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🥡I'm fine. Thank you. And you?🥡

I decide that I should shower before 'Horangi' arrives because he'll probably want to shower then relax after being on a mission.. also, I haven't showered since yesterday evening.

My flight to the new country was 7 hours and the ride to the base was 3, so I'm pretty tired after long travels.

I get up and go to the small bathroom and grab a clean towel out from under the sink. I close the door and turn on the water, the pressure isn't the greatest, but at least it's not freezing or too hot or a shower room where I have to shower with other people like it is in Korea.

I adjust it to a cool but not freezing temperature to save the hot water for everyone at the base before getting in. I relax into the cool water as it runs on my bare skin, I begin washing my hair, then my body, then I put some conditioner in my hair before getting out and wrapping my towel around my waist. I spent about 7 minutes in the shower and now I am in the shared bedroom quickly changing into my dry, clean clothes.

I put my dirty clothes on the floor by the foot of my bed, not sure what to do with them and I lay down on my bed with a sigh. I put my new-ish phone on the charger and I close my eyes, thinking about how I ended up here, in Al Mazrah.. My parents quite literally wouldn't let me leave home alone, get a job, go to school, go to college, get a phone, nothing. I joined the military in South Korea, but now, South Korean soldiers are going to North Korea for missions and being claimed as North Korean soldiers, so I had to join entirely different forces.. and I probably won't be able to fully TALK to my teammates for over a year because of the new language barrier.

I yawn and roll onto my side, facing the wall as I curl up. The time in Korea right now is probably close to 10:30 PM.. the time I am usually in bed, going to sleep, or on the rarest occasions, getting soju at my favorite bar. I don't like drinking a whole lot because of my dad, but my friends have told me I'm a happy drunk- like my normal self, just amped up 5 times. The time difference is stressful for me, and I couldn't sleep on the plane.. so I might as well take a small nap and I can go to bed early later. I wiggle under my sheets and fluffy blanket, lying on my side with my eyes closed. I soon fall asleep, finally getting a small amount of good replenishing rest. I don't dream of anything, at least, not that I can remember.

I begin to stir when I hear the shower running, but I don't bother to get up or move, I just close my eyes and pull up my covers, rolling over, my back now to the wall as I drift off to sleep once again.

I wake up maybe 30 minutes later to the deep, strong voice of a man speaks up "야, 저녁이 거의 다 됐어, 너무 늦기 전에 뭐 좀 먹으러 가자." [Hey, dinner is almost done, let's go get something before it's too late.] I rub my eyes and look up at the masked man in camouflage and sunglasses, I frown and look at my phone on the charger.. It's almost 7:30..

I stand up and nod, running my fingers through my hair to fluff it up. I grab my phone and put it in my pocket. "너 홍진이야?" [Are you Hongjin?] I ask tiredly. He nods, "난 여기서 호랑이라고 불려." [I'm called tiger here]
I speak up, "응, 그게 그들이 널 그렇게 불렀어. 'Horangi.' " [Yes, that's what they called you. 'Horangi.'] He nods and I put on my boots, following him out. "내 이름은 Min-ki." [My name is Min-ki] I follow him to the mess hall where many people are either eating or already leaving. Hong-jin turns and tells me that I can sit with him and the others or I can sit somewhere else. I nod and tell him I will just sit with him.

We grab our food and I follow him to a table with some others- and there is a VERY big man there- well, several people, but the big man is the first one that stands out to me.. Horangi tells me that these people are some of our teammates, I look around at everyone here. I see a lot that I feel wouldn't be okay to do in Korea—the big man is wearing a sniper hood, I can't see his face, just his eyes. There's one wearing an Oni mask that covers his face from the nose down.

I eat and keep quiet, getting a good look at everyone at the table as I eat, I can tell the people there are interested in me for the most part, but I think they're not bugging me mainly because they are tired or just want me to adjust before questioning me. I am glad they're not though, so I eat in silence and pretend I am not there because I feel.. like it's my first day in the military again. I don't feel unwelcome, I just feel.. awkward.

I finish eating but stay seated near Hong-jin- or 'Horangi'. I listen to the English conversation and I try picking up on patterns, when he suddenly turns and asks me about the trip here. I explain that I didn't have great rest anywhere throughout the trip, and it was quite the long trip at a little more than 10 hours. He turns to the others and I can only assume he was translating what I told him.

The others nod and I smile a little, already feeling somewhat better. Horangi points out each of the 9 people at the table, including himself and I. He starts with himself but makes it around the table. "Horangi. König. Roze. Stiletto. Conor. Oni. Calisto. Aksel. Min-ki." I nod and attempt pronouncing each name- attempt. Because some I did better on than others- like- 'Stiletto?' Is that a name? That's going to take me a minute to get..

Horangi and I eventually part from the rest of the group, and we make it back to the room. Hong-jin decides to teach me a phrase that can and will be used a lot. After taking an hour teaching me the phrase, he goes on to ask me the question. "How are you?" "I'm fine. Thank you. And you?" I'm off to a good start with the basics.

Word Count: 1142 total