two worlds: jaeyong

23

(mentions of rape and other sensitive topics, please read with caution and if you uncomfortable, you can skip.)

"are you sure about what you saw?" taeyong asked his friend as they were eating their bowls of ramen. it was nighttime and luckily, there were enough volunteers and doctors from the president so they could rest for the night.

"i'm sure, and she seemed so nervous when i approached her," doyoung sipped his coffee. "but what is a woman doing here? aren't all the workers male?"

"that's what i was thinking about to. and she wasn't wearing a security pass, was she? the ones they gave us when he visited."

"she wasn't, and the marks looked a bit old, at least half a year old. they faded a bit but are still red."

"what are you guys talking about?" sicheng approached his friends with his own bowl of food.

"you know that woman i came into the tent with? with the female volunteer?"

"yeah, she looked really panicked to be there," the nurse sat down and took a bite of the noodles.

"that's the thing, and she was also panicking when i approached her when i was rescuing her."

"maybe she had trauma from everything?" donghyuck approached with his own dinner. "think about it, she's pregnant and was almost killed in an earthquake the made the whole structure collapse."

"but that doesn't explain this," doyoung looks around before sharing the main concern. "when she rolled up her sleeves to tie the colored band, i saw marks on her wrists, ones that looked like rope burns. and they looked not too old either, i give about half a year."

the two newcomers furrow their eyebrows at the mention of the new detail and nod.

"yeah, that makes everything even more weird," sicheng nodded.

"did she say anything that was weird?" donghyuck asked.

"not really, although she said how she couldn't let any males touch her."

"she was raped."

everyone faces the doctor who said it. taeyong looks at them before explaining himself.

"think about it. one, she panicked when she was in a room full of people, especially people who had to touch her to make sure she was well. two, the whole time, she kept her head down and wouldn't talk to anyone, except that one female doctor. and three, the rope burns. i wouldn't be surprised if she turns out to be a victim of human trafficking."

"if that's what's really happened, then we just found a way to help jaehyun's group."

at the sound of a new voice, they turn around and see jungwoo carrying a tray of coffee.

"hey jungwoo," doyoung scoots over to give some space for the chef. "it's been a while."

"i had to help around the villages in the region so i was in and out, mostly out. but i came back to help. anyways, what's this i hear about a victim?"

the chef's demeanor changed from cheerful to serious so quickly the others were caught off guard.

"there was this one woman we found in the construction sight and we can't think of how she got there in the first place. she didn't have a visitor's pass nor does she seem to be a worker. on top of that, she's pregnant and panicked every time someone would get close to her."

letting the information sink, jungwoo nodded once he was done.

"and she had rope burns i presume?"

"yeah, how did you know?"

"this is something the whole base has been looking into for a while. starting from last year, there were all these reports of kidnappings from villages, girls aged from 13-18. after looking into it and catching one group, it turns out there's been a whole human trafficking ring under our noses. and the one thing all the girls had in common were the rope burns. we so far don't have that much of a lead but this woman could help us."

"well, then, we have to go tell the others," doyoung stood up and following after him were all the others.

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"and how sure are you about this information mr. kim?" general park asked jungwoo with suspicion. "we can't just pick up on this because of a woman who we're treating."

"what other choice do we have?" jungwoo argued back. "we've been on this case for so long, without getting anywhere!"

general park just sits down in his seat and rubs his face.

"so what are you going to do if the information is fake?" he asks the soldier.

"then we have to find another lead. but general, with this opportunity given to us, wouldn't it be best for us to just take it?"

again, the silence goes heavy in the air, until general park sighs.

"fine, fill them in with the details and i'll call in a meeting with you all whenever we get the time. now, please leave, i have a call with the president i have to take soon."

bowing, jungwoo leaves the tent and is met outside with 4 concerned faces.

"what did he say?" donghyuck asked.

"he said he'd look into it," jungwoo smiled. "but i have to fill in the details for the others."

"i think they're all in the dining hall with taeil," doyoung said.

"and how'd you know taeil is in there?" taeyong teased his blushing friend.

"shut up, i just saw him go in with the other 4."

"what are they doing in the kitchen anyway?" sicheng asked. as far as he was concerned, none of the people knew how to cook. except johnny and taeil, who could cook the basic things.

"only one way to find out," jungwoo walks to the location with the others following.

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"and why did you drag us here?" yuta asked the shorter male who was carrying two brown bags and opening the door to the dining hall.

"let's face it," taeil faces the four after setting the groceries down. "besides johnny, all of us have crushes on the medical team, me included."

"you realize you just exposed yourself," mark pointed out.

"yes, because unlike y'all, i'm not gonna be a coward about it," the doctor said. "now, what's better then cooking something for them? they've been running around all day and haven't eaten anything since breakfast, i'm sure they're famished by now."

"so what were you thinking?" jaehyun asked and taeil smiled.

"bulgogi," he took out the packs of marinated meat. "i was saving this for something else but i figured why not just eat it now?"

"do you really trust anyone besides johnny in the kitchen though?" yuta asked. "i mean, in case you haven't realized, we are pretty much banned from the kitchen by jungwoo."

"and that's why you guys are in charge of this," taeil throws the other bag at jaehyun, who barely catches it. "make the place look fancy and nice."

"aren't you thinking too much?" johnny speaks up.

"you're only saying that cause you're boyfriend is in korea," taeil fired back. "but in all seriousness, i just think they need a touch of fantasy after what happened. and i know what it's like, when you swamp yourself with all this work, sometimes the best distraction is distraction from the reality."