Chapter 06 …

Life Reset, Oh Military Police! 

“Huh? What is this?”

The moment he reread the sentence written on the paper, Sergeant Kim Youngcheol’s face stiffened.

[1st Platoon, Corporal Lee Seunghyeon is sexually harassing Private Choi Kangho.]

That was all.

Just a single line—but it was more than enough to freeze the air in the administrative office.

Sergeant Kim Youngcheol abruptly sprang to his feet and roughly grabbed the receiver.

“Hey, Sergeant Park! Get up here right now.”

A moment later, Deputy Platoon Leader Sergeant Park Jinho rushed into the administrative office.

“Yes, Sergeant Kim. What’s going on?”

Without a word, Kim Youngcheol slammed the letter down in front of him.

“Hey. You’ve got a guy named Choi Kangho in your platoon, right?”

Park Jinho nodded, looking slightly startled.

“Private Choi Kangho, sir?”

“Yes!”

“Yes. He’s in our platoon.”

“Does that bastard have some kind of problem?”

After hesitating briefly, Park Jinho answered carefully.

“No, nothing in particular. He does look a bit delicate… but the seniors look after him well, and the atmosphere around him is fairly decent.”

At that, Kim Youngcheol’s brow furrowed deeply.

‘Delicate-looking, so the seniors keep him close…’

Click.

It felt as though a puzzle piece snapped into place in his head.

Lowering his voice, Kim Youngcheol snapped sharply at Park Jinho.

“Hey, what did I tell you? I said manage your unit properly, didn’t I? I told you to keep a close eye on the new guys, especially!”

Park Jinho flailed his hands in panic.

“I—I am paying attention. But what exactly is going on?”

Grinding his teeth, Kim Youngcheol muttered quietly.

“This is bad.”

“Yes?”

Kim Youngcheol lifted the letter and shoved it across the desk.

“Someone wrote this in the suggestion letter. It says, ‘Private Choi Kangho is being sexually harassed.’”

The color drained from Park Jinho’s face.

“What? Who? Who would write something like—”

“How the hell would I know? You’re the one who’s supposed to know, you idiot!”

Bang!

Kim Youngcheol slammed his fist onto the desk.

“If this blows up and reaches higher-ups, both you and I are finished. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Park Jinho nodded stiffly.

“Yes. I understand.”

“Find out who wrote it. And handle it quietly. Don’t let this get noisy. Got it?”

Though his reply was short, Park Jinho’s voice was thick with tension.

“Yes, sir.”

It didn’t take long for Sergeant Park Jinho to scan through the 1st Platoon.

It was obvious who the problem was.

There was someone who always hovered around Private Choi Kangho, sticking to him at all hours.

Corporal Lee Seunghyeon.

“Hey, Lee Seunghyeon. Come here.”

In a heavy, dry voice, Park Jinho summoned him to the administrative office.

Reading the room, Lee Seunghyeon cautiously stepped inside.

“What did you do to Choi Kangho?”

The sudden question made Lee Seunghyeon’s face stiffen.

“What do you mean, sir?”

“Don’t play dumb. Tell me honestly—what did you do?”

When Park Jinho pressed him, Lee Seunghyeon jumped in protest.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You didn’t do anything to Choi Kangho?”

“You mean Private Choi Kangho? I didn’t do anything at all! I swear, Deputy Platoon Leader!”

Without presenting any evidence, Park Jinho coldly fired back.

“Then why would something like this be reported? You think someone wrote it as a joke?”

After reading the contents, Lee Seunghyeon’s lips trembled.

“I—I really didn’t do anything…”

“That’s enough. For now, stay the hell away from Private Choi Kangho. If you do anything even remotely suspicious again, you’re going straight to the brig. Got it?”

“……”

“I warned you.”

Park Jinho’s words were short and final.

At that moment, a sharp glint flashed in Lee Seunghyeon’s eyes.

‘The brig? Me?’

His heart sank.

And in that instant, Lee Seunghyeon instinctively realized it.

‘Someone stabbed me in the back.’

Someone had written about him in the suggestion letter.

‘Who?’

Leaving the administrative office, Lee Seunghyeon’s mind raced.

But his suspicions quickly narrowed to a single direction.

Every squad member was under his thumb.

The squad leader, with discharge approaching, had effectively checked out.

That left only two possible people.

Private Choi Kangho—or Private Oh Sangjin.

Choi Kangho’s personality made it unlikely he would ever stand up to a senior.

Then that meant…

“Oh Sangjin. That bastard did it.”

Fire flickered in Lee Seunghyeon’s eyes.

‘Fine. Oh Sangjin. You dared to rat me out? This punk doesn’t know how scary seniors can be. I won’t let this slide.’

Unable to suppress the rage boiling inside him, Lee Seunghyeon locked onto his culprit.

And once he concluded it was Oh Sangjin, his gaze grew increasingly vicious.

“Ha… that Oh Sangjin bastard. Turns out he’s been cracking pumpkin seeds behind our backs.”

He muttered irritably to the soldiers sitting around him.

“Seriously. I treat him nicely, and he gets cocky without fear.”

At that moment, a junior soldier beside him spoke cautiously.

“But Corporal Lee… shouldn’t you be careful of Sergeant Park Jinho these days? Maybe you should lie low for a while.”

Lee Seunghyeon snorted.

“Careful? You think I avoid Sergeant Park because I’m scared? Don’t make me laugh. No need to worry about that.”

A brief silence followed.

Then Lee Seunghyeon spoke in a low, hardened voice.

“After roll call tonight, bring Oh Sangjin to the warehouse.”

The soldiers’ faces stiffened all at once.

One of them asked carefully,

“Uh… do you mean the warehouse behind the ammunition depot?”

Lee Seunghyeon gave a light nod.

“Yeah. Drag him there. Be on time.”

“Yes. Understood.”

That evening, the barracks buzzed with their usual activity.

As Oh Sangjin finished cleaning, he turned at the sound of a low voice behind him.

“Hey, Sangjin.”

Private Im Donggeon stood there with a serious expression.

“Private Oh Sangjin. Did you call for me?”

“Come with me.”

Im Donggeon glanced around before quickly pulling him into the restroom.

Only after checking each stall to make sure no one was inside did he lower his voice.

“You’re in deep trouble.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“Today—the seniors said they’re not going to let you off easy.”

“……”

At the sudden warning, Oh Sangjin’s eyes widened. Seeing his reaction, Im Donggeon continued.

“Did you write something weird in the suggestion letter, by any chance?”

Only then did Oh Sangjin understand why he was acting like this.

After taking a short breath, he quietly nodded.

“Yes. I wrote it.”

Im Donggeon pressed his forehead and let out a deep sigh.

“Haah… you idiot. Did you think they wouldn’t find out? There’s no such thing as secrets in the military. Even if it’s called a suggestion letter, everything gets exposed in the end.”

His voice was filled with genuine concern.

“I’m telling you just in case. Writing stuff like that won’t solve anything. It just makes you a target. Seriously.”

“Then what should I do?”

After a moment of silence, Im Donggeon whispered.

“After roll call, if the seniors call you, just shut your eyes and beg. Say ‘I’m sorry,’ bow your head, swear you won’t do it again. If you do that, there’s at least a chance they’ll let it go. Got it?”

It was advice—given out of sincere concern for Oh Sangjin.

But Oh Sangjin couldn’t easily nod.

With his personality, lowering his head in silence after being wronged was something he simply couldn’t do.

“You understand what I’m saying, right?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

Im Donggeon looked at him with pity and lightly patted his shoulder.

Just then, someone called out for Im Donggeon from outside.

“Hey, Donggeon!”

“Private Im Donggeon!”

“Where are you?!”

“I’m in the restroom! Coming out now!”

Im Donggeon hurried out.

Left alone, Oh Sangjin’s expression was completely rigid.

Time passed, roll call ended, and several seniors called Oh Sangjin over.

Strange smiles lingered on their faces.

“Hey, Oh Sangjin.”

“Private Oh Sangjin.”

“You pulled a real cute little stunt.”

“I didn’t quite catch that.”

They spoke casually, patting his shoulders.

“Hey, what—did you live in a temple your whole life? Or are you just clueless about how the world works?”

“Private Oh Sangjin.”

“So you think you’re something special, huh? Coming in here, acting all righteous and pulling this crap.”

Their sneers and mockery stabbed into Oh Sangjin’s chest like sharp thorns.

“What kind of upbringing did you even have?”

At that, Oh Sangjin bowed his head deeply and answered with difficulty.

“I’m sorry…”

At that moment, Private Kang Jihun sneered and spat out his words.

“Sorry? You think one ‘sorry’ fixes everything? Want to quit the military? Who taught you to look seniors straight in the eye like that?”

Beside him, Private Min Jaewon chimed in.

“That’s enough, Private Kang. Why bother talking to trash like this? It’s not like he has ears to listen anyway.”

There was no physical violence.

But each word carved into Oh Sangjin’s pride like a blade.

It was suffocating verbal abuse.

Dragged along by the seniors, Oh Sangjin was eventually taken to the warehouse.

Inside, Corporal Lee Seunghyeon and Corporal Jung Junyeong were already waiting.

When the door shut with a dull thud, the dark warehouse became unbearably silent.

“Hey, Oh Sangjin.”

“Private Oh Sangjin.”

Lee Seunghyeon approached in a low voice.

“Be honest. Did you really rat me out?”