Chapter 96

96. Real Deal

"Look at it from 100 meters!"

Thud! Bang!

"Look at it from 200 meters!"

Thud! Bang!

"Ugh―."

Groans escaped the lips of the veterans who had been discharged for at least five years.

"Oh. Do we really have to do this…."

Jang Su-yong, who was repeating the PRI (Preliminary Rifle Instruction) until his limbs trembled as if he were re-enlisted, grumbled softly.

PRI. The abbreviation for Preliminary Rifle Instruction, but a training known by all veterans by a different acronym.

P. Bleeding.

R. Sweating.

I. Grinding teeth.

In Jang Su-yong's eyes, which were already grinding his teeth, Jin-hyuk's posture remained impeccable and he moved nimbly.

"Oh, he's just made for the military. It's in his nature."

Jin-hyuk's current posture was so perfect it could be directly placed in a shooting manual.

The female instructor, looking at Jin-hyuk, had the same thought as Jang Su-yong.

'Wow…'

The instructor, who was trying to maintain her composure, couldn't help but be amazed. Her eyes couldn't leave Jin-hyuk.

It was ironic that the most well-structured soldier she had seen during her military service was a man who had never served.

The next live-fire training.

It involved placing a Go stone on the rifle's barrel and not letting it fall during the trigger pull.

The training was conducted to improve accuracy by ensuring the muzzle doesn't move when the trigger is pulled smoothly.

Thud.

Thump.

"Ah, damn."

While everyone else was dropping their Go stones, Jin-hyuk was calmly repeating the trigger pull without dropping a single one.

Sure enough, it was Woo Jin-hyuk.

"10-minute break!"

A sweet break.

The participants, who were truly receiving the training, were also genuinely taking a break.

"Phew. Isn't this our downfall?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's a variety show, but there's no fun point. Just intense training like this."

Singer Baek Gi-hyun's words made Jang Su-yong shake his head.

"Exactly. If this is what we're doing, why did they cast comedians? When am I supposed to make people laugh?"

"Don't worry. You got plenty of screen time during the PRI. The instructors were biting their lips to hold back laughter, and some even bled."

"Huh? No way. You must have seen it wrong. I was just in the FM position, what…."

Jang Su-yong pushed out his buttocks and assumed the FM position, causing not only the other participants but also the distant trainees to burst out laughing.

"Ha ha ha… Oh, I thought I was going to die trying not to laugh at that."

Actor Oh Young-pil, who had been holding back his laughter during the training, continued.

"But, Jin-hyuk, did you secretly serve in the military? The way you do it, you could be a special forces sergeant."

Jin-hyuk smiled and replied, and Oh Young-pil said,

"Is it because of your natural athletic ability? I heard you did the action scenes in 'The Story of Hong Gildong' without any stunt doubles?"

Comedian Jang Su-yong waved his hands.

"Ah, that's not true. Scenes like the sword fight on the snowy mountain would be difficult even for professional stuntmen."

"No, it's a famous story in the industry. It was even in the newspapers."

"Ah, rumors are always exaggerated… What, is it true?"

Jin-hyuk, who was just smiling silently at their conversation, made Jang Su-yong widen his eyes.

"Wow, this guy is a real monster."

But then he smiled confidently and said,

"But actual shooting will be different, right?"

"..."

"Because of my age, I might not be able to keep up with Jin-hyuk physically, but shooting is about skill and experience. Hehe."

Jang Su-yong said with a look of real confidence.

"Jin-hyuk, when you shoot for real, you'll be surprised. The gun sounds in dramas and movies aren't real. The first time you hear a real gunshot, it sounds like a cannon, a cannon."

"Right. You'll be so surprised you'll fall over. Some people even suffer hearing damage."

Singer Baek Gi-hyun chimed in.

"How about we make a bet on today's shooting scores for a snack tonight?"

"Ha ha. You'll regret it."

"I'm in."

As everyone agreed, one participant said,

"What about Jin-hyuk? He's a beginner, so give him a handicap…."

"Hey!"

Jang Su-yong interrupted.

"Haven't you seen what Jin-hyuk can do? He's a natural soldier. Physical activities are not his strong suit, so we're doing shooting. No handicap. Just do it. Are you okay, Jin-hyuk?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

Jin-hyuk's response made actor Oh Young-pil chuckle.

"Phew. I won't be hungry tonight."

"Sir, have you heard of a GOP sniper?"

"Haha. When I was preparing for the mobilization reserve forces, I did shooting…."

The pride of a veteran's shooting. Everyone's fighting spirit was reignited.

But it was quickly extinguished.

"..."

Everyone was silent as they looked at Jin-hyuk's zeroing target.

Zeroing is done before actual shooting to calibrate the rifle's sights.

The more the bullets clustered, the more accurate the shooting.

"Jin-hyuk, did you draw a Venn diagram with bullets?"

Three bullet holes intersected and clustered beautifully on the target.

The instructors, who had never seen such a pattern before, looked at it in amazement.

"..."

The participants, though silent, had a sense of foreboding.

Tonight will be another hungry night...

And why is it that such a sense of foreboding is never wrong?

"Enter the firing line!"

"Engage the safety catch!"

"Engage the magazine!"

"Set to single shot!"

As the participants took their positions in the firing lines, a tense atmosphere filled the shooting range.

The actual shooting training involved 20 rounds at targets at 100m, 200m, and 250m distances, alternating.

The instructor's voice, like the sound of a starting shot, broke the tension.

"Enemy appears in front. Look at the firing line!"

Bang!

A loud gunshot signaled the start of 20 shots.

'Wow... What is this...'

The female instructor in charge of shooting training, standing next to Jin-hyuk, whistled again.

Bang!

Thump.

Bang!

Thump...

Her eyes alternated between Jin-hyuk and the target.

Perfect shooting posture.

Rhythmic trigger pulls without a single breath out of place,

as soon as the target was in position,

he accurately knocked it down.

Regular, flawless shooting without a moment's hesitation.

She had seen many trainees with a talent for shooting, but actor Woo Jin-hyuk was in a different league.

He was like a seasoned top marksman.

To the female officer, who had admired soldiers and joined the military because of it, Jin-hyuk was the embodiment of that admiration.

Even as a young officer who had never particularly liked celebrities in high school, she found herself fangirling over Jin-hyuk.

"Shooting at 7th firing line complete."

Jin-hyuk's shooting was finished.

"Shooting at 3rd firing line complete."

"Shooting at 1st firing line complete."

The shooting scores of each participant were announced over the speakers as the last firing line finished.

"1st firing line, Jang Su-yong, 12 hits."

"2nd firing line, Oh Young-pil, 15 hits."

...

"7th firing line, Woo Jin-hyuk, 20 hits."

Jin-hyuk, who had hit the target with all 20 shots.

The result was...

All the participants of "Born a Man" were confirmed to have another hungry night.

***

"Sir, are you sleeping?"

"Can I sleep?"

"Haha. They said it was a real military experience. It's really real."

Jang Su-yong's sigh filled the small tent with white breath.

"Who would have thought they'd make us camp outdoors in the middle of winter."

"Hey, don't move. I'll kiss you."

In the tent where the two could barely lie down, the outdoor camping before the third day's comprehensive individual combat training.

Rumble...

"Ha ha..."

The rumbling of their stomachs made them burst out laughing.

"Oh, it's so cold, hungry, and we're sleeping outdoors. There's no beggar like us."

"Hey, calling the sacred duty of national defense a beggar."

"Sir, we've already fulfilled our sacred duty of national defense."

Actor Oh Young-pil rubbed his stomach and said.

"Phew. Whatever. I need to put something in my stomach to sleep. Why am I so hungry in the military?"

"Exactly."

Just then,

"Are you sleeping?"

"Who is it?"

"It's Jin-hyuk."

Jang Su-yong got up and opened the tent flap.

"If you're hungry, have this."

Jin-hyuk pushed the snacks he had collected over the past two days into the tent.

They were untouched.

"Jin-hyuk."

It wasn't an act. Jang Su-yong, who took the snacks from Jin-hyuk's hand, shed a real tear.

Ah, back then, on a night when he was terribly hungry as a private.

A senior soldier had slipped a chocolate pie into his sleeping bag as he clutched his empty stomach and tried to sleep.

To feel that warm hand from this young actor.

This variety show was truly "real" in its warmth.

The next morning.

After another bone-chilling run.

The participants, covered in mud from the pre-training for the comprehensive individual combat, stood in front of the vast individual combat field.

"From here, using the concealment, cover, and prone techniques you've learned, quickly break through to the high ground! Understand?"

"Yes!"

The participants, already exhausted, sighed as they looked at the distant high ground.

'Maybe I'll quit after this week…'

As some participants were conflicted,

"Go!"

The signal to start for the high ground was given.

Jin-hyuk's body sprang up and he began to climb the hill like a flash.

'Whoa! He's a mountain beast.'

In an instant, Jin-hyuk marked the concealment and cover points and darted into the tunnel.

The camera hurried to follow Jin-hyuk, who passed through the tunnel at an unbelievable speed in the prone position.

He quickly entered the barbed wire.

Holding his rifle to his chest, Jin-hyuk swiftly passed through the barbed wire on his back.

'Wow... What speed?'

The VJ, holding the camera from above, whistled.

As soon as he emerged from the barbed wire, Jin-hyuk leaped over the barricade and sprinted in a zigzag pattern to avoid the imaginary bullets, heading for the high ground.

"Hey, hey. Instructor!"

The instructor, who thought the participants were still far from reaching, was distracted.

"They're here. They're here."

"Huh? No way... Huh?"

The instructor hurriedly set off the smoke grenades to simulate artillery fire. The hill was enveloped in smoke.

The instructor waiting at the top frowned.

"What? Why did you set them off so early? Oh, did he lose his mind?"

The smoke grenades were supposed to go off when the participants reached the top, capturing their breakthrough.

But if they were set off too early...

The instructor, thinking the smoke grenades were set off incorrectly, was about to scold the distracted instructor when,

Through the thick smoke,

a beast-like figure was sprinting across the hill as if it were flat ground.

The gleaming eyes of the beast

The rhythmic movement of the strong shoulders.

The solid chest that moved those shoulders,

leading to the visible abs,

and the powerful thighs that sprang up like a beast.

Then, the long, slender legs that pushed off the ground with a spring.

Jin-hyuk, covered in mud, was truly a wild animal, a beast traversing rugged terrain.

But the VJ, zooming in on Jin-hyuk, knew this beast was different from any ordinary beast.

This beast's appearance was

deadly.

Neither the instructor nor the VJ could close their mouths as Jin-hyuk ran right in front of them.

***

"Sir, the preview of the variety show 'Born a Man' filmed by MBS is ready. I brought it for you to see before it airs."

While the military affairs advisor was giving the report, the staff quickly set up a projector in the office of the Chief of Staff of the Army.

"Did it turn out well?"

"Let's see."

The military affairs advisor smiled meaningfully.

Since the 2010 Cheonan sinking and Yeonpyeong Island shelling incidents, relations with North Korea had continuously deteriorated.

The recent third nuclear test and the threat to nullify the armistice agreement in response to the scheduled Key Resolve joint exercise with the U.S. had heightened the security crisis.

To raise public interest in the military during this security crisis, MBS's variety show "Born a Man" was a bold collaboration.

There was some internal resistance to using the military as a variety show subject.

But times had changed.

To improve the military's image, which had become a target of intense avoidance among young people, and to rekindle public interest in the military and national security, a revolutionary approach was needed.

That's why the Chief of Staff personally approved the project, which aimed to create a variety show that was not only entertaining but also inspiring.

That was "Born a Man."

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The screen showed nothing but a barren asphalt road and the bare branches of winter trees.

The unmistakable sound of marching boots filled the speakers.

"One! Two! Three! Four!..."

As the soldiers' roaring voices echoed, the soldiers, marching in perfect formation, appeared on the asphalt.

In the middle of the harsh winter,

they had taken off their tops and were warming themselves with the heat of military spirit.

In the center, a chiseled soldier held a red flag and gleamed with determination.

As the camera zoomed in on the soldier's eyes,

"Whoa!"

An involuntary groan escaped the Chief of Staff's lips. As if on cue,

Boom. Boom.

Boom. Boom.

A powerful beat filled the room, and the soldier's eyes transformed into those of a warrior on the shooting range, ready to pounce.

The rough training scenes passed like a movie.

Through the hazy smoke of the comprehensive individual combat field,

a beast-like soldier sprinted.

Then, under the fluttering national flag,

the soldier, radiating a fierce aura,

with burning eyes,

and a sharp hand gesture,

roared,

"Chung! Sung!"

Bang.

The Chief of Staff, without realizing it, stood up from his seat.

What started as a real military experience program,

turned into a legendary real enlistment temptation program that made viewers want to sign up without even realizing it.

This was the beginning of "Born a Man."