episode_0064

Time seemed slow, like a river, but it passed in an instant.

Following Jeong Soo-jin’s request to leave everything to me, from train tickets to travel itineraries, I only packed light luggage.

In fact, all the really necessary items were stored inside the inventory. No matter how long the trip was to begin with, there was no need to carry heavy luggage anymore.

I thought it was strange to take the Mugunghwa instead of the KTX to go to Daegu, but I took it easy.

When I first met Jeong Soo-jin, she was working part-time at a gym, so she may have wanted to save money.

Rather, the feeling of sitting on a rocky seat and leisurely watching the passing scenery was not so bad. I liked it because it gave off the feeling of truly traveling somewhere.

She looked pretty as she smiled mischievously and offered boiled eggs and cider to me, saying she really wanted to try them on the train.

We rode the train and flirted for a little over 3 hours.

However, just before arriving in Daegu, Jeong Soo-jin, who heard the train announcement, got up from her seat and urged me.

-Our train will arrive at Waegwan Station in a moment. Good-bye to customers who are getting off at Waegwan Station. Thank you.

“Minho oppa! You have to get off here! Let’s go quickly!”

“Huh? Daegu Station is the next station?”

When I asked with a puzzled expression, she stuck out her tongue and smiled.

“Hehe… This is where my dad works. Let’s go and shine for a while and then go to Daegu in the evening and have fun.”

“Well, okay. Let’s do that.”

Since the train had already stopped, we quickly got off the train and stepped onto the platform.

As I stepped out of the station, a quiet rural village-like scene unfolded.

Korean restaurants spread out to the left and right, and there was noticeably less vehicle traffic compared to Seoul. And I saw a hill-like mountain peak rising right near the station.

‘My American father works in a place like this?’

I couldn’t imagine it so well that I wondered if I was somehow prejudiced.

Anyway, Su-jin Jeong left me looking around and hailed a taxi.

“Here!”

She caught a taxi, took my hand, got in, and said to the driver.

“Please go to gate 3.”

“Okay.”

“Gate?”

Did I suddenly enter the world of hunters? Those were words that made me think.

Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of different works to choose the world I want to travel to next, so I feel that way even more.

The taxi driver seemed to have figured out the destination just by that and started driving in a familiar manner.

After traveling for about 10 minutes, I figured out what gate number 3 meant.

[GATE 3]

“……Was your father a soldier?”

The place where the taxi dropped us off was the entrance to the US military base.

US military.

The American military has the world’s strongest military power.

A fearsome country that uses the national budget of many economically powerful countries for its defense budget.

Surprisingly, Su-jin Jeong’s father seemed to be a member of the US military stationed in Korea.

The entrance, called Gate 3, was smaller than expected.

It looks like vehicles are passing through the same entrance to the paid parking lot. And next to it, there was a small office-like building connected to the sidewalk.

Gates 1 and 2 were probably larger and seemed to be the entrance for people mainly walking.

To the left and right of the gate were long walls and barbed wire to guard against intruders.

However, there was a painting on the wall that appeared to be a mural drawn by nearby students, so it did not appear threatening.

Rather, it seemed to blend in well with its surroundings in its own way.

“That’s right, isn’t it burdensome?”

“That’s not true, but I was a little surprised. You should have told me this in advance.”

He playfully poked Jeong Soo-jin in the side.

“Kyaaa! Sorry oppa, hehe.”

She accepts the joke by shaking her body.

The yellow dress fluttered around as she moved.

Still, it was in front of a military base, so it was a bit awkward to just keep messing around in front of it, so I tolerated it.

“You can come this way.”

Jeong Soo-jin took my hand and led me to a small office-like place connected to the sidewalk.

Clap!

“Youngcha…!”

The door opened with a fairly heavy metal sound.

I looked closely at the door out of curiosity and found that, unlike the ordinary doorknob on the outside, the inside had a push bar type doorknob that could be pushed to unlock.

‘that’s interesting.’

The entire interior of the building was made of cement texture painted in light beige.

There, at a counter like an immigration office, American soldiers were looking at us.

Inside, there was another American soldier who was leaning against the wall and playing with his smartphone. When he saw us coming through the door, he put his phone in his pocket and approached us.

He was an impressive person with tanned skin, dark eyebrows, and a large nose that looked like he was of Hispanic descent.

“Excuse me. Are you by any chance Major Millard’s daughter?”

“That’s right. This is Sujin Jeong.”

“This is Private Sanchez, who was in charge of the escort. Who is next to you…?”

“This is a friend I brought in as a partner.”

She said that in fluent English, grabbed my arm and crossed her arms.

“This is Lee Min-ho.”

Private Sanchez nodded at my introduction and led us to the counter.

“I am requesting escort for two visitors.”

“Please submit your ID cards.”

The soldier sitting behind the counter said this and looked at the documents and ID card that Private Sanchez handed him.

We each submitted our ID cards and received visitor cards.

Temporary identification card with a large ‘V’ symbol for visitors.

It looked as if a coating had just been applied to printed paper.

“This is a visitor pass valid for 24 hours. If you visit here again and submit it before the deadline expires, your ID card will be returned.”

The visit time was longer than expected.

We were planning to go back before evening anyway, so we nodded roughly.

After explaining the minor regulations, Private Sanchez opened the entrance to the unit.

“You can follow me.”

Clap!

“Oh…”

The inside of the US military base we entered was more interesting than expected.

Instead of regular sidewalk blocks, the sidewalk seemed to be made of wide cement boards.

Cars occasionally passed by on the asphalt road next to it, and many of them looked to be in poor condition, either because they had just been driven or because they had been purchased cheaply.

‘The accident-free count is here too.’

I walked along with Private Sanchez while looking out of the corner of my eye at a sign that made me laugh just looking at it.

The sight of all the low-rise buildings painted the same color as desert sand made me feel like I was in another country.

Even the feeling of my feet stepping on the ground and the smell entering my nose felt unfamiliar.

I took a deep breath and spoke.

“The air is nice.”

“Really? thank god. I was a little worried that my brother wouldn’t like it. I heard that men don’t like being involved with the military again after being discharged…”

“It feels like sightseeing, but it’s not bad, right?”

Jeong Soo-jin had a bright expression on her face, but as she reached her destination, she spoke less and less.

‘Is your relationship with your father that bad?’

It was strange that he came such a long distance to participate in the event, considering he simply disliked his father.

I don’t know what complicated circumstances there were, but I thought it would be better for me to just quietly stay by his side rather than hastily meddling.

Instead, he crossed his arms and held her hand firmly. Then I made eye contact with her as she looked at me and smiled.

“……Thank you, brother.”

“What is this?”

While we were walking around sightseeing, we arrived at our destination.

The outdoor soccer field, the running track surrounding it, and the iron spectator seats overlooking it caught my eye.

Murmur

Many people were already gathered on the wide lawn around the soccer stadium, laughing and chatting.

The atmosphere felt like a sports competition was held.

Even though it was the weekend, I saw people wearing military uniforms, probably because they were working, and there were many people like me who were casually dressed in t-shirts and jeans.

It seemed like a common sight, but there was a special feature in that, except for a very small number of people, they were all foreigners.

“If you wait here, I will find Major Millard and let him know that your daughter has arrived.”

After giving the guidance, Private Sanchez disappeared somewhere with those words.

That moment.

“Attention!”

“At ease.”

A loud shout was heard from somewhere, and all people’s eyes turned towards it.

I saw a man walking, wearing a angled military uniform and a yellow oak leaf-shaped rank insignia attached to the center of his chest and hat.

He was very tall and seemed taller than me, who is 183cm tall. He was tall, almost certainly over 190cm.

The first thing that struck me was that despite his tall stature, he was very skinny and looked like bamboo.

Grayish blonde hair was visible from the sides and back of the head that were not covered by the hat.

“……”

Jeong Soo-jin quietly looks at it.

Major Millard, a man who walked into the center of the crowd, opened his mouth.

His voice was strong and did not match his thin physique.

“Thank you all for participating in the event commemorating the establishment of our battalion. Since it’s a holiday, I hope we can skip all complicated procedures and have a fun time eating and drinking responsibly. This event is for you…”

After reciting the introductions of the military chaplains and other distinguished guests who supported the event, Major Millard ended his speech with a request to enjoy the event responsibly.

“HUAh!”

The event began with refreshing answers from the soldiers.

Murmur

Again, among the people laughing and talking like before, I saw Private Sanchez, who had guided us here, approaching Major Millard and reporting something.

After hearing the report, Major Millard looked around and made eye contact with us.

He strode towards us and Sujin Jeong and I looked at each other quietly.

In those blue eyes that resembled Jeong Soo-jin’s, I could somehow feel the joy of welcoming her.

“Thank you for coming.”

“……I just stopped by briefly because I had to go to Daegu.”

Major Millard, who greeted the grumbling Jeong Soo-jin, looked at me and asked.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Lee Min-ho, and Sujin’s partner.”

“Okay, partner… nice to meet you.”

Major Millard muttered that and offered to shake my hand.

Wow~

I thought to myself as I felt my rough, callused hands tightening.

‘You correct me.’