What Time Forgot | Minsung

|22|

"This is what determines your commitment to the army."

Minho stood in a line with several other soldiers beside him. Ones who he didn't know though many of them seemed to know each other.

He was young. A mere thirteen years old.

The new world had just come to be.

He had been living on the streets for two years, trying to survive and doing so just by the skin of his teeth. Nobody ever came looking for him after he ran. Which in turn told him that nobody cared. So he decided not to either.

When he got word of the new world, he didn't understand what he was joining into. 'Free room and board' was the only thing that had sealed the deal for him to actually join.

"You will have a simple task," Commander Seo Sr. spoke to them in the courtyard just in front of the district #9 headquarters.

"To prove that you are serious about your loyalty to the reform, you will kill a citizen." Commander Seo Sr. said to them, eyeing every single one of their reactions.

In ten minutes time, citizens were lined up in front of every single soldier that stood in that line. It was a line of death for everyone. A death of an old life.

A death of someone innocent.

"I will count to three!" The commander yelled from a few yards away, "and on the third count, you will shoot,"

Thirteen years old was too young to be holding a gun of this size. Too young to even understand and comprehend the idea of cold blooded murder.

Minho held the gun tightly in his hands, arms shaking violently as the commander began his count.

"Three!"

Minho locked eyes with the citizen in front of him. A man. Young and youthful with flowing black hair that blew in the cold breeze around them. A red scarf lay around his neck to shield out the cold. Unshed tears flooded his eyes and he begged Minho with them silently. Silently, he begged him not to go through with this. 

"Two!"

Minho raised the gun to his head in a swift motion completely in synch with the other soldiers around him.

"One!"

Bodies hit the floor as several gunshots sounded around the courtyard. Blood flowed in pools. Red and hot and it hurt Minhos eyes to look at.

He hadn't pulled the trigger. He hesitated as the man gazed into his eyes with hope that he would live. Sickening hope that only made Minhos heart ache more.

He didn't want this.

"Well done," the commander said as he stalked up to his new soldiers.

"You are dismissed. You will be assigned bunks if you will follow my comrade," he said and gazed at Minho who lowered his gun shakily, obviously shocked as his eyes darted from the man in front of him to the dead bodies that lay in the courtyard. "Soldier #297. You will stay,"

Minhos eyes flashed up as his number was called and he panicked as the commander stalked towards him.

Everyone left the courtyard and the commander waited until they were completely alone before he said anything.

"You hesitated." He said and quirked an eyebrow.

Minho looked up with wide and terrified eyes and the commanders cold ones met his.

"Why?" He asked.

"Why would you give this man," the commander gripped the hair of man in front of him "sympathy?"

Minho stayed silent. All he wanted was to run. To hide and to live in the streets again. Maybe this time he would appreciate the small bit of freedom again.

"Answer." The commander grumbled.

"I..I don't know-" Minho said with a voice shaking in fear and regret.

"Then shoot him."

"I can't- I really can't," Minhos small voice rang around the courtyard.

A harsh kick was delivered to his side and he fell to the ground. The gun skidded across the cement as he cried out.

In only a moments time, the commander was looming over him. He seemed to be contemplating something. Seeming to come to a conclusion, he pulled the gun from the holster on his waist and pointed it at Minho.

"Grab your gun and get up." Was all he said to him.

Minho stared down the barrel of the metal weapon pointed directly at his face. Heartbeats pounded in his ears making everything go strange in his mind. Everything was haywire and nothing made sense anymore.

"Don't make me tell you twice!" The commander yelled and cocked the gun.

Minho scrambled and grabbed the gun.

He was jerked by his hair only a few moments later and was stood in front of the civilian yet again.

"Shoot him," the commander growled in his ear.

Minho held the gun up with a shaking hand. Tears came to his eyes at this unfair advantage he had over this citizen.

"Shoot him or I'll shoot you!" The commander yelled in his ear, "don't think your life is fucking important just because you joined this cause now shoot for fucks sake!"

A cold metal was placed to his temple. It made alarm bells ring louder and he started to hyperventilate out of fear.

"Will you do it? Or am I going to have to kill you? You make the choice,"

Minho weighed his options. If he declined, there was no way he was getting out of this alive. Wasn't the whole point of joining the army to live? Wasn't it to thrive better than he had been?

'I'll do it.." Minho whispered and cocked the gun back with a shaky breath

'Don't, please! I have a family- please!' Minho gazed at the man, eyes full of unshed tears as he shakily held the gun in front of the man's face.

He knew that he would never ever forget the moment that he agreed to this insanity.

Minho let out a soft breath as he flipped the gun off of safety and closed his eyes.

"Open them," the commander told him next. So he obliged. What else could he do?

"Get it over with #297," the commander growled in his ear.

"Please.." the man in front of him whispered.

Minho breathed again, settling his breath into slow focused in and outs that only made him want to pass out more.

A gunshot.

Sounding so loud that Minhos ears could bleed.

He watched as the man's head exploded into red and brain matter splattered across the concrete. The man fell forward at Minhos feet and to the ground. Blood immediately began pooling around him soaking Minhos shoes in the process.

Silent tears ran down Minhos cheeks as he looked at the murder he'd just committed. He felt numb. So numb that nothing in the world would make him ever, ever forget about this moment.

"Welcome to the reform," the commander said and slipped his gun back into his holster.

•••

A/N: I just wanted to take a second to thank you all for 400 reads on this story! This is my first minsung story that I've actually been able to continue writing.

Please let me know your thoughts or suggestions and predictions! It would be greatly appreciated <3