Chapter 5

National Route 75

Seventy percent of South Korea's territory is mountainous.

I don't know why such a small country has so many mountains. Especially in northern Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province, areas known as the front lines, the entire world seems to be made up of a single color. Green.

Idong-myeon in Pocheon City is no exception. To the east towers Mount Hwaak, the highest mountain in Gyeonggi Province, and below it stands Mount Myeongji, the second-highest mountain in the province.

And nestled quietly between those enormous mountains runs National Route 75.

Two lanes, one in each direction.

A narrow road with only one lane on either side.

Normally, it's nothing more than a quiet mountain road occasionally traveled by hikers and tourists, but when war breaks out, the situation changes completely.

Heading south from here leads to Gapyeong. Gapyeong connects directly to Namyangju and the outskirts of Seoul.

That makes National Route 75 an important strategic location, advantageous for defense using the mountainous terrain and serving as a bridgehead between Gangwon Province, Gyeonggi Province, and Seoul.

The problem was that the people currently heading there were not the entire Headquarters Company, but only ten survivors who had lost their officers, vehicles, and most of their fellow soldiers.

“Huff···. Huff···.”

“Haaaah···. Cough, cough···. Haaaah···.”

“Huff, huff, huff.”

An hour and a half had passed since Bong-tae and the other soldiers began climbing the mountain.

To cut straight across the mountain by the shortest route, it was faster to push directly up the pathless slopes than to follow hiking trails or forest roads.

However, not one of the ten men had ever done anything like that before.

They had trained in the mountains countless times. But those exercises had always involved using trails that had been cleared by human hands.

This was everyone's first time forcing their way up a mountainside tangled with shrubs and vines, pushing the vegetation aside with their hands.

The result was the sorry state Bong-tae and his men were now in. Sweat poured from their bodies like rain as they panted heavily. They didn't even have the energy to exchange worried remarks.

Ballistic helmets, gas masks, body armor with ballistic plates, and K2C1 rifles that were considerably heavier than the old K2s, loaded down with accessories including red-dot sights.

Their combat vests also held five magazines, each containing thirty rounds of 5.56mm ammunition.

The equipment worn on their bodies alone weighed approximately twenty-five kilograms.

On top of that, they carried full field packs weighing well over thirty kilograms on their backs. Even though they were healthy young men in their early twenties, their bodies swayed with every step.

Bong-tae, who was walking at the very front, turned his head slightly to check on the others. They all looked like they were on the verge of death. They had been walking without a single break since leaving the main gate.

It was about time they took a rest. No matter how urgent the situation was, collapsing from exhaustion while climbing the mountain would be an even bigger problem.

“Guys, let's take a ten-minute break.”

The moment those words left his mouth, the soldiers dropped to the ground.

“Fuck···.”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

“···Fuck.”

The Korean language has an incredible variety of curses and countless variations of them, but the word 'fuck,' which kept spilling endlessly from the mouths of the Headquarters Company survivors, was the most appropriate for their current situation.

Exhaustion, feeling like death, worry, fear, terror. All those meanings were compressed into that single curse.

“Hey, take a break, but don't let your guard down.”

“Huff···. Huff···. Fuck···.”

While the soldiers sprawled wherever they could and struggled to catch their breath, Bong-tae set down only his field pack and climbed onto a nearby rock to survey the surroundings. Adjusting his grip on his rifle, he slowly scanned the spaces between the trees.

Aside from the occasional distant explosion from somewhere he couldn't identify, the mountain was quiet.

“Huff···. Huff···. Huff···.”

“Hey, once we get over that hill, we should be able to see it soon.”

“R-really···?”

At Bong-tae's words, Sergeant Hwang Gi-tae struggled to lift his head. Apart from Bong-tae, he was the most senior soldier, so he didn't want to show weakness in front of his juniors, but now wasn't the time to worry about such things.

“I don't know. But probably?”

“We're heading in the right direction, so I think we'll be able to see it.”

“It looks fucking close on the map, but actually walking there feels like it's going to kill me···.”

The soldiers gathered around Bong-tae one by one. Bong-tae looked toward the summit of the mountain ahead.

“Rest here for a bit. I'll climb up there and take a look. Stay quiet.”

“Sir?”

“What's with the 'sir'? Gi-tae, don't just lie around resting. Have someone stand guard and rotate the duty.”

“U-understood, Sergeant Kim.”

Watching Bong-tae run toward the top of the hill without even waiting for a response, the soldiers shook their heads in disbelief.

“Wow···. What's with his stamina?”

“I have no idea, sir. I don't think he's human···. Isn't he really a devil? A devil.”

“I've got top-tier physical fitness too, but I'm so exhausted I can't even move···.”

“Maybe it's because he hasn't used up his sexual energy for twenty years and it's all built up?”

“Hehe···. Maybe.”

A faint chuckle passed among the soldiers. Corporal Lee Hwan groaned as he got to his feet.

“I'll take the first guard shift. You guys rest.”

Corporal Kim Se-jin, who had enlisted at the same time as him, grabbed Lee Hwan's arm and stood up as well.

“Let's do it together. I'll watch the right.”

“Yeah.”

The two corporals gripped their K2C1 rifles with both hands and kept watch over their surroundings. The remaining soldiers gathered their discarded field packs and piled them together in one place.

Bong-tae, carrying only his individual combat gear, quickly reached the summit. Below him, he could see a road surrounded by dense trees. The only road in this area wide enough for vehicles was National Route 75.

“So we were heading in the right direction. Good.”

But something seemed strange, preventing him from feeling pleased. The road was far too quiet. It was understandable that there were no civilian vehicles heading north, but he couldn't see any vehicles traveling south either.

“Not a single car···? Aren't the people in Cheorwon evacuating?”

At that moment, he spotted two black dots beneath the orange sky. Their silhouettes rapidly began to grow larger. Two pitch-black parachutes were descending toward his location.

They were still too far away for him to make out the appearances of the people hanging beneath them. However, the color of their uniforms was much darker than the olive-drab uniforms normally worn by the Republic of Korea Army.

“···Wh-what? Are they on our side?”

Bong-tae didn't know every type of combat uniform used by the South Korean military. Black combat uniforms could belong to South Korean special forces.

But with communications completely dead, there were troops parachuting down onto National Route 75 in the middle of the mountains? He thought it was far more likely that they were enemies rather than allies.

Slap!

Bong-tae slapped himself across the cheek. Then he quickly ran back toward his men. He beckoned the resting soldiers to gather around.

“S-Sergeant Kim? Is something wrong?”

“Hey! Two parachutes are coming down over this way.”

“What? Parachutes? Are they friendly?”

“I don't know. But there's a good chance they're enemy soldiers.”

Lee Hwan nervously bit his lip. The other soldiers also began to grow restless.

“Fuck···. What do we do?”

“Hey, quiet down. Listen carefully to what I'm about to say. I'll try to sneak in as close as possible. There's still some time before they land.”

“What? You're going to get close to them? How?”

Bong-tae shrugged.

“Well, I'll have to crawl. Stay hidden as much as possible.”

“Wh-what if they're North Korean soldiers?”

“Why are you even asking?”

Bong-tae drew the bayonet from his combat vest. The KM7, which had been used as a military bayonet from 1964 all the way to the present year of 2029. It was a Grade A bayonet taken from the wartime supply depot, and its blade had already been sharpened.

“Y-you're going to use that?”

“Hey, it's dead quiet out here. Do we really need to advertise our position by firing our guns?”

“Have you ever done this before?”

“Do you think I have?”

Bong-tae raised the corners of his mouth in a slight smile. His lips were trembling faintly. He attached the bayonet beneath the barrel of his K2C1.

“F-fuck···. Hyung, are you seriously going to do it?”

“I'm an expert at knife fights in Sudden Attack.”

“N-no, fuck, is that really something you should be saying right now? You're making jokes?”

“Gotta make jokes somehow, you bastard.”

Bong-tae pointed toward the top of the hill.

“Hey, you guys wait up on that hill. If anything seems wrong, open fire immediately. And if things look bad, run like hell toward that road.”

“Fuck···. Understood.”

Every member of Headquarters Company moved to the top of the hill. From the summit, they could see the two parachutes still descending through the sky.

The parachutists appeared intent on landing in the middle of the road, descending directly toward it. Once they landed, the distance between them and the hilltop where the soldiers were positioned would be approximately 250 meters.

Bong-tae met Gi-tae's eyes once and nodded. Then, without hesitation, he turned around and began descending the mountainside.

He was astonishingly fast. And so quiet that his footsteps were almost inaudible. His movements through the trees and undergrowth were agile as well. Once Bong-tae's back had completely disappeared from sight, Hwang Gi-tae adjusted his grip on his rifle.

“Jin-gu, Chan-seong.”

“Yes.”

“When the parachutes land, you two aim at the guy on the left.”

“Yes. Understood.”

“Se-jin and Hwan, take the right.”

“Yes, Sergeant Hwang.”

“Fuck···. Are we really going to shoot them···?”

Someone let out a tense breath. Truthfully, Hwang Gi-tae wasn't confident either. He looked at the soldiers and spoke.

“Two hundred fifty meters? Maybe around three hundred. Are you guys any good at hitting targets at 250 meters?”

“I-I don't know. Fuck. I don't think I've ever hit many targets at that distance···.”

“Private Song Min-jae.”

At that moment, Song Min-jae, the most junior rookie who had been assigned to the unit less than two weeks ago, quietly raised his hand.

“Huh? Min-jae, what is it?”

“Um, I don't know if it's okay for me to say this···”

“Yeah, yeah. Go ahead. It's fine.”

“I'm actually pretty confident in my shooting.”

Hwang Gi-tae blinked at the youngest soldier's sudden declaration.

“Huh? Really?”

“Yes···.”

“Haven't you only fired a gun during basic training?”

“I was a competitive air rifle shooter until high school.”

A brief silence fell among the soldiers. Apparently, none of them had known about Min-jae's past experience.

“What?”

“Hey, are you serious?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Then why the hell are you in a unit like this? Shouldn't you be in some sniper unit or something?”

“I mentioned it, but they said it didn't really matter. They just told me to go to whichever unit I was assigned.”

“The Republic of Korea Army's personnel management is truly amazing.”

Hwang Gi-tae patted Min-jae on the shoulder.

“Good. Then Min-jae, you take the right side too.”

“Yes. Understood.”

Hwang Gi-tae looked toward the road again. Bong-tae had long since disappeared among the trees. Even when he tried to find him from the hilltop, Bong-tae had concealed himself so well that he was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey, fire when I give the signal. Don't shoot first under any circumstances.”

“···Yes. Yes. Understood. I'm nervous as fuck.”

“If we accidentally hit Sergeant Kim, fuck···. All hell will break loose.”

“I feel like even if that guy gets shot, he'll somehow survive and come back to chew us the fuck out.”

“Yeah.”

Hwang Gi-tae chuckled.

“With a war breaking out and that guy's temper exploding too, there's no way I could handle both.”

“Is there anyone who could handle that?”

“Hey, they're almost here. Everyone, get down.”

The Headquarters Company soldiers finished preparing to fire.

© Jungle Pocket #22844