[☕]
[Third Person's POV]
The last thing they knew later that night was that Nordame surprisingly backed out. Montverde guessed that they must have ran out of bullets to fire, thus they retreated. Nonetheless, the damage has been massive. Half of the tents were burnt to ashes, a tank has been destroyed, fifty men died, and their base was no longer good for shelter.
They all moved up to where Doctor Hoon led her group; the cave. If one thing, it was spacious enough to accommodate the rest of them. Dozens of men were being treated; their wails and grunts filling the cold 4 AM air. Y/N stayed awake. In fact, all of them did. It wasn't a moment to get some rest. Everyone must keep moving.
"Y/N," Maria handed her coffee. "Drink. You need it."
She rubbed her sore eyes. "Thanks."
"There are still four men yet to tend. I was wondering if you could cater one of them."
"Sure, no problem."
Y/N blinked hard, desperately fighting the urge to fall asleep. Her lids were getting heavy. Despite the coffee, her body still felt weak and shaken. Trauma was imprinted in her memory.
She took another hot sip and collected her kit. She waddled over to the patients, squeezing through the array of mattresses wherein the bleeding and unconscious troops laid. She spotted a man sitting on a chair. Blood was visible from the thin linen around his shoulder. He was holding a glass of water in one hand, the other immobile on his thigh. He was staring at the catastrophic aftermath below— faint orange embers and dark smoke climbing up the sky.
"Commander," Y/N cautiously called.
Commander Choi partly turned his head but didn't look at her. He stayed in that pose for a second or two before discarding her presence. He took out his radio and turned it on.
"Falcon 34, Falcon 34."
Again, she heard the same, short static.
"This is Falcon 34, commander. Over."
"Abandon rove. Move to the nearest town and get your boys some decent sleep."
"Requesting repeat, commander. It's a 2 out of 5 read over here. Over."
"Abandon rove, I repeat. Proceed to the closest community you could find and rest."
"Roger that, sir."
Commander Choi's grip tightened. "Have a good night. Out."
Y/N pursed her lips tightly. Commander Choi chucked his device back to his pocket and heaved out an exasperated sigh. He swung one foot on top of a rock and crossed his other one above it. He rolled his eyes sideways to catch a glimpse of the nurse through his peripherals. He scoffed.
"I'm not in the mood to chatter." He yawned.
"I'm here to clean your wound."
He paused, brow raised. "I see. Onward."
Y/N placed her kit down. Commander Choi unbuttoned his uniform and took it off, exposing the deep injury he's gotten from combat. Thankfully, a nurse had already managed to remove the bullet. But with his blood still gushing, there's more in the latter to take care of.
"This will sting," she warned, holding an alcohol-soaked cotton ball. "Please, stay still."
As soon as she pressed it, Commander Choi belted a loud, crisp "fuck" and hissed. He writhed to the side, face contorting, as a vein popped off his forehead.
"I'm sorry." Y/N murmured, dabbing the cotton gently. "It can't be helped. It is how it is."
"You f— aargh.." He curled his fists. "Stop! Stop! Shit!"
He slapped her hand away, making the cotton fall to the ground, dirty. Y/N didn't flinch. Instead, she understood. It was still a fresh wound, relatively big— about a size of a cent, and rubbing alcohol sure did add fuel to the fire.
"We might have to do it again, commander."
"Fuck off."
"I afraid I can't. You're my responsibility."
"I am none of your business, nurse. Get out of my sight."
"Well, it would be such a shame for a commander to die of infection rather than at war." She stood. "But if it's what you desire, then good night."
Y/N pretended to leave. Two to three steps in and Commander Choi finally surrendered. She heard him grunt and kick something.
"Halt." He ordered. "Get back here."
Mentally smirking, she found herself returning to his side. He seethed, casually turning his face away so he wouldn't have to look at her. Y/N dampened another cotton in alcohol and repeated what she had done before. Commander Choi tightened his jaw, trying not to let out a noise. Y/N did her best to clean off the dried blood as quick as possible, and for the sake of his convenience, she even blew onto it to ease the painful sting.
"Lift up your arm for me, commander."
"Don't wrap the bandage too tightly. It hurts."
"I have to." She insisted. "It will keep the blood from flowing out while you recover."
He looked at her. "That's how it works?"
"Mhm," she nodded. "It closes your wound faster too."
Commander Choi watched her dressed his shoulder in sterile linen. She carefully covered the hole, putting fair amount of pressure for each loop. A little knot secured everything in place afterwards. Y/N tapped his back, signalling that she was done.
He rocked elbows back a bit. "Thank you."
"See? It wasn't that bad, commander."
Commander Choi simply nodded. Y/N crouched down to pack up her tools. He stared at her exhausted state with his lazy eyes.
"What's your name?"
She met his gaze. "Y/N L/N, sir."
"Nurse Y/N." He uttered. "Alright."
"If I may know, why did you ask?"
"Nothing," he shrugged. "No big deal about asking someone's name."
"Ah, yes. Of course. There's no fuss about it."
"You worked at a hospital in Montverde, didn't you?"
Y/N straightened up. "I did. I started at a small clinic and moved to the state hospital seven months after."
"How are things back there?"
"I can't say it's fine. We've been having a lot of air raids every week so we dug out a shelter in the basement. The whole town's in shambles, honestly. It's horrible."
"I see."
Commander Choi and Y/N overlooked Maria who was sitting with Sergeant Kang by the clearing. Doctor Hoon and Corporal Pierre joined them for a drink. The glowing bonfire inside the cave cascaded an orange tinge to the moist, earthy walls. Crickets chirped in chorus to the crackling fire. A nurse tossed a new batch of firewood to feed the charge. As the hour of the dawn struck, the warmer the surrounding grew.
The horizon gradually lit up. From a midnight blue canvas, a hint of bright light poked through the fields. Galyette's shoreline came into view, sparkling as the first sunrays hit the sea's calm surface. Y/N hugged herself.
"Commander."
"What?"
"Do you know that each sunrise holds a meaning?"
"No."
"For example, this one might promise a change in somebody's life."
Commander Choi huffed. "You're a grown-up, Nurse Y/N. You best quit feeding your mind with some bullshit."
"It's not bullshit," she pressed. "Optimism is what it's called."
"Yeah, you're in the middle of exchanging fires with Nordame. Sure you can have room for that lousy positivity of yours."
"I don't think you're supposed to view things this way, commander."
"And I don't think you're supposed to tell me what to do either but here we are."
Y/N shot him a glare. He arrogantly held his chin up and got to his feet. He walked past her, bringing his glass with him to fetch himself more water. Y/N witnessed him go, staring at his broad back in disbelief.
Sometimes, that man could be unreadable. One moment, he seemed like he could be your friend, and when you blink, he would act like you pissed on his coffee.
Y/N pushed her hair back and sighed. God, was she so drained. All she ever wanted was a nap— after all the horrendous series of events, the greatest thing she could ever reward herself with is a short slumber.
She assessed her environment. Most of the soldiers were snoozing. Maria and her companions were still outside, talking. Commander Choi was discussing silently with a man in the corner. She had nothing else to do.
Guess it wouldn't hurt to close her eyes for a bit.