Chapter 114: Declaration (3)

The female cast couldn’t help but be exhausted after the enlistment ceremony, the fast pace drill with zero prior arrangement, and the rifle training.

Flop!

They managed to drag themselves back to the barracks and collapsed on their beds. Even Kang Ra-Eun and Min Bo-Yeon with near-bottomless stamina were exhausted from the extremely difficult schedule.

Ra-Eun almost cursed out loud as soon as she laid down on her bed because she was far too familiar with the military barracks ceiling.

‘For fuck’s sake. I can’t believe I’m back in the army.’

She had spouted all sorts of profanities back when she went through mobilization drills as a reservist. However, not only was this not a mobilization drill, the training was very hardcore since it was going to be broadcasted. She felt like they were being trained harder than what was written on the field manual.

Someone knocked on the barracks door while they were lying down. Thinking it was Lieutenant Kim, the cast quickly got up from their beds.

“Are you all resting up well?”

However, contrary to their worries, it was Program Director Joo Seong-Won. The women exclaimed as soon as they saw him.

“Director Joo!”

“This is different from what you said!”

“You said this would be a three-day army ‘camp!!’”

They had all been fooled by such words and agreed to appear on On Duty, All Clear!. However, none of them had expected to experience fast pace and live fire exercises, which even soldiers would have trouble with, in just one day.

Director Joo looked extremely apologetic.

“I’m so sorry. You were all doing so well that the army officers were wanting to raise the difficulty of the tests.”

“Then why didn’t you stop them from doing so, Director?” Jang Yu-Ha asked sharply, as the eldest one here should.

Director Joo simply smiled in response.

“I knew it!”

“You were in on it, too!”

The complaints continued. Director Joo apologized again and let them know of tomorrow’s agenda.

“It won’t be as difficult tomorrow.”

“Really?”

“Yes. We’re just going to be doing some simple individual combat.”

Ra-Eun’s eyebrows twitched violently from the mention of individual combat. Director Joo did not notice her reaction and continued his explanation in delight.

“You all don’t know what that is, do you?”

“No, we don’t.”

They had all heard of it before, but did not seem to know what sort of training it was. Director Joo made an expression that screamed “They fell for it!” and continued.

“Well, you know what the army crawl is, right?”

“Of course.”

“That’s all you’re going to be doing. You won’t have to endlessly go up and down like you’d done during PRI training. You’re just gonna be lying down, so it’ll be much easier.”

The women’s eyes sparkled, having been deceived by Director Joo’s words. Meanwhile, Ra-Eun was cursing Director Joo and his ancestors in her head. She had never expected him to disguise individual combat as a piece of cake.

‘He has no conscience.’

He was related to Congressman Kim Han-Gyo for sure. Blood could not be deceived.

***

They weren’t even able to sleep properly. They had to keep night watches in seven shifts for exactly seven people. Ra-Eun was put on the third shift. She went to the orderly room in her military uniform and reported with a perfect salute before going in.

“Trainee Kang Ra-Eun has come to report the roll call. Seven out of seven are present, zero exemptions. That is all.”

The orderly officer was impressed by her flawless report. The first sergeant slightly glanced at the cameras and then whispered to Ra-Eun.

“If it’s alright with you, could I get your autograph later?”

“An autograph?”

“Yes. My son is a huge fan of you, Trainee Kang Ra-Eun,” the first sergeant requested with a light laugh.

The assistant instructors who were on night watch with the first sergeant also looked at Ra-Eun in hopes of getting her autograph as well. Ra-Eun was one of the most popular female celebrities among soldiers, on par with popular girl idol groups. Her dramas always had the highest weekend ratings in every military base.

Before that, a schedule happened to catch her gaze. It had all the training that the women would receive neatly organized, plus the names of instructors and assistant instructors in charge of each training.

“Will you be joining our individual combat training tomorrow, First Sergeant?” Ra-Eun asked.

“Yes. There were a lot of officers who said they couldn't handle appearing on TV, so I ended up being one of the instructors.”

The first sergeant seemed to have stood in front of a camera a multitude of times during his army life, since he did not look very pressured.

‘I see. That’s how it is, huh?’

The corners of Ra-Eun’s mouth curled up, forming a meaningful smile.

“In that case, could we talk for a little bit where there aren’t any cameras, First Sergeant?”

It was time for her to counterattack.

***

The second day of the army variety show shoot had arrived. The female cast wasn’t able to keep themselves together in their very first morning in the army, but Ra-Eun was expertly going through the morning roll call.

‘How many years has it been since I’ve done military morning calisthenics?’

She thought she had already forgotten how to do it, but only her mind had forgotten it; the memories were still ingrained into her body.

Next was a morning run. Lieutenant Kim’s attitude was unchanging despite the women’s complaints.

“Squad, run! Forward!”

One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four!

Ra-Eun was matching her steps to the calls before she knew it. The fact that she was doing this unconsciously gave her goosebumps. They managed to finish the regular military morning routine and headed to the cafeteria after quickly washing their faces.

“Thank you for the meal!”

During their meal, Han Ga-Ae asked Ra-Eun who was sitting across from her, “I saw a video of soldiers in the marine corps eating with their torsos perpendicular to the floor. Do they not do that anymore in the army?”

“That was abolished long ago.”

Ra-Eun had also never eaten perpendicular to the floor during her military service. Her friends who had served in the marine corps mentioned that they had once or twice, but never regularly.

‘That aside, aren’t they being too generous just because it’s gonna air on TV?’

The morning meals in the army that Ra-Eun remembered were nothing like this. She remembered being given only kimchi, edible seaweed, soybean paste soup and milk, but they had been given some very special service today.

‘Even officers don’t get a menu like this.’

As expected of the army, the master of showing off. The women had eaten like royalty, but it only meant that they would be put through an equivalent level of hell.

The seven women had changed into individual load bearing equipment and gathered at the drill ground.

“We will be moving to the individual combat ground, so follow me in a straight line. Understood?!”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

“Squad, forward!”

The cast’s first form of shock was that they had to march there instead of by car. They were shocked for a second time once they arrived at the individual combat ground.

“E-Excuse me...!”

Seo Tae-Yeon was so bewildered that she called Lieutenant Kim without mentioning her name and rank.

Lieutenant Kim roared as if he was waiting for it, “Who just said ‘excuse me?!’”

“I-I’m sorry, sir! Trainee #3 has a question!”

“What is it?” Lieutenant Kim responded in a way that implied he would punish her if she asked a stupid question.

However, Tae-Yeon had to ask despite this.

“I only see rocks. Are you saying that we have to crawl up from here?”

Director Joo had talked about today’s training last night as if it would be a piece of cake, but it looked like they would be covered in blood rather than whipping cream.

Ra-Eun was unmoved since she had already resolved herself the moment Director Joo mentioned individual combat, but that was not the case for the other trainees.

Lieutenant Kim answered Trainee #3, Seo Tae-Yeon, “Do you seriously call that a question?! A soldier must do whatever it takes to fulfill their mission, even if they have to crawl on rocks or mud!”

In other words, he was saying that they did indeed have to crawl up the hill on these rocks. The women looked like they were about to cry as Lieutenant Kim confirmed their suspicions, and looked around to vent their rage at Director Joo.

‘But he’s long gone.’

Ra-Eun smirked as if she had already expected it. Even his tendency to hide in a hole whenever things got dicey was also exactly like Kim Han-Gyo.

***

The hellish individual combat training had begun. The women became teary-eyed every time sharp rocks poked their knees and elbows. Five of the seven cast members had streaks of tears on their faces during the hour that they had trained for. Simply speaking, everyone except Ra-Eun and Bo-Yeon had cried a river.

Bo-Yeon seemed to be showing great attention to Ra-Eun while she was crawling next to her.

‘She’s probably wanting to be the best of us to get as much screen time as possible.’

Bo-Yeon was trying to become a media sensation now that she had retired as a track & field athlete. Hence, every single shot was like gold to her. Ra-Eun understood Bo-Yeon’s circumstances very well, but...

‘That doesn’t mean I have to yield to her.’

Ra-Eun had her own objective for appearing on this special, so she couldn’t afford to yield the spotlight to Bo-Yeon.

“Next up, flank crawls!”

They would have to go through the obstacle course as soon as they got through this course.

‘It should be around time!’

Ra-Eun crawled past the steel wires, ran up the mountain hill and made stabbing motions at the enemy target in front of her with her rifle. The enemy base had been occupied.

“Now then, let’s go back down and start over!” Lieutenant Kim ordered the trainees.

He emphasized that they needed to shout?“Training is combat, individual combat!” while going down.

“Lieutenant Kim.”

However, the first sergeant who had been on watch duty last night appeared while wearing an instructor armband.

“You’re here, First Sergeant,” the lieutenant replied.

“You look tired, sir. Take a short break while I give the trainees a lesson on the meaning and history of individual combat.”

“Pardon? But...”

“Adding things like this to the show gives meaning to the training, doesn’t it?”

“...”

Even if the lieutenant was higher in rank, the first sergeant had far more experience. Lieutenant Kim reluctantly left. In the meantime, the first sergeant signaled to the female cast to take a seat as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“I’ll chatter for about forty minutes, so please listen comfortably. Haha.”

The first sergeant and Ra-Eun exchanged glances. Ra-Eun lightly nodded.

‘We’ll be in your care, First Sergeant.’

It was time for the piece of cake that they were promised.

1. Individual combat is training for recruits to accurately and effectively traverse through various terrain; it mainly involves rushing and crawling.

2. The flank crawl is a type of crawl done in the Korean military where one crawls on their side. It is usually used in tight spaces such as pipes, as long as the rifle’s length is longer than the pipe’s diameter.