The first time (y/n) had fallen asleep in the camp had been rough. The bed was comfortable, but it felt strange. She had spent the past few weeks travelling, and being back inside on a mattress felt wrong. It was always hard to sleep somewhere new on the first night, no matter how nice it was. However, right now, at that moment, it was heaven.
Taehyung had bid goodbye with the promise of talking later when she had rested. Everything she had done this day had been so noisy, and now suddenly, it was all too quiet. Each breath echoed in her ears; all she could do was listen to it as she waited to be all asleep. (Y/n) became more aware of the way her rib cage would expand and shrink. She had been so desperate for sleep, but now that she had the opportunity, she couldn't entirely do it.
The bed felt rather large now that it was just her in there. It still had the faint scent left behind from Yoongi. He was asleep when she left, but how there was no trace of a soul. Her hand reached out. Her fingertips brushed over the other pillow where an indent was left. (y/n) didn't know when she fell asleep or woke, for that matter. But suddenly, she had jolted but in pitch black. The lul she had previously been in was gone. The red hue of the canvas turned no light at all. The only thing telling her that she hadn't slept for days was the noise from outside the tent. The chatter of soldiers walking past toward the ess tent of dinner told her she only had a couple of hours.
Still, (y/n) was grateful for them. She was also glad she didn't remember dreaming. There had indeed been a chunk of time since her brain stopped thinking.
The nightblade let her body fall backwards, her head had sunk into the feathers, and the silks brushed along her skin as she burrowed further into warmth. The chill outside could reach through the canvas walls. The sound of the soldier drowned out until there was no noise other than the rain tapping away on the tent. It was a moment of peace, snuggled in heavy blankets. If her stomach weren't grumbling, she would have wanted to stay there forever, but she needed some substance.
(Y/n) just about to uncurl from the warmth when the tent door came undone. Crouched down in the small opening was Jin, his face lit up by the lamp in one hand, the other holding a precariously balanced bowl of soup and a plate of bread. He looked relieved as he shuffled further in, glad he didn't have to wake her up to eat while the food was still hot. He sat on the edge of the mattress. Then handed over dinner. The girl took it without question, though slightly confused as to why it had been delivered by the nightblade.
"I didn't see you at breakfast, lunch, or dinner, nor did the kitchen staff. They asked me to bring you this. They said you usually eat with the other girls there, but they missed you today." He began to ramble about this conversation with the dinner staff, people she had become quite fond of. Especially when they would let her hide in the kitchen to work without the other generals breathing down her neck with solutions to the problems she had yet to reach in the long list.
It was funny; she had been adamant about not working under Akia. It would be a partnership she could leave anymore, but the island had changed that quite drastically.
"Thanks for bringing me then" She indulged in his rambling, enjoying how his talking drowned out anything else.
"It's ok." He smiled. "Though, if you keep skipping meals and sleeping at weird times, you'll lose your sparkle, and then you won't be as pretty. I talked to the guys earlier, and we've been thinking..."
He grinned and moved on like he didn't say something so strange.
Did that mean he thought she was pretty? (y/n) She had always thought that her bone structure was nice, and her skin had always been clear. Everyone used to say she looked like her mother, and as far as she remembered, she was beautiful. Yet hearing it from someone else in a passing comment, full of blind confidence, was different. It made her insides go all mushy while she thought about it.
How odd that her brain had decided to hyper-focus on it when it wasn't the time for such thoughts. (y/n) shook the thought and tried to pay attention to what Jin was saying.
However, Seokjin Had stopped talking; she didn't know for how long, but he was looking expectingly at her, waiting for an answer. Embarrassed, she just nodded. The night blade smiled at the girl as he took the empty bowl away.
The next thing (y/n) knew, Seokjin had dragged her through the camp into the now-empty mess tent. The only people left were the staff wiping down the tables and a small group huddled sat on the benches chuckling to themselves.
The nightblade had grasped her wrist in a gentle hold and began leading her toward the men dressed smartly in uniforms, all their long hair scrapped back and neat. Their hushed talking went quiet as she approached, but before she could get self-conscious, the boys smiled and made space around the table.
She sat on the edge, ready to just watch, Hoseok was to her left, and Jungkook was just across from her. Seokin pushed himself into the small gap between the youngest and yoongi, who had begrudgingly moved up.
The eldest took o time to wait about as he pulled out (y/n) book from under her arm, (y/n) didn't even notice him taking the book from her tent. He slammed it down with equal parts excitement and aggression. It made a loud noise that echoed. She visibly flinched, not expecting the bang. Hoseok, who just happened to be looking in her direction, leaned over, subtle as possible, and asked if she was ok. (y/n) nodded and blamed it on just waking up.
Turns out, the four boys had decided they wanted to help the best way they could, meaning they would work out the battle plan. In their heads, if they could get it sorted out in a single night, they could share it with Akira and the general before the afternoon. If soldiers had to be moved, they could get it done before the enemy made their first move. After all, it was why they had come to the camp.
That was one strange thing about this war (y/n) thought. Both sides seemed to be waiting for something to happen to set the fire ablaze. Both sides were just watching the other over the river. It was a Mexican standoff between two armies, each waiting for an unknown catalyst to begin the slaughter.
Hoseok made the first move; he pulled the book toward him and began to read, revising up on anything he had missed. He had spent most of his day with his old friend catching up on lost him.
The reading took a long time to do - longer than he thought it would. He had to go over every little detail before thoroughly explaining to the three men. It wasn't hard to do. The book he read from was filled to the brim with information. Such as what way the archer would face to a degree of accuracy and where every soldier would stand. He had the whole room resting on every word his tongue spoke. Even the kitchen staff had begun listening in.
Then they began brainstorming.
Just like she planned, (y/n) watched, her mind was still tired, and it felt nice just to listen in and absorb their words. Most of them seemed so fired up, scribbling away on scrapped paper. Only Yoongi seemed more reserved, not at the idea of helping but at the who war itself. He would make an odd comment about how pointless this was before suggesting a concept far more significant than she could come up with.
In a bat of energy and an exasperated explanation, someone had managed to knock over the ink pot. The black began to spread across the table, and a scramble to pick up the papers began. (Y/n) jump up and went to find a discarded cloth left by the cleaner. As she searched, she could hear laughter and light scolding; she could help but smile to herself; the heartache of missing that sound still burned bright.
She returned, and the laughter settled as the cloth began to soak up the black liquid. Hoseok eyes light up. His early army years had given him a brilliant mind for tactics.
He told them how the entirety of the army could form a thin line across the borders matching the enemy's positions that namjoon had found out. He explained how the battlefield would easily be three leagues long, giving them the best chance to not let the enemy into the kingdom. There would be no weaker points, gaps, or broken chain links.
Their forces would be stretched, and under a lot of pressure, it would only take one section to fall for them to lose the kingdom, but there was no other way. They had to match the second kingdom. However, there was still a little hope; Chanwoo mentioned that the first kingdom would be willing to give its soldier aid.
(y/n) listened intently. However, from the onlookers' eyes, it would have seemed that way; her focus appeared on a ruined scrap of parchment that never made it out of the ink path. The napkin ate the ink away. The numb dismay on her face was apparent; she almost forgot to blink no matter how much bloating the words had become unsalvageable.
It was agreed that Hoseok's plan would be brought forward, and the conversation moved on to tiny detail.
Jungkook was about to spill his own plan and mission when a sudden boot-shaped force drove straight into his shin. He had to bite directly into his lip to stop the shout from forcing its way up his throat. As he looked up, (y/n) was staring straight at him. She spoke her head; it was so minuscule that nobody else but him would have noticed. He understood and decided not to tell the other what Akira had granted him to do.
He wasn't sure why they couldn't know, but it wasn't the right moment to ask. Not when a fresh bruise was already forming on his leg.
The book that had been passed around ended up just to his left, and a plan began to form. Jungkook pulled the pages over. With one of the discarded pencils, he began to scribble away in the corner of a new page. As he dotted the question mark, he could feel (y/n) curious eyes on him. Jungkook pushed the book over to the girl as subtly as he could. Not that he needed to, the others had started an intense discussion on some tiny detail of some theory or idea he hadn't been listening to.
Quickly, (y/n) slide the book over to herself and read over his note. 'Why can't I say anything?'
The girl looked at him for a second with a slight crease of the brows, but it was a frown. He was sure of what it meant until she reached for his pencils and began writing her reply.
He knew there wouldn't be anything too thrilling to read, but he couldn't help but feel a little excited to read it. It made Jungkook feel young. It was what he imagined school would have been like, passing notes and having secrets. He had grown up a lot over the past two cycles, but then and there, he felt like the young boy who had first met (y/n) in the hut year ago. When (y/n) gave the book back, she had written what looked to be a short paragraph.
'the fewer people to know, the safer it is.'l
If they find out, they may stop you or try and join you; the more people, the harder it will be to sneak in and out.
P.s get read of this page.'
Before jungkook read a word, he couldn't help but think her writing was very pretty. It was uneven and odd, but her letters were tiny enough that all the mistakes were hardly seen. This was not her formal hand he had seen in the critical document. That writing was far more legible and fancy. However, this felt more natural. He preferred it.
As he read over the words, he understood. It was only then he realised that perhaps he had made a rash decision; it hadn't quite accursed to him that it would be dangerous enough to keep a secret. Secrets had always seemed fun, like stealing sweets or hiding someone's belongings, never a risk to life. It was too late now, though. He had already promised himself he would help (y/n) in any way he could. Jungkook was willing to do anything if it meant she might return home to him.
With the last line in mind, he looked back up at her and carefully ripped away the page as quietly as possible. He screwed it up into a tiny ball and checked to see if anyone was looking before stuffing it into his mouth. He chewed the paper till it was mushy and unreadable.
(Y/n)s nose flared as she held in a chuckle. It was not quite what she had expected, but then again, jungkook never was. He had always managed to make her smile no matter what. His unseriousness had his hindrances. He could be rash and too forgiving. But it was him. He was the one who made it obvious he wanted her to come back. He was her hope that maybe after everything happens. What if she did make it? There was still a chance it could go back to how it was. Just like Taehyung had said, why did it have to be different?
Deep down, she knew it had to be different; two years is a long time not to change. But right then, she was happy to pretend and suppressed her smile at the absurdity of the boy trying to hide the ball of wet paper under the bench.
Hello, hope you're all well and thank you for reading :) A big bit of sad new about the enlistment, but maybe ill have finished this by the time there back at my snail pace. Lots of love xx