Duty • Military AU, Blackpink • Jenchulichaeng

18 - The Road Home Pt. 2

The two planes arrived back in South Korea the next evening. The air was chilly, transitioning from summer to autumn. One by one, the soldiers left the aircraft and boarded the motorcade back to the barracks.

For the first time in three months, they enter through their barracks' brick gate. They were finally home at long last. Families of the soldiers gathered in the courtyard, waiting to greet each of them. The soldiers rushed to them as soon as they dismounted their vehicles.

[Jennie]

Jennie's parents had returned from their vacation in Japan. A month ago, they received news that Jennie was in critical condition in the battlefield. They anxiously looked around for Jennie.

Jennie stepped off the truck and walked around the courtyard, wondering if her family even decided to visit her. Then she spotted her parents looking around for her. "Mom? Dad?" She called out to them.

"Jennie!" They ran to her and immediately hugged her as tight as they could. Jennie was flustered. She hasn't seen her family like this ever since she enlisted in the military.

Her mom held her shoulders and looked around her body for any signs of a single scratch. She worriedly said, "Oh my God... Are you okay? We received news that you almost died in Iraq!"

Jennie was still startled. "I-I'm okay. Why are you... suddenly like this?" she asked.

Her dad told her, "Jennie-yah, you almost died! We could've lost you, you know?"
Still flustered, Jennie stayed silent and stared at them. She didn't expect this reaction from the same parents who despised her so much.

"Jennie-yah," Her mom began. "We're sorry for every inch of resentment we had when you decided to enlist. We regretted it that we spent those years being angry over your dreams, instead of cherishing every moment you're alive together. We're sorry..."

Jennie was speechless. All her career, she had accepted the fact that her parents won't ever approve and suddenly, they were apologizing to her. "W-where were those two words... all those years?" she stuttered.

Her parents hugged her tightly once again, saying, "We're sorry we only said this when it's nearly too late."

Jennie stood still. Tears began to fill under her eyes and she began to sob, crying out the deep scars her parents left in her heart long ago. She gently laid her hands on them, returning the hug. It felt like the weight finally being lifted off of her after so long. In the midst of all the crying, she finally put on a smile.

[Chaeyoung]

Aaagh... Chaeyoung stretched her arms and legs out right after she dismounted the truck. The fresh air on the barracks cleansed her lungs as she looked around the familiar buildings. The parade square, the white buildings, the trees around, the training grounds. She's finally back home.

Just as she walked past the soldiers to look for her family, she ran into them as they also looked for her.
"Mom, Dad, Ally!" she called them.

"Rosie!" They ran to each other and hugged Chaeyoung. "I missed you guys so much..." she said.

Her mom asked, "How was your three months in Iraq?"

Chaeyoung was about to answer, until her family bombarded her with more questions. "Was it boring? Eventful? Great? Or did they dare make you go on a dangerous mission?"

"Whoa, whoa... please slow down." She said. "Yeah, it was pretty great. I got to spend time with my friends, go on charity service, assist the soldiers on patrol, and at some point I was kidnapped and taken hos-" Chaeyoung abruptly stopped when she realized what she told them.