Chapter 1

This is Germany, where a Führer is needed - Chapter 1 (1/246)

Previous work: Black-haired US Marshal

Prologue

In an era when the word 'famine' was more terrifying than corruption or mamasan,

There was a boy named Jo Bum-seok.

The boy, in order to support his family, sought a path to success rather than pursuing his dreams, and began his military career by enrolling in the Military Academy.

And several decades later,

He became a general, known as the epitome of a true soldier, and was respected by many.

Indeed.

In an era dominated by gangsters and pimps, who else could be a true soldier if not someone who remained clean and untouched by the filth around him?

Who would dare to slander him, who protected the command center against North Korean provocations even after losing his wife and two children in a single day?

Thus.

Until he attempted a coup in 21st century South Korea and failed.

***

"What a fucking world."

A sigh mixed with a sigh of exasperation escapes me.

I have been in the military for several decades.

Not once in my long life, dedicated to serving my country and people, did I ever imagine I would end up in a solitary confinement cell in a military prison.

Of course, I am currently enjoying an absurd luxury as a prisoner, or more precisely, a pre-trial detainee.

Next to me, a steaming sweet potato was emitting a warm aroma, and in front of me was a Go board, with a small smartphone blaring a live broadcast of a fall baseball game.

What a crazy world.

The mere lieutenant colonel in charge of the prison, instead of strictly supervising this newly arrived rebel leader, pledged his loyalty like a village dog, flipping over on his back. It seemed to him that he and his comrades could break down this puny cell door at any moment and ascend to the presidency as the third military general.

In fact, it's not impossible.

That's why it's more of a problem.

"Are you a Lotte fan?"

"I don't want to share a meal with a moron who cheers for the Giants. I don't particularly like baseball, but if I have to choose, it's the Doosan Bears."

Despite receiving all sorts of special treatment, it's impossible for anyone else to be in the solitary confinement cell.

Yet, there is someone else in my cell right now.

Or rather, it doesn't seem to be a person.

"When will you believe me? I really am the mountain spirit of Yongchae Mountain."

"Mountain spirit, my ass. I might believe in the mountain spirit of Jirisan or Namhansan, but what the hell is Yongchae Mountain?"

"Right next to this prison-"

The self-proclaimed mountain spirit calmly picked up a green potato with a starch stick, stuffed it into his mouth, and mumbled, his eyes fixed on the smartphone screen, not on me or the Go board.

"When will you admit that you're just a prison ghost who failed to achieve enlightenment? If you have time to spout nonsense, just make your next move. Where did the ghost who was playing Go go?"

"Just wait a bit. Let me finish watching the baseball game."

"A mountain spirit who likes baseball? That's ridiculous."

Seeing him eat so contentedly made me feel hungry too. I scraped the sugar from the bottom of the plate and stuffed a potato into my mouth. The human body is truly fickle; with a bit of sugar and carbohydrates, my mood gradually improved.

I lit a Hanra Mountain cigarette and fell into thought.

Where did it all go wrong?

Was it because I couldn't trust the people I should have trusted?

Or because I trusted the people I shouldn't have?

Everyone I had dedicated my life to protect was pointing fingers at me.

I had thrown away my pride as a soldier to save them, but now only vermin swarmed around me like cockroaches, and I received no understanding from the people I wanted to understand me.

"Turn it off."

"Excuse me?"

"Turn it off! Damn it! These bastards are playing baseball like it's nothing!"

I shouted, and the stupid ghost touched the screen and hurriedly closed the video.

Is the world really this crazy? I even saw myself being caught by the Giants. If I had just committed suicide with a pistol, I wouldn't have had to see this.

Nothing is to my liking.

Not even the outside world, where people are playing ball while the country is on the brink of collapse.

Not the top brass, who are still bickering over politics when the third world war is imminent.

Not this crazy South Korean military, which caught the coup leader but doesn't execute him quickly and even gives him a smartphone.

I don't like any of it.

I regret the years I spent protecting these people.

"Do you have so many complaints about the world?"

"Is that a question to ask a former rebel leader?"

"If you had the chance to change everything... would you take it?"

The entity in front of me, who had been asking the same question since it appeared, repeated it again.

Under normal circumstances, I would have told it to stop spouting nonsense and finish the Go game, but for some reason, I wanted to answer now.

"Change everything? How?"

"Well, you could go back a few years, or be born to much better parents."

"If there's a chance, I'd take it. Why are you asking this?"

"Would you like to try?"

I shrugged instead of answering.

"Mountain spirits usually only give golden or silver axes. Why are you rambling so much?"

"Let me explain simply. If you achieve an incredible feat, a feat that completely changes the world and history with your own power, you can have one wish granted as a reward."

"Are you a ghost or a demon?"

"I'm really a mountain spirit. Do you realize what kind of opportunity this is?"

"I've already made my name in this country's history."

The more I listen, the more I feel like I'm losing my mind. Or maybe this mountain spirit or whatever is just a delusion, and I'm actually in a mental hospital, getting morphine. That would be a more reasonable explanation, wouldn't it?

While I was questioning whether I was in my right mind, the entity in front of me offered me a pill.

"Here. Just take this one pill, and the contract is sealed."

"What is it?"

"It's poison."

"Fuck."

You want me to eat it and die?

"Sorry. According to the manual, I should make you get hit by a truck and fly away, but as you know, I can't do that in this solitary confinement. Ah, there are standard terms and conditions I should explain, so don't take it right away-"

How many people in South Korea actually read the terms and conditions, you moron?

I ignored the entity and swallowed the pill.

"Wait! Wait! Listen to me before-"

"Cough, cough, cough!!"

As my consciousness blurred, I felt myself drifting towards the distant land of rest.

A miserable end fitting for a miserable life.