Astronomy // Duty After School

Chapter Forty-Three.

"What if we got matching pajamas?" Jun-hi asked the girls in the search group. The girls oohed in response. Yeong-su and Yeong-hun side-eyed them. Given that So-yun, (Y/n), and Yeong-su didn't have coats, the group had to make a short stop to get them one.

"We're here for coats," Chun-ho emphasized.

"And warm clothes," Ha-na added. At the mention of clothes, their eyes all darted back to the hall of changing rooms they were waiting near. Due to being at the base for a week, (Y/n) never had the chance to get clothes of her own. Almost as though on cue, (Y/n) opened the dressing room door, inspecting her outfit in the mirror parallel to the fitting room before heading back to the others. She now had on a black turtle neck, a grey sweater with light blue and white cats, and black denim pants. The clothes she had gotten were mainly things she could mix and match to create layers.

"Why do my outfits never look like that?" Jun-hi mumbled.

"Because you don't try to style your clothes. Next question," So-yun said dismissively. As (Y/n) snipped off the tags, she peered at the coats she could see. Yu-jeong wound up coming over and cutting the tags herself so (Y/n) could focus on folding the clothes and placing them in her bag.

"Where does one draw the line at denim on denim?" (Y/n) asked mostly rhetorically, holding up the pair of straight-legged jeans she had and closing one eye as though she could compare swatches with the denim jacket in the distance.

"I don't think anyone's going to care," Chun-ho said bluntly.

"Of course, they will. I have a reputation to uphold," (Y/n) insisted. She folded the last of the clothes and placed them in her bag with the belts and other accessories (many gloves and hats) before heading off the grab the dark denim jacket she was eyeing. She got on the thick jacket and looked at herself in the mirror.

"Matching pajamas now?" Ha-na asked, linking her arm with (Y/n) and leading her off. The other girls followed, making Chun-ho shake his head.

"What's the occasion?"

"It's your first night with the rest of us," Sun-yi answered.

"Yes, yes. In our haven," Ha-na nodded.

"Haven?" (Y/n) repeated.

"We've made it nice and cozy since we'll be here for a while," Na-ra said.

"Yeah, we've even started to change out those small rags for actual tents," So-yun added.

"We'll also have to get some for the other girls," Yu-jeong said. "Luckily only four of them aren't already here... That's Yeon-ju, Ae-seol, Bo-ra, and So-yeon."

"Platoon Leader, isn't that too much?" Yeong-su asked.

"They're finding some enjoyment in their situation," Chun-ho mused. "You should do the same, Yeong-su." Upon getting their pajamas, the group finally set off to the grocery store strip they had originally set out for. They split into two groups to speed up the process of searching the three stores. Yu-jeong went to the pharmacy section to see what kinds of pills and medical supplies she could find— It was also near the makeup department, meaning she could check if there was any dry shampoo. Na-ra and (Y/n) headed to the cleaning supplies to find detergent and disinfectant sprays. Yeong-su and Yeong-hun were in charge of checking for shelf-stable food and water. Food for the most part was hard to come by due to the military seizing the good majority for the citizens in the safety camps (as well as their own soldiers). The group gagged as they passed the produce section and quickly split off to go and complete their tasks.

"We could also check out the camping section," (Y/n) suggested, standing on the bottom shelf to grab laundry powder. "There might be wagons there, and if there is, we can bring back more things." Na-ra nodded in agreement.