“To boldly go where no man has gone before is the true meaning of being a warrior, a patriot, and most importantly, a true blue South soldier”. Those were the last words Hyuk heard from his Battalion Commander before he passed out for reasons he did not know. Hyuk, still in an unstable condition, was jolted awake by the resonating screams of the siren at the military hospital in Panmunjom, the contentious strip of land that separates south from north. Hyuk, who was stupefied, scrutinized his surroundings. Despite being in a groggy and woozy state of mind, he was able to make out what was happening around him. Next to him, an old lady was kneeling at the side of a badly wounded soldier, weeping, as blood dripped down his arm and soiled the white linen of the hospital bed. It was an unnerving moment for Hyuk. In attempt to get rid of the disturbing thought, swiftly turned his head in the other direction. As he turned, he screamed at the top of voice, disrupting the once eerie silence of the room. Hyuk felt a sharp pain in his neck. He reached out and prodded the side of his neck. A burning sensation ran through his neck. It dawned upon him that it was a bullet wound. Everything came back to him.
Hyuk remembered everything that had happened before he passed out from the bullet wound on his neck. Hyuk was holed up behind a bank of sandbags neatly stacked into a fortified bunker. They had received intelligence that a platoon of opposition soldiers had infiltrated into the De-Militarized Zone in Panmunjom. As sun withdrew into the western sky, ushering in the night, Hyuk saw the silhouettes of the intruders against the bland landscape. He picked out the distinct fatigues of the North soldiers. He recognized the flag, boldly emblazoned on the fatigues – a blood-red flag with blue markings down both the lengths and a white circle with a red start at its center – the notorious flag that screamed of communism and unashamed brutality and subjugation of its citizens. Hyuk got word from his Battalion Commander to lead his platoon, the Chollima Platoon, to engage the unwelcome intruders. He stood up and barked orders to his platoon to move forward in an encircling maneuver. Just then, the platoon commander slowly tiptoed towards Hyuk and whispered with a sinister undertone into his ear, “To boldly go where no man has gone before is the true meaning of being a warrior, a patriot, and most importantly, a true blue South soldier”. A chill ran down Hyuk’s already-ruptured spine. Just then, a gunshot rang out and the whiz of a bullet knocked Hyuk out. Hyuk fell to the ground as droplets of blood splattered all over the cold, earthy soil. Despite his vision being masked by the blood that encircled his head, he was able to make out the figure of a shadowy figure slowly walking away from Hyuk’s body, cocking a pistol and shoving it into his pocket as he cackled sinisterly.
That was all that Hyuk had remembered. And there he was, stretched out in a military hospital. He could hear the faint gunshots in the distance punctuated by mortar explosions. Every gunshot marked the gory death of a young South soldier foolishly charging into battle in defense of his country. Panmunjom was the first line of defense and losing it would enable a full scale invasion by the North. The South was at risk. But what could Hyuk do? His heart raced. Being immobilized in bed was not his idea of serving his country. As he fell deep into thought, his attention was drawn to the blood-stained pistol on the side table. It was cold to the touch. Then it hit him. He had to fight for the land that he called home. Wiping away the blood that dripped from his lips, he picked up the gun and weakly limped out of the military hospital, occasionally faltering, as he whispered weakly, “For the South. For the South.” He exited the hospital, ready to face the opposing forces.
“For the South.”
