Ch.38Rice and Seaweed Soup

Bitter cold winter.

The lowest temperature: -27°C.

Despite the freezing cold that threatened to turn bodies to ice, the heat of the filming location showed no signs of cooling down.

From the cameras set up between utility poles at the top and bottom of the hill,

to the action cams made to capture the vivid reality of the trenches,

to the historically accurate costumes and the thick thermal underwear worn beneath them.

Endless Frontline, which had transformed an entire mountain into a set, was now approaching its climax.

A strangely tense atmosphere hung in the air.

Was it because they were filming the highlight section?

The barren hilltop, usually filled with casual chatter, now carried the desolation of an actual war.

But it had never been this intense before?

‘Is it because of Donghu?’

Top star actor Han Taegeon, currently at the peak of his career, glanced at Kim Donghu.

Perhaps it was the advantage of youth, but he didn’t even shiver in this cold weather.

‘Whenever Donghu appears on set, the atmosphere becomes like walking on thin ice.’

That day, everyone witnessed Kim Donghu’s performance as a student soldier,

and they all realized one thing.

If they didn’t give their best, they would be crushed.

They could be devoured by a rookie making his film debut,

and face criticism about their acting skills.

So they all tried their hardest.

For that day when they would face Kim Donghu again, to avoid being trampled.

In a way, Kim Donghu had become the guillotine for actors’ performances.

‘I’m talking nonsense about a kid.’

Muttering to himself, Han Taegeon slowly put on his mask.

The mask of Kim Suha, who must finally answer the student soldier’s question.

“Cue!”

The director’s signal to begin is heard.

Today, wearing this mask, I will face the student soldier.

+++++

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Under the bombardment that fell indiscriminately on friend and foe alike,

Kim Suha ran desperately through a frontline where it was no longer clear who had the upper hand.

Though he had requested a cease-fire over the radio due to the shifting frontline,

bombs already dropped never change their course.

“Spread out! Don’t bunch together!”

Standing still meant death.

They needed to find the safest place.

To survive,

To see the end of this war,

He ran and ran.

Though his breath was reaching its limit, he ignored it.

He had no choice but to ignore it.

He had to survive.

Even knowing survival was impossible,

Even pretending to be indifferent to death,

When the end of life actually approached, it turned people into cowards.

“Die! Yaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!”

Bang!

He killed a red bastard who charged at him, having lost all reason.

Probably screaming out of excitement in the face of death.

Perhaps it was even a cry begging to be killed.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Swoosh!

“Ugh!”

One of the bullets raining from all directions grazed his shoulder.

Normally he would have cried out in pain, but his extremely excited body suppressed all pain.

“Shouldn’t we retreat, sir?!”

Kim Suha shook his head at Sergeant Jin Dongsik’s words.

Where would they retreat to?

With bombardment and bullets raining from all directions, in a battlefield where friend and foe couldn’t be distinguished.

If they had to flee, where should they go?

No one could provide an answer.

“Damn it! If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have worn these red bastards’ uniforms!”

To make matters worse, they had put on enemy uniforms for warmth.

In the swirling dust, the only distinguishing feature was the shape of the uniform.

Even this was hard to make out, making it impossible to tell who was the enemy.

“If I make it back alive, I want to line up all the higher-ups and shoot them with one bullet.”

Kim Suha found himself nodding at Sergeant Ju Haksan’s words.

‘Yes, if we make it back alive.’

Though they were told not to bunch up, they naturally formed a three-man team.

It was the survival method with the highest success rate,

learned from countless battles for this hill.

Bang!

No, it had been the best method.

“Kheuk!”

Is there any place as lacking in causality as war?

No one would think the person next to them would suddenly die.

It was truly an unrealistic thing.

“Dongsik!”

While his words expressed concern, his eyes, filled with anxiety, looked in the direction the bullet had come from.

“…That bastard!”

A youthful face unsuited for war,

Empty eyes without focus, pointing a gun barrel in their direction.

It’s him.

The one who had suddenly asked about white rice and seaweed soup,

The student soldier.

Click!

He quickly raised his gun, but the enemy had already hidden behind cover.

Was it deliberate? Did he spare me?

‘Why?’

Though confused, there was no one to provide answers.

Kim Suha finally looked down at the dying Dongsik.

With no time to spare even to hear his last words,

Swallowing his grief, he collected the letter and dog tags from his pocket.

“Isn’t that the guy from before?!”

“Yes! Even in this chaos, he’s targeting us precisely.”

“What should we do?”

“Kill him, we have to kill him first.”

Kim Suha kept muttering those words.

We must kill him. Kill first to avoid being killed.

Sergeant Ju Haksan nodded at that resolve.

The only goal that emerged in the aimless wandering of the battlefield.

Was it for revenge?

Or was it the joy of having a direction to move in?

Kim Suha and Ju Haksan ran with all their might.

The direction from which the student soldier had fired was toward the top of the hill.

Despite it being the first area to be bombarded,

He had stubbornly survived and targeted them.

Their combat boots stomped forcefully on the ground and corpses of unknown allegiance.

They advanced without knowing whether they had just passed a red or one of their own.

With a clear objective, nothing else mattered.

Their minds became clear.

Then.

Bang!

The distinct gunshot of the student soldier pierced their ears.

“…!”

Without even time to scream,

A hole appeared in Sergeant Ju Haksan’s head.

This time, he didn’t collect the dog tags or letter.

After all, he would soon meet the same fate.

Ratatatatata!

His gun barrel spewed fire, firing indiscriminately toward the student soldier.

At least one bullet should hit, it should wound him somewhere.

Did such a wish come true?

Click click.

Just before running out of bullets, he saw the student soldier’s body waver.

Yes, you should suffer too, that would be fair.

Click!

Kim Suha attached a bayonet to his gun and pursued the student soldier.

Despite staggering, the enemy moved steadily into the safest trench.

With such skill, it’s no wonder he had survived at such a young age.

Not experience but instinct.

The moment he entered the trench entrance, following the enemy driven by the desire to live—

Bang!

The student soldier’s bullet pierced Kim Suha’s shoulder.

He should have aimed for the head,

But with his side pierced from injury, his aim was off.

Click click.

The student soldier pulled the trigger again, but there was no response.

He had run out of bullets.

“Comrade, have you been well?”

“Who’s your comrade, you bastard.”

Splash splash.

Combat boots caked with blood like mud moved forward with difficulty.

This was the moment of giving his all to kill just one young child.

“Have you come to give me the answer?”

“What answer?”

Kim Suha belatedly realized what that answer was.

White rice and seaweed soup, wasn’t it?

What a ridiculous thing.

People who lived better than us started this war,

What meaning is there in discussing good meals?

“I haven’t eaten it either.”

What luxury could there be in these times of war?

It was laughable.

“You did all this just to ask that? Answer me!”

“What could be more important than that?”

The bayonet attached under the gun barrel trembled.

A ridiculous trembling that made it hard to tell whose bayonet it was.

As they looked at each other,

With each exchange of words, death felt closer.

Whose death would it be?

The student soldier smiled grimly.

It would be your death.

Because,

“My sister wasn’t a liar.”

You clearly have it, but you’re saying you don’t because you don’t want to share.

The student soldier didn’t believe Kim Suha’s words.

It was the answer he so desperately wanted to hear,

But he hadn’t come this far to hear lies.

‘Then why did my sister have to die?’

There was no one here who could answer this.

That’s why he had to live.

If there was no white rice and seaweed soup in the South either.

If what he couldn’t eat in the North due to poverty wasn’t available anywhere.

Why did his family have to die so meaninglessly?

Why did his beloved sister have to die protecting him?

He wanted to live to hear that answer.

Pabapak!

The student soldier moved to kill the liar before him in order to survive.

The bayonet of the student soldier, who had only learned the skill of killing,

Moved straight to kill Kim Suha.

‘Sister, I will surely live for your share too.’

Pook!

“…?”

Was it because he was thinking of his sister for a moment?

A bayonet had somehow pierced the student soldier’s lung.

He desperately tried to resist, moving his bayonet this way and that.

Kagagagak.

But he was blocked at every turn.

His bayonet skills, which he had been confident in,

Collapsed miserably under his desperate struggle to live.

Shwaaak!

The bayonet embedded in his body came out in a diagonal slash.

“Heuk…heuk…”

Kim Suha looked down at what he had accomplished.

The momentary feeling that the self-inflicted wound was like a medal for killing a devil soon faded.

Only then did he realize that what he had killed was a small boy.

“…”

What had I killed?

A tragedy born of war? A horrific fate that couldn’t be avoided?

Under that question, the student soldier looked at his own fingertips slowly coming to a stop.

If his sister were here,

She would have held his hands warmly when he said they were cold.

Sister, my beloved sister.

‘I miss…’

The thought couldn’t continue.

A tear rolled down his cheek, speaking the words he couldn’t.

I’m sorry, sister.

White rice and seaweed soup,

I died without tasting them too.

++++++

Ziiiiing.

The camera slowly zooms in on Kim Donghu and then pulls away.

The finale features the gradually diminishing sounds of gunfire and bombardment,

And then a fade out.

“Cuuuuuuut!!!!!!!”

Director Kang’s passionate shout echoed throughout the filming location.

Clap clap clap clap clap.

Director Kang, who had sprung to his feet, immediately started applauding.

A very small applause that made almost no sound.

But his intention was clear.

‘Kim Donghu, Kim Donghu, Kim Donghu!!! Our Donghu!!!’

How did he manage that final tear scene?

To think of crying in that situation.

Director Kang suppressed the overwhelming emotion.

‘High Dream? Ha, that’s ridiculous.’

This is 100% Kim Donghu.

Director Kang was certain.

Our movie,

‘Will hit ten million viewers.’