“Haa… Shit…”
There’s a common joke we always hear.
Like how the army doesn’t let you sleep, doesn’t feed you, and won’t let you leave.
Or how they give you food, clothes, but never save your life.
Every Korean male has no choice but to go,
so before enlistment, some even sign up for the Marines with misplaced confidence…
but those who’ve returned shake in terror and warn others against it. That hellhole is called the military.
And here’s the funny thing: you can express every emotion—joy, sorrow, anger, happiness—with just one word.
When I first joined:
“Shit…”
When I got dragged into a warzone before finishing training:
“What?! Shit?!”
After a brutal battle while standing guard:
“…Shit.”
After eating nothing but godawful combat rations every day and finally getting a special meal:
“Shiiiiit!”
When yesterday’s comrade returns as a corpse:
“Shiii…t…”
When morale must be boosted despite endless battles:
“SHIIIIIIT!!!”
And lastly:
“SHIIIIIIT! It’s over!”
When the seemingly eternal war finally ended,
there was no other word that could describe all these situations besides “shit.”
Maybe I’ll never stop saying it until the day I die.
“Phew…”
What was once a vast field full of vibrant green is now soaked crimson with countless bodies and blood.
Literally a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
In the middle of this carnage, I stood alone.
“So… what now?”
I looked up at the clear blue sky and thought about life after war.
But my thoughts were interrupted…
CRAAAKK!
An ominous cry reminded me there was still work to do.
“Phew… shit…”
After the ceasefire announcement,
my first task was gathering the remains of fallen comrades.
Even if I don’t know their names, they fought alongside me.
It would be disrespectful to leave them as food for beasts.
Their lives were too precious for that.
“…”
Silently, I searched through the blood-soaked earth for our army insignias among the fallen.
This was my private memorial service—for surviving when they couldn’t.
“I’ll carry your futures for you.”
I willingly accepted the heavy chains of responsibility called “the future.”
Whether they wanted it or not didn’t matter.
The dead don’t speak.
“Of course, I have things to do, so it might take time. Don’t complain too much. If you’re mad, you should’ve stayed alive.”
I smirked and mocked the cold, lifeless bodies around me.
Even if it meant losing limbs and becoming disabled, staying alive would’ve been better…
“Well, this place sure knows how to surprise you…”
A red droplet trickled down my cheek.
“It’s raining, huh…”
I stood motionless, letting the raindrops fall onto my face.
Not a cloud in sight.
We closed the curtain on a long and tragic chapter.
“Allen! Are you alright?!”
The Sage’s voice echoed from afar.
Not long after the messenger announced the end of the war, his face appeared close to mine.
I muttered under my breath:
“…Shit…”
What an unclean day indeed.
