Chapter 28
As payment for clearing all the “Netpo” reward areas, I had brought along five store cards and a few snacks. Quietly, I approached Sergeant Choi Minheon.
“Squad leader.”
Sergeant Choi chuckled, as if he had been expecting me.
“No wonder. If it wasn’t you, it must’ve been Yang Seonggu. Got it right.”
How could he have guessed without even looking at my face? I immediately realized.
“Does it smell a lot?”
Weeding soldiers are almost always covered in the smell of grass. The smell is so strong that even after changing clothes and showering, it doesn’t come off easily. There’s even something called “grass rash.”
When you roll up your sleeves and pull weeds with your bare arms exposed, sometimes the rash appears, leaving red welts like hives. That’s how much of an aftereffect weeds can leave.
Perhaps thinking of me, Sergeant Choi shook his head.
“Not too much. You’d only notice it if you really paid attention.”
It didn’t exactly sound like reassurance, but still—at least it wasn’t severe enough to bother anyone’s nerves. That was somewhat reassuring.
If the smell had been serious, Seonggu and I might have had to be separated from the soldiers entirely until the weeding season ended.
“…Huh? That’s actually good.”
No more awkward encounters with seniors, and Seonggu wasn’t a difficult person either. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad?
Just then, Sergeant Choi asked me:
“Why? Didn’t you come to talk to me for some reason?”
Still standing there, letting my mind wander, I suppose he couldn’t help but wonder.
“I came to give you this.”
“What is it?”
“You’ll see.”
I handed him the five store cards.
“Eh? What’s this? How did you get these?”
“I received them after clearing the Netpo reward weeding once.”
“You didn’t… trade, did you?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Sergeant Choi looked at me with a warm smile.
“You little… thanks. I’ll make sure to tell the guys about your sacrifice too.”
“You really don’t have to say that.”
After all, it wouldn’t get me a reward leave. My image was already well-managed, so this little story wouldn’t make much difference. I truly meant it when I said there was no need to mention it, yet Sergeant Choi seemed to interpret my words as humility and smiled continuously.
“You’re thoughtful, I’ll give you that. Alright, kid. Anyway, you did a good job. Thanks to you, our team won’t come in last this month.”
“Not ‘won’t come in last,’ it mustn’t.”
We were already exhausted from the weeding. If we also got the worst cleaning area, the dining hall, it would be like asking us to die. Deciding next month’s cleaning assignments had now become a critical variable for me.
“Netpo must be nice. You almost got the reward weeding for free.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
I sensed a subtle wish in Sergeant Choi’s tone: he hoped our team could get the same.
“Geumseong, I feel bad asking, but could I make a request?”
I had expected this. With a sigh, nearly resigned, I asked:
“You want me to do the reward weeding, don’t you?”
“Of course. You’ve got sharp instincts, Geumseong.”
If it were a senior from another section, they could get cards or other things, but with a senior from the same section, there wasn’t much to gain. Just a bit of recognition at best. That’s not enough. If you want to get more, you’d need some extra effort.
“There’s no such thing as a free lunch, right, squad leader?”
I projected an attitude that I wouldn’t easily give in.
“Using the weed trimmer means keeping an eye on the orderly, and since the fuel is limited, trimming outside the planned areas could cause a fuel problem too.”
“Well… that’s true.”
Sergeant Choi wasn’t like me, a mere private. He was a sergeant—someone who had been through many things in the military. He must have known that a weeding soldier wouldn’t easily grant a favor like, “Could you come help with our area too?” Even if they were from the same section.
So, I frankly explained my position, assuming Sergeant Choi would understand.
As expected, he nodded, fully acknowledging my stance.
“Alright. I admit I may have been too pushy as your senior. Fair enough.”
His expression changed.
“Then, tell me what you want. If I can grant it, I will.”
It was nice to communicate well with Sergeant Choi.
“My wish isn’t much…”
I deliberately left the sentence unfinished. I did have something I wanted to say, but I couldn’t say it outright. Being too blunt about it would look bad.
It was like when I first went on ammunition depot duty with a senior: if they told me to lower the gun, I wouldn’t do it immediately but would test the waters a couple of times first.
Sergeant Choi clicked his tongue.
“Go on. Don’t feel pressured. I won’t say anything.”
I realized it was safe to mention it.
“Due to all the weeding work, I’ve been living with muscle soreness… If the squad leader could make things a bit easier for me, I’d appreciate it.”
In short, I was asking for leniency with cleaning duties and for him to shield me when work arose in our section, saying something like, “Geumseong’s been working hard, let him rest a bit.”
Sergeant Choi nodded vigorously.
“Sure. That I can do. Alright, I’ll do as you asked.”
“Thank you, Sergeant Choi.”
Being assigned as a weeding soldier turned out to be unexpectedly sweet. I felt like I’d lucked out.
Putting the weed trimmer down briefly, I nodded and said:
“Confirmed. The deal is set.”
Hearing this, the sergeants sighed in relief and exchanged glances.
Dulpo and Hanapo—the two squads—handed me bags filled with food from the PX and store cards without waiting for anyone.
“Take care, Geumseong. Remember, these are the two chocolate milk and banana milk your senior was saving.”
“These bags only come five per month at the PX. They’re really valuable. You know ramen is traded for extra money among soldiers, right?”
“Yes, of course.”
Bribes were pouring in. I hadn’t realized one weed trimmer could wield such power.
“Alright, let’s start with Hanapo first.”
“Good luck, Geumseong!”
“Remember, we’re cheering for you!”
“Fighting! Geumseong!”
With the unprecedented cheers of the sergeants behind me, I carried the weed trimmer and moved to Hanapo’s reward area.
Vrrrrrr!
As the motor roared loudly, I cut the grass and quietly chuckled to myself.
“The military is really interesting.”
Maybe moments like this are what make enduring the tedious military life bearable. It was one of those days.
A few days later, the scene at my locker started changing.
When I opened my thick duffel bag and rucksack, the squad members crowded around.
“What’s all this?”
“When did you stockpile this much food?”
They pointed at all the PX snacks inside. Occasionally, soldiers get snack packages by mail, but this was even more.
“These are the snacks I earned from running the weed trimmer. I couldn’t eat them all myself, so I saved them. They piled up quickly.”
Technically, hiding food in the barracks is prohibited. But now, the items overflowed so much that there was no space left to hide them.
Since I couldn’t eat it all myself anyway, I decided to hold a snack party with the seniors, hoping to earn some goodwill.
“Thanks, Geumseong!”
“Thanks to you, we get an unexpected feast.”
Besides the food, there was another reason they should be grateful.
“Geumseong, without you, we’d still be weeding.”
“Thanks, really.”
They patted my shoulder once each. Earning favor felt good, but the real prize was still ahead.
“I need to finish all the weeding and get that 300 million won quickly.”
Until the weeding work was completed, that money couldn’t really be considered mine. I wasn’t letting my guard down, but…
“I hope I get it soon.”
My heart was already racing with anticipation.
Then, suddenly, a sound of heavy rain poured outside.
“Huh? What’s that?”
“What’s that noise?”
As soldiers looked outside, Seohwan returned from duty, drenched, with a horrified expression.
“Whoa! It’s crazy out there!”
His combat uniform was soaking wet. Through him, we realized that the massive noise was caused by the pounding rain.
“The rain sounds so fierce.”
“No wonder the orderly warned us to finish weeding before the rain.”
With this pace, the grass would grow back quickly, meaning more days with the weed trimmer. Just thinking about it made us sigh.
But all these worries were rendered insignificant by a single announcement from the company commander.
“Everyone, attention!”
“Attention!”
The worst news came from him:
“Just got word from headquarters. The guerrilla training is scheduled for this month.”
At the mention of guerrilla training, we all dropped the snacks we were holding.
