”
“I said I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.”
The instructor furrowed his brows.
“I’ll buy you some after this is over, so don’t be hurt,” I said. ‘You petty bastard,’ I added in my head not long after.
I would’ve loved nothing more than to say that part out loud, but he was my superior, prompting me to hold myself back.
“I said, I’m not mad.”
“Sure~”
With that, I immediately passed the instructor. Soon, we had half a lap left. As Jae-yoon glanced over her shoulder, I began to slow down and even began to gasp for air. Of course, I was only pretending. Nonetheless, it seemed to convince her because she turned her attention back to her own running. Now, there was only 20 meters left until the finish line. That’s when I put in my final burst of speed.
Thud thud thud thud!
Soon, Jae-yoon was only ten meters from the finish line. Nine meters. Eight meters. Seven meters. Six meters. Three meters. Two meters. One meter. When she was barely twenty centimeters away from the end, I passed her.
“Aah!”
That was Jae-yoon. I looked at her. Her face was priceless. I had no idea that anyone could look so angry. No doubt that she felt discouraged, Jae-yoon passed out. As for me, I kept running. The bulldog instructor shouted at me, telling me that it was okay to stop running, but I still kept going. I ran until I reached the slower group, with Heejin trailing towards the end. As I took her hand, she began to lean into me. I could tell that she was also passing out. I put my hand around her waist and picked her up.
“Oh! Sian…”
She gave me a flustered look, though there was no doubting the gratitude. I began to wonder again if she was a lesbian, but I pushed the thought away. It’s not like every girl I met was a lesbian. I should be grateful for Christine as it is. Anyways, I hurriedly put Heejin on my back and ran, carrying her piggy-back style. The instructors didn’t say anything, because they knew how much Heejin was struggling. They had seen her about to faint.
“Sian…thank you…”
“You shouldn’t do things halfway.”
“Hmph! I already finished half…”
“I’m just kidding.”
I put in a burst of speed, reaching the finish line for the second time.
***
Because I had taken first place in the 1600 meter run, that meant that I got first place for the entire physical exam. They told me that they’ve never seen anything like it. Everyone began to cheer and clap for me, but I acted like it was not a big deal. I mean, for me, this is just average stuff. Though I’m very sure it was going to look awesome on television. Oh, and the part about me taking care of a friend even after I won was going to be a nice cherry on top for the viewers.
“Stand in a line.”
We got in line and followed the instructor to the mess hall. It was lunch time.
We got to the mess hall, where the other soldiers were finishing their meals. Most of them had already left, leaving the mess hall relatively wide and empty.
“What’s for lunch today?” I asked.
“It’s bulgogi.”
“Wow!” I said. Of course, I wasn’t the only one.
“Can we eat as much as we want?” I asked.
“Yes, you can. We have plenty,” the instructor said with a nod. We cheered. This was going to be great!
We got our trays and lined up for the food. Since we were last, they told us to take as much as we wanted. First, rice. I piled it onto my tray.
“Whoa, Sian, are you really going to eat all of that?” Heejin asked. Everyone followed suit and stared at my tray in shock. Judging by the look on their faces, some clearly thought that I was being too greedy.
The instructor came up and said, “You are not allowed to waste food. Please only take as much as you are going to eat.”
“Yes, Sir.”
So, I took more rice. Everyone gasped. The instructor came back.
“Soldier Lee! I told you to only take as much as you’re going to eat. Are you trying to be funny?”
“But…I actually am going to eat this.”
“….”
The instructor was unable to respond as I looked at him innocently. Then, it was the bulgogi. I piled the beef onto my rice, along with kimchi and lettuce. I even added some soybean paste, filling up my tray nicely. Well…perhaps a little too much because I had to be very careful not to tip it over.
“The soup…”
The cafeteria staff held it out to me.
“Well, as you can see…”
I held out my tray, silently rejecting the soup. There really was no room for it. I had taken the spot originally for the soup and piled more bulgogi into it.
“You have to eat all of that…”
“Don’t worry,” I said with a wink. The staff person blushed. I bet he’d never received a wink from a female idol before. So, I gave him another wink. The guy suddenly burst out that he had to go to the bathroom. I wonder why. I suddenly felt rather cheerful.
I sat down at one of the tables with the rest of the group. The instructors also sat with us.
“Wow, Sian, can you really eat all of that?” Joo-ran asked me, staring at my tray with wide eyes. Her tray was also loaded, but it was nowhere near close to mine.
“Well…”
At that, everyone turned to look at me, looking expectant. They clearly thought that I was regretting taking so much food. I mean, how much can a person really eat? Unfortunately, my answer was far from that.
“Actually, I don’t think this is enough. Also, I’m sad that I didn’t get to eat the stew. I would have gotten more meat, but there was no room on the tray so…”
“….”
Anyways, we were soon eating. It hasn’t been that long since we returned to the training center, but we were already famished. Is this what being in the army is like? There’s no time to rest. I mean, I was fine, but the strict schedule was quite irritating.
As we were eating, I noticed that Joo-ran was staring at me.
“Wow, Sian,” she said. “You sure do eat a lot. Good for you.”
“Thanks,” I uttered, my mouth full of food. I bet that I’m the only one who can speak so clearly with that much food in her mouth.
“After this is over, let’s go out and have a meal together. I know a really good restaurant. What do you say? My treat.”
Oh…Joo-ran is going to regret this.
“Sure. Thanks,” I said. Hey, if an elder invites you out for a meal, you cannot refuse.
“Hey, Sian. You and I should have a meal together as well. Watching you eat makes me so happy. My husband should learn from you. He’s so picky and eats like a bird. Okay? Let’s have a meal together. Promise?”
This time, it was Hyun-joo who had asked me. I gave her an eager smile.
“Okay,” I answered.
And that’s how I ended up eating my meal with two victims.
***
After our meal, they gave us guns and we started some basic drills and training. They weren’t hard, but it was rather annoying. The fact that our movements were restricted, as well as the fact that we were also restricted on when we could do things was really irritating. But time still passed and soon, it was the end of day one. We returned to the mess hall to eat dinner and once again, I ate the most out of anyone. The show producer and staff also stared at me with wide eyes. No way are they going to be able to edit this out.
Afterwards, we returned to our dorms. It was now time for roll call.
On the left were Jae-yoon, Soomin, and Joo-ran. On the right was Hyunjoo, me, and Heejin. Six women. With that, I was happy, especially since Heejin was next to me. I felt sorry for Jia though. Girls may change their minds quickly, but they’re nothing compared to men. Still, as far as I was concerned, Jia was still number one in my heart.
“Shouldn’t the squad commander stand in the middle?” I asked Joo-ran. After all, she was the squad commander. Out of all of us, she’s the loudest and the most energetic, so it was an easy choice.
“I guess so.”
Joo-ran stood from her spot and changed into her training outfit before standing in the middle of the room. Then, she began to practice her short briefing.
“Hey, Sian,” Heejin said to me.
“Yeah?”
“Didn’t they say that we’re going to do the gas chamber tomorrow?”
“Oh, is that tomorrow?”
“Yeah, that’s what they said. I’m so nervous…”
Heejin really did look very worried.
“So, do you need to fart again?”
“Um…yeah…”
“Go ahead.”
“Okay.”
Pffft~
Everyone laughed. Her fart really did sound quite cute. Luckily, there were no cameras around. The show staff were on break. But even if it had been caught on camera, it was so cute that it would have only helped boost her popularity.
“Did you go to the bathroom?”
“It won’t work. Nothing comes out.”
“Oh.”
That meant that her fart was going to smell toxic starting the day tomorrow. Also known as the day we’re going to the gas chamber. Is it really that tough? Well, we’ll see, I guess. If it’s worse than Heejin’s fart smells, then I’ll concede defeat.
