I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 496

I rarely dream. Most of the time, I fall into a deep sleep the moment my head hits the pillow.

But losing consciousness is a different story. I don’t know whether it’s because I’m sleeping lightly or for some other reason,

but I tend to dream of my past—or what I presume to be a past even I don’t remember.

Tadadada! Tadadada!

"Multiple enemies at 3 o’clock!"

"Fuck! How did those bastards find out?! Was our operation compromised?"

Just like right now.

A relentless barrage of bullets piercing my ears. Grenade explosions. The screams of my comrades.

I was trapped in an utterly disastrous situation.

"Get a grip, Sergeant Park! Remember your mission!"

"Yes, sir!"

The voice of a seasoned veteran snapped me back to reality.

My task right now was to plant explosives on a circuit board.

Unexpected complications had arisen along the way, but completing the objective wasn’t difficult.

"Installation complete!!"

"Withdraw! Pull out immediately!"

Kwagwagwang! Kwaang!

The operation concluded smoothly. There were numerous casualties, but the mission was accomplished.

With this, others would surely remain safe.

I let out a sigh of relief. Another operation remained, but I had my comrades, so it would be fine.

"It’s all over now. Let’s head back quickly."

"...."

"...?"

No answer came back from my comrades. Something was wrong.

Especially the master sergeant who had given me orders just moments ago. He stood right in front of me with his back turned.

"...Master Sergeant?"

"...."

"Master Sergeant. Why are you...."

Hwik!

Did he hear me? The master sergeant turned his head.

But I couldn’t help but gasp in horror. And for good reason....

"My kid... at home, my kid...."

For a gaping hole was carved right into the sergeant’s face.

What was even more grotesque was that he was muttering something in that condition.

That wasn’t all.

"I want to go... home...."

"Mom... Mom...."

"Why me... why do I have to die...."

The teammates with whom I had shared life and death—each bearing horrific wounds—thronged around me.

Approaching as if hurling curses upon me, I had no choice but to stumble backward.

Yet behind me stood a wall that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Meanwhile, my comrades closed in.

"Ugh...."

Unable to utter a single word, the only thing I could do...

"A-AAAAGH!"

...was to scream in sheer terror.

"...Heok!"

In an instant, my field of vision shifted. Instead of that gruesome, horrific sight, all that met my eyes was the blanket covering my legs.

The room was dimly lit as the sun had not yet risen. Panting heavily, I wiped my forehead.

How much cold sweat had I shed for my hair to be soaked through like this?

Not just my hair, but my clothes were completely drenched, moving past dampness into a downright clammy discomfort.

"Phew...."

I caught my breath and got up from the bed.

Since the nightmare had completely woken me up, I thought I might as well take a shower.

I had somewhere to go early in the morning anyway.

"...."

I entered the bathroom and stripped off my clothes. Numerous hideous scars littered my upper body.

Bullet wounds were the baseline; there were slashed blade scars, shrapnel marks from explosives, and more. It was a miracle I hadn’t died.

Some people departed this world with a single bullet, yet I survived even after taking multiple hits.

’A bullet even hit my thigh once, causing massive bleeding....’

I had even come close to death when my internal organs got twisted up. It was truly a marvel that I was still alive.

But now, all these scars meant nothing. Badges of honor?

That kind of talk only applied during war; in a time when peace had returned, they were merely gruesome scars.

Besides, now that I had been discharged, counting them one by one felt ridiculous.

Swaaaa-

Washing myself clean, I recalled events of the past. It was during the final operation.

Everything had gone smoothly, but the extraction route got completely botched, causing most of my team to perish in combat.Follow the newest chapters on n⁠ovelping.com.

Compounded by a blunder from high command, I was the sole surviving operative.

’Haa... let’s move on. Dwelling on it now changes nothing.’

The war was over, and I was no longer a soldier.

My retirement pension comes in fairly reliably, so I should be able to enjoy a normal life.

’...Probably.’

It wasn’t just any war. It was World War III, engulfing the entire globe.

Casualties were still being tallied, and virtually every country without exception suffered critical blows.

Among them were nations that could never return to what they once were.

The Republic of Korea was relatively fortunate compared to others... but damage was still damage.

In particular, the population cliff that had long been warned about reached a tangible crisis level, severely slowing down recovery efforts.

’They’ll probably figure this out too.’

It was a war where problems that had stagnated through prolonged peace erupted all at once.

Now that the pus had burst, all that remained was healing. Though follow-up conflicts were breaking out here and there, at least it wasn’t happening in the Republic of Korea.

I fiddled with my phone before turning it off and heading outside. Even though it was a cool summer day, I had to wear long sleeves because of my scars.

Soon, the place I arrived at was none other than a church. A place I had visited regularly even before the war.

’Though I have my doubts now....’

Faith was shaking under the devastation of war. Yet I hadn’t let go completely.

Even if I resented God, I didn’t resent people. At least, only good people remained around me.

"Jong-hyuk."

"Ah. Father."

Like the priest who steadfastly cared for me after my parents passed away.

Now advanced in age with deepening wrinkles, he was someone who constantly guarded the church.

I made the sign of the cross toward him and greeted him politely.

"Have you been keeping well all this time?"

"As for me, I’m doing well. How about you? Are you still having nightmares?"

"I’m fine now."

A lie. Because of the nightmares every night, I could hardly sleep at all.

But I couldn’t bring worry to the priest, who was practically a foster father to me.

"You’re lying. You’ve always been like that."

"...How did you know?"

"Look into a person’s eyes. Then you will be able to read their emotions."

"Isn’t that just mind-reading?"

"At my age, one can tell everything. Hehehe."

As I always felt, he possessed remarkable insight.

Or perhaps it was simply because he had watched over me continuously since my school days.

"So, are you seeing anyone these days?"

"Who would date an unemployed guy like me?"

"Don’t you have good friends around you? Mark my words, someone will reach out to you soon."

"Who would...."

Jiiiiing-

My phone, which I had switched to vibrate for prayer, buzzed.

Checking who was calling, it really was one of my friends.

A guy who got married right before the war broke out and had recently reclaimed some stability.

He was also one of the friends I had kept in constant contact with since school.

"You must cherish your friends. Even if you try to sever ties, that friend will always be waiting for you."

"...."

"I shall take my leave now. Grab the book before you go."

The priest lightly patted my shoulder and departed.

Just as I was feeling stunned, wondering if he genuinely possessed prophetic powers, I hurriedly stepped outside to answer the call.

Answering inside the church would be disrespectful, leaving me no choice.

"Hello?"

[Ah. Jong-hyuk. How’ve you been doing lately?]

"Asking to borrow money? You’re probably the only guy who’d try to shake down a discharged soldier."

[This motherfucker turning me into trash?]

I smiled. A relationship where even contacting each other after a long while felt completely natural.

Anyway, I was curious. Why was a guy who was swamped with raising a child calling me?

It obviously wasn’t to borrow money, so I genuinely wondered.

[It’s nothing much, but wanna come over to see my kid? You got nothing to do anyway.]

"So now you’re dumping childcare onto your friend?"

[No, I just want to show her to you. I don’t have siblings, so there’s nobody for her to call uncle.]

"...."

[I thought it’d be nice for my kid to have someone like an uncle. If it’s uncomfortable, you can decline.]

I had seen his daughter in the past. To an absurd degree, she had miraculously avoided taking after his face.

Usually the first daughter resembles the father, but that rule failed to apply to him.

After a brief moment of thought, I recalled my schedule. Living as an utterly unemployed bum after discharge.

"Well... alright. I’ll come. When should I drop by?"This chapter was taken from NovelPing without permission.

[In three days? Ah, by the way, the other guys are coming too, just so you know.]

"The other guys? Don’t tell me Jae-hyun and Dong-hyun?"

[Who else would I call besides those bastards? They said they’re bringing their kids too.]

"...."

They were all guys I had hung out with since our school days.

When I said I didn’t have money to go to the PC bang, they paid for me, telling me to pay them back later.

Friends who didn’t care about money, but simply wanted a friend to play games with.

’Come to think of it, they’ve all found their partners....’

Suddenly, I felt a chilly void at my side. But part of this was of my own making.

Not long after I enlisted in the special forces, the war broke out.

If that was bad luck, it was bad luck.

’Well... I didn’t go out much either.’

Living as a deadbeat right now, I didn’t have the capacity to start a family anyway.

After deliberating briefly, I accepted immediately.

"I’ll go. But are we meeting at your place?"

[Of course. My house is the biggest.]

"Are you slyly bragging? Anyway, I’m hanging up."

[Sure. Ah, by the way, Jong-hyuk.]

"Yeah?"

Right before hanging up, my friend called out to me.

[By any chance, do you want to be set up on a blind date? One of my wife’s acquaintances...]

"Sorry. Hanging up."

Here he goes again. I excused myself and hung up just as he was starting to speak.

Starting a family? It was certainly a good thing. A happy thing, too.

Whenever I saw my friends building families and having kids, even I would smile.

’It’s just... a bit uncomfortable.’

The trauma of losing my family, combined with post-traumatic stress from the war.

Conjoined together, they made the prospect of forming a family pathologically terrifying.

I especially felt sorry for whoever would have to tend to me whenever my PTSD flared up.

Caring for someone sick is extremely difficult unless one possesses superhuman patience.

’I’ve been drinking often lately, too.’

Nothing good about any of it. I fiddled with my phone.

The group chat room that had continued from our school days until now.

Looking at it now, a chat log that seemed coordinated in advance was recorded there.

I just hadn’t read them out of laziness from the pile-up. I ought to read them regularly from now on.

Finishing my morning prayer like that, I returned home. I planned to play some games.

"Hmm?"

Deolkeok-

But how strange. I was certain I locked the door before leaving, yet it was open.

Moreover, since the lock was a digital door lock type, there was no reason for it to malfunction.

’Strange. I definitely heard the locking chime.’

It wasn’t broken. In my memory, it definitely locked.

Which meant there was a high probability someone had broken inside.

I narrowed my eyes and slowly opened the door. However, a baffling situation met my eyes.

If a thief or robber had broken in, it would be normal for the lights to be off. Yet the lights inside were brightly lit.

"You have arrived. Forgive our intrusion."

Furthermore, men dressed in black suits were sitting on the couch.

I scowled at the brazen intruders. Their cheekiness was off the charts.

What bothered me was their aura. Having rolled through warzones, I could sense a person’s presence.

A sharply honed weapon. Yes, they radiated precisely that kind of vibe.

"...Who are you people?"

Keeping my guard up, I quietly closed the door. I intended to subdue them if worst came to worst.

Yet they possessed thick skin, completely unperturbed.

"We apologize. In order to meet with you, we had no choice but to adopt this method."

"So I’m asking who the fuck you are. Introduce yourselves. Otherwise, I’m calling the police for breaking and entering."

At my sarcasm, one of the men in black suits approached me.

He then pulled something from inside his jacket and handed me a small badge.

A badge rather than a business card. Puzzled, I took it for now. And....

[National Intelligence Service Access Pass]

"This is all we can share with you for now."

An affiliation name that was hardly welcome caught my eye.

"...Is this a scam? YouT*be said stuff like this is all a scam."

"It is not a scam. Sergeant Park Jong-hyuk. We can detail every single operation you have carried out."

Were they real?