Chapter 2
The Rational Young Man
The community center, located a little ways outside the town.
A place that normally had no presence in my life except when filing a change-of-address report had, today, become a gathering point for men staring blankly into space with their mouths hanging open.
The sight of men wearing all kinds of military uniforms, sitting in chairs and slowly blinking, reminded me of full-time investors watching their life savings plummet on a stock chart.
A quick glance around made it easy to count.
There were plenty of empty seats.
About fifteen people in total.
The reserve unit commander was a middle-aged man with drooping eyes. He looked overwhelmed as he answered one ringing phone call after another in the small auditorium.
"Ah, yes. Out of forty-three personnel, fifteen have reported so far. No, we called them the moment the mobilization bill passed. How much faster do you expect us to move? The declaration hasn't even been officially announced yet. Thank you for understanding... Yes, yes."
The commander wasn't the only busy one.
The people sitting beside me were furiously hammering away at their phones as if they intended to crack the screens, while a neat-looking man wearing horn-rimmed glasses was calling his family.
"God damn it... Did those northern pig bastards finally make their move?"
The narrow-eyed man with pursed lips had apparently decided this was all North Korea's fault.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry either. It'll be okay. Even if the reservists get mobilized, it'll be over quickly. Yeah. Love you."
The man in horn-rimmed glasses looked like a character straight out of a war movie, making promises to return safely to the person he loved.
Not to be outdone, I posted a message in my friends' group chat.
[Are the Seoul idiots out of their minds? Does it make any sense to mobilize reservists because there's some fog? More importantly, shouldn't martial law come before mobilizing reservists?]
It was a genuine question.
Water flows from top to bottom and everything has an order.
Shouldn't the active-duty soldiers be used first before dragging civilians back into uniform?
The replies came from friends who had also been mobilized.
[Martial law was declared in Seoul at 11:34 a.m. today.]
[Wow...]
I checked the time.
1:46 p.m.
That meant it had taken only about two hours to go from martial law to reserve mobilization.
The reality that had felt distant was starting to become real.
Up until now, I'd shrugged and thought, So there's fog in Seoul. Big deal.
For the first time, it felt like the country was actually falling apart in real time.
[What the hell are those Seoul bastards doing?]
I sent the message because there was nowhere else to vent.
Then I noticed something strange.
There were no replies.
A red X suddenly appeared beside my message.
The meaning became clear from the cries erupting around me.
"Huh? Huh? What is this?"
"Yes, yes. You need to report immediately. Martial law has been declared in Seoul and now mobilization has— Damn it. Do we have an administrative clerk? Can you check the phone lines?"
Reservists stared wide-eyed at their phones.
The unit commander sighed as he tried calling people who still hadn't reported.
As I watched them, the horn-rimmed-glasses guy from earlier quietly approached.
"Excuse me. Your phone isn't working either, right?"
"Yeeep."
"Ah... I was wondering if I could make a call if yours was working..."
"No. My messages stopped sending too."
"Ah."
He returned to his seat awkwardly.
But I felt a growing sense of unease.
The corporal who had rushed over at the commander's call was checking phone lines and communications equipment, sweating nervously.
His expression made it clear something was wrong.
The other reservists seemed to feel it too.
"Seriously?"
The corporal continued running in and out of the auditorium.
A few minutes later he returned, noticeably paler.
"The community center's phones and internet are down too."
"What? Damn it... Then do we have to physically go find people?"
The commander tried to keep his voice low.
But the auditorium was so quiet that everyone heard him anyway.
The narrow-eyed man clicked his tongue.
"The cell towers must've gone down."
"Shit..."
Most people's reactions were some variation of shit.
But I refused to let fear and panic infect me.
"God damn it. If I'd known this was coming, I would've left Korea."
Not that I actually had the means to leave.
That was just how I felt.
An overwhelming wave of regret washed over me.
If I'd spent all those wasted years preparing for immigration instead of indulging myself, I wouldn't be dealing with this nonsense during my eighth year as a reservist.
Then the horn-rimmed-glasses guy, who had been desperately waiting for a chance to call his loved one, suddenly shouted.
"It's working! It's back!"
I looked at my own phone.
Sure enough, messages that had been stuck began pouring into the group chat.
Phones throughout the auditorium started ringing again.
Without hesitation, I opened every news site and portal I could find.
[Temporary Cell Tower Failure Due to Traffic Surge; Outages Last Several Minutes]
[Seoul Disturbances Cross Critical Threshold... Neighboring Nations Closely Monitoring Situation]
[United States and China Express Serious Security Concerns Regarding Seoul Crisis Despite Political Rivalry]
At that point I finally started paying attention.
The headlines were so sensational that they made it feel as if the country were collapsing in real time.
Then another alert appeared.
[Breaking News: Mobilization Order Declared to Suppress Seoul Disturbances]
Apparently I wasn't the only one who saw it.
Everyone had been glued to their phones.
The commander, who had been making endless calls, and the reservists endlessly scrolling their screens all seemed to feel a chill run down their spines simultaneously.
I could see their pupils constrict.
Their lips parted slightly.
Their teeth trembled.
Mine too.
Clack-clack-clack-clack...
The greatest dance performance of my life.
Not with my hips.
Not with my feet.
With my teeth.
The first person to act was the unit commander.
"Corporal. Go issue weapons and ammunition, then bring out the field gear."
As the corporal's footsteps faded away, an odd silence settled over the room.
The narrow-eyed man.
The lovestruck guy with glasses.
The exhausted commander.
Every reservist gathered in the auditorium.
As though by prior agreement, everyone kept their mouths shut.
Then someone's phone speaker broadcast a news announcement.
"Today, the Republic of Korea faces the greatest danger since its founding... Citizens are urged to follow all government directives. Even if they appear unreasonable, please understand that these are emergency measures necessary to overcome a national disaster..."
I collected my helmet, field gear, and rifle before returning to my seat.
Then I checked the weapon.
An M16.
As a former Air Force air-defense artilleryman, it was a familiar sight.
Only then did I start reading the name tags of the people who had left an impression on me.
"Those northern pig bastards."
The narrow-eyed man with pursed lips.
Former Army.
Kim Myungshin.
"Huuu... Huuu..."
In the end, only twenty-one reservists reported.
The commander sighed repeatedly as he handed out helmets, gear, and weapons.
The horn-rimmed-glasses man, desperately worried about his beloved, was a former Navy serviceman.
Kang Daniel.
"Alright. Verify your weapon serial numbers and receive your equipment. Stay calm. We're not a frontline unit. We'll remain here and assist with maintaining public order. Once we know more about the situation, we'll organize teams and set up a three-shift rotation so it doesn't interfere too much with your daily lives. Please don't worry too much. However, you must keep your gear and uniforms with you at all times."
The droopy-eyed commander, struggling to reassure everyone despite clearly being flustered himself, was named Park Seonggeun.
There were many other names and faces gathered there under the title of reservists.
But for now, none of them interested me very much.
But then someone appeared who instantly seized my attention.
Three people in combat uniforms entered the auditorium carrying heavy baskets.
Two of them were NCOs whose ages were impossible to guess thanks to years of being blasted by sunlight, their faces marked with deep crow's feet. The third was a lieutenant with a neat appearance and slightly pronounced cheekbones.
After speaking seriously with the reserve unit commander, he set down the baskets with the NCOs and turned to face the reservists.
"Good afternoon. I'm Lieutenant Shin Hangi. First of all, I'd like to thank all of you reservists for responding to the mobilization order despite how sudden and chaotic the situation is."
Everyone silently agreed to ignore the uncomfortable truth that we'd all wanted to run away but simply lacked the ability to do so.
At first, Lieutenant Shin seemed intent on easing the mood with encouraging words, but then he called over the active-duty soldiers and began distributing the papers contained in the baskets.
"You're all probably wondering what exactly happened in Seoul that led to reservists being mobilized. To be honest, even the military doesn't know everything yet. We can't make reckless assumptions before reaching a clear conclusion, but I hope you'll at least understand the seriousness of the situation."
While Lieutenant Shin offered excuses on behalf of the military, the corporal who had been running around nonstop all day approached me carrying only his gear and handed me a stapled packet.
Receiving the three-page packet with a sinking feeling, I immediately found myself doubting the title.
"I know exactly what you're all thinking after receiving those papers. I know. But this manual was put together based on testimony from military personnel and officers currently deployed in Seoul, so please trust it and read carefully. However, don't turn the page until instructed. For now, only read the first page."
Beneath the large heading was a list of neatly printed text.
The first things that caught my eye were:
Survival and Engagement Guidelines Within Restricted Zones
- Avoid areas with poor visibility.
- Separation from your squad is strictly prohibited.
- Assume every approaching individual is hostile. If they continue approaching after a warning, open fire. Kill them.
- Firearms are prohibited in all other situations.
- Acquiring information obtainable on-site takes top priority.
- Rescue operations are prohibited. If unavoidable, isolate and quarantine the individual.
Kim Myungshin, the narrow-eyed man who had received his packet before me, clicked his tongue.
"Holy shit. Are these people insane?"
I felt much the same.
"What is this? Zombies?"
Exactly.
Anyone raised on modern media would feel a strange sense of familiarity.
What if the so-called Seoul Disturbance was actually a zombie outbreak?
The other rules seemed reasonable enough, but Rules 3 and 6 felt rather problematic for citizens raised in a democracy and accustomed to nonviolence.
They didn't completely contradict military principles.
The tone just felt... off.
At that moment, Lieutenant Shin noticed the growing unrest among the reservists and calmly continued.
"If you've finished reading the engagement rules, you may turn the page. If you experience nausea, vomiting, dizziness, or headaches, immediately close your eyes and take deep breaths."
Rustle.
The well-behaved and orderly men of South Korea turned the page in unison.
The moment I saw the next page, I frowned.
It was covered in strange scribbles.
They looked like worms wriggling across the paper, arranged in chaotic patterns.
My language skills struggled enough with Korean alone. I couldn't even tell whether this was supposed to be a language.
But everyone else's reactions were dramatically different.
"Uh... Ugh! Ack!"
Kim Myungshin was the first to claw at his throat and vomit stomach acid.
Several others immediately began retching.
The bespectacled romantic, Kang Daniel, covered his mouth and actually threw up part of his lunch.
"Bleeegh..."
The reserve unit commander seemed comparatively stable, but even he had gone pale and was sweating profusely.
He held the packet delicately between two fingers, looking as though he wanted to throw it away immediately.
"Excuse me. What exactly is this..."
"Commander, calm down anyone showing symptoms... Sergeant Park, do we have anyone who seems unaffected?"
At Lieutenant Shin's words, a sergeant wearing sunglasses on his cap looked this way.
More specifically, he made eye contact with me as I stared around in confusion.
"You there. What's your name?"
"Baek Jemin."
***
The counseling room of the community center.
The moment we sat across from one another, Lieutenant Shin pulled out a form and a pen.
Wearing a professional smile, he asked:
"Mr. Baek Jemin. Do you have a religion? Or did you ever have one?"
"I attended Buddhist, Protestant, and Catholic services during basic training. Does that count?"
"Hmm. Open-minded attitude toward multiple religions, free of prejudice..."
Lieutenant Shin scribbled something on the form.
I glanced over and found the contents rather strange.
Religious Narrow-Mindedness.
Considering the negative implications of the word narrow-mindedness, it sounded like a pretty favorable evaluation.
I felt oddly proud that my military principle of whoever gives me Choco Pies and hamburgers is my god was finally paying off almost nine years later.
Maybe principles really were important.
"You've never been told by a shaman that you possess spiritual powers or undergone any sort of possession ritual?"
"No."
I suddenly remembered someone once saying that our ancestors needed extra time to visit when memorial rites were held.
Of course, my family hadn't actually held ancestral rites in over ten years.
Still, the one and only shaman we'd ever visited claimed that our ancestors showed up only to be overwhelmed and chased away by my excessive yang energy.
Lieutenant Shin continued asking increasingly bizarre personal questions before finally adopting a serious expression.
"Mr. Baek Jemin."
"Yes?"
"You'll need to learn magic."
"...What?"
"Have you ever been evaluated spiritually by a mudang—a shaman—or anyone running a fortune-telling business?"
"Oh. Someone once told me my yang energy was so strong I'd never encounter a ghost in my life, so there was no reason to come back."
"Oh."
Countless questions flashed through my mind.
Why?
Magic?
For what?
Magic actually exists?
Why would I learn magic from the military?
At the end of all those questions, only one remained.
"Me?"
"Yes. At the moment, among people who show no mental side effects..."
"Why?"
"Based on the information we've gathered so far..."
"Me?"
"You seem to be the most suitable candidate—"
"Why?"
I was the man who had deliberately joined the Air Force's air-defense artillery branch because I wanted an easier life.
The man who willingly served three extra months compared to the Army because I figured the additional leave was worth it.
The man who, when throwing away trash, made three or four trips because carrying everything at once would be heavy.
The rationality and instincts of unemployed youth Baek Jemin were screaming at me.
Magic or no magic.
If I learned it here, in the reserves—
I was screwed.
"Mr. Baek."
Lieutenant Shin stared at me coldly.
But I wasn't about to back down.
Twenty-eight years of life.
Eighth-year reservist.
Let him say whatever he wanted.
I had absolutely no intention of giving in.
Soldiers always said the same things in situations like this.
The nation is in danger.
You can't act selfishly when a mobilization order has already been declared.
I already knew the script.
It bored me.
Then Lieutenant Shin spoke again.
"To start with, if you become capable of using magic, you'll be exempt from overnight guard duty."
"I've always liked Harry Potter."