Today, the sky mirrored the emotions of the new recruits, as rain poured steadily down.
Due to the rain, the enlistnt ceremony was held in the auditorium, which was packed with recruits and their families. Drill instructors in their signature red hats moved around the hall.
anwhile, Han-gyeol was putting on his usual expression, perhaps to keep from worrying.
Even though his heart must be uneasy, he tried hard to smile. Seeing that made feel both grateful and guilty.
Since it was his enlistnt day, I wished he would be a little clingier to , but Han-gyeol remained his composed self, as always.
From the car ride with Han-gyeol's parents, to the al we shared, and finally to entering the auditorium, I couldn't take my eyes off him.
I wanted to capture as much of him as I could and stay as close to him as possible.
I longed for a deep, intimate mont with him, but I couldn't risk doing that in front of his parents...
“Eun-ha~ You're going to wear out Han-Han-gyeol's face!”
His mother, seated to his right, looked at and teased.
“Ah—! I-I'm so sorry! I didn’t realize—!”
“No need to apologize~ It’s nice to see. Look at him all you want while you still can~”
“T-then I won’t hold back...! I’ll keep looking—!”
When I responded boldly, his parents chuckled warmly, clearly amused.
“Our son is lucky~ Having such a lovely girlfriend.”
His mother playfully directed her comnt toward Han-gyeol.
Smiling brightly at her teasing, Han-gyeol replied,
“Yes, I’m incredibly lucky.”
“You’re due for enlistnt in about 30 minutes. You’ve double-checked everything, right? Do one more check to be sure.”
“Just a second...”
At his mother’s prompting, Han-gyeol began re-checking the bag he’d brought.
“I’ve got my ID, my original certifications, my phone... Oh no. I think I left my charger in the car. Dad, could I get the car keys?”
“Good thing I asked. There’s still about 30 minutes left until the ceremony, so go grab it quickly. You rember where we parked, right?”
“Yep, I rember. I’ll go with Eun-ha.”
“Geez~ Didn’t I tell you to double-check before we got out of the car?”
“I guess I was too distracted because it’s enlistnt day. I’ll be right back. Eun-ha, let’s go.”
“Ah—! Yes, yes! We’ll be back soon.”
“Alright~”
Taking my hand, Han-gyeol led outside the auditorium.
It was surprising—he had never forgotten sothing important before.
“Han-gyeol, this is the first ti I’ve seen you forget sothing like this...”
“I didn’t actually forget anything. Look.”
He opened his bag and showed . The charger was right there.
“Huh? It’s here?! The charger’s here?!”
“Let’s just stay in the car for a bit.”
“Han-gyeol, you...!”
I stared at him, realizing I’d been completely fooled.
Smiling mischievously, he opened the car door.
“At most, we’ve got seven or eight minutes. This might be the only ti we get to talk alone.”
“You’re unbelievable...!”
Though I had been duped, I couldn’t stop my lips from curling into a smile.
The idea of even a brief mont alone with him made happy.
“What’s unbelievable?”
“Well done~”
I grinned and got into the car.
The mont we were inside, Han-gyeol clasped my hand tightly.
“I wanted to hold your hand all morning, but I couldn’t with my parents around.”
“Hehe... I was holding back too...! Are you okay, though? It’s your enlistnt day—it must be tough for you...”
“I couldn’t show my parents how sad I felt. But yeah, I’m a little down.”
“Today, you’re allowed to lean on , you know...”
“I’m already leaning on you right now.”
He gently fiddled with my hand.
“Eun-ha, your hand is so warm.”
I also began playing with his hand, gazing at him softly.
“There’s not much ti left, so lean on all you want!”
“This right here—this is leaning on you~”
“You must’ve been tired, hiding your feelings all morning.”
“I wasn’t hiding them~ Looking at you made smile too much to feel down. But honestly, you staring at so much made a little embarrassed.”
“I just wanted to look at your handso face as much as possible~”
“What’s handso about after shaving my head~”
“You look incredibly handso! Makes want to kiss you.”
Han-gyeol smiled warmly at my words and planted a kiss on my forehead.
"Soone might see us...!"
"The windows are tinted. No one can see in. I checked earlier when we got in."
"What?! You’re so sly, Han-gyeol!"
"This much is okay before I enlist, right?"
Without hesitation, I leaned in and covered his lips with mine.
Sure, talking was nice, but we could do that over the phone on the weekends.
Right now, stealing a deep kiss was far more worthwhile!
I smiled blissfully as we continued kissing.
It felt a bit scandalous to do this in his parents’ car, but at this mont...
I just wanted to kiss him a little longer.
After a brief but intense kiss, we pulled back and gazed at each other.
“Eun-ha? I wasn’t expecting a kiss, you know.”
“Han-gyeol, how much ti do we have left?!”
“There’s still a bit of ti before the ceremony, but we should head back to my parents within 5 minutes.”
“Then accounting for the run back, we’ve got about 3 minutes and 30 seconds left.”
“Sounds about right...”
Every second felt precious.
Even as we talked, ti was ticking away.
“Han-gyeol, I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Then let’s kiss more! There’s no ti! Let’s hurry!”
My bold declaration made the corners of his lips lift into a smile.
“You’re the reason I’m alive, Eun-ha. Co here.”
“Yes!”
He gently cupped my face and kissed again.
I silently prayed for the next three minutes to stretch on forever.
Kissing him... felt so perfect.
***
After sharing a short but passionate kiss, we returned to the auditorium.
Thankfully, we weren’t late, and his parents didn’t suspect a thing.
I was a little nervous we might get caught, but everything seed fine.
Ti moved forward, and the inevitable mont of separation drew closer.
Through the auditorium speakers, an announcent ca, signaling that the ti to say goodbye had arrived.
- "In a mont, recruits and their family mbers will be separated. Before that, recruits, please take a mont to thank and express your love to your families for the care and support they’ve given you over the past 20 years." Ṝ
“It’s ti to go, it seems. Mom, Dad, thank you for raising .”
“Yes~ Thank you for growing up so well.”
“I love you both.”
As the ti to part drew near, Han-gyeol first said his goodbyes to his parents.
“And Eun-ha. Thank you for being with . I love you.”
“I love you too. Don’t worry about anything—I’ll wait for you.”
“Alright~”
- "Recruits, please check that you have your ID and essential items. Electronic devices such as phones and chargers, valuables, cash, unauthorized dications, and tobacco products are not allowed. Any such items should be entrusted to your family. Additionally, we will be using raincoats instead of umbrellas, so please hand over any umbrellas as well."
“I’ll do my best and return safely. Don’t worry too much, and take care on your way back. Eun-ha, make sure to call my parents once you get ho. Tell Eunwoo Hyung and Hyun-joo Noona that I said thank you and to take care of my parents for .”
His words, accompanied by a smile, made it hard to hold back my tears.
It was really happening now…
I wanted to send him off with a smile, but I couldn’t find the words.
Afraid my voice would crack and tears would spill, I simply nodded.
- "It is now ti to separate recruits from their families. Recruits, please gather in the center of the auditorium."
Han-gyeol slowly stood up from his seat, and his parents and I followed suit.
“I’ll be going now. I’ll call on the weekend.”
“Alright…! Take care, my son…!”
His mother’s eyes turned red with unshed tears.
Han-gyeol hugged her tightly, then shared an embrace with his father.
“I’ll be back.”
“Go safely. Stay healthy.”
Finally, he turned to .
“Eun-ha, I’m heading out.”
“Yes…! Be careful…! Co back safely…!”
As soon as I spoke, tears began streaming down my face.
“Don’t be too sad~ I’ll call you on the weekend.”
Han-gyeol wiped away my tears and pulled into a gentle hug.
As his warmth enveloped and his hand patted my back, the tears I’d been holding back burst forth uncontrollably.
I clenched my teeth to suppress the sobs, but it was no use.
“I love you…”
“I love you too…! I really do…!”
After our embrace, he smiled at one last ti before descending the steps of the auditorium.
“I’ll be back!”
“Alright… Go safely!”
“Yes! Eun-ha, see you when I get back!”
“Yes…! I’ll be waiting…!”
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him as he walked away.
Even as he found his place among the other recruits, he kept glancing back at and his parents, his smile never wavering.
I waved at him nonstop, smiling back as best I could.
When all the recruits had gathered in the center of the auditorium, the enlistnt ceremony began in earnest.
High-ranking officials entered, the pledge of allegiance to the national flag was made, a mont of silence followed, and then ca the welcoming address, introductions of the instructors, and a family encouragent speech.
Finally, the ceremony reached its last stage.
- "Recruits, when the host commands, salute the guests and your families with a loud cry of ‘Victory!’ as part of your farewell gesture."
As the host spoke, Han-gyeol’s gaze, which had been fixed forward, shifted back to .
- "I will now give the command. Recruits, salute your families, friends, and distinguished guests!"
- "Victory!"
The powerful cry of “Victory!” resonated throughout the auditorium, followed by a round of applause.
- "At ease! This concludes the enlistnt ceremony. Families and friends, please exit the auditorium through the stairs and main doors. Training officers will guide you safely out to the corridor."
The crowd in the auditorium began to disperse.
Even as people shuffled out, Han-gyeol’s eyes remained on .
With a soft smile, he mouthed the words to .
“I’ll be back.”
It felt unbearably lonely. But for the sake of the future I wanted with him, I knew I could wait.
I smiled as brightly as I could and mouthed my reply.
“I love you.”
I couldn’t be certain he caught my ssage, but I hoped he did.
And with that, Han-gyeol began his journey in the military.
--- The End OF The Chapter --
[TL: Join Patreon to support the translation and to read up to 10 chapters ahead of the release: /taylor007
Join Our Discord for regular updates and have fun with other community mbers: invite/SqWtJpPtm9 ]
Support /novel/174152
Join Discord
invite/SqWtJpPtm9
Reviews
All reviews (0)