- ͙۪۪̥˚┊❛ [𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫] ❜┊˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
like i expected, most of the students had applied themselves for the military training
i carefully roll my suitcase with me, another small backpack on the handle which contained my charger, headphone, earphone, neck pillow and smaller stuff i could fit inside
a scoff left my mouth when i saw some boys taking pictures excitedly with a soldier on the gate. countless dividers were put on the gate, changing the scenery completely by their presence
i glanced at my watch, realizing i'm a little late than usual and decided to walk faster. i gripped on the signed form, careful to not lost it in the wind. i climbed the stairs with the help from other students, walking straight inside the loud room
deok-jung were walking in front of me, also arriving at the same time as i flashed a smile at him before looking around
il-ha was laying down with his neck pillow on the poor yeong-su, so-yeon fussing over something while yu-jeong made sure to get the permission forms from them. na-ra sent me a wave, smirking because of the last night's conversation
"shut up" i hissed, throwing the backpack at her which was caught perfectly. i took a seat, looking at the girls in front where they are trying to take a picture. surprisingly, even su-cheol and tae-man wants to join in
"what are you looking at?" she asked as i quickly look away. she formed a teasing smile again and threw the backpack at me. i caught it, putting it on my desk as she leaned forward with her arms crossed on the table
"tell me. the teddy bear was from him, right?"
"no, it's not" i said with an eyeroll, wanting for the topic to end but yu-jeong came to us with a huge grin
"the teddy bear wasn't from him" i quickly stated, yu-jeong smirking with na-ra as they both leaned on each other while saying
"lying is a sin, lee cho-yeong. repent, now" i scoffed with a smile, shaking my head
"is it really not from him?" na-ra asked, glancing at yu-jeong who shrugged her shoulders. i nodded, confirming her statement as i added
"it was from my older brother" they looked at me with surprise
"you have a brother?" yu-jeong asked while adjusting her glasses as na-ra leaned her back on the chair
"yes. but we haven't met for three years, though. he gave it to me on my 15th birthday... before he went to the military" i explained, smiling softly as they looked at each other
"damn... that must hurt. i mean, i don't have any siblings but still, you must've felt lonely, right?" na-ra said, earning an agreement from the class president
"yeah, she's right. i thought you can send letters, though?"
"i did, but we stopped talking months ago. i don't know why but, he just... stopped sending letters to me... so i did too. it's a waste of time if i keep sending letters without any reply, right?" they fell silent, not knowing what to say as i chuckled
"don't worry, he's back now" they looked at me with questioning face
"what do you mean? he stopped serving?" yu-jeong asked as i shake my head. i looked at the bear that was stuffed at the front pocket of the backpack, taking it out and fiddled with it before saying
"he's one of the assigned commanders here... first lieutenant lee chun-ho" their eyes widened a little, about to ask more questions until ms. park and a soldier walks in. they looked at me for a second, yu-jeong patting my back before going back to her seat which was in front of me
i formed a small smile at her, looking at the front and spotted the familiar face
"out of all classes, it just had to be this one you're assigned to" i muttered to myself, putting the bear back into its place and to the suitcase's handle. my heart immediately starts pounding like crazy at the sight of him
"everyone, take your seat!" she ordered, slamming her files as usual to silence us all. i remained frozen on my seat, eyes glued on the soldier as ms. park spoke
"all right. i have someone to introduce to you all" she looked at the man who calmly saluted to us all. i looked away, crossing my legs to appear more calm and confident
he put down his hand after saluting, looking through the whole class and stopped at me. i could feel his intense gaze on me as i remained my gaze on the desk
"nice to meet you. i'm first lieutenant lee chun-ho, who will be the class 3-2's platoon leader" at the same time, both na-ra and yu-jeong turned to look at me with surprise
i shrugged my shoulders, not wanting for everyone to notice our interaction as ms. park spoke
"first lieutenant lee will explain about the training" i could hear il-ha saying something about diamond on his head, laughing with hee-rak at the back. i ignored them, watching as chun-ho took a step forward and at the back of the lectern
"you'll be assigned to the second platoon of the sungjin division combat unit, and i'll be your platoon leader. most of the training will take place after school, when your regular classes are over"
with cue, the others started to voice their complaints and protests. i remained silent again, imagining just how tired all of us will be after this
"on days when you have agendas, training will take priority over classes. so keep that in my mind. class president" i looked at the girl in front of me who stood up with a small 'yes?' escaping her mouth
"you're the senior private starting today"
"sorry?" she asked, obviously not knowing why she's assigned to such rank. some of them even threw questions at each other, asking what it was
"next up, is assigning the role of record keeper who will be recording the process of your trainings and the video for your parents. any volunteers?"
just as he finished his words, i glanced around and the whole class were avoiding his gaze, obviously not wanting to do it. i held a laugh in, looking down and fiddled with the backpack's strings
"no volunteers? broadcasting club?" again, another silence as i could see the 'seriously?' expression displayed on his face
"all right, then. i'll choose randomly by your attendance numbers"
"um, lieutenant lee... can i recommend a student? yeong-hoon" ms. park called out after asking, looking at the boy who looked up from his books. the others also turned their gazes at him as she asked
"do you want to give it a try?"
"me?"
"yes. i think you'll have lots to learn from it" i could see his shoulders heaving a small sigh as he asked
"what do i need to learn?"
"jung yeong-hoon, just do it. it's nothing major" il-ha suddenly spoke with a bored tone making yeong-hoon look at him with his usual poker face. i glanced at na-ra who gave me a 'not again' look which was replied by me, shrugging my shoulders again
"then, you do it"
"well, why don't you try first and i'll change it to someone else if you don't like it" she suggested, feeling the tension rising as i noticed her hands fiddling with each other out of nervousness
for a second there, i thought of volunteering but remembering the amount of work i need to do- and not to mention how suck i am at using cameras too. i am definitely not the perfect candidate for this job
"i need to study. i don't want to waste my time"
"damn" i muttered, surprised at his bluntness. i crossed my arms, looking at his back as the others muttered of how rude he was
"that's fine" chun-ho said to prevent ms. park from saying anything to the remark
"over there. you, private" he pointed to the right, which was the opposite side of my seat as i quickly sighed in relief. we looked at deok-jung who was fake-fainting, and to chi-yeol who was completely clueless
i chuckled when he turned to woo-taek who immediately nudged his chin at him
"you, idiot. he means you"
"w-wait? me?" he asked to the soldier while pointing at himself
"you're now the record keeper. any objections?" some of us let out a laugh as i looked at na-ra who was holding in her laugh
"well... no, i don't"
"instead, three reward points. same goes for the senior private" we all widened our eyes at his words. i sat up straight, feeling jealous at how soon they earned the reward points
"wait-"
"why are you just telling us that?"
"what?"
"there's a reward point system apart from CSAT extra credits. you get rewarded according to your training results and attitude. ten reward points become one CSAT extra credit. on the other hand, 30 demerit points will get you discharged. you'll also lose all of your CSAT extra credits" i scoffed softly, looking away and to su-cheol who raised his both eyebrows to me
"what?" i mouthed as he replied with the same way
"i'm hungry" i scoffed again, shaking my head as i looked at the pocket beside my backpack which contained my snacks. i looked back at him to see his attention back to my brother before i could even show them to him
i'll just give it to him later. surely he won't starve to death by five minutes, right?
"all right, then. to your barracks at once" i raised a brow, looking at yu-jeong who glanced back at us as we threw each other questions
"where the hell is that?" i muttered as yu-jeong spoke
"do they expect us to know everything?"
"let's just go" na-ra said with her eyes at the soldier who has walked out. we confusedly got up and grabbed our things, following him as he pointed at the empty classrooms where boys and girls should go to
we separated ourselves from the boys, entering the said barrack. there is a huge locker at the front, beds lined up with lockers behind with our names attached on them
we immediately broke into chatters and searched for our bed. luckily, the three of us were assigned side by side with me in the middle. i quickly unpack my suitcase, organizing my clothes and other things inside the locker
i will forever be grateful to my aunt who knows just the perfect amount of clothes to bring, considering how small the locker was. i put my empty suitcase aside and looked at the small bed
"well, at least they provided a pillow" i muttered, taking out the bear and put it on the mattress. i also pulled my backpack to my lap after sitting down, unzipping it to take out my other stuff
"cho-yeong, let's play the cards game" yu-jeong said, showing the cards as i chuckled and shake my head
"you guys go ahead. i have to go the bathroom"
"do you want us to come?" na-ra asked as i shake my head again
"it's fine. have fun" they nodded with a smile, walking away to ae-seol who seemed awkward to fit in with the others. i smiled a little when they asked her to join the game, wanting everyone to feel included
i shoved a chocolate stick bar inside my pocket, walking out but flinched when i saw another female soldier wanting to walk in. i immediately bowed upon her presence as she asked
"private, where are you going?" i formed a nervous smile, pointing at the end of the corridor
"the bathroom"
"make it quick" i muttered a 'yes', bowing again and practically ran off when she entered the room. i turned to the right and entered the bathroom, going straight to the sink to wash my face
i grabbed some tissue and wiped my neck and to my face that was drenched in water. thankfully, all i wore this morning was a sunscreen and a colored lip balm
i slammed the used tissue into the trashcan, walking out to see su-cheol at the middle of the corridor. i stopped and made a noise with my shoes as he spotted me and quickly made his way to me
"hello" he greeted cheerfully as i rolled my eyes
"what are you doing out here?"
"the bathroom, of course. you?"
"same. is lieutenant lee inside your barrack?" i asked, glancing at his back as he nodded
"yeah, he is. why?"
"nothing. oh, and also- this" i said, taking out the bar and threw it to his chest. he immediately catch it, flinching a little in surprise at the sudden throw. i looked away, clearing my throat and spoke
"eat it and don't bother me" i quickly walk away before he could even say anything back because i know he will tease me for being 'caring' for him. it's too awkward to deal with
i don't know if i'm just annoyed by him to the point i want him to eat so that he won't bother me, or that i'm just plainly concerned
i don't even want to think about it
but i swore i saw a smile formed on his lips when i was walking away
i let the image of him wander in my mind, too tired to deal with my own brain as i walked into our room, expecting a quiet and peaceful environment- never mind
all of them were scattered everywhere in fear with the female soldier from earlier yelling at us to submit our stuff. i quickly headed to na-ra and yu-jeong who was scrambling to gather the cards from the soldier
"what's happening?"
"we need to submit our unnecessary stuff to her. hey, you better hide your precious teddy bear. she just confiscated sun-yi's earlier" i widened my eyes, turning around to my bed as i noticed the empty spot my bear was sitting at earlier
"oh no" i muttered, looking at the soldier who was instructing us to come out after successfully taking all of our unnecessary stuff. i sighed, looking around to search for the basket that was sitting on sun-yi's table
i could see the bear smooshed on top of the other make-up which was brought by so-yeon. i bit my lower lip in frustration, regretting for not hiding it in my locker
"shit" i muttered, sighing in defeat as we then all got dragged down to the track field in front of our classroom's building. except this one doesn't have a field in the middle and instead, was replaced with sand and a hard ground
there are multiple camps that has been set up by the soldiers, countless of them running around to complete their tasks. the three of us headed down the stairs, greeted by chun-ho's loud voice
"class 3-2! stand in a single column in front of your platoon leader!" more were yelling to their own class, making me a bit annoyed with the sun shining straight to our face
i was sweating a little on my back, groaning in the uncomfortable state
"let's go, hurry" yu-jeong said, not wanting to anger the soldiers again as we quickly form a line in front of chun-ho. i was at the front from the three of us, looking ahead to see the lieutenant
my mind wandered at the image of my teddy bear, sighing again. i really hope they will give us our stuff back after training is over
"you'll be getting your personal firearm now, so pay attention!" we stayed silent, some of us messing with each other as i looked at seo-yoon and joon-hee messing each others' hair, and il-ha, chi-yeol and yeong-hoon who looks like they were arguing as usual
i rolled my eyes, watching as my brother spoke
"shout out your firearm number when you get yours. understood?!" i weakly replied with a 'understood', alongside some of us as he yelled again
"i'll ask one more time. understood?!"
"yes!" all of us said as the soldiers started to distribute the firearms to us. yu-jeong had went first due to her rank, leaving me and na-ra a bit far behind. one by one received their firearm and soon, it was my turn
i looked up to meet his eyes under his cap, his hands holding the sniper as i held out my hands to receive it. he looked at me for a second, his eyes telling me that we'll talk soon as he gave the firearm to me
it was a bit heavy as i looked at the handle that has a set of number carved on it
"private no 14, lee cho-yeong! received firearm 701419!" he nodded, saying 'next' as i almost immediately walked away, not wanting to be close with him much longer. i joined the others at the audience stairs, sitting down beside na-ra and yu-jeong
it was hot, and i feel like screaming anytime soon. we tiredly sat at the lower stairs, inspecting the firearms
"your brother is pretty strict" na-ra said in a low voice, not wanting for everyone to hear as yu-jeong agreed
"right, i nearly jumped everytime he yelled. was he always that strict?" i chuckled, shaking my head
"well, all of the soldiers need to be scary. and no, he wasn't always like this... i still remember the amount of laugh and smile he used to give me until he enters the military. he's a fun person to be with"
"did he say anything though? when he saw you?" yu-jeong asked as she adjusted her glasses. i looked down to the firearm that was resting between my legs as i spoke
"no. but i'm sure we'll talk soon" in cue, both her and na-ra caressed my back for comfort as i formed a smile. i leaned my head on na-ra's shoulder and held yu-jeong's hand
"don't worry, you guys will sort it out. i'm sure he has a reason to do all that" na-ra said as yu-jeong nodded in agreement
"can we really do that?
"trust me, he won't abandon you just because of the military. you'll figure it out soon" yu-jeong said with an assuring smile as i sighed and nod
"thanks for comforting me. but it's so damn hot in here. what are we going to do next?" i wondered, looking around to see the others who are equally annoyed as i am
as i turned back around and wanting to say something because of the heat, il-ha and tae-man had ran out with the gun pointed at him with hee-rak joining them as well. we looked at each other with a sigh, watching the childish boys
"seriously. how can they trust us with weapons?"