Seoul 1950

"Yoona, did you hear the news?"

"What are you even talking about?"

Seohyun, looked at her best friend wide eyed with shock. Yoona on the other hand, knew nothing of this "news" but she had a feeling it was going to be bad.

"Unnie, North Korea declared war." 

Yoona could feel her legs weaken each second as Seohyun continued to update her. 

"Our president said it is mandatory that each family supports the national army with a volunteer solider." Seohyun continued.

"He also stated that we, the citizens go into hiding very soon." she added.

Yoona wished she could reply but her lips wouldn't open. 

"Are you okay Yoona? You look so pale." Seohyun worriedly said.

"Seohyuna... I can't lose Sehun."

***

Yoona slowly walked back home as the bright sun rays diminished. She could only keep thinking about the war. How it would rip her family apart. How it would steal away the lives and futures of the innocent. How it would soon take Sehun away into the arms of death. These thoughts only brought tears to her eyes as they streamed like waterfalls down her ivory skin.

"Yoona, what did I tell you about being late?" her mother nagged as she walked into the from entrance.

Her family was quite wealthy and well off compared to others in Seoul. Her grandfather owned a fairly famous perfume company that had even made it into foreign markets of Europe and North America, and her father had strong ties with coporations in China. From the second she was born to the present, her and her brother, Sehun, were eligible for the most premeium education and luxuries. They were both gifted as well. Sehun, 16, was a genius. He excelled in all subjects, but particularly mathematics. He embraced the concepts of the heavy algebra and graphs. Unlike her brother, Yoona took an special interest in music. Her speciality was the violin. Her world revolved around music. She loved the way how the music of the violin could express her emotions. Even though there was a two age difference between the siblings, they always supported each other, no matter how ridiculous the ideas were.

"I'm sorry mother." she replied as she sat down in her proper seat at the polished wooden dinning table. In front of her were special delicacies, which she knew she might never be able to see again when the war started.

"So I guess everyone's heard about the war breaking out." her father started.

"I already arranged us to head to China for refuge just for the time being. We will be leaving tomorrow night." her mother continued.

"Sehuna, have you already made your choice?" stuttered his father uncomfortably.

"Yes father. I have." 

"Sehuna, have you been drafted into the army?" Yoona blurted.

"Yes noona. I've been drafted onto front lines." 

The only reply Sehun got was the metallic sound of Yoona's fork clattering on the solid surface.

"B-but Sehun... When are you leaving?" 

"Tomorrow."

***

Yoona cried until there were no tears left in her eyes. She could only continue to cry her heart out. The war was approaching so quickly, and there was only so much time left to worry. She couldn't let her brother leave her family and herself like that. She wanted to remember Sehun as the little genius brother who died of old age, not as a victim of the cruel, ruthless war. As a desperate measure she had an idea. She was going to take his place. 

She quickly scrambled a list of things to do before going to the military station to sign in. She locked at the wooden grandfather clock. It was 10. She only had one night left to herself. Yoona got out an ink pen and 5 pieces of paper. She was going to write a letter for Seohyun, Sehun, her father, mother and herself. She took a fairly good amount of time to write her last words and thoughts to each beloved person. 

After, she took a warm lavender bath, as the last souvenir as a reminder of Im Yoona's life. She dried her long brown hair until it turned glossy and shinned against the innocent moonlight that reflected off her bedroom window. She took out a medium sized duffle bag and placed only the most precious items. A family photo, a few clothes, a brush, Seohyun's photo and the bible. Then she tied up her goddess like hair into a bun and hid it under a military cap and got dressed into the mandatory camo button up and pants. Before she left into the darkness she looked at herself in the mirror one last time. The person she saw was not an sweet girl. It was a courageous woman.

***

"Since most of you who signed up showed up, I will be going over some concepts and rules about being on the  front line." general Siwon barked.

"A front line solider is very important. They push the enemy forces back so the other forces have time for the being to proceed and directly attack their major base. That is our goal. You men, may have very little chance of surviving thus you are running without any backup protection, but I want you to know to always have hope.  Each of you will go directly on head with the enemy's frontlines. The ulterior motive for you is to kill many of them as you can. Do you all understand?" 

" Yes sir!" the men shouted.

"Be ready in 3 hours gentlemen."

Yoona could not believe her ears. These men did not know they were already digging their graves. All this time Sehun had no idea that he would be commiting suicide rather than serving their nation. She was flabbergasted.

"You, young man. Hurry up and get your gun and bayonets!" a man screamed into her ears, as she jolted back into reality.

She nodded as she went up to the main desk.

"Name please." the solider said.

"Im Sehun sir."

He scribbled a few notes down on his notepad as he handed her the weapons, which she would lean on for survival.

This was war.

***

"Are you ready men, for the fight of your lives?" general Choi Siwon yelled.

"Ready. Set. Go."

Yoona could hear the Korean anthem bust from the speakers as she and the other front liners cautiously entered enemy ground. 

"This is it." She thought to herself. 

She learned that they didn't even need any special training because they were meant to die in the first place. The national army was short in the number of specialized soldiers so they sent many of the unskilled ones to be killed right away. 

It was quiet. She could smell the musty smell of the damp woodlands and she tried to camouflage into background. She knew she was going to die. But it was worth it for her brother's life in exchange. 

Then suddenly gunshots were fired at us. The enemy was near. Numerous man panicked and tried to run back to the base but they would only get turned away from their own army. They were betrayed. Yoona was a clever girl though. Instead of running straight ahead she kept her path in a zigzag pattern to prevent from leaving an obvious path. It wasn't even 10 minutes of waiting when the North Korean army brusted  from the other side of the woods. Infinity bullets came flying in every direction. Men beside her were all going down. She felt her helmet come off as the powerful bullets reflected of it but she kept running. She was nearly near the enemy barricade when a bullet hit her shin. Then another grazed her shoulder. Then the finally shot was made to her stomach. Yoona immediately fell as she clutched her bleeding intestines. Now her identity as a female was blown. Her chocolate brown strands of hair fell ever so beautifully on her back. With her doe eyes, her long black eyelashes and her milky white skin, she looked almost like an Victorian doll. The pain she felt was so immerse she couldn't afford to move and decided her final resting place would be against a tree stump. She slumped against the rough tree as she took out something from her bloody jacket. It was a family picture.  Yoona couldn't help but smile as she stared into the chocolate smeared face of her brother, the constipated look on her mothers face and the grumpy one on her fathers. Maybe she wouldn't die at a old age but she would die in peace and happiness.

She was slipping in and out of consciousness when she saw a figure barely 5 meters from her. She squinted her fuzzy vision as she tried to recognize. It was a North Korean solider.

***

"Who are you?" Yoona finally asked as the solider made his way infront of her.

"I'm Kim Jongin." the solider replied roughly.

"Are you going to kill me now?" she trembled.

"My commander told me to fetch any alive South Korea soldiers. You just so happen to be one of them."

Yoona looked up to meet the eyes of the unknown solider. He was surprisingly very handsome. He had a strikingly beautiful facial sculpture that included his masculine jaw line. He looked lanky but built. 

Jongin was more astonished. He never had an idea that there were women in the army. And this one was an exception. She was beautiful. But she looked broken and worn down. He could see it in her eyes. Maybe it was love at first sight for him.  Even he couldn't help the fact he was undeniably attracted to the enemy.

"Can't you just kill me now?" Yoona pleaded.

"I'm afraid not."

That was her breaking point. She had been left to be killed in order to serve her fatherland but in the end couldn't die. She began to whimper until her cries turned into sobs. 

Jongin, naturally unshaken by emotions also almost broke down. He felt her pain. He then did something that was unspeakable. He slowly knelt down infront of her and hugged her. He embraced his long arms around her delicate back lightly, but tight enough give her warmth that even he didn't know he had. Yoona responded to his act by putting her weak arms around his back. They stayed there silently for what it seemed like several minutes until she started coughing out blood.

"Climb on my back. I'll carry you to the medical centre." he said

Yoona agreed willingly with out a fight. As he shifted her weight onto his back he noticed how little she weighed. Almost like a feather. He noticed she was holding onto a picture of some sort. Curiously he asked;

"What's that picture of?"

"My family."

"Is that your brother?" He pointed to the young looking boy in the picture. 

"Yes. I took his place in the war."

Then all she saw was 50 shades of darkness.

***

Yoona blinked  her eyes as she woke up in a large bright room. It was an hospital. For the enemy. She was immediately alarmed. She looked around for any familiar faces but she was alone. It wasn't long until a group of people walked in. She noticed one was a nurse, the other two doctors, three military officers and Jongin.

"So you finally woke up?" the nurse asked.

She could not respond but only managed to nod. The atmosphere was tense. But she finally got the enough courage to say;

"I am aware that I've been taken in as a POW. When is my questioning?" she asked carefully.

"You will be escorted by Jongin into questioning in an hour," one of the officers said.

"Then we will decide what your punishment will be." said another.

Then everyone left the room except for Jongin and  herself.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm fine." Yoona smiled,

"I'm sorry," Jongin suddenly blurted.

"Why are you sorry? You saved my life and put yourself in danger as well. I know my punishment is going to be serve, possibly death, but I will always remember the warmth you have given me Jongin." 

He responded by handing the burnt family picture to her.

"I thought you might want it."

"Thank you so much." Yoona sweetly replied. She then gave Jongin a light kiss on the lips. It wasn't passionate, but it lasted quite a while. Jongin could sense the true meaning of the kiss.

***

"Send Im Yoona in."

Jongin led Yoona down the halls of the hospital that lead to a dark room with only one light visible to the eye. Before he turned the doorknob, he gave her one last stare and tightened his grip on her wrist and pulled her into the sketchy room. There was one person sitting in front of them. He looked like a high ranking military officer. But Yoona knew he wasn't North Korean. He was Chinese. As he stood up to mockingly greet them she noticed that he was around the same age as herself amd Jongin. But he looked well groomed. Similar to herself before the war.

"Hello Im Yoona, my name is Xi Luhan, Lieutenant General of the Chinese national army." He said as he gave her a sly smile.

"Anyways, we should probably get started. Have a seat you two." he added as he pointed to each of the chairs on the opposite side of him.

"So what is a girl doing in the army? I bet you took the place of someone you loved. Perhaps your father? Possible your boyfriend?" Luhan smirked.

" My brother. Sehun." Yoona hesitantly replied.

"Ah I see. That is very admirable but you do know the consequences of being captured by our forces don't you? You won't be killed. That is if you hand over some valuable information." he added.

"I don't know anything." she bluntly replied.

"Jongin. Do me a favour and put her in a headlock." 

Jongin had no other choice but the put Yoona in a tight, uncomfortable headlock. He knew she was already struggling to breathe. But it was either this or he would get punished himself.

"Good. Now are you sure you don't hold any valuable information?"

She shook her head.

"You're a stubborn one. Jongin, slap her." Luhan said amusingly.

Jongin froze. He looked back at his superior then to Yoona. He gave her invisibie apologizing look and slapped her across the face. It impact left angry red marks on her checks and a bloody nose.

"Now tell me the truth." 

"I don't know."

Jongin winced as Luhan angrily got up from his seat and walked up right in front of her.

"I know you're lying." 

Then he adrubtly crashed his lips onto hers. The kiss wasn't like the one Yoona gave Jongin. It was a cold, emotionless one with such force it was the oxygen supply of her. Jongin could do nothing but watch.

"They're planning to attack directly at Pyongyang." Yoona finally muttered, trying to regain her breath.

"That's a good girl. You were a fighter. But I guess you're a criminal in your country now. You betrayed everything and everyone you had. How does it feel not being wanted, not being loved, never being able to get back those things you cherished the most?" Luhan said amusingly.

"Hyung stop it please!" Jongin pleaded.

That was the moment Yoona's heart broke. Luhan was right. She did lose everything. Her family, her best friend, her brother, her country, her morals and her happiness. It broke into jagged pieces that would instead pierce into her soul, every stab hurting more than the previous. She had lost everything she had known to her. That was truly tragic.

She expected tears to overflow her eyes. She expected sobs to fill the room. But instead they were replaced by tears of blood, streaming from her once innocent eyes.