08:40, the battalion’s main auditorium.
The officers had been preparing since early that morning for the award ceremony that would begin in about fifty minutes.
They cleaned and cleaned the inside until not a single speck of dust remained.
Of course, the soldiers did all the actual work.
“Move it, move it!”
“Hey, Na Jong-sik! Don’t even think about hiding somewhere and slacking off!”
“Get this finished before the Battalion Commander arrives!”
‘They could at least help out too. Bastards.’
The soldiers cursed the officers under their breaths.
There were, however, two people who had escaped that cleaning hell.
“Stand side by side there. Yun-ho, a little farther to the right. Yeah, that’s it.”
Corporal Jeong Ye-som and me.
Under the Battalion Operations Officer’s direction, we were rehearsing our movements in advance.
You might think all we had to do was walk up to the stage when our names were called and receive our awards, but today, how we received them was more important.
It was about making everything look sharp.
“No. Ye-som, move a little closer too. It’ll look better if you’re right next to each other.”
Today’s award ceremony was not limited to people from our battalion.
Council members representing the district around Modang Station were also scheduled to attend.
That was why this whole circus had been going on since the crack of dawn.
Keep up the hard work, seniors.
I offered my quiet condolences as I watched them wipe down even the windowsills in corners no one ever went near.
“When you’re first called, you don’t need to state your rank and name. But you need to come out promptly and quickly. Your movements must still be crisp.”
“Yes!”
“Then, once you’re standing onstage, the representative of the local council members and the Battalion Commander will each give a few words according to the host’s proceedings. You’ll receive the commendations after that. When you do, shout loud enough to shake this whole auditorium. Just think of it as shredding your throat for a moment.”
Shredding our throats for a moment?
He said some terrifying things remarkably casually.
“Do you both understand?”
“Yes!!”
“Good. About that loud. But once the ceremony starts, you need to be even louder than you are now.”
“Understood!!”
After that, the Operations Officer corrected everything down to the exact angle at which we raised our arms.
I felt like one of his puppets.
It was not as though the Operations Officer wanted to go this far either.
But as I said before, all of this was for show.
So we had to put on a good show.
For the important people.
“There’ll be commemorative photos after the award ceremony. You two just need to stand straight at attention in the middle. Smile as brightly as possible. Okay?”
“Yes!!”
“Good. You’ve worked hard. Sit over there and wait.”
The ceremony rehearsal, which continued until 09:15, finally ended when the outside guests began arriving.
Five middle-aged men dressed in neat suits.
They were council members representing the Modang Station district.
“Haha, you’ve arrived.”
The stern Operations Officer disappeared without a trace in an instant, leaving behind only a subordinate attending to his betters.
I used to be like that whenever I went to outside events too.
Being an officer did not automatically mean you had it easy.
Whenever they met someone of a higher rank or a high-ranking civilian, they were no different from the soldiers who had been wiping everything down earlier.
They had to bow their heads to make a good impression.
“Loyalty!”
“Loyalty!”
“Loyalty!”
Lieutenant Colonel Park Ui-cheol arrived around then as well.
After greeting the council members as soon as he arrived, he took the Battalion Commander’s seat.
Behind the soldiers standing in perfectly aligned formation, five or six cameras had been set up before I knew it.
The ceremony began immediately.
“Today’s ceremony is being held to present commendations to the two soldiers who resolved the Garok Dungeon Explosion incident at Modang Station several days ago.”
I sat in the waiting area and steadied my breathing.
I had not run anywhere. All I had done was stand in place and raise and lower my arms repeatedly, yet I was strangely short of breath.
I was nervous.
Thinking back to before my regression, I had experienced events like this dozens of times.
But I could count on one hand the number of times I had been the main attraction.
And today was no ordinary event.
It was an extremely important ceremony attended by not only the Battalion Commander, but also local council members.
“Corporal Jeong Ye-som and Private Second Class Gu Yun-ho, come forward.”
“!”
“!”
I nearly stated my rank and name out of reflex.
I must have been more nervous than I thought.
Still, I was doing better than Corporal Jeong Ye-som.
Walking ahead of me, her fingers were trembling.
Perhaps determined not to make a mistake, she straightened her back even more rigidly.
“I am Kim Jeong-gu, a council member from Soseo District. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to our two soldiers. Furthermore….”
The representative of the district council members spoke first.
Lieutenant Colonel Park Ui-cheol came up next.
Perhaps because the cameras were rolling, he spoke in a polite register.
“A Hunter is someone who defeats monsters, but there are times when even a Hunter wishes to avoid such situations. Unexpected incidents like the recent one at Modang Station are especially difficult. Hunters are ultimately human as well, and it is not easy to step forward when doing so places one’s own life in danger. However, Private Second Class Gu Yun-ho and Corporal Jeong Ye-som did exactly that.”
His speech continued line after line, reminding me of the lectures school principals used to give.
“With the courageous spirit befitting Hunters and a single-minded determination to save civilians, they charged toward the monsters without a moment’s hesitation. They then eliminated them completely and brought the situation to a close. Setting aside position and rank, I would like to express my respect for Private Second Class Gu Yun-ho and Corporal Jeong Ye-som as a fellow Hunter.”
“―”
“All of us should follow the example set by these two soldiers. And through that, we should grow into better Hunters ourselves.”
Respect.
Being someone others should follow.
Even if they were empty words, they still felt good to hear.
“As Battalion Commander, I would therefore like to present this outstanding pair with commendations representing our Flying Tiger Battalion.”
“The two soldiers will now come up onto the stage.”
It was finally time for the finale.
Corporal Jeong Ye-som and I climbed onto the stage.
At some point, two commendations had appeared in Lieutenant Colonel Park Ui-cheol’s hands.
He stepped away from the podium and stood in front of us.
His thick hand clasped Corporal Jeong Ye-som’s first.
“You did well, Corporal Jeong Ye-som.”
“Corporal Jeong! Ye! Som! Thank you!!!”
Now it was my turn.
“You accomplished something no one would have believed possible. And as a Private Second Class, no less. I hope you continue to grow into an even greater Hunter, Private Second Class Gu Yun-ho.”
“Private Second Class Gu! Yun! Ho! Thank you!!!”
Remembering what the Operations Officer had told me earlier, I shouted loudly enough to tear my throat apart.
Thunderous applause erupted below the stage.
Lieutenant Colonel Park Ui-cheol spoke with a kindly smile.
“From this moment on, the two of you are heroes.”
The only labels that had ever followed me were troublesome burden, useless bastard, and cleanup guy.
At this moment, they were all erased.
Something new was etched in their place.
“Heroes of Flying Tiger.”
The unfamiliar title made my head ring for a moment.
By the time I came back to my senses, I was standing in the middle of the Battalion Commander and the council members for a commemorative photograph.
At the end, I had an individual photograph taken while holding my commendation.
The photo was printed on the spot and hung prominently on one side of the auditorium.
「Heroes Who Brought Glory to Flying Tiger」
Even if only in a photograph, I was now standing beside Han Jae-woo, the man I admired.
A surge of emotion I could not put into words washed over me as my excitement reached its peak.
An exhilaration that felt ready to burst.
I smiled more brightly than I ever had before.
Someday, I would stand shoulder to shoulder with him not merely in a photograph, but in reality.
***
Congratulatory texts came from acquaintances and family.
Even a rough count put them at several dozen.
My eldest and third sisters, who were probably busy with work, sent me several messages each.
‘Our baby brother’s the best! You’re the coolest in the world!’
‘Forget all the hard times you’ve been through. From now on, let’s walk only a flower-strewn road! Let’s succeed, Gu Yun-ho! You can do it!’
My second sister sent only a short message.
‘Hey, heard the news. You were pretty good.’
But I could feel it.
She was proud of me as my sister.
By the time I finished replying to them one by one, it was already lunchtime.
The soldiers around me congratulated me in person.
It was such a major award that the excitement did not fade easily.
But getting too carried away would only make me start walking around with my shoulders puffed up.
I put the commendation inside my locker and returned to my proper place.
Private Second Class Intensive Training was scheduled for the afternoon.
Unlike other training, its results were included in the Soldier Service Record, so I had to make every effort to earn the best evaluation possible.
If I had to compare it to middle or high school, it was something like the grades on your academic record.
In fact, many Private Guilds required a Soldier Service Record as one of their conditions for admission.
And so, at 13:00.
Following the advance instructions, I arrived at the training grounds wearing my individual combat gear.
The place quickly became packed with soldiers.
Every Private Second Class in the battalion, except newly transferred recruits, had gathered there.
“So that’s the guy everyone’s been talking about.”
“I heard that until recently, all he did was clean up after his seniors. How does someone completely change overnight? That’s fucking crazy.”
“Damn, I’m so jealous. I want a Heroes Who Brought Glory to Flying Tiger commendation too. He must’ve gotten a ton of prize money and reward leave, right?”
Naturally, there were Private Second Classes from other companies as well.
Some recognized me, some talked about my past, and others envied me as they chatted among themselves.
The chatter soon ended.
The instructors began arriving one by one.
Among them was Second Lieutenant Noh Yeong-il, the First Platoon Leader who had served as an instructor during last week’s Specialty Training.
“Huh? Isn’t that the Battalion Commander?”
“What the hell? Why’s the Battalion Commander here? This suddenly got fucking stressful.”
Finally, Lieutenant Colonel Park Ui-cheol appeared.
I was just as puzzled as everyone else.
There was no need for the Battalion Commander himself to attend training for a bunch of hatchlings like us.
Is there some special reason?
The instant I wondered that, my eyes briefly met Lieutenant Colonel Park Ui-cheol’s.
An unreadable smile hung on his face as he looked at me.
What’s with that man?
“This training is broadly divided into three categories. The first is physical capability, the second is teamwork, and the third and final category is combat. Refine what you have learned thus far and strive to receive good evaluations.”
I did not know why he had come, but apparently he would not be directly participating.
Everything was being handled by the instructors.
Then I spotted a familiar face.
A head shaved bare like a bald mountain and an unusually thick neck.
He certainly looked intimidating, but even setting that aside, there was no way I could fail to recognize this bastard.
Jo Tae-gwang of Second Company.
Immediately after his discharge, he enters the underworld and becomes a Villain.
He gets brutally killed by agents of the Villain Disposal Unit before he can really start wreaking havoc, but either way, he’s a thoroughly rotten human being.
If this training proceeds the same way it did before my regression, I’m bound to clash with Jo Tae-gwang at least once.
So right now, I’m thinking about one thing.
How should I pay him back for what he did to me back then?
I need to crush him in the most miserable way possible.