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    Han Yujin Over the Frozen Sky (3)

    Han Yujin Over the Frozen Sky (3)

    Have I entered Silmido now?

    Why am I receiving ranger training in winter?

    Ranger training in summer, cold weather training in winter.

    Wasn’t that the national rule?

    But why am I doing both?

    When I asked, they said non-commissioned officer candidates receive winter ranger training too.

    Is that true?

    …What if it’s not?

    Well, if they say do it, I have to do it.

    “PT exercise number 8, 10 repetitions! How many repetitions did the instructor say?”

    “T-ten repetitions!”

    “Skip the last shout. Begin exercise!”

    At the whistle sound, the cruel torture began.

    My legs feel as heavy as a thousand pounds. My waist is screaming.

    Even after moving to the Special Warfare School, the swamp of training remained.

    This damn… Ah, I should watch my pronunciation.

    This hellish PT exercise.

    And the fact that I’m doing the most notorious number 8 again, my life really has a rough fortune.

    Today, to make matters worse, even the weather isn’t cooperating.

    A light rain is falling steadily, and the ground has already turned into a mud pit.

    I hypnotized myself.

    This is a mud pack.

    This is a mud pack.

    “Kyaaagh!”

    “Urgh…!”

    “…Stop already!”

    Painful groans flow out like a bursting dam from beside me.

    If you just heard the sound, you’d misunderstand that they’re giving birth in a delivery room.

    “…Ten!”

    Someone who lost their reason shouted the last count.

    A single sigh escaped my mouth.

    The corners of the instructor’s mouth curved up refreshingly.

    …I just want to…

    “Since there was a repeated shout, we’ll do it again. Begin exercise!”

    I’m going to go crazy, really!

    Fortunately, the rain stopped soon.

    As soon as we returned to the living quarters, I showered with warm water.

    While wiping the remaining moisture from my hair, I carefully organized my thoughts.

    Sergeant Kang Dahee said this. Originally, what the production team wanted was for us to receive intense cold weather training.

    But that plan was derailed by concerns from the Ministry of Defense, and the card the production team pulled out as a second-best option was…

    Parachute descent.

    The corners of my mouth danced.

    I take back what I said about having a rough fortune.

    Luck continues to be on my side.

    I didn’t know that serving as a special forces soldier in my previous life would come back as such good fortune.

    I’ve done four descents.

    Jumping from high altitude with a parachute is as easy as eating cold porridge while lying down.

    Above all, it makes for a pretty broadcast picture.

    If a female pro gamer who was expected to just kill time jumps with a parachute, it’s obvious that the topic will pop like popcorn.

    Isn’t this going to be an even bigger hit than the future I knew?

    Becoming a PR ambassador for the Ministry of Defense, and even becoming a military president because the non-commissioned officer application rate increased…

    This is a bit too much.

    “You’re thinking dirty thoughts again.”

    “What? What nonsense are you talking about.”

    Lilme, who was applying sunscreen, squeezed some sunscreen onto the back of my hand.

    I habitually patted it onto my cheeks.

    “Then why are you smiling?”

    “Hmm, you don’t need to know.”

    I cleared my throat and made an excuse.

    Lilme leaned in close and observed my face.

    “But did you not sleep last night? Your dark circles are coming down to your chin, hey.”

    That’s right. I didn’t sleep at all.

    Because of Han Sejun!

    Why didn’t this damn guy answer my call yesterday?

    In the end, I stayed up all night worrying about my siblings.

    Whether they ate, whether they got hurt, whether something happened.

    Thinking about that, my teeth ground together.

    …Han Sejun.

    If you dare feed the kids delivery food.

    I’ll grind you until not even a speck of dust remains!


    There was no life in Han Sejun’s pupils.

    His eyes had died, worn out from two days of housework and editing work.

    He fell asleep early and couldn’t answer his sister’s call.

    When he tried calling back,

    -The phone is turned off…

    Then a thought flashed through Han Sejun’s mind.

    ‘…When is noona coming back? It’s hell without her.’

    Realizing it was a crazy thought, he shook his head.

    Just then, Han Sieun took a sip of soup and slightly furrowed her brow.

    “Oppa. The soup is a bit salty.”

    “Hey. I made it exactly according to noona’s recipe, you know?”

    “So you’re saying big sister made a mistake?”

    “…I don’t know.”

    Han Sieun checked the notebook with the recipe written in it after the deflating explanation.

    “It says here to add three teaspoons of salt, but did you use regular spoons?”

    “…Maybe?”

    Han Sieun put down the notebook and shouldered her bag.

    “I want to help too, but I’m swamped with practice right now.”

    “It’s fine. You focus on school and the semi-pro selection for now. I’ll take care of things.”

    “Sorry. I’ll go first.”

    Even though he said that, frustration boiled up inside Han Sejun.

    It’s been two days since noona left for filming.

    Already, the gears weren’t turning properly in small places.

    “Unni!”

    Han Sumin’s voice rang out sharply like a blender.

    “How many times do I have to tell you noona went filming.”

    “Ah, right. But where’s my hair iron?”

    “What are you talking about, did you get shot in the head? Why are you asking me about your hair iron?”

    “Huh? But big sister always knew.”

    Han Sumin scratched her head and went to her room to look for the hair iron.

    This time, Han Suho opened the refrigerator door and asked.

    “Hyung. Where’s my isotonic drink?”

    “What isotonic drink, you crazy bastard.”

    “Don’t you know I drink an isotonic drink every morning?”

    “Do I need to know your morning routine?”

    Han Suho’s lips protruded as he clicked his tongue.

    “Didn’t you properly take over from big sister? This is really the despair edition of the Han family.”

    “…Do you really want to die?”

    “No?”

    Han Sejun, whose anger was bubbling up, exhaled an angry breath.

    ‘Wow, this is driving me crazy. Do these kids not have hands or feet?’

    Looking in front of him, he saw leftover dishes spread out.

    ‘Do I have to do the dishes for this too? I’m really going to go crazy.’

    Han Sejun, who was diligently washing dishes while wearing rubber gloves, couldn’t hold back and blurted out to himself.

    “Ah, why am I doing this!”

    “Oppa!”

    Turning around, he saw Han Sejin standing there.

    Seeing her face after a long time, Han Sejun chuckled.

    “Oh, it’s the aspiring idol. Aren’t you supposed to be living in the dorms? Why are you here?”

    “I came to get the USB with the choreography video. But why are you yelling at yourself?”

    Han Sejun roughly threw off his rubber gloves and spat out words like a machine gun.

    “Haah… Sejin-ah. Take care of your siblings. The kids are becoming more and more ill-mannered. Do you see it now? Me preparing meals alone, doing dishes, cleaning. Once the little ones come down, hell begins.”

    Han Sejun sighed and started doing the dishes again.

    The sound of putting down dishes was rough.

    Han Sejin, who had been quietly listening to the complaints, opened her mouth softly.

    “…Oppa.”

    “What.”

    Han Sejin, who had been hesitating, said quietly.

    “Unni did this every day.”

    Hearing those words, Han Sejun’s hands stopped.

    “After living in the dorms, I understand unni’s hardships. We were really thoughtless and bad.”

    “…”

    “Unni is only 20 years old. Not eating what she wants to eat, not buying what she wants to buy. Unni probably hasn’t even bought a single piece of clothing, right?”

    Han Sejin continued speaking as she went up the stairs.

    “Let’s save money and give unni a gift. Even something small. It’s almost Christmas, right?”

    “Christmas?”

    “Yeah. We’ve only selfishly received until now. I’ll make a group chat, so let’s talk about the details there!”

    For a moment, Han Sejun felt self-loathing.

    Right. Noona did this every day. Whether it rained or snowed. Whether summer or winter. Giving up her time and body.

    Han Sejun finished the dishes and entered noona’s room.

    The room he faced was extremely lonely.

    A colorless, odorless space without decoration.

    A somewhat desolate space.

    A bleak and lonely-looking space.

    It was an empty room.

    ‘…What’s this? Decorate your room a bit.’

    Han Sejun diligently cleaned the floor and wiped the dust off the bookshelf.

    Just then, a notebook fell.

    “Huh?”

    Han Sejun opened the notebook.

    It was noona’s diary.

    Instinctively, he read the last page.

    The date was March 15th.

    It was the day before noona’s birthday.

    [240315]

    I wish a miracle would happen.

    In the end, I gave up going to college even though I got in. The scholarship wasn’t an issue because of the multi-child support, but I was worried about my siblings.

    Honestly, I felt sad every time my friends talked about college life in the group chat. While my friends were enjoying the cherry blossoms, I was commuting to the factory complex listening to machine noises.

    Still, thinking about my siblings gave me strength.

    If someone has to give up anyway, it’s best if I’m the one to give up.

    Cheer up, Yujin.

    I steeled my heart once again like that.

    Tomorrow is my birthday. It should be a happy day, but worry came before excitement.

    I wish a miracle would happen.

    Please, please.

    Words couldn’t come out of Han Sejun’s throat as if a thorn was stuck in it.

    The ink of the beautifully written letters was blurred in round spots. Probably because of tear stains shed while writing the diary.

    Seeing that, his heart ached.

    ‘I was really a bastard…’

    Han Sejun, wiping away his flowing tears, made a promise to himself.

    That he would no longer let noona bear the burden alone.

    “Achoo!”

    …Is someone talking about me?

    I’m sneezing so much.

    When I breathed, white breath flowed from my mouth.

    I was standing in line to receive food before camping in the outdoor hideout.

    Cha Jaehee, holding her tray, looked at me worriedly and asked.

    “Aren’t you catching a cold?”

    “Not at all. Rather, I’m so energetic it’s a problem. If I had my way, I’d like to properly catch a cold and be excused…”

    Instructor Choi Jungseop, who was serving food, glared at me sharply.

    I quickly changed my words.

    “…I have no such thoughts at all and want to train hard!”

    Cha Jaehee, receiving chicken porridge, whined to Choi Jungseop.

    “Please give me a little more chicken porridge.”

    “…Please?”

    “Ah, please give me.”

    “Not possible. People are waiting behind you.”

    “This isn’t even enough to stick to Candidate Choi Haru’s nose.”

    “Still not possible.”

    Cha Jaehee left with a “tsk”.

    While I was eating chicken porridge and digesting, Choi Jungseop called me over with a hand gesture.

    He pressed something into my hand.

    “It’s a heat pack. I brought it in case you’re cold, so share it with the other candidates.”

    “…Ah, thank you.”

    “Put two heat packs in your combat boots because they’ll freeze.”

    “Yes, I understand.”

    Just in case, I asked again.

    “…Do you really really not know me?”

    Choi Jungseop, glancing at the camera, shook his head.

    He really doesn’t know me.

    …That’s a shame.

    This person was really a good person too.

    Thinking that one connection had disappeared made my chest feel heavy.

    We laid down blankets in the underground hideout called “Beat” and lay down.

    Lilme had an excited expression as if on a school trip.

    “Hey, HaYoo. Tell a scary story.”

    “A scary story? Suddenly?”

    “Yeah. Quickly!”

    A scary story?

    What would be good…

    “Actually, I came from the future.”

    “That’s not a scary story, it’s a funny story!”

    It’s true though. Fool.

    Lilme suddenly hugged me.

    “As expected, Han Yujin’s chest is insulation. It’s so warm, full of fat.”

    “There’s a camera over there, you know.”

    “To hell with that camera. Everyone, are you jealous? Do you want to have Han Yujin? But I won’t give her up!”

    Cha Jaehee, who was behind me, asked curiously.

    “Is it really warm?”

    “Try it yourself.”

    “Yujin-ssi. Excuse me.”

    Then Cha Jaehee started clinging to me too.

    “Hey. I can’t breathe.”

    And,

    Choi Haru, who had become a caterpillar wrapped in a blanket, joined in too. She wriggled over and finally squeezed in between me and Lilme.

    “This is so warm, really.”

    “I’m getting sleepy.”

    “…Feels good.”

    An idol, actress, and streamer are clinging to me.

    What is this, some web novel?!

    Think good thoughts, think good thoughts…

    And soon,

    I started feeling sleepy too.


    Thursday 6:30 AM.

    Instructor Choi Jungseop, lifting the tent of the hideout, said:

    “Candidates, wake u…”

    Choi Jungseop’s expression, which had been as cold as ice, melted and he smiled slightly.

    The sight of four candidates huddled together sleeping in the hideout looked cute.

    “Camera director.”

    “Yes.”

    Choi Jungseop called the camera director. The camera director looked inside and grinned.

    The director preciously captured the sleeping scene on camera.

    “Haha. They’re sleeping well.”

    “Indeed they are.”

    “Let’s leave them sleeping a bit longer.”

    “Not possible.”

    The camera director laughed and elbowed Choi Jungseop’s chest.

    “Come on, don’t be heartless. Just one minute!”

    Choi Jungseop looked at the deeply sleeping Han Yujin once, then smiled with his eyes and said:

    “…Alright.”

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