The unit I arrived at with worry didn't seem to have changed much. I was rather taken aback that it looked just like usual.
"You said you came for a visit?"
I had applied for a visit in advance, but the reaction wasn't good.
"Is this a visit for Sergeant Seong Jae-won-ssi?"
"Yes."
My frustration grew as I watched the soldier dragging his feet, hesitating.
"Hoo, I'm sorry! Sergeant Seong-nim is currently in military correctional training!"
I was momentarily stunned by the soldier's words after he sighed.
"C-Correctional training?"
Even I, who knew nothing about the military, knew what that was. Wasn't that a place to discipline soldiers who had committed offenses?!
Jae-won went to... correctional training?
Shi-hyun, who had heard it with me, also changed expression.
Jae-won committed something? That nice guy? It was hard to believe.
"I'm sorry!"
"Um, is it possible to know the situation?"
"I'm sorry! It's a military secret, so I can't tell you!"
I sighed deeply. What fault did the person guarding the unit's main gate have?
Shi-hyun moved away from the unit's main gate for now. I rubbed my face, pondering what could have happened.
"There's a reason why Jae-won hasn't been in touch."
I nodded weakly at Shi-hyun's words.
As expected, there was a change that prevented him from contacting me. More than that, going to correctional training meant he had Awakened, right?
If he had Awakened, shouldn't there have been another reason?
"What on earth happened to Jae-won?"
"There's no way to know from outside."
I looked at Shi-hyun with longing.
Could Shi-hyun possibly find out a way?
"Looking at me won't help."
Right, there's probably no way right now.... Shi-hyun parked the car in front of a nearby convenience store and got out. Then, he opened the passenger seat door and hugged me.
"It'll be okay."
"Do you really think it'll be okay?"
Going to correctional training meant he had committed something, right?
"Yeah, if it was something really serious, they would have explained it to us."
"Do you think so...?"
"Yeah."
I composed myself, comforted by Shi-hyun.
Please, let it be nothing serious....
* * *
The end of my fucking military life was in sight. A little over two months left? Now there were no seniors above me, so I was the highest-ranking soldier. But because the unit was centered around civilian employees, I couldn't be called the real power.
Usually, the sergeant is the real power in most units....
But it didn't matter. My military life had gone smoothly. I wanted to spend the remaining time quietly without any incidents.
I went to bed, hoping time would pass quickly.
My wish was shattered when I woke up in the morning.
I woke up early as usual, went to the bathroom, tidied up my bedding, and was resting. That's when the junior soldier sleeping next to me started groaning.
"What's up?"
I didn't pay attention at first. It could just be sleep-talking, and he was definitely fine just yesterday.
I was debating whether to check on him because the other junior soldiers were worried, but the situation took a turn for the worse when the junior soldier screamed terribly and woke up.
"Uh, uh?"
"Sergeant-nim, what do we do?"
I was also taken aback. Why did he suddenly scream? I couldn't tell what was happening because he had pulled the blanket over his head.
"Let's check it out first."
Is he sick? A nightmare? I didn't know the reason, so I pulled off the blanket to at least see his face.
And everyone in the Dormitory's expression hardened.
What was in front of us wasn't Corporal Choi, whom we had seen until yesterday.
"Uh, uh?"
Everyone was so flustered that they couldn't even open their mouths properly.
I knew this kind of thing well. The person who had experienced the same thing was family.
I had experienced it when I was still young, so my memory was hazy, but there was no way I couldn't know.
"Everyone, step back."
I had everyone step away from the junior soldier for now.
And I quietly woke up the junior soldier.
"Hey, Choi Yeon-u!"
Normally, I would shake him wildly to wake him up, but I couldn't do that now.
"Corporal Choi!"
I kept calling from the side and finally woke him, no, her up.
"Seong-baem?"
This damn junior soldier didn't even know his situation and rubbed his eyes as he got up. The problem was that the sight was so attractive that my face flushed.
"Choi-baem?"
"Yeon-u-ya, um, don't be surprised and check your body, okay?"
I said to the junior soldier who still hadn't grasped the situation.
And after touching his body here and there and checking with his eyes, he screamed.
The sound was so loud that other people in the unit heard it and showed interest.
"What's going on?!"
With that, the unit's confusion accelerated.
It was said that there were occasional cases of Awakeners appearing during military service.
But it was the first time the gender had changed. The first thing the company commander did was isolate the junior soldier.
Suddenly, there was a woman in the unit. They separated her because they didn't know what might happen.
At the same time, they started a staff meeting to decide what to do, but it dragged on without a conclusion.
I, who had no duties, asked my mom about various things on my phone.
"First, register as an Awakener and do a DNA test to confirm your identity?"
It wasn't something that could be done right away, and the problem was that the unit's leaders were passing the buck and avoiding responsibility.
I went to where the junior soldier was isolated and chatted with her for a while, telling her what she needed to do.
"Ah, do I have to do those things?"
"Yeah, I asked because there's someone in my family who Awakened with the same ability as you."
"Why are you helping me so much?"
I felt a little sad at the junior soldier's dejected words. Right now, the junior soldier was being treated like a germ in the unit. No one tried to get close and only avoided her.
They were also dragging out what could be resolved quickly.
"It's just... it doesn't feel like someone else's problem."
I told the junior soldier that my older sister had changed from a man to a woman when she was in middle school.
"My sister was even called a swimming prodigy and won medals until middle school, you know?"
"Is that so?"
We had shared various stories while serving in the military together for over a year, but it seemed like it was the first time I was talking about my family.
"But then she suddenly became a woman, it must have been hard for my sister to accept and felt like the sky was falling."
The junior soldier was silent. She was probably feeling something similar now.
"My mom took great care of that sister."
"Is that so?"
"But you can't even see your family right now."
"Do you think I'm pathetic?"
"I don't know, I just came because I didn't want you to be lonely."
The junior soldier became silent.
And she said thank you in a small voice.
"I'm sorry I can't stay long. I'll come again when I have time."
I couldn't keep the junior soldier isolated here forever. It seemed better to resolve it quickly and send her out. If her gender was corrected and she became a woman, the reason for being in the military would disappear.
To that end, I wanted to inform the company commander of the information I knew.
On the way to the company commander's office, I heard a lot of whispering.
The sounds they were whispering were so disgusting. She was quite handsome when she was a man, so the junior soldier who became a woman was also a beauty.
The problem was that she was too beautiful, and this was the military.
It's not that there are no women among the civilian employees, but it's hard to see women in the military, so they were forcibly suppressing their seething sexual desires.
A woman had been created inside us. It's only natural that the suppressed sexual desires would explode.
They were just spewing out obscene jokes that were hard to listen to.
I didn't point it out. They were in their early 20s, full of male hormones and sexual desire, so it couldn't be helped.
Honestly, I understood because I also had a hard time suppressing my lustful thoughts.
That's why I had to get the junior soldier out of the unit quickly... before an accident happened.
I made a firm decision and entered the company commander's office.
"Yes, what brings you here?"
The company commander looked tired, probably because he was worried about this matter.
I might be told that I'm being presumptuous... and my remaining military life might become difficult, but I had to endure it for my friend, the junior soldier.
I told the company commander the information I knew.
"Hmm...."
At first, the company commander frowned when he heard what I was saying. But after I finished explaining everything, he nodded.
"I see."
"I'm sorry for being presumptuous."
"No, it was helpful. How do you know about this?"
"Um, someone in my family has experienced something similar."
"I see, don't worry too much and take care of your squad."
"Yes!"
My legs were shaking and my hands were trembling when I came out of the company commander's office. I wanted to collapse as soon as the tension was released.
I did it....
I hope this resolves the junior soldier's problem well....
When I returned to the squad, the lower ranks were noisy, so I cleaned up appropriately.
I was trying to rest quietly, but I heard words that I didn't want to hear.
"Do you want to look at a colleague you were with until yesterday with those eyes?"
Everyone was surprised by my rebuke. I didn't want to say these words if possible. The guys assigned to this unit all had great parental backing, so it was hard to treat them carelessly.
So I was being moderate, moderate, but it was hard to bear.
"That's true."
Still, everyone had common sense, so they became quiet.
And not long after, rumors spread that the company commander had taken the junior soldier out of the unit.
Ah, it's worth it to act with courage!
The problem occurred 4 hours later.
The junior soldier had returned to the unit.
"I proceeded with the discharge process, but it hasn't been processed yet, so it looks like I'll have to sleep here for today."
I felt like I had been hit in the back of the head by the company commander's words.
It hasn't been processed yet?
No, isn't it rather natural? No matter how good the computer processing system is, it was said that it's rare for an application to be submitted and processed on the same day.
"But since we're comrades who have been together, the company commander believes you won't cause an accident."
We answered loudly at those words.
"Yes! Understood!"
The junior soldier standing next to me was standing awkwardly.
"Rest comfortably in your place."
I approached and said. I stopped my hand when I was about to pat her shoulder. Now she's a woman, so I have to be careful.
I had no duties and spent time roughly, protecting the junior soldier.
I don't think the guys under me are stupid, but I still had to be careful.
As the sun set and night came, it was almost time for roll call. The junior soldier kept looking around, feeling uneasy.
And an incident occurred right before roll call.
While the junior soldier went to the bathroom, a guy came out to peep at her.
I saw that and asked what he was doing, and that crazy bastard told me to mind my own business.
He was a famous guy from the next squad. Was his father a chaebol? The eldest son of a group ranked 15th in the business world.
He was acting arrogant, believing in that, and even the company commander and platoon leader couldn't control him.
"Hehe, this fucking bitch is so pretty."
I could see that guy's purpose.
"If you go any further than that, even your measly parents won't be able to stop you, okay?"
I warned him for now.
"Idiot."
That guy smirked at me. I stood in front of the junior soldier who came out of the bathroom and blocked that guy.
"Hey, get lost."
"Are you crazy?"
Even so, he's a soldier... If that's the case, why didn't he get an exemption and come here to make things difficult for people.
I wondered what to do.
Even the other well-off families in the unit couldn't step up.
Ha, if I were my uncle or aunt's child, I could have solved it easily....
The junior soldier was holding onto my clothes tightly from behind.
"If you have a lot of money, just go out and solve it."
Please don't do this!
My wish was not fulfilled.
That guy eventually pushed me away. I tried to resist, but his strength was considerable, so I had to step back.
"Get lost."
That guy smirked and reached out to touch the junior soldier's chest.
"Kyaa!"
"Fucking hell, even her screams become feminine when she becomes a woman."
That guy looked at the junior soldier with lecherous eyes and rubbed his hands.
At that moment, something seemed to snap in my head.
"You son of a bitch!"
Was I this kind of person? I don't know. But I didn't want to see my friend, my junior soldier, in pain.
I swung my fist at that damn bastard's face.
Pak! With a powerful sound, that guy rolled around in the bathroom.
Ah, I'm fucked.