Astronomy // Duty After School

Chapter Thirty-Two.

If this were any other situation, the class would be rather amused by how stumped Jang-su, Yu-jeong, and (Y/n) were with writing their own final letters. Jang-su sat on his own bed with So-yeon, Yu-jeong was crouched down and using her knees to write, and (Y/n) sat on the edge of Tae-man's bed. Jang-su finished before (Y/n) even got started. When she did actually get started, opting to write to her classmates instead, she really got writing. Yu-jeong snipped off some of her hair, cringing a bit as she dropped it into the bag her letter was inside. She then set the scissors down beside (Y/n), who seemed to grimace each and every time her left hand smeared her writing. (Y/n) left a lipstick stain on her letter after signing off. She folded it in half and stuck it into her bag before picking up the scissors and holding them to one of her rope twists. Several people yelped in protest.

"...What will be done with our hair or nail clippings?" (Y/n) asked.

"Clones," Tae-man answered seriously. Wu-taek chucked his pillow at him, which led to Tae-man holding onto it.

"Funerals," Yu-jeong answered.

"I heard of people turning hair into necklaces," Yeon-ju added. (Y/n) nodded as though accepting that answer and proceeded to take out her rope twists and cut off a chunk of hair near the nape of her neck. There were a few flinches over how much hair (Y/n) cut off, but she paid it no mind and dropped it into the bag. As she closed it, she kept it as flat as possible, getting the air fully out.
Yeong-shin and Yu-jeong collected the bags of those who were closest to them. Ha-na lay down on Bo-ra's lap, resulting in the girl holding onto Ha-na. Sun-yi held one of the boys' blankets around her with wobbling lips while Jun-hi hugged a pillow to her chest. Yeong-shin stopped before Yu-jeong, almost hesitating to hand over the rest of the class's final letters as that would be the done deal: They would be accepting that the army had little hope in their return. He held out the stack of bags and Yu-jeong accepted them, straightening out the bag.

"Everyone is here," Yeong-shin said.

"How can we sleep?" So-yun murmured. "It's tomorrow. What should we do?" She bowed her head, tugging on her hair.

"Oh, damn! I'm so fucking scared," Hui-rak huffed.

"It's on the outskirts, so it won't be too dangerous," Jang-su said in an attempt to lower everyone's worries.

"Hey, why would they ask us to write a goodbye letter if it's not too dangerous?" Jun-hi frowned.

"But they said they'll let us go if it's done safely," Yeon-ju said hopefully.

"Fuck. We just have to trust them and go," Il-ha sighed. "If we can make it through this safely..." He trailed off.

"I miss my mom and dad," Sun-yi admitted.

"Me, too," Yeon-ju agreed. Some people grew a little emotional at the reminder of their families.

"Mom..."

"I want my mom's kimchi jjigae," Deok-jung said.

"I miss my mom," Ha-na sniffed, getting up from Bo-ra's lap and hugging her. "I miss my mom..." Yu-jeong caught sight of a shadow outside of the tent and immediately shushed everyone, backing up toward the entrance. A moment later, Chun-ho opened the tent. Yelps and gasps rang out as the girls started trying to hide themselves with the boys' help.
Chi-yeol quickly moved in front of Jun-hi and So-yun as though to hide them while So-yeon used her hair to hide her face. Na-ra covered herself with a blanket at the same time Deok-jung sat on top of Ae-seol, fanning himself with his pillow.

"Oh, it's hot..." Deok-jung said. Tae-man lowered (Y/n)'s head to his lap so So-chul was able to hide her with a blanket. He and Wu-taek stood in front of the pair, feigning innocence. Il-ha quickly covered Bo-ra and Ha-na with his blanket, pulling a scowl from the former.