Yoo-hyun looked at him with a puzzled expression.
It was the same when they practiced disassembling and assembling firearms.
Clack. Clack. Clack. Clack.
Everyone else was doing it casually, just stamping their papers, but Hyunjin did it exactly according to the FM.
He was so diligent that even the instructor tried to stop him.
“Senior, you don’t have to work so hard.”
He used honorifics to the soldiers and worked hard.
But he wasn’t good at it.
He seemed to know the theory well, but his hands were clumsy.
“If you twist the barrel angle by about 14 degrees and insert it…”
Yoo-hyun, who had already finished, reached out to him, who was struggling.
“You have to put this part in and turn it.”
“Oh, right. Thank you.”
Hyunjin thanked Yoo-hyun with an awkward expression.
Yoo-hyun felt strange at his simple gratitude.
It was because he kept seeing his past self in him.
Hyunjin, who received a lunch box and had lunch, brought up his story for the first time.
“I’m working at Ilseong right now…”
“You’re working at Ilseong? Are you an engineer in the communication parts field?”
“Just a guess. You said your military specialty was communication earlier.”
Yoo-hyun guessed and Hyunjin laughed.
He had a sense of humor in such unexpected places.
“Hahaha. What does that have to do with anything?”
“It’s kind of related. You said you had a hard time because of a crazy senior in the unit, right?”
“Don’t you have the same problem at your company?”
“Now that you mention it, I do. Maybe it’s because I’m naive.”
Yoo-hyun had never heard his story directly, nor had he seen his interview.
That’s how much Hyunjin didn’t reveal himself.
But his colleagues had talked about him in interviews.
He was a respectable leader.
So Yoo-hyun could say more confidently.
“No, it’s just bad luck.”
“I’m sure of it. I have a good sense of people.”
Hyunjin laughed heartily as Yoo-hyun spoke casually.
They finished their lunch and went around the individual training ground on the mountain.
They had to take theoretical classes on individual combat, first aid, chemical defense, etc. at the 16 courses there.
They all had to stamp their papers to pass, so people followed without complaining.
The places where the military officers were instructors were unusually quiet.
The problem was the places where the soldier assistants taught directly.
“Seniors, hello. This assistant is…”
“Hey, just do it already.”
There was inevitably bullying by the reservists there.
The reservists’ typical arrogance was also there.
Every time that happened, Hyunjin flinched.
Yoo-hyun asked him next to him.
“Do you want me to say something?”
“No, it’s all like that. What can I do?”
Hyunjin shook his head, but he looked uncomfortable.
Yoo-hyun took him in his eyes.
The next course was a little higher up.
They arrived at the first aid training ground where the assistants taught.
“We’ll take a 10-minute break. Please keep your uniforms on even during the break.”
The reservists snorted at the assistant’s words.
Rifles and bulletproof helmets rolled on the floor.
Hyunjin followed the assistant’s words as always.
Yoo-hyun smiled and said with a consistent attitude.
“I’ll go to the bathroom for a bit.”
“Okay. I’ll save your spot.”
It was when Yoo-hyun came back from the bathroom.
Despite being break time, people were gathered at the training ground.
The assistant was rolling on the floor holding his stomach.
It was a bad atmosphere and Yoo-hyun quickly looked around.
Two men were facing each other among the crowd of people.
“Who are you to butt in?”
Yoo-hyun pushed through the crowd and went inside.
Then he saw a man with a shaved head holding someone by the collar.
He was a thug with a shoddy tattoo and a knife scar on his face.
Then he heard a familiar voice coughing.
“But still, you shouldn’t hit an assistant.”
“Shut up. Who are you to lecture me? Get lost.”
Hyunjin was being threatened with his collar grabbed.
It was a situation where he could be scared, but Hyunjin stood up to the thug until the end.
There was no one to stop them.
They might have thought it was none of their business or they might have been intimidated by the thug.
But Yoo-hyun wasn’t like that.
“What are you doing?”
He clenched his teeth and ran toward the thug.
Before the surprised people could open their mouths, Yoo-hyun flew.
Then he turned his body and kicked the thug in the face.
The bottom of Yoo-hyun’s combat boots grazed the thug’s face and hit the tree next to him.
A loud noise rang out and pine cones and needles fell.
The thick tree swayed greatly.
It was obviously not a joke power.
People’s faces were filled with shock.
The thug felt the threat of death for a moment.
He turned his head with a trembling expression and saw a dent in the middle of the tree.
He swallowed his saliva and the man who hit the tree, Yoo-hyun, said with a smirk.
The thug was furious because there were people around him.
“Let go of your hand.”
He even clenched his fist.
But that was only for a moment.
Yoo-hyun smiled and approached him, and the thug unknowingly let go of his hand.
“Let’s be quiet. Or your face will be like that tree.”
Yoo-hyun took another step and threatened him.
“Huh, don’t you answer?”
The thug’s body shrank involuntarily.
It was a pathetic sight.
Then, Hyunjin, who was freed, tended to the fallen assistant.
He was a consistent friend in one thing.
A military officer came after receiving a radio call.
Hyunjin stepped forward and spoke on behalf of the assistant.
The thug snapped, but Yoo-hyun gave him a fierce look.
“Shut up, you bastard.”
The other reservists also testified, so the thug had no way out.
His uniform was already defective.
In the end, the thug was dragged away by the officer.
After the situation was settled, the assistant came over and thanked Yoo-hyun.
“You should thank him.”
Yoo-hyun pointed with his hand, and the assistant bowed deeply to Hyunjin.
“Thank you. Thank you very much.”
Hyunjin held the assistant’s hand with a warm smile.
That’s how the incident ended.
It was after the reservist training that day.
Hyunjin said to Yoo-hyun.
“I wish I could do it with you tomorrow, but it’s a shame.”
“Haha. I really want to come.”
Hyunjin’s eyes were sincere.
But he had already completed his reservist training hours today.
Yoo-hyun didn’t want to let him go either.
He put his feelings in his smile and said.
“Then how about a drink tonight?”
Hyunjin agreed enthusiastically.
Yoo-hyun and Hyunjin faced each other at a beer house in Ulsan.
They cheered happily and drank beer.
After one or two glasses, they loosened up their tongues as they were the same age.
They shared their worries and troubles.
“The truth is, no matter how much I work at the company…”
He was called a genius, but he was just a part in the company.
Yoo-hyun listened to his troubles and advised him.
“Jingun, that’s because you’re too talented.”
“What talent? Everyone is the same when they enter the company.”
“No way. I guarantee it.”
Yoo-hyun held out his glass and Hyunjin smiled.
He was doing what he had always wanted to do in a roundabout way now.
It was a strange feeling.
They chatted like that until Hyunjin brought up something more personal.
Not his story, but his brother’s story.
“Yeah? He went to the army with that body?”
Yoo-hyun showed a surprised reaction, and Hyunjin gave a bitter smile.
“Yeah. He must have been complexed by his weak body. He insisted on going to the army even after taking a re-examination. I couldn’t stop him.”
“So you were nice to the soldiers?”
“I thought of my brother.”
Yoo-hyun nodded as he listened to Hyunjin’s words.
He could tell how much he cared for his brother.
Then he asked casually without thinking much.
“Which unit is your brother in?”
“Oh, the Lightning Division?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Suddenly, Yoo-hyun’s eyebrows narrowed.
A vague memory from a long time ago came up.
-We have selected additional personnel for the Hansung Humanitarian Award to improve our group’s image this time.
Yoo-hyun, who was in the group strategy room, personally selected the personnel for the Hansung Humanitarian Award.
At that time, Yoo-hyun picked mainly people who were making issues on the internet.
One of them was a military explosion victim.
He had burns all over his body and lost his legs. He was falsely accused of causing the accident.
He fought with the military for a long time and finally proved his innocence.
It wasn’t his fault that he caused the accident.
It was entirely due to the negligence of the ammunition depot officer in charge.
Rather, he threw himself toward the explosives to protect his juniors who were about to be discharged.
But the military didn’t admit that fact and there was no compensation for any damage either.
This unfair incident became a big issue on the internet.
Yoo-hyun was next to him when he received the Hansung Humanitarian Award in a wheelchair.
He had no memory of seeing Hyunjinsu after that.
That was several years before he met Hyunjin.
-It’s just paying back what I owe you.
Yoo-hyun finally understood what Hyunjin meant by his short words.