Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 134

“What do we do?”

“What do you mean, what do we do?”

“What about Young-gi? If that bastard wakes up and talks, aren’t we all screwed?”

“Screwed, my ass.”

Compared to Kim Hak-cheol, whose face was pale, Noh Su-bong looked far too relaxed.

“That bastard won’t wake up.”

“H-how do you know that?”

“Do you know when that bastard snuck out of the barracks?”

Noh Su-bong chuckled.

“Hey, do you think a guy who was found more than an hour after he left, barely clinging to life, is going to be okay? A vegetative state is the best-case scenario.”

“…Still, I’m uneasy, sir.”

“You’re uneasy about everything.”

Noh Su-bong stared at Kim Hak-cheol for a moment, then tapped him on the head.

“Who’s my father?” [A Korean expression used to mean ‘Don’t worry, I’ve got this.’]

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything.”

“Can I trust you?”

“Oh? Look at Kim Hak-cheol, talking back?”

“I-I’m sorry, Sergeant Noh Su-bong. I’m just too anxious.”

“You little punk, how are you going to survive in this harsh world with such a small liver?” Noh Su-bong laughed.

“I already made all the calls last night.”

“Ah…”

“Or do you think we’d be out here smoking like this right now?”

“I was surprised too, sir.”

“The investigation is just a formality. What are they going to do by investigating a guy who can’t even wake up? Think about his family situation. If we claim he committed suicide out of despair, what can they do? It’s not like we left any external injuries.”

“That’s right.”

“Damn it, thinking about it, it’s a relief. We really beat him up last month, but what if we got caught then? It’s a good thing that bastard’s mentality held up. If he had died a little earlier, he might have dragged us down with him.”

“But, Sergeant Noh Su-bong.”

“Yeah?”

“What about the others?”

Noh Su-bong asked back as if he didn’t understand.

“The others?”

“Yes. The ones who know, they know.”

“Know what? No one knows anything.”

“No, Sergeant Noh Su-bong. Our squad members and the next squad…”

“Hey.”

“…Yes?”

Noh Su-bong clicked his tongue as if he was pathetic.

“Do you think I didn’t think of that?”

“No, sir.”

“Damn it, what do those bastards get by snitching? Some pathetic sense of justice? That’s a joke. Nothing is more important than the money in your hand. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes.”

“Nothing happened. You don’t know anything. Don’t act so anxious, you punk. Don’t let the other squad members catch on, let alone the investigators.”

“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”

“It’s not about whether the others notice or not, but right now, you’re the biggest problem. Don’t walk around with a face that screams, ‘Oh, I’m guilty.’”

“Yes.”

Kim Hak-cheol nodded repeatedly.

“Damn it, what a mess because of that bastard. Honestly, what did we do wrong?”

“We didn’t do anything wrong, sir.”

“A useless bastard comes in and we take all the damage, and we almost got blamed for his suicide. Still, it happened in the early morning, so we could prepare, but if we had noticed that little punk was gone in the morning, we wouldn’t have been able to do anything and would have been screwed. Ugh.”

Noh Su-bong threw the cigarette he was holding on the ground and stomped it out.

“I told my father to take care of it, so you just lay low. Since you don’t have much time left before discharge, just stay quiet and it’ll pass. If there are no traces of abuse, the higher-ups won’t make a big deal out of it.”

“Is that so?”

“If an accident happens, the media will swarm like a pack of dogs. Do you think they want to make a big deal out of it?”

“…I’m still uneasy, sir.”

“Ha, this punk doesn’t know anything.”

“Yes?”

“Have you ever seen a story on the news about soldiers committing suicide in the military?”

“I don’t think I have, sir.”

“But do you know how many soldiers have died in the military in the last five years?”

“Wouldn’t it be around a hundred? Since it’s been five years?”

“You idiot.”

Noh Su-bong chuckled.

“Almost five hundred soldiers have died in the last five years. Three hundred of them died by suicide.”

“Is that true?”

“Sixty people commit suicide every year… Have you ever seen a suicide make the news?”

“No, sir.”

“Then why do you think those bastards commit suicide? Do you think they just feel bad one day during training and kill themselves?”

That couldn’t be the case.

There must be a reason for suicide. If someone committed suicide because military life was too hard, there would be a reason for it.

“If they dig into all that, do you think there wouldn’t be a few guys going to jail? But they don’t. It ends with ‘that bastard was mentally weak and committed suicide.’”

Kim Hak-cheol’s expression became subtle.

If that was true, he thought, they might get through this surprisingly easily.

“Hey, if this ends as a suicide? Then it just ends as one of the sixty idiots who die every year. But if abuse comes out? Then it’s a disaster. The media will swarm like a pack of dogs and tear everything apart. Even the Army Headquarters will be destroyed. Those bastards are more desperate to make this a suicide than we are.”

“Come to think of it…”

The fact that they, who were practically the ringleaders of this incident, were out here smoking was illogical. Even if the investigators didn’t know about the connection between Joo Young-gi and them, the members of the same squad were the primary subjects of the initial investigation.

“They don’t want to make this an abuse case. Hey, do you think they’ll investigate Young-gi, who has no marks on his body, as a victim of abuse when they claim that even guys with tons of bruises committed suicide?”

“No, sir.”

“So don’t worry. If they investigated everything like that, would this be hell on earth? The military is the most rotten place even in hell on earth. Don’t worry about anything and just trust me. Keep your mouth shut.”

“Yes, I only trust Sergeant Noh Su-bong, sir.”

Noh Su-bong chuckled and opened his mouth.

“Hey, do you know how to survive in hell on earth?”

“…Do you have to be smart?”

“Ha, this punk. You have no sense.”

Noh Su-bong took out a new cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it.

“Listen carefully, you punk. The way to survive in hell on earth is for us to become demons. Demons originally live in hell.”

Kim Hak-cheol shuddered as he looked into Noh Su-bong’s cold eyes.

“Why? Are you scared?”

Noh Su-bong reached out and tapped Kim Hak-cheol on the cheek.

“Don’t be scared, you punk. When you go out into society, you’ll experience countless things that are incomparable to this. You just need to stick close to me.”

“Aren’t I already sticking close to you?”

“I guess so?”

Noh Su-bong grinned and threw his cigarette on the ground. Noh Su-bong, who stomped out the cigarette, opened his mouth.

“Ah, and…”

“Yes.”

“You took care of everything Young-gi wrote, right?”

“I hid it because I was worried about getting caught if I threw it away, sir.”

“Burn it when the time is right.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go, let’s go. It seems like it’s almost mealtime. What did they say the menu was today?”

“It’s bean paste stew, sir.”

“Ah, damn it. Tell the PX guy to open the PX [Post Exchange, a store on military bases].”

“Yes.”

The two of them chuckled and walked into the barracks.

However, they did not know that there were eyes watching them from the dark shadows cast by the building.

“Leave?”

Charlie Company Commander Ha Jin-nam raised his head, his face ashen, and looked at Kang Jin-ho.

“Leave, you say?”

“Yes.”

Ha Jin-nam dropped his head, then slammed it on the desk and sighed.

“Jin-ho.”

“Corporal Kang Jin-ho.”

“You little punk, aren’t you going too far? What do you think the situation is right now? The company commander might have to face a dishonorable discharge. Everyone is worried about losing their jobs, and in this situation, isn’t it too much to ask for a leave?”

“I’m sorry.”

“I know you have power, and I know that if you say you’re going, there’s nothing I can do to stop you. But even if you have power, shouldn’t you use it according to the situation?”

“I’m sorry.”

Seeing Kang Jin-ho repeat “I’m sorry” without any other excuses, Ha Jin-nam sighed deeply.

“Where are you going? Home?”

“No, sir.”

“Then where?”

“I need to go to the Armed Forces Capital Hospital.”

Ha Jin-nam silently stared at Kang Jin-ho.

“Hey, that’s not a leave destination. That’s an unauthorized departure, you punk.”

“Then can I go on vacation?”

“Ugh, damn it. It’s getting worse and worse.”

Ha Jin-nam sighed deeply. However, his eyes were definitely less strained than before.

“Go, go, you punk. But don’t get caught. If you get caught, I’ll say I don’t know anything and just say it’s an unauthorized departure, so use your connections or figure out how to get out of it.”

“Yes.”

“My career is already ruined, so what difference does it make if I add an unauthorized departure to it? You little punk, don’t forget that I’m going this far for you, and when you go out into society, you have to give me a position, okay?”

“I’m just kidding, you punk. I’ll tell them to prepare a leave pass, so leave tomorrow. It’s the weekend.”

“Yes.”

“Go on.”

“Thank you.”

Kang Jin-ho walked out of the company commander’s office.

A cold air filled the hallway. But it was unclear whether it was because of the winter or because the company was frozen.

A black sedan was parked in front of the company from early morning.

“Hey, what’s that?”

“There’s someone on leave today, sir. They must have come to pick them up.”

“Leave? They’re letting someone go on leave when the company’s in shambles?”

“I heard Corporal Kang Jin-ho is leaving.”

“…Ah, Corporal Kang Jin-ho?”

Even among the company members, Kang Jin-ho was treated as an exception. Just by looking at how the officers treated him and the status of his visitors, it was impossible not to notice that he was in a special position different from them.

Nevertheless, no complaints were made because everyone knew that Kang Jin-ho was working harder than anyone else in his military service.

On top of that, he didn’t harass his juniors, so there was no reason to pick a fight with him.

“It’s raining so much, and he’s going on leave. He picked the wrong day.”

“He’s coming out.”

“Oh.”

As Kang Jin-ho came down to the guard post, the guards on duty saluted him.

“Victory!” [A common military greeting]

“Victory!”

Kang Jin-ho lightly returned the salute, reported to the guard post leader, and left the guard post.

Jo Gyu-min, who was waiting in the car, came out to greet Kang Jin-ho.

“Are you alright?”

“Let’s talk in the car.”

“Yes.”

As he got into the car, Jo Gyu-min handed him a towel that he had prepared in advance. Kang Jin-ho slightly opened the window and spoke.

“Please go to Seongnam.”

“Should I go to the Armed Forces Capital Hospital?”

“Yes.”

Jo Gyu-min rummaged through his coat and took out a black case, handing it to Kang Jin-ho.

“What is this?”

“It’s a new brand of cigarettes. Have one.”

Kang Jin-ho stared at it for a moment, then opened the case, took out a cigarette, and put it in his mouth.

After lighting it and taking a long drag, his head felt numb.

“I’ll start driving.”

As Jo Gyu-min drove the car, the acrid cigarette smoke that was exhaled was sucked out of the car window. Kang Jin-ho stared blankly at the cigarette smoke being sucked out, his eyes devoid of any emotion.