"After all this is over, let's go back home and marry."
Being in the military is not everyone's cup of tea; it takes blood, sweat, and tears to gain the courage and the ability to protect someone's life. And ever since Chan taught Na-Rae how to def...
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20 March, 1915
A slim boy came up next, dragging his luggage with him and gasping for air, and the second he landed before their room, he cried out, "Help me! For god's sake!"
Hyunjin and Na-Rae shared a look before rushing forward to pick his luggage up and drag it into the dorm room. The boy panted to regain his composure, breathlessly introducing himself, "Han Jisung. Hi."
"Dude, you're here for military training, and you can't even lift your bags. What are you even here for?" Hyunjin mocked, and Jisung narrowed his eyebrows, retorting, "And what are you here for? A beauty pageant?"
"HEY-"
"Shut up, both of you," Na-Rae berated them, "We have to live together, so let's get along rather than fighting like ducklings, alright?"
Jisung and Hyunjin sulked.
"What are we supposed to do now? Wait for the rest of the three to arrive?" Jisung questioned.
"I have absolutely no idea," Na-Rae thought aloud, "But I guess our practice sessions start tomorrow morning. That's what I heard my cousins say when they went for military training."
"Your cousins are in the military?!" Hyunjin gasped, "What is it like?"
"I don't know, because they gave up in the first month," she shrugged, and Jisung gulped, "Is it that hard?"
"I guess? Because we're here to be the strongest, not just strong," she resolutely spoke, and Hyunjin hummed.
Moments later, a boy of their age opened the door of the room, asking in a monotonous voice, "Room 29?"
"You're home," Jisung giggled, and the boy gave him a stoic stare, blandly saying, "Thanks, I guess."
He walked in, threw his bags on his own bed, and turned to the other three, "Lee Minho."
"Lee Minho." Hyunjin clowned his style of speaking, mimicking his monotonous way of saying his name, and laughed. But then he quieted down when no one laughed, and Minho gave him a death glare.
"I'm sorry, don't kill me. It's my fifteenth birthday today," Hyunjin cowered away, and Na-Rae turned to him with wide eyes, "It's your birthday?! And you're here?!"
"Today was the day of arrival, and I couldn't delay it, so yeah," Hyunjin spoke, "Mom said she was proud!"
"That's sweet," Minho remarked, "I don't know your name yet, but I'll spare you for today."
"Thank-"
Someone knocked on their door, and the four saw the fifth member of their dormitory walk in -- and he was rather slim and lanky, somehow able to drag his luggage inside despite being as slim as Jisung, "I'm Seo Changbin. And I'm guessing you all are my roommates?"
"Thanks, mister obvious," Jisung laughed.
"Yah, I expected an introduction!" Changbin complained, "Oh, and by the way, the sixth member of this room is going to enter any minute. We met outside while getting registered and-"
"Sorry!" the final member of the dorm room dashed in through the door, his travel bags hung over his shoulder and one in his hands. Dimples lit up his boyish face, and his eyes crinkled, "Um, hello! I'm Bang Chan!"
Na-Rae smiled at the two new additions to their room, "Kang Na-Rae. Nice to meet you guys!"
"Can we have, like, a proper introduction now? Because I might easily forget everyone's names soon," Changbin added, and as everyone went around introducing themselves, Hyunjin questioned, "Why did you guys join the military, though?"
Na-Rae went first, "I know, I'm a girl, but-"
"You're a girl?!" Minho was genuinely astonished. She gave him a glare and continued, "Well, yes. I have short hair but I am a girl. And I came here to be stronger."
"That's super cool," Jisung spoke, "I know you can do it, girlie!"
Na-Rae grinned at him, and Hyunjin spoke about his reason to to join, "I just wanna make my mom proud, and I think there would be no better way to do that."
"Dude, you could've become a doctor or something," Minho stated, and everyone laughed.
"Changbin, what about you?" Na-Rae questioned, and the said boy hummed before speaking, "I look weak, but I have good strength. At least dad says so. I wanna put my power to good use, that's it."
"Damn," Chan muttered, and when everyone urged him to speak, he giggled and spoke, "Actually, my dad was in the military when he was, you know... alive. He died in a battle a few years ago. I just believe that he's the epitome of power and strength, and I want to be like him."
Na-Rae looked at Chan in admiration; something about the way he gracefully managed to word his reason so beautifully was mesmerizing to her. She could not wait to be friends with him, and fight alongside him.
