27 October 2007

I remember ever so clearly when the government announced the mandatory conscription. It was the day when I planned to celebrate my second month anniversary with my then boyfriend now husband. It was terrifying and I was shaking so much with fear as the announcement broke through during the emergency assembly that we were called to. I grasped Luhan’s hand for reassurance and peeked up at him. His face, his beautiful face fraught with an indescribable emotion. He turned to me, noticing my hand and pulled me into a comforting embrace, my back.

“It’s going to be alright. Don’t worry,” Luhan whispered in my ear.

I knew his words weren’t true, but it calmed my nerves. His words soothed me, reassured me. It was after all announced that we would only aid the main army as reserve forces. There was absolutely no possibility for the army to send out barely trained students directly into combat.

We soon broke off to our respective homerooms and Luhan gave me another tight squeeze before he went to join his own class. I was very much in love with Luhan, my senior by a year. He was amazing in every single possible way; the most perfect boyfriend a girl could ask for. It was a coincidence meeting him. He was one of the most sought out, eye-catching guys in my school. But somehow along the way, I caught feelings for Luhan and the rest was history.

Our home group teacher walked in with a soldier next to her, “First of all, the Minister of Defense has something to say and this lieutenant here will explain the rest.”

“The country has entered a state of wartime mobilization due to terrible civilian and property losses and damages, since our military are reaching their limits, all university and high school students will be conscripted into the reserve forces,” the television screen in our classroom said with the face of the Defence Minister.

“You are expected to complete the basic four-week training starting in two days before being separated into different regiments for further defense and strategical surveillance,” finished the lieutenant.         

“What the hell?” Lee Sungyeol exclaimed, “What’s he talking about?”

“What if we don’t want to do it?” said Kang Jihyun, crying.

Questions were vocalized as confused murmurs rang throughout the classroom. “Those who complete the reserve force training will get bonus credits on your academic report. You can use these credits to get into university next year when things get back to normal. Every high schools in the country are doing it.”

“And rest assured, it’s just the reserve forces. There won’t be any danger at all,” the lieutenant further elaborated, “If you can’t participate, you must present a reasonable excuse. And please see me afterwards.”

We were dismissed and I scrambled to find Luhan. When I couldn’t find him, I asked one of Luhan’s classmates when they told me he was dragged off by some men in black. I tried calling him afterwards, but only his voicemail was reached. I was afraid that something might have happened to him and couldn’t sleep properly, calling him multiple times.

29 October 2007

After two days, with a heavy heart, I returned back to school and was surprised to see almost everyone in my class turned up as we gathered in the gym hall. The same lieutenant from the other day was also there and introduced himself as Shin Hyesung. He combined us with the other year levels and then separated the school into different platoons based on our grade