Steel Soviet Union

"If you could go back in time, what would you do? Take this as an opportunity. I look forward to seeing your final choice. We will meet again. I hope you will still be a teenager when you return. ▲𝐺𝑜𝑜𝑔𝑙𝑒 Search for 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑜𝑚Read▲ "

With the words still echoing in his ears, Malashenko opened his eyes again and felt as if he had returned from hell, with only relief lingering in his heart.

"It's still the familiar ceiling, okay, everything is fine."

Malashenko, who felt like he was in another world in a dream, continued to do the things he was supposed to do with extremely clear memories, seemingly unchanged and as normal as ever.

Malashenko, who only knows the true situation, does not intend to talk about it to anyone, including his family.

But a long-term and huge plan in my heart has quietly begun, and the layout that was planned nearly 20 years in advance starts now.

As usual, Malashenko was busy in the office reviewing newly delivered documents in the office that once belonged to Zhukov.

Tuk-tuk-tuk——

The sudden knock on the door did not stop Malashenko from holding the pen in his hand. He continued to sign his name on the document and spoke in response.

"Please come in."

"Comrade Minister of Defense, it's an emergency. Marshal Zhukov is critically ill and is about to die."

""

The movement of the pen in his hand stopped abruptly as the secretary opened his mouth to report. Malashenko, who seemed to have pressed the pause button on his whole body, was unable to speak for a while and did not know what he was thinking about.

The secretary on duty, who was standing in front of his desk, waited for half a minute before he finally heard Comrade Defense Minister's slow words.

"I know, prepare your car and go there immediately."

"The car has been prepared for you. Comrade Defense Minister, he is waiting downstairs."

He raised his head and glanced at the old secretary who had been with him for five years. Malashenko nodded slowly with an affirmative look in his eyes and stood up. He closed the pen in his hand and the documents on the table and set off immediately.

Malashenko, who had known that this day would come, had actually been thinking about how he should face Zhukov, who has rarely interacted with him now, when this day comes.

Malashenko once thought he had figured out what to say and what to do, but the sudden dream of the future disrupted everything Malashenko had planned.

What will happen in the future? Malashenko, whose plan is being improved little by little but is not yet clear, is still not sure.

But at least one thing is certain. I will not do anything similar to Zhukov in the past, present, or future for the same purpose. There are always some bottom lines that must be observed.

"We are here, Comrade Defense Minister."

Arriving at the villa on the outskirts of Moscow, Malashenko heard the report from the secretary in the front passenger seat and immediately turned his head and stared out of the car window.

"Get off the car, I'll go alone, you guys are waiting here."

After greeting Zhukov's wife, who had been taking care of him, Malashenko visited the house personally and asked the doctors present for details.

After once again confirming that there was nothing he could do to save the day and that the fuel was exhausted, Malashenko calmed down and quietly opened the door and entered.

"I thought they were trying to comfort me, but I didn't expect you to actually come, Malashenko."

Unlike any other encounter in the past, Malashenko is now truly on an equal footing with Zhukov. He is even almost equal to Zhukov in terms of honors and achievements, which is enough to be recorded in history and leave a lasting mark. of a sum.

However, Malashenko, who had never thought of how great he was, still ignored the past and stood at attention by the bedside, raising his hand in salute, just like he had done in too many encounters in the past.

"Comrade Marshal, Malashenko is reporting to you. It is an honor to see you again."

Looking at the man in front of him who had reached the highest peak he had ever touched in his life, recalling the past scenes and the bits and pieces they had experienced together during the Great Patriotic War, the overwhelmed Zhukov lay on the hospital bed and just shook his head.

"I did a lot of things wrong, Malashenko. I'm sorry I ever did that to you. I've always wanted to find a chance to apologize to you. Thank you for giving me this last chance."

"In the years since I returned home, I have thought about it a lot. I have thought about the words you originally advised me too many times."

"Now I can't figure out why I couldn't even listen to the simplest truth. I'm completely different. When did I become someone who doesn't even know myself? I've thought about it, but I Can't find the answer."

"Don't worry about that, Comrade Marshal. No one can make mistakes without being a saint. The past is in the past. Even I made mistakes when I was young and frivolous. Without you, maybe I would have been eliminated before the end of the Great Patriotic War. Dismissed and investigated.”

Hearing Malashenko suddenly talk about what happened back then, Zhukov, who could still clearly recall the past, laughed, as if he was a like-minded comrade who was on the battlefield with Malashenko yesterday.

"That's different, Malashenko. There are always some mistakes that cannot be forgiven, and I made exactly that mistake."

"call--"

Before he finished speaking, Zhukov, who was obviously unable to do what he wanted, sighed, knowing that his time was running out, and before it passed away, he wanted to hear the truth from the man he once regarded as his confidant and favorite.

"Malashenko, what kind of person am I in your eyes? I'm about to die and I want to hear the truth."

""

Malashenko, who was not in a hurry to give an answer, still sat by the bed, spent more time than usual thinking carefully, and finally gave a firm answer as always.

"No matter what, you are a hero of the Patriotic War, Comrade Marshal. Without you, many things would not have happened."

"Perhaps future generations will criticize your faults, but people will also not forget your merits, which are outstanding achievements that cannot be erased by time."

"Commissar Petrov led me in the direction of progress, and you gave me the opportunity to succeed and provided me with a stage to display my ambitions and dreams, both of which are indispensable. In my eyes, you were , is and will remain one of the most important people in my life, and will remain the same until my death.”

After hearing this answer, a smile that had not been shown for a long time appeared on Zhukov's face again.

In a daze, as if he suddenly remembered something, he once again held Malashenko's hand, who was close to the bed, and spoke again with an almost trembling voice.

"What has happened in recent years always gives me a bad feeling, Malashenko."

"I don't know what will happen in the future, and I can't wait for that day. But if a crisis strikes again, will you protect our motherland again like you did back then?"

Looking at Zhukov's eyes that really longed for a truth, Malashenko's only answer was to nod quietly.

"Yes, I will, Comrade Marshal. I promise you that I will complete the task, just as I did in the Great Patriotic War."

After getting the answer he wanted, Zhukov, who firmly believed that Malashenko would keep his promise, nodded slowly again and left the last words to say goodbye to Malashenko in this life.

"That puts me at ease, that's fine, Malashenko. You have always been right, always have been, and I believe it will remain the same until the end."