28-108

Chapter 108. An Inspection? 

One day in September, about two weeks before the battalion’s fall tactical exercise (which included live artillery fire), I was busy preparing for my first training as an operations officer when I received some troubling news from the brigade. 

“What? An inspection out of nowhere? What’s that about?” 

“It’s a detailed inspection targeting all Army units involved in the ‘co-ed unit pilot program.’” 

I was shocked, since we’d just finished a round of various audits last month. The personnel officer from the brigade explained the details. It wasn’t like I was new to the unit I’d been here over a year so why an inspection now? Even considering how slow military bureaucracy can be, something about this inspection felt off. The personnel officer, sipping coffee, added that the inspection team would be arriving as soon as next week. 

“Sigh... And they’re coming next week, just like that. I tried to ask them to adjust the schedule since we have training the following week, but they didn’t even pretend to listen.” 

Hearing this, I was deeply frustrated and cursed to myself. 

‘Why the hell would they do an inspection right before we deploy for training...’ 

After the personnel officer left, I slumped in my chair, trying to cool off, but then realized there was someone who could actually push back against the brigade. I got up and headed straight to the battalion commander’s office. 

Knock, knock, knock! 

“Ma’am, it’s the operations officer.” 

“Come in.” 

Click. 

As soon as I entered and closed the door, Yumi Aunt’s tone softened and she came over to me, subtly pressing her “massive breasts” (under her uniform) against my arm. I followed her lead and sat on the sofa, getting straight to the point. 

“Aunt, they’re sending an inspection team for the co-ed units next week. Is there any way to change the schedule?” 

“Oh, that...” 

Her bright expression instantly darkened when she heard the word “inspection” from her young lover. Then, she said something I hadn’t expected. 

“I also told brigade it didn’t make sense to have an inspection right before training, but they said it was an order from corps headquarters and there’s nothing they can do.” 

“From corps?” 

Hearing “corps” suddenly caught me off guard, but then I remembered the corps commander in our chain of command is the only female corps commander in the Army. I also recalled her notoriously strict stance on “male-female discipline violations.” I started to guess the real purpose of this inspection and felt more than a little nervous. 

‘I’ve slept with five women in the unit, and even with a soldier’s mother...’ 

Despite my unease, I stayed busy with training prep, and before I knew it, a week had passed and inspection day arrived. 

The tension dried my mouth, so I got to work early and finished all my morning tasks. Then, I heard from the CCTV operator that Yumi Aunt had arrived, and that the corps inspection vehicle had entered the gate. 

‘It’s not even 8 a.m. yet?’ 

The inspection team arrived much earlier than the usual 9 a.m. for outside visitors. Their deviation from custom made me frown, but as a mere lieutenant, I couldn’t complain to the inspectors, so I quickly put on a neutral face. 

‘If I, the subject of the inspection, show any hostility, that would be insane...’ 

I took a deep breath and tried to keep my cool as I watched the inspection vehicle pass through the gate. At that moment, Yumi Aunt poked her head into the operations room and spoke to me. 

“Ops officer, when the inspection team comes into the barracks, send them to my office first.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

It’s standard for visitors especially inspectors to have a “tea time” with the commander, so I agreed, giving her a small smile. She returned a sly smile and went back to her office. 

A little later, I saw on the CCTV that the inspection vehicle had parked next to the barracks, and two female officers got out and headed inside. I went to meet them at the door. 

“Salute! I’m the operations officer of the 000 Battalion.” 

“Yes, salute. I’m Major Kim Sojeong from the inspection team. This is Master Sergeant Park Jeongmi.” 

“Nice to meet you both. Let me take you to the battalion commander for a quick greeting...” 

“Yes, let’s do that.” 

I greeted them and led them toward the commander’s office. Thankfully, they followed without issue, and Yumi Aunt’s “tea time” went off without a hitch. 

‘Maybe this will be easier than I thought...’ 

I left the two troublemakers with Yumi Aunt and returned to the operations room, feeling a bit relieved. But then, I heard the battalion commander’s door open much sooner than expected, and soon after, Major Kim and Master Sergeant Park walked into the operations room. 

‘They weren’t even in there for five minutes?’ 

Something felt wrong, and my face hardened again. At that moment, Yumi Aunt, also looking worried, called me from the doorway. 

“Ops officer. Come here for a second.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

I left the room, ignoring the inspectors’ stares, and Yumi Aunt quietly warned me. 

“Jaejun, those two are weird... They barely touched the tea I gave them and left right away, saying they were busy. It’s obvious they came here looking to catch something.” 

She warned me that the inspectors, supposedly there for the “co-ed unit inspection,” were clearly out to nail someone likely me. 

“If things look bad, just keep your mouth shut and endure. I’ll try to handle it.” 

“Okay, Aunt. I’ll message you if anything happens.” 

“Good. I’ll try to find out more about what’s going on.” 

With that, she headed back to her office, phone in hand, while I tried to steady my pounding heart and returned to the operations room. 

“Ops officer. We’ll start by reviewing the unit’s CCTV. You keep working.” 

“Yes. Let me know if you need anything.” 

Major Kim immediately announced she’d be reviewing the battalion’s CCTV, and started giving instructions to the soldier in charge. Soon, hundreds of files appeared on the monitor. 

Since the Army had increased the CCTV retention period to six months, there was an impossibly huge amount of footage no way anyone could review it all in a day. 

‘There’s barely any chance they’ll find anything on CCTV, and with this much footage, it’s impossible to check it all today.’ 

Looking at the endless list of files, I felt a bit more hopeful that the inspection would end without incident. 

‘Why are they even here stirring up trouble in a well-run unit?’ 

Whirr, whirr... 

There’s no end. 

No matter how much I scrolled the mouse wheel, the files just kept coming. With the new corps directive, each CCTV had about 180 files, and with 16 cameras in our battalion... 

“Sigh...” 

That’s 2,880 files each one a full 24 hours long. The thought of having to review all of them made me sigh deeply. 

At the same time, I recalled the corps inspector’s order: 

‘This inspection is by direct order of the corps commander. No matter how long it takes, you must find at least one discipline violation.’ 

Even if it’s a corps commander’s order, being told to just find someone to punish, no matter what, was absurd. On top of that, I’d been feeling down lately from fighting with my fiancé over wedding plans. 

‘Damn... I’m screwed. I can’t just skim through like usual.’ 

Just as I was bracing myself for a much longer trip than expected and about to start playing the oldest video file, my partner, Master Sergeant Park Jeongmi, spoke up from behind. 

“Major, why bother checking everything? Just look at the secluded spots where guys and girls might fool around. I’ll check the footage, so you can go interview the officers.” 

A veteran at catching discipline violations since before female conscription began, Master Sergeant Park’s words felt like a ray of light.