How many times has the high ground changed hands?
Twenty? Thirty? At some point, I even forgot I was supposed to be counting.
How many more people have to die for this war to end?
The war that I thought would end quickly has dragged on, worsened by the unexpected intervention of those backstabbing little weasels.
Thanks to the arrival of reinforcements, we managed to reclaim about half of the land.
Is this really right?
Everyone who had that question ended up dead.
Why are we even fighting this war?
Those who pondered such thoughts have also perished.
All that’s left are those armed with guns, lacking purpose or will.
Having lost our humanity and drifted far from morality, perhaps we didn’t even realize we’d come to this other world.
“Or maybe it’s hell.”
I stare at the gun I picked up before learning to read.
My parents have died, and in the end, my sister too,
And all that remains is this single gun.
“Sister, what’s my name again?”
Seriously, now I’m starting to see the gun as my sister.
I long to devour a mountain of white rice, drenched in rich soup.
When on earth is the revolution going to happen?
Crackle crackle!
I see distant voices pouring out through the radio.
The one listening has the demeanor of a stern tin can.
Now that all the wise and clever ones are dead,
What remains for us is just a scarecrow repeating the words “Great Leader Comrade.”
When they tell us to do 100, it only feels satisfying if we do exactly 100.
An ignorant and foolish commander is sitting atop our heads.
Yet we can still take the high ground,
Probably because there are more of us than the bullets of those puppet soldiers.
“Interpreting it differently means we’re just numbers, huh.”
The direction of my unfocused gaze rests on the bulletproof helmet.
Even the question of whether it would stop a bullet seems too valuable to waste, so I set it atop my head.
“Listen up, everyone! The liberation of our homeland is near! Move faster!”
What liberation are we talking about?
Does that even exist?
I want to ask that, but it’s far too late now.
We’ve come too far to be asking such things.
++++++
Whoosh!
The nameless student soldier’s emotions instantly drain away.
“This is completely different from Lee Jae-yi.”
What Lee Jae-yi had was hatred, inferiority, and blind talent, while the student soldier feels only emptiness and longing for his sister.
Having lost all humanity and forgotten any real purpose,
Only the instinct to survive remains, making us not much different from beasts.
At that moment, I was trying to understand the feelings of the Student Soldier.
“Originally, you should go through a screen test, but given the time and how great you were during the script reading…”
So, I’m thinking of just jumping straight into filming. Is that okay?
I nodded at Director Kang Sang-hun’s words.
“Yes, that’s fine.”
“Looks like thorough research is the foundation for that; you’re all set.”
“…?”
What does that even mean?
Seeing my puzzled gaze, Director Kang continued in a knowing tone.
“Compared to that, the script is so clean, which means you have a separate research notebook. I know a lot of actors like you.”
Director Kang, proudly stroking his Guan Yu beard, gave my shoulder a pat.
“If you keep going like this, you could really become a fantastic actor one day.”
“Ah… Yes, thank you for the kind words!”
“Alright, get ready.”
I thought it was a compliment, so I responded with a bright smile. Director Kang turned back to his spot, seemingly pleased.
I definitely felt like I was getting some special treatment for being the youngest on set.
Glancing down at the script again.
‘The Student Soldier’s scene lasts about 5 minutes.’
Considering the film’s running time, that was a crucial amount of time.
For a nameless character, that was quite a significant role.
Which meant a substantial presence was needed.
‘Then…’
I had no choice but to show it.
+++++
“Action.”
With the director’s short cue, tension suddenly filled the set.
To portray the brutality of the battlefield,
even swallowing sounds felt like a careful affair at that moment.
“…So we set up our position this close.”
Kim Soo-ha, played by Han Tae-geon, was focused on the distant hill while preparing the operation to retake Ikaro Ridge.
With a swift motion,
he scanned the frontline through binoculars and spotted North Korean troops.
It was obvious that their numbers were few, but the elevation disadvantage made it hard to charge in.
“Get out the supplies.”
At Kim Soo-ha’s command, the soldiers behind him started pulling out the People’s Army uniforms.
Supplies on this ever-changing ridge weren’t just one side’s property.
“Once I give the signal, fire immediately.”
“That’s too dangerous.”
“If it’s dangerous, are you not going to do it?”
Everyone fell silent at that.
There were just far too many situations where life had to be put on the line.
Maybe that’s why life now felt incredibly light.
Even knowing the risks, there was no tremor in sight.
“I’m heading out.”
Kim Soo-ha, now dressed in the North Korean uniform, stepped forward toward their positions.
He stepped toward the North Korean camp.
Each step felt heavy.
The moment he was caught, he would surely die.
Imagining bullet holes in his body, he dashed toward the camp.
Then, suddenly, he locked eyes with a boy.
“What’s up with him?”
Those empty eyes.
A boy looking down at him with a gaze filled with void.
Even though he firmly wore a helmet, a grim face was visible.
Rather than feeling pity for a boy dragged into the battlefield,
he felt the unsettling reality of facing a horrific killing machine born from war.
It was just a fleeting moment of eye contact, but Kim Soo-ha felt deep fear.
So he ran. He felt like if he stared any longer, something terrible might happen.
He ran to escape the boy’s line of sight.
“No! What happened to the radio!? Is the radio broken?!”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“I’ve been running for a while, why am I so out of breath… wheeze…”
He tried to hide his feeble North Korean dialect behind heavy gasps.
“What were you running for?”
While Kim Soo-ha tried to stall, the unit slowly advanced.
For the range of the riflemen, little by little.
In other words, the longer he stalled, the better.
“Just a little more, just a little more.”
And then, at that moment.
“Do people in the South really eat rice and meat soup?”
From behind,
“Please answer me.”
The boy he’d just seen spoke slowly.
“My wish is to try that at least once.”
“W-what are you talking about?”
“If it’s not you, don’t you think you should ask those coming from behind?”
Clatter, clatter.
In his fluster, Kim Soo-ha’s eyes widened.
Was he caught? If so, how long had it been?
“But then why isn’t he saying anything if he knows?”
If he knew about the infiltration, if he suspected the stalling,
why was he asking such strange questions instead of getting to the point?
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“This kid, he’s from the South.”
Everyone was shocked by the boy’s calm yet shocking remark.
His childish, playful tone.
But the content was serious, and everyone began to tense up.
“So just answer, does the South really eat that?”
“Y-you little brat! Why won’t you just say something! State your affiliation!”
In this tense moment,
Kim Soo-ha’s gaze turned to the boy.
Even in that moment of suspense, the boy looked at him with a face full of curiosity.
And then he realized.
“Is he really curious about that?”
Whether they eat rice and meat soup or not, that was the boy’s true question.
“Doesn’t matter what happens around me.”
The boy still wasn’t even holding a gun.
In fact, he seemed to be slowly drifting further away.
He knew the tide would turn and chose to step back alone,
Without notifying anyone,
While those oblivious to what was happening around them were overly excited.
“This brat! Is he really from South Korea?! Grab him immediately!”
The thrill of capturing a South Korean prisoner to extract information.
The desire to achieve recognition and climb up the ranks with that.
Those thoughts blatantly spilled out as the North Korean soldiers began to emerge from their hideouts one by one.
Click clack!
The guns were quickly loaded, and at that moment, a finger was about to pull the trigger without hesitation.
Tat tat tat tat tat!
The reinforcements, having closed in to effective firing range, immediately unleashed a hail of bullets toward the North Korean soldiers.
In an instant, the battle situation flipped.
As everyone fell flat in confusion,
Kim Soo-ha saw the boy slowly disappearing into the distance.
“Are you hurt?”
“Are you okay?! Captain, you really have some nerve!”
As the friendly soldiers came up behind, offering words of encouragement,
Kim Soo-ha’s gaze remained fixed on the back of the boy’s head.
Even if he shot with a rifle, the distance and cover made it impossible to hit.
It was only when the boy turned back to make eye contact with Kim Soo-ha that he asked again.
“Is it true that South Korea has rice and spicy soup?”
Watching the boy silently mouthing the words,
Kim Soo-ha felt it.
They would meet again, and in the worst possible way.
He would regret not killing him here for a long time.
And then the camera immediately turned away from the battlefield toward the boy.
A student soldier wearing a tin helmet.
He was holding various supplies.
These were things he could possess because his comrades had died,
Warm, intact clothes, a bit of alcohol, and a few cans of food.
“I’m so glad I can eat my fill today.”
Pure evil was born.
“Ooo…”
Director Kang trembled at the sight.
Yes, this was the 120% creation I had hoped for.
I could see it shaking right now.
“It’s an outrageous intensity.”
But at the same time, it was poison.
It was clear that an unnamed supporting role was trying to consume the movie.
An unstoppable addiction was about to begin.
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