Sungmi tried to listen to Kyungsoo. She really did. But it was hard to do so when she knew that Baekhyun was being unfairly held, and could be potentially be executed. Captain Minseok hadn’t returned to ask her for more information about the incident, or for a statement or anything, and so Sungmi hoped action was already being taken and might even have been able to let it go. But Sehun changed her mind. And he did it without even speaking. Not one word.

For several days, Sungmi had noticed that Sehun was somewhat more reserved than usual, particularly with her – something she found strange considering how close they had become. He usually sat, not reading his book, staring at the wall with eyes far away. It made Sungmi feel edgy.

“Hey, are you ok?” she finally asked him when the silence was about to swallow her whole.

Sehun blinked, bringing himself back to the room then turned and offered her a sharp nod.

Sungmi bit her lip hard. She knew he wasn’t. “Is it about Baekhyun?” she asked nervously.

Sehun didn’t respond at all, and from that she knew that the answer was a ‘yes’.

“I know he’s innocent too,” Sungmi went on, sitting forward on her bed so that she could see Sehun better. “There’s no way he would do that.”

Nodding noncommittedly, Sehun still didn’t look up at her.

A little sigh left Sungmi’s lips as she stood up and walked to Sehun’s bed, sitting carefully on the edge of it.

“I’m just saying…” she went on, clearing a little, “the truth will come out eventually.”

Sehun was quiet still, then nodded slightly. Sungmi was very, very curious by this point about what exactly the relationship between Baekhyun and Sehun was but now wasn’t exactly the time for her to be digging through wardrobes for skeletons. She could wait.

Just then, the door swung open and in walked Chen and Kyungsoo, laughing away about something. Sungmi and Sehun looked up at the sound, but neither smiled back at the pair who sobered pretty quickly upon seeing the scene.

“Wow, who died?” Chen asked, looked between the two of them with concern. Given where they were and the current situation, it may have not been the most appropriate choice of joke, but nevertheless he stuck with it fiercely.

Kyungsoo and Sehun were on patrol together that evening, and Chen had disappeared somewhere so Sungmi took the chance to visit where Baekhyun was being held – even if it wasn’t strictly allowed. There was only one guard outside the building Baekhyun was in, and even he didn’t seem to be particularly vigilant. Sungmi was able to – quite literally – just walk in. Security clearly wasn't a priority, though Sungmi couldn't fathom why.

Inside was a row of doors, all completely surrounded by long wooden panels, too high to see over. In the door of each of the four cells was a narrow hatch with a notch on the outside for someone to open it if they desired. It reminded Sungmi of an old shed.

Sungmi stepped up to the first door and lifted the hatch, peeking into the room that was devoid of all light other than that which was streaming through the hatch. There was no one inside, so she quickly moved on. It wasn’t until she reached the third hatch that she had any luck, and even then it was only because of the noise that Baekhyun let out on the other side at the sudden light let into his cell.

“Baekhyun,” Sungmi breathed out when her eyes landed on the crumpled form of Baekhyun lying in the corner of the cells, flinching at the sight of the light.

Baekhyun blinked into the light shining towards him, not quite sure who it was just yet whilst his eyes adjusted. “W-who is it?”

“Oh, Baekhyun,” Sungmi let out, sounding a little lost at the sorry state of him. She had never seen him looking so helpless and small – a far cry from the Baekhyun that was always bouncing around the camp, giving everyone just a little burst of hope. “Are you ok?”

Blindly blinking up, Baekhyun was quiet for a moment. “Sungmi… No, Sunghee. Is that you?”

Sungmi hummed lightly, trying to think of what exactly she should say or ask him. Instead, she tried again asking, “Are you ok?”

A sort of distorted chuckle left Baekhyun. “Definitely been better,” he let out with a dry snort.

Sighing sadly, Sungmi shook her head gently. “This is all a mistake…”

Baekhyun’s eyes had now adjusted to the light, and he sat up a little in order to see her better. “They hauled me in here after the last attack,” Baekhyun explained, looking downtrodden. “I didn’t hear a word about why for