everyone got changed into their military uniforms. the boys and girls walked out of two different big tents, the students looking at each other before starting to chat amongst each other. "oohhh, jang ji-wan," cooed il-ha, walking over to the girl. "how do i look?," she asked, looking down at the uniform that fit her perfectly. "i think you were meant for this job," said il-ha. chi-yeol came over to them with a camera. "stop recording me, bastard," cursed il-ha. ji-wan elbowed il-ha's stomach before clearing her throat. "reservist 10, jang ji-wan ready for duty," said ji-wan, putting her hands on her hips and looking serious. "reservist 18, kwon il-ha ready for duty," said il-ha, saluting the camera and standing behind ji-wan. "whats wrong with them," chuckled hana, bo-ra standing next to her with a fond smile on her face. "they're such dorks," smiled bo-ra.
—
bo-ra and yoo-jung sat in front of ji-wan and so-yeon on the beds. "it was torn, seriously. do you want to see it?," whined so-yeon, pulling up her shirt and showing the girls. ji-wan's cringed at the big scar on so-yeon's stomach. "that looks painful," said yoo-jung, leaning in to look at the scar. bo-ra looked above ji-wan to see chi-yeol holding the camera and recording them. "yah, kimchi! get out of here," shouted bo-ra, getting up and scaring chi-yeol away. ji-wan looked at bo-ra, who put her hand out onto the camera to cover the girls. ji-wan liked that bo-ra was always so protective of her friends, especially ji-wan. "what a pervert!," scoffed so-yeon, "i-i'm sorry!," stuttered chi-yeol.
from across the small group, hana gasped loudly. everyone turned to look at her but their eyes were quickly drawn to yeon-joo. "oh my god," gasped ji-wan, covering her mouth. "whats wrong," asked yeon-joo, looking at the girl before up at chi-yeol's camera. one by one, all the girls gathered around yeon-joo on the bed as soon-yi quickly rushed over with eyebrow pencils. hana held yeon-joo's hands, apologising profusely as yeon-joo cried. so-yeon was looking at them from a far as she was doing her interview. "ugh! let me do it," said ji-wan and hana moved over. ji-wan held yeon-joo's face and drew on the part of yeon-joo's eyebrow that hana plucked out. the others looked on and cheered when yeon-joo's eyebrow look normal again.
the work in the day was boring and exhausting. ji-wan was digging some dirt for god knows what they were building. it was near the end of their allocated working time and ji-wan huffed, throwing her shovel on the floor. "i can't do this," she groaned. "move, i'll do it," said il-ha, moving ji-wan away and shovelling up some dirt. ji-wan cheered and il-ha looked up to see chi-yeol with a camera, "get that out of my face right now," he said. chi-yeol cleared his throat and walked away.
— putting up tents
joon-hee whined and called out for yoo-jung when soon-yi knocked over their tent for the second time. "its like they're crying for milk," bo-ra sighed, shaking her head and going back to hitting the orange nail that was holding their tent up onto the ground. "just get in there," hissed bo-ra. ji-wan was in a group with bo-ra, na-ra and hana. ji-wan laid on a bedding inside the tent next to hana. "that boy from another school was pretty cute. he asked for my number," smiled hana, kicking her feet in the air. "we don't even have our phones. what about that boy in class one?," bo-ra scoffed. "why do you always go for dumb guys?," asked ji-wan, propping her head up on her hand.
"i ended things with him already. he isn't a man and i can't date a guy who hasn't even fired a rifle," said hana. bo-ra smiled in amusement. "guys who haven't finished their military service are little boys to me now," hana grinned. "whatever you say," bo-ra shook her head. "you know, ji-wan, i heard that guy's friend had a thing for brunettes," hana said, smirking suggestively. ji-wan looked at bo-ra for a split second before looking back at hana. "i'm not looking for anyone right now," ji-wan said. "yah, you do it. i'm done," bo-ra sighed, throwing the shovel to the two of them and dusting off her knees. hana whined saying she couldn't before turning back to ji-wan so na-ra came over to help. "why not? what if you die without ever being in a relationship or having your first kiss?," asked hana.
ji-wan rolled her eyes. "i've already had my first kiss, weirdo. plus, i think i have someone in mind," she said. "what?," asked bo-ra, "really?," shouted hana, "huh?," na-ra said, they said at the same time. ji-wan furrowed her eyebrows, looking at the three. "what? is it that unbelievable that i've had my first kiss already?," she scoffed. bo-ra and na-ra stared at ji-wan, they were more focused on the last part of what ji-wan had said. "the question is, with who?!," asked hana, curiously.
"ugh, i don't know. we were just freshmen," said ji-wan, "who! who is he? or is it a she?," asked hana. "it was a girl...that's all i'm saying," shrugged ji-wan as hana started to drown her in questions. bo-ra was a bit taken a back when ji-wan said she might have someone in mind. what was that supposed to mean? did it mean that she already had someone that she liked? na-ra, on the other hand, knew deep down that there was a very good chance that ji-wan might be talking about bo-ra but she was not one hundred percent sure. there were times when it seemed like nothing could come between na-ra and ji-wan.
— after bo-ra confronts ae-seol
bo-ra walked away and na-ra followed behind, catching up quickly. na-ra quickly grabbed bo-ra's wrist, making bo-ra halt. bo-ra looked na-ra up and down before pulling her arm away. "stop being nosy about everything," said bo-ra, "what is the meaning of being nosy?," asked na-ra. bo-ra scoffed, "lee na-ra, are you being a show off for being a good marksman? why do you care what i say to no ae?," asked bo-ra. "you're always complaining about her—" "you probably feel fine because you manage everything. do you think you'll be accepting when she causes you trouble?," asked bo-ra, walking away but she didn't make it far before she stopped. she stopped because na-ra said something.
"i'll manage everything just fine. if there is anything in my way, i can just as easily remove it," na-ra said. bo-ra knew, without even looking back at na-ra's expression that there was a second meaning to whatever she said. bo-ra turned around, "there are things that are out of your control. there are things you can't remove," she said. 'forget not getting in between ji-wan and bo-ra,' thought na-ra. "if i want something then i'll take it and nothing will get in my way," na-ra said, seriously. "we'll see if you succeed," bo-ra challenged. bo-ra knew that na-ra liked ji-wan. when they were still in school, bo-ra would notice na-ra's eyes following ji-wan whenever she entered the classroom. or smile extra wide whenever ji-wan made joke.
na-ra wanted ji-wan. bo-ra wanted ji-wan. wait what? bo-ra wanted ji-wan? bo-ra and ji-wan had been friends ever since they were in their second year in high school. of course, most times, ji-wan would be with woo-taek and bo-ra would be with hana but it was different when they were together. ji-wan was extra touchy and clingy whenever she was with bo-ra and even though bo-ra hated physical touch, she didn't mind one bit when it was ji-wan doing it. why was it different with ji-wan? it was a sudden realisation but bo-ra never thought about it. bo-ra wanted ji-wan. the two girls seemed to be having a stand off. neither of them willing to back down.
— general's announcement
"the military and the people are well aware of your hard work. there gave been sacrifices along the way but you are the proud sons and daughters that protect this nation from alien beings. have pride in it."
there had been lots of rumours saying that they were going to be allowed to go the shelters with their families, ever since lt.lee said that the general wanted to announce something. she thanked god that they were finally sending them back to their families. of course ji-wan had no intention of staying with her father so she decided that she would stay with her grandmother, wherever she may be.
plus, it wouldn't hurt her grandmother to have another set of helping hands. the woman was getting old and ji-wan was more than ready to take care of her grandmother. it would be fair because her grandmother was the one that practically raised her and young-hoon. whenever their parents were fighting or just went missing for days on end, they would simply just have to walk down the street to their grandma's cosy one-story house.
"at 0700 hours the succeeding day, the reservists of the second platoon, class 3-2 of sungjin high school will carry out an operation of eliminating the spheres"
ji-wan's jaw dropped, she couldn't move. operation? "are we going to war?," asked joon-hee, "there's no way!," replied soon-yi. "but i thought we we going home," ji-wan said, lowly. everyone started to loose it. "quiet! second platoon leader," said the general and lt.lee stepped up, in front of the class. "second platoon will leave the camp tomorrow at 0700 hours, join the 1st battalion of the 3rd brigade and carry out the clean-up operation," announced lt.lee. ji-wan gritted her teeth. why wasn't he fighting for them? did he agree to let them go off to war? wasn't he supposed to be protecting them? "the objective of this operation is to go through the nearby residential areas and head to maesong-si. we must eliminate all the spheres that we encounter along the way," the man said.
— at dinner
ji-wan sat in between bo-ra and young-shin, playing with her food and not in the mood to talk. "fuck. i knew something was up," said il-ha, sighing. "i asked the other kids, and we're going first because we're the largest group," said hana. "this is so annoying," hissed bo-ra, putting her chopsticks down, "who made a big fuss about getting discharged?," she asked but everyone remained silent. "i can't eat," sighed tae-man, looking at his rice.
"well, that's a first. but you're right, being able to eat in this situation would be bizarre," said soo-chul, just as deok-joong was about to feed the spoon full of food into his mouth. everyone turned to look at him. a moment of silence went by. "let him eat," she sighed, still staring at her food and playing with a piece of radish. the group turned to look at her, "who knows when we will be able to eat this well again," she continued. bo-ra looked at her and sighed, knowing that she was right.
— after dinner
yoo-jung had gathered everyone in the girl's tent. ji-wan sat up on her bed and walked up to yoo-jung when the girl called out her name. ji-wan looked at the ziplock bag that had a piece of paper, a pen and a sticker with her full name on the outside of the bag. without asking any questions, ji-wan started walking back to her bed. suddenly, she felt a hand grab her wrist and pull her down to sit on a bed. a small gasp escaped ji-wan's lips before she opened her eyes to see bo-ra looking down at her. "you scared me," ji-wan said, putting her hand on her chest.
"sorry. i just want you close," bo-ra smiled, making blood rush to ji-wan's face. "what are you saying," ji-wan scoffed, looking away so that bo-ra doesn't see her blushing. bo-ra smirked at ji-wan before her eyes met na-ra's, who gritted her teeth. "by the way, what is this?," asked tae-man, putting the ziplock bag up. "your will," yoo-jung said. ji-wan's head snapped towards the girl at the front. "what?," the class asked in unison. "i overheard platoon commander say that we will have to write our wills before going on the operation," yoo-jung said. for a long period of time, no one dared to utter a word. they were too busy looking at the ziplock bags in their hands. it all felt so surreal.
"apparently, writing a will is only a formality before an operation. also, cut your fingernails or you hair and put them in these bags. these are for..." yoo-jung stopped talking for a second. ji-wan saw that she was finding it hard to say. "these are for your funeral if they can't find your body," she said, holding up another smaller ziplock bag. "w-what? are we going to die?," asked so-yoon, getting up from her bed. "no. that's not it," yoo-jung tried to say but then soon-yi spoke up, "why are you scaring us," she whimpered. "it's just a formality," yoo-jung replied.
"exactly so why do we need to do this if it's only a formality? it's because it's going to be dangerous!," joon-hee shouted. "i thought we were being discharged. why are they sending us for an operation?," cried soon-yi. "i'm not sure about that but—" yoo-jung was cut off when hana stood up. "yah. ask again if you're not sure. ask them if this is necessary," pressured hana, tears springing to her eyes. from behind ji-wan, bo-ra grabbed hana's arm, "yoo hana," she said warningly. "she's class president! why don't you even ask them such things?," shouted hana. "you had the nerve to just accept these?," yelled hee-rak, waving the ziplock bag in the air.
ji-wan stared at her name on the ziplock bag. hee-rak and tae-man started arguing over these stupid will pouches. "yah, kim yoo-jung. why are you so unaffected? doesn't this scare you?," asked so-yoon, anger lacing her voice. "i really fucking hate this," sighed il-ha, getting up. "class president. even for me, a will doesn't sound right," said soo-chul. yoo-jung looked back, examining her classmate's faces one by one. ji-wan looked up to see that yoo-jung looked like she was about to break down into tears any moment. without saying anything, yoo-jung rushed out the tent. ji-wan sighed deeply, getting up and throwing her ziplock bag on the bed before walking towards the entry of the tent.
"where are you going?," asked chi-yeol. "after yoo-jung. it was really unnecessary to just dump all your anger on her," she said, looking around the room. "so then what else do we do? the class president should represent us," hee-rak challenged, walking towards ji-wan. "do you really think that yoo-jung can override the word of lieutenant lee? the last time we tried that, we almost died," asked ji-wan. everyone stayed silent, knowing that ji-wan had a point. "do you always have to be the hero and defend everyone?," scoffed hee-rak. "because you can't control your anger issues and you jump on everyone when something doesn't go your way. fucking idiot," she sighed. hee-rak's jaw went slack; a few others in the room tried to stifle their laugh.
ji-wan walked outside, looking side to side to hopefully spot yoo-jung. her eyes softened when she saw yoo-jung sitting on a bench all by herself. she quietly walked towards yoo-jung and took a seat on the bench next to her. the two sat in silence for s moment before yoo-jung spoke up. "to be honest, i became the class president for the student records. at first, i had zero consideration for a sense of duty or responsibility," she admitted. "well that just shows me how far you've come," ji-wan said, lamely. silence engulfed them once again. ji-wan looked up at the stars, "do you know the reason why i voted for you and not jang-soo?," asked ji-wan. yoo-jung looked at ji-wan.
ji-wan chuckled to herself, confusing the other girl. "in freshmen year, when you found me smoking, you snitched on me," she said, smiling up at the stars when she was reminded of her life before the spheres. "i always thought you had it out for me after that," smiled yoo-jung. "i did," said ji-wan, making yoo-jung snap her head towards her. "but! when i put your name on that piece of paper, i was thinking about that one time. i don't think you realise but you're meant to be a class president. i saw you as a class president when you comfort soon-yi when she cries, when you stop joon-hee and so-yoon from getting into an argument every minute...," ji-wan trailed off the conversation for a moment.
"i saw you as a class president but more importantly a human being when you defended young-hoon," said ji-wan. yoo-jung and ji-wan made eye contact, smiling at each other. "especially in front of big old tough guy, il-ha. i still remember that slap," ji-wan chuckled making yoo-jung finally crack a smile. "that's sweet and all but that's not what a class president does," yoo-jung smiled. "all i'm saying is, its the small things that count. plus, it's not like the general of the korean army would listen to a high school student," ji-wan shrugged. "thats true," yoo-jung chuckled, looking up at the stars. the two went back to their tent after looking up at the stars for sometime. when they entered, so-yoon came up to apologise to yoo-jung.
— ji-wan's will
hello,
my name is jang ji-wan. this is my will and well, i don't have anything to leave anyone. for my funeral, i will like to be cremated and placed next to my brother, jang young-hoon in our family's cremation house.
thank you.
ji-wan wrote quickly and folded her paper, putting it inside the ziplock back. she looked around but everyone was still writing. she felt a bit jealous of them because they still had so much to write down. oh well. ji-wan walked up to yoo-jung and handed her the ziplock bag. then ji-wan walked back to il-ha's bed, plopping down next to him. "what am i even supposed to give away?," groaned il-ha. "i didn't have anything to give away so i just wrote down my funeral request," ji-wan shrugged, looking over at the boy's empty paper. "fine," il-ha sighed before quickly scribbling down a sentence. 'i want to be buried next to my dad,' he wrote. ji-wan felt a bit bad for il-ha.
once he handed his zip-lock, he returned. "we're two very sad people," il-ha said sadly. the two stayed silent before exchanging looks and burst out laughing, silently, together. ji-wan and il-ha had gotten close because ji-wan and her dad had went into il-ha's mum's restaurant. it was a chaotic night. il-ha spent the whole night trying to hide from her due to embarrassment but then ji-wan's dad had a little too much to drink. ji-wan's dad started ridiculing her, loudly in front of the whole restaurant and il-ha stepped up to defend ji-wan. of course her dad got mad at him so ji-wan and il-ha left the restaurant together. it was the first night that ji-wan tried a cigarette. she almost suffocated and got publicly humiliated by her own dad but it was one of the happiest nights of her life.
"i can't sleep. it's tomorrow, what are we supposed to do?," said so-yoon. "it won't be that dangerous in the suburbs," chimed in jang-soo. "then why would they have us write our wills down?," questions joon-hee. "they'll let us go home if we get through this," said yeon-joo. "thats the only reason why i'm going," said il-ha. ji-wan looked at the bed in front of her. hana was laying down on bo-ra'a lap. of course it made ji-wan jealous but it's not like she could do anything about it. whatever. she didn't when care anyways. "i miss my parents," soon-yi whined. everyone else in the room started agreeing and whining about missing their parents.
ji-wan was probably the only one that couldn't relate. it's not like she was close with either one of them anyway. she just really missed young-hoon, the only person that she would actually consider her family. she even missed woo-taek because in a way, she saw him as family. yoo-jung widened her eyes and turned around to everyone, shushing them. suddenly the covers on the tent opened, revealing lt.lee and sergeant won-bin. all the girls rushed to hide. il-ha quickly threw his blanket over ji-wan and stood in front of her with wide eyes. "you guys haven't eaten yet?," asked lt.lee, making ji-wan peaked out from the blanket. "sergeant kim. bring that over."