Chapter 07 …
Life Reset, Oh Military Police!
Oh Sangjin’s lips trembled.
The words that surfaced in his mind were the advice Private Im Dong-geon had given him.
‘No matter what, just apologize and admit you were wrong.’
But those words simply would not come out of his mouth.
‘What did I do wrong? I’m not the one who did anything wrong…’
In the end, his paltry pride won out, and Oh Sangjin lifted his head.
And he spoke honestly.
“Yes. I wrote it. I reported it exactly as it happened.”
The air inside the storage room froze instantly.
“What? Reported?”
Corporal Jung Jun-young raised his voice.
“Hey, who the hell do you think you are to report something? Do you have any idea how the unit’s getting messed up because of you alone? Who do you think you are, huh?!”
Corporal Lee Seung-hyeon’s eyes wavered.
But soon, a short laugh tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Snort.
It was a strange laugh, mixed with bewilderment and an oddly relaxed disbelief.
“Well, well. Nice. That’s very honest of you. But do you know this? The army isn’t that easy. You think you’re being righteous, don’t you? Oh Sangjin, go ahead and believe that. Let’s see just how far you can hold out.”
Lee Seung-hyeon instinctively realized it.
This guy, Oh Sangjin—no amount of words would ever break him.
Slowly rolling up his sleeves, Lee Seung-hyeon spoke in a low, chilling voice.
“Fine, Oh Sangjin. If you think you’re that great, then go ahead and endure it. If you make it to the end, I won’t touch Choi Kang-ho ever again. How about that?”
The exact meaning wasn’t clear.
But Oh Sangjin could clearly sense the challenge and test embedded in those words.
‘If it’s a fight… honestly, I don’t think I’d lose.’
That was what Oh Sangjin thought.
Thanks to the martial arts he had practiced on and off since childhood, he was confident.
He believed he could handle one-on-one fights, even one versus two or three.
But the military was never a place for fair fights.
As Lee Seung-hyeon stepped forward, Private Kang Ji-hoon and Private Min Jae-won, who had been standing by on either side, moved at the same time.
“What are you doing?!”
Oh Sangjin shouted, but the two said nothing as they roughly twisted his arms behind his back.
“A mere rookie trying to throw hands with a senior?”
A sneering remark shot out sharply.
The next moment, a fist flew.
Heavy blows alternated between his face and torso.
His breathing was cut off.
The strikes poured down without pause.
With his arms restrained, he was in no position to resist properly.
Oh Sangjin began taking the beating one-sidedly.
Normally, anyone would have cried and begged after just a few hits.
“I’m sorry.”
“I won’t do it again.”
Those few words would have ended everything.
But Oh Sangjin did not open his mouth.
Even when he collapsed, he got back up again.
Even when his lips split open and blood flowed, he kept his eyes defiantly raised.
That stubborn persistence only further irritated the seniors.
“Ha… What an eyesore. You think you can endure just because you’re taking the hits? So you’ve got some grit, huh.”
Oh Sangjin’s endurance was meant to show that he would never submit.
But instead, that resolute attitude became fuel that further stoked their mockery and rage.
“Well, would you look at this guy.”
Lee Seung-hyeon smirked down at Oh Sangjin, who was already bruising and swelling.
“He’s not even crying after getting beaten. You really planning to hold out till the end? You’re a real tough bastard.”
His tone carried emotions that were hard to tell—mockery or admiration.
But soon, a cold sneer settled on his lips.
“But you know…”
Lee Seung-hyeon crossed his arms and tilted his head.
“You think anything’s actually going to change just because you endure?”
That was when it happened.
Corporal Jung Jun-young, who had stepped away briefly, returned holding something.
In his hand was a lump that gave off a foul, nauseating stench.
“Corporal Lee, how about this?”
Jung Jun-young grinned as he shook it.
“What’s that?”
Lee Seung-hyeon asked.
“I found it in the corner. Looks like some old emergency rations. It’s all moldy and rotten. Smells like hell.”
“Oh, perfect.”
Lee Seung-hyeon’s eyes gleamed sharply.
“Give it here.”
Jung Jun-young tossed the lump in front of Oh Sangjin with a careless thud.
“Hey, Oh Sangjin.”
Lee Seung-hyeon bent down, a sneer on his face.
“Eat this. Then I’ll let it slide. If you’re really that amazing, you can handle this much, right?”
The air inside the storage room sank, suffocatingly heavy.
Something stained with mold and dust lay on the floor.
It looked like a round ball about the size of a baby’s fist.
Just looking at it was enough to make one’s stomach churn—it was filthy and grotesque.
‘Eat… that?’
If it had been food waste, that would’ve been better.
But this looked like something unidentifiable, decayed and rotted over time.
Still, defiance flashed in his eyes.
‘I’ve endured all this beating so far… If I back down now, it’ll all be for nothing. Everything will be meaningless.’
Oh Sangjin clenched his lips tightly.
After a moment of silence, he asked in a trembling voice.
“Really… if I eat this, you won’t touch either me or Kang-ho again?”
Lee Seung-hyeon twitched his lips for a long while, then finally nodded.
“Yeah. I promise. If you eat all of it, that’s the end.”
Oh Sangjin stared at the round object on the floor.
His patience, pride, and every moment of pain rested on this single choice.
Eat it—or break.
His fingertips trembled slowly.
Seeing that, Lee Seung-hyeon sneered.
“You bastard. Can’t eat it, can you? If that’s all you are, why the hell were you acting tough?”
In that instant, Oh Sangjin clenched his teeth.
Then, using all his strength, he shoved his right hand into his mouth.
Thud!
The moment he forced the mold-covered ball down his throat, the storage room fell silent.
As if all sound and breath had stopped—time itself froze.
The problem was, the instant it entered his mouth, it melted and disappeared.
Corporal Jung Jun-young and Corporal Lee Seung-hyeon were inwardly stunned.
‘Holy shit… this lunatic actually ate it.’
‘This isn’t just grit—he’s actually insane.’
But neither showed their shock outwardly.
Lee Seung-hyeon let out a short laugh and turned away.
“Boring. Hey, you two—clean this up and come back.”
At the order, Private Kang Ji-hoon and Private Min Jae-won roughly approached.
They grabbed Oh Sangjin’s bloodied arms and dragged him outside, hauling him toward the outdoor washbasins.
Cold water poured down like torture.
Over his split lips, over his bruised cheeks, streams of water flowed.
His face was practically slammed into the sink as mocking voices echoed above him.
“Hey, Oh Sangjin.”
Kang Ji-hoon spoke in a low, rough voice.
“What happened today never happened. Got it?”
Min Jae-won quietly added,
“If you write another letter and start acting up again, next time you won’t even have bones left to pick up.”
Oh Sangjin suppressed his ragged breathing and nodded.
“I won’t say anything.”
Then he added,
“Just make sure you keep your promise.”
At that moment, Kang Ji-hoon let out a dry laugh.
“You bastard… still acting cool to the end. Listen, guys like you always suffer in the army. Learn to bend a little, got it?”
Min Jae-won snorted.
“If you don’t like it, make corporal and act up then. Otherwise, just crawl, idiot.”
Oh Sangjin said nothing more.
He wiped his wet face and quietly returned to the barracks.
Their ridicule didn’t even register in his ears.
But then, a heavy pain surged deep in his abdomen.
‘What… is this?’
Pain twisted through him from the inside.
It felt as if his organs were tangling and pulling against each other.
Cold sweat began to pour down his body.
His heart pounded violently, and he couldn’t breathe properly.
His vision spun.
‘The mold… was it because of that? Did I really mess up by eating it?’
Oh Sangjin had been sitting when he staggered to his feet.
“I need to use the bathroom.”
Since it was right after roll call, no one stopped him.
But his steps were already unsteady.
The senior on night watch saw Oh Sangjin heading toward the bathroom.
Staggering down the hallway, he barely made it inside.
His body was at its limit, but he squeezed out the last of his strength and stumbled into a stall, collapsing onto the toilet.
‘If I throw it up, I’ll be fine. Once I empty my stomach… this pain will go away.’
Gritting his teeth, Oh Sangjin strained.
But nothing came out.
From his stomach through his entire abdomen, pain tightened like a vise.
His insides felt like they were boiling, waves of agony crashing over him.
Cold sweat streamed down his back, and his lips went completely dry.
“Hngh… guh…!”
His breath caught in his throat.
Every breath felt like his chest was being crushed, and his vision narrowed.
‘This is bad. This isn’t just a stomachache.’
The moment that thought crossed his mind, it felt like lightning struck his head.
He lost his balance and toppled forward.
Thud!
With a collapsing impact, Oh Sangjin’s body fell onto the cold tile beside the toilet.
His eyes went unfocused, and his consciousness quickly faded.
And about ten minutes later—
The senior on night watch in the hallway frowned deeply.
“What the hell is this guy doing, why isn’t he back yet?”
Even when he called out, there was no response from Oh Sangjin.
He had clearly seen him go into the bathroom, and he hadn’t come out.
As time passed with no sign of movement, unease crept in.
“Hey, Oh Sangjin! What are you doing in there?!”
He knocked several times, but there was no response.
Bang, bang, bang!
Panicking, the senior shook the door violently.
Then the lock finally gave way.
Click!
The door creaked open.
And inside, Oh Sangjin lay collapsed on the floor.
“Hey! Hey, you bastard! Oh Sangjin! What’s wrong with you? Wake up!”
Oh Sangjin’s condition, sprawled beside the toilet on the cold tiles, was obviously serious.
His face was pale, and his lips were tinged blue.
“This is bad! This bastard’s in real trouble! Somebody get over here!!”
The near-scream echoed down the hallway.
Other night watchmen and the duty officer from the situation room came running.
“What happened?”
“A rookie collapsed!”
“What? A rookie collapsed?!”
The once-quiet unit was thrown into complete chaos—all because of Oh Sangjin.
