Chapter 28: Departure for Final Leave
The day Seo Juhwan was leaving for his final leave vacation.
Seo Juhwan woke up before the morning wake-up call even rang. If he could wake up quickly just from overnight leave, imagine how eager he was for final leave. Even though he had gone on night shift and fallen asleep late, his eyes snapped open. He quickly tidied his bunk and changed into civilian clothes. Only when all his preparations were finished did the wake-up song blare out.
He headed to the duty officer with excitement on his face.
"Oh. Seo Juhwan?"
"Kangchul. Am I first?"
"Yeah. You got here fast."
Other soldiers on leave arrived shortly after. Everyone had the same desire to head out on vacation.
"You're all sergeants. Aren't you all from the same batch?"
"Yes, sir!"
The other two answered loudly. He only just remembered that these two were from his training batch. And an additional memory came to mind.
'Oh, Bitcoin!'
These two batchmates had suffered major losses because of Bitcoin back then. It was such a famous incident within the unit that he remembered it vividly.
'Did it spike around this time?'
An unexpected opportunity to make quick money came to mind.
The duty officer spoke to the three.
"Since you're all sergeants, you don't need separate briefing, right?"
""Yes, sir!""
The three sergeants answered vigorously. Why bother with standard briefing? With sergeant rank, they could recite everything by heart. Of course, having regressed from ten years in the future, his memory was hazy, but he was going to skip the briefing regardless.
The three soldiers on leave headed to the command center with the duty officer. Jeong Sora was sitting in the command center, but unlike before, she looked refreshed. The dark circles that had been under her eyes were completely gone. The item's effect seemed to be real. She mouthed "thank you" to him.
'Then send me off quickly.'
Seo Juhwan mouthed back at her. The other two soldiers on leave looked at Jeong Sora with nervous eyes. Jeong Sora was famous for strictly following protocol and delaying soldiers' leaves.
But today was an exception.
"Don't cause any trouble while on leave."
"Yes, understood!"
"Then go now."
"…Excuse me?"
The two soldiers looked confused.
"Yes, sir!"
Only Seo Juhwan answered immediately and loudly. The other two didn't understand the situation and had expressions like "Is that really it?"
Jeong Sora spoke to them with a mischievous expression.
"What? You don't want to go on leave?"
"N-no, that's not it!"
"Thank you!"
Only then did the two answer energetically.
Seo Juhwan saluted to the smiling Jeong Sora.
"Kangchul, I'm heading out on final leave!"
He finally departs on his final leave vacation.
*
"Have a good trip, and don't cause any trouble."
"Yes, thank you!"
The duty officer dropped off the soldiers on leave and spoke.
Seo Juhwan finished saluting and quickly ran to the terminal. He had forgotten, but the bus schedule at this time was awkward, and if he didn't board quickly, he'd have to wait a full hour. He was lucky to remember this while getting here.
Arriving at the ticket machine, Seo Juhwan frowned.
"Damn, they've blocked this again."
A "Unavailable for Use" sign was attached to the card slot. He carelessly removed the paper and inserted his card.
'Unavailable my ass.'
It worked perfectly fine. The owners had put up the sign because they didn't want to pay card processing fees. If he were a clueless private, it might work, but not on him.
Seo Juhwan quickly printed his ticket and was able to board right on time.
'Finally heading home!'
Thinking about going home after so long, his heart felt lighter. Before regressing, he hadn't gone home for years after moving out. He worried that if he dropped by, he might bring bad luck.
'This time, I need to properly show filial piety.'
But what exactly would proper filial piety look like?
Most parents say that it's filial piety to live healthily and happily. Seo Juhwan's parents were the same.
But Seo Juhwan's thoughts were different. Health is for oneself. It was ambiguous to call that filial piety.
'First, I need to earn money.'
It might seem mercenary, but having lived past thirty in his previous life, nothing was as important as money. Of course, money wasn't everything, but material abundance led to abundance of the heart.
And as a regressor who had returned to the past,
'In that sense, let me first check how much is in my account. I'll use that as seed capital to invest in Bitcoin, and with that money I'll buy stocks that will rise later...'
He knew exactly how to make money.
***
Four hours later.
Seo Juhwan arrived at the East Seoul Terminal.
"Wow... this brings back memories."
Military personnel are always visible at the East Seoul Terminal.
As a private first class and lance corporal, you sigh here seeing sergeants and corporals, wondering when you'll be discharged.
When you become a corporal and get promoted to squad leader, you feel tough thinking the green insignia looks cool on your shoulder.
Eventually, when you become a sergeant and come here approaching discharge, other soldiers seem pitiful and laughable.
"But things feel different after discharge."
Anyway, these are feelings any man who went through mandatory military service experiences. It was ironic that he had somehow returned to that time.
Only briefly enjoying the nostalgic view of East Seoul Terminal after so long, he moved toward the subway station. From here, he needed to travel for over another hour to reach his destination.
- The next station is Cheolsan Station. Exit on the right.
While riding the train and thinking various thoughts, he had already arrived at his destination. But the place he was heading to wasn't his home. His steps led to a high school near city hall. More specifically, it was a tteokbokki restaurant in front of the high school.
The restaurant was named after the family surname "Seo," shared by his father and Seo Juhwan, his younger sister, and even his mother.
Arriving at the restaurant, he could see his parents busy cooking. Seo Juhwan, seeing his parents' faces for the first time in years, shouted without thinking.
"Mom, Dad! I'm here!"
His mother and father, recognizing his voice, looked up in shock.
"Oh, my son?"
"Juhwan?"
Their eyes widened as if seeing someone they would never see again. His father, Seo Jaepil, who had been slicing onions, rubbed his eyes and soon tears streamed down as he rushed to the sink to wash his face.
His mother, Seo Aera, approached him with a still-shocked expression.
"It is you, right? How are you here?"
"What do you mean how? I'm on leave."
"Oh my son, you should have told me you were coming on leave."
"Um... didn't I mention it when we last called?"
"No, you didn't, dear."
At that, Seo Juhwan scratched the corner of his eye with an awkward laugh. It seemed he had forgotten to mention it.
Then another familiar voice was heard.
"Huh? What? Is that Seo Juhwan?"
"Oh. Little sister, how have you been?"
The owner of the voice was his younger sister. Like their parents, she looked shocked.
"Is this really Seo Juhwan? Why are you here?"
"I'm on final leave."
"No, I can see that. But why did you come here of all places..."
"Seo Juhui! I told you to speak properly to your brother!"
"Ugh. You had to bring that up?"
Seo Juhui, who had been complaining, covered her ears with an exasperated expression. She seemed to have forgotten their conversation and muttered as she went inside the restaurant.
Instead, a female student who had been following Seo Juhui raised both arms to greet him.
"Yay! Oppa, long time no see! Oh? Oppa, you've lost weight? What should I do? You must have had it rough in the military!"
Seo Juhwan felt his body stiffen. Seeing the female student brought back memories of the past. He shook his head once and greeted her with a smile.
"Yeah. It's been a while, Soo-ah. How have you been?"
"Not well! I'm in my third year of high school now, so it's so hard! Whine."
This female student whose vitality was evident at a glance was Han Soo-ah. She was an even more "younger sister-like" presence than his actual younger sister Seo Juhui—Seo Juhwan's only childhood friend.
And as his childhood friend,
'This time, I won't let you die.'
She was also his greatest and most painful trauma.
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