Chapter 7. The Training Camp Opens on the First Day of Employment (2)

"Is everyone gathered?"

"Y-Yes!!!"

"You all did a great job enduring the tough training today. But there's one more important thing left."

What more training could there be at this hour?

"What do you all think is the most important ability for a courier?"

Everyone hesitated, looking at each other, and finally, one person raised their hand reluctantly and shouted.

"Martial arts!"

"Wrong, anyone else?"

"Patience!"

"Wrong. Anyone else?"

The instructor, who seemed to be waiting for an answer, tilted his head. No matter what we say, he's just going to say it's wrong.

Why can't he just tell us the answer?

"I don't know! Please teach us!"

I sighed inwardly and raised my hand to shout. If you want something, you have to ask for it. This is all part of social life.

The instructor crossed his arms triumphantly and put on a smug expression.

"Right. It's understandable that you wouldn't know. I, the instructor, understand. You haven't been on a courier mission yet, so you wouldn't know."

"......"

Seriously, what a show-off.

"The most important ability for our couriers... is 'guts.'"

Everyone was speechless, and a long silence followed. But the clueless instructor seemed to be even more excited and continued talking.

"You never know what kind of threats you might encounter on a courier mission. Bandits and thieves are just a part of daily life, and sometimes the people in a village where you stop to rest might turn into bandits at night, or martial arts sects might attack to steal the cargo. And that's not all..."

The instructor went on for a while, passionately describing the dangers of being a courier. It seemed like about 10% of what he said was based on his own experiences...

Still, even if you take out the exaggeration, it seems to be a pretty high-risk job.

I wonder if there's insurance for this?

"That's why 'guts' are important. The ability to push through any situation without fear is the duty of our couriers! Today's test will determine if you have that guts."

"What is the test exactly?"

The instructor puffed out his chest and said with a proud face.

"It's a courage test."

***

The content of the courage test was simple.

Climb the mountain alone, pull out the flag, and come back down.

Since my turn was the last, it was already deep into the night and approaching dawn by the time I started.

The mountain wasn't particularly steep.

It was just a gentle slope, like a small hill behind a neighborhood.

Even though it was late at night, it didn't seem that difficult. But it was a courage test because this mountain was used as a communal cemetery by the whole town.

"Damn it..."

Caw— Caw—

A crow caws somewhere. It's like the perfect BGM to drive me crazy.

I can't describe it, but the atmosphere is really eerie. As I climbed the dark mountain path, I felt a chill despite it not being a cold night.

"What does being a courier have to do with guts...?"

It's nothing, it's nothing, it's just like a night patrol. I can control my emotions!

I kept repeating this to myself in my head as I continued to move forward, my steps heavy.

Still, I felt uneasy and kept looking around, and I kept seeing graves.

They were quite neglected and in a state of disrepair.

"......"

Whoosh—

"Ah—!"

A leaf brushed against my neck in the wind, and I involuntarily let out a scream like something from a horror manga. Fortunately, no one was around to hear it.

I felt around my neck to make sure there wasn't a ghost buried there before I could regain my composure.

"Ghosts... I really hate them."

To be honest, I'm the most afraid of ghosts in the world.

Some people believe there are no ghosts, but you only know something exists after you've experienced it.

Ghosts are real!

I've seen one.

"Om mani padme hum, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva..."

I recited the Heart Sutra, which I had memorized long ago, as I continued up the mountain.

Why did I memorize it? When you encounter a ghost, you try everything. For the record, I also know how to recite the Lord's Prayer.

It was probably when I was a college student. I saw a ghost not long after I started university.

My parents had gone to my hometown for a relative's funeral, and I was finally free to stay up late playing games and chatting on the phone with a friend.

It was around 2 AM.

I was in the middle of telling a funny story to my friend.

—So, that's how it happened. If it wasn't for me, everyone would have been done for. I saved the day.

—Hahaha, you're killing me. I'm about to burst.

—Of course. Hahaha

—Hey, but aren't your parents home? Is it okay to talk so loudly at this hour?

—What are you talking about? My parents went to the countryside.

—Huh? Then, do you have the TV on or something?

—What are you talking about? Suddenly.

—No, I can hear a woman laughing behind you.

At that moment, I felt like a bunch of frozen dumplings were dancing on my spine. I'll never forget that feeling.

At first, I thought my friend was just messing with me, so I yelled at him to stop lying and hung up the phone. But the more I thought about it, the more uneasy I felt.

'Come on... It's the 21st century. There are no ghosts.'

In a world where VDSL is installed everywhere in South Korea and you can download at 10 megabits per second, there are no ghosts.

It's ridiculous!

I kept thinking that, but I was still scared, so I gave up on staying up all night and tried to sleep. I tossed and turned in bed, feeling uneasy.

Then,

I felt something that didn't seem human,

cold, really cold and eerie—

a thin hand touched my cheek.

—Aaaaaah!!!!

I screamed like a high school girl who had just seen the Babariman and jumped up to look around, but there was nothing.

Nothing at all.

I trembled like a madman and then went to the living room to get a cross and a Bible, laid them out, and spent the night reciting the Lord's Prayer and the Heart Sutra with my eyes wide open.

—That hand, that hand!!!

It was the longest night of my life.

Fortunately, nothing else happened after that, but... I still can't forget the cold touch on my cheek.

Even now.

So, ghosts do exist.

That's why you have to avoid them.

"That's why you shouldn't give me tasks like this... It's really scary."

I shivered and forced myself to move forward, finally reaching the top of the mountain. Looking down, it should only take about an hour to climb, but it took more than twice that long.

All I want is to get down and go to sleep.

I picked up the flag embroidered with "Baegun Courier Agency" and started to descend slowly. Even on a gentle mountain path at night, you have to be careful.

One misstep and you could trip, and if you fall and roll, you could end up in a real emergency. You could die on a hill like this if you take it lightly.

With that in mind, I took careful steps, but then...

—I saw a faint, smoky mist in the distance.

'...It can't be.'

It can't be.

There are no ghosts in the 14th century. The Age of Exploration is just around the corner.

But what was strange was that the mist was about the size of a person. And there were several of them.

'...It can't be.'

But the mists were moving...

as if they had a will of their own, slowly approaching me.

This is bad. Very bad.

This is... too bad.

As the surreal scene filled my vision, I could feel the muscles in my sphincter gradually relaxing.

"Kyaahhhhhh!!!"

The moment the mist opened its mouth, I threw everything away and ran. Driven by the desire to survive, I ran as fast as I could.

"Don't come! Don't come!!!"

I flailed my arms and ran.

I kept stepping on something lumpy, which seemed to be graves.

'Sorry!'

You have to live to see another day, right?

As I ran frantically, I saw a small stone pagoda in front of me. It was about 20-30 cm tall, the kind of small pagoda you often see on mountains, built by Buddhists. Seeing it directly in my path, I thought it was in the way and kicked it away.

—Crash!

The pagoda shattered and flew away with a single kick.

'Sorry, Buddha!'

You have to live to see another day, right?

But Buddha must not have forgiven me, because I tripped on a piece of the shattered pagoda and lost my balance, falling flat on the ground.

Thud!

"A, a... a!"

The shock of the ground hitting me sent me into a panic, and I couldn't form a proper sentence. As I struggled to get up, I saw the white mist already at my nose.

"Don't, don't come! Don't come!! Save me!!!"

I waved the flag, flailing my arms.

Please... don't come.

Who will save this poor savage...

Save me...

At that critical moment,

the white mist opened a mouth like a bottomless pit—

"—Gah,"

"Ha ha ha ha ha!"

"Ha ha ha ha ha!!!"

What the—?

The white mist fell to the ground.

On closer inspection, it wasn't mist at all. It was—just a white cloth.

And who appeared—

"Bro, you're the best!! Ha ha ha ha ha!!!"

"Ha ha ha ha!!!"

It was Sima Yu and the instructor.

* * *

I'm going to kill them.

"That's how fast you ran, ha ha ha ha!!"

"You were running so fast you almost wet your pants!! Ha ha ha ha!!"

"Did you pee your pants? Ha ha ha ha!!!"

I felt a murderous intent as I watched the two of them laughing their heads off.

It turns out this courage test was just... a courage test. It was just a hidden camera prank.

'I want to kill them all.'

I felt so humiliated that I didn't want to live anymore.

Unfortunately, I was the only one who made a fool of myself.

Everyone else just flinched and ran away quickly. Guodu even tried to attack with the flag.

'Why only me... Black.'

This is what shame feels like.

After laughing their guts out, they finally caught their breath and spoke.

"Ah... Ha ha ha ha, no, wait. Yes. Everyone showed great guts, except for one person."

I'll stab you in the back someday. I really will.

"Although one person failed, everyone else showed excellent courage, and I, the instructor, am very satisfied."

Before the instructor finished speaking, Sima Yu was laughing so hard he almost fainted.

You should watch your back too.

* * *

After the worst week of training, the final week of training ended, and the graduation ceremony was finally held.

That day—despite showing some embarrassing moments, I also graduated without any problems.

If you were going to do that, why did you do it?

"Alright, then, this concludes the training for our Baegun Courier Agency. You are now new couriers of the Baegun Courier Agency. Congratulations!"

—Clap clap clap clap

Everyone clapped. The grueling month of training was finally over.

I also felt a small sense of accomplishment. It wasn't an easy training.

"Good. Now, let's end the ceremony with a traditional event of our Baegun Courier Agency."

The instructor turned his gaze to a corner of the field, where a strangely familiar pile of firewood was visible.

It can't be... It can't be.

"Come here and light it."

He handed a torch to one of the new couriers, who ran over and lit the pile of firewood. The firewood, which seemed hesitant to catch fire at first, soon blazed up.

They say fire has magic.

As the flames rose, the faces of the new couriers became dreamy.

"I know this training was tough. But you are now official couriers of the Great Baegun Courier Agency, and you have become even more elite through this training. Whenever you are in a difficult situation, think of your mother back home..."

The familiar words made me start to get goosebumps.

"...Now you are officially part of the family. What is a family? Isn't it a group that always cares for and protects each other, and takes responsibility for each other's backs? You have gained new family members. Therefore..."

I started to shiver, remembering the nightmare of K-Training.

Please... don't say those cringeworthy things.

It was getting worse, and as the instructor's speech went on, someone started to sniffle.

"Sniff sniff"

"Sniff sniff"

"...And you need to earn a lot of money to help your siblings get married and go to school. Each step of this difficult training is for your family..."

As the talk of family began, it turned into a sea of tears.

"Sniff sniff sniff"

"Sniff sniff"

The crying became uncontrollable. Everyone was crying. It seemed like everyone had something they had been holding back inside.

Everyone was sobbing and saying all sorts of things, making it hard to understand who was saying what.

"I want to get married... ..."

At least I can recognize this one.

Anyway,

I am now officially a courier.