Return To The Building Owner [EN]: Chapter 415

“Private Kim Hyun-sung, sir! I didn’t even realize I was blurting out my rank and name!”

Hyun-sung answered in a deliberately loud voice. He knew this whole thing was a petty power play orchestrated by Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk, so he had prepared his response.

‘What’s with this punk?’

Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk was dumbfounded.

This wasn’t the scenario he had envisioned. He had expected Hyun-sung to fail to give his rank and name after being told not to. That way, he could use the excuse of lacking discipline to start him on some extra physical training before the actual driving lessons.

He had trained countless new recruits, and this method had never failed. He couldn’t understand why it wasn’t working this time. This was a rite of passage that no new recruit had ever been able to avoid. But today, for some reason, he was being thwarted from the start.

But that didn’t mean he was out of options.

Smirk.

A smile spread across Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk’s face. The reason was simple: he would have plenty of opportunities to instill discipline in the future.

“Mount up!”

Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk said loudly with a triumphant smile.

“Private Kim Hyun-sung, sir! Mounting up!”

Hyun-sung repeated loudly and ran towards the driver’s seat. But instead of immediately getting in, he first removed the wheel chocks from the front and back of the front wheel and placed them on the footrest.

The first step of driving training was removing the chocks and placing them on the footrest. If you didn’t remove the chocks, you couldn’t even start, so it was the most basic step.

‘Look at this guy.’

Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk tilted his head. He could accept the rank and name thing, but he hadn’t expected Hyun-sung to perfectly remove the chocks and then get in.

During driving training, the recruits are usually so nervous about getting in that they don’t even think about the chocks. So, they start the engine and put it in gear, but the car can’t move forward. Because the chocks are in place, the car stalls instead of moving forward.

But the new recruits naturally don’t know the reason. They just think they’re stalling because they’re not good at driving. After sweating it out a few times, they’re told to get out and check the chocks. Of course, by then, the recruit’s right forearm is already starting to swell from the effort.

Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk tilted his head slightly and said again.

“Ignition.”

“Ignition, sir!”

Hyun-sung repeated and, this time, instead of immediately pressing the start button, he checked the gear lever [transmission] first. If the car was in gear, pressing the start button would cause the car to lurch forward.

Seeing this, Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk tilted his head again.

Too perfect, it was too perfect. When he first removed the chocks, he thought that he must have learned that much in basic training. But this time, when he told him to start the engine, he didn’t immediately start it but checked the transmission first.

Of course, that’s the right way to do it. But the problem is that Hyun-sung is a new recruit. Despite being a new recruit, he wasn’t making any mistakes. And what’s even stranger is that he wasn’t nervous at all.

He had been training new recruits for over a year, but this was the first time he had seen this. No matter how much driving experience they had in civilian life, they always made a mistake or two at first. But this guy didn’t seem to be showing any signs of that.

Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk looked at Kim Dong-soo outside and said.

“You go back to the admin office for now. It’ll be your turn in 30 minutes, so wait in the admin office.”

“Private Kim Dong-soo, sir! Yes, sir!”

Kim Dong-soo answered loudly again.

Originally, Kim Dong-soo was supposed to ride in the passenger seat with Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk. But since Kim Dong-soo was so big, he was telling him to wait separately.

“Departure.”

“Departing, sir!”

Hyun-sung put the car in first gear and started smoothly.

When he first practiced driving at the training center, it was awkward at first. But after about 10 minutes, it became natural as if nothing had happened. He realized once again that what you learn with your body, your body remembers no matter how much time passes.

The deuce-and-a-half truck [2.5-ton truck], among the military trucks, is no joke in size. Of course, the 2.5-ton truck is called a deuce-and-a-half in the military, but it can’t be compared to civilian cars.

First of all, its shape is unique. The bonnet that sticks out and the crude exterior made of steel are close to being monsters that you wouldn’t know unless you experienced them.

In his past life, when he first saw the deuce-and-a-half truck, it was scary just to look at it. He even thought, ‘Can I really drive this monster?’

But as with everything, he got used to it over time. By the time he was a sergeant, the deuce-and-a-half truck, which had seemed so big at first, felt like a toy.

Click.

Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk pointed to the right with his hand. He was telling him to turn right.

Tap.

Hyun-sung turned on the right turn signal and said loudly at the same time.

“Turning right, sir!”

“……”

Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk couldn’t understand no matter how much he thought about it. There was nothing to criticize. It was the same just now. He deliberately didn’t say anything and pointed with his hand. Usually, other new recruits are so busy looking ahead that they don’t even notice when someone gestures next to them.

But somehow, this guy immediately understood and turned on the right turn signal with just a slight gesture. Not only that, but he also accurately stated that he would turn right.

When receiving driving training in the military, you have to do it with words as well as actions. Of course, this is to prevent accidents.

But this guy was too perfect even with that.

“Second gear.”

“Shifting to second gear, sir.”

“……”

Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk had nothing to say.

To shift gears from first to second, you have to increase the speed a little. That way, you can shift gears smoothly. If you don’t, the gear shift won’t work properly. The car could shake violently or stall.

But…….

Vroom!

Hyun-sung’s gear shift was too smooth. He increased the speed appropriately and shifted gears smoothly at the same time. Anyone who saw it would think he was driving like a veteran sergeant. That’s why Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk had nothing to say.

On the other hand, Hyun-sung chuckled. Of course, he laughed inwardly, so it didn’t show on the outside. In his past life, he would have been yelled at dozens of times to get to this point. Back then, it was hard because of the driving, but also because of the scary atmosphere created by the person next to him.

Just then.

Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk suddenly called out.

“Hey.”

“Private Kim Hyun-sung, sir.”

“You said you’re a college student, right?”

“Private Kim Hyun-sung, sir. Yes, sir.”

“Did you drive before coming to the army?”

“Private Kim Hyun-sung, sir. No, sir. I only got my license and didn’t drive.”

Hyun-sung lied on purpose. The reason was that if he said he had driven, the conversation would get longer. If he said he drove around as a student, he would need another explanation, and the conversation would never end.

And on the other hand, he also wanted to tease him as much as he had been teased in his past life. If he drove this well in the military without driving in civilian life, he would definitely be puzzled, and he thought he would be secretly jealous.

Just then.

Hyun-sung saw a road in the distance. The road split into two. The road on the left was relatively gentle, and the road on the right led to the armory and was quite steep. So, when you first start driving training, you usually go to the left, and you only go to the right after at least two weeks of driving training.

Flick, flick.

Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk’s finger pointed to the right.

He was telling him to go to the right. This was a foul. No matter how good a new recruit is at driving, they never go to the steep right road on the first day of driving training.

In the end, Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk lost his composure and broke the rules even though it was the first day of driving training.

Breaking the rules in the military is not easy to deal with.

If an accident occurs while driving, Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk will be held responsible.

And even if there is no accident, if the transportation officer or senior NCO [Non-Commissioned Officer] finds out about this, they will never let it go. Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk may not be able to conduct driving training anymore.

Chuckle.

Hyun-sung laughed inwardly.

If he finished driving training and told the transportation officer about this, Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk would have to carry a double bag and run around the parade ground at least. Because the transportation unit handles dangerous vehicles, its discipline is the strictest in the unit.

‘I’ll see what he does…….’

Hyun-sung decided to watch Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk’s attitude a little more. If he did something absurd or demanded something unfair, he wouldn’t stand still, thinking about what he had suffered in his past life.

Finally, Hyun-sung arrived in front of the slope.

“Shifting gears, sir.”

The slope was so steep that he couldn’t go up in second gear. So, Hyun-sung changed the gear to first.

Then, Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk, who was sitting next to him, nodded silently. If he made an absurd demand in this situation, Hyun-sung would not stand still.

Vroom!

Even though the military truck has good power, the RPM [revolutions per minute] had to go up because the slope was so steep.

Halfway up.

Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk’s expression seemed to change, and his mouth opened slightly.

“Stop.”

“Stopping, sir!”

Hyun-sung immediately stepped hard on the clutch and brake.

This was expected. The reason why Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk chose the right road instead of the left road was probably this. A kind of revenge for Hyun-sung not making any mistakes from the start.

‘Let’s see if you can do this too.’

He must have wanted to check. He must have wanted to protect his authority by doing that. He probably didn’t think that Hyun-sung, who wasn’t from the driving school, would stop and go up this slope.

As expected.

Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk opened his mouth again.

“Start.”

He was telling him to go up if he could. But who was Hyun-sung? This slope was nothing to him. He was Sergeant Hyun-sung, who had driven a deuce-and-a-half truck to the top of the mountain countless times while training.

“Starting, sir!”

Hyun-sung repeated energetically and slowly started to release the clutch.

Vroom!

As he started to release the clutch, the car body started to shake at some point. This was the half-clutch state. In this state, the car will never roll back even if you release the brake. But it doesn’t go forward either.

In this state, if you lightly press the accelerator and release your foot from the clutch smoothly, the car will move forward.

This is the theory.

To apply this theory to practice, you need countless practices. You need to practice for a few days to a few weeks to be able to go up the slope without rolling back at all.

Vroom, vroom.

Hyun-sung first lightly pressed the accelerator and checked the movement of the car. If you press the accelerator too hard out of anxiety, the car will start bucking. If that happens, the engine will almost certainly stall.

This is the most common mistake when you first receive driving training.

Vroom!

Hyun-sung gently pressed the accelerator and started to release the clutch little by little. If you release the clutch all at once here, the engine will stall. As the car started to move forward, he pressed the accelerator a little more and completely released his foot from the clutch.

Then, the monster truck smoothly started to climb the steep slope.

“……”

Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk seemed to have nothing to say and just looked at Hyun-sung once and shook his head in disbelief.

“I’ll practice one more time, sir.”

Hyun-sung applied the brakes again without being told. Then, he used the half-clutch again to climb the slope as before.

Hyun-sung, who had climbed the slope, stopped the car again. Then, he looked at Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk and said.

“Private Kim Hyun-sung, sir. I have a question.”

“A question?”

“Yes, sir.”

“What is it?”

Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk tilted his head and looked at Hyun-sung. It was amazing that a new recruit was asking a question. He had trained countless new recruits, but no one had ever asked a question first.

“I would like to ask about this road we just passed.”

“Road?”

“Yes, sir. I can’t understand it no matter how much I think about it.”

“You said you don’t understand?”

Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk was dumbfounded. Since when did new recruits live their military lives understanding things? New recruits just do what they’re told, and that’s the military.

Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk was dumbfounded, but he asked again out of curiosity.

“Okay, Private Kim Hyun-sung, what are you curious about?”

“I’m curious about the course, sir.”

“Course? What course?”

“I’m curious if this slope we just climbed is the course that new recruits climb when they first receive driving training.”

“……”

Sergeant Kim Min-hyuk couldn’t speak.

This was completely unexpected. He knew he shouldn’t have taken the direction to a place that wasn’t a normal course because he was driving too perfectly for a new recruit.

But he never thought that a new recruit would point that out. If this story gets to the ears of the transportation officer or senior NCO, this is a minimum of 50 laps around the parade ground without being able to get out of it.

‘I’m screwed!’

Then Hyun-sung opened his mouth again.