In the Middle of the Night [BANG CHAN FF] ✔️

4. On guard

Lights in the office of the guards' head chief were still on yet midnight was approaching. Head chief, a man in his 60s, smoked his cigarette while taking off his glasses to massage his eyes. His head hurt just by looking at the piece of paper in front of him. A knock on the door made him raise his head. "Come in," he said even though he didn't really want to deal with anyone. A young man appeared, coming into the office and saluting.

"Recruit Christopher Bang, 325th class of military Academy. Can I have the permission to talk to you, sir?!" he introduced himself with his back straight.

Old chief gestured with his hand for the young recruit to continue.

"Thank you, sir!"

"Please, don't be loud. I know you recruits want to show off but please don't shout, my head hurts. So, just relax and tell me what you came here for," the chief said, massaging his nose.

"Sir..." Chan started quieter this time, "Because I have trouble sleeping, can I apply to the guard unit for one of your shifts?"

A pause was made because the chief looked up at the younger man wide-eyed in disbelief. He finally chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "Well, I'll be damned!" he laughed more, "Your welcoming parade was just the other day and you want to join the guards? Don't you have better things to do? How will you perform your daily duties if you guard at night? And does your commander know about this?"

"It is not a problem, sir, I can manage! And yes, I reported to the commander with the same request which is why I am here as the he instructed me as to where to find you, sir!" he answered, proudly pushing his chest forward.

"Are you serious?" chief laughed again but the young soldier was determined, his posture didn't break, "Well... It's as if the god sent you," chief stopped laughing and looked down at the paper he had on the desk. Chan looked at him, waiting. "Just the other day, I had to disband two guards who got drunk on the night before the parade. Because they didn't return to report at the end of their shift, others looked for them and found the two drunkards under the tree with an empty bottle of some cheap alcohol," chief talked, visibly angry, and Chan gulped. The guards drank the bottle he threw away that night which got them disbanded and out of the army... yet he couldn't admit his fault and tell the truth to the chief. "Ever since then I've been struggling to find guards to fill in their position, mixing up the shifts and making combinations..." the chief tapped his finger on the piece of paper which contained all of the guards' names and the shifts they were in.

"I can start tonight, sir!" Chan shouted proudly.

"I told you not to yell..." chief warned him again and closed his eyes but looked up at the soldier moments after, "You're not letting go of this... Is insomnia your only reason?"

"I want to be of use as much as I can, sir."

After adjusting the cap over her eyes, she looked at her pocket watch and smiled to herself. Making sure there was nobody around she jumped off the windowsill right on the soft grass. She fixed her clothes and dusted off her knees, ready to leave.