Chapter 5. Life in 2078(1)
[Gibraltar Watch Point, again. Apr 09th, 2078.]
A week has passed, since Kim arrived at the Gibraltar Watch Point. Everyone couldn't ignore the unusual appearance of Kim himself, and had some trouble with someone from the first step, but thanks to his unique and bright personality, which was not all bad from the bottom, they were able to throw off some awkwardness with him, and freely talk and think about everything. Well, but about the Hanzo... Although Kim and Hanzo has not yet opened their mind's door to each other, for full-fledged conversation. But still, throughout the weeklong lives in here, Kim and overwatch's heroes were able to gradually change their minds to each other.
First, Kim figures out, that in the course of the past to the future, the overall social system and appearance had not undergone so much upheaval. It was astonishing that technology and a culture of respects the human itself had come so far, but also, they don't need to no longer just helplessly watch someone die, something that was impossible to solve in the past. Although he was still learning one by one, Dr. Mercy's caduceus staff and Second Commander Ana's biotic rifles and nano-boosts were unimaginable technologies in the 1980s. Is it only for the healthcare part? The MEKA, driven by seemed to represent the advancement of mobile attack vehicles, Pharah's flying combat armor and bombing support shows how much the light support weapons could develop, Zarya's particle cannon and Sojourn's rail guns seems to show the pinnacle of personal weapon's development. Of course, and still, seeing so many people and omnics are dying in the battlefield, it was painful to him, as he sees them overlapping the battlefield in Vietnam, reminds so many peoples, who has been ended there, regardless of ally or foes.
What the heroes thought to Kim, was that they could communicate with him, better than expected. During the conversation, anyone could notice that he was from the past in 1980, but it was not a big problem. Compared to the present era, there are some distances and gaps in terms of ideas, culture, and traditions, but there were no actions or words that could cause the old-fashioned gender stereotype problems or generational conflicts. Rather, he was good at making people laugh by reverse-using the stereotypes of the past. He was also not an unusually woke progressive spirit either, because, in everyone's view, Kim was just one of the citizens of the common society, who learned the truth, that every human beings and society itself are a being that can think and feel as the same, while he was serving in the battlefield for a long time.
To sum up... Kim, was somehow, starts to mix up to the era of 2078. Indeed, somehow. Of course, a lifestyle and mindset different from the past still confused him, but still, the fact that this place is also the same place that where people live, has not changed at all.
Early in the morning, Kim was sitting in the lounge, watching Athena's full-screen display. But he didn't look very pleased.
In front of him, there was a video were playing, that a bombing on the Iraq-Kuwait highway in March 1991, and an American Airlines Flight 175 flying directly into the World Trade Center tower, which stood proudly in New York on September 11, 2001, and the Shock and Horror operations of the Iraqi presidential palace on March 21, 2003.
The tragedy of a man falling from a transport plane during the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021 passed, but the most terrifying scene, was the Omnic Crisis and related wars that brought the world to another saturation after the 2040s. In a way, it looked like a more serious war than World War II.
Kim only blinks, and did not turn or close his eyes elsewhere. For him, Vietnam in the 1980s, was a terrible enough. But the chaos of the future world after his time was also a tragedy that could not be overlooked simply. He wanted to stop seeing evidence of this terrible history, but he couldn't. It was not polite to future people who had to bleed and wail just like him, and are now buried behind the past times and history.
Hana was usually someone who wakes up late, but due to severe thirst, she came out to the lounge, looking for something to drink. And she found out Kim, looking at Athena's screen.
"진호 오빠, 뭐해? 뭘 하고 있길래 그렇게 표정이 심각… (Kim, what are you doing? Why your face is so serious...)"
Hana inadvertently looked at the screen, and then paused. The video record of Second Omnic Crisis, which happened not that long ago, that was turning the Busan, city of South Korea, into a sea of fire.
"…."
Kim opened his mouth heavily, while looking at the screen without saying anything.
"대체, 인류가 무슨 짓을 저지른 거지…? (What the actual hell, did humanity finally caused...?)"
He said, as he looked at the countless dead bodies of soldiers and civilians, showing out of the screen.
Hana was also having nothing to say to Kim. She could guess how Kim would feel now, because she remembered the devastation at the time of the Battle of Busan well. She only thought about it for a while at the time, but the injury in her mind, which still has not healed, stung and reacted in her body.
"Athena, since when he did this from?"
"Since last night. He searched about the all data about the wars and crisis in the world, since the end of the Vietnam War in 1980. All night long."
He's been searching for all this all night? Hana was quite surprised.
"Why didn't you stop him? He saw all the long story? And it's not even a good story!"
"There was nothing I could do to stop him, from asking me, and he didn't even know how to use the Internet perfectly yet."
Hana sighed, and shook Kim's shoulder lightly.
"오빠, 정신 들어있어? 잠깐 이건 그만 보고 나랑 얘기 좀 하자. (Hey Kim, are you still in your mind? Let's stop watching this and talk with me.)"
"…. Athena. You can stop the video now."
Athena closed all the video archive and went back to the standby screen. Kim took off his glasses for a while and wiped off his face once, and looked out the window with a soulless expression on his face.
"What the hell did we fight for back in there? No one wanted this for the future?"
Hana recommended an energy drink with caffeine, but Kim refused. Sloan, Kiriko, Genji, and Lùcio, who wakes up in the similar time, came out to the lounge and saw this scene.
"Hana, Kim. Good morning. Uh, by the way, what's wrong with him?"
"Well... It's a little long to talk about."
As time passed, most of the peoples inside the base got up and came out to the lounge, and they gathered by Kim's side, participating in the story one by one. He talked about what he had seen and learned all night.
Firstly, for him, the Allied force's withdrawal from Vietnam in January 1987, and the Last Day of Saigon, the end of the Vietnam War, which took place only a week later from withdraw, were the most incredible.
"How can it end just like a vain? They killed so many, and put into so many?"
Those who were gathered around, also tried to find words to answer, but to no avail. Looking at the first Omnic crisis, which was the war of this era, it was no different from the Vietnam War. It was because everyone in the group knew well, that even if they won the war against the insurgent Omnic, the dead and the destroyed, could not be return from the death.
Commander Jack spoke heavily.
"Kim, I can see what you're thinking right now, but you've got to get through it. You'll have to get out of it so you don't mess yourself up anymore."
Kim looked at Jack with a grim look-up.
"No sir. You don't understand me, sir. What time my colleagues and I went through there, and how miserable it is to realize that the result is nothing more than this. All of these. You cannot understand this, sir."
"No, Kim, I know very well, everyone here does."
"Really? Are you sure you're confident?"
Jack sighed and approached Athena.
"Athena. Please find me some footage of the battle of the Canadian Front during the 1st Omnic Crisis."
Athena immediately found the video and displayed it on the screen. Although the video is still more than 30 years old in 2078, unlike during the Vietnam War, Kim was able to distinguish everyone's faces on the screen due to the clean camera image quality.
Moreover, unlike the appearance standing in front of his eyes, Kim could instantly recognize Commander Jack Morrison, who is dashingly handsome.
"That looks like you, Commander Jack, sir... And that sniper next to you, sir... Is that a Second Commander, ma'am?"
"Hmm. Kim. You do have a good eye for recognize someone, for sure."
Kim was not able to recognize most of the characters were, but after he recognized Torbjorn and Reinhardt, who were standing right behind, realizes that what Commander Jack said was not a lie.
Above all, at the moment, he remembered the stories that he shared with everyone standing around him. None of them are come here to play without any experience and pain. Each of them had his own story, despair, and pain. He realized once again that he was not the only one who had an unusually big story. Kim was overcome with compassion for everyone standing around, and shame for himself.
"…. I'm sorry, everyone. I'm older than everyone here, but I haven't shown you the responsibility you deserve for my age."
Jack and Ana approached first, and patted Kim on the shoulder. The same was true of Hana, Sloan, Kenji, Kiriko, and Lùcio, who were standing right next to each other. Rather than simply listing them by name, everyone in the group acted the same and comforted them with one painful commonality.
[09:30 A.M. The cliff in front of Winston's lab. Gibraltar Watch Point]
The joint training, though the variable from day one cause a surprise and some problems, but it ended safely, somehow. But because of a person who had stayed at the base in the aftermath of the events of the first day, all the heroes in the training had not turned back where they were originally belonged, and were still stay here, at the Gibraltar. Part of the reason was that investigations into a person who had come directly from the past had not yet been completed, and the other reason that able to see the novelty and vivid evidence of the past, just by looking at it.
Everyone was dressed somewhat freely without wearing combat gear or uniforms, except for the Kim alone. In the first place, combat uniforms and boots were all he got and could wear, even though they could be washed and worn continuously, thanks to the washing machines and dryers on the base. But, it was a different story to wear them again with suspender belts, mag pouch, and helmets, apart from the uniform.
In Kim's hand, he held his XM177E2 rifle, which Commander Jack had taken out of the armory and returned to him after the breakfast, and on one side, there was a box of 5.56mm bullets that were also on the helicopter. Far away, at sea, was a target hanging from a small size drone.
Kim was stunned when suddenly asked to demonstrate the shooting of the formal war's weapons. This is the future, and accordingly, data on the weapons of the past will already be reachable by the archives, and other heroes' weapons, well, the performing incomparably with the rifles and other firearms they use are far from his from now, and why it is necessary nowadays. He was also afraid to ask those who might be waiting for him in the original era, that where the large numbers of weapons and ammunition, that were originally loaded onto the helicopter had gone, if he ever goes back to 1986.
However, Kim was persuaded by Jack and Ana, that the chance of learning about past battlefields, tactics, and weapons systems, and the opportunity to observe/measure the original military products of the past, which currently only exist as reproduced products, were rare field trip-like opportunities for heroes with engineer tendencies, in Overwatch.
Kim's weapons were originally sufficient to demonstrate them at the indoor shooting range, but whenever the emission gas from the old smokeless powder, which is no longer in use, they continued to malfunction various environmental sensors in the base, which became a problem that even Athena could not clearly solve. Additionally, the firing sound of this old gunpowder made a louder sound than the current gunpowder, so no one could withstand it except for Kim, who was used to it since the past. Torbjorn handed a 20-round STANAG magazine to Kim, that he had been carefully examining.
"So, all I need to do, is shoot down that target, ma'am?"
Kim asked, as he looked at the target site flying over the sea. Second Commander Ana replied.
"Yes. All you have to do, is prove your abilities. And, for us, it's a… Some kind of field trip to the past."
Kim looked at Commander Ana with a questionable look, and opened the ammo box. He then took out a clip of bullets, that was tied together with 140 ammo pouches, and took out just one bullet, and carefully inserted it into the magazine. Then, he inserted it into the rifle and pulled the charging handle. Everyone around him watched the scene, holding their breath and also covering their ears. After looking at them once, Kim released the safety selector and pointed a front sight, to the target.
[Bang!]
A gunshot, about three times louder than the current gunshot, passed through the people nearby. At the same time, the target held by the small drone on the sea, got shattered and fell into the sea. Peoples who were standing on the right side of Kim, looked the brass shell that emitted by a black gun, with wonder.
"1.2 inches right from the center. Nice shot."
Commander Jack was looking at the target with a binocular and said. He saw where the bullet hits the target, even though it was shattered? Kim unexpectedly thought, that the bodies of the future people were also great in a different sense. And with, while predicting how unethical the soldier enhancement program was, from the perspective of alternative bioethics, that Commander Jack gained this crazy ability.
The next target drone flew to the site. This time, it was flying at a distance of 50 yards, a little closer. Kim full-filled the 30-gun magazine with bullets, and turn the selector, to auto.
[Ta-dang! Ta-ta-dang! Ta-da-da-da-dang!]
Kim fired a series of burst shots, not pulling the trigger thoughtlessly all the way, as he got trained himself in the battlefield, so that the aim point was not disturbed more than necessary. Perhaps this time, the target was a material that was not fragile that could shatter at once, and the target gradually became tattered with numerous holes in the center. Likewise, the heroes who were watching Kim's shooting demonstration, could not stop admiring about the operation of the weapon from one of the turbulent periods of the 20th century, spitting out numerous casings, keep making loud shots, and emit brighter and larger flames than modern guns.
This time, a larger automatic moving target boat, appeared above the sea. The surrounding tide was not very strong, so it did not move much, but it could not prevent it from shaking up and down due to the waves continuing to hit the island. Kim confirmed once again that the rifle's chamber was empty, and carried the rifle to his back. This time, he grabbed a long wooden box that had been unloaded from a helicopter, and stored in an armory since then. Right next to it, there was smaller a box with clearly marked with a flammable material warning.
"Now, before I open this box, everyone, check once again if there's anything around here that could spark a fire."
Cassidy was the first one who puts out the cigarette at Kim's words. He took another look at the surrounding heroes, then opened both boxes. Inside the longest box, the M9A1 Bazooka launch tube, which was surrounded by buffer, emerged, and the Bazooka rocket emerged from the smaller box.
"Whoa, I've never felt like this before. I'm getting more nervous for doing this here."
Kim carefully took out the rocket and said to himself.
"You can only fire one shot at a time? My God, what a relic itself."
Zarya talked, as she sees the barrel of the Bazooka.
"Hey, second commander, who will win, between this thing, against that 'strike from above' that your daughter is showing?"
"Watch your mouth, Junker Queen. My daughter is not someone that could be easily put into comparison."
"There is no value that we can get by compare this attack power."
When Odessa Stone saw Kim loading a bazooka, she linked one of Pharah's offensive tactics to this, and taunting Amari mother and daughter, for no reason, Kim tried to mediate them.
"Hey, I'm the one showing the demonstration, but why are you trying to fight with the topic that not even related with me?"
Kim frowned once, and put the M6 rocket in the launch tube and connected the wire to the firing unit.
"Now, let me straight again, please don't stand behind me. Please keep at least 20 feet away from me, and if you stand right next to me, the shockwaves are not very weak, so please notify yourself."
Everyone stepped back from Kim's side, in case of a possible mishap. Kim calmed his breath and checked the location of the target. Then he lifted the launch tube and aimed at the target. The target, which was rocked up and down by the turbulent waves, showed no signs of calming down.
Finally, Kim pulled the trigger. The rocket left the launch tube with a loud 'bam!' The aftermath of the blast, well, it surely was an old explosive device, so it was more powerful than modern rocket-propelled weapons. However, those who did not receive a physical reinforcement would flinch, but to the Sojourn, Genji, Torbjorn, who already got some enhancement, and the original 'omnic' Bastion, they did not even flinch at all.
Anyway, the blast was a blast, and the launched rocket precisely hit the target that was floating on the sea. The target was shattered with a heavy explosion sound.
"By the way, just because of the curious. Wasn't your specialty being originally a transportation, Kim? It's possible that you could shoot the rifle well, but how much education did you have, that you know how to control a helicopter and shoot a rocket?"
Commander Jack asked Kim.
"Well, actually, I didn't get an education that much, sir. Everybody was too busy in there, though. But, you know, the battlefield doesn't always go by the logic and the rules, does it, sir? Especially in Vietnam, where I was, you know, far from the ethics and the sense of safety that we have today, sir."
"Hmm. Understandable."
In Kim's response, Commander Jack agreed. In some cases, Jack himself was well aware of what a battlefield looked like, and what could happen in such a situation.
After completing with the bazooka, Kim continued to demonstrate his weaponry. The M79 grenade launcher, the M72 L.A.W., M60 machine gun, and the Vietnam War's symbol itself, the M16A1, and its talkative M16A2 were also included. In fact, the M16A1 was almost the same gun as the XM177 rifle that Kim use, but the M16 - which was considered sophisticated and sleek at the time - is still enough to catch the eye of many people in 2078.
Kim took advantage of the fact that he had enough ammunition left that could use, so he allowed to most of the heroes to have a chance to try the M16A1.
Jack, Ana, Torbjorn, and Reinhardt, as the most senior agents in Overwatch, this rifle had already been formally retired from the military, when they first took up the weapon, so they learned about the rifle step by step, by explaining from Kim, from the beginning. But one thing they all agreed with, was that this black gun is loud, smelly, and not that powerful compared to today, but it's still not something you can't use.
Not only military figures like Sojourn, Zarya, Tracer, and , and Pharah, but also folk heroes like Baptiste, Cassidy, and Mei have found that this gun over here, is a quite decent gun, compared to their expectations.
Lùcio, Dr. Mercy, and Brigitte, who has the role of healer, also thought that the gun was light and strong enough to match the defensive armament that they are carrying.
However, the Shimada brothers and Kiriko, were so familiar with the blades and bow, they never thought about using the gun, even though they admitted that it had a good performance. Winston did not get his finger in to the trigger hole, even though Kim opened it to the bottom of the trigger guard.
[Gibraltar Watch Point training ground. 10:20 A.M.]
Kim looked at the training bots, which seemed small and cute but also, heavy. Was it called omnic? Unlike those living robots over there, these fellas were really close to the robots that were imagined a lot in the 1980s. As a result, he felt a little friendly to them.
"So, what should I do here now?"
"Simple. Just take down one of that training bot."
"…. Just knock them down?"
"Yes."
After the weapons demonstration was completed, Sojourn, Ana, and Soldier:76 and other commanders entered the base for other tasks, Winston and Torbjorn returned to the laboratory to resolve the space-time anomaly, as Jack and Ana requested. The rest of the heroes also had their own routines, so only Hana, Kiriko, Genji, Mei, and Angela brought Kim to the training ground in earnest. Of course, they were never brought Kim to just watch, as he showed some use of his own era's weapons earlier, so they were evaluating his personal combat ability for once, as Jack, Ana, and Vivian ordered. Kim didn't care much about whether there were many or few people around him, but Kiriko's words, that knock down the robot, were startling.
"… How?"
"Of course, by the use of weapons."
"…. Any weapon?"
"…. (Sigh). Hold on. I'll show you a demonstration."
Kiriko stepped forward to Kim. Then, she takes a deep breath, and corrected the position herself. Then, in a quick and concise move, she threw the two Kunai, and hit the training bot. The training bot exploded with a light noise.
"You just destroy that? We didn't even know how much that costs!"
"Uh, it's not as expensive as you think, Kim. Unlike in the past, not only have such training robots become commonplace, but the cost of mass-producing them has also decreased a lot."
Angela said as there is no problem. Kim still couldn't believe that Kiriko had destroyed the new technology robot, without any hesitation.
"What do you think? Can you understand now?"
Kiriko looked at Kim and said, but he still looked incredulous.
"Ugh, Genji. How about you show your skills now?"
Genji gave a shrug to Kiriko, and then stepped forward. He also settled down, and prepared for the attack. As he usually did, and moreover, he had a customer who had never seen him this time, so he posed for a better posture. Then he throws the Shuriken, and drew out a dragon blade, and rushed forward.
"竜神の剣を喰らえ! (Taste the blade of the dragon god!)"
The robot got cut in half in a second, then exploded. Genji calmly, but also, gently holstered the sword back. Kim was not a big fan of Japanese culture, but that skill that he just showed, was worth for getting applause.
"Tremendous!"
Kim said, lightly applauding. Then, looking at the training bots that appeared again at the training site as every time that one of them destroyed.
"So, I'm asking just because I really don't understand. What exactly should I do? Destruction, or simple domination?"
"I think I have to show you my skills this time."
This time, Dr. Mei stepped forward. As one training bot approached, she pulled out an Endothermic Blaster. Then, she fired some frost, to freeze the robot.
"And, this for the final showdown!"
Then she fired an icicle, and pierced the robot's head. The robot did not explode, but it fell sideways, with stop the operation. A cleaner robot came out from one side and quickly dragged the fallen robot away.
"As you said. Destroy it, or disable it, as I just showed you. You can do it whatever the way you prefer."
Mei said, as she spins her blaster around, and put it in the holster.
"Huh, it's just like the similar thing, that talking about the difference, between popping a person in the head, or simply killing he or she, is it?"
"으, 굳이 그렇게 설명을 해야 해? (Ew, you really have to explain like that?)"
Hana looked at Kim, with an expression of horror. This time, it was Kim's turn. He watched slowly as a training bot approached him. He looked carefully at the robot. Everyone standing around was about to question why Kim did not make any move, but just staring at the bot. He snorted once, then quickly draw out the M15 revolver from his holster.
[Bang, bang!]
Kim fired two rounds in quick. Having briefly forgotten how loud the guns of the past were, the present heroes had to cover their ears and cringe for a moment.
"Ugh, that's a really hard sound that to be familiar with."
Hana looked up as she said. Soon, she found a training bot in front of her, just standing still. And so did others.
"What the? Kim? No way... Did you just miss it?"
Hana asked with a look of nonsense. Kim kept silent with only his signature, beaming smile on his face.
"What the… Kim. Don't tell me, you've got your fancy pose for sure, but you missed your target, did you?"
When Genji said in a disbelief voice, Kiriko raised her finger and sent a sign to stop.
"Wait! I don't think he missed the shots!"
Kiriko slowly approached the training bot, and said. The robot was just stands still, not moving or swinging its arms as usual. Kiriko put her hand to the robot's head. Then, the robot collapsed to the floor without any resist. She found two bullet holes, that were correctly through the robot's upper body's side.
"Well, he didn't miss it, but, how can I explain this?"
While Kiriko was looking into the robot, a shadow appeared behind her.
"åh kära herre. (Oh, my God.) I've never seen anything so neat like this."
Brigitte appeared at the training ground, and start looking at the training bot, that Kim had just knocked down. She looked into the bot for a moment, and started talking to Kim.
"What a shot, Kim. How did you manage to fit only the operating circuit and power transmission of the robot?"
Kim said, putting the gun back in holster.
"Well, as I just look at it, I figured out a possible inside structure. My gun is not that powerful, compared to modern weapons, so I thought it would only be effective to take it down at once, aiming at the vital spots."
"Figured out an inside structure? What? You didn't disassemble it just even once, and you expected which parts of the robot will be critical?"
Brigitte said, as she examines the bullet hole in robot's body, as if she couldn't believe it.
"After dealing with the car engines and chassis for some time, I could figure out the most of the power machine's inside structure. And I just thought it would be most efficient to shoot down that spot."
Kiriko, Genji, Angela and Mei looked at Brigitte, as if they didn't understand her, and opened their mouths.
"He only hits the main power system...? Did you just say like that, Brigitte?"
"I'm also seeing it in front of my eyes now, but I cannot believe it, either. He just blew away only the vital parts of the training bot, barely damaging the outer skin. To compare it to a human, it blew the brain and carotid artery only, leaving that person to die without any damages elsewhere in the body. Well, what's the secret about, being able to figure the inside structure out, by just looking at it, Kim? No, wait. You don't have to say it. I'm sure most of us cannot even understand it, even if you explain it anyway."
Brigitte continued to talk as she sees the fallen robot. Everyone looked at Kim, with an expression of nonsense, and he looked at everyone with only his signature, beaming smile.
[18:00 P.M. Main lobby. Gibraltar Watch Point]
All the lights in the lounge area went out early, far from the usual. But the lounge was not empty. All the heroes that were staying inside the base, gathered in the lounge. Jack instructed Athena to do something. Then, a series of videos began to play on Athena's screen, which was shining alone in the dark. First appearing, was a rotating rotor blade of the UH-1H helicopter, that was filmed with a black-and-white camera.
"Isn't everyone get bored about this, Commander Jack, sir? That's something same in my generation, too, and I still think it will be a common in all ages, get bored by old history stories..."
"It will be another thing, if they hear the historical wars directly from a veteran's mouth. It can be an education for these fellas, and it can strengthen your position, as a veteran, I guess."
Kim looked at everyone with a worried look, of course, with the Commander Jack.
"Do I have to listen to old stories once again like this? These are the stories that can be found just by opening up history books."
"Well, even we can find it up on the Internet, but the story that telling by the person who was in the actual field, may be different."
As Zarya spoke with boredom, Cassidy replied right next to her. Sloan was especially glistening. One of the most important stories in world history that one hears directly from a person 100 years ago. Ana, Torbjorn, and Reinhardt were somehow awkward, and also fascinated to hear about the old stories, that told by someone who is much younger than them. The young heroes, Lena, Genji, Song Hana, Kiriko, Lùcio, and Brigitte, feels funny that someone who is not that much older than them, is gonna talking about story of their grandfather's generation, but also reminded them that this person right in front of them, was a person who had fallen into this age by time travel.
"What we're going to watch from now on, is a video of the actual scenes that taken during the Vietnam War, between 1983 and 1986. I don't know about this video other than information about the time and location, but Sergeant Kim, over here, will give the additional details."
As Jack made way for Kim, the two exchanged conversations for a while.
"You, sure they were the films that taken in the area that I told you about, sir? I only had been in the northern part of the Vietnam, so I'm gonna be in trouble, if there's suddenly a Nha Trang or Saigon's video comes out, sir."
"Relax. My contact that still in the military found it in the direct achieve storage, and sorted it for me. And, well, there's the data that I could found out from the Internet, about the Vietnam War."
Kim looked at the screen. This familiar images, color and quality, moving between monochrome and colored video. It's been just a week after that he had left, but still affectionate view, of the 1980s. As he looked at the scenery and equipment are passing by, his memories, of six years of service in Vietnam, came back to his head. The heroes who looked at the same time were also focused on the screen without saying a word.
"This is an area called the Mang-ri, Tumo-rong Province, near Kon-tum, South Vietnam. The timing, if I guess by the sceneey in the video... It looks like near May 1984."
Everyone watched the video, with Kim's intermediate explanation little by little. Some of the videos were had the classical music in background, that was popular in that age, perhaps because Jack scrapped the videos posted on the Internet, somehow.
"The man, who is directing this cigar that's lit up right now, is Major General Edward D. Teller. Well, he was still a brigadier general at this time. This is Major Jonathan Pearce, 1st Battalion, 3rd Cavalry Regiment of the U.S. Army. He was serving as a makeshift battalion commander at the time. Oh, I'd be sorry to leave him out. This is Major Dylan Coleman, the guy in the flight suit and sunglasses, the pilot of the RAF 83rd Expeditionary Air Group. He was a captain at this time, and he was very close to me. Man, he was a handsome dude, for real."
Along with Kim's explanation, numerous scenes from Vietnam's battlefield, of 100 years ago, passed one by one. All the heroes who were gathered here now, had been learned about the Vietnam War in school, and some were even got trained based on the lessons of the war, so it could have been boring. However, the story that explained by the man who actually participates at there, and talking about the scenery and people that the camera was filming, provided another fun.
Flying helicopters, soldiers taking a break in trenches and temporary dugouts, troopers navigating through the jungle, numerous M16 rifles and M60 machine guns. Everything that resembles the Vietnam War, appeared on the screen and disappeared. Then, Kim noticed that the camera was filming a scene that he was very familiar with, and slapped his finger.
"Now, hold on a minute. Soon, there will be someone, very familiar to you all, will be passing by. Now… 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… And, boom!"
The video now shows the soldiers who were taking a break in the operation area. Middle of the screen, a Sergeant, who was using his hand gestures and explaining something to the other soldiers, came out. Everyone exclaimed with novelty. It was Sergeant Kim himself. The glasses he still wears, that unique hair that protruded slightly under his helmet, and the scars on his cheeks, were no different from now.
Hanzo was finally able to completely close a string of doubts he had for a week, about the person who was standing in front of him. If he came this far and still claimed that the person is fake, there will be no other possible explanation than declaring he has a problem with his own intelligence. Hanzo admitted that he is really from the past, although he did not want to admit it, and that his intuition was wrong this time. However, not all doubts were completely put down. Yes, he can be sure that Kim is really came from the past, but he'll see if his ability, shooting only guns, will work out here, too. Hanzo looked at Kim quietly, thinking like this.
Contrary to Hanzo's look, Kim continued to explaining the video, excitedly.
But, at one point, upon reaching some part of the video, he was completely captivated by the feeling of being hit by a hammer.
"Uh, Athena, please pause the video for a moment."
Athena stopped the video. In the paused video, there was a scene that Kim, who eagerly communicated with the platoon members, then found out the camera, and mischief with the platoon members, laughing. Despite having some differences with the 1986's platoon member composition, but still they were all familiar and precious faces to Kim. He looked at the faces of Berk, Turner, Vincent and Albert. Unwittingly, he walks out to the center of the screen. Then, he touched the screen, the faces of the platoon members, whom he could no longer able to meet.
"Kim? You okay?"
When Commander Jack asked, Kim turned his face for a moment, looked at Jack, and keep talking, again.
"Sorry. I've been caught up by some of my memory for a moment."
He continued his words by patting the smiles of the platoon members who remained only inside the video.
"These two black men, over here, are Berk Williams and Turner Westwood. This mustached fella over here, is Vincent Fitzgerald, and this black hair with freckle in his face, is Albert Wayne. All four of them were my proud platoon members, belonging to the Sparrow 2 Platoon, of the 17th Combat Battalion, 3rd Infantry Brigade, the Army."
As if there was a moment of emotional agitation, Kim somehow calmed down the feeling of hotness under his eyes and continued to speak.
"And... (Sigh). They... They were all my precious friends, who lost their lives in front of my eyes."
Kim continued the explanation by playing the video again. Even the coincidence was amazing, there was no more good views came out from this part.
Civilian houses were brutally destroyed, by merciless bombing from the sky. Machine gun baptism into the grass, although the targets were not to be seen. Rifles spitting out the casings, grenades, rockets, and self-propelled projectiles were flying everywhere. Huey helicopters that are shot by North Vietnamese anti-aircraft weapons, and crash to the ground with their rotors destroyed, fighter jets that fall to the ground while on fire, and cause huge explosions, soldiers who are in pain, hanging in their comrade's hands, while their limbs were horribly cut offed, and other soldiers, who do everything possible to keep them away from dying. The view of countless North Vietnamese, Allied, and civilian corpses. The video's quality was just a little worse off, but there was no difference from the modern battlefield, that most of the heroes here, still remember.
In addition, while numerous scenes were passing by, Kim himself in the past, and the faces of his close friends, and all of his colleagues who had lost their lives in front of him, could be seen in anywhere. Kim continued to explain the video, repressing hard, whenever his emotions swelled like they were about to explode. And the fact that he was more agitated than anyone else in the room, was recognizable to everyone in the room, and Kim's story, that gave a sense of memory of the lost and homogeneity to the lost, also affects the heroes.
Vivian remembered her colleagues, civilians, and good Omnic citizens, who she cannot protect, during the Battle of Toronto.
Angela recalled her parents, who lost their lives in the Omnic crisis, and countless children who had to be abandoned in a brutal world, and orphaned, just like her.
Mei was in tears, as she recalled her colleagues who died in the cold of Antarctica, cannot survive in the cryostasis, not like her.
Jean Baptiste recalled the countless people he killed, Cassidy recalled the mistakes that he made in the past, and Zarya was wiping away her tears without realizing herself, while recalled memories of the countless motherland peoples and colleagues who had to lose their lives due to omnics.
Apart from the hostility held with Kim, Hanzo feels the pain again, when he thought he had killed his younger brother, Genji.
Ana hugged her daughter, Fareeha, silently, who joins the Overwatch just like herself and going through all the bad things. Torbjorn also grabbed Brigitte's hand, without saying anything. Jamieson, the Junkrat, could understand all the pains of everyone around him, for this moment now. Odessa Stone also became solemn as she recalled her parents, who were leading one of the resistance forces under the Australian Liberation Front, and also, did not end well.
Kiriko showed tears as she recalled her father, who was taken to the Hashimoto, and still could not see his face, and her mother, Asa, who was worried about her, while fighting with the Hashimoto clan, and became old, day by day.
Finally, Kim also reached the limit of his emotions.
The video showed platoon members of the Sparrow 2 Platoon in August 1986, just two months before they were put into the 'Operation: Omnic Takeback', in the New Mexico Plateau. Joseph Vance and Paul Jackson were seen smiling broadly, shoulder to shoulder with Kim himself. When the faces of the two friends, who were infinitely innocent, were seen, Kim finally explodes a pressure of his own emotion.
"Wait, wait... From here, I…. Sorry, I can't do this from here!"
He managed to say a few words and ran out to the outside door, trying his best to his voice are not sounded like weeping. While everyone was listening to Kim's story overlapping in their own respective memories, they were also surprised, when he shows the unexpected behavior.
"Oh no, this is not good."
Second Commander Ana said, turning on the light in the lobby in a hurry. Hana and Kiriko quickly jumped out and spoke.
"Don't worry, we'll try to calm him down!"
The two quickly ran out of the base. However, that 'fast-speed' sergeant, was already gone. Several other heroes rushed out, too, but they didn't know where to find him, either.
"Where did he go? And please, let's hope that he's got a bad thinking about..."
"Don't say that, Kiriko. I still don't know well about Kim's personality yet, but he's not a person who's weak and easily go off with things like this."
Hana agonized for a while, and raised her head as if she had a good idea.
"I think he could be in there!"
In front of Winston's laboratory, the cliff where Kim's helicopter landed. Kim crouched down, looking at the sea there. No matter how much he tried to calm himself down, he couldn't stop crying and sobbing.
He missed the dead platoon members and other colleagues, so damn madly.
And, again, the guilt of not saving each one of them, had put him under such pressure that he couldn't breathe.
The historical defeat of the Vietnam War, which made their deaths even less valuable, made him even more angry. He doesn't care about the war itself that much, because he didn't put many meanings on the war of his time, but the thing that unacceptable to him, was all of that actions, which he fought for at the expense of all his precious people, were now considered and treated, as a disgraceful history that symbolized only the confrontation between the two political systems and American hegemony, in the present era.
He pushed his head between his knees, wrapped his arms around him, and sobbed. For the better, only the sound of waves coming from the sea, which contained no meaning, and the cool wind gently caressed him, helping him vent his accumulated emotions.
Hana and Kiriko rushed out, near to the cliff. Sure enough, Kim was there, crouching where he expected to be.
"Kim!"
The two, ran to the Kim.
"진호 오빠, 지금 심정이 이해는 되지만, 이렇게 무작정 달려나가면 어떡해. 지금 안에 있는 사람들 중 일부는 지금 오빠가 절벽에서 뛰어내린 줄 안단 말이야. (Kim, I understand how you feel now, but you should not run out like this. Some of the people inside thoughts that you might jump off a cliff.)"
"Now, Kim. Take it easy. Take a deep breath, and relax."
Kim wanted to say that he was still okay, but he feels like his throat is being choked up, so he knew that his voice would not come out properly. As a result, he raised a finger, as a sign to give himself a moment. Hana and Kiriko stepped back for a moment.
He slowly calmed down his mind. As he was accustomed to doing so, he regained his coolness and initiative in thinking, by closing down the memories associated with his current emotions, one by one, and relaxed his body organs that had been in a state of hypertension, to express feelings of sadness. The sour pain under his nose and eyes gradually subsided, and the feeling of caught something in his throat, disappeared. He took a few deep breaths and then coughed several times, to test if his voice is back to normal again, and coming out, understandable. After confirming that his voice came out normally again, Kim began to speak to Hana and Kiriko.
"Sorry about run away from there like that."
"No, Kim. We understand. It could be happening."
"Kim, you okay now?"
Kim sighed for a long time and looked at the distant horizon that shines under the moonlight.
"I wasn't serving there for, expecting this kind of future."
Kiriko and Hana listened to Kim's compliant, without saying a word.
"Actually, I never went into the battlefield to hope for or to achieve something. Dear god, never it will be. Because, I hate all of that 'thoughts' and politics. I just need a way to make my own living. No, maybe even if I die early, maybe I was looking for a place to die that can be remembered as a meaningful death for a moment."
Kim looked at the moon once and looked at Kiriko and Hana.
"Both of you already knew that I didn't look normal, did you? Well, I didn't want to be abnormal, but, seeing all my friends in the battlefield got killed one by one, so I had to be crazy to not dead. No, I thought I was crazy myself. I thought I was insensitive to death, because I was constantly faced with death, and get used to it. But you know what? I was still a coward who afraid the death."
Kim looked down his revolver, and said.
"I don't even deserve to be carrying this gun. Coward, incompetent. Also, so distraught enough, that blew away the ears of innocent one. How much of bad this could be?"
Kiriko realized that Sergeant Kim was also stepping on one of the processes, pain's prolonging, that she had already experienced. Being obsessed with one's own memories and limitations, and hiding behind the recollections like this, and falling into endless self-deprecation. For him, and for himself and other heroes around him, she thought she should provide some momentum to Kim, just as those heroes around, that he helped.
"So, is that all, Kim?"
"Sorry, what?"
"Is that all you got, whining about the old days, just like a crying baby?"
"The hell did you just..."
Kiriko slapped Kim's cheek, hard.
"You can act like a Man!"
Then, she grabbed Kim's arm, and waved it around and shouted.
"What's wrong with you? Was it just like this? You survived a war that was even more backward and tougher than we were? Sobbing, and whining, not based on your own skill?"
Kim was more embarrassed, than angry with the fact that he just got slapped by her.
"Stop crying and lamenting right now, Kim. You're a good soldier. And you've been so long. I was surprised that you dominated a training bot, with just two old-fashioned lead bullets at the training ground, a few hours ago. Who showed us that much accuracy and destructive power with those old-fashioned weapons in the demonstration? It's you, Kim! It's yourself!"
Kim only looked at Kiriko with a blank look on his face.
"You already said it yourself once. You're not the only one, who's had an extraordinarily hard time. Everyone here has gone through their own hardships, and that's why we are in today, are so strong. Why are you saying things different now, when you already know the point, and explained it to yourself once? Wake up, Kim. You're not weak. You're the best and toughest person I've ever met. It may be a coincidence that you came here, but it was only at your discretion, that you were judged by the people of this day as a time-honored veteran."
Kim could feel that some of the feelings and memories he had forgotten for quite some time, had begun to return.
"I'm not forcing you to overcome your past pains, but it's up to you how you're going to behave in the future. So, decide now, whether you're going to keep being swayed by your emotions and not be able to get ahead of yourself, or you're going to remain one of those as imposing as we are. Like the strong impression you gave us when you first arrived."
Kim looked Kiriko in the eye for a moment and then said.
"I think that line, is a little twisted version of Vito Corleone's line, from the movie, The Godfather."
Oh, crap. Kiriko was prickled for a moment. The message that she just made to Kim, was actually what her mother, Asa, said to Kiriko herself, when she was a little younger than she is now, and when she did not show very good results in a battle against the Hashimoto clan.
At that time, she admired her mother for her wonderful words, but it was a few years later when she discovered that she had slightly applied the lines from the movie, The Godfather Series, which is quite classic. She thought only a few people wouldn't know because it was a movie that had been out for more than 100 years now. But also, she forgot for a moment that Kim, over here, had come directly from the time when the movie was just coming out.
"But, whatever, thank you so much. I think I'm able to coming to my senses a little bit now."
Kim held hands with Kiriko and waved her hand lightly. Then, he gave a light shout, and jumped up from the floor.
"Yeah, this is how it should feel. I'm not a mannequin who just floats on the floor, without any decision!"
Kim even raised up Hana and Kiriko, who were sitting next to him.
"Thank you both. Worrying about me, and even come out here to check my situation."
Other heroes started running after spotting the three, near the cliff. Before fully meeting the others, Kim made eye contact with Kiriko again. He smiled only at Kiriko for the first time, and not his usual funny beaming expression. Kiriko was embarrassed by the smile, that he made for the first time. However, it occurred to her that the person who seemed like a heavy club of the battlefield, looked cute for the first time.
[After a few hours, Kim searched for something through Athena]
"Christ. There are already three Godfather movies out there? And Back to the Future, too. Finally, there will be no more dull moment until sleep at night."
Athena was aware that she was an artificial intelligence herself, but she felt annoyed for the first time, after predicting the appearance of Kim, who would constantly ask her about the movie request, every night in the future.