IWSF – Ch 233

“The yellow Lamborghini Aventador sped down the wide-open Jayuro Expressway.”

I sat in the passenger seat and asked the brown-haired beauty wearing sunglasses in the driver’s seat,

“How is it to drive?”

“The amenities are definitely better in this one.”

“Shall we ask Chairman Im Jin-yong to swap it? He probably hasn’t sold everything off yet, so if we ask nicely, he might.”

She seemed to ponder for a moment before saying decisively,

“No. I still prefer driving a Ferrari.”

“Why is that?”

“There’s a subtle feeling to it that’s hard to explain. And the roof opens too. The weather’s starting to get warmer, so I need to enjoy some open-top driving.”

I pictured Ellie driving the Ferrari with the roof completely open. She looked so good in it, she could be a Ferrari promotional model.

Looking in the side mirror, I saw the black sedans carrying the bodyguards tailing us closely.

Ellie said,

“I’m glad we found him quickly. So, what is he doing now?”

“Apparently, he runs a pizza place in Paju.”

That’s why we’re rushing over from work. When I said I was going to Paju, Ellie insisted on coming with me, taking Hyun-joo’s car to follow.

Taek-gyu couldn’t come along today because he had to go to his parents’ place with Hyun-joo.

“Still, the fact that Jin-hoo is going to find him like this means he must have been a good person.”

“That’s right. He’s a good person.”

Military seniors are divided into two types. Those you never want to see again after leaving the service, and those you definitely want to meet up with.

And those you definitely want to meet up with are further divided into two types. Those you want to beat up, and those you want to have a drink with.

Kim Jae-hak is definitely the latter.

After exiting the Jayuro Expressway and entering the city, I could feel people’s gazes on us. Even though there are a lot of foreign cars these days, it’s not easy to see supercars like Ferraris or Lamborghinis.

Ellie parked the car in a nearby public parking lot. We walked into an alley, with the bodyguards in plainclothes following a little behind us.

After a while, we stopped walking.

“Is this it?”

“Seems like it.”

The sign read ‘Meister Pizza.’

It’s a popular pizza franchise these days. If you turn on the TV, you see commercials with famous celebrities as their models. Thanks to that, they’re rapidly expanding their branches despite being a new franchise.

I think a big one opened up near the company recently. Taek-gyu ordered from there once, and he said the taste was pretty good.

As we were about to enter the store, a man came out to smoke. He was about 175cm tall, with a sharp jawline, friendly eyes, short hair, and a slightly protruding forehead.

When his eyes met mine, he was startled and dropped the cigarette he was holding.

“S-Surely, Kang Jin-hoo?”

I smiled and said,

“Long time no see.”

He limped towards me.

“Hey, Kang Jin-hoo! What brings you here?”

I smiled and replied,

“You told me to come find you after I was discharged, didn’t you?”

He was wearing long pants, so you couldn’t see it, but his right leg was probably prosthetic. He was much thinner than before. He used to work out and take supplements, so he had some muscle.

Looking pleased, he turned his gaze to my side.

“Who’s this?”

“She’s my girlfriend.”

“Ah, your girlfriend…”

His expression was filled with surprise and envy.

“I-Is she foreign?”

“She speaks Korean well, so you don’t have to worry.”

Ellie smiled and greeted him.

“Hello. Jin-hoo has told me a lot about you. My name is Ellie.”

“Yes, hello. I’m Kim Jae-hak, Jin-hoo’s senior.”

Kim Jae-hak said happily,

“You haven’t eaten yet, right? I’ll make you some pizza, so come on in.”

***

The bodyguards waited outside, and we went inside.

It was a small shop with about six tables. It looked like it hadn’t been open long, as the interior and fixtures were clean.

While we sat down, he expertly started making pizza. It was an open kitchen, so we could see him making it.

Ellie said to me in a low voice,

“What’s wrong, Jin-hoo? Your tone has become a bit stiff since earlier.”

“Ah…”

Meeting a senior from my military days must have made me subconsciously revert to military speech. Is this the scary thing about habits?

The steaming pizza was placed on the table. It tasted pretty good.

We ate pizza and chatted about various things.

“I almost had a heart attack when I saw you on TV. I bet everyone in the unit did.”

Indeed, who would have imagined that a soldier you ate and slept alongside in the barracks would become the CEO of a giant corporation?

Kim Jae-hak smiled.

“Come to think of it, the same goes for me. When you see disabled people on TV, it feels like it’s happening to someone else entirely. I never imagined I’d end up like this.”

When I think about it, it’s a strange thing.

We experienced the same accident in the same place. But while I gained the superpower of precognition, he lost a leg.

And from that point on, both of our lives changed dramatically.

“I also spent about a month in the military hospital after the accident. I heard the news after returning to the unit. What have you been up to since then?”

We were transferred to different military hospitals. Unlike me, who was fine, his condition was serious.

Kim Jae-hak told us about his treatment and rehabilitation in the military hospital.

“Did you receive proper compensation?”

“It varies depending on the grade, but if you go through a disability review, you get disability compensation.”

“How much?”

“Eight million won.”

At those words, Ellie’s eyes widened in surprise.

“W-Wait a minute. Eight million won? Not eight million dollars?”

If a similar accident had happened in the US military, receiving 8 million dollars in compensation wouldn’t have been unusual.

But this is South Korea.

The cost of a private’s leg is only 8 million won. They probably think that’s even a lot to give.

Ellie said, as if shouting,

“This is ridiculous! Why does Korea treat soldiers who were injured while serving the country like this?”

I want to ask that too.

If the country genuinely didn’t have the money, I might be able to understand it. But South Korea has already joined the ranks of developed nations and is wealthier than most European countries.

So, this isn’t a problem of money, but of perception and will. The idea that it’s natural for soldiers to sacrifice for the country, so why should they be compensated?

“What about other compensation?”

“That’s the end of the national compensation.”

He explained it to us.

Disability compensation from the medical review is paid only once. And since privates aren’t career soldiers, they aren’t eligible for military pensions. Therefore, they can’t receive injury pensions or national merit pensions either.

What’s even more absurd is that if you’re injured by North Korean mortar fire, it’s classified as a combat injury, but if you’re injured by the explosion of a South Korean mortar, it’s classified as an injury in the line of duty, resulting in reduced compensation. So, if you’re going to get hurt, getting hurt by North Koreans is the way to receive even a little more compensation.

It sounds like crazy talk, but that’s what the law says.

At this point, it’s dumbfounding.

Ellie asked as if something had just occurred to her,

“What about company compensation? If the accident wasn’t caused by user error but by a defect in the product, the manufacturer should also be liable for damages.”

“That’s right.”

Soldiers can’t sue the government for compensation, but they can sue the manufacturer.

Kim Jae-hak’s expression darkened.

“I just settled for 50 million won. Ah! This is a secret. You’re not supposed to disclose the settlement details.”

“Fifty million won? Why did you agree to that?”

“What was I supposed to do when the division commander and corps commander came to the hospital and told me to sign the settlement agreement? I also needed to get treatment.”

While he was hospitalized receiving treatment, generals suddenly appeared and urged him to settle. They called it urging, but it wasn’t easy for a sergeant to refuse the words of generals.

They said that they needed to settle with the company first for the national compensation to proceed properly. They pushed him to settle, and he ended up signing it without really knowing what he was doing.

In short, the Ministry of National Defense brokered the settlement on behalf of the defense contractor.

Ellie looked bewildered again.

“Shouldn’t the Ministry of National Defense be helping the soldier receive the maximum compensation possible? Why are they taking the company’s side?”

“I guess the Ministry of National Defense likes defense contractors.”

Since the Defense Acquisition Program Administration had turned a blind eye to the defects, causing the incident, they probably wanted to resolve the issue quietly without causing too much trouble.

Kim Jae-hak forced a smile.

“Still, thanks to that money, I was able to open this store. Otherwise, I’d probably be at home leeching off my parents.”

The atmosphere seemed to be getting heavier, so I changed the subject.

“If you saw me on TV, why didn’t you come visit the company?”

He said jokingly,

“I used to scold you a lot when you were a private. I thought I might get beaten up if I came.”

I burst out laughing.

“We promised not to hit each other if we met in the real world, didn’t we?”

“Heh, how can I trust that?”

Well, there are occasional news stories about people assaulting their military seniors on the street.

He wore a bitter expression.

“And I wasn’t really in a position to visit, with this body.”

At those words, the atmosphere became heavy again.

“Ah! Did any of the other unit members come to visit?”

“A few came. But I didn’t meet them.”

Junior and senior soldiers he barely remembered were able to visit, but his closest comrade, his mentor, didn’t come, worrying about causing trouble.

Seeing this, it seems the saying “those who have much don’t come, those who have little don’t stay away” is true.

“Does it hurt?”

Kim Jae-hak touched the area below his right knee.

“It does. There’s pain, and sometimes my toes feel itchy.”

Phantom pain?

You might think, how can a leg that isn’t there hurt, but this is a common symptom for amputees.

“For about a year after the injury, I couldn’t even sleep at night. It was so painful and itchy, but I couldn’t scratch or touch it, it was driving me crazy.”

It sounded terrible just thinking about it. Ellie also looked shocked, covering her mouth with her hand.

“Well, it’s much better now. It bothers me sometimes, but it doesn’t keep me up at night.”

I looked around the pizza place.

“Still, you managed to open a shop after all?”

Kim Jae-hak chuckled.

“What else could I do? I can’t exactly get hired anywhere with this body.”

It’s a world where even able-bodied people struggle to find jobs. It must be even harder with a disability.

As we were talking, I sensed something was off. We’d been here for about an hour, and it had been too quiet.

If a customer had recognized me, I would have taken photos with them and signed autographs. It would be good publicity if it went up on social media.

But not a single customer had come in during that time. The store was small, so they probably did mostly delivery, but there hadn’t been any delivery orders either.

I asked cautiously,

“Is this usually a slow time?”

Ellie also looked puzzled.

“Come to think of it, there aren’t many customers. And the pizza is so good.”

“It’s better to see it than to just talk about it. Follow me for a second.”

We went outside.

I hadn’t noticed it much while sitting, but seeing him walk from behind, he definitely had a limp. He used to run around just fine even carrying that heavy mortar.

After leaving the alley, we arrived at a six-lane road. Standing at the crosswalk, he pointed ahead.

“See that store?”

Across the crosswalk was a large, eight-story building. And on the second floor of that building was a pizza place.

The sign was the same: ‘Meister Pizza.’

A large banner on the window read, ‘All Pizzas 40% Off.’ Unlike his store, which was completely empty, the store across the street was bustling with customers.

I asked in bewilderment,

“What is that?”

Kim Jae-hak put a cigarette in his mouth.

“The headquarters’ direct branch. It opened there two months ago.”

The headquarters’ direct branch opened less than 100 meters away?