George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 211

< Episode 210 >

March. That was the decision President Hyun Won-seop made.

“I think this is the only way.”

Yes, this was the only way left. In his opinion, there was no other way. If there were, only God somewhere in the sky would know.

“Why are you saying that? I can’t just ruin the achievements of the previous president.”

“Still, this seems a bit crazy.”

He clicked his tongue. The document had the title ‘Peace Operation’ written in large letters. It was a completely contradictory operation name to the word ‘march’ that President Hyun Won-seop was advocating.

“I like being straightforward.”

“Is this peace?”

“Then how can it be more peaceful than this? Then…”

It was definitely peaceful. What he chose was to bomb indiscriminately. The important thing here was what to bomb with. He said he was going to march with sacks of rice. The Minister of National Defense was right to call the president a crazy bastard to his face. He should be sending them off with plenty of live ammunition packed tightly into combat vests and belts, but instead, he was going to have them march with rice.

Of course, they wouldn’t really be marching with sacks of rice, but it wasn’t exactly a full combat march either. It was closer to an operation to indiscriminately spread the old rice piled up in the warehouse to North Korea. This operation was consistent with existing policies, but the unique point was that it involved the military.

In fact, it was aimed at clearing the accumulated old rice stock in one go, while also securing justification. It was said to be for peace, but in any case, a ‘conflict’ would eventually occur in some way. On this side, they would maximize reconnaissance to avoid those Kim Jong-il followers as much as possible, and at the same time, they were gathering in Pyongyang, so the conflict would be about who could take more rice.

In fact, he knew it would look pretty stupid. Soldiers who should be holding guns would be carrying rice.

‘But this is the best. I have no doubt about it.’

Due to the nature of the country that lives on exports and imports, it was sensitive to foreign press, and at the same time, considering domestic public opinion, there was no other answer than this. It was a bizarre operation, but there really was no other answer.

Imagine. No matter what you choose, you’re doomed. The way for South Korea to collapse is very simple. All foreign investment has to be withdrawn. There were countries that could survive even if all foreign capital was withdrawn. Of course, even if it was survival, the regime would be torn apart by the angry people as if in a blender, but at least the country’s flag would not change.

Of course, Korea was not one of them. In order to maintain the current GDP [Gross Domestic Product, a measure of a country’s economic output], it was essential that there be no disruption to attracting foreign capital and exporting and importing. Therefore, war was tantamount to suicide. But if left alone, the new regime might reorganize the military and launch a southward invasion. The southward invasion itself would be easily blocked, but you can’t stop the incoming shells, can you?

As he reaffirmed the justification for this military operation, which was so out of his mind that it had gone on a long overseas trip, unfounded confidence began to spring up like an oil field in the dry land.

“Yes, this is it. This is the answer.”

Later, the Minister of National Defense would publish an autobiography in his later years, in which he described the situation at the time as follows:

‘I personally thought it was a crazy plan that put the soldiers in a dead end, but I had no choice but to obey the president’s orders. The generals who were with me at the time tried to persuade the president, regardless of the army, navy, or air force, but the president was unwavering.’

‘In the end, it was agreed to send troops divided into those transporting rice and those escorting it. In practice, in the event of an emergency, the personnel who had deeply infiltrated could occupy key facilities in North Korea. But what is the purpose of this operation after all? The president said that this operation itself is not a process but a result, but at the time, it was difficult to understand the meaning.’

Whether the ministers or generals’ questions were resolved or not, the order was issued to all units. The 1st Corps direct units and subordinate units were used in this operation, and drivers were selected from other units that did not directly participate in the operation.

Of course, tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. No, now the operation was issued to the unit where Kim Ji-hoon, a civilian (in progress) who was about to be discharged today, was located.

“How do I tell them this?”

The squad leader, who received the operation verbally, muttered as he walked down the hallway.

All the living quarters had their doors open, and inside, the soldiers waiting in the living quarters in full combat gear were silent without even moving.

They were usually all over the place and a disorganized bunch. Their way of thinking itself was ‘How can I slack off without getting caught by the squad leader or the supply officer?’ so it could be said that they were unified, but anyway, some people were saying relatively seriously that if a war broke out, they would put a hole in the head of an officer they didn’t like and desert.

Now, their thoughts were very complicated, but in the end, they all came down to one thing.

‘Is war really going to break out?’

Since Kim Jong-il is dead anyway, won’t it just end with some threats? In fact, it may all be hype and just the government and the Ministry of National Defense’s worries. Just because one person died of old age, the government is overturned, and the overturned government even reorganizes the military and invades the South? Isn’t this just a novel?

But the problem was that the opponent was someone who didn’t accept common sense. Has North Korea ever acted according to common sense? It was truly a damn thing. To think that the main enemy was a crazy man who kept spouting nonsense until he died.

The sergeant, who was supposed to be discharged today, was also deep in thought with a stiff expression. Usually, they would lie down in all sorts of bizarre ways even if told to sit down, but now they were sitting on the edge of the living quarters with pale faces. The squad’s unique boisterousness had disappeared, and only a heavy silence that had nowhere to go was thinly spread like a hazy fog.

It was a war that would never happen. There were many stories about whether war would break out or not, but in fact, everyone thought that war would not break out. They just wanted to finish their service quickly and return to civilian life.

The moment the door of the living quarters opened, the air changed, both in a physical and conceptual sense. With a stiff expression, or a troubled expression depending on who was looking, he slowly walked in. It was the same gait he always had, but today it seemed slow and heavy. The sound of military boots, which he only listened to carefully during training, penetrated his ears and seemed to hit his heart today.

“Guys. It’s a situation.”

The squad members rose from their seats as soon as the squad leader’s words fell. From A-class to F-class, they all rose at the same time as if they were one body. It was the very ‘unison’ that the company commander, who had disappointing work every day, demanded and emphasized so much.

They didn’t know what kind of orders they would receive, but with the determination to survive no matter what orders were given and see their family’s faces again, they firmly grabbed the straps in their hands.

“No, put down the guns.”

“Yes?”

This was also unison. No one among the squad members did not utter a question at the squad leader’s bizarre words.

“No, you have to hold it. Ah, damn it. What should I say?”

The squad leader suddenly made a strange expression, and then changed to a bizarre expression. The extent was so extreme that it startled the squad members who were determined, and the squad leader himself was horrified when he accidentally glanced at the full-length mirror hanging in a corner of the living quarters.

Anyway, whether it was because his complicated head was organized by that, or whether his brain was somehow messed up, the squad leader succeeded in finding the most appropriate expression.

“We’re going to North Korea for civil support.”

Thud. The deuce-and-a-half [a type of military truck] shook violently as it ran on the poorly maintained road. Thanks to this, Sergeant Kim Ji-hoon, who would have been home taking a nap at this time, had to forcibly end his reminiscence.

“This is a crazy operation. The president is leading an act of treason.”

“Still, isn’t it a relief that it’s not war?”

“No, damn it. Then why are they giving us live ammunition when it’s not war?”

In foreign armies, it was too natural for bullets to be loaded in guns, but in the South Korean army, it was rare for live ammunition to be loaded into the K-2’s chamber outside of shooting training.

Even the military police or sentries guarding the front gate of the unit load blank bullets that have little or no killing power, so what the hell is live ammunition?

“Can’t you think positively? Damn it, anyone would think we’re war maniacs who are crazy about fighting.”

A sergeant sneered. He was an older guy from another company who wasn’t very close to Kim Ji-hoon. Everyone’s nerves were so sharp that they could explode with just a small friction. The degree of sharpness had become sharper since he crossed the border for the first time in his life, and now it was like looking at a razor blade.

A razor blade is able to cut hair because it is delicately sharp, isn’t it? The important thing here is that it is delicately sharp. What would happen if razor blades collided with each other? The blades would be scratched and damaged. A razor blade with scratches cannot be used. Knowing that, he tried to spit out swear words but firmly closed his mouth.

The razor blade means the soldiers’ nerves right now, but it also means the K-2 rifle filled with live ammunition in the soldiers’ hands. Of course, some were K-1s, but anyway, didn’t someone say that civilized people are more rude than barbarians because they can be rude without having their heads split open? Now that saying was being proven in real time.

In the past, the rifle was just something to wipe and tighten, but now he deeply understood that it was a scary weapon that took people’s lives, as the instructors and officers had emphasized so much. At the same time, this scene seemed like the United States and the Soviet Union maintaining balance through mutually assured destruction during the Cold War.

However, in this case, it would be more accurate to say that Gangbuk [Northern part of Seoul] and Gangnam [Southern part of Seoul, known for its wealth] are opposed to each other, not the United States and the Soviet Union on a scale.

“Tsk.”

Corporal Lee Hong-yeol clicked his tongue slightly. He was supposed to be leaving the army in a passenger car today, but instead of leaving the army, he was holding live ammunition in a hard deuce-and-a-half and crossing the North Korean border, so how could he not sigh? He was even more upset because he was not just a senior but also a friend from high school.

Apart from that, North Korea looked like a rural area far from the city. However, there was a condition that the modifier ’80s’ was attached to the front. But it didn’t really look like all rural areas. Because the bizarre sight of green paint painted on bare mountains was occasionally visible.

At least there were no such stupid mountains in South Korea.

“Damn it. No one will say anything with just this much now that I’ve come all the way to North Korea.”

When I turned my head, Sergeant Kim Ji-hoon was smoking a cigarette. But looking at the way he was doing it, he didn’t seem to be able to smoke it properly. He seemed to be aware of it himself, so he didn’t smoke much and threw it on the street. It was a bizarre act that he would never have been able to do normally.

The cigarette that left Kim Ji-hoon’s hand drew a parabola.

“Huh, those South Korean bastards are just throwing away cigarettes?”

It fell at the feet of a North Korean resident.