The First Day.
The members of the Twelfth Squad, as if they had made a pact, had gone on a food tour the day before and were now sitting together, chewing on chicken breasts.
The trainees had at least taken a vacation once, which meant they had all experienced how their bodies could change after gorging on greasy food.
Just a few meals of unrestricted eating, and the magic of fat clinging to the bodies built up with short weeks to months of hard work!
Not wanting to ruin the bodies they had suffered to create in just one day, the trainees chose chicken breasts instead of dining out.
“Hey, Jae Sang-hae. What’s up with Jo Ga-ju since yesterday?”
Jae Sang-hae let out a sigh as he shoved dry chicken breast into his mouth.
“Do you remember that peak expert from the seventh squad?”
“That obnoxious brat?”
“I ran into that bastard at the Yong Sang Inn yesterday!”
As Jae Sang-hae began to spit out tales of the previous day, the squad members raised their voices in anger.
“What a totally insane guy!”
“Even if that guy passed the exam, he’d definitely fail the training!”
While the members loudly criticized Jang Il-sak, Jo Ga-ju just chewed on his chicken breast, lost in thought. The fact that their ramblings and comfort didn’t reach Jo Ga-ju’s ears left the members with awkward expressions as they shoved more chicken into their mouths.
“Ugh, eating more is just flavorless.”
“Flavorless, you say? With such a fishy taste, how can it lack flavor!”
“Phew. I guess I have to treat it like spiritual medicine.”
The horrific taste debate over chicken breasts was ongoing when…
“Guys, I have something to say.”
Jo Ga-ju spoke up.
“Oh, go ahead!”
“Honestly, about that guy… Should I just go find him and beat him up?”
Jo Ga-ju chuckled bitterly while observing his teammates trying to comfort him with various words.
“I want to give up becoming the Commander of the Golden Guards.”
Everyone in the dormitory froze. Jang Gab-deok’s chicken fell from his mouth, and Okryong dropped an egg from his hands.
Gwang Jae-ryeon, unconsciously squashing his chicken breast with his hand, shouted.
“Are you crazy!!”
Everyone flinched at the thunderous volume that even shook the rafters while Jo Ga-ju put down his egg with a bitter smile.
“It’s a well-considered decision.”
“Have you really been swayed by that guy’s words? You passed the exam with your own skills! No matter what he babbles, the results prove it!”
Jo Ga-ju nodded at Jae Sang-hae’s fiery assertion.
“Of course. I believe I’ve passed the exam fairly.”
“Then why!”
When Jae Sang-hae asked, Jo Ga-ju slowly reflected on his feelings. So much had happened.
“Because I want to focus even more on the spear.”
“But you can refine your spear skills by becoming the Commander of the Golden Guards!”
Jo Ga-ju shook his head.
“Most of what Jang Il-sak said yesterday was nonsense, but there was one truth: that I, holding a spear, cannot win against him.”
“That punk! If you train for just a few more months, you’ll easily win!”
“Ha ha, I appreciate the encouragement, but will it be that easy?”
Jae Sang-hae was left speechless by Jo Ga-ju’s resolute words.
“Though I was able to perform with a spear, my spear technique is just a weapon skill learned over a month. Jae Sang-hae, your stealth technique has advanced exponentially, but could you choose stealth over swordsmanship?”
Jae Sang-hae couldn’t answer. He and Jo Gab-deok had played the role of masters in the group battles, yet they always drew their swords when the enemy rushed in. During crises, they always drew swords, making swords their primary weapon and stealth their secondary.
“The instructor told me that the first bird flaps its wings by jumping off a hill. If I cannot succeed in flying, it’s merely a fall. However, by experiencing pain and injury while flapping my wings through that fall, I can learn the laws of flight.”
Jo Ga-ju recalled Ho Cheon-an’s words and remembered how he felt then.
“If you simply want to stay on the hill of passing the Golden Guards, you should pick up a sword, but if you want to fly in the sky, challenge the spear.”
So he picked up the spear. With it, he rolled, jumped, and sweated under Ho Cheon-an’s commands.
“And with the spear in hand, I passed the exam.”
“Then why!”
“It was all thanks to your help that I was able to play my part with just a half-baked ability to point a spear!”
Jo Ga-ju smiled.
“You were my wings. You blocked my side so I could win while holding a spear and eliminated the enemies behind me. That way, I soared into the sky.”
Jae Sang-hae, no, the Twelfth Squad members saw various emotions reflecting in Jo Ga-ju’s eyes. Trust. Gratitude. Comfort. A whirlwind of feelings that couldn’t be described by any other words.
So the Twelfth Squad members couldn’t say a word.
Somehow, they felt like they could see a bird flapping its wings vigorously in those eyes.
“I want to express my gratitude to those who let me taste the joy of flying. If it weren’t for you, if you weren’t here, if I hadn’t been with you, I might not have tasted this joy of flying, and I might not have had the courage to challenge myself anew.”
“…You.”
“I wish to soar in the sky with my wings. The dream I vaguely thought of when Instructor handed me the spear has now become my goal.”
That’s why Jo Ga-ju decided to leap off the hill of becoming the Commander of the Golden Guards. Someday, he might regret it. He might fervently flap his wings but still fail to fly. He might crash and suffer major injuries. Perhaps as a result, his wings would break, and he would be permanently grounded.
However, Jo Ga-ju wanted to be the bird soaring in the sky.
“Thus, I will choose to give up on becoming the Commander of the Golden Guards.”
He decided to challenge himself.
*
Jo Ga-ju swallowed hard.
“I will give up my training as a Commander of the Golden Guards.”
Feeling a surge of anxiety, he looked at Ho Cheon-an, who was reading a book filled with strange characters.
“Is that so?”
However, Ho Cheon-an’s demeanor while flipping through the pages was unsettlingly calm, as if he were receiving a report that the tiles of the dormitory were cracked and leaking water.
Watching Ho Cheon-an like that made Jo Ga-ju’s heart race.
He pondered.
How should he convey the message that he would give up training with the Golden Guards to Ho Cheon-an? How would he react if Ho Cheon-an displayed feelings of betrayal and disappointment and became angry?
Naturally, a training instructor’s evaluation would improve if they produced excellent trainees. After hard training to help someone pass, to hear that they would quit now would naturally anger any instructor.
Ho Cheon-an, who had encouraged him to take the spear and devoted himself wholeheartedly to training Jo Ga-ju. Although they had met as trainee and instructor, in Jo Ga-ju’s heart, Ho Cheon-an was already like a true master. Was it really right to act in a way that would bring harm to someone like that?
Caught in such turmoil, Jo Ga-ju began to entertain a strange thought.
[The instructor is not concerned with results.]
It was a phrase Ho Cheon-an often spoke. Each time Jo Ga-ju heard it, he thought it was a declaration imbued with absolute confidence. It conveyed a solid belief in the results derived from the process. A boastful confidence suggesting he should trust and follow as the outcome wouldn’t be wrong no matter how it turned out.
But what if Ho Cheon-an’s words meant their literal interpretation?
[The instructor sees only your growth and potential.]
What if it was indeed the instructor’s true feelings, a heartfelt sentiment rather than encouragement to feel pressured about proving results?
At first, Jo Ga-ju thought such thoughts were merely self-justification.
A cowardly excuse to justify his decision to quit the Golden Guards.
[The instructor is proud of you.]
Nonsense delusions.
[However, the respect the instructor holds for you does not stem from passing the selection test, nor from earning your merits, nor from granting him a Hero Badge.]
But as he deeply contemplated Ho Cheon-an’s words and actions, Jo Ga-ju’s heart began to swell with a glimmer of possibility.
[The potential you all held. The instructor is proud to see it bloom.]
‘Perhaps Instructor Ho Cheon-an anticipated that I would make this choice.’
[Trainees. The instructor’s guidance ends here.]
What if he was aware in advance of Jo Ga-ju’s desire to leap off the hill of the Golden Guards and truly begin flapping his wings?
[From now on, trainees must carve their own paths.]
“May I ask just one thing?”
If not, if he genuinely hadn’t anticipated it, would he have been able to calmly pose such a question?
“Jo Ga-ju, trainee. What do you intend to pursue by giving up your training as a Commander of the Golden Guards?”
Could he really ask such a composed question?
Jo Ga-ju gazed into Ho Cheon-an’s calm eyes and felt assured. This person seemed to have foreseen everything.
Jo Ga-ju felt the breeze blowing from Ho Cheon-an’s direction.
*
Why did I become an external advisor to the Golden Guards and a training instructor for the Twelfth Squad?
It was a plan arranged by my fellows to obscure the fact that I could provide enlightenment to others.
There was someone who could enlighten others, and I received the position of external advisor to the Golden Guards to test that person, but they lost their position as they demonstrated none of those abilities.
Investing about a month of time to quell the rumors wasn’t a bad idea, so I accepted the role of training instructor. Yet, somehow, individuals ready to lead the next era in their fields gathered in my squad.
That’s why I resolved to disqualify all of them.
I handed the spear to Jo Ga-ju, showed Jae Sang-hae the absurdities in the military, and rolled the other trainees like a wheel.
And I thought.
“There’s no need for them to receive bad news.” Knowing they would be disqualified from the Golden Guards’ selection test, the physical foundation they were laying now would become a great asset in the future, and the stealth techniques they were learning would be skills useful in times of crisis.
When did my conviction begin to waver? Perhaps it was when I saw the determination in the trainees’ eyes as they vowed to show the fools who looked down on them what they were capable of during the mock battle.
Or perhaps it was earlier than that—when I watched them continue uphill despite the crushing pressure of the advancing workload, or when I witnessed one of them struggling without giving up on the stealth technique they had just learned.
Maybe it was because they all stuck to what they learned and pushed ahead, never giving up, even during the mock battles.
After winning the mock battle and seeing the jubilant expression of Kang Chumo-ru, who seemed to have gained the world, I reflected on my decision.
Disqualifying everyone from the Twelfth Squad wouldn’t have been that difficult.
I could tell Jo Ga-ju that he had practiced enough spear skills so he could pick up a sword, transfer command to Kang Chumo-ru because I had given him a favor, and demand results from the rest, forcing them into a group drill, leading to a straightforward exit for the Twelfth Squad.
And then the main commander would proclaim his disappointment in the trainees, chastising them for their lack of strength and stealth techniques.
‘It was a waste for being together, so let’s not meet again,’ I could say, and I would be stripped of my position as the external advisor to the Golden Guards while they would walk away with bitter memories from the Golden Guards.
Jo Ga-ju would likely forget the feel of the spear and keep practicing.
Having realized that the bureaucratic injustices were better than those found in the military, Jae Sang-hae would choose the way of the civil servant.
Kang Chumo-ru, having tested his strategies and tactics, would likely return to the military with lingering regrets.
The rest would surely find their own paths as well.
But was that truly the right thing to do?
Was it justifiable to forcefully break the wings of those trainees who had worked hard and sweat more than anyone at this training center, sending them tumbling off the hill of the Golden Guards?
Resolving to let them fly instead of breaking their wings, I thought about becoming the wind. I wished to gently guide them to soar into the sky rather than forcibly breaking their wings and sending them plummeting off the hill of the Golden Guards.
That’s why I decided to strengthen their wings even further, allowing them to spread their wings freely by simply remaining quietly behind them.
I knew it would be a difficult and uncertain path. Jo Ga-ju’s passion for the spear was sincere, and Kang Chumo-ru’s delighted expressions in demonstrating their strategies were genuine, but would they truly pursue their own paths while turning their backs on the glorious position of the Golden Guards?
But I thought this method suited me best.
I, a veteran of the Martial World, Ho Cheon-an, chose the path of harder yet more rewarding and refreshing challenges.
“Jo Ga-ju, trainee. What do you intend to pursue by giving up your training as a Commander of the Golden Guards?”
*
‘This could be someone with the potential to become a storm.’
Jo Ga-ju thought.
Had Ho Cheon-an wished to, he could have easily ensured that the Twelfth Squad passed even without Jo Ga-ju’s spear or Kang Chumo-ru’s strategies.
Ho Cheon-an possessed the ability to send the Twelfth Squad off to the skies, regardless of their state.
But instead of such an easy route, he chose a different one.
He entrusted Jo Ga-ju with the spear and refrained from interfering with the strategies of the Twelfth Squad. Even knowing a month of effort could be rendered meaningless, Ho Cheon-an didn’t step in.
‘Perhaps he’s been waiting for us to take flight, becoming the wind…’
Is that what he intended?
“I want to train with the spear.”
Jo Ga-ju swallowed hard. The gaze from Ho Cheon-an, who diverted his attention from the bookshelf to Jo Ga-ju, quietly asked:
‘Is this the path you’ve chosen?’
“I want to train with the spear and create a spear technique.”
Jo Ga-ju thought it was quite an absurd dream. If he were to hear that a rookie who had only dedicated a month to spear training said such a thing, everyone would surely laugh.
Yet, he didn’t want to hide it anymore. He wanted to express his aspirations to Ho Cheon-an, who had handed him the hope of the spear.
“I want to create a spear technique that anyone aspiring to have wings can learn.”
Jo Ga-ju swallowed hard.
The rookie, who had simply dedicated a month to the spear, was declaring that he would become a master of spear techniques, casting aside the glorious position of the Golden Guards.
“Is that so?”
Ho Cheon-an calmly accepted such a far-fetched and ridiculous declaration.
“Is that the path you’ve found, Jo Ga-ju trainee?”
“Absolutely!”
“Well then, I will support you.”
Jo Ga-ju looked closely. He saw the corners of Ho Cheon-an’s mouth twitching. Witnessing this moment filled Jo Ga-ju with overwhelming emotion. The feeling of being acknowledged in his path by Ho Cheon-an, the guilt of putting him in a difficult position, along with the burdensome sense of embarking on a new journey, brought waves of anxiety and anticipation.
He poured all those mixed feelings into a shout.
“Absolutely!”
Contestant No. 1 of the Twelfth Squad, Jo Ga-ju.
In the document carrying Jo Ga-ju’s information, the words [Withdrawal] were added in bold red letters.
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