TL/Editor: looloo

    Status: ongoing

    Illustrations: posted in discord

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    After week zero, boot camp''s first week began in earnest.

    With basic examinations complete and those leaving for unavoidable reasons gone, we were now truly recruits.

    Early this week, however, we focused on non-training activities, much like last week. We applied for savings accounts, received mental training, wrote internet letters, and mailed our civilian clothes home.

    We also received miscellaneous supplies, had officer interviews, and could get letters from family and friends.

    Among my fellow recruits, I received an abundance of letters. One from Heena and Sarang, plus others from family, friends, and the cafe noonas.

    In this digital age, exchanging letters felt remarkably refreshing.

    Moreover:

     While you''re away, I''ll stay strong too. I''ll take good care of Sarang and work hard, so you won''t worry.

     Please come back healthy. That''s what matters most. I''ll end here. I love you, Yeonho.

    ---

    Raei Translations

    ---

     ─I miss you, Daddy! Come back soon! Don''t you miss Sarang too?

     Sarang''s been studying hard to write you a letter. I''m teaching her correct spelling, but left her part uncorrected.

    Cute, isn''t it?

    Heena sent me two letters. One on my enlistment day, another with Sarang early last week.

    Heena''s elegant handwriting and Sarang''s endearingly crooked letters brought a smile to my face even at night. Exchanging letters like this occasionally might be fun in the future too.

    After all that, real training began. Physical fitness tests, gas mask drills, and military formations.

    Nothing was particularly difficult, but the summer heat was brutal. We sometimes trained indoors, but they usually pushed us outside whenever possible.

    Still, it was fun in its own way. Mostly thanks to Yu Jun.

    "Yeonho hyung... my head won''t fit in the gas mask..."

    "Seriously?"

    "What''s wrong? They said head size doesn''t matter for gas masks."

    "Wait. Loosen the neck strap before putting it on, idiot!"

    "Ah!"

    "Oh, for fuck''s sake."

    Yu Jun, being quite chubby, struggled with everything from morning runs to gas masks, formations, and fitness tests. But his determination helped him keep up somehow.

    "Thanks to you, I''m leaving well-fed."

    "I did feed you a lot. Guess I''ll have to treat you to a meal later?"

    "I''ll buy. But wasn''t your base in Busan? Close to home, right?"

    "Sweet as honey~"

    "Free lodging if I visit?"

    "No conscience... If you visit, I''ll clear out a room."

    Yu Jun''s family runs a pension in Busan. He says it''s more like a guest house. Not too pricey, apparently.

    I wondered why a Busan resident came to Nonsan for boot camp, but you can''t argue when the country calls. At least he seemed lucky to be stationed close to home.

    "Forget the pension. When I visit Busan with my family, we might as well see you too."

    "Ah, come on. Visit once. I can lend you a room if it''s not peak season."

    "If I come, it''ll be with family. How can you give it for free? Wait for me to boost your sales."

    "Come on, I can manage a day or two. Aren''t you my soulmate who was going to carry my pack?"

    "The drill instructor ended up carrying it. Did you give him a snack?"

    "Tried to at lunch, but he cursed me out, asking if I thought he was young enough to eat this shit."

    We burst out laughing. Only days since the march, yet it was already becoming a memory.

    Maybe because it''s the final stretch, but the drill instructors have been much more lenient lately. So recruits like Yu Jun occasionally approached them directly.

    "Anyway, don''t ghost me later. They say even if we exchange numbers here, we lose touch. But if we do, I''ll hunt you down for my snack money."

    "Don''t worry. I was planning to take Sarang to Busan anyway."

    "Ah, so jealous... Wish I had a daughter like that..."

    "Absolutely impossible."

    "Fuck."

    Lazily chatting on our bunks on a sunny weekend, the end felt near.

    My first and last boot camp experience was drawing to a close.

    Author''s Note:

    Yeonho''s boot camp story concludes next chapter!

    I tried to keep it brief, but it still ran longer than expected.

    I mistakenly wrote the boot camp period as thirty days initially, but corrected it to forty...

    As an Air Force veteran, I wasn''t sure... I thought Army was 5 weeks, but apparently the first week is week zero. What''s up with that? Did we do that too? It''s too long ago!

    And Sarang''s doll... I want one too. I''d love to hug it while sleeping!!

    Thank you always for reading with enjoyment! Love you all!