Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 235

Fifth Vital- Episode 235 (235/502)

235. Disciplinary Committee Decision

“I really messed up.”

“You guys don’t even know what you did wrong. Shut your filthy mouths! Listen carefully to what I have to say.”

Choi Tae-shik continued mercilessly, addressing the two men who were soaked and limp like wet laundry, covered in tears, snot, and sweat.

“I’m not letting this slide. If you try to escape using any external force, I will help Private Kim Seong-hoon and do whatever it takes to make sure you pay for your crimes. Private First Class Go Cheol-soo, Private First Class Park Byeong-deok!”

“Private First Class Go Cheol-soo!”

“Private First Class Park Byeong-deok!”

“If you’re human, if you have even a shred of conscience, accept your punishment without a word. I don’t even want to see your faces, so get out.”

The two men, looking like beggars, went back to their living quarters.

“Hey, you bastards! I told you to treat the new recruits well, didn’t I?”

Go Cheol-soo and Park Byeong-deok, having washed their dirty bodies in the washroom, were greeted with shouting as soon as they returned to the living quarters.

The squad leader, who had heard the full story from Choi Tae-shik while the two were washing, was furious.

The squad leader, who majored in physical education in college, was someone who enjoyed exercise. So, he always went out with soldiers from other living quarters to train their bodies and minds during free time.

He had encouraged Go Cheol-soo and Park Byeong-deok to exercise as well, but they refused, saying they didn’t like it.

As a result, the three of them, including Kim Seong-hoon, were always together in the living quarters during free time.

For this reason, the squad leader and the other soldiers had been unaware that Kim Seong-hoon was being bullied by these two.

“Is this what you call treating him well? Huh? Go Cheol-soo, Park Byeong-deok?”

“Private First Class Go Cheol-soo.”

“Private First Class Park Byeong-deok.”

Having exhausted all their energy, the two men gave their ranks and names with weary voices.

“Did I ever say a single bad word to you for not exercising? I left you alone to take care of the living quarters and manage the new recruits, and in the meantime, you privates conspired to bully the youngest?”

“No, that’s not true.”

“We’re sorry.”

“What’s ‘not true’ and what are you ‘sorry’ for? You shouldn’t have done anything to be sorry for in the first place, you idiots! What kind of world are we living in that you’re still doing this kind of thing?”

“We’re sorry.”

“Hey! Do you think I like doing this?”

The squad leader taunted them, poking Go Cheol-soo and Park Byeong-deok’s foreheads and chests with his index finger in an unpleasant manner.

“You like that, huh?”

“No, sir.”

“Oh! Can’t even stand straight?”

The two men, who didn’t even have the strength to stand, kept losing their balance even with the light poking. The squad leader spoke sharply to the two men who were being pushed back.

“Go Cheol-soo, Park Byeong-deok?”

“Private First Class Go Cheol-soo.”

“Private First Class Park Byeong-deok.”

“Go over there and reflect on what you’ve done, think about it over and over again. Don’t pretend to reflect, do it sincerely and seriously. Got it!”

“Yes, sir. Understood.”

The squad leader also knew that the two men had run around the parade ground in full gear.

He also knew that they had run with the ridiculous tire and that they were in so much pain and so exhausted that they were about to collapse, but he didn’t want to let them rest.

After all, just because they ran around the parade ground and are exhausted now doesn’t mean they’ll immediately feel remorse.

However, he wanted them to at least think about what they had done wrong.

In any case, the squad leader was also the highest-ranking senior in the living quarters, so he was heartbroken by this incident.

* * *

The next day, at Woori Hospital-

“What!”

“I, is that true?”

The faces of the family members who came to visit the hospital room were all frozen.

“Yes, all of it is true.”

Kim Seong-hoon had confessed to his family about the hazing in the military.

“So, you mean you had to stay here until your appendix burst because of those bastards, right?”

“Those psychos! How could they do this to a person? How could they!”

“Seong-hoon?”

“Yes, Father.”

Kim Oh-hoon, who had been listening quietly amidst his agitated daughters, approached his son and clasped his hands.

“I’m sorry. I’m your father, and I didn’t even know you were suffering so much. I thought you were doing well.”

Kim Oh-hoon’s voice choked up, and he couldn’t speak properly. Instead, his eyes turned red.

“No, Father. Don’t say that. It’s natural that you wouldn’t know since I didn’t tell you.”

“Mommy is sorry too. I’m so sorry.”

Lee Ae-sook also held her son’s hand with tears in her eyes.

“Seong-hoon?”

“How hard must it have been for my little brother.”

“I’m sorry, little brother.”

Not only the parents but also all three older sisters embraced Kim Seong-hoon.

The whole family warmly embraced and supported their son and brother.

“I’m okay now.”

Kim Seong-hoon, whose wounded heart had been somewhat stabilized with Tae-kyung’s help, even showed a mature side by worrying about his family.

He felt sorry that his family was going through hardships because of him.

“Don’t worry anymore.”

The weeping in the hospital room, which had turned into a sea of tears, gradually subsided. As the family’s upset feelings slowly subsided, they began to come up with a plan.

“Now that we know, we’re not going to let this go.”

“Of course. Did you hear what your father said? Mommy will also hire a lawyer. I won’t let anyone who messes with my babies get away with it.”

“That’s good. A friend of my company’s section chief is a lawyer specializing in military affairs, so I’ll ask him.”

“Do you remember what I said when Seong-hoon enlisted? These kinds of things in the military should be made public.”

“That’s right, Second Older Sister. My sister and I will post everything online and report it to the news.”

“That’s a good idea, youngest. We should give them a complete disgrace. How dare they mess with my brother.”

“We need to make sure those crazy bastards’ faces are known nationwide, and their personal information is spread so they can’t even lift their heads.”

“Yes, that’s good. I think we should do as we just said.”

The family decided to do as they had suggested.

“Wait a minute.”

However, Kim Seong-hoon, who had been listening quietly, intervened.

“What Father, Mother, and my sisters said isn’t wrong. But I’d like you to wait a little longer.”

“Wait?”

“Seong-hoon, are you going to let those crazy bastards go? Why?”

“Eldest Sister. That’s not it. Actually, I told the captain about everything I experienced yesterday, and he came to talk to me this morning before going to work and went back to the unit.”

“How can you trust military people when you’ve been through that in the military!”

Lee Ae-sook raised her voice. She wasn’t wrong.

What parent would want to trust the military again when their healthy son went to the military and not only got sick but also suffered severe bullying? It was a natural reaction.

“I felt the same way. But the captain is different. He’s a genuine soldier with sincerity. I think we can do the things we talked about earlier if the military doesn’t produce good results.”

At that moment, the family felt that Kim Seong-hoon seemed to have changed in some subtle way.

He must have gone through an incredibly difficult situation, but strangely, Kim Seong-hoon felt more mature.

“Little brother. Are you really okay?”

“Of course, I’m okay, Sister. Actually, I wasn’t okay, but I’m okay now. So, you don’t have to worry too much anymore. And there will probably be a disciplinary committee meeting at the unit today.”

“Really?”

“Yes. So, I’m going to wait and see.”

“Okay, I understand.”

The family wanted to go and beat up the bad guys right away, but they respected Kim Seong-hoon’s opinion and decided to trust and wait.

* * *

That afternoon-

The disciplinary committee was in full swing with Choi Tae-shik and several other unit officers gathered.

Go Cheol-soo and Park Byeong-deok, who had written statements in the living quarters the day before, were sitting there trembling, their eyes like those of a frozen pollack, as they watched the serious situation unfold.

“As you all know from reading the statements yesterday, the hazing that these two men committed against their junior, Private Kim Seong-hoon, cannot be simply overlooked.”

“Yes, Captain Choi is right.”

The officers had already reviewed Kim Seong-hoon’s video, handwritten statement, and suicide note, which Captain Choi had taken with his cell phone at the hospital.

And they had also read the statements written by the two men in question.

Naturally, Kim Seong-hoon’s statement, as the victim, was much more detailed, but it mostly matched the statements written by Go Cheol-soo and Park Byeong-deok.

Believing that there was no longer any place to retreat, the two men thought that the only way for them to survive was to simply admit their mistakes as much as possible and show remorse.

‘Hey! What are we going to do?’

‘What can we do? Let’s be honest, do you or I have any connections or money? We just have to beg and say we’re sorry.’

‘We’re going to get disciplined, right?’

‘Of course.’

‘Cheol-soo, we’re not going to be dragged away by the military police, are we?’

‘M, maybe not? I looked into it before, and our unit hasn’t had any major hazing incidents, so the colonel hates leaving blemishes on the unit.’

‘Then we’ll probably just go to the military correctional facility, right?’

‘Probably. Ha! I feel like my blood is drying up.’

‘Going to the military correctional facility will mess up our military life.’

Go Cheol-soo and Park Byeong-deok had woken up early this morning and were worried.

The former military prison, where they used to go when they did something wrong, had disappeared, and the military correctional facility had been created. Usually, when a problem occurs within the unit, a disciplinary committee is convened.

And the punishments decided within it are largely divided into military correctional facility, pay cut, vacation reduction, and confinement.

The most severe punishment is going to the military correctional facility, which lasts up to 15 days.

Of course, even if you go there, it doesn’t count as military service, so your service days naturally increase.

Rather than the old military prison, it’s a place similar to writing a letter of repentance and receiving a kind of moral education while reflecting on your mistakes.

After that, when you return to the unit, you are immediately transferred to another unit. At this time, if you go to another unit, bad rumors spread, making the rest of your military life difficult.

The two men were listening to the officers’ meeting and shamelessly praying that they wouldn’t be sent to the military correctional facility.

“Then we will make a decision on the disciplinary action. Private First Class Go Cheol-soo and Park Byeong-deok, who committed hazing against their junior, Private Kim Seong-hoon, as seniors, were considered for the military correctional facility, but.”

The two men, who had thought they would receive the most severe punishment, the military correctional facility, suddenly felt a chill as they heard the officer’s unfinished words.

“Because the violence and sexual humiliation suffered by the victim, Private Kim Seong-hoon, and the fact that it even endangered his life, the two men’s crimes are very heinous, so it has been decided to hand this case over to the military police.”

“…….”

“……!”

At the words ‘military police,’ Go Cheol-soo and Park Byeong-deok’s faces turned as pale as if they had seen a ghost.

If the case is handed over to the military police, it’s almost over.

Once the case is handed over to them, it is sent to the military prosecutor’s office after the military police’s investigation.

And they are tried according to military law, and the reason why military law is scary is that, unlike general criminal law, there are no fines, only prison sentences.

In addition, the law has been revised, and the punishment for hazing has become more severe.

Ultimately, if all the violence and hazing committed against Kim Seong-hoon are recognized in court, there is a very high probability that they will be sentenced to up to seven years in prison.

In short, Go Cheol-soo and Park Byeong-deok’s lives had become like bugs that had fallen into a latrine.

“W, wait a minute.”

“We’re sorry. We’re really sorry.”

“We’ve committed a crime worthy of death.”

“Hey, you bastards!”

The two men were terrified and begged with their hands, but instead, they only received heavy rebukes from the officers.

“Because of you, one person’s body and mind were torn apart, and he almost died. Do you know that! How dare you come into the military and harass your comrades? You worthless bastards, if you’ve committed a crime, pay the price.”

In fact, it was thanks to Choi Tae-shik that the case was handed over to the military police. As Go Cheol-soo and Park Byeong-deok had said, the unit was trying to wrap up the case with a military correctional facility punishment.

However, Choi Tae-shik, who had promised Kim Seong-hoon, went to officers higher than himself and persuaded them that the military had to change.

‘The military must change. Soldiers who have been unfairly treated should no longer be allowed to suffer, and in cases like this, we must protect them from the victim’s perspective.’

In the end, the officers were also moved by Choi Tae-shik’s rational and persistent persuasion.

“Captain Choi?”

“Captain Choi Tae-shik.”

“You are responsible for contacting the military police and handing over the case, and tell them to come and take these bastards away tomorrow. Understood?”

“Yes, sir. Understood.”

With the officer’s words, Choi Tae-shik answered firmly, and the disciplinary committee was concluded.

“You don’t even deserve to wear a military uniform. You trashy bastards.”

With the officer’s harsh voice, Go Cheol-soo and Park Byeong-deok were dragged out of the conference room, despondent, like people who had been sentenced to death tomorrow.

From now on, the two men were certain to be sentenced to prison after a strong investigation and a long trial by the military police.

Choi Tae-shik was able to relieve some of the burden on his mind, thinking that he had kept his promise with Kim Seong-hoon.

And as a soldier and officer of the Republic of Korea, he vowed to take even more careful care of the soldiers so that such incidents would never happen again in the military.