- ͙۪۪̥˚┊❛ [𝐭𝐞𝐧] ❜┊˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
"pick up the pace!"
"run faster!"
"you'll be as good as dead if you run like this!"
those are the words chun-ho was throwing at us, watching as we ran back and forth at the field with multiple hurdles we need to complete. my legs felt like it was running through fire, giving me warning that it might stop working before we could even finish the training
the sweats were uncontrollably forming itself and drowning me with the feeling of uncomfortableness. the weigh of the gun is killing me by itself, adding the running part, crawling under the barb wire that was stabbing me everywhere, crawling again, punching the tire with the gun, and running back to the starting to point to start all over again until god knows when
"faster!" i heard him yelling again, won-bin watching us and helping whenever we looked like we needed one
i was pulled up by him after crawling under the wire, almost tripping when i started running again
"run if you wish to survive"
i went back to the starting point after a dozen time, running through the tire hurdle and back to the barb wire- which was the hurdle i despise most
i nearly tripped, again
but i successfully laid my back on the ground, crawling with my eyes on the sky as his words echoed through my mind
he's merciless
i could hear my classmates
they're either crying, screaming, mourning for the loss, or cursing loudly because of the hard training
i closed my eyes and dragged my weak body along the hurdle, my gun pointed up as i kept it close and finally reached the ending point. i sighed in relief upon not fainting or blacking out, struggling to get up when the sand brushed through my skin
i could feel it prickling on my skin as i felt myself getting dragged up by none other than chun-ho
"get running. run if you wish to live!" he pushed me forward, my legs almost giving up as i stood there feeling helpless. the wave of frustration got a hold of me again as i let myself release a tear i've been holding since forever
i slowly turned around, my gaze sharply made my way into his eyes. he stood still, watching me as i raised both of my fists into the air and i slammed both of it to his chest
using all of the remaining strength i have left, i let out my anger and frustration to him
"i can't... i can't do this anymore" he let me punch him for as much as i could, the anger that was bottled up being released to none other than him. i could feel his guilty gaze piercing through me as i started to cry
"i can't do this! can't you see? i can't do this anymore! i said i can't!" i repeated, letting myself fall to the ground with my hand catching his. i finally let the dam of my tears collapse, making him feel guilty and blamed for the condition i'm in
i want him to comfort me
i want him to fix everything
i want him to protect me
i wished for this to be just another nightmare
the sound of my sobs stopped the others from running as all eyes fell on us. chun-ho stayed silent, his fingers holding mine as i stayed crouching to the ground with no signs of calming down
i'm too tired to care what others might think
i just want everything to go back the way it supposed to
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thanks to my outburst, chun-ho finally let us go. he then disappeared after helping me up, walking away with won-bin telling us to rest beside the training camp.
i stayed behind the others, not wanting to converse in anything neither having the energy to do so. i could feel na-ra and yu-jeong watching over me from across, worried but didn't want to do anything that might cause me to break down again
i'm so grateful to have such understanding friends
su-cheol was sitting beside me, five feet apart as he remained his gaze on the ground, and back to me
i leaned my back on the barbed wire fence which separated us from the camp, feeling the discomfort on my back. the others were complaining and talking trash about my brother and the military. basically the people involved who dragged us into this war
"the platoon commander seems to enjoy torturing us. and here i am, thinking he's nice" i heard bo-ra saying as a part of me felt like defending him. but i knew well to keep my mouth shut when i have no energy left to argue about pointless things with them
"don't think that way about the platoon commander" won-bin suddenly said, dropping a box full of snacks we haven't seen since forever
"the training will kill me at this rate, not the spheres!" joon-hee said after letting out a frustrated scream, kicking her legs forward to show protest
"you'll find out later on... that the platoon commander, is watching out for you" his words made some of us scoff in disbelief. i believed him, but not enough to force a reaction out of me as i stayed silent again
i watched as he threw a bread in a plastic to joon-hee, promptly walking away after leaving the box for us. i looked away, watching the endless sky with dried tears on my face
i could feel my eyes burning from the amount of tears i've produced tonight, my whole body aching after the intense running and using all of my strengt
i wonder if we will experience this again
the blankness in my mind mage the images of the dead resurfaced again for the thousandth time
the smell of blood, last word spoken by ms. park, countless students who were devoured by the cruel spheres, all of them... made its way back to my mind
i was constantly reminded by it ever since we got back. and i'd give everything to erase them from my mind
"cho-yeong" a voice pulled me out from my mind as i looked to my left where su-cheol was handing me a small carton of strawberry milk with a chocolate-filled bread we usually buy at a convenience store
the others had also got some for themselves, starving after the whole thing
"you should eat" he urged when he saw me eyeing them but not taking it. i sighed softly, taking them from his hands as he sat beside me. i took the straw and poked the carton, sipping on the milk as i could feel it entering my system
i almost let out a sigh of relief and went to the bread next
my hands were slippery after the sweat my body has produced, making it hard for me to tear open the plastic. i could feel su-cheol's gaze on me as he softly took the bread for me, opening it with no words when he would usually tease me if we're in a different situation
"thanks" i muttered, looking at his lap where only a carton of chocolate milk could be seen. i looked at the others who has gotten themselves a bread with milk, but not him
"hee-rak took two of the breads. that's why i don't have any" he suddenly said, my gaze raising to see his face as i nodded in realization
i looked down to my un-eaten bread, splitting it in half as i held it over to him. he looked at it with a raised brow, opening his mouth to say something as i shoved it to him
"just take it" i knew he was going to decline my offer as he took it with a sigh, smiling a little and muttered a 'thanks'
we ate the bread in silence, the others chattering with venom in their tone whenever chun-ho was mentioned. i kept quiet, listening to their rants although i slightly disagree with them
"are you okay?" he asked, nudging my shoulder as i formed a weak smile, nodding
"i think i am"
"yeah, i don't think so. you look like hell" i slightly laughed, shaking my head. he chuckled, drinking his milk as i drank some too
"are you okay?" i shot the question back at him, only to receive a shrug as a reply
"i'm not. i'm furious... betrayed by the adults who dragged us here" he looked at me, his gaze softened when he locked his eyes with mine as i nodded in agreement
"me too"
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after going back to our barracks, we have decided to gather in the boys' barrack for a discussion on how to escape. i knew that they will find a way and not give up, but i have no choice but to follow along
i sat across so-yeon, yu-jeong and na-ra beside me as we all watched su-cheol at the door who was guarding if there was any soldier
he slowly slid the door close, nodding at us
"the coast is clear. we're free to talk" we sighed in relief, him joining us and sat across me, a bit far
"must we stay like this?" joon-hee asked, breaking the short silence as yeon-ju across her replied
"we don't have any other option"
"damn it. honestly, i don't believe that our parents went to the shelter. what if he lied to make us stay?"
"he isn't one to lie" i said, gaining their attention as joon-hee sighed. i didn't want to defend him, but apart of me forced to say it. and also because it's true, and i'm grateful they didn't ask why i think so about the 'cruel' lieutenant
the spheres' attack has spread around our school's area. it'd be impossible if the government would just leave the civilians in danger and not bring them somewhere safe
"i want to believe him, but i don't trust anyone anymore" yeong-sin said, looking at me and the others as he stood up
"let's confirm it ourselves"
"are you stupid? we can't call, and the internet is down" bo-ra said, leaning slightly to the table with her gaze on the glasses boy as tae-man suddenly spoke
"how shallow of you. of course, we can still communicate" we all looked at him as some gave a hopeful and excited look. i raised a brow, not believing whatever he's spewing because his lack of common sense
"is there a way to contact them?" joon-hee asked in surprise as the boy beside na-ra stood up with a proud expression
"what do we have a lot in school?" we all looked at each other, asking whatever he's implying
"what the hell is he blabbering about?" i asked to both yu-jeong and na-ra who shrugged their shoulders, not knowing too as he said
"pigeons"
a short silence followed after that, me scoffing at how obnoxious one can be as the others sighed
"We'll tie a note around their legs and-"
"somebody shut him up" yeong-sin said with a sigh, il-ha pushing him down, back to his chair as tae-man looked as us cluelessly. i rolled my eyes when he looked at me, yeong-sin saying
"let's rewind a few steps. we have no other option but to confirm it ourselves. we have to go outside and check"
"i'll go" jang-soo volunteered, raising his hand as bo-ra spoke
"kimchi, shouldn't you go as well?"
"me? why?" the clueless boy pointed to himself making me chuckle
"your house is the closest. it's the easiest place to confirm"
"but-"
"okay, chi-yeol will come with" jang-soo said, crossing his arms
"but i'm not ready for this"
"deok-jung" yeong-sin called out as we all looked at him
"our house is quite far away" he quickly said, shaking his head to decline whatever they were thinking. il-ha put an arm around his shoulders, they both looking at each other as yeong-sin said
"okay. it's decided, then. deok-jung, kimchi, jang-soo and me will go out and check if our parents are really at the shelters"
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as i expected, the attempt was a complete failure
and it costed us another punishment when i was supposed to sleep and dream of anything but this reality we're facing
"second platoon, roll the the right" chun-ho ordered as we repeated his words, rolling to the right with groans when the sand came in contact with our skin
i grunted, laying down as we were all ordered to roll to the left next
"damn it" i cursed, colliding with yeon-ju who was beside me. i muttered a 'sorry', chun-ho ordering us to stand up as we did so in hurry
i brushed off the sand from my arms, standing straight with my gaze on both soldiers in front of us
"from now on, you're not students. i'll treat all of you as soldiers now" he began, walking around us with his usual poker face as i rolled my eyes when he walked past me
"you can't act act like a baby... and have no privilege as a student. you have to follow every order i give, as soldiers! understood?!" he shouted, looking at us as we all replied
"yes, sir"
"second platoon, lie face down"
"face down!" all of us yelled out, going into a push up position as he counted
"one!"
we crouched down, my arms holding up my weight as he continued to count, us going up and down by each number. i could see my sweat dripping down as i thought of the probability of sleeping in this state, seeing as we can't shower this late night
i internally screamed at the thought
"does anyone still want to go home?" he asked which were replied with nothing as we were all too occupied with suppressing our pain in
"second platoon, stand up"
"stand up!" we all repeated, getting up for the second time as i internally curse him off for dragging us into this state. i understand that we might have done something wrong, but maybe... just punish the ones who actually went outside?
"from now on, if you get out of here, it's desertion. and you'll be tried by court-martial" i watched as he went to pick up a gun, taking a bullet magazine from won-bin's pocket who was looking at him in disbelief
he fixed the gun and turned the safety off, throwing it to won-bin with his gaze glued on us
"from this very moment, anyone who leaves without permission, will be considered as a deserter... and may be shot under my order"
we all fell silent, shocked by what he just said
my eyes grew slightly wide, wasn't sure if he's being serious, or was just trying to scare us
his gaze connected to mine, my eyes fearing this side of him as he remained unbothered. i scoffed softly, looking away with an annoyed feeling. doesn't matter if he meant it or not, it still scared me
and i know that my classmates, they will never stop trying to escape
━━━━━━━━━━
and as i expected again, another plan was made by yeong-sin and reached an agreement from all of us
we were assigned to spread the news of the spheres and the actual reason why we're being trained to the other students. na-ra and i decided to stick together while yu-jeong went with yeong-sin to convince the students from the second class which usually sat at the back of the cafeteria
"let's do this" na-ra said as i nodded, sitting across each other as we sat down with a group of boys from the third class
"you guys know yeong-hoon, right?" i asked, putting down the tray as they looked at us with furrowed brows, surprised as to why we're there with them
"yeah, what's with him?" kim jung-min said, the head of the class as na-ra replied
"he's dead"
"what?" they all exclaimed in shock as i nudged my chin to the spheres in the sky through the open window
"those things killed him... and we are trained to fight those. we all might end up dead like our teacher and yeong-hoon if we don't do anything"
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with that, a protest broke out between all of the students and the soldiers
we looked at each other, nodding as jang-soo walked out of the door after slamming it open, loud enough to startle the whole floor. we stood up, following him as he yelled
"let's go!" again, loud enough that other classes had even joined us out despite the soldiers charging towards us to prevent anything we've planned
"let's go" yu-jeong said to us, walking out as i sighed, not exactly sure if we're doing the right thing
i'm conflicted, to be honest
apart of me wanted to believe chun-ho, but apart of me wanted to stay and follow my classmates, eventually to my aunt who was alone out there. i need to see her myself, and i could really use her comfort right now
we pushed the soldiers aside, making our way to the exit. there were too much of us for the soldiers to deal with, giving us access to reach the gates which was packed with soldiers and their vehicles parked in front of us
i was stuck in the middle, feeling myself getting pushed by the others as i caught myself in a panicking state due to how limited my moves are
i can't stay in a closed space. i couldn't breath and my heart was pounding against my ribcage that i felt like it's trying to escape
so i stepped back, closing my eyes and cringing when i could feel my body getting pushed as they all tried to break the lines the soldiers have made to prevent them from running out
i nearly tripped and fell down but successfully got out
i watched as the leader of the military shouted at the soldiers to push us back, yelling around to stop us as i grew annoyed by his voice
a soldier blew a whistle, stopping us as silence took over
"you punks... what are you doing? go back to your classroom!" a soldier yelled as a students spoke
"i heard ms. park is dead"
"i heard yeong-hoon died too!"
"we heard it from the kids in class two!"
"we heard everything already!"
"is that true?"
"we don't want to die!"
"let us out!"
one by one started shouting as the leader was lost for words. i stumbled back, not sure if i want to experience the closed space again where i can't breath and panic
so i stayed behind
the students started pushing again as i tried to reach na-ra who was at the front. but just as i was about to push my way in, the stupid leader had already shot his gun upwards, startling all of us with the loud sound
i crouched down in reflex, ears covered as i slowly looked up with my eyes widened
"is he crazy?" i breathed out, disbelief at what he just done as he pointed the gun to us
"listen! doing this won't do you any good! you won't get any extra points for your college entrance exams!"
who would actually thought of reward points in this situation?
"look here, mister. i don't care, so just let us go home" hee-rak said, the leader pointing the gun to him
"you'll get penalty points then, you brat"
"okay. thanks for that, i appreciate it" he said in sarcasm, bowing as he yelled out for the others to start pushing again. they all started screaming and pushing, and i wonder if we can ever go out there
but just as i was about step forward, a hand jerked me from doing so as i looked sideway to see chun-ho with a furious gaze on me. i let out a sigh, saying
"it wasn't my idea-"
"shut up and stay here" i grumbled in annoyance, crossing my arms as i watched him and won-bin pushing their ways through the angry crowds
"what do you think you're doing? go back inside now!" they all stopped again, chun-ho and soldier kim facing them as the older man spoke
"doing this won't change anything. hurry back inside!"
"why must we do that? we aren't even soldiers!" bo-ra yelled as a protest as chun-ho spoke
"i already told you. this is all for your-"
"we don't need it. if it's for our sake, then... let us go. why can't we have anything our way? why can't we do what we want?!" seo-yoon snapped as chun-ho looked enraged by his words
all of us fell silent as we all looked at the lieutenant, who had his glaring gaze upon seo-yoon
"what are you waiting for? force them back inside if you must!" he yelled to the other soldiers, and the same thing happened again
the students pushing the soldiers, and the soldiers pushing the students
their voices are deafening to me, so i stepped forward and pulled yu-jeong out who was pushed back
"we have to stop. this won't work" i said, looking at her expression that was almost giving up too. i know that she realized the chance of us getting out was slim too
the three of us know the danger outside, but still stubborn enough to agree with the others on escaping
"where's na-ra?" i asked as we both looked to the girl that was struggling to push back the soldiers. i ran forward, making my way through the crowds as my ears caught chun-ho's voice, yelling at us to go back inside
na-ra saw me and held my hand that i offered, pulling her to yu-jeong as she said
"we should give up... right?"
"yeah" me and yu-jeong said, nodding as i suddenly felt like looking to the sky. but just as i did, my eyes widened in horror when i saw something
a huge purple sphere is crashing down to us