The soldiers were gathered around a white bus, forming lines. Oddly enough, about half of them donned bulky gear. They wore clothes that looked inflated like bulletproof vests on their upper bodies, and their shoulders and arms were covered with what seemed to be protective gear. On their lower bodies, they sported thick pants with shin and knee protection, along with heavy boots that layered over their military shoes.
The sight alone felt stifling.
Even the leanest among them looked plump due to the thickness of their gear. Just imagining climbing a mountain while wearing that was terrifying.
Next to the soldiers were rectangular bags with handles, painted in military color that gave off an unsettling vibe. At a glance, they appeared to be made of shiny reinforced plastic or metal.
As for the soldiers not wearing cumbersome protective gear, they weren’t exactly fine either.
The remaining half of the soldiers were armed with rifles as a precaution against any unforeseen events, and they wore equipment suitable for the weapons they carried on their backs. Naturally, that gear looked heavy too.
People with machine guns carried large backpacks in military green that had ammo belts leading to their guns, suggesting they were using a machinegun feed bag. Unsurprisingly, those backpacks were undoubtedly stuffed with ammunition.
But just because the machine gunners appeared burdened didn’t mean others looked better.
Those carrying K-2 rifles also had a heavy load. They had folded Panzerfaust 3s (Panzerfaust 3) and three warheads each.
And the ones with grenade launchers?
Mortars, communication devices, mana detectors, even portable radars….
They were packed with all sorts of random gear.
And astonishingly, these soldiers had to haul all that while climbing a mountain.
To top it off, they had to march alongside the broadcasting crew, unable to complain about their hardships while showcasing their ‘military spirit.’
The mere thought of it was dreadful.
Yet, despite the miseries that awaited, the soldiers’ faces were surprisingly bright.
They looked like they were lightheartedly enjoying themselves, grinning as they flicked their eyes around.
This excitement only grew as they spied a van approaching in the distance, reaching its peak when the van’s door opened, revealing a pair of white legs stepping out.
“I’m so sorry! The traffic was terrible, and I ended up late!”
The one stepping out of the van was a female celebrity.
Her appearance was far too revealing for mountain climbing, clad in clothing better suited for a fashion walk. She wore a windbreaker on top, perhaps thinking about getting colder as they climbed, but her shorts were so short and tight they resembled hot pants.
Feeling the eyes on her, she wore an expression bursting with faux sincerity as she apologized to the soldiers and the broadcasting crew.
“Oh, it’s fine! Traffic can’t be helped.”
“Ah, I see. If Chaine said so, then it must be true.”
The soldiers seemed utterly smitten by the charming celebrity, Chaine, as they grinned at her apology. Meanwhile, the broadcasting crew responded with their usual indifference, no less.
“This one really makes tardiness a habit.”
“They say you can’t trust the rumors from the broadcasting station, but she’s seriously taking it to another level. What on earth is she doing to show up late every time?”
Charm?
Feigning innocence?
Only those immune to it would fall for such tricks, let alone those who actually held any affection for her.
With nearly every instance of sabotage involving her habitual lateness and her subtly dismissive behavior towards the staff, there weren’t many who would be easily charmed.
Instead, they were subtly giving her side-eyes.
“How important is this shoot that you show up late?”
“I can’t believe we brought her in to create a good scene with the military and she ends up tardy like this.”
However, whether she was aware of the staff’s side-eye glances or not, Chaine, after her apology, slipped into the group of broadcasting staff and began throwing out questions.
“Excuse me~ I’m the drone camerawoman~ I heard the shaman is incredibly handsome, is that true?”
Her question was about the person they were shooting with today—Shaman Park Jinseong.
“Did you see him perform magic during the studio shoot last time? Yes? Yes?”
Naturally, the crew didn’t show much goodwill toward her query.
Sensing the cold reception, Chaine pivoted her focus.
Not on the crew but on the bodyguards and the heart demons alongside them.
Fortunately, this strategy worked like a charm.
The bodyguards, who had only considered her a simple female celebrity, showed more friendliness than the crew had.
However, even with their increased friendliness, they didn’t possess much information about her.
The heart demons merely gathered as guides, while the bodyguards were sent from a security company.
Thus, all they could do was point out where Park Jinseong was.
“Check for yourself.”
They pointed to a single vehicle.
The vehicle they indicated was an SUV, modified.
Its pitch-black body, along with the dark tinted windows, gave off a bleak aura, and from the slightly opened window, white smoke was seeping out. The car was shaking, as if something was happening inside, and the sound of tinkling bells could be heard from between the window gaps.
“Wait? That one?”
“Yes. Shaman Park Jinseong is there.”
Chaine, feeling the ominous vibe coming from the vehicle, hesitated for a moment but approached a soldier who was staring at her and batted her lashes.
“Excuse me, soldier oppa? I’m too scared to go alone…?”
“Wait? Ah, yes. I’ll help you. Hahaha!”
The soldier, likely the leader, readily accepted her request.
He walked toward the vehicle, making sure to walk ahead so she wouldn’t feel scared by guiding her from behind.
“Hey, are we filming this?”
“Oh, of course. Looks like it’ll make for a great shot.”
The crew was filming them from a distance, sensing it would yield something worthwhile.
And their instinct turned out to be spot on.
Clickety-click.
Before the two had even called out to Park Jinseong upon reaching the car, the door swung open with a click, revealing Jinseong himself.
What on earth had he been doing inside the car?
As soon as the door opened, sparks flew like fireflies, spreading out from the vehicle, and the flickering candles that had been glowing inside suddenly flared up, only to die out as they were introduced to the air. The black smoke wafting from the extinguished candles swayed gently and seemed to get sucked outside.
Sparks and smoke, accompanied by a pungent aroma.
In the midst of it all, Park Jinseong stepped out of the vehicle.
Dressed in a suit that was completely unfit for climbing, he wore several yellow flowers pinned to his chest. In one hand, he held a container engraved with a bluish eye-shaped figure.
In his other hand was a laptop bag, so stuffed that it appeared ready to burst.
“Um….”
Was it the atmosphere around Jinseong that felt off?
Both the soldier and Chaine found themselves unable to utter a word, standing there stupefied.
Seeing this, the crew called out to Jinseong from afar.
“Shaman Park Jinseong! Let’s start shooting!”
Jinseong smiled at the producer’s words.
As if he were looking forward to the events about to unfold.
*
Tracking, exploring.
These two words contained the meaning of hardship.
And if you add the word ‘mountain’ into the mix, it evolves from mere hardship into suffering beyond compare.
That was exactly the situation right now.
“Huff, huff.”
There are different types of suffering.
First off, the soldiers were at the forefront, sweating buckets.
The engineering troops were donned in protective equipment like armor, diligently searching for mines with their PRS-20K mine detectors. If only they could just move around with their gear, it would lessen their troubles, but they kept getting caught on unnecessary things.
On the bright side, thanks to advancements in the visibility devices, they could at least get a rough idea of what was buried in the ground. As a result, they didn’t have to go through the panicked suffering of digging up things like wiring or bottle caps.
Behind them, there were the soldiers.
Armed and on guard, they stayed alert, ready to strike if any yokai dared to leap out.
And following the path they forged, the people moved forward.
The crew filmed while backing up, nimbly dodging obstacles like stones and pits, practically performing acrobatics. However, perhaps due to the rugged terrain, beads of sweat flowed from them like it was raining.
Yet even while sweating profusely, the crew’s expressions weren’t too bad.
The reason was simple.
“Heaven, oh heaven. Where’s the disturbance bringing in the misfortune?”
Because they were capturing some great footage.
