âIâve known you for some time. You didnât recognize me for a long time, and you werenât even able to memorize my name, though.â
âI wasnât?â
âYou called me Kim Youngjae. Just thinking about it again is making me speechless.â
Jaeyong took a skewer and bit into the fish cake. Sangwoo stayed still for a while and did the same thing. For a while, they ate food, emptied bottles, and ordered more without making conversation.
âThere was a senior in the army named Kim Youngjae who was as annoying as you, sunbae. Thatâs probably why I got confused.â
Sangwoo dug up the painful memory as if it were nothing. However, thanks to that, Jaeyoung was able to move on to a topic he was curious about.
âWhere did you do your military service?â
âGoyang. I was in the artillery.â
âOh, the Cheonma Artillery Brigade. I heard that itâs really tough over there?â
âI was fine, though.â
Jaeyoung vaguely guessed that Sangwoo was a concerned soldier who couldnât adapt to the military. So it was surprising that he only talked about the military as if it were nothing.
âHow was military life for you? Was that Kim. Young. Jae.-person the only one who bothered you?â
âThat bastard. He transferred to a different unit as a private, and I spent my days in comfort ever since then.â
âWhy was he transferred?â
âHe kept bothering me, and I kept it in when he wouldnât let me rest, but he kept hitting me on the head. I wrote it down and put it in the wish box, but it didnât get resolved, so I spoke to the squadron leader. However, it still didnât get resolved, so I reported it to the military police.â
âScary bastard.â
âDidnât you fight with the others?â
âI didnât talk at all unless I had to. The army is a place like that, as you know.â
âAnd you didnât have any difficulties?â
âIt was okay. I even studied a lot in my spare time. I received rewards in the army for shooting full shots, showing combat power measurement excellence, being in special forces, being an exemplary soldier, and being a squad leader. My father says Iâm cut out for the army.â
âThis crazyâŚâ
Well, Sangwoo seemed to be able to endure physical distress. Jaeyoung, on the contrary, had a hard time in the military. From waking up early in the morning to unnecessarily cleaning guns, taking cold showers, restricted hairstyles, clothing rules, confinement, food that tasted like dog food, individual battles, marching, keeping night watch, and guard duty. It was all hellish work, and he hated everything about it. The solution to this hell couldnât be to revert to a rotten old culture of strict rules and traditions with only physical things like those. Nevertheless, he still had to pretend as if it were nothing and scare the other kids by yelling at them.
âI was a training camp assistant.â
[T/N: Training camp: the first month]
âUhm⌠youâre not in a position to educate others about their mental state though, sunbae?â
âI agree. I got chosen since I was over 180cm.â
âThe new recruits thought it was funny, didnât they?â
âI was famous for being the assistant who was a venomous snake with a bad temper, you bastard.â
âHey, donât lie to me.â
âYouâre the only person who thinks so little of me.â
Sangwoo didnât say much for a while.
âYouâre not that insignificant.â
Silence followed. The two emptied their glasses without saying a word. After they repeatedly did quick one-shots, it seemed like they had already emptied four bottles. Jaeyoung blinked in a tipsy state. Sangwoo slightly bent his head to the side after picking up his drink and then poured it into his mouth. It was an orderly appearance as ever.
âWhy is he sexyâŚ?â
âGet your act together. Heâs a guy.â No matter how many times he shouted it inside, rubbed his eyes and checked again, it was still the same. His cheeks were slightly flushed and his lips looked unusually red. Jaeyoungâs rapt gaze worked its way down Sangwooâs neck and scanned his checkered shirt. When Sangwoo used his strength to open a new bottle, his sleeves were rolled up, which exposed the muscles in his forearm. When he twisted his unusually white wrist, the blue veins popped out.
âIâm gonna get a nosebleed at this rate, shit.â
When he swept his face with his palm, the heat, which wasnât just from the alcohol, transmitted through his skin.
âSuggested game⌠Informal Talking Time.â
Jaeyoung looked up at Sangwooâs mumbling. The latter was pointing at the wall. Jaeyoung turned his head back and looked at the poster on the wall. There was an organized list of suggested games for drinking parties, which included explanations of the King Game, Finger Folding Game, Image Game, and Yaja game. Jaeyoung slowly turned back and made eye contact with Sangwoo which unusually enough were sparkling with excitement.
âDo you want to try it?â
âYes.â
âHow much have you been keeping in?â
Sangwoo stared at him without answering. There wasnât anything he didnât know how to do, so Jaeyoung readily accepted his offer. As soon as the words âletâs give it a shot,â were said, Sangwoo called his name.
âJang Jaeyoung.â
It even seemed as if he could see some spite in his eyes, yet why was his heart so stirred up? Jaeyoung pulled his chair close to the table and put his hands together in order to match his level.