Chapter 4

◈ The Sambyeolcho in South America (2)

I once had a vivid dream.

It has been almost four years since I was discharged, but the memory of that time is still very clear.

I woke up in a freezing tent during the harsh winter, and the face of my junior in the military was so vivid that even though I knew it was a dream, I screamed and made a fuss, falling off the bed.

I should have blamed his foolish act of not closing the door and going to bed in late autumn.

So this time, I reacted quite calmly.

At first, I came to my senses on a dilapidated wooden ship sailing through fog, and the scene was both unfamiliar and familiar.

Having never been on a wooden ship before, I thought the fog was very realistic and lifelike.

The sound of waves hitting the bow, the salty and briny smell of the sea.

The creaking of the deck and the sound of seagulls or some birds.

Come to think of it, it had been a while since I went to the beach.

Standing at the stern of the small ship, I stared blankly at the people moving busily around me, savoring the dream.

It felt like I had been dropped into a historical drama set.

Is it something related to Admiral Yi Sun-sin?

But the armor was a bit strange.

The people on the ship were wearing chain mail and carrying swords, and the atmosphere was as tense as a blade.

"Be careful not to collide with other ships!"

Someone shouted.

Right, that's it. Sailing a ship in this fog is insane.

Especially since this wooden ship, without radar, is even more likely to become fish food.

Suddenly, I felt ashamed of myself for agreeing with this.

'What's happening?'

I tried to figure out what was going on, but I needed to see something to know.

Just then, I thought the fog had thinned a bit.

Gradually, as the fog thinned, the surroundings began to darken.

The red sunset over the western sea was impressive.

Looking down from the sky, I saw countless ships sailing in the same direction.

There were so many that they couldn't be counted.

Really, countless ships were lined up as far as the eye could see.

Wow, this is really amazing.

It was a truly majestic sight.

It felt like I was in a drama, playing the role of an American soldier in the Normandy landing.

Of course, the attire was a million light-years away from that of American soldiers.

I suddenly looked at my own outfit.

The chain mail I wore was no less impressive than theirs, and a sword was also attached to my waist.

A heavy helmet pressed on my ears.

Suddenly, I realized that the armor and weapons on my body were quite heavy.

No, they were heavy, but not that heavy.

What kind of rhetoric is this?

'Strange.'

I did go to the gym, but I wasn't a well-built man.

I was just an ordinary citizen who maintained his health and sometimes skipped workouts, getting scolded by the trainer.

But now, my body had deep muscles, comparable to a trainer with particularly large and beautiful muscles.

I was 184 cm tall, similar to my original height, but the people around me seemed, no, were quite short.

Looking down from a head taller than others was a rather alien experience.

But that wasn't very important.

'What should I do?'

The soldiers around me were glancing at me.

No one came to say anything.

'Um... hmm...'

I realized at some point that I was the commander of this small ship.

With the fancy armor and helmet, and standing in the highest place on the cramped ship, watching others work, who else could I be?

'What do you want me to do?'

A subtle silence continued.

Unable to bear it, a general who had been looking at other ships from the edge of the ship approached me.

He seemed to be of a higher rank, with slightly different armor.

He also had a bow on his back.

I stared at him in a daze, wishing I could take a picture.

"Sir Kim, the general orders us to disembark and organize the camp."

Is that so? I see.

But what's his name?

Isn't this a dream?

What kind of dream is this long?

Or so vivid?

Still, the only things I learned from social life were perceptiveness and a poker face, so even as I sorted out my jumbled thoughts, my expression remained unchanged.

The general must be a superior, and I must be Sir Kim.

"Lead these men as the general ordered."

Sangmin spoke with a stern but unfamiliar tone, but it felt right to say it.

If this were a hidden camera, I could confidently say that I knew everything and was just playing along, even if people laughed at the end.

Of course, Sangmin knew deep down.

This doesn't seem to be a hidden camera.

Who would do such a dramatic hidden camera with a nobody like me?

Satisfied with my answer, the unnamed general quickly ordered the soldiers to beach the ship and began directing them.

Wow, this is easy.

Having such a sharp subordinate makes military life so much easier.

But it feels a bit awkward to ask for his name.

He strained to listen to the voices.

I realized that the tone and words were different from modern Korean, but they were very familiar. I could understand them without any difficulty and could speak them without any problem, as I had just done.

"Mr. Jeong, where should we set up our camp?"

"Near the camp of this other general, wouldn't that be fine?"

"Yes."

Mr. Jeong. I'll remember that.

The small ships were disembarking in turn.

Sangmin's ship was quite in the lead, so he could disembark quickly.

After observing, Sangmin pretended to cough and was the last to disembark.

The sand was unfamiliar.

As soon as he stepped on the ground, he felt a sudden wave of seasickness.

He stood in place for a while, trying to calm the nausea.

This isn't a dream.

Really.

Such a realistic seasickness.

Since he hadn't eaten anything, the seasickness subsided quickly.

But other thoughts began to overwhelm him.

As he finally accepted reality, something kept coming to mind.

It felt like an old USB drive was plugged into his head, loading files one by one.

Goryeo, the Jeong-Mong War, the Sambyeolcho, Jin-do.

As he opened each file, he almost shouted.

'What the hell.'

Sangmin seemed to have fallen into the Goryeo era.

—

I once had a senior in a club who worked as a staff member for a fusion historical drama and appeared as an extra a few times after being discharged from the military.

The content, as I remember, was a drama set in the late Joseon period during King Jeongjo's reign.

The pay wasn't great, but I gained a lot of experience in that short time, which I now consider a good opportunity.

Of course, I was annoyed during the actual filming in the scorching summer heat.

Before that, I had many complaints about why the actors in fusion historical dramas didn't have beards, which were historically accurate. I thought that in both the Goryeo and Joseon periods, men without beards were not treated as real men.

But when I went to the set, I understood the reason.

Since they cast idol actors who rely on their looks, it would be quite burdensome to apply adhesive that could cause skin problems and wear a beard for hours during filming.

There were few people like Sangmin who prioritized historical accuracy, and the main audience of fusion historical dramas was probably light viewers who didn't care much about accuracy.

Why am I thinking about this?

Because of the strange beard on my chin.

A beard I had never grown or even considered suddenly appeared when I woke up.

Sangmin absentmindedly stroked his beard.

It might become a habit.

Putting hygiene aside, I like this hipster vibe.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Sangmin smiled.

At least, he should be happy to have regained some youth and returned to his mid-20s.

But everything else was unsatisfactory.

The damp, sweaty clothes under the armor, the stench of myself and the people around me, which I could hardly notice due to my numbed sense of smell, and the extreme disgust of lice and fleas.

At least it was cooler than summer in Seoul, but it was still a season when you sweat, with no air conditioning and no way to take a cool shower.

The absurd situation made me crave a sweet iced café latte, but there was no cold ice, no sweet sugar, no coffee, not even milk in this crazy reality.

Of course, I know.

We are not even enjoying the level of civilization of our time.

I am just venting my frustration at being dropped here.

Goryeo.

Not even Joseon, but Goryeo.

And during the Jeong-Mong War.

The outcome of this failed war is all too clear.

My head will end up on a pole with a banner that reads "Rebel Leader."

I can't die so futilely.

After denying reality and feeling aimless anger, Sangmin finally accepted the situation and focused on understanding his current circumstances.