Chapter 1 (1/1)

CHAPTER 1JinkiIt had been an early start for Jinki that day. He had to work the 6am morning shift at the radio station before attending classes from 9-12. Then, he had to skip lunch and go back to the radio station to cover the news hour at 1. As he walked into the broadcast building, his fellow broadcaster, Changsun, greeted him and gave him the script for that days report. He skimmed it as he sluggishly made his way to the recording room. It seemed to be the usual politics, the President did this, there’s increasing tension with North Korea, the US is doing something odd. It was basically the same stuff he talked about during every other broadcast. He laid the stack of paper down on the table and sat himself down in the soft, leather chair marked with his name. He leaned back, resting the back of his head comfortably on the top of his seat. He glanced at the clock, it was 12:45, 15 minutes before the broadcast. In Jinki’s mind, that was enough time for a decent nap, so he let his eyes flutter closed. All too soon, however, he felt Changsun tap his shoulder and he had to force his eyes open again.“Sorry, Jinki, you look exhausted, but it’s showtime.”“Mm...”He sat up and grabbed the large headphone hanging from the mic. He watched Changsun do the same, then the director began giving them the countdown. As he stopped, the “On Air” sign lit up and the introduction for the radio station began. Jinki positioned himself at the mic and picked up the script. Changsun began the broadcast by introducing himself and Jinki. Then they got into the regular routine of the broadcast, trading lines and witty remarks back and forth. Everything was going smoothly until they got to the foreign and diplomatic policy section. Jinki had skimmed it before, but he hadn’t actually read what the President was planning on doing until he got to that paragraph. He couldn’t believe it and just kept staring wide-eyed at the page. Changsun cleared his throat and Jinki looked up again. He nodded his head at him and Jinki knew he was telling him to wake up and say his lines.“Uh, um, at a press conference today in Incheon, President Lee Myungbak stated that North Korea refuses to address any peace or disarmament agreements and that war is imminent. He also stated that in order to prepare for what’s to come, the military will have to undergo an exponential growth phase. In order for this to occur, he says it may require enacting a draft...”Changsun went on to explain exactly what a draft was and what it would mean for families and the nation. Once it was his turn again, Jinki said the rest of his lines, but without the interest he had before. The word “draft” kept floating around in his head. Yes, as a man, he was required to serve his two years with the Korea Army. However, it was supposed to be his choice when that was to occur. And who knew if it would just be limited to the two years anymore? This wasn’t just defending the nation, it was war. War where people were killed, tortured, where families were torn apart. The thought made his stomach churn, even though he hadn’t eaten anything. Changsun closed for the end of the broadcast then signaled for the mics to be turned off.“Jinki-ah, are you alright? You look a little pale.”Jinki ran his fingers through his hair. He felt sick. All he could think about was seeing his friends die. His little brother dead. Changsun dead.“Jinki?” He looked up at him.“Hyung, is this true?"“Is what true?”“The draft...I mean, I know we are kind of drafted already but, no one calls it that. To hear him actually use the word draft makes it seem so...different.”“Yeah, I know what you mean. But I think the idea of going to war bothers you much more than just enlisting in the army earlier than you wanted to.”“But, we-we don’t know if we’re actually going to war, right?” Changsun crossed his arms.“I know you’re not stupid, Jinki, but I thought you weren’t naive either.”Jinki looked up at his longtime friend. He could see sympathy and understanding in the look he was giving him, but he could also see the sternness. And he could tell what message it was that Changsun was trying to get him to accept. One, that there was almost a one-hundred percent chance that they were going to war with North Korea. And two, that there was a high probability he would be fighting in it. It was too much for Jinki to think about in his exhausted state and just made him feel even more tired. He sighed and replaced the headphones that had been hanging lazily around his neck. Then he stood and stretched, letting his muscles loosen up after sitting for so long.  As he sluggishly made his way out of the studio, he felt his pocket begin to vibrate and took out his phone to see Jonghyun’s number illuminating his screen.“Hey, Jong—”“YAH! Did you watch the news today?!”“I didn’t watch it, but I delivered it on the radio.”“Oh, so you know what the president is planning.”“Yeah…”Jinki heard nothing after that for several minutes. All he heard was Jonghyun’s steady breathing on the other end of the line. Jinki waited patiently as he walked to the train station, scanned his ticket, and got a seat in the fairly empty car. He knew that Jonghyun was still trying to absorb everything he’d heard. Jinki kept the phone to his ear as the train exited the platform. He could hear faint footsteps coming through the phone and he knew Jonghyun was pacing.“Jonghyun?”He heard a deep sigh.“I wasn’t planning on entering the army this winter.”“Winter?”“Yeah, the president said he wants the army doubled by this winter. Then he’ll add more men continuously throughout the rest of next year.”“Wow, I actually didn’t know that, it wasn’t in my report.”“He also said the draft age would be narrowed a bit, but that he would announce more details as things get finalized.”“This is really happening, isn’t it?”“I guess…well, at least we’ll probably be going together, right?”Jinki laughed at Jonghyun’s horrible attempt to lighten the situation.“Yeah, if there’s anyone I want to go to war with it’s you.”He heard Jonghyun laugh.“Look, I have to go to work soon, so I’ll talk to you later.”“See you…”Jinki ended the call and put the phone into his backpack. Then he stood as the train pulled into his station. He exited and began the 10 minute walk back to his house. He looked up at the sky and was glad he got off work when he did because it looked like a bad storm was coming. In lieu of what he found out today though, the weather seemed fitting. A storm was definitely brewing on the horizon for South Korea, and Jinki knew it was going to be catastrophic. His dark thoughts would’ve made him uneasy but his exhaustion was beginning to take a toll and all he cared about was sleeping at the moment. So he quickened his pace and made it into his house before the rain started pouring down. Taemin wasn’t back from school yet and his parents weren’t back from work so Jinki had the house to himself. He was glad. He knew his parents had probably seen or heard the news and his age made him ripe for the draft, so he knew they’d probably be worried. But he didn’t want to deal with that right now, so he happily dragged himself up the stairs to his bedroom and collapsed on his bed. If it weren’t Friday, he wouldn’t have gone to bed this early but as luck would have it, it was and he was dog-tired so he let himself drift off to sleep.Jinki was rudely awakened by a loud thunderclap that shook the entire house. He groaned and tried to roll over and go back to bed but the storm wouldn’t allow it. He checked his clock to see what time it was but realized that it was completely wrong. He guessed that the power must have gone off at some point but it was back on now. He rolled to the other side of his bed and checked his phone. It was 6, so he had slept for about four hours. Taemin and his parents were probably home now. It was odd because, discounting the storm, things were eerily quiet downstairs. At this time, his mother would be making dinner, his father would be watching the news and Taemin would be doing his homework to loud music. Jinki walked out of his room and knocked on Taemin’s door.“Taemin?” There was no answer so he knocked again.“Taemin?”He pushed the door open and saw that his room was dark and empty. He wouldn’t know he was even home if his backpack hadn’t been sitting on his bed along with his school uniform. He shut the door and went downstairs where he saw everyone sitting together in the main room around the television. He looked at it and saw that the president was on the screen. The headline said that the details of the draft had been hammered out and that the first letters would be sent out tomorrow. However, Jinki seemed to have missed most of the address because the president seemed to be closing his speech and a few moments later, he left the podium.“What did I miss?”His parents and little brother looked up at him, all of them had sad expressions on their faces. His mother stood and wrapped her arms around him.“Umma, what did he say?”She didn’t respond and just squeezed him harder.“Appa?”His father had a stern look on his face. He cleared his throat and spoke with a voice he knew his father was trying desperately to keep steady.“The President announced a few things just now. First, he announced that the draft age will be between 21 and 29. Then, he said the first wave of draftees will receive their letters tomorrow and that the first Saturday of every month afterward, a new wave will receive letters. You are to report to your assigned base the following Friday after you get your letter.”There was a short silence after that, but his mother didn’t stay quiet long.“I read that when there was a draft in the US, they exempted college students. Maybe we can get your duty delayed until you finish?”Jinki gave her a sad smile.“I don’t think that’s going to happen, Umma.”She shook her head.“You can’t go to war, Jinki. It’s not like just being in the military. It’s dangerous, you could be killed.”“I know, but I don’t really have a choice, now do I?”“Yeah you do…”They all looked at Taemin. It was the first time he had spoken on the matter. Jinki sighed.“Do you want me to go to prison?”“It’s better than war.” Their father intervened at this point.“Taemin, stop, you know that’s not rational nor is it the right thing to do. Now why don’t we just leave the matter alone for tonight and have dinner.”“Your father’s right, Jinki, will you help me make dinner?”“Of course, Umma.”He followed her to the kitchen and helped her prepare a quick dinner of spicy kimbap rolls. Then they all ate and retreated to their corners of the house. Jinki sat down at his desk and opened his laptop. He had a 15-page final paper due at the end of the semester that he wanted to start. It would be the last thing he had to turn in before he graduated with his degree in Journalism and Broadcasting. However, was it even worth it to start? He knew he probably wouldn’t finish his degree before he had to report to training. So, he closed his computer again and plopped back onto his bed. And for the first time in his life, Jinki wasn’t ambitious about his work nor was he certain about his future. Fin, I'm very tired. Enjoy and comment :)