Daffodils in Spring

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It was a beautiful night,
With shining stars
And glowing moon.
While the soulful breeze kissed me,

I hugged my weary heart.
Somehow,
The night, although condemning.
Still better than day.

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It had been a long day.

Remnants of tension and fatigue showed more and more with Kyungsoo's labored steps, his knees buckled slightly in protest, while his toes shambled uncomfortably in his combat boots. His cheek and neck still vividly numb from the ordeal earlier.

The Actor/Idol wasn't a stranger in physical training and fatigue, being an idol isn't an endeavour for the weak of heart and body after all. But today he was devilishly spent, in ways and places he'd never been before.

And seeing the others line up and leisurely eat in the cafeteria while he walks back up to the well to fetch water... Doesn't really help.

"Ah...shit."

He sighed. A lengthy one, and slightly solemn, "Atleast the skies are gonna be pretty tonight." He whispered, craning his pained neck up at the aureate afternoon sky while rubbing his sore cheek.

Vibrant hollers and chatter can be heard at his left, since there stood two rows of eight military bunkers filled with already familiar faces of his new comrades, or dorms as Kyungsoo calls it. Calling the structures "Military bunkers" just sounded too bleak and grey for a place he had to sleep and live in.

As Kyungsoo tried to amuse himself to forget about his exhaustion, two familiar people came out of the dorm in front of him, probably on their way to the cafeteria. They stopped mid-chatter to greet Kyungsoo as soon as they noticed him.

"Oh! Kyungsoo-ya!" The two men were acquaintances he made when they were in basic training until eventually got assigned in the same division as he is.

"Oh...yeah, hi. What's up?"

"Nothing, but we're on our way to eat! Wanna come with?" The two walked closer, only now noticing the buckets on Kyungsoo's hands. "Oh, you going to the well? But it's kinda late right now and you might get back late too."

"We're gonna wash clothes tomorrow... So..." Kyungsoo's words trailed. He can't tell these two men what actually happened and what he's currently going through. It's not like anyone can actually do anything about it too.

It wasn't obvious at first. But it's there, corruption and backroom business inside the camp. Two weeks in camp did Kyungsoo see it, mainly because his seniors--even though blatantly picking on him in public, the majority of officials weren't punishing them or giving them sanctions for their misdeeds. Doosik and Jongil would sometimes also be seen handing some of the officials envelopes while talking with them suspiciously in some distant corner. 

Although nothing was proven or anything, this was Kyungsoo's hunch, and he'll believe it until proven otherwise.

Continuing to close the distance to at least three feet in between, Kyungsoo's two acquaintances eventually noticed his slightly swelled face as they got closer.

"Hey... What the hell happened to your face?" Said one of them.

"Ah! T-this? Well..." Kyungsoo, who was bemused by their presence immediately perked up, turning his head to the side quickly in an effort to hide the slight swelling. "Bumped into tree, clumsy old me. Am I right?" He tried to jest.

The two men wanted to call out the blatant lie the man in front of them said, but eventually decided not to, since getting bullied is not something a person would want to recall, even more so to tell the full story.