A Bullet to the Heart, ₗₑₑ Fₑₗᵢₓ

2.

⇝ ⇝ ⇝ As soon as the private jet had landed in South Korea, Seoul, I was whisked away by a team of people. A translator stuck by my side for the majority of the time. In this job, we couldn't risk a miscommunication or mistranslation.

Straight from the plane, I got put in a comfortable-looking van for a journey to the closest Korean SEAL base. I wasn't sure what to expect at the base but I knew I would go through some intense training which I had already been through in England where I first became a soldier and trained to be a sniper.

Intense training for months and months which equalled to years, till the final assessment came. The evaluation is to be done in the shortest time you can, if you go over the time limit then you're not fit enough. Of course, there's more than just the assessment but there's target practice, dismantling a gun and putting it back together in record time. Finally, a knowledge test, judging the answers, tests you on how practical you can be in theory.

Whatever situation might occur, they test you on how you would act, how successful you will be in charge or working alone, and how to deal with criminals, victims, and civilians. I started training when I turned 17 because I decided instead of attending college, I would join my dad. Also, the pay while training was something no 17-year-old would turn down.

I became a full-fledged sniper, in a squadron, by the time I turned 21. 5 years of my life was dedicated to training for 5 days a week. I rarely got holidays but as a 17-year-old - making money and training seemed like a perfect life instead of going into debt for education.

The base was in the countryside, next to some mountains. It was large, with several buildings high up, the altitude was probably a factor the government thought of to make training harder. Other than being stationed at the top of a massive hill, the surrounding fields and hills were beautiful. It was a large expanse, and few soldiers were out training as we drove past. It was becoming dark so my training would start tomorrow.

"Get some rest soldier, your training starts at 6 am," The head of the building I was assigned to, said. He spoke English so I got pretty lucky, and my pretty translator didn't have to spend her time in an awful-looking camp. The buildings, full of men, weren't as pretty as the views.

I was placed in a room - two sides of the room were lined with beds. I took the one with no belongings, near the door. I set a single duffle bag down beside my bed. It had a phone in for personal things like answering calls from family, not that any came through, and my work phone. It had clothes in for training and lounging. It had my 2L water bottle in too.

I lay on the uncomfortable bed. No one else was in the room for now - I had privacy for a little while longer. I didn't have much to do so I looked at the ceiling and started making up scenarios which could potentially happen while I was keeping these members safe. I started picturing how I could save them from these certain scenarios. I need to condition them when I meet them.

Runs through drills with them, and tell them the best course of action should something happen when I'm not with them. I need to learn some of their language perhaps. I need to remember the fire exits in their building. Scope out the other buildings and their rooftops - I need to see what points of view are good enough to spy through their windows in case someone else is doing it. So many things to consider for their safety, but I have enough time.

Suddenly, my phone started ringing. I ruffled through my bag and saw it was my work phone ringing. My boss was on the line so I answered immediately.

"Steeleye, I assume you've arrived in Korea by now?"

"Yes sir, I'm at the base now," I answered back, keeping my replies straight to the point. Although it's uncommon on these types of government phones, we've always been told to be cautious about relaying information over the phone.

"Good, then you must be training soon," He spoke.

"Yes sir,"

"Steeleye, about this mission, we found a lead about a dark web page which has mentioned things about finding locations in which the group will be performing in the future, we want you to keep an eye on what they say,"

"On the dark web? How do I access it?"

"There's no need to access it yourself, someone from the London base will keep an eye out for any updates, but you should stay cautious and ask for updates yourself if something seems off,"

"Got it, sir, who should be contacting me?"

"Alissa in Secret Intelligence Services. Look out for her number," My boss stated and I braced myself for the months to come.

"Yes sir, thank you,"

"Get some rest soldier."

The call ended pretty abruptly but I was used to it. Something in the way soldiers ended their calls was so abrupt but comforting - there was no hanging onto a last word or saying goodbye like we might never see one another again. It was like an everyday conversation for us, but we knew that comradery was in other means.

I put my phone away - and waited for the other Korean soldiers to come back for their night's rest. Most of them gave me looks of confusion, others simply ignored me. If they were talking about me, I couldn't understand them. Eventually, they all settled down and started snoring. I closed my eyes, happy to be the last one asleep, knowing they weren't going to cause trouble for me.

Sleeping through loud snoring was easy. It hadn't been easy when I was 18 and 19, learning how to share rooms with others and learning how to sleep through explosions and more. It had been some of the worst months of my life, never being able to sleep, but eventually, the tiredness catches up and your body gets used to hearing all sorts of sounds. Some things won't wake me up at all, but for other things, my body becomes alert and awake.

If they didn't do drills through the night, sleeping will be a piece of cake. I could wake up tomorrow refreshed and ready for any training they put me through. Bombs, guns, gas, physical exercise, I had already been conditioned for it all. I knew it was a custom for them to put me through tests since I was going to be working under them but was it really necessary when I was a full-fledged professional soldier?

When I woke up in the morning, I knew I had been dreaming but the dream seemed to disappear. All I could remember was some blonde hair and then it all vanished. I noticed no one in my room was awake so I rolled over and looked for my phone.

5:47 am.

I still had 10 minutes to spare before actually waking up. I decided to get up and get dressed in my training clothes. I wasn't sure what I was allowed to wear but I put on a navy green shirt, tucked it into my camo pants and then tucked my pants into my black boots. My arms were out for everyone to see, covered in ink. I heard tattoos weren't as common in Korea.

I opened the door after hiding my bag, in case any of the soldiers got some ideas and then went outside. The fields were bathed in the warm glow of the rising sun, casting a breath-taking display over the base. I watched it before noticing that the man I talked to yesterday was waiting. No one was standing before him, so I took a slow walk over.

"Soldier?" He asked.

"Woke up early sir,"

"I see. Your the first one here so I'll brief you on today,"

I nodded and looked at his stance. It was all different from what I learned in England but since I was only here for training, I decided to keep my stance as what I had learnt at home. After all, this man wasn't my boss at the end of the day.

"Physical training today, we will assess you and your group on how strong and maintained you are physically," He explained and I nodded, "We have a course for soldiers to follow up and down the mountain,"

"I understand," I said as I peered down the path which led down the hill.

"You're the only professional soldier here, the rest are only here for their mandatory military service," He announced and I nodded as I continued to look at my surroundings. 

The mountain itself wasn't that steep, it wasn't a mountain which you had to climb, you could run up and down it but it would be physically tasking. With equipment and a course to run through, it would probably take hours but I was ready to prove I could to this solo job. I would prove it to myself and to my boss, and to the people who were relying on me.