My Girlfriend Is Very Good to Me

TL/Editor: looloo

Status: ongoing

Illustrations: posted in discord

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After the tearful enlistment ceremony, the first week at the training center dragged on monotonously.

The drill instructors' barking orders didn't faze me, probably because I hadn't enlisted right at twenty. I just felt bad for their throats.

Of course, these days it's impossible to cross the line with verbal abuse or physical violence like in the old days.

The first week lacked proper training. We mostly underwent medical exams, learned to make our beds with military precision, and practiced basic marching formations.

Waking up early was second nature, so that wasn't difficult. Even the morning jog after breakfast was manageable. My three months of working out and yoga had paid off.

The toughest part of mornings was securing a decent toilet stall. Watching sweaty guys with desperate faces milling around the bathroom was hellish.

I lucked out with my bunkmates. Since many were non-active duty enlistees, there was a general air of ease.

If someone messed up, the attitude was always, "Let's just move on, no big deal."

The guy next to me, however, was an active-duty enlistee. He seemed dejected when he realized he was surrounded by non-active duty soldiers.

Still, we hit it off quickly. He must have been bored too, because he struck up a conversation as soon as our bunks were assigned.

"Hey, aren't you that little girl's dad? The one who was crying so loudly."

"Yeah, that's me. You heard, huh?"

"It was impossible not to... I was nearby."

Later, when I introduced myself to others, many remembered me as 'the dad of the girl who cried loudly'. They might not have seen my face, but they'd all heard Sarang's wails.

Well, Sarang did cry pretty damn loudly. Everyone except those seated on the opposite side or who'd gone in early must have heard her.

That's how we started talking. Honestly, you can't help but get close to the people around your bunk. There's nothing else to do but chat.

The guy next to me, a bit on the chubby side, was named Yu Jun. He'd enlisted after finishing his first year of college - the typical route.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

True to his plump appearance, he had quite the appetite. He'd even smuggled in seasoning packets and a few small snacks.

Every evening after dinner, during our free time, we'd secretly munch on corn snacks at our bunks while chatting. We quickly dropped the formalities.

As we opened up about our lives, the topic naturally shifted to my family.

"Wow, your kid's four? So you had her at twenty?"

"Yep."

"And you had a kid then but still got into Seoyeon University? That's fucking insane."

"I studied my ass off. Quit gaming and everything, man."

"Come on~ You know what I mean. Got a picture of your daughter?"

"Of course."

"Can I see?"

"Sure, why not."

I had no problem showing pictures. Whether of Heena or Sarang. They were my pride and joy, the ones I loved most in this world.

I could predict his reaction. Sarang was cute enough to elicit gasps, and my wife was even prettier than he might imagine.

Sure enough, as soon as Yu Jun saw the photos, his jaw dropped. He kept looking back and forth between the pictures and me.

"Wait... What? Hold on... What the fuck. This isn't photoshopped, right?"

"What photoshop, you idiot."

"This doesn't make sense, fuck!! What's up with your wife?!"

"Yeah, Heena is pretty cute."

"Cute? Just cute? Life's unfair, goddammit. Spit out the seasoning I gave you, seriously."

"Bleaurgh~"

"This pisses me off."

We bickered a bit over Heena's beauty, but I was used to that. Yu Jun grumbled for a while but soon realized that Sarang was also a beauty and ended up with a proud dad smile.

"But your daughter's super pretty too. Does she do child modeling or something?"

"We've had offers, but I turned them down. It's scary exposing kids to media these days. You never know what kind of crap they'll hear."

"True... There are a lot of psychos on the internet."

After that, I showed Yu Jun a few more pictures of Sarang at his request, while I too gazed at Heena and Sarang, burning their images into my memory once again.

I missed them terribly, even though it had only been two or three days. It was depressing that the face I saw upon waking wasn't Heena's doll-like visage, but Yu Jun's broad mug.

I also desperately missed Sarang crawling into my arms, calling "Daddy, daddy." Her tiny, warm body.

The hardest part wasn't the tasteless food or the drills. It was not seeing my wife and daughter.

Still over 30 days left.

---

Raei Translations

---

A few more days passed after befriending Yu Jun and getting caught rolling around after secretly eating seasoning packets. I was bored to death.

With so many people, even getting combat uniforms and supplies took ages. Interspersed with that were endless drills - that was the entirety of the first week.

If I hadn't become friends with Yu Jun and the others to chat with, I might have gone AWOL.

During that time, the instructors and drill sergeants did their best to set the mood, shouting and disciplining us, but it wasn't a big deal if you didn't take it seriously. Especially since it wasn't one-on-one, but something everyone went through together.

Of course, the hardest part of military service is being cut off from society. But for me, it was only 5 weeks before I could commute, so honestly, it felt a bit like a camp.

The sadness of not seeing my family was similar though.

As we endured this boredom, the weekend finally approached. The weekend of our first phone call.

"You're calling your daughter, right? But won't she cry again?"

"Well... I still have to call."

"The instructor said we have to call our parents for the first week."

"Yeah, I heard that from my brother beforehand, but my parents said to just call Heena... I mean, my wife."

"Oh~ Your brothers must have already been through this. I'm the eldest son."

"Then you should call your parents. Don't cry while you're on the phone."

"I might..."

Yu Jun was fidgeting nervously, clearly looking forward to the call. I tried to calm him down while mentally rehearsing the phone number.

With so many people at home who'd been through military service and all the information I'd heard in advance, Heena was probably eagerly awaiting my call too.

She's probably been sitting with her phone since around 3 PM today, a weekend, with Sarang by her side.

"Three, two, one! Hang up and return to your rooms! Next!"

Finally, it was Yu Jun's and my turn. We encouraged each other to have a good call, then stood in front of our respective phones.

My hand trembled slightly. Come to think of it, it had been a while since I'd dialed Heena's number directly.

I carefully dialed the number to avoid mistakes and put the receiver to my ear.

-Brrrring, click!

The call connected before the first ring even finished. I breathed a sigh of relief. Even though I'd expected it, part of me had worried something might have happened to prevent the call.

Cautiously, with a trembling voice, I spoke.

"Hello?"

[Honey?]

"Heena!"

[Yes! It's me! You called earlier than I expected! I thought it would take at least a couple more hours... Ah... It's so good to hear your voice... Is everything okay?

Are you hurt anywhere? Is the food alright?]

Heena's voice, which I heard after a week, was unchanged, full of concern for me, just like before I enlisted. My eyes welled up unexpectedly, even though we'd just started talking.

Although military life wasn't as bad as I'd thought, and I knew I'd see Heena and Sarang again soon after just 5 weeks, being forcibly separated from my family was making me emotional.

But I didn't want to worry Heena, and I'd just told Yu Jun not to cry, so I swallowed my tears out of pride.

"It's fine. The food here is actually better than I expected. Heeseong hyung was just trying to scare me."

In reality, the food quality varied greatly depending on the menu, and it was slop 50% of the time. But I couldn't be honest about that.

[Really? That's a relief... Can you call next week too?]

"Probably? As long as nothing goes wrong, I think I can."

[Okay... You can't talk for long, right? Then I'll let Sarang...]

[Mom! Is that Dad?! Daddy!!]

[Okay, okay! I'll put Sarang on! I love you!]

"Oh, okay! I love you too!"

I could hear Sarang fussing in the background. Soon, Heena must have handed over the phone, because my daughter's voice, which I'd missed so much, came through the receiver.

[Daddy! Is that really Daddy?]

"Of course it's Daddy. Sarang, have you been listening to Mommy well while Daddy's been away?"

[Yes! Sarang has been a good girl! They said if Sarang is good, Daddy will come back faster!]

"Really? Our Sarang, you've been so good and well-behaved? Daddy will have to come back quickly then."

[Then are you coming tomorrow?!]

"No, tomorrow's not possible... Daddy has to sleep thirty..."

[If we sleep thirty-three more nights, Daddy will come! Sarang is counting every day!]

"Wow, Sarang is so smart! That's right. Daddy will come after thirty-three more nights, so you need to listen well to Mommy, Grandma, and Grandpa.

Okay?"

[Okay! Sarang will be a good girl! Daddy has to come back quickly to see Sarang too!]

I'd been worried that Sarang might still be feeling down, but it seemed like Heena and the others had comforted her well.

Hearing Sarang's bright voice, which sometimes echoed in my ears like an auditory hallucination, lifted a big worry off my shoulders.

"Three! Two! One! Hang up and return to your rooms!"

But that warm feeling was short-lived. I hurriedly added one last thing to Sarang.

"Sarang! Daddy has to go now, okay? After seven more nights, Daddy will call again! I love you!"

[Daddy? Daddy!!]

-Click.

I heard her calling out to me at the end, but I hung up without delay. The person behind me was probably looking forward to calling their family as much as I had been.

That call, shorter than expected, left me walking back to the barracks with a mix of disappointment and happiness, recalling Heena and Sarang's voices. As I was walking, replaying their voices in my head, I saw Yu Jun approaching.

"Sniff... Sob..."

Like many of our fellow trainees, Yu Jun couldn't contain his emotions after talking to his family and was crying.

I'd joked earlier about not crying, but it wouldn't be human to tease him at a moment like this.

I patted Yu Jun's back as we returned to our room together.

Thirty-three nights, huh.

Yeah. If I can just endure that long, I can go see them again.

My beloved family.

---

Raei Translations

---

(feat. Heena)

After the call from my husband ended, Sarang lowered the phone she'd been holding with both hands, looking utterly dejected.

"Daddy... He's gone..."

"Sarang. You need to smile prettily, okay? That's how we'll get Daddy to call again."

"Okay... Sarang will smile prettily..."

But with her father's voice still ringing in her ears after a week, she couldn't quite manage a smile today.

I gave a bitter smile and pulled Sarang into my arms.

"Daddy must have been so happy that Sarang waited for him so well. So let's hang in there a little longer. How many more nights did we say?"

"Thirty-three nights..."

"Sarang's been counting carefully every morning, right? We're already down to just thirty-three nights. So Sarang, look at Mommy and show me your pretty face~"

At my words, Sarang turned to look up at me and tried her best to smile. I smiled back at her as brightly as I could.

In truth, it wasn't "just" thirty-three nights.

There were still thirty-three nights "left" until I'd see Yeonho again. I couldn't believe only a week had passed. It felt like seven years had gone by already.

The words I was saying to Sarang were actually meant for myself.

That it wasn't long now.

That I should hang in there because it wasn't a long time.

I was comforting myself.

But no matter what I said, no matter what mindset I tried to adopt, there was no way to deal with this longing.

I missed Yeonho so much.