Chapter 18: Injustice [R-18]

“She really didn’t come back.”

The TS soldiers’ barracks were unnaturally quiet, even for the morning. One trainee hadn’t returned all night. Just one: Hyun Iseo.

She always came back at the designated time, so it was an unspoken rule that a summons to the drill instructor’s office, no matter how long, would end before lights out. But Iseo had broken that rule. Completely.

“…This is a bit much.”

Taeyoung’s voice trailed off as she sat up. Despite her words, her usual chattiness had noticeably diminished since yesterday.

“Fucking hell, how hard are they working her?!”

Unable to contain her anger in the uncomfortable silence, Taeyoung kicked her locker with a loud bang.

Just then, the iron door to the barracks slid open with a soft shhh.

Everyone’s gaze snapped toward the door and froze.

“…!”

It was the drill instructor.

And in his arms was Hyun Iseo.

Her eyes were shut tight, her head resting on the instructor’s shoulder. The pale nape of her neck was exposed, her hand hung limp, and her breath was even and steady. She looked utterly exhausted, fast asleep.

The sight alone was enough to explain what had happened overnight without a single word.

“Which bed is hers?” the instructor asked, completely unfazed.

He held Iseo with one arm and passed by them, pulling back the covers with his free hand.

He was so natural, so composed—like he was her lover—that it made the other trainees’ stomachs churn.

“The one at the very end,” Seojin answered. Her face was blank, devoid of emotion or judgment, as if the only thing that mattered was the location of the bed.

The instructor nodded and gently laid Iseo down, even pulling the blanket over her and placing a hand on her forehead. She breathed softly, her face angelic.

“……”

Just before leaving her side, the instructor’s gaze swept over the other three.

Taeyoung, Hyunjin, and Seojin.

“What? It’s not that hard for you to get the same treatment, you know. Just be quiet.”

A smirk—or was it a sneer?—flashed across his face.

Though brief, his single comment was enough to suffocate the air in the barracks long after he was gone.

“…Ha, fuck! Who said I wanted that kind of treatment?!”

Taeyoung thrashed in her bed, kicking at her blanket. She scowled, biting her lip.

It definitely wasn’t jealousy. It was disgust. A certainty that she would never, ever want to become like that.

Hyunjin said nothing, but her eyes followed the space where the instructor had exited, not Iseo.

Only Seojin closed her eyes, breathing quietly, careful not to reveal her thoughts.

“Forward—move!”

The morning run began.

The crisp morning air vibrated with each thud of military boots on the ground. A few TS soldiers ran among the male trainees, struggling to catch their breath.

“Hey, how come one’s missing today?” one of the men running in front muttered to the side.

“You know, the one with the droopy eyes and the second-biggest tits after you.”

Everyone knew exactly who he was talking about. Seojin didn’t bother to answer their question.

Taeyoung wiped the sweat from her brow and clenched her teeth, while Seojin simply closed her eyes. Hyunjin glanced at the drill instructor, but he was just walking along with the runners, his face a mask of indifference.

That attitude was even more hateful. Gone was the smile he had shown Iseo; now, he treated them as if they didn’t exist.

Later, in the dining hall, just as they were finishing their meal, their breath still coming in ragged gasps…

“Hey.”

Someone, pretending to pass a white carton of milk, deliberately tossed it onto their table with a thud.

Thwack—

The milk carton bounced and tipped over.

Splash.

White liquid splattered everywhere—right onto the front of Hyunjin’s uniform.

“Ah—shit. Sorry, my hand slipped.”

The air at the table froze. A male trainee spoke with a smirk.

“But hey, doesn’t that feel familiar? You looked pretty worn out yesterday, anyway.”

His gaze was disgusting. His jeer was deliberate, a comment that didn’t need to be said.

Hyunjin narrowed her eyes and put down her spoon. Seojin quietly handed her a napkin. Taeyoung screamed at them, but it only brought on a fresh wave of taunts that were better left unheard.

* * *

“…Huh?”

After the shitty meal, during their downtime in the barracks, Iseo, who had been breathing softly in her sleep, finally stirred and sat up.

The sunlight streaming through the window was warm, suggesting it was already past noon. Iseo’s eyes widened as she looked around.

The moment she opened her eyes, the gazes of the other three were on her.

Seojin was the first to speak.

“Are you okay…? You didn’t come back all night, so we were all—”

Hyunjin cleared her throat pointedly, and Taeyoung just stared blankly.

But Iseo, with a somewhat dazed look, glanced at each of them before offering a belated, awkward smile.

“Yeah… I’m fine.”

She cupped her cheeks with her hands, her face turning red as she scratched her head. Then, she continued cautiously.

“The drill instructor… he was really nice to me. So, um, yeah.”

Her words left the other three speechless.

Seojin was at a loss for words. Taeyoung scowled and turned her head away. Hyunjin looked at Iseo again.

There was a purity in her eyes. It wasn’t ignorance, but genuine sincerity.

“Ah… oh,” Seojin managed, forcing a smile. Iseo seemed relieved by her response and nodded, but a strange tension had already spread through the barracks.

Iseo didn’t know. She didn’t understand the weight behind the gazes fixed on her, the way they all pressed their lips together.

Her words weren’t wrong, but to those who heard them, they were strangely piercing. The way Iseo spoke, as if she hadn’t been defiled or forced into anything, was so innocent.

So innocent, it was unsettling.

Taeyoung finally got up from her spot and muttered under her breath.

“Seriously, I’m so jealous she can live like that…”

At her words, Hyunjin turned her head without comment, and Seojin slowly closed her eyes.

No one hated Iseo, but perhaps the thought that they were living in a different world from her had built a solid wall between them.

* * *

Because she knew that if things continued this way, absolutely nothing would change, Seojin quietly picked up a pen on her bed.

[The lives of TS soldiers are defined by daily discrimination and blatant alienation.]

[Our segregated living quarters and monitored training are far from equal.]

[The Reward Soldier system, held once a week, creates an imbalanced interaction with male trainees, resulting in specific individuals being intentionally and repeatedly selected and called away.]

[Late-night summons by drill instructors followed by being excused from the next day’s training, sexual jokes from male trainees, and the passive inaction of superiors during mealtimes—]

The tip of her pen grew rougher, her fingers gripping it tightly.

[We are being treated as objects for ‘entertainment’ simply because we have unusual bodies.]

[Is this acceptable?]

Line by line, she quietly wrote down everything she had experienced.

Seojin put the pen down and sighed softly. Her expression was closer to resignation than anger, but a firm resolve to not let things end this way remained.

If the system wasn’t going to be improved, she hoped at least one of them would get royally fucked over.

Surprisingly, on the night she submitted the letter to the complaint box, no one was called out. The door remained firmly shut, even as Hyun Iseo kept glancing at it.

“Trainee Kang Seojin.”

The next day, a senior officer with unfamiliar rank insignia stood at the door of their barracks. The formal summons silenced the room, and Seojin lifted her head, unfazed. She knew instinctively.

The letter was received.

“Come with me.”

Seojin was called out alone. It wasn’t a drill instructor or a training officer, but a clear ‘superior.’ When the door opened, the room inside was surprisingly plain.

On one side, men were reviewing training logs. In the center, an ‘officer’ sat facing her.

“Have a seat.”

“…Yes, sir.”

As Seojin cautiously sat down, the man unfolded a single sheet of paper—her letter.

“I read it well. Thank you for your honest opinion.”

His tone was impossible to read, neither praise nor evaluation. Seojin pressed her lips together.

“The points you raised—the late-night summons, the Reward Soldier system, the segregated living quarters, the training intensity… I’ve looked into them all. Hmm.”

He glanced down at the paper for a moment before looking up. His serious tone gave Seojin a flicker of hope.

“However, trainee.”

“…Yes, sir.”

Until those words left his mouth.

“The root of this kind of complaint is usually ‘relative deprivation.’ It comes from seeing someone else who appears to be better off, and feeling that you are falling behind.”

Seojin’s face hardened at the utter nonsense.

“The Reward Soldier system, the barracks assignments, the training rotation—they are all implemented for valid reasons. But I understand. With few opportunities for interaction, misunderstandings can arise.”

He added with a smile.

The officer placed both hands on his desk and continued in a calm voice.

“For now, let’s start with you. You’ll be moved to a different barracks starting today.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I’m thinking of creating an opportunity for exchange with the regular trainees who have diligently completed today’s training.”

“What does that mean…?”

“If baseless speculation is growing in a space isolated from the outside, isn’t it best to resolve it through direct interaction? Since you were the one who raised the issue most honestly, you can be the one to take that first step.”

In that moment, Seojin understood with chilling clarity.

This wasn’t a solution. It was a way to make an example of her, to throw her into a deeper swamp under the guise of ‘interaction.’

“All change begins with courageous action.”

The officer’s bland, instructive maxim struck her ears, a final blow to her already knocked-out spirit.

Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

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