“Then, Hana! Call me if anything happens, okay? And don’t forget to let me know when the picnic is over! I’ll come pick you up right away.”
“Okay! Maru, get home safe too!”
I waved goodbye to Maru, who had dropped me off at school. Watching the car disappear into the distance, I headed inside. Today was the school picnic, so the playground was filled with large buses. Instead of going to the classroom, we were supposed to gather directly on the playground and leave from there.
“Hana! Over here!”
“Yay!”
Jiyu and Yumi were already there waiting. I walked over to where they were sitting. There was still some time before we had to leave.
“Hana, your outfit looks cute!”
Yumi complimented my clothes. If I had worn Little Magician Lumi’s outfit, I might’ve gotten even more compliments, but oh well. Still, my outfit wasn’t bad enough to not get praised.
“Yeah! Maru picked it out for me.”
“Really? Sit down here first! I asked the teacher, and we need to gather on the playground by 9!”
It was 8:40, so I had 20 minutes to zone out before heading to the playground. I set my heavy bag down on the ground. Since I had nothing to do for 20 minutes, I figured I’d chat with Jiyu and Yumi. As I sat on the school steps, Yumi suddenly slapped her thigh and said,
“Hana! If you sit like that, your underwear’s showing!”
“Ahh!”
I was wearing a skirt, so of course, if I spread my legs like that, everything would be visible. My face flushed as I quickly adjusted my posture. Skirts were so inconvenient. If I had just worn jeans, I could’ve sat however I wanted without a care.
Jiyu laughed at my flustered state and said,
“Hana’s always so clumsy! Remember last time when she walked into the boys’ bathroom? You’ve got to live up to being the top student in the school!”
Like Jiyu said, I did have a tendency to get a little mixed up. After decades of using the boys’ bathroom, adjusting to the girls’ bathroom wasn’t easy. But at least girls could accidentally walk into the boys’ bathroom without it being a big deal. The boys inside might be surprised, but that was about it.
Thinking about it the other way around was terrifying. If a guy accidentally walked into the girls’ bathroom, a trip to the police station would be the least of his worries. Little boys might get away with it, but anyone older would definitely get some weird looks.
Anyway, as I chatted with the others, 9 o’clock rolled around. Not many people had gathered on the playground yet. Since only the third graders were going, there were probably less than a hundred of us.
Back in my day, almost 400 students would gather on the playground for a picnic. And they didn’t split it by grade like they do now—every grade went together, and they even staggered the school hours to manage it.
It was physically impossible for thousands of students to go on a picnic at the same time. Anyway, as I thought about this, I headed over to where our class was. The teacher was standing there holding a sign that said “Class 1, Grade 3.”
The students from Class 1 gathered around the teacher like little chicks. Since there weren’t many of us, the teacher quickly scanned to make sure everyone was there. It was convenient when the group was small. Normally, they’d have to check each student one by one and go through all sorts of procedures before leaving, but schools these days were different.
Everything was fast-paced. The kids knew they were going to the amusement park, so they cooperated well with the teacher. They knew that the longer they delayed, the later they’d arrive at the park.
“Alright, kids, let’s get on the bus!”
“Woohoo!”
As soon as the teacher finished speaking, the kids rushed onto the bus. If the teacher hadn’t stepped in to maintain order, someone could’ve gotten hurt.
“Hana, let’s go!”
“Okay!”
I waited for the other kids to get on the bus first. There was no need to rush. Getting on the bus quickly wouldn’t mean I’d get to enjoy the amusement park any sooner. I boarded the bus at a leisurely pace, with Jiyu and Yumi following behind.
—
“Man, I can’t handle this.”
Kim Taek-joo, who had been appointed as a non-commissioned officer two years ago, muttered to himself. The joint U.S.-South Korea military training always left him feeling out of sorts. Sitting in the trench, he pulled out a combat ration from his backpack. After such intense training, his stomach was growling for food.
“Sergeant Kim Taek-joo? Training resumes in 30 minutes.”
A subordinate entered the trench and said, “I’m a dog.” Hearing this, Kim Taek-joo pulled out an extra combat ration from his backpack and said, “Yeah, you’ve had it rough. Let’s eat quickly. Even dogs don’t get bothered during lunchtime.”
“Roger!”
Kim Taek-joo and the soldier began unpacking the combat rations. However, the rations were ancient. Kim Taek-joo frowned as he checked the expiration date. It was almost up. He had heard that a famous food company had signed a contract to supply combat rations and was clearing out old stock, but he didn’t expect it to be this bad.
“Do I really have to eat this crap?”
Feeling skeptical, Kim Taek-joo took a bite of the rice and side dish from the ration. His face immediately twisted. It was a taste that no modern person accustomed to contemporary food could stomach. Judging by his subordinate’s expression, he seemed to feel the same.
Kim Taek-joo tossed the combat ration into a corner. It was so tasteless that eating more might give him a stomachache. His subordinate also grimaced and said, “Sergeant Kim Taek-joo, this tastes terrible.”
“I feel the same. I’d rather dig up dirt and eat that.”
Kim Taek-joo wondered if they’d have to train today without eating. Staring blankly at the clear sky, something suddenly came to his mind.
Rummaging through his backpack, Kim Taek-joo pulled out a pack of Starlight Cherry Tomatoes. He had bought them at a convenience store last time and forgotten about them. The pack contained five Starlight Cherry Tomatoes.
The subordinate looked at Kim Taek-joo with a puzzled expression and said, “Sergeant? Five cherry tomatoes won’t fill me up at all.”
Kim Taek-joo smiled at his subordinate and said, “Hey, these are Starlight Cherry Tomatoes grown by Starlight Food. They’re insanely high in calories. Just one will fill you up.”
The subordinate, unfamiliar with Starlight Cherry Tomatoes, widened his eyes in disbelief. “You’re kidding, right? One cherry tomato has thousands of calories?”
“Just trust me and try it. You’ll feel full right away. I’d rather eat these than that rotten combat ration.”
As he spoke, Kim Taek-joo opened the pack and popped one tomato into his mouth. It slid down his throat like magic, and soon he felt full. It was enough to get through the next training session.
“Here, try one. You’ll feel it right away.”
Kim Taek-joo handed a tomato to his subordinate. The subordinate, with a skeptical look, put it in his mouth. Soon, he felt the same way as Kim Taek-joo. After swallowing the tomato, he felt full. Even without eating the combat ration, this level of fullness was enough.
“Wow, this is amazing!”
The subordinate said in a dazed tone, still unable to believe it. It was like magic. Of course, small, calorie-dense foods like cherry tomatoes were common in military rations.
During World War II, American chocolate bars supplied to soldiers boasted a whopping 1,800 calories each. Though, to be fair, the chocolate bars were quite large.
But compared to Starlight Cherry Tomatoes, there was a big difference. The chocolate took minutes to eat and could become sickeningly sweet if eaten in large quantities.
On the other hand, cherry tomatoes could be eaten in just three seconds and were small in size. Their calorie content wasn’t far behind, either. Of course, eating only cherry tomatoes for months could lead to nutritional imbalances, but that would only happen if someone ate nothing but cherry tomatoes for a long time. In modern society, that wasn’t likely to happen.
As Kim Taek-joo enthusiastically explained the benefits of cherry tomatoes, he heard someone calling him from behind.
