The Republic of ARMY

19. Work

My day felt like it had twenty three hours.

Working on music and work assignments at the same time could have worn me down, but I really had a lot to write about.

Green energy.

Love.

More green energy.

And more love.

Listening to my self love playlist made me motivated to be a better person. I penned nicer rhymes and I felt that my message was passed across effectively.

On the other hand... Writing reports made me exhausted. I kept getting constant calls from everyone and anyone, even the press, and it wasn't about my music, but mostly on what I had to say about the environment.

Texting Namjoon was the only relief I got, though it wasn't ever for long. He knew I was busy, so he mostly just googled stuff about Bir Tawil and Hala'ib and asked me to clarify it.

My manager quickly booked a studio where I recorded a demo track, then did the entire album quite quickly. I didn't have time for myself anymore. I was always writing something.

I accidentally ended up writing music into my presentation, and subtopics from my presentation into my work sheets. If my brothers were here, they would have laughed very loudly and continuously.

Eventually, the horrendous vacation weeks were over and I had to go back to Bir Tawil. I spent a majority of my next two weeks at the command centre for hours, with very little field work hours to put in.

The rain had come, so we heavily relied on the batteries to run operations and power.

Luckily, despite the rain, the solar power generated was still quite high. It was amazing the things we did in Bir Tawil. The fog nets continued to work well, and whatever we grew with their help seemed to flourish.

Before we knew it, the weather shifted back to the heat, and we were once again hiding from the midday sun. The smart military guys had managed to collect some rain water from the roof gutters and the rock catchment projects.

Somehow, despite the heat, the seedlings still flourished. While I had been away, the staff had made sure to plant many more trees in places where they had dried out or become diseased.

Some of the faster growing herbs and trees were already at my shoulder. The solitary desert trees we found growing in the wilderness had all been watered and greenery had started to grow right around them.

It was a miracle of nature.

I wondered how much better this place would look in two years. If we kept working hard, this small place of ours would become a little haven for birds. We regularly watered the tree saplings and added whatever nutrients we could to the base of the trunk.

Mulch was becoming increasingly easier to make after our small maize plantation was harvested and the dry stalks were piled up in the field. We kept on finding ways to reuse whatever we could in this oasis of ours.

Before I knew it, I had to pack up for my trip to Bhutan. I was hesitant, but still went anyway. Before I left, I had tried to graft some of the old desert trees with some fruit tree cuttings.

My close agricultural officer was very helpful (yes, we had an agricultural officer) and I left the fate of my trees for those two weeks in her hands. I hoped they would grow really well and start bearing fruits soon.

Ryan came to my bunker the night before I left. He was curious about my communication with dad. I told him I had decided whatever he said would not affect me. My father was particularly nasty towards me anyway.

"What about your friend? Have you talked with him?"

My eyes widened. I had unknowingly forgotten to message Namjoon after I got to Bir Tawil. This was also because we had no cellphone connectivity out in the wilderness. Only satellite phones worked.

Somehow, I had been so busy that my phone had died and I hadn't even charged it. My brother quickly connected it to a socket in the command centre, and came back to continue our conversation.

"Have you had any desert confrontations?"

"With people? Nope. We are the only ones living all the way here and we are surrounded by various military personnel establishments. We are completely isolated."

"From desert animals?"

"I found a snake in my bed the other day."

"Oh."

"I kicked it out."

"Didn't kill it?"

"Nope."

We sat quietly by each other's side and stared at my stuff. "So... This Namjoon guy... Is he a nice person?"

"His fans say he is the best."

"Fans...?"

"He is a singer."

"Oh. Where is he from?"

"South Korea."

"International love."

"We are not dating."

"At least not yet."

I shoved my brother away. "I am joking. Even then, only a blind man could avoid falling for you. You were the reason I was so popular in high school and college, did you know that?"

"What?"

"People kept asking about you. The number of tributes I got..."

"How did I never know this? Ryan!"

My brother laughed before hugging me. "Be careful out there." I could only nod my head.