IF YOU'RE HANDSOME LIFE IS EASIER

030

How many times has the high ground changed hands?

Twenty? Thirty? At some point, I even forgot I was supposed to be counting.

How many more people have to die for this war to end?

The war that I thought would end quickly has dragged on, worsened by the unexpected intervention of those backstabbing little weasels.

Thanks to the arrival of reinforcements, we managed to reclaim about half of the land.

Is this really right?

Everyone who had that question ended up dead.

Why are we even fighting this war?

Those who pondered such thoughts have also perished.

All that’s left are those armed with guns, lacking purpose or will.

Having lost our humanity and drifted far from morality, perhaps we didn’t even realize we’d come to this other world.

“Or maybe it’s hell.”

I stare at the gun I picked up before learning to read.

My parents have died, and in the end, my sister too,

And all that remains is this single gun.

“Sister, what’s my name again?”

Seriously, now I’m starting to see the gun as my sister.

I long to devour a mountain of white rice, drenched in rich soup.

When on earth is the revolution going to happen?

Crackle crackle!

I see distant voices pouring out through the radio.

The one listening has the demeanor of a stern tin can.

Now that all the wise and clever ones are dead,

What remains for us is just a scarecrow repeating the words “Great Leader Comrade.”

When they tell us to do 100, it only feels satisfying if we do exactly 100.

An ignorant and foolish commander is sitting atop our heads.

Yet we can still take the high ground,

Probably because there are more of us than the bullets of those puppet soldiers.

“Interpreting it differently means we’re just numbers, huh.”

The direction of my unfocused gaze rests on the bulletproof helmet.

Even the question of whether it would stop a bullet seems too valuable to waste, so I set it atop my head.

“Listen up, everyone! The liberation of our homeland is near! Move faster!”

What liberation are we talking about?

Does that even exist?

I want to ask that, but it’s far too late now.

We’ve come too far to be asking such things.

++++++

Whoosh!

The nameless student soldier’s emotions instantly drain away.

“This is completely different from Lee Jae-yi.”

What Lee Jae-yi had was hatred, inferiority, and blind talent, while the student soldier feels only emptiness and longing for his sister.

Having lost all humanity and forgotten any real purpose,