28-92

Chapter 92. Promotion and Position Change 

Before I knew it, the year had changed. After finishing the intense, not-so-cold but rather scorching winter training, I was promoted to First Lieutenant, now with two diamonds on my rank insignia. 

With the promotion came a tiny raise in salary, which only confirmed for me that an early discharge was the only answer. Then, strange rumors about my next assignment started circulating. 

No one knew where it started, but both officers and enlisted soldiers were whispering the same ominous rumor: 

"The next operations officer is going to be First Lieutenant Kim Jaejun?" 

Operations officer? What the hell is this? 

Normally, for short-term officers who didn’t graduate from the military academy, the artillery battery commander would serve two years, or, if you were an observer, you’d be reassigned to a training or intelligence officer role. I’d planned to enjoy another year as battery commander, now that I was finally used to it... 

But suddenly, I was being thrown into the hellish "operations officer" position!! 

The current operations officer barely gets off work on time even after pulling all-nighters, looking more like a zombie than a human. Realizing the life-or-death seriousness of this, I rushed straight to Suna noona to get to the bottom of things. 

Knock, knock. 

"Battery commander, it’s the former battery commander." 

"Come in." 

Click, clack! 

I entered in a hurry, and Suna noona greeted me with a worried, slightly uncomfortable look. 

"Jaejun, what’s up?" 

"Noona... Is it true I’m the next operations officer?" 

Hoping for a "no," I asked about the rumor. At that moment, her hands, which had been typing, froze. Not only did they stop, but they began to tremble slightly. 

As my anxiety grew, she finally spoke. 

"Well... about that... Jaejun..." 

Her ominous hesitation made me suspect the worst. Still, I held onto a sliver of hope—until she delivered the "death sentence." 

"You’re the next operations officer, Jaejun." 

"Huh..." 

"Originally, the battalion commander wanted the current operations officer to do another year... but Mihyun begged to be reassigned because it was too hard, and in the fall, when they were picking from the other first lieutenants... your name came up." 

Hearing Suna noona’s confirmation that the rumor was true, I let out a hollow sigh and felt the strength drain from my legs. 

She went on to explain the details, but after hearing my "death sentence," nothing really registered. For a moment, I thought about begging the battalion commander to get out of the assignment, but after remembering her stubbornness over the past nine months, I realized it was hopeless. 

"Our battalion commander never changes her mind once she’s decided... Mom, I’m screwed..." 

... 

After confirming the rumor about my new position, time passed quickly, and eventually the official order appointing me as the next operations officer was issued. 

I was now the battalion’s official errand boy, with no way out. 

Ha ha, hello, I’m Kim the errand boy. I handle all the battalion’s grunt work. Damn. 

... 

A week after taking over from the previous operations officer, who looked so relieved, I’d already been working overtime every day, even coming in on weekends to catch up on unfinished work. One evening, as I walked back to my quarters under a crimson sunset, I found myself thinking: 

"Should I just desert? Maybe then they’d give me a different assignment..." 

The thought of having to live this miserable life for a whole year made my eyes well up, and I even considered extreme options. 

If I deserted and then turned myself in, I probably wouldn’t go to a court-martial, and they wouldn’t keep a troublemaker as operations officer. 

Not long ago, I’d been living a happy, carefree life, and now I was having such rebellious thoughts. At least I hadn’t been assigned as duty officer yet, right? 

Honk! 

Just as tears were about to fall, I heard a car horn behind me. Startled, I turned around to see a familiar black SUV. As soon as I recognized the owner, my right hand went up in salute. 

"Salute!" 

Whirr— 

The car slowed down and the passenger window rolled down, revealing the battalion commander in casual sweats. 

"Jaejun, were you at the unit and heading home?" 

"Yes, ma’am. I just came in to finish some work and was heading back to my quarters." 

"Really? Very diligent, I like it... Get in. I’m heading out too, I’ll give you a ride." 

"I’m fine, ma’am." 

"Oh, don’t be like that, just get in." 

I politely declined, but she insisted, following the Korean rule of asking three times. So I got in the passenger seat. 

Even though she was the one who’d thrown me into the hell of the operations officer job, her movie-star looks and those massive breasts—each bigger than a watermelon—made me forget all about it. 

My inner man, exhausted from overwork, woke up for the first time in a while and made me get in the car. 

Those huge breasts of the battalion commander. And not in uniform, but in a thin T-shirt. Opportunities like this don’t come often. 

Once I was buckled in, she started driving. Before long, she caught me sneaking glances at her chest and spoke. 

"Jaejun, it’s been tough since you became operations officer, right? You must hate me for forcing you into that role." 

"N-no, ma’am!" 

I almost blurted out "Yes!" but managed to shake my head and give the textbook answer. She chuckled and continued. 

"No, I know it’s been hard, and you probably resent me. I feel bad for putting you in that spot. I know how tough it is, and how much you must hate being thrown into it out of nowhere." 

"Yes..." 

Her voice was the gentlest I’d ever heard, and I felt my chest tighten with emotion as she slowed the car. 

"So, you haven’t had dinner yet, have you?" 

"No, not yet." 

"Then come eat at my place tonight. I’ll grill some meat for you." 

"Yes, thank you!" 

As soon as she mentioned "meat," my body answered before my mind could, since I’d been skipping meals due to overtime. 

... 

After accepting her dinner invitation—part encouragement, part bribe—her car quickly left the base and stopped in front of her quarters, a classic single-story house, unlike my apartment-style barracks. 

Clang, whirr— 

She opened the freshly painted iron gate, and we walked through the yard and into the house. 

One thing struck me as odd: the house was eerily quiet, as if no one else was there. 

I knew the battalion commander was married and had a middle-schooler, but... 

Even as I wondered about it, the only sounds in the silent house were her busy footsteps and the lights being switched on. She came over and handed me a glass of what looked like orange juice. 

"Jaejun, sit and have this while I get dinner ready." 

"Oh, it’s okay, ma’am. I can’t just sit and do nothing..." 

"Shh! It’s fine. You’re not my subordinate now, you’re a guest. Just relax, okay?" 

"But still..." 

"If you keep insisting, I’ll order you to relax." 

With a firm face, she told me to sit on the sofa and rest. Giving up, I did as she said, and she smiled faintly before heading to the kitchen. 

As she walked away, I couldn’t help but watch her retreating figure. 

Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle ❤️ 

Her big, heart-shaped butt swayed in her sweatpants, filling my view.