Real Man

Chapter 29

Rustle.

The only thing that remained in everyone’s minds was the words that they were 27th out of 120 teams.

They were really good at making people work hard.

Under the bright light, the instructor with a red hat, like a military raid field, said.

“This task is a group jump rope. You have to make a rope using the objects around you and then do 50 group jump ropes to pass.”

“…”

“If you fail, you can retry up to three times and your task score will be based on the relative evaluation of the best record.”

“Ugh.”

A small booing came out of the team members’ mouths.

The last task was an OX quiz, and now it was a group jump rope.

Yoo-hyun felt like old memories were coming back to him.

Apart from him, the team members moved quickly.

“Come on, let’s move. Let’s get some branches and weeds.”

“I’ll weave the rope.”

It was past 10 p.m.

Someone could complain, but they were all enthusiastic because they were immersed in the situation.

They soon made a rope and arranged their positions, and even tried jumping for practice.

“Wow, awesome. This works? I think it would be better if Seul-gi and Chang-seok hyung rotate it.”

“Okay.”

Even Seul-gi-tae, who didn’t stand out much, seemed excited.

He thought this was why they did new employee training.

It seemed unfair at first glance, but it was definitely effective for building rapport.

“One, two…”

The instructor counted the numbers, and the team members started jumping.

Yoo-hyun also matched his feet in the middle.

“Fifty, fifty-one…”

“More! More!”

Kang Chang-seok, who was rotating the rope, shouted with a vein in his neck as if he was greedy.

They got a score of 71.

It was second among the teams so far.

“Huff, huff, huff.”

It was natural that they were out of breath because they had rushed in as if they were going to die.

Then, Seul-gi-tae, who didn’t make much noise, shouted.

“Hansung!”

Then the team members shouted reflexively.

“Innovation!”

The strong cheer filled with a sense of accomplishment made team 6 move again.

The uplifted spirit and the strengthened bond of the team made their steps lighter.

But reality was reality.

They walked as fast as they ran and soon faced their physical limits.

In front of the observatory, spot 4-3.

Choi Seul-gi took a picture and sat down on the floor with a rough breath.

“Let’s take a break for a moment. Heh heh.”

“No. We have to go fast.”

Hanseong-bong was not far away now.

Around them, they kept hearing ‘Innovation!’ ‘Hanseong!’ as if they were using force.

Kang Chang-seok wanted to be first so badly that he frowned, but he couldn’t go any further if he was tired.

Choi Seul-gi sighed like a groan with a rough breath.

“I can’t do it.”

“We can’t do this. Let’s take a break.”

“Sigh, I’ll see if there’s a faster way.”

In the end, Kang Chang-seok sighed and moved himself.

He seemed to have judged that there was no chance of winning by going the designated way.

Yoo-hyun frowned slightly.

He had a feeling that he might cause an accident somehow.

It was a headache if he lost his way while moving alone in a situation where he had already returned his phone.

It was more dangerous to go to a place without lights.

That’s how 10 minutes passed.

“He’ll be back soon, right?”

Oh Min-jae said casually, but his eyes were anxious.

He had received countless safety education and heard stories about such accidents cases before

Kang Chang-seok’s accident would directly lead to the whole team’s problem

Yoo-hyun was also worried at this point

A few years later, due to a new employee who fell off a cliff while rolling down, innovation march would disappear completely

He hoped it wouldn’t happen now, but if there was any problem at this point, he would suffer twice as much

He didn’t want that at all

Yoo-hyun got up from his seat

“Stay here. I’ll look around for a bit.”

“I’ll go too. Just in case. Ki-tae, do you want to go?”

“Yeah. We’ll be back soon as men, so please watch the luggage for us. Hey, this guy always makes me angry.”

Yoo-hyun, Oh Min-jae, and Seul-gi-tae moved to the side road where Kang Chang-seok had gone up.

The light was weak, but it was still there and the road was not bad.

If you think of it as a simple straight course, it’s closer to Hanseong-bong.

It was worth considering, but the problem was that it was not on the map.

There was enough room for problems.

“I’ll go to the left. Min-jae and Ki-tae, go to the right.”

“Got it. Let’s meet in 10 minutes if we can’t find him. If you don’t come, I’ll move to your side.”

“Okay.”

Yoo-hyun turned on his flashlight and walked forward.

The road narrowed and the ground became bumpy.

On the right, there was a steep slope, and on the left, there was a deep slope that seemed endless.

He felt like he would fall if he stepped on his foot wrong.

He wouldn’t have come this far to find a way.

It was when Yoo-hyun was about to turn around.

“Ugh.”

Someone came up from below the left, moaning.

His gym clothes were all dirty from scraping the ground.

He quickly shone a light on him and saw Kang Chang-seok covering his face with his hand.

“Who…”

He seemed to mistake him for an instructor by his very cautious voice.

It was such a ridiculous answer in a dangerous situation that Yoo-hyun snorted.

He shouldn’t have come here if he was worried.

“It’s Yoo-hyun.”

“What?”

“Don’t say anything. Just come quickly. Are you hurt?”

For a moment, Kang Chang-seok’s face twisted.

‘Damn it, why him of all people.’

He was annoyed by the fact that he had slipped his foot by accident.

He couldn’t even say he was hurt in this situation, which made him furious.

And of all people, he was caught by the one he hated the most.

“…Huh? My flash.”

Kang Chang-seok frowned and realized that he didn’t have a flashlight in his hand and rubbed the ground with both hands.

Yoo-hyun shone a light on his hand and said.

“You don’t need it. Come on.”

“Wait a minute.”

Kang Chang-seok got up from his seat and shook his body as he moved to the side.

Then he took another step forward and stepped on the root of a tree that was lying diagonally.

At that moment,

Whoosh!

The ground collapsed and Kang Chang-seok fell down.

If he had just rolled a little before, this time he felt his body completely falling.

Kang Chang-seok screamed in agony and closed his eyes tightly.

“Ahh!”

To Yoo-hyun, his figure looked like it was in slow motion.

He had to move.

Before he could even think, Yoo-hyun’s feet ran ahead.

Thud. 

Thump.

He might not be seriously injured from falling.

But he was sure he wouldn’t be able to march anymore.

He didn’t want to end his time at the Innovation Center with such a new mindset like this.

The team comes before the individual.

He had to save him somehow without getting hurt.

Yoo-hyun sprinted with one foot and two feet, while scanning his surroundings.

‘The tree trunk and the deep groove between it and me, the hole between the thick roots.’

The information he could see in the dark was limited.

He had to find the answer using imperfect information.

He quickly sorted out his thoughts and jumped with the flashlight in his mouth.

Thump!

“Ugh!”

Yoo-hyun grabbed Kang Chang-seok’s wrist with his left hand as he fell, and wrapped his right arm around the tree trunk and stuck his hand in the groove.

His feet were fortunately supported by the hole between the thick roots.

At least he hoped that the roots wouldn’t slide down any further, and his body was fixed.

But.

“Ugh.”

The weight was so heavy that Yoo-hyun couldn’t help but let out a rough groan from the shock on his chest, waist, feet, and pulled hand.

If he hadn’t exercised regularly, he wouldn’t have been able to handle it.

Then Kang Chang-seok grabbed Yoo-hyun’s arm with his remaining hand and struggled.

“Sa, save me. Save me.”

“Ugh, stay still.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

What did you do wrong!

It’s really hard enough to die, just stay still.

Yoo-hyun clenched his teeth and growled.

“Shut up, stretch your feet forward.”

“Uh-uh, no. No way.”

Even if his feet were hanging in the air and he felt terrified, he had to assess the situation.

It meant that if Kang Chang-seok stretched his legs forward, they would touch the ground, since Yoo-hyun’s feet were on the ground.

“What are you doing? You have to step on your feet and climb up. Ugh.”

Yoo-hyun pulled his hand toward the ground with all his strength.

Then his body lifted up slightly.

“Ugh. Stretch your feet forward, come on!”

“Ah, no. I fell. No… Huh?”

Clack.

Kang Chang-seok blinked under the flashlight beam.

It was ridiculous to see him try to step on the ground again.

“Come up.”

“…”

“Up!”

Yoo-hyun pulled his hand again.

Kang Chang-seok climbed up by stepping on the roots that were lying diagonally like a wall.

Clack.

He had no thoughts in his head.

He just bent over and gasped with relief that he was alive.

“Hah, hah, hah.”

As he breathed evenly, his head gradually cleared up.

Kang Chang-seok felt ashamed and embarrassed as he looked at Yoo-hyun’s gym clothes under the dim light.

They were covered in dust and even torn.

He threw himself for him.

What if he hadn’t caught him?

He shuddered at the fleeting question.

He didn’t know how deep it was, but he was sure he would have been badly hurt.

If that had happened, he wouldn’t have been able to march or even join the company properly.

Then Yoo-hyun’s voice came out.

“Are you okay?”

“…”

He felt a surge of emotion in his chest, but he couldn’t open his mouth.

Then someone came over.

“Yoo-hyun-ah, are you there?”

“Yeah. Here.”

It was Oh Min-jae and Seol Ki-tae.

“What? What happened?”

“No, I just fell.”

“Be careful. Are you okay? Is Kang Chang-seok okay?”

“Huh? Oh. Yeah.”

Kang Chang-seok got up and couldn’t face Yoo-hyun who didn’t blame him for anything until the end.

He felt sorry for him and his feet were acting up too.

“Ugh.”

“Let me help you. We fell together earlier. Min-jae-ya, light up the front.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“…”

Kang Chang-seok couldn’t say anything to Yoo-hyun who supported him.

He didn’t understand why Yoo-hyun was covering for him so much.

The next day, at 5:30 a.m.

Team 6, who had climbed up and down Mount Hanseongbong, finished the march with a final score of 22nd place.

“Good job, everyone. Sob.”

“Uaaaaaa, we did it.”

There were team members who wiped their tears, starting with Choi Seul-gi.

They were all covered in dirt.

It was a fierce march.

“Good work.”

Yoo-hyun comforted his team members.

He had only met them for two weeks, but they felt like family.

Then Kang Chang-seok tried to say something to Yoo-hyun, but turned his head away.

They washed up, took a nap, had lunch, and gathered in the classroom again.

Everyone in the class looked brighter, either because they were about to leave or because they had safely completed the tough march.

Creak.

The door opened and the senior instructor came in.

After watching a suitable video for the finale, they were given time to write rolling papers.

The heartfelt stories made Yoo-hyun smile.

And then the results announcement.

“The final first place team of Class 2 is…”

Screech.

Before he could even say it, the team members pulled their chairs back.