1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 27



Only Krnovel

Episode 27

I would have liked to have personally checked on the student’s condition and administered at least some simple first aid.

But there were so many eyes watching us that it was difficult for us to step forward ourselves.

I had no choice but to give the medicine that was overflowing from my bag to Seongcheol.

Fortunately, the medicine seems to have worked and the student seems to have overcome the crisis.

For a while the faculty and staff apartments were noisy.

We had no choice but to stay in Seongcheol’s room for a day and wait until the sun rose.

“Do you smoke?”

“Oh, thank you… … .”

Even though it was very late, Seongcheol was having a hard time falling asleep.

Jin-kyung Kim and I brought him to the room and asked him the whole story while offering him a cigarette.

Seongcheol, who hesitated at first, soon felt that there was no answer and finally began to talk.

“There’s a bad kid over here named Sergeant Park. He’s usually in charge of a civilian camp, but sometimes he gets drunk and starts flirting with girls. I usually get along with him, but I think he crossed the line a little this time.”

“So, Mr. Hyungshik… … .”

“I held it in for so long that it finally exploded. Honestly, I would have done the same thing if I were there.”

Does this make sense? Not only did the soldiers touch civilians, but they also committed violence against them?

If this were normal times, it would have been controversial and even made the news for a while.

But unfortunately, the social system itself in this world is slowly collapsing.

This was nothing compared to the looting and killing that was going on in the streets.

“Do your superiors know?”

“Maybe only some of you know. We are so short-staffed that it’s hard to take care of such things. Captain Kang is especially busy.”

“Captain Kang?”

“Yes, I am the person in charge here.”

No, is this all a mere Captain Jjamjjigger can do?

At the same university that Yebin is at?

In that moment, I felt a surge of unpleasant emotions and ended up crumpling up the cigarette I was smoking.

When Seongcheol was flustered, Jinkyung Kim, who was next to him, stepped in and took control of the situation.

“What does Captain Kang do?”

“This was originally a shelter. But as soon as the incident happened, all the higher-ups were gone. At that time, Captain Kang was the only one left, so he naturally became the person in charge of the shelter.”

“Then the people gathered here… … .”

“There is a diverse mix of people from the same company, other units, and even reservists. But 90% of the population are local residents or students.”

The composition of the group was very diverse, including soldiers, local residents, and even students from a nearby middle and high school.

But the students, who are the real owners of this school, were being treated this way.

“Are things really bad?”

“First of all, there is a severe shortage of food. It seems like we do most of the chores, but these days we can barely eat one meal a day.”

Mr. Seongcheol must have had a lot of complaints built up over time, because he kept venting his complaints to us, who were meeting him for the first time.

Actually, I’m going through such a difficult time at a time when I should be back in school and focusing on my studies.

All I could do was pat him on the shoulder and offer some encouragement.

“So, are you going to go find your nephews now? Where are you two staying?”

“I don’t have a specific place to live. I think I’ll be staying near Naksungdae for the time being.”

“No, just stay here. There are plenty of rooms left on the fourth floor.”

“Yes? Is that okay?”

“Anyway, no one will care, so even if you two are there, no one will know. If the kids ask who I am, I’ll just say you’re an old man I know.”

I was worried about going up and down the mountain in the future, but fortunately, Seongcheol provided me with a place to stay.

I was truly grateful, so I repeatedly expressed my gratitude and gave him a pack of cigarettes.

“You don’t have to give me this… … ”

“Share it with your friends.”

In a situation like now, a box of cigarettes could be exchanged for just about anything.

Seongcheol, whose face had been filled with deep thought, smiled for the first time and lowered his head.

“thank you!”

A satisfactory transaction where both parties benefit from each other always ends up with a clean slate.

* * *

For the first time in a long time, I was able to relax comfortably in a room with warm heating.

But after wandering around in dreamland for a while, Kim Jin-kyung hurriedly woke me up.

“Mr. Daesu.”

“Hmm, is it morning already?”

“It’s 4 a.m. Seongcheol just left.”

At 4 a.m., before the sun had even risen, the students went out to look for supplies.

You guys are really having a hard time.

I quickly got up from my seat, tidied up the blanket, and quickly grabbed my bag and weapon.

“How much food is left?”

“I think this is the last one.”

In order to make my body as light as possible, I took only the bare minimum of food and water that would weigh me.

But I wasn’t too worried because the supplies I had collected were still there next to the boat.

I’ll have to bring it when I have time.

Of course, Coco’s favorite dog gum too.

I shared the last bit of chocolate with Kim Jin-kyung and left the faculty apartment.

The early morning before the sun had risen was so cold that I was shivering all over.

Perhaps that was why the campus was particularly deserted and the soldiers standing guard were hardly visible.

No longer feeling the need to hide, we headed towards our destination by the shortest route.

After some time had passed, I could see the famous main gate of Korea University in the distance.

“Isn’t that Seongcheol over there?”

At that moment, a group of college students, led by Seongcheol, were making their way through the snowstorm at the main gate.

They were all carrying large bags, and judging by the number of armed soldiers they were with, it seemed they were being mobilized to transport supplies.

Even from a distance, it feels lethargic.

Everyone had no strength in their steps, perhaps because they had not eaten or rested properly.

We looked at that sight with bitter eyes and then started walking towards our destination again.

CLANG!

The admissions office was locked tight, as if no one had been coming and going during that time.

But we skillfully climbed over the windows and railings and stepped onto the second floor of the building.

It was quiet inside.

There was no sign of life anywhere.

Jin-kyung Kim and I quickly crossed the hallway and soon walked to the Admissions Office on the 4th floor.

Fortunately, most of the offices were preserved intact, including the Office of Admissions.

Knock knock.

I carefully opened the door and turned on the flashlight, shaking off the flying dust.

“I’ll look into this.”

“please.”

First, I started searching through the cabinets to find admission documents related to Yebin.

Just now, I was watching college students struggling, and my heart became even more anxious.

I’ve been weak since I was young, so I’m worried that something might have happened.

As the reality I had been ignoring came into view, cold sweat flowed and my fingertips trembled.

“I found it!”

But at that moment, Jin-kyung Kim, who had been rummaging through the cabinet for a while, called me urgently.

The documents she found contained Yebin’s personal information along with a photo ID.

Without saying who would go first, we ran to the desk with the documents and placed them on the desk.

Jin-kyung Kim, who was becoming impatient, stuck next to me and kept urging me.

“Where are you? And what is it?”

As I turned the pages of the papers with trembling hands, I found out what Yebin’s department I was so curious about.

“… …Business Administration.”

It makes me laugh strangely.

At the same time, joy, regret, sadness, ecstasy, and other indescribable emotions flooded my vision.

I wiped my eyes, which had become moist without me knowing, and carefully took care of Yebin’s admission documents.

Now the high ground is starting to come into view.

“Let’s go right away.”

As the sun rises, the temperature rises and people on campus begin to become more active.

Since we needed to move before then, we tried to leave the building right away and go to the business school.

Hehe!

But at that moment, Coco, who was looking around, suddenly stopped walking and wagged her tail.

The smell of cigarettes?

A cigarette smell that hadn’t been there until just a moment ago was now wafting from the back of the building.

fizzle!

Jin-kyung Kim and I, startled, quickly hid ourselves and looked at the back of the building.

There were two soldiers wearing ponchos, smoking cigarettes and talking.

“What time are you at today?”

“This is the beginning.”

“Wow, I’m so jealous. Why did you suddenly change your work schedule? Are there that few people available right now?”

“Didn’t you hear that yesterday? You know, the guy who broke Sergeant Park’s forehead last time? He was supposed to be interviewed this time, but Sergeant Park came in person and told us to lock him up in Building 902.”

When the topic of Sergeant Park came up, the senior who had been smoking a cigarette hardened his expression.

“What? Why? He just happened to be making a fuss by himself and ended up falling over.”

“What can we do when they are making a fuss about getting out of here? Sergeant Park is going crazy saying that he’s caught and that he needs to be dealt with immediately. Some of them even lynched him there.”

“No, no matter how wrong we were, this is not a summary punishment. Did we come here because we wanted to? We all had no choice but to run away.”

“But that’s because I’m a soldier.”

The two soldiers grumbled for a long time with heavy expressions on their faces, as if they had many complaints about the campus.

But he said that it was only a matter of time before he put out his cigarette and left the smoking area.

Kim Jin-kyung and I, who had been secretly eavesdropping on the conversation from the side, spoke with serious faces.

“It’s like a story about two people, right?”

“It’s 100%.”

If it weren’t for Private First Class Oh Chan-il and Private First Class Lee Hyeon-su, there wouldn’t be many people who would do such a brazen thing.

Having accidentally obtained a clue, I spread out the map and checked where Building 902 was.

“It’s close to here? It’s right next door.”

“… … Let me think about it for a moment.”

Oh Chan-il and Lee Hyeon-su are currently in the military and should have returned to their unit.

But the two people who didn’t know that I was here refused to do this until the end, and even bloodshed broke out between the two sides.

I don’t want to blame my companions.

Because everyone is worried about me.

But if things go wrong, even by a very small chance, both of them will be in danger.

After much thought, I decided to put aside the standard of principles for a moment.

“Let’s save these two people first.”

Right now, Yebin is important, but securing new recruits for the group is also important.

At least I planned to try my best within the limits of my abilities.

As I was about to leave with that determination, Kim Jin-kyung suddenly grabbed my hand and asked me seriously.

“Before you go, let’s make one thing clear.”

“yes?”

“If you go there, you might end up fighting soldiers. You know what that means, Mr. Dae-su. Are you really willing to risk your life?”

Sneaking in to find people and rescuing those who have been captured are two entirely different things.

As Kim Jin-kyung said, there could have been a clash with the soldiers in the process of rescuing the two people.

If you’re going with a reasonable level of determination, then are you saying you shouldn’t even try?

But before I retired, and even now that I am retired, my answer to this question has always been the same.

“yes.”

Then, Jin-kyung Kim stood up from her seat and looked at me with a subtle expression, as if she knew or didn’t know.

Judging by the corner of his mouth going up, he was clearly quite pleased with the current situation.

“What are you doing? Go quickly.”

With all the clues in hand, we left the Admissions Office and headed to Building 902.

“But, Mr. Jin-kyung.”

“yes?”

“Please let go of my hand. It’s starting to hurt.”

Maybe it’s because he used to box, but the grip strength he uses to hold hands is no joke.

“Tsk!”

Kim Jin-kyung, startled, quickly let go of his hand and ran forward first.

Hehe!

“… … Is this something to curse at?”

When I reacted in disbelief, Coco raised one of her front paws as if asking me to catch her too.

“Right.”

It’s Coco after all.

So I tied the loosened bandage on her front paw again and followed after Kim Jin-kyung.

The snowstorm is getting worse right now.