Myungsoo woke up to the sound of a crash, prompting him to push himself up from the bed.

He was sitting in their military base's hospital, right at the starting point of their stay in Shu Chai. The room was much more advanced than their infirmary bunker in Pyongyang as Myungsoo sat on top of a comfortable mattress with multiple wires connected to his chest that followed through an EKG.

Myungsoo watched by his doorway a nurse on the floor picking up a tray of different medical items that she dropped. In an effort to help her, he moved his arm to take the blankets off of him, only to cause a sharp pain in his shoulder. Myungsoo closed his eyes shut, letting out a dry scream.

"Be careful!" Myungsoo turned his head and was surprised to see Sungyeol sitting on a chair next to him. Sungyeol stood up and walked over to his bed, gently taking hold of his shoulders and pushing him against the pillows to rest. "You have stitches on your shoulder from your gun wound, so you need to relax."

"Sungyeol, how long have you been here?" Myungsoo took a look at his shoulder, which had large stitching over a huge cut. He barely remembered the bullet hitting him.

Sungyeol shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, since last night? You lost a good amount of blood and you lost consciousness at one point, so we carried you back. When the doctors took a look at your body, it turns out your bulletproof vest was worn loosely. Be careful next time you idiot." He ended his sentiment with a flick on Myungsoo's forehead.

"Ya! Were you watching me ?" Myungsoo joked, elbowing Sungyeol in the gut. 

"You brat, there wasn't much to see anyways. You never work out anyways!" The two of them shared some laughs, but Sungyeol's subsided quickly as he revealed the real reason he was there. "I stayed here for the night to make sure... to make sure you didn't have any nightmares about Hoya," he stammered.

Hoya... Myungsoo remembered more intimate details of the day before, watching from the sidelines as a Sotenan soldier brought a knife down into Hoya's back to kill him right in front of his eyes. He remembered the screams and crying that day from that moment, a lapse of vulnerability as Hoya died in Dongwoo's arms. It came after a rush of feelings when Hoya supposedly died beforehand, only to have that be his fate. "Did you really think I would have nightmares?"

Sungyeol shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really know what to expect majority of the time anymore. For the record, you were sedated last night when they performed surgery on you so you slept like a baby. Either way, I'm always gonna be by your side whether you like it or not."

Myungsoo let out a cheeky grin, comforted by Sungyeol's cheesy yet heartwarming comment. "What happened after Hoya died?"

"Sotena retreated and lost many of their people. We went back to our lines, carrying you, Hoya, and other soldiers back where Captain Peo met up with everyone."

Captain Peo? Myungsoo scratched his head, trying to put some pieces together. "I don't quite remember much of the details, but the real spy..."

"Shh." Sungyeol raised his finger to Myungsoo's lips and pressed against them to keep him quiet. He leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Sunggyu told me. For now we can't say much, and it's not safe to talk about anything right now. Especially at the hospital. Just sit tight, ok?"

Myungsoo nodded his head. "Ok."

"What are you two up to?" Sungyeol and Myungsoo turned their heads towards the door, where Woohyun was leaning against the door with arms crossed and a silly grin on his face. "Did I interrupt anything?"

"No!" Sungyeol and Myungsoo exclaimed together, sharing glances at each other then back at Woohyun. "We're not up to anything!" they said in unison once more.

Woohyun chuckled, stepping inside to meet up. "I brought some medicine for you, Myungsoo. It should take the pain away from your arm and keep you mobile." He threw a bottle of pills towards Sungyeol, who caught it and its contents. "I got it from a nurse named Chanmi who was tending to your room."

"Are you kidding right now?" Sungyeol raised an eyebrow. "Is that even legal?"

"I don't know, but she was cute."

"Wow." Sungyeol shook his head and poured two pills for Myungsoo to take. "What time is the memorial by the way?"

"Memorial?" Myungsoo asked. He processed the word and realized what it was. "Oh..." Myungsoo took his pills in his palm and swallowed them, taking a sip from a cup of water provided by Sungyeol to wash it down. He took a loud gulp, his eyes tearing up from the thought of a memorial. "Yeah, when is it?"

"It should be in the next hour," Woohyun answered, lowering his head thinking about his friend. "This is the first time we're going to a memorial where one of the names announced will be someone we know and love."

"I know, I was thinking about that earlier," Sungyeol added. "I don't know how I'm going to feel after it all."

"I don't know how Dongwoo is going to feel," Myungsoo prodded. "I don't know how we're all going to feel."

(((())))

Dear Mom,

I'm resting myself in the base's military treatment center as I await the memorial ceremony for the fallen soldiers of the Battle of Shu Chai. I had just woken up, and as I relax here Woohyun and Sungyeol have gone out for fresh air.

During the war yesterday, I was shot by a Sotenan soldier in the shoulder. This was my first injury in the war, and it's a bit fascinating to see my whole shoulder stitched up. Sungyeol told me that it was a two hour surgery to get the bullet and its fragments out of my body. I was asleep through it all, and Sungyeol joked that next time he's going to feed me medications next time I want to sleep peacefully. This is strange, and there's a constant annoying tingling where the stitches were made. The next time you see me, I'll have the battle scars to prove that I did something in this war. 

It's crazy to think that one of these soldiers announced will be Lee Howon. I don't know what kinds of feelings this will bring, but I'm scared. I'm scared to confront the reality that my friend is gone. Gone, everything but his soul. Which lives in me and the remaining few of us. I'm hoping that through all of this, I can be stronger. I'm doing my best to keep myself together through all of this, because I know that Hoya would not want to see me moping around like my usual self. He would want me to fight. And that's what I'm going to do. With the help of Sungyeol, and everyone else. With Sungjong on my mind, I'm going to find justice.

I love you mom.

- Kim Myungsoo

(((())))

"Hoya looks exactly like him," Sunggyu complimented. "From his eyes, to his cheeks, to his smile. Every single feature, he got from his dad."

"From his appearance all the way down to the little itty bitty details about his personality," Dongwoo added. "Lee Ho Jun and Lee Howon are one in the same."

Sunggyu and Dongwoo shared a bench at an outdoor meeting area where they awaited a small memorial service for the fallen Korean soldiers of the previous battle. After every battle that has occurred, the Korean army would pay respect to the soldiers who have fought for the good state of their country in this war. For the past few services, no one's death had immediately affected the five friends.

Not until now.

Dongwoo held out the picture between his thumb and index finger, keeping it still for Sunggyu to observe. His hands were shaking, his breath irregular, and his whole body wanting to lean on Sunggyu for support. Dongwoo convinced himself he had to stay strong for this. Dongwoo convinced himself he was going to keep Hoya's promise and find Sungjong alive. Dongwoo convinced himself that he was going to be ok.

Sunggyu noticed Dongwoo was struggling to hold back his emotions and wrapped his arm around him, forcing Dongwoo's head to fit into the curves of his neck and shoulder. Immediately, Sunggyu could hear Dongwoo's heavy breathing and felt his uniform soaking with Dongwoo's tears. Sunggyu closed his eyes, troubled with imagining the misery Dongwoo was feeling through it all. He had no words to cure his heartbreak, but a shoulder to cry on was all he could provide. "Dongwoo, I wish I could tell you everything was going to be ok and end all of your pain. But I don't think I can do that. The most I can give you is a listening ear and arms to hug you."

Dongwoo adjusted his head to feel more comfortable on Sunggyu's shoulder. It was a bit boney, lacking some muscle for cushion. It was nothing like Hoya's shoulder, which Dongwoo could sleep on without disturbance. He closed his fist to fold up the black and white photo of Hoya and his father. It all came back to Dongwoo that he had this picture for good, forever holding the mental reminder that Hoya was no longer in his life. It was hard to cope, but talking made him understand the situation more. "So you and Hoya faked his death so that Hoya could join the Sotenan army as a spy, and told them all the wrong strategies so that we had the upper hand?"

"We did." Sunggyu bit his lip. "With the connections, Hoya played the spy. He retreated with the Sotenan soldiers when he left, and stole the uniform of the sniper he killed. We had to keep Sotena disadvantaged, and their plans I'm sorry... we didn't tell any of you. We're just as bad for keeping all of this hidden-"

"Hoya has some strange ways of working," Dongwoo interrupted. "He will keep things secret to protect the people he cares about. He's a lone horse."

"Tell me about it."

"Sunggyu, I miss him."

"I know. Me too." Sunggyu held onto Dongwoo tighter, rubbing his shoulder and shedding tears himself for his fallen friend.

"How long have you two been waiting?"

Sunggyu and Dongwoo turned around to catch Woohyun, Sungyeol, and Myungsoo staring at them, pushing each other off and wiping their tears off. "Not for too long," Sunggyu mumbled.

"Hey, why'd you stop the hugging?" Woohyun smirked, trying to make light of their current situation.

He jumped in between Sunggyu and Dongwoo to pull them together for his own comforting hug with Sungyeol and Myungsoo joining from behind. Sunggyu and Dongwoo reciprocated, wrapping their arms around Sungyeol and Myungsoo.

Dongwoo burst into a loud sob, which prompted the other friends to cry together over Hoya.

Together, they mourned the loss of the best soldier they knew. 

At this time Captain Peo approached the podium of their meeting space. At his sight, A line of soldiers followed holding bouquets of white chrysanthemum to place at the front of everyone. Alongside them were the collected pictures of Korean soldiers who died at the hands of war, commemorating their presence and determination in the war.

Captain Peo cleared his throat. "I wanted to thank all of you today for coming here, but more importantly I want to thank our fallen soldiers who have given their all during this war.  

In a lavish ceremony to remember the fallen troops, Captain Peo continued his speech as framed portraits of fatal soldiers were placed in front of him. Soldiers joined together and embraced each other in what was the bloodiest battle yet, and even in a landslide victory it was brought down by the deaths of their own. The sounds of crying and comforting words filled the main meeting area, and the clouds rolled in to shadow the memorial in timing.

Captain Peo recited the names of the soldiers killed in the Battle of Shu Chai and as each name drew closer to the last name Lee, Dongwoo's soul shriveled up upon knowing that once "Lee Howon" was announced, it truly meant he no longer existed.

It was a delusional feeling and Dongwoo knew it, but a confirmation of his death meant that Hoya would no longer be alive. It would mean a future he envisioned with Hoya would disappear. It would mean that all of Hoya's dreams would evaporate into thin air. It would mean that his love was gone.

Time passed, and Hoya's name was never announced.

"Kan, Minjun. Kang, Yun. Lee, Donggun. Lee, Jae. Pyo, Minhyuk..."

And Captain Peo went on.

"What?" Myungsoo scratched his head, looking at Sungyeol in confusion. "They skipped over Hoya."

Dongwoo's heartbreak turned into perplexity, wondering the same exact thing as Hoya's name was not recognized on the list of fallen soldier.

"Maybe since Hoya was a sergeant, his name will be last."

But his name was never mentioned. Of the 56 soldiers who died in battle, Hoya's name was not included. 

After carrying Hoya's body back to the base and Captain Peo seeing Hoya's lifeless body himself the night after, Hoya's name was not honored for his accomplishments and actions during the war.

Sunggyu took a nervous gulp, clenching onto Woohyun's arm with the unsettling feeling of Hoya's snub during the memorial ceremony. A stern look crossed Captain Peo's face, and Sunggyu noticed a feeling of animosity and callous as he bowed in front of the squadrants at 90 degrees. He knew why Hoya's name was not mentioned, and it angered him more that he would play him like that.

"He didn't mention Hoya," Dongwoo broke down, anticipating the name to be heard in its entirety and close to accepting the terms. But it hurt more that the guy he cared about more than anything would not be recognized for what he did for Korea, what he did for his friends, and what he did for Dongwoo. Dongwoo sat motionless, taking it in and feeling shamed. He leaned his shoulder on Woohyun, hurting from all of this.

Myungsoo his lips, glaring straight at Captain Peo as he walked off the podium and concluded the memorial service. Soldiers saluted together and cleared the area to prepare themselves for a new day on the road as time approached for them to finally arrive at Yundo. Everyone but the five of them, who stood there in utter shock of no single mention of Lee Howon. Myungsoo was insulted. After everything that they had been through, for Hoya to have no recognition left a sour taste in his mouth that he was wronged. It only confirmed for him that the spy still existed among them, and that the spy not only betrayed Sungjong, but he betrayed Hoya. Lines were being drawn, and a passion of rage filled inside the unspoken Myungsoo with his face turning red in anger from it all. He turned to Sunggyu, Dongwoo, Woohyun, and Sungyeol, all of them feeling wronged and bewildered by this situation.

Dark clouds hovered over the military base. 

A foreshadow of an imminent showdown.

(((())))

The clanking of rusty chains echoed throughout the prison and dragged on, rattling the floor as Sungjong was walked back into his cell by a Sotenan guard. Sungjong kicked his feet, whipping his ankle shackles around and scratching against the cells to announce his arrival back after being tortured once again by the Sotenan government to release information on the Korean army.

Especially after Sotena's loss in Shu Chai, they were desperate to find out Korea's strategies.

Sungjong walked with a fierce stare on his face as different prisoners of war watched him walk down the aisle in confidence. He kept a steady breath, unwavering in his step. The guard unlocked his cell and pushed Sungjong right in, landing on the cold hard ground face first. Sungjong was weak, unresisting as the guard connected his ankle chains to those in his cell. He unlocked his handcuffs, freeing Sungjong of the bind behind his back. He pushed himself off the ground, turning his head as the guard laughed at him from above.

"Idiot." The guard hocked some spit on Sungjong's stomach, snickering to himself as he slammed his cell closed. The guard walked out of his sight.

Sungjong wiped the spit off of his stomach, smirking slyly at the progress made with his body. A scar on his waist was close to healing without any single trace of blood dripping down much longer. The baby fat on his stomach disappeared and showed off a defined abdomen than what he had before. He took a look at his arms in which his biceps and triceps gained a lot more muscle than before. In such a short amount of time, his body had miraculously changed from a fragile piece of meat to become a much more leaner and muscular man. He wiped the spit in a puddle next to him, washing his hands to take the saliva off. That was when he noticed a full bowl of food at the base of his cell. He crawled to the corner of his cell and picked up a metal bowl, almost filled to the brim with rice and chicken. "What? I ate already."

Sungjong took a double-take to General Kang's cell across from him, who was simply sitting next to the bars and staring right at him. "You're welcome."

"General Kang. You had some food, right?" Sungjong asked.

"I had enough. You're gonna need another serving Sungjong."

Sungjong nodded his head in understanding. "You're right." Sungjong peaked through the bars left and right to see if any guard was around their vicinity. Without a single Sotenan guard in his sight, he whispered to General Kang. "I found out where the other two Korean soldiers are staying here."

"So you did?" General Kang was intrigued. "How did you figure that out?"

Sungjong backed away from the bars and rested on his knees and hands. He stretched his legs out, holding his body in a plank position. That was when Sungjong folded his arms in, performing a pushup at ease, which led into another pushup. And another. A whole line of pushups performed, and Sungjong spoke to General Kang under his breath like it was child's play. "I had an idea a couple of days ago when I was called in again by Ranu Sojang..." Sungjong took a deep breath as he pushed himself off the ground and clapped his hands in the air before landing perfectly on his hands and feet to fold into another pushup at a perfect 90 degree angle. He held his stance, his shackles slamming against the wall. "... and I confirmed it today, because one of them was called with me for investigation. They were placed in another building. There are three prisons here." 

General Kang nodded his head, contemplating what that means for them. "So it would be hard to coordinate with each other."

Sungjong pushed himself up once more, clapping his hands in the air again and landing perfectly on the ground. His back was sweating, his breath growing heavy as he intensified his bulking workout. "It would. I've revealed some plans to the Ranu Sojang today, in which I informed them of the highest ranking soldiers and most important specialists of Squad 10609 and how they work. The Sotenan army is panicking right now. Apparently they took over Shu Chai unexpectedly and won the whole city over."

"Wait." General Kang's mouth was dry, surprised by the turn of events on the Korean side. "What do you mean, they... they took over..." he stammered.

"I don't know exactly what's going on, cause I don't recall us going to Shu Chai for another couple of days. At this rate, they're reaching Yundo at a quicker pace than expected." Sungjong walked his arms side-by-side, shaping his hands into a diamond and performing another set of pushups as he conversed with General Kang. "That means we have to work faster in freeing every prisoner here."

A worried look flashed on General Kang's face. He was uncertain of what an early battle in Shu Chai meant, and how his Korean troops were doing. "We have to free everyone faster?"

"Yeah." Sungjong took a deep breath, holding his plank stance before taking care of another pushup. "And that, I haven't figured out yet."

"It's going to be hard going to all three buildings of the prison. They're all separated and heavily guarded on the outside. It's going to take a crafty inside job to inform everyone from the other two buildings what is going on."

General Kang and Sungjong heard an unfamiliar voice in the cell next to them. Sungjong paused his workout, kneeling down to peer through his cell bars who was talking. He gave a nervous look to General Kang, covering his mouth and scared to say another word. There's a Sotenan near us. 

"Who said that?" General Kang asked, his piercing voice almost expecting an answer to what was going on.

In the shadows of their prison, the light revealed an unfamiliar face of the cell next to them. His eyes were narrow and his face was portly, showing off a long scar on the side of his face that seemed as if had been there for years. He held onto his knees, his whole body attacked with wounds in every part possible. He spoke in Sotenan, but his accent showed hints of something else. There was a strange tone of his voice, in that it was neither threatening nor fearful.

It was almost willing. Willing to help.

"The best way to get to everyone in different cells is to talk to people in between of meetings with Ranu Sojang. One sentence can tell a whole story, so if you encounter anyone from your army soon you need to plan your words carefully. There are points when you're not around a guard, so if you act wisely you can start something here."

"Who are you?" Sungjong wondered, skeptical to believe a single word he said. "Have you been listening to our conversations?"

"I have very exceptional senses in hearing and taste," the unknown prisoner bragged. "I know that you're trying to free every prisoner of war here. But you need to create a network to do so, and I can help."

"How do we know if we can believe in you?" General Kang flicked the rusty metal of his ankle shackles, rattling the chains against his cell bars. He sat leaning against the wall, shaking his head at the idea. "You haven't set a good first impression."

"I have good intentions. I just never encountered a good time to reveal my identity until now."

"Doubtful."

"Wait." Sungjong leaned his ear outside of his cell bars. "Say that again."

"Me?" the prisoner asked. "There was never a chance to show off or the right group of people to talk to-"

"You're Korean," Sungjong spoke in his native tongue.

General Kang stared blankly at Sungjong.

The prisoner spoke in Sotenan. "I don't understand what you mean-"

"You're Korean." The prisoner talked so awkwardly in Sotenan that Sungjong knew it was not his first language, and his pronunciation revealed a conspicuous accent. He went with his perception. "You have the Pyongyang dialect, with hints of Chinese."

"Are you sure Sungjong? Don't act irrationally," General Kang commanded.

"He will answer this question. He is Korean." Sungjong was sure of it.

General Kang and Sungjong stared at each other, exchanging concerning looks of working with the prisoner. General Kang shook his head, distrusting of anyone he had no close relationship with. As for Sungjong, he questioned his identity and how he spoke Sotenan in a clear Korean accent. Sungjong had a gut feeling that he was someone they could work with, anticipating his answer to the question.

They waited some time for a response.

Finally, the prisoner opened his mouth and spoke Korean eloquently. "I was put here because I was trying to save my family. Save my family from the horrors of this idiotic Sotenan government. I travelled to China to escape North Korea, and now I'm experiencing the same thing here. I tried to escape this country several times with my mother, but my two sisters and father were into the hysteria that Ranu Sojang placed in their minds. They no longer trusted my mother and me, and it hurt my soul knowing that the people you grew up with saw you as the enemy. Now I'm in this empty jail cell because I tried to search for my sisters and father and save them, and Sotenan soldiers caught me. I would have gotten in trouble for treason, but instead I lied my way through and got on charges for 'escaping serving the Sotenan army'. My heart is almost empty, but I haven't lost hope. I've been trying to figure out a way to escape this wretched place, and I think that I've found my group to do it."

His story was heartbreaking. General Kang and Sungjong could barely imagine what it would be like if a family member was brainwashed to believe in a flawed government and system. They had no reason to trust him. The prisoner could have very well been planted by the Sotenan government themselves into a huge mess of a conspiracy.

"For all of our time here and listeing to us talk in Korean, why would you speak now?" Sungjong asked. "Just, tell me why."

The prisoner cleared his voice, hesitating in speaking. "I'm a little shy, but when I'm fired up I can speak like this. Just as much as you're trying to trust me, I needed some time to figure out if I could trust you too. And I do."

General Kang nodded his head, regretting he would comply to anything he said. "My name is Kang Yisik, General of the Korean army."

Sungjong dug his fingers into his knees, closing his eyes as he took the biggest risk of his life. "I'm Lee Sungjong."

And lastly, the prisoner revealed his name. "Kim Jongin."

(((())))

"Load up the food to these two trucks," Captain Peo ordered, standing in the parking lot of trucks where dried goods and nonperishable food was stocked and packed for their journey to Yundo. They would be on the road tomorrow starting at 6:00, and figuring out trucks was the last thing they needed to do.

"Captain Peo!" 

Captain Peo turned to see his fellow soldier Myungsoo hurrying over to him in a fury. He was taken aback, the furrowed look on Myungsoo's face concerning him. "Kim Myungsoo, are you ok?"

"No, I'm not ok!" Myungsoo rushed over with a clenched fist to confront his captain about the memorial, followed by Sunggyu and Sungyeol from behind trying to stop him.

"Myungsoo, come back!" Sungyeol begged, gripping onto Myungsoo's uniform collar to yank him back just as he arrived in Captain Peo's presence. "Myungsoo, we're going to go now."

"No, get off of me Sungyeol!" Myungsoo held onto his collar to keep himself from choking, shaking his body and resisting anything Sunggyu or Sungyeol had for him. He pointed at Captain Peo's face, who was standing alone with the soldiers who were helping him away to the cafeteria to get more food. It was a meeting between the four of them. "You..."

Captain Peo cleared his throat and raised his chin to look above Myungsoo's level. "You do not talk to me informally, soldier."

"I will talk as much as I want until I get the answers of why you didn't mention Hoya during the memorial!" Myungsoo exclaimed.

"Back down Myungsoo, we're going to go," Sunggyu pleaded, wrapping his arm around Myungsoo's chest to pull him back. Myungsoo was acting too impulsively in a dangerous game, and Sunggyu knew if he said the wrong things it would be his own head.

"No Sunggyu!" Myungsoo ripped Sunggyu's arms off of him and lurched forward to attack Captain Peo until Sungyeol grabbed onto his waist to get him just in time. "Sungyeol, we deserve to know!"

"Myungsoo, you do you have any self-respect?" Captain Peo questioned, his stance strong and fulfilled as he shook his head pitifully. "This is no way to be taking to those above you."

"Do you have respect for others?" Myungsoo cried with tears streaming down his cheeks, thinking about Hoya and Sungjong through all of this. "Hoya looked up to you and you treated him better more than anyone. You cried over his bleeding body. And you showed no respect for him today. Why is that captain? WHY?!" Myungsoo held his breath, clenching onto his shoulder for aggravating it.

"Stop it," Captain Peo ordered.

"Myungsoo, please you can't do this right now. Your shoulder is hurting and you need to stop." Sungyeol hugged him from behind, handling each punch and kick Myungsoo had for him to hold him down. Sungyeol was still wary of whether Captain Peo was a suspicious character or whether he sincerely forgotten about Hoya's name, but he covered Myungsoo's mouth to keep him in check. 

"No! I want justice," Myungsoo wailed. "I'm tired of being shafted like this. I'm tired of everyone being shafted like this when the Korean army is supposed to ing look out for each other!" 

"You do not use that language around me," Captain Peo's volume raised.

"Are you going to give me an infraction for misconduct? Are you going to give me five? I don't care, I just want my answers," Myungsoo persisted.

Finally, Captain Peo cracked. 

Grabbing onto Myungsoo's shirt and pulling him forward with Sunggyu and Sungyeol stumbling behind him, Captain Peo stared straight into Myungsoo's eyes with that of arrogance and alarm. "I don't think I have a reason to answer why Hoya was not recognized today... because you know exactly why."

You are a ing sick bastard. Myungsoo had no words to tell Captain Peo, only reciprocating with a disgusted look from all of this. Myungsoo was devasted to hear his words, almost confirming in his head that he brought this upon everyone. "I can't believe you."

"Myungsoo, you're an interesting character because you're so naive yet curious of everything. But if you put the pieces together, you can figure it all out," Captain Peo smirked, his eyes threatening to kill him in Myungsoo or anyone else made another move. 

Myungsoo grew uncomfortable, wanting to say the last word but fearful of his own life at the hands of Captain Peo. He took a reluctant step back and held onto Sungyeol's arm. "I... I don't..." Myungsoo was unable to speak, suttering every word.

Sunggyu was in utter shock hearing all of this coming out of Captain Peo's mouth, betrayed by the circumstances. He pretended he had no idea. "Captain Peo, where this is coming from..."

"Sunggyu, you need to watch your self more than anyone here."

Sunggyu's eyes widened, unsure how to respond to the accusation. "Daejang, I don't understand what you mean."

Captain Peo let go of Myungsoo to point in-between Sunggyu's eyes, forming his hand into a gun to point. "You're treading in a deep ocean, and you can only last for so long until you drown." And with that, Captain Peo let his hands release as if he shot Sunggyu in the head.

Sunggyu was stunned, and every limb in his body was close to collapsing at his threat.

"Now the three of you, please go to sleep soon for the long journey ahead. I want you prepared and ready to go. I wouldn't want to lose any of you during this war." The clincher sent chills down everyone's spine. "But who knows, maybe you won't even die in battle while you're at it. So watch yourselves." Captain Peo shook his head and walked away.

"Captain Peo," Sungyeol called out. Captain Peo turned around.

Sungyeol stood up respectfully with his back straightened, his stance firm, and his hand on his heart. His palm pressed against the golden locket. "Did you know about the family," Sungyeol asked softly, turning his head away from Captain Peo in apprehension of hearing the answer. "Did you set them up to die..."

All Captain Peo could do was smirk. It was a grin marked with malicious intent, complemented with a glimmer in his eyes that he knew exactly what the answer was. Captain Peo adjusted his collar and bowed in front of them. "I'll be seeing Captain Suk now. Have a good rest and be ready for tomorrow." And he went on his way.

The three of them stood in shock of what just happened, unsure how to react and what their next plan of action would be. Sunggyu hugged himself, unknowing the hole he dug for himself in this war. Myungsoo was hurt by all of this and prayed in his mind that this would all end and that not another one of his friends would go down the way Hoya and Sungjong did. He turned to Sungyeol, a man known to keep his cries internal, but had a single tear drip down his cheek. Sungyeol did not hide a single thing this time around, expressing the sadness and pain of knowing Captain Peo had a hand in the mother's death. Sungyeol grasped onto the golden locket as a fire burned inside of him for vengeance. Not only for his friends, but for the mother and her children, and everyone ever wronged by this war that they would find peace for themselves.

Another war was brewing.