- ͙۪۪̥˚┊❛ [𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞] ❜┊˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
the ride to wherever chun-ho was bringing us were rather bumpy and quiet
we stayed silent due to the amount of shocking and traumatizing events we just faced in three days. i couldn't erase any image of the students' death when i encountered them, and it's making me sick
"are you okay?" na-ra whispered, yu-jeong dozing off on my shoulder as i glanced up to see her face. she looked like she just went through hell, and i'm pretty sure i looked just the same
"i'm okay. i think i'm gonna catch some sleep too" i replied with a small smile, looking at the others who were just as tired as yu-jeong. na-ra sent me a nod, adjusting her gun while i slowly closed my eyes while waiting for nightmares to come embrace me again
they wouldn't seem to stop coming after ms. park died
an hour passed and we could feel the truck slowing down, indicating that we have finally arrived at some place. i knew that he brought us to the mountain, but lacked information of this place
the truck turned left, driving ahead and finally stopped
won-bin jumped out, signaling for us to follow him as i gently tapped on yu-jeong's shoulder
"yu-jeong" na-ra called out, shaking her shoulder as she quickly woke up with a gasp. she looked around frantically and sighed in relief when she saw us
"are you guys okay?"
"we're fine. we've arrived, you should rest some more inside" i replied, handing her gun to her while na-ra helped her wear the helmet gear which was taken off when she was sleeping
i stood up once we're all ready, deok-jung holding my hand for me to jump as i took it. once i'm on the ground, i looked around to see an abandoned building with military surrounding them
it looked like it has been transformed into the military base on this mountain. the spheres here are lesser than the ones at seoul
what could that possibly mean?
"are you okay?" i heard chun-ho asking, turning around to face him as he looked at me
"i think i've heard that question a thousand time today. yes, i'm fine" i said, walking away and joined the others. i'm not in the mood to talk to him, and once i've gotten something to fill my stomach with, then maybe i'll consider it
i noticed yu-jeong looking around to search for something as my heart dropped
"su-cheol" i muttered, frantically looking around like yu-jeong and we couldn't see the other vehicle they're supposed to be in. there are other students from different classes, but none of ours
"are you all okay?" chun-ho asked, looking at us but we remained silent. yu-jeong quickly ran back and asked
"what about the first vehicle? they were ahead of us" hearing her words made the others grew worried as well. they looked around, realizing that she was right as chun-ho looked at won-bin, them sending a nod to each other as he walked away
i was about to follow him but il-ha had already took my wrist and prevented me from walking further
"where are you going?"
"to find the others" i answered with a worried tone, my heart growing heavily as each second passed by when i couldn't see their faces. i need to know if they're okay at least
"soldier kim is bringing us to our resting place. you'll get lost if you wander around alone" he said, looking at the others who had already formed two lines and us at the back. i sighed, nodding as he patted my shoulder with a small smile
we walked side by side, following the others in silence
most of the students we saw were from our school, and i couldn't make out their faces or where i have seen them. and then i realized, just how small the circle of my friends are when i was at school
i didn't care about neither of them, or my classmates even
but after the other students and in-hye's death yesterday, i couldn't help but to cry out of guilt. we haven't even exchanged more than five words, but i felt like i've known her since forever
"cho-yeong" i heard il-ha calling out as i quickly looked at him
"yeah?"
"your mind is somewhere else again" he said with a sigh as i furrowed my brows in confusion
"what do you mean?"
"did you realize that you have stopped walking?" he asked, looking ahead where the others had walked further than us. i must have stopped walking when i thought of in-hye, so i let out a small sigh
"il-ha" i called out, catching his attention as i spoke
"if i kept my grip on her hand stronger... she could've made it into the truck with us, won't she?" i could see his expression changing, as i could feel myself tearing up
"if i hadn't been so weak, then she'll probably be here with us"
"cho-yeong" he called out sternly, shaking my shoulders as i looked at him. he had already crouched down a little to match our heights
"it's not your fault. unless you're the one who called the spheres to attack her, then it's got nothing to do with you" i slowly nodded, forming a fist with both hands to prevent me from crying
he sighed softly, saying
"let's go" i let out a small chuckle at the sudden of softness in his behavior
"thanks" we started to walk again, catching up with the others while he raised a brow at the sudden express of gratitude
"what for?"
"well, you looked out for me. and you didn't yell at me when i suddenly stopped walking like an idiot" he laughed a little, shaking his head
"why would i yell at you?"
"seriously?" i asked with a scoff, nudging my head to yeong-su who was walking in front of us. he realized what i meant, looking away with his usual poker face again making me sigh
"go easy on him, will you?" i said, patting his shoulder like what he did to me earlier, receiving a small smile
"depends on my mood" i scoffed, rolling my eyes as they suddenly stopped. they went to the window which was undone, a yard at the outside while we looked at each other with a frown
we slowly stepped forward, nearing the window as we finally saw the reason why the others gasped in horror. countless bodies were carried and lined up, a white cloth covering them as i softly gasped
my mind went to the rest of our classmates who were still out there. i wasn't sure how to convince myself that they will be fine, but false hope would break me even more
"cho-yeong. let's go" he said, pushing me ahead to avoid my eyes from looking at them longer. we made our ways to our new barracks, soldier kim asking us to stay put and that further instructions will be given on what to do next
i sat alone on the bed, na-ra and yu-jeong in front of me while the others had scattered themselves around the tent. except il-ha, who was pacing around anxiously in front of us
there was still no news about the others, and it's killing me
"gosh, where are they?" he asked with frustration, running his hand through his hair as i remembered hee-rak who was on the other vehicle
no wonder he was so worried
"i hope nothing happened to them" ha-na voiced out, us staying silent as
she added
"they should've been here. something bad must've happened to them"
"no way. they'll be here soon" na-ra quickly said, denying her assumption as i closed my eyes and held the helmet tightly to prevent myself from thinking about what kind of terrific things they could encounter
"you saw what happened. in-hye was trying to get in the vehicle and-"
"hey, yoo ha-na" both bo-ra and il-ha scolded, him looking at me with worry as i sent him a small smile, shaking my head to signal him that i'm fine. but before he could say more, chun-ho and soldier kim had already entered the tent we're in
i stood up, eyes glistening in hope
"starting this moment, stay here until further orders" he said, yu-jeong asking
"what about the others?" he looked at her hesitantly, my heart picking up its pace as he answered
"we haven't... heard from them yet"
"you haven't heard from them? they should already be here" deok-jung argued, worrying for his best friend, chi-yeol as soldier kim spoke
"don't worry. they'll be fine. let's wait a bit longer"
"until when? you should've let us leave when we wanted to. damn it" yu-jeong quickly stepped in when il-ha crossed the line, chun-ho looking at him with silence
"that's enough. if it weren't for him, we wouldn't be alive now" her words made him stop, stepping away quietly. i made my way to chun-ho, standing in front of him as he looked down to me
"lieutenant. find them, and make sure they're safe... please" i pleaded, desperation written all over my face as he looked at me with a mix of hesitance and guilt
"all of you, should get some rest" he quickly walked out, leaving us unanswered. soldier kim patted my shoulder before walking out to join chun-ho, il-ha kicking something off with anger
i could feel a tear escaping as i quickly wiped it away. without thinking, i quickly followed him out despite them calling out my name. i looked around, making my way to the office in hope to find the glimpse of my brother
but just as i was about to enter the next building, someone had already pulled me aside making me stumbled on my steps
"what do you think you're doing here?" chun-ho asked, brows furrowing as i quickly take his hands
"can't you go out and find them? don't you have the power to do so? or maybe, send a rescue team?" i asked frantically as he sighed
"please, i need to make sure they're okay. my friends are out there and god knows what will happen to them if we stay here any longer without doing anything" i squeezed his hands, hoping for him to say something that will comfort me
he slowly lowered both of our hands, making my brows furrowed
"don't wander around and go back. i mean it" he said, walking away as i stayed still. i knew he was thinking the same as us, wanting to rescue them
but somehow, because of the damaged siblings-relationship we're in right now, i couldn't trust him. but nevertheless, i went back as he ordered and all i can do right now is hope
hope for all of them to be safe
━━━━━━━━━━
"guys, listen" deok-jung suddenly said, getting closer to us with rush as i looked at him with wide eyes. i stood up and went closer to him with il-ha, bo-ra, yu-jeong and ha-na
"why? what is it?" i asked
"i think the platoon commander is off to rescue the others" il-ha and i looked at each other in surprise while his words made na-ra, ae-seol and yeong-su stood up to join us
"really?" il-ha asked as deok-jung nodded
"yeah. we've been told to wait here until further notice. so why else would he go outside? he must have the same thing in mind. i also think chi-yeol and the others are alive"
"would they be dead, then? of course, they're alive" bo-ra scolded at the choice of words as i looked away with a scoff
"i knew it" i muttered, knowing well that chun-ho won't just leave them like that
"speaking of which, i'm going to go with him"
"hey, are you out of your mind? aren't you scared?" ha-na quickly asked with wide eyes, thinking of how absurd the idea was. but i somehow agreed with him. i dragged my brother to do this, and what if he needs help? i doubt he brought soldier kim with him too
so without thinking, i went back and grabbed my gun and helmet, buckling my gear around me
"of course, i'm scared. but if it were chi-yeol, he'd come to my rescue without thinking twice" the others fell silent, some agreeing as i buckled my helmet and spoke
"i'll go with you" they looked at me with surprise, yu-jeong and na-ra nodding at each other
"me too. it's frustrating to wait without doing anything" yu-jeong said, picking up her gears as na-ra wore her helmet. she walked to the guns leaned on the bed, picking up hers as bo-ra called out
"hey, lee na-ra. get me my gun too" the mentioned girl nodded, ha-na exclaiming
"hey!" bo-ra ignored her, wearing her helmet as i looked at yeong-su who was having a hard time to accept what we're doing
"ae-seol. what are you doing? you can't even protect yourself. just stay here" bo-ra suddenly said, looking at the girl who was buckling her helmet. i knew she was going to be mad at ae-seol, but it doesn't seem like the right time for us to argue
"i'm going too" bo-ra rolled her eyes at the reply as i ignored them, wearing the gun's strap to my shoulder
"look, guys. let's try to think rationally. if they're alive, they would've come already. and what if we get caught going outside to rescue them?" yeong-su asked, trying to stop us as i sighed
"if we get caught, then what?" deok-jung asked, taking a step towards him as yeong-su stuttered
"w-we could get penalty points all together, then-"
"you idiot. you actually think we'll take the CSAT in this situation?" il-ha said in disbelief while i watched them with another sigh
"they didn't say we wouldn't. so we'll probably take it" the others scoffed at him, not one person agreeing with whatever he's blabbering about
"you know we can't go to the college we want if we get penalty points" i widened my eyes when il-ha went forward to hit him, but stopped when yeong-su covered himself in fear
"forget it. what did i even expect from you?" he said with a sigh, grabbing his gun before walking out as i looked at him
"you can stay if you want. i'll make sure to get you excluded if we all get the penalty points" i said with a bored tone, following il-ha out as all of us except yeong-su went out to find chun-ho
deok-jung took the lead, claiming he knows where the soldier would go to
"jump in" he said as soon as we arrived at a truck, similar to the one we're in earlier. il-ha nodded, throwing in his gun as we quickly got in with the help from the boys
"we need to be quiet" he said, receiving a nod from all of us. ha-na and bo-ra sat together while na-ra and yu-jeong sat with ae-seol. i slowly made my way beside il-ha, considering the spot he was sitting at was near the opening
i wanted to be near it so i can protect the others just in case if the spheres would suddenly appear
the truck soon began to move, my heart beat quickening as we realized that we are not coming back anytime soon, nor pulling ourselves out from the crazy idea
it's either life or death
it was fifteen minutes in, and chun-ho didn't seem to notice any of us inside. we refrained ourselves from talking, each looking down in silence as the truck encountered a bump, making us jump a little
but ha-na and deok-jung had let out a small yelp, making us panic
"hey!" i whisper-yelled, slapping his back while bo-ra covered ha-na's mouth in annoyance. the truck suddenly stopped, and we could hear the door opening
"shit" both me and il-ha cursed, looking at each other as we looked at the end of the truck where chun-ho was looking at us in surprise
"what are you guys doing here?" he looked at me, obviously disappointed as i looked away
"you're off to find the others" il-ha said
"leave it to me and go back to the camp" all of us looked at each other, obviously disagreeing as i opened my mouth to say something, but he had already beat me to it
"do you know... what will happen if you get caught?"
"probably penalty points, what about you, though?" chun-ho lowered his gaze, not answering as il-ha looked at deok-jung
"hey, deok-jung. what happens in this case?"
"he'll be executed, at least" i looked at him in surprise, back to chun-ho who was sighing. i didn't know such punishment will be given just for stealing a truck
but even so, i'm not going to go back. might as well just get punished with him, since i contributed to the rescuing idea
"let's get going. we've come too far to go back" bo-ra stated, us looking at him as i spoke
"let's just go" he looked at me, sighing again as he nodded
"stay alert" was all he said before going back. the truck began to move again, and i kept my gaze on my knees. i fiddled with my both hands, trying to keep myself calm and closed my eyes
"he'll be okay" il-ha suddenly whispered, looking at me as i raised a brow
"what?"
"do su-cheol. he'll be fine, the others will too. we'll save them" i formed a small smile, nodding as he took my gun and swung it to his other shoulder
"what was that for?"
"you looked uncomfortable with it" he said, smiling a little as i chuckled
"i didn't know you can be kind like this" he scoffed
"what do you take me for?"
"a short-tempered boy? hey, we've been classmates for two years, when did you ever show your kindness to us?"
"only to the ones who are not annoying?" i gasped softly, slapping his arm
"so, i'm annoying, then? for two years?"
"no, that's not what i meant-"
"forget it" i snatched my gun back, wearing it on my shoulder while the others chuckled at our interactions. he continued to explain but bo-ra had already shut him up by throwing her helmet to his chest
but thanks to our silly argument, he managed to keep me from being anxious, and i'm grateful for it
━━━━━━━━━━
an hour passed and we were still on the road, driving based on the route they used to get to the mountain but so far, we still couldn't find anything but abandoned cars and buildings
the sight made us realized just how much the world has been broken to
the truck made a sudden stop, startling all of us as ha-na asked
"what's going on?"
"whatever it is, lieutenant lee found something. get your guns ready" i said, turning the safety off and turning the light on as they followed my words. il-ha jumped out, holding my hand as i followed his lead
"it's a truck" i said to il-ha, my eyes on the vehicle that was laid to the side, abandoned
"isn't that class one's truck?" i heard ha-na asking as i ran to it, inspecting it as chun-ho went to my side. he looked at the others, saying
"cho-yeong, you're with me. the rest of you, search the perimeter. to your positions" i turned to look at him, nodding at each other as he went to the other side of the truck
i went to the passenger seat, shining the gun's light to the driver but a sight of the bloodied soldier made me froze. chun-ho stood beside me, eyes widening as i asked
"does this means... that the others..." i couldn't bring myself to say it, while chun-ho looked at he dead soldier
"please tell me that they're fine" i said, looking at him as he looked down, not knowing what to say. i looked away, walking to the back of the truck with such little hope
il-ha and deok-jung looked at me but i ignored them, shining the light everywhere
my hand stopped at a certain spot, furrowing my brows
"hey" i called out, earning their attention as deok-jung asked
"what?"
"this... is an arrow, right?" they squinted their eyes, looking at the direction the arrow was pointing at as i gasped
"they must've gone there" i said, deok-jung calling out for my brother as the others rushed to us
"look" he said, pointing at the drawn arrow as chun-ho shone the light to it
"they couldn't have been far. deok-jung and il-ha, go back down and stay guard. cho-yeong and na-ra, cover our right flank. bo-ra, ae-seol, ha-na and yujeong, come with me. to your positions" we nodded, following his order as both me and na-ra parted ways to our positions
i lifted my gun up to my shoulders' height, staying alert
"lieutenant, it's a sphere!" il-ha yelled, making us widen our eyes as i quickly ran towards the boys
"get ready to fire!" chun-ho shouted, taking the lead as i kneeled down on one knee with my eyes focusing on the gunsight. he held out his hand, us waiting for the order to fire
after a few seconds, a sight of the sphere came to our eyes
"fire!" countless spheres started to charge towards us as we all pulled the trigger and released the bullets. within a minute, all of the spheres got eliminated as we all stood there cautiously in silence
"we should find them" i said, breaking the silence as chun-ho nodded
"follow me" he said, keeping his gun up as we began to walk ahead. il-ha walked beside me, shining the light in front of us as we continued to walk for five minutes
"halt" chun-ho suddenly said, raising his hand up as we all stopped in sync. i furrowed my brows, looking at the abandoned houses and garages
"what is this place?" i asked as il-ha shook his head
"no idea"
"cho-yeong, come with me. the others, search the perimeter. to your positions" we quickly moved, me walking beside him as we walked further into the building. i could hear some voices but couldn't make out who it was
my eyes widened at the sight of a sphere crawling around the walls, holding my gun up as chun-ho suddenly ran forward
i pulled the trigger, hitting the sphere making it perished away. i breathed heavily, lowering my gun as i looked at jang-soo and hee-rak who were on the ground with chun-ho
"guys!" i called out in surprise, sighing in relief and kneeled down to check for any injuries. the others swarmed in upon hearing my gunshot
"hee-rak!" il-ha yelled out, hugging his best friend as the others also checked up on them
"where are the others?" yu-jeong asked, looking around as i looked at jang-soo
"where are they?" i asked too, helping him up as he replied
"there's a sphere, we were almost attacked by it when we're hiding at the house. so-yeon's condition worsen so they took a truck, and drove away. i decided to lure the sphere while they escaped" i softly gasped, furrowing my brows as the others exclaimed in shock
"what?"
"are you insane?"
"you crazy idiot"
they started to fuss over him, scolding for coming up with such idea as he tried his best to explain why. chun-ho and i looked at each other, knowing well that we shouldn't waste our time and find the others before more spheres could find them
he turned to look at us, ordering
"get back to the truck. we'll go and find them"