Descendants of The Sun: The Second Chapter

Chapter Nine-Part Two

   The night was dull, except for the distant sounds of gunfire. The war was still raging at the battlefront, and the hospital, instead of being a safe site for the research of the virus, had turned into a massive field hospital, where the wounded were brought in and patched up before returning them to the front. Fortunately for the crew, they had successfully obtained a wide space for themselves to continue the research and also isolated themselves away from the wounded, thus allowing wounded soldiers to be fixed up without the fear of a major viral infection for the spaces the soldiers were using had been already sanitised beforehand. The risk was still there though, albeit a mere minimum. The doctors constantly kept the place in check to reduce the risk.

   After a while of searching by while passing by some of the severely wounded patients Mo Yeon thought she shouldn't have seen, Mo Yeon headed to the camp. Seeing a few familiar yet surprised faces for they didn't expect Mo Yeon to be there, Mo Yeon asked where Si Jin was. Each of them gave a different set of answers, however. Even Dae Young and Myeong Joo had no idea where Si Jin was exactly. A further search within the limits of where she could go around the camp proved unfruitful, and she came to a conclusion that Si Jin was indeed not around, thus leaving her in a blind.

   She returned to the hospital and searched again. After some time, she somehow couldn't find him and she felt that she had covered all corners. That's when she nearly gave up searching for the invincible man she realised she had actually missed a spot. Almost immediately, she turned around from her approach back to her room and headed towards the roof.

   As expected, Si Jin was there, sitting at the edge of the roof with his legs dangling freely in the air. Mo Yeon saw him watching the dark sky at a distance as she slowly and silently approached him from his direct left. He looked as if he was in a trance because he never once flinched or move slightly at the sound of her incoming footsteps, no matter how hard she tried to keep it low. The cold wind blowing from the east made her shiver a little, so she protectively wrapped her arms around her chest.

   A lot of questions popped up in her mind all at once during her slow approach. The most obvious of those was about the shot he took. Mere mention about it was already enough to make her feel uncomfortable again. However, those feelings of fear and despair, including all the questions in her head, were immediately extinguished in a speed she couldn't apprehend the moment she sat down next to him. It was as if Si Jin was a vacuum cleaner, sucking her brain dry from her thoughts when she was in close proximity. Still, he never seemed to notice that she was sitting next to him, eyes still darted to the sky above. Seeing that no one's going to start talking, Mo Yeon decided to go ahead, even though she had doubts about it. She wasn't sure whether he was in a condition to talk or not.

   "S...Si Jin?" She called in a whisper.

   "Geokjeonghajima. I'm not dead yet." Si Jin replied flatly without even looking at her. Nevertheless, the rather direct answer gave Mo Yeon the answer she needed–that he indeed acknowledged her presence all along. He returned to his grieving self soon after, letting out a heavy exhale as he finally looked down, and then to Mo Yeon. The effects of those memories were still vivid in his eyes. "I just need some time alone. This..this memory...I still can't let it go."

   Besides the shooting, there was one more thing Mo Yeon wanted to highlight, but once again, she was unsure on whether she should ask this question or not. She kept silent anyhow, not replying to his words at all. All she did was just to study his facial expression.

   "I know that you feel disgusted about what I did. I admit, that I feel totally ashamed about it." Si Jin looked away from her and down towards the compound below. The telltale signs of disgrace were evident in everything he was doing, from his face to his body and from the way he talked. She correctly assumed that he felt really bad about what he did, and to him, it was a humiliating shame indeed. "I feel ashamed of myself, Mo Yeon-ah. How did I ever lived through this, I don't know, but right now, I feel that I've been lying to myself all these years. The blood...in my hands...and I'm now a Major!" Si Jin began to tear up, emotions running high. "I'm so sorry, Mo Yeon-ah. This relationship is a mistake. Perhaps it's best...if we just maintained who we were back then. It's a shame of me to even dare to ask for your hand when I've already killed someone! It's just....it's just–"