The Line Between Us: Part II

Chapter 15: The Long Way Home

September 19.
At first light over Jangsari, Yeongdeok, the ridges overlooking the beach erupted in chaos.

South Korean student volunteers-boys barely old enough to shave-were locked in a brutal firefight against advancing North Korean troops. They clung to the shallow trenches carved into the hillside, helmets rattling as bullets cracked overhead. Faces smeared with dirt and sweat, they lay flat against the earth, rifles braced tight against their shoulders.

A machine gun was mounted on a rock outcrop, its barrel glowing faintly as it spat round after round toward the enemy line. The boys shouted orders, curses-anything to drown out the fear tightening in their throats, each breath sharp with desperation.

Across the ridge, North Korean soldiers returned fire in relentless bursts. The air shook with gunshots, the echo rolling over the beach like thunder. Mud flew, stones shattered, and the whole ridge seemed to vibrate with the violence of it.

On every young face was the same expression-anger, terror, and the fierce, trembling resolve to survive.

The ridge roared with gunfire and screams.

On the far side of the beach, Jin-woo, Ji-hoon, Sun-hee, Min-jae, Joon-seok, and the two boys pushed through the forest, rifles raised, every pair of eyes sweeping the shadows.

The gunfire ahead had grown louder-sharp bursts cracking through the trees, echoing across the woods like tearing metal.

Then-

CRACK!

A bullet snapped past them, ricocheting off a tree with a vicious whine.

"엎드려!"
("Get down!") Jin-woo shouted.

They all hit the ground at once, scrambling behind a line of fallen trunks.
Before anyone else could react, Jin-woo rose just high enough to see over the log and opened fire.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

His shots cut through the trees.
Ji-hoon, Sun-hee, Joon-seok, and Min-jae followed-rifles snapping in rapid bursts, their gunfire tearing through the undergrowth.
The exchange lasted only seconds, but it felt like an eternity until the forest fell still again... the enemy line on the other side collapsing into silence.

Jin-woo scanned the group.

"다들... 괜찮냐...?"
("You're all right...?") he asked, breath ragged.

Then his eyes stopped on the boys-Sang-woo and Sung-ki-both trembling, gripping their rifles with shaking hands.

Sun-hee turned sharply toward him, anger rising through the fear.

"애들 맞을 뻔했어요,"
("They almost got hit,") she hissed.

"우린 아이들 전투에서 멀리 떨어뜨리려고 따라온 건데...
이게 뭐예요? 우리가 도망치던 그 상황이잖아요!"
("We followed you because we thought the boys would be safe-away from the fighting. But this? This is exactly what we were trying to escape!")

Jin-woo met her eyes.
He swallowed, breath unsteady for a moment before he answered.

"나도... 애들 생각한다,"
("I care about them also,") he murmured.

"하지만 이 지형, 이 상황에선...
날아오는 총알 하나까지 내가 막을 순 없다.
살아남게 하려면... 싸워서 나아갈 수밖에 없다."
("But this terrain... this situation... I can't control every shot fired in this forest.
The only way to keep them alive is to fight through it.")

Joon-seok tightened his grip on his rifle, turning to Sun-hee.

"걱정하지 마요."
("Don't worry,") he said quietly.