Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 234

Five Vital Signs – Episode 234 (234/502)

234. 50 Laps

After Tae-kyung left the hospital room, Kim Seong-hoon organized his thoughts and then left the room. He asked a nurse at the ward station to call Captain Choi Tae-shik.

-Hello, this is Choi Tae-shik.

“Loyalty! Captain Choi Tae-shik, this is Private Kim Seong-hoon.”

-Private Kim?

“Yes, sir.”

-What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?

Choi Tae-shik asked, worried about the sudden call from Kim Seong-hoon.

“It’s nothing like that.”

-Then? What is it?

“I have something important to tell you, sir.”

-Okay, tell me.

“Do you remember what you said to me when you came to visit earlier, sir?”

-I remember everything.

“It’s all true.”

-What? What are you saying?

“Actually, I’ve been bullied in the barracks.”

-Are you serious?

Choi Tae-shik asked again. He had clearly said no, absolutely not, when he asked during the visit this morning.

Of course, the wounds on his body, the suicide note Tae-kyung had mentioned, and everything he had guessed proved that he was being bullied. But he was surprised and dumbfounded to see someone who had denied it change his mind in half a day.

-Private Kim?

“Yes, sir.”

-You said no when I asked you during the visit, right?

“That’s right.”

-Then why did you suddenly change your mind? You know this is not a minor issue, so I need to know your definite intention.

This was something that should not happen within the unit and was a serious matter, so Choi Tae-shik needed to ask and judge carefully.

“To be honest, I was scared. I’ve never experienced anything like this before, and especially because it happened in the military, I was afraid to tell you, sir. I was just going to embrace everything alone and give up, but I felt wronged. I didn’t want to be the one to give in to this unfairness.”

There was no more excessive hesitation or looking around.

Kim Seong-hoon conveyed his thoughts calmly and clearly in a more confident tone than before.

“I’m not the one who did wrong, and I haven’t done anything wrong, so I thought I should be brave and confident. I’m sorry for not telling you the truth from the beginning.”

-No, you have nothing to be sorry about. And you made a good decision. Now, I’ll ask you. Who are the bastards who bullied you?

“It’s Lance Corporal Go Cheol-soo and Lance Corporal Park Byeong-deok, my direct seniors. I’ve been bullied by those two for several months.”

While talking on the phone, Kim Seong-hoon explained in detail everything that had happened to him.

Choi Tae-shik obtained prior consent and recorded everything he said, listening attentively.

‘Those crazy bastards are really out of their minds.’

The more he listened to Kim Seong-hoon’s story, the more anger welled up from the depths of his heart.

“That’s all. I’ll send you my handwritten suicide note and photos of the wounds on my chest soon.”

-I’m sorry that you had to go through this when you should be focusing on recovering. I’m also sorry for not noticing it sooner.

Choi Tae-shik sincerely sympathized with the young private’s experience, feeling angry and heartbroken, and offered his apology.

“It’s okay, sir. If this doesn’t get resolved properly, I’m thinking of hiring a military law specialist to hold them accountable for what they’ve done.”

-I can’t guarantee that everything that happens in the military will be right and go well. But at least now that I know about this, I’ll try to make sure there’s a good outcome for you. Trust me.

“Thank you, sir.”

-No, it’s okay. Leave everything here to me and take care of yourself first.

“Yes, sir. I understand.”

After finishing the call with Choi Tae-shik, Kim Seong-hoon looked much more relieved. The matter wasn’t resolved yet, but he felt proud of himself for reporting it to his superior.

* * *

Baekseok Unit-

After hanging up with Kim Seong-hoon, Choi Tae-shik quickly wrote a report to submit to his superiors and then got up from his seat. He headed straight to the bathroom used by the soldiers.

Click-

“Loyalty!”

The soldiers using the bathroom were surprised and greeted him, but Choi Tae-shik didn’t respond and went straight to the innermost stall where Kim Seong-hoon had been.

‘If you open the toilet lid in the stall I was in, you’ll find a razor blade inside. I panicked and hid it there because I couldn’t find a place to throw it away.’

Shining a light with his phone, he saw the razor blade as Kim Seong-hoon had said.

“Ha! It’s really here.”

Choi Tae-shik was furious. He felt frustrated and upset every time something like this happened.

He couldn’t understand why fellow soldiers, who came to the military to serve their country during the most sensitive time of their youth, had to do such things, bullying and being bullied.

“I can’t even begin to understand those bastards.”

Suppressing the anger that seemed about to burst out, Choi Tae-shik checked the time on his phone.

Confirming that it was free time, he left the bathroom and headed to the barracks where Kim Seong-hoon had been.

Bang-

The barracks door opened as if it would break, with a thunderous sound.

“Loyalty!”

“Loyalty!”

The soldiers in the barracks, startled by the sudden intrusion, paused for a moment and quickly saluted.

“At ease!”

The soldiers could immediately tell that Choi Tae-shik was not in a good mood. Or rather, he was quite angry.

The murderous intent in his eyes was so intense that it felt like anyone who got on his bad side would be destroyed.

“Go Cheol-soo, Park Byeong-deok, come forward.”

“Lance Corporal Go Cheol-soo.”

“Lance Corporal Park Byeong-deok.”

The two men, tense, came forward like bullets and gave their rank and names.

“Go Cheol-soo and Park Byeong-deok.”

“Lance Corporal Go Cheol…….”

“Shut up.”

The low voice was chilling, and the two men flinched and closed their mouths.

They had seen Choi Tae-shik angry before, but this was the first time they had faced his anger directly.

“This is the first and last time I’m asking. I hope you two will answer honestly. Understood?”

“Yes, sir. Understood.”

“Go Cheol-soo, Park Byeong-deok, do you have anything to say to me?”

“Sir? What do you mean…….”

“What do I mean?”

While suppressing his anger in the bathroom, he had hoped that the problematic soldiers would have some conscience left.

It was clear that they had committed a clear wrong, but he still thought they would confess on their own and wanted to give them that chance.

But the brazen expressions on their faces, as if they really didn’t know anything, made his anger boil over.

“I’ll give you five minutes. Report to the parade ground in full gear. Move out. What are you staring at, you bastards!”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

Exactly five minutes later, Go Cheol-soo and Park Byeong-deok came out to the parade ground wearing full gear weighing over 30kg [approximately 66 pounds].

Choi Tae-shik couldn’t just leave these two alone before the official investigation began.

Kim Seong-hoon hadn’t done anything wrong, and he couldn’t stand the fact that they had bullied a junior soldier who they should have been helping and supporting, using every method they could.

He could never feel the same pain that Kim Seong-hoon had felt, but he hoped that these two would feel at least a little of that and realize their mistake.

“From now on, you will run ten laps around the parade ground. Understood?”

“Yes, sir. Understood.”

“If you get caught talking while running, you better be prepared. Move out!”

“Move out!”

Go Cheol-soo and Park Byeong-deok immediately started running around the parade ground.

“Hey! What’s going on all of a sudden?”

“How am I supposed to know right now?”

The two whispered quietly as they turned a corner where Choi Tae-shik couldn’t see them well.

“Haa!”

“Hoo!”

“At ease!”

The two who had finished ten laps stood in front of Choi Tae-shik.

“I’ll ask again. Do you two know why you’re wearing full gear and running around the parade ground right now?”

“N-No, sir, we don’t know.”

“Run 30 laps. Move out!”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

At the word ‘don’t know,’ he made them run a whopping 30 laps this time.

“Ha! I’m really going to die.”

Running around the parade ground with full gear weighing over 30kg was more grueling than they had thought.

With each lap, their speed decreased, and their shoulders ached. Their mouths were parched, and soon the two were silent.

With great difficulty, the two finished all 30 laps and stopped back in their place.

“Go Cheol-soo, Park Byeong-deok?”

“Lance Corporal Go……Cheol-soo!”

“Lance Corporal Park Byeong……Deok!”

“I’ll ask again. Do you still not know why you’re running?”

“……!”

“From now on, run 50 laps. Move out!”

“Sir? C-Captain?”

“W-We’re too tired.”

At the sound of 50 laps, the two pleaded with tearful expressions.

“Tired? You bastards, do you even know what’s really tiring? What the hell are you talking about being tired right now? Huh! Run before I change my mind.”

At Choi Tae-shik’s frightening shout, Go Cheol-soo and Park Byeong-deok began running around the parade ground again.

“Haa!”

“Ah!”

The two were almost walking instead of running. They were too exhausted.

It wasn’t a trick; they were genuinely exhausted, and their bodies wouldn’t listen.

“Run properly!!”

Then they heard Choi Tae-shik’s voice shouting at them from behind.

Go Cheol-soo and Park Byeong-deok were crying, perhaps because they were so exhausted.

Their arms and legs were trembling, and their muscles felt like they were about to snap.

Their pounding hearts felt like they were about to explode from running and walking so much. They were out of breath, their shoulders felt like they were collapsing, and they were covered in tears and sweat.

Any soldier who has ever worn full gear would know how physically exhausted Go Cheol-soo and Park Byeong-deok were right now.

“W-We were wrong.”

“What?”

The two, who had returned to their place, abruptly begged for forgiveness, and Choi Tae-shik asked calmly, as if he were cold-hearted.

“Do you even know what you did wrong?”

“Yes, we do. We bullied Private Kim Seong-hoon……. sob! We bullied him.”

“Don’t cry, it’s disgusting. Speak properly.”

“We bullied, harassed, and ignored Private Kim Seong-hoon.”

“I also participated in the bullying with Lance Corporal Go Cheol-soo.”

“You bastards, do you know what this is?”

Choi Tae-shik took out a pen from his uniform pocket and showed it.

This pen was the one Kim Seong-hoon had told him about, found in a corner of the laundry room a few hours ago.

The pen, with dried blood on the part where the lead [graphite] came out, was what the two had used to bully Kim Seong-hoon.

“T-That’s Seong-hoon’s……. We used that to bully Seong-hoon.”

The two, whose muscles felt like they were about to snap and who didn’t even have the strength to stand, told Choi Tae-shik everything he asked.

It was because they felt like they would really die if they held out here.

“Hey! Are you even human? Huh! How can you bully a comrade who you should be embracing and helping, like he’s worse than trash!”

“We’re sorry…….”

“We’re really sorry.”

“You look like you’re about to die from exhaustion right now? Your body feels like it’s breaking because of the weight of the full gear you’re carrying on your shoulders? You bastards, Kim Seong-hoon endured a weight of pain greater than that every day. Why did you bully him?”

“Just…….”

“We don’t know. There was no reason.”

“Sob sob! We’re sorry.”

Go Cheol-soo and Park Byeong-deok just repeated that they were wrong without saying anything else.

Just like in the military, society, or school, these guys didn’t have a reason for bullying Kim Seong-hoon.

They had simply committed such acts without thinking because he seemed weaker and nicer than them.

Once became twice, and as the number of times increased, they regarded it as a fun game rather than feeling guilty.

Choi Tae-shik didn’t want to just end it by reporting to his superiors.

As an officer, he wanted to make them feel the pain and realize their mistakes, even if only through this disciplinary action, for failing to protect his unit members and for these rotten soldiers.

“We’re really sorry.”

“You guys are people who don’t even know what you’ve really done wrong. Shut your dirty mouths because you’re being annoying! Shut up and listen carefully to what I say.”