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I tripped the woman and knocked her backwards, and before she could fall completely, I caught her arm.

The woman was taken aback by what happened in an instant.

” When someone falls, this is how you catch them. ”

After saying that, he let go of her hand. Even then, the woman, who had not been able to keep her balance, fell to the floor.

He approached the woman and stepped on her wrist.

” Ouch! ”

Of course, I adjusted my strength. If I see blood here, I get annoyed at the aftermath.

He climbed on top of the woman’s stomach and hit her all over her body. Judging from the conversation earlier, it seemed like she took bruises lightly, so he planned to leave bruises all over her body.

They hit places other than the head, heart, liver, and internal organs.

Because if you hit this wrong, something big could happen.

” Ouch!!? Stop! Stop it! It hurts! It hurts!! ”

The woman struggled while being hit, but was unable to fight back.

Since I’m light, my opponent could have reversed our positions, but I wasn’t even trying to do that, perhaps because of the pain of constantly getting hit.

After about five minutes, he stopped hitting me and said:

” How is it? Feeling like a punching bag? Jaha had to endure this all along. Endure it alone. While getting beaten, he would move as the robbers told him to. Looking at those bastards, they treat people like toys, right? They would make you lie down and bark like a dog, or make you eat food that was scattered on the floor with your mouth, or rape you from behind while you were eating from the floor. And they still do that. ”

The woman was shivering, covering her face with her arms. She seemed to be in quite a bit of pain.

” But you said that you hoped Ja-ha, who had been through that, was safe and that he seemed fine. ”

He pushed the woman’s arm away to reveal her face and spoke right in front of her nose.

” You should have just begged. Then I wouldn’t have had to come forward. ”

Thinking that this was enough, I started walking towards the front door.

He spoke to the woman crying behind him.

” If he asks where you got hurt, tell him you fell down the stairs. Don’t talk nonsense, or he’ll make next time a more fun experience. ”

I opened the front door and went outside.

When I came out, I saw Jaha. She must have been waiting for me.

” Do you have a place to stay? ”

” I have a house I used to live in… I’m… sorry… ”

” What? My taking care of it is just a self-satisfaction story. I am the one who picked up the cause that was rolled in. So you don’t have to feel sorry. ”

” Yeah… Thank you.. ”

I really don’t know what I’m thankful for.

” I’m going to my grandfather’s house. If you want to see me, do you know where to come? ”

” Yeah, I know. ”

############

” I’m back. ”

” Hey, you’re here? Did you meet Tiri and Jaha? ”

” Yes, they all looked fine. ”

I looked around, but it seemed like the only person I could hear was my grandfather.

” What about other people? ”

” Oh, those two went out. I think they said we need to increase our basic physical strength or something. ”

It looks like he’s just started training. Of course, it’ll be hard to learn the skills without a certain level of physical strength. There’s a reason it has the word “basic” in front of it.

” Where did those two go? ”

############

” Hehe.. Hehe.. ”

” You shouldn’t be struggling this much. Let’s try harder. ”

” No, everyone, everyone is like you, you know, I saw that. Hehe.. ”

The sergeant and Seohee came out of the barrier and were circling along the wall.

Now it’s two laps. It takes about 40 minutes to do one lap at the average walking distance of an adult.

Seohee and the sergeant ran this distance at a brisk pace.

But since it was a sergeant’s pace, it just became a run for Seo Hee-han.

That means he ran two wheels nonstop.

” Hmm, then let’s stop running and work on building up our arm strength. ”

” Arm strength? ”

” Plank would be good. Let’s hold it for just 1 minute. ”

Seohee assumed a plank position without saying anything.

The sergeant approached Seo-hee and began to give her advice, saying that she should do this posture and that posture. He added that if she was going to exercise, it would only be effective if she did it with the right posture.

After about 20 seconds, Seohee’s legs started shaking. It was the aftereffects of running.

After 40 seconds, my arms started shaking. There were 20 seconds left, but every second felt so long.

” 17, 16, 15 ”

I could hear the sound of a countdown from the side. I held onto the hope that if I just held on, it wouldn’t end.

” Oh, saaaa, saaam, eee… ”

The sergeant began to stall for time. Seohee mustered up her strength and glared at the sergeant, but he paid no attention.

” This is it. ”

My limbs were shaking even more. I was losing strength and on the verge of collapsing.

” 0, Okay. I’ll end the plank. ”

As soon as Seohee heard those words, she fell to the floor.

” Hey.. you.. really.. ”

” Then let’s move on to the next one. ”

” Huh? It wasn’t over..? ”

” What are you talking about? I just finished the plank. Next, I have to do PT exercises, forward unsupported posture, standing shooting, sitting shooting, prone shooting, changing and maintaining posture, and running with a gun. There’s a lot more to do. Time is limited, so let’s do our best together. ”

What on earth are we trying to work together for?

It was such a dizzying schedule that for a moment I thought I should stay in the village.

############

I went out of town and looked for Seohee and the sergeant.

This direction should be certain, since we’ve heard the gatekeeper’s account.

As I went a little further, I saw Seo-hee doing something over there and the sergeant watching her and saying something.

When I looked closely, I saw that from the attention position, he jumped his feet out to the side and at the same time raised his arms upwards in a circle. From that position, he returned to the attention position, but in the process, he jumped again.

That was probably PT exercise. It was being done very well.

Well, there may be nothing better than that for increasing stamina. I don’t know if I’ll be able to wake up tomorrow.

I went closer to give them the water I brought. I heard from my grandfather that they didn’t even take water. I just brought two 2L bottles, but that should be enough.

” Yeah, you’re rolling really well. ”

” Oh, you’re here? As you can see, it’s being processed. ”

” Wow.. Really.. ”

” Come and drink some water and rest a bit. Judging from the looks of it, it looks like they kept pushing you around without giving you time to rest. ”

” That’s right! When I say let’s take a break, he doesn’t even listen to me! What’s even more annoying is that he doesn’t even show any sign of being tired and is doing everything he needs to do! I told you it seems like I’m the only one having a hard time?! ”

” Of course, that’s because their physical strength is different. This is nothing. ”

” Oh, what makes a real soldier different? ”

I heard that soldiers have ranks, but this soldier must be a special rank. He may have been sweating, but he wasn’t out of breath.

” Can I join you? ”

” Of course. Do you know anything about PT gymnastics? ”

” How would I know what soldiers do? Teach me. ”

” I see. Then let’s start again from step 1. ”

” Uh… ”

Seohee looked at me with a look of despair.

It’s not my fault, so don’t look at me like that.

############

I did PT exercises from start to finish. It wasn’t easy.

It wasn’t hard thanks to the body’s mutations, but it wasn’t easy to maintain because every single posture was pointed out.

Seohee was lying on the floor next to me, catching her breath.

I felt completely exhausted.

In the early and middle part, screams and groans could be heard, but in the later part, only breathing could be heard.

I glanced at him while he was doing gymnastics and he looked like a zombie.

I tried to let him rest, but he insisted on going all the way. Hmm…

I said while supporting Seohee.

” Let’s stop here for today. This kid is in terrible condition. ”

Isn’t there a river here? I don’t know, but this guy definitely needs to be washed.

I should ask my grandfather. Oh, by the way, I think there was a well there?

” Ugh… Go slowly… ”

” ..Sergeant, do you want to carry me? I’m short, so carrying me is useless. ”

” Don’t sell me out to that Satanic bastard.. ”

Oh, there’s no choice. Judging from the way he picks and eats even when he’s dying, he must really hate it.

But there’s nothing you can do about it, right? Since you’ve decided to follow, your fate is just to roll along.

Before I knew it, I arrived at my grandfather’s house, left my luggage in the hallway, and went to look for him.

Grandfather was sitting on the porch, sipping tea and looking at the trees.

” Was it that age? ”

” I’ve gotten a lot older… ”

My grandfather took another sip of his tea, then looked at me and opened his mouth.

” Do you have anything to ask? ”

” Where do you refill your bath water? Do you get it from the well? ”

” There is a place managed by a family of a young man in his 30s in the village. That family carries water from the river. You can get it there. There is a cart and watering cans near the inside of the gate, so take them with you. ”

” What is that young man’s name? ”

” They say it’s Deokjae. ”

Deokjae… Okay, I remembered. After thanking my grandfather, I approached the luggage strewn around the front door.

” Move me to my room.. I can’t get up.. ”

” When I told you to rest, you should have rested. I’ll move it for you. ”

But, isn’t this something a sergeant can do?

” What about the sergeant? ”

” That kid is going to import guns or something.. ”

Hey, guns are important to soldiers, right?

I took Seohee into the bedroom. I took out the pillow and blanket and spread them out next to her.

” Wait a minute. I’ll get you some water to wash with. ”

” Ugh.. ”

I left Seo-hee behind, who was squirming under the blanket, and headed toward the front door.

There was a cart of a suitable size and a cylindrical water jug? a water tank? that said 120L and 80L.

The size was similar to mine. 80L was smaller though.

I loaded two onto the cart and headed to Mr. Deokjae’s house.

What? Soon, a carton of eggs will be coming in. Don’t you think it’s a bit much to call someone a few years older than you an “uncle”?

What are you talking about? How does an 8 year old call a 30 year old man “uncle”?

To me, you are an uncle. An uncle.

############

I pulled the cart and arrived at Mr. Deokjae’s house.

There were countless water tanks in the yard of the house. They were all different shapes and sizes.

After looking around for a while, a man came out from inside and spoke to me.

” Hmm? I’m seeing you for the first time.. Where are you from? ”

” Is your name Deokjae? ”

” Yes, I am Deokjae. I am not an old man. ”

” I came here to get water from the village chief’s house. Please fill it up. ”

” Oh, I see. Go inside and wait. It’ll take some time. ”

” Yes. ”

When I went inside, there was a woman of similar age to the old man and a boy in his early to mid teens.

Oh, I guess that family meant this kind of family.

But a person in their early to mid 30s with a child in their early to mid teens? Isn’t that just a speeding violation?

” Oh my, what a cute kid. What business does he have at our house? ”

” I came to get water from the village chief’s house. ”

” You’re so young, but you’re so smart. Want some candy? ”

” I would appreciate it if you gave it to me. ”

The girl left to get some candy, leaving the boy alone.

The boy just glanced at me but didn’t say anything.

There was a clock hanging on a pillar in the living room, and it was so quiet that you could hear the second hand ticking.

It was almost evening. I returned in the morning, reported in the morning, and spent the rest of the day doing PT exercises. I had a very fulfilling day.

Even as I reviewed the day, there wasn’t much change in the boy’s behavior. If he had consistently acted indifferent, it wouldn’t have mattered, but he kept glancing around and acting as if he was going to say something, which started to make me feel irritated.

…..When will the water be all poured? And where did the woman go to get the candy?

Feeling frustrated, I spoke first.

” If you have something to say, say it. ”

” Are you… a monster? ”

? Suddenly when we first met?