August 15, 1945. 04:00. Bupyong, Korea.
Chai Byung-duk was quite a large man. As a matter of fact, being 5’5’’ and weighing 136 kilograms, it was often hard for him to move his massive weight around. Although unfortunate, he was called “elephant” by fellow Koreans and would later be known as “fatty” by Americans after they arrived in Korea and saw Chai. It was thus understandable that it was extremely hard for him to move his body from bed when he heard the phone ring. He stretched his arm towards the general direction but still could not reach; with a grunt, he flopped over to his side and grabbed the phone.
“Hello?”
“It has happened.”
Chai wondered who on earth was calling at this late an hour. Being thoroughly annoyed, he couldn’t care less if he swore or not.
“The fuck is ‘it’? Why are you calling at this hour? Who the hell is this?”
The answer was hurried, as if there wasn’t much time.
“This is Cho*, from the Alliance. Japan has surrendered. We are given authority as the new government. We need armed forces and now.”
Still groggy from sleep, Chai decided to call his bluff.
“Cho Dong-ho, what the hell. You’re drunk. Go home and sleep. I’ll see ya tomorrow.”
“Your help is urgent. God damn it Chai, we have 3 days until the Japanese government leaves Korea! All Jap** forces need to be rounded up right now!”
Hearing some curses made Chai slightly more awake. He tried to sit up, but his body decided against it.
“So Korea has become independent?”
“What!?”
His wife, shocked, looked at him with mouth agape. Chai looked exasperatedly at her.
“Hush, woman!”
Cho answered him, also excited, but hurryingly nonetheless.
“Yes, Korea is now independent, but we need a government that can fully take control of the peninsula after the colonial government leaves. Your help is most needed right now, Chai. You are head of the Inchon arsenal, the largest one in Korea; we will be establishing the first modern Korean army and it needs its weapons.”
Chai flipped one more time on his stomach and now had one foot on the floor. He squinted desperately at the dark trying to find his uniform.
“Where are you at right now?”
“Seoul. Lyuh is heading a meeting for all major members of the Alliance in 5 minutes.”
Although the room was still pitch black, Chai could see the glory of independence slowly rise above the horizon. He basked in its radiance. Great things are happening, he thought.
“I’ll be down at the arsenal***. Tell me where you need the supplies.”
===================
*: OTL Chai was frequently contacted by many independence fighters for his position within the Japanese military. This included Cho.
**: forgive me for using a derogatory term for the Japanese. I simply believed it more possible that they refer to them as "Japs" rather than "the Japanese" at such context.
***: Inchon Army Arsenal. Usually produces rifles, ammunition, sidearms, grenades and trucks. Production capacity at 4000 rifles, 20,000 sidearms, 700,000 ammunition, 30,000 artillery shells and 200 trucks per month. Can also produce submarines since 1944.
Chai Byung-duk was quite a large man. As a matter of fact, being 5’5’’ and weighing 136 kilograms, it was often hard for him to move his massive weight around. Although unfortunate, he was called “elephant” by fellow Koreans and would later be known as “fatty” by Americans after they arrived in Korea and saw Chai. It was thus understandable that it was extremely hard for him to move his body from bed when he heard the phone ring. He stretched his arm towards the general direction but still could not reach; with a grunt, he flopped over to his side and grabbed the phone.
“Hello?”
“It has happened.”
Chai wondered who on earth was calling at this late an hour. Being thoroughly annoyed, he couldn’t care less if he swore or not.
“The fuck is ‘it’? Why are you calling at this hour? Who the hell is this?”
The answer was hurried, as if there wasn’t much time.
“This is Cho*, from the Alliance. Japan has surrendered. We are given authority as the new government. We need armed forces and now.”
Still groggy from sleep, Chai decided to call his bluff.
“Cho Dong-ho, what the hell. You’re drunk. Go home and sleep. I’ll see ya tomorrow.”
“Your help is urgent. God damn it Chai, we have 3 days until the Japanese government leaves Korea! All Jap** forces need to be rounded up right now!”
Hearing some curses made Chai slightly more awake. He tried to sit up, but his body decided against it.
“So Korea has become independent?”
“What!?”
His wife, shocked, looked at him with mouth agape. Chai looked exasperatedly at her.
“Hush, woman!”
Cho answered him, also excited, but hurryingly nonetheless.
“Yes, Korea is now independent, but we need a government that can fully take control of the peninsula after the colonial government leaves. Your help is most needed right now, Chai. You are head of the Inchon arsenal, the largest one in Korea; we will be establishing the first modern Korean army and it needs its weapons.”
Chai flipped one more time on his stomach and now had one foot on the floor. He squinted desperately at the dark trying to find his uniform.
“Where are you at right now?”
“Seoul. Lyuh is heading a meeting for all major members of the Alliance in 5 minutes.”
Although the room was still pitch black, Chai could see the glory of independence slowly rise above the horizon. He basked in its radiance. Great things are happening, he thought.
“I’ll be down at the arsenal***. Tell me where you need the supplies.”
===================
*: OTL Chai was frequently contacted by many independence fighters for his position within the Japanese military. This included Cho.
**: forgive me for using a derogatory term for the Japanese. I simply believed it more possible that they refer to them as "Japs" rather than "the Japanese" at such context.
***: Inchon Army Arsenal. Usually produces rifles, ammunition, sidearms, grenades and trucks. Production capacity at 4000 rifles, 20,000 sidearms, 700,000 ammunition, 30,000 artillery shells and 200 trucks per month. Can also produce submarines since 1944.
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