[Breaking News] Mass Riots in Gangneung
"We are live from Gangneung's Coffee Street. Suddenly, people in the crowd are biting and attacking each other. With no clear cause, the area has plunged into chaos. Police have established barricades at the entrance to block access. Authorities are..."
The news felt unreal.
"Hey, Signal Chief. Gangneung's going nuts, huh? It's like Kingsman."
I called out to the signal chief, who was playing a mobile game, seeking agreement.
"Whoa... What the hell's going on? Seriously, it looks like they got chips in their heads or something."
As always, we passed the time with inappropriate jokes.
Weekend duty was always unwelcome. Watching the news was our only form of stress relief.
Just then, the phone in the Command and Control Room rang.
"This is Brigade Duty Officer. You watching the news?"
It was the brigade logistics officer.
Everyone has superiors they hate. He ranked high among them.
We were ordered to dispatch the five-minute standby squad.
Of all days, it had to be on my duty.
The chaos from the news—Gangneung Coffee Street—was now our mission, apparently at the police's request.
I looked at the news again. It was packed due to the weekend.
People were biting each other?
Was that real?
At first, I brushed it off. It looked bad, but it felt like someone else's problem.
But now we're deploying?
What is a five-minute standby squad supposed to do there?
"Duty Officer, what exactly are we supposed to do out there?"
Sergeant Yoo, the squad leader, asked the question we were all thinking.
...Fortunately, he was one of the most reliable NCOs in the battalion.
"How long will it take to get there?"
Instead of answering, I threw a question back.
"Factoring in military vehicles, at least an hour."
Sergeant Yoo answered promptly.
"Alright, head out first. I'll confirm things and call you."
I wanted to verify the situation before committing.
"Understood."
Yoo left without another word.
Soon after, the gate sergeant reported the vehicle had departed.
I called the brigade duty officer to report the deployment and asked for a clear mission.
"They've deployed. What's the exact mission?"
Could they stop sending us out without clear orders for once?
"I'm still checking. Hold on."
He didn't even seem interested in the conversation.
Through the phone, I heard him talking to someone else.
"...Live rounds? No, sir. Yes. The 56th Battalion's standby squad has already been deployed. Yes. Understood."
Did he just say live rounds?
"Sir, are we carrying live ammunition?"
Some things you just ask directly.
"Yeah. Hang on. What's your position again?"
As usual, he ignored the question.
"I'm the 2nd Battery Commander."
Alright then, let's answer your questions.
He was always curious.
"Who's the standby squad leader? A Staff Sergeant?"
Wrong.
"Sergeant First Class Yoo Yeongmin."
Do you even know who that is?
"Alright, anyway. You're going with them. Help manage the scene."
So much for a peaceful duty shift.
"Sir, if I go, who stays at battalion HQ?"
A last-ditch effort.
"Leave the assistant officer. Bring your weapon and ammo."
"...Are we really taking live rounds? What's the objective?"
So basically, I don't trust you.
"Goddamn it... Just do what you're told! I don't know either. Are you... Kang Jihoo?"
He must've checked the system.
"Yes, sir."
"I'll call your cell if needed. Keep it on."
"..."
"Why aren't you answering, you little sh*t? Move!"
Click.
Just like always, the call ended with nothing useful gained.
"Ah... f**k. Seriously."
Couldn't hold back the curse.
"Logistics officer again?"
The signal chief, reading my reaction, asked like it was routine.
"Still don't get how that guy got promoted. Signal Chief, I'm heading out. Watch over the battalion. Give me the keys, I need to unlock the armory."
Time to calm down and focus on the mission.
"Ammo? We're taking ammo?"
Quick on the uptake, the signal chief walked toward the storage room.
"Yeah, we're supposed to."
As the alarm blared, I quickly shut it off and grabbed the rounds.
Then I called the battalion commander.
"Sir, I'm being deployed too."
I gave a brief report.
"Got it. I'm on my way to base. Does the operations officer know?"
Oh. No?
"The assistant officer is informing him now."
He wasn't, but I signaled the signal chief to make the call.
He picked up his phone.
"Alright. Be careful and don't issue ammo lightly. Report once you confirm the situation."
"Understood, sir."
After ending the call, I loaded up my gear, weapon, and ammo into the standby vehicle.
Then I got in and called Sergeant Yoo.
"Where are you, Sergeant?"
"Already on the highway. What's the mission?"
Of course he asked. Reliable as ever.
"I'm coming too. The brigade said they'd call me. I'll keep you updated."
He didn't get an answer again, but didn't press.
I also didn't mention the live ammo.
No point stirring panic with vague details.
I stepped on the gas, intent on overtaking Yoo.
I knew speeding in a military vehicle was asking for punishment...
...especially from that logistics bastard.
But I figured, screw it. If I'm gonna get yelled at, may as well make it worth it.
Just then, my phone rang. Operations Officer.
But he wasn't giving orders. He wanted to know what I knew.
He kept asking, "Did the battalion commander say that too?"
More calls came in. Brigade. Corps.
No new information. Just questions. More inconvenience while driving.
Shouldn't the corps know if police made a request?
Maybe I just don't understand how this works.
Before long, I arrived in Gangneung.
Where were we supposed to go again? Ah, over there.
I spotted a sweating, older officer with a baton.
I pulled over. He saw my uniform and approached.
"You're with the military?"
He gave me a light salute. Some officers still do that out of courtesy.
"Yes. From the 56th Battalion. Can you explain what's going on?"
"It's chaos over there. People are going berserk, attacking each other. I've never seen anything like this. We were told to block this intersection completely. Same on the other end. We can't get in touch with officers inside Coffee Street."
He seemed like a talker.
"So what exactly are we supposed to do? It's hard for soldiers to engage civilians."
Sometimes honesty is the best route.
The gist of his rambling was that even the police didn't know what was going on. Some kind of mass hysteria. And they wanted us to find out.
Was this really something for an artillery unit's standby squad?
"Let me report this to battalion first."
I got back in the vehicle. First things first: Yoo.
"Sergeant, where are you? Head to Anmok Intersection. You'll see a Rexton."
"What's the mission?"
Of course he asked.
"We'll talk when you get here. Hurry."
I ended the call quickly.
While waiting, I reported to battalion and brigade.
Corps would get the report from brigade.
While I was on the phone, Yoo arrived.
Unfortunately, during the call with brigade, I wasted too much time. The logistics officer started yelling again about not reporting fast enough.
Still no clarification about the ammo.
Anyway, the final instruction was: cooperate with police.
"Sergeant Yoo, we need to go in and figure out what's happening. That's our mission. Some officers went in and haven't responded. If it looks dangerous, report immediately. Wait—no. I'll go with you."
I'm not the type to send subordinates into danger alone.
"Understood. That all?"
Don't know, man. Stop asking.
"You picked solid guys, right? Let's go."
Yoo didn't ask further. He silently returned to his vehicle.
I took point and led the way.
What we saw wasn't mere chaos.
It was a scene straight out of a disaster movie.
No—worse. It was real.
The news barely scratched the surface.
The scene was soaked in blood, and the sheer shock made my mind burn.