Hello everyone! Welcome to another chapter of The Distance. Thank you everyone for all the love, comments, subscribers, casual readers, anyone who has looked at this before for your support! I seriously love you all, it's just so much fun writing this story.

This is going to be one of 3 two-parters, labelled appropriately according to the time of day. Well... you'll see what happens next.

"65... 66... 67... 68..."

Sungjong pushed his body off the ground, upholding the strength in his arms to carry on and finish his set of pushups at early in the morning. With all the energy to stay awake and no desire to sleep, the adrenaline moved him forward in a systematic workout of his back, arms, and abdominals. Sungjong's figure showed much progress as more muscle formed in his time with much definition. Sungjong knew he had to mentally and physically prepare himself for escaping the prison, taking food from General Kang and now Jongin to feed his appetite and get his daily dose of protein. The days in his lowly cell were numbered to single digits. 

Jongin was the only other person awake in his cell as General Kang fell asleep hours ago. With his body pressed against the corner of the cell and his finger ringing the bars in front of him. He flicked each metal ball individually, focusing on the vibrations and different sounds of hitting a different area of the cell. Creating a song in his head, Jongin watched Sungjong work himself out to his limits.

"79... 80... 81... 82..." Sungjong gasped for air, losing his wit to go on.

Jongin fawned at the bright full moon surrounded by gray clouds through Sungjong's window, glimmering in all its glory and giving light to their dark nightmare. 

"85... 85..." Sungjong's elbows shook and struggled to keep himself up.

"Sungjong, stop you're exhausting yourself," Jongin said.

"85... 8... 86..."

"You already did situps and planks earlier, it's probably 1:00, please Sungjong," Jongin begged, worrying over Sungjong's state,

Sungjong shook his head, his eyes closed shut and more determined than ever to prove himself. "I have this Jongin... 86..."

Jongin could see Sungjong's body close to crumbling down on the cold concrete floor, knowing very well that Sungjong had passed his threshold. "Please, you can do this tomorrow. You're ok!"

"No, I have to get to 86!" Sungjong's hard head pushed himself further, his veins popping for the eyes to see even in the dimness of their prison. His voice grew louder, almost at a volume to wake everyone up.

Jongin grabbed onto the bars and raised his voice to higher than a whisper. "Please be quiet you'll wake everyone up. No, you need to rest your body now! Please stop, you don't need to go any further you're gonna hurt yourself!" 

"Don't tell me what to do Jongin!" Sungjong exclaimed.

"Sungjong, you don't understand!"

"No! You don't understand! No one understands, I have to do this for Hoya!!"

Screaming at the top of his lungs expunged all remaining energy he had, with Sungjong collapsing hard on the floor. His voice echoed throughout the prison without a single thought or courtesy of anyone around him. And with his fall from grace Sungjong stayed on the floor with his nose pressed on the ground, weeping silently to himself.

Jongin took a deep breath, cautious of people waking up to his voice or even worse Sotenan guards coming in to punish and torture them once more. At least, he was supposed to care. But seeing Sungjong crying in front of him brought out a compassionate side that allowed him to put all the thoughts of the war to the side. He had barely talked to him for more than two days, and yet he wanted nothing more but to give him a hug. "I'm sorry again." He wished he could say more than "I'm sorry", but there was nothing else that came to mind.

Sungjong whimpered, wiping his tears away as he tried to speak. "It's ok. It's just... I never got to say goodbye to Hoya." Sungjong sighed, biting his lip as the thought of it all tore his heart into pieces. "I never got to talk to him, or hug him one last time."

Jongin nodded his head, able to show some sympathy for the moment. "I understand. If that happened to my sisters, my dad, my mom..." The thought of his family brought him to his own tears, closing his eyes as he spoke in a gentle voice. "I don't know either."

"Never had I thought between all of us, he would be the first one gone. In this war... I thought it would be me." Sungjong sniffed his nose, contemplating past memories spent with Hoya. His voice was soft like an innocent child, ridden by the effects of the cold war. "The reason I'm here is because he convinced our superiors to put me in battle. He couldn't convince our squadrant leader Captain Peo to do it... but General Kang was the person who approved. He was the one who trained me in this war, even after hours of people doubting my physical ability, we snuck out to the courses at our military base to practice overnight."

"This guy really believed in you," Jongin commented.

"He did. He was the force behind me believing I could fight in this war. There was one day where I struggled doing pull-ups, and under the bar was a large puddle of mud. When it was my turn to train during the day, attempt after attempt I fell in the mud each time. It was the most embarrassing thing in the world, having soldiers judging you for your weakness. Everyone told me, Sungjong you're only here for your brains. You're only here because you're intelligent and just as smart as Sunggyu, who is another friend of ours in special operations. Do you really think you'll make it in actual battle?" Sungjong remembered everything in vivid detail, his lower lip quivering from explaining the next part. "So I snuck out at midnight to practice by myself. I told myself, I needed to make one pull-up. Just one, that was all I wanted. And the second I got to the bar, I fell into the mud again. Instead of picking myself back up, I cried to myself. The sky pitied me, such a beautiful night with my whining self to deal with. That... that was when someone took my shoulders and picked me up."

Jongin nodded his head. "Hoya."

"He hugged me, my muddy self, and he stayed there with me and told me to try one more time." At this point, Sungjong pushed himself off the ground and leaned against the corner of the cell closest to Jongin's side. With his body aching from the impact of falling and his heavy workout, he rested while still having composure to finish the story. "I grabbed onto the bar, staring straight at Hoya. He said no word to me, but in his eyes, he was cheering me on. That was the type of person Hoya was. Many soldiers stayed away from him, because he was sergeant, and he was a man of little words. But in his eyes, you knew exactly what he was saying. And with his support, I made one pull-up."

"Hoya sounds like a great friend."

"Hoya was the older brother I never had. And so this hurts Jongin. It really breaks my heart, that he couldn't see me at my best in this war..." Sungjong covered his eyes, feeling another moment of vulnerability. After a few seconds of fraility, he cleared his throat. Lowering his voice to his lowest register of a whisper, he spoke with courage. "But... now the fuel is burning the fire. I'm going to win this war for Hoya. And for my five other best friends, who are part of the Korean army. What Hoya did... he died honorably. He died to take down the spies. I want to do the same thing. I hope to be reunited with my other brothers, and when I am this country will see what I'm capable of."

Jongin nodded his head, better understanding the context of the situation and everything that Hoya meant to him. "When I first left North Korea, I was leaving a whole lineage of family behind. And when I left my sisters and father, it was history repeating itself. My goal, my only prayer, is that when I leave this hellhole that they will still be alive."

"My belief." Sungjong turned his head to look at Jongin. Even in the shadows of the night, the moon lit his eyes to sparkle. "My belief is, unless it is announced, they are alive."

"Thank you for sharing your story with me," Jongin choked up, touched by Sungjong's words and making the decision to emotionally invest himself with Sungjong and General Kang. "You didn't have to tell me all of this, and yet you did. That's how I know I can trust you."

"General Kang and I of course were skeptical of you from the get-go, but I think that I need you as much as you need me. And it's nice to be around another Korean right now, even though you started from North Korea." Sungjong chuckled, remembering how long ago North Korea and South Korea were separated. "Never thought this day would come where I'm working with a North Korean, but then again our starting military base was in Pyongyang. Ultimately, we're all Koreans."

"The world changes and things change, but in the end we're only human," Jongin agreed. "Also, it's tiring to speak in Sotenan all the time."

Sungjong shrugged his shoulders, speaking back to Jongin in Sotenan. "Sotenan has too many vowel stresses."

"Tell me about it," Jongin said with a warm smile. Knowing that he had a friend across, Jongin was rejuvenated with Sungjong's heart of gold. Sungjong, we're going to get out of this. You, me, General Kang. Don't worry buddy. "Will you be ok?"

With the knowledge of Hoya's death, Sungjong knew better than to loom over it immediately. Of course with less than 24 hours passed his heart would not heal completely. But he had to stay strong for himself. Myungsoo, Sungyeol, Woohyun, Dongwoo, and Sunggyu. His family. General Kang. Jongin. The whole country of Korea. He had all the drive in the world, and now it was more certain that he had to fight.  Though Hoya was gone, he would always be alive in Sungjong's heart. "Jongin."

"Yeah Sungjong?"

"Tomorrow. It happens."

(((())))

"Hoya... you're back."

Myungsoo switched positions in his seat, resting his head against the corner of the truck. With time to close his eyes for more than a few hours, his wandering mind led to another restless night.

"No! Don't take Hoya away from me. You can't do this right now."

Myungsoo slid his feet against the floor, arching his back as a brooding figure took Hoya away in his nightmares.

"He doesn't deserve to die! Hoya, no, don't! NO!"

The overfilled Myungsoo's mind with terror and agony, twisting his body violently and slamming his whole shoulder into the walls of the truck. The shock sent through Myungsoo's entire body, suddenly waking him up from his dreams and sending him to the floor of their caravan. His shoulder pain was unreal, bringing his hand to caress the area where the stitches remained to sooth the burning sensation. Myungsoo leaned his head against the walls, opening his eyes and staring up at everyone around him.

Every soldier staying on the truck had fallen fast asleep, moving not a single limb or twitching to anything that Myungsoo said. It was a different setting than usual, in which he expected to wake up next to someone he knew. Sunggyu, Dongwoo, Woohyun.

Sungyeol. I forgot, we didn't go on the same truck.

It was a common occurrence for Sungyeol to calm him down after a nightmare, but this time Myungsoo was by himself. It almost felt empty without Sungyeol sitting next to him. 

Myungsoo continued to hold onto his shoulder, the pain easing as the cool breeze came through the cracks and hit his stitched up shoulder. He raised himself back on the seat and leaned against the corner of the truck. Tilting his head, he watched the scenery from outside unfold as the sun had already risen above the horizon. Though it was cold, the skies were clear and the sun was shining. He noticed that the truck was going on an incline, appearing as if his truck was above the others on the slope. Myungsoo took a whiff of fresh air and exhaled the clean mountainous air. He had no idea where he was at that point, but reflecting on his dreams and everything around him he had no one to share this current moment with. Sunggyu was supposed to be on his truck but gone, which in itself was an already sketchy problem that Myungsoo barely had control over. Dongwoo and Woohyun were on different trucks, as well as Sungyeol.

It was an offputting feeling, and without anyone to talk to or a shoulder to lean on there was only one thing he could do.

After the soreness in his shoulder subsided, he took out a pen and notebook from his backpack.

Dear Mom,

I'm sitting on a truck on the road to Yundo. I don't have a slightest idea where I am right now, but I do know that we're going up a mountain. Everyone else on this truck is sleeping. I don't know who any of these people are. All the soldiers on this truck I'm unfamiliar with, and some are part of the Japanese army. 

To transition on, this is my first time being on one of the trucks by myself. Sunggyu, Dongwoo, Woohyun, or Sungyeol were all separated. Well you know the story about Sunggyu, but I'm hoping he was simply transferred to a different truck. Anytime I've been on these trucks during the venture, at least Sungyeol was always by my side. In fact, in every situation we have ever been in Sungyeol was always right next to me. It's strange when you've gone from being surrounded by all of your friends to getting stuck in a truck like this for hours on end, no one to talk to who understands your emotions. Who knows your quirks and knows how to deal with them whenever they happen. Who you can discuss endless topics with. Who can provide a shoulder to lean on when you sleep, and who will comfort you when you have a bad dream.

I don't think I mentioned this before, but I have stitches in my shoulder. I was shot during the Battle of Shu Chai, and Sunggyu had to stop the blood from escaping while we were on the field. My vest was placed on loosely, my fault, and I was shot. The pain fluctuates as some days it feels normal, but days when I aggrave it it's almost unbearable. When I woke up earlier, I rammed my shoulder into the walls of the truck and hurt it. Just feeling the stitches, it's kind of funny that they actually sewed my skin together. It's really weird to think about for me! I don't know, I'm sorry mom. 

Don't worry about me. I will be more cautious next time, I promise. Your boy is doing fine.

I love you mom.

Kim Myungsoo

He tore the letter out of his notebook and slid the folded paper into his bulletproof vest, throwing everything back into his backpack and leaning against the truck.

The truck was coming to a halt. Myungsoo peeped outside the cracks to find the other trucks following stopping as well. They were on a paved street in the center of what looked like an industrial city in the distance. As the truck stopped, a volunteer opened up the truck entrance for everyone to file out. 

"Where are we right now?" Myungsoo mumbled to himself as he strapped the backpack on with his gun held firmly.

The area looked like a smaller military base with a combination of tented bunks and stone-built forces surrounding him. One edge of the are was parked by a body of water that appeared to be a river, in which the other side of the bridge held more urban city characteristics. Everything was uniform; from the beige color of the tents and forces to the alignment of the streets and buildings, the area was simple and organized. There was one thing different from every base they had visited, and that was the population of Australians and Europeans who occupied the Sotenan city. White skin, blue eyes, blonde hair, it was something Myungsoo had barely seen. 

"Soldiers, pay attention. We have six hours here in Hunang. Take care of your business and be here at 16:00 sharp." Captain Suk strolled through the line of trucks to remind troops of the allotted time of stay. Many soldiers at this point separated from each other to explore the new town, sleep, or eat some food.

Myungsoo straightened his back as Captain Suk walked by, lifting up his chin as the docile soldier. But as his superior walked by, Myungsoo was filled with curiosity and demanded answers. Myungsoo stepped forward. "Captain Suk," he stated firmly.

Captain Suk turned his head from the call, eyeing the standing soldier. "Kim Myungsoo, what can I do for you."

Myungsoo bowed in front of Captain Suk before he spoke. "It was under my attention that soldier and operations specialist Kim Sunggyu was assigned to our truck. He never appeared at the truck before we left, so I am wondering in what state Sunggyu is in."

"Ah, Kim Sunggyu," Captain Suk remembered, scratching his head as to him it was a simple question with a simple answered. "Captain Peo..." he stuttered to think before continuing. "Captain Peo had assigned honorable Kim Sunggyu to a different truck last minute in which all other specialists. They have now moved to a room on the base to discuss matters for the following days."

Bull.

There was a tone in his voice that displayed disingenuous that Myungsoo was able to catch. The fact that Captain Suk spent much time pondering Sunggyu's presence rand a red alarm that something was going on. Without Sungyeol by his side or Dongwoo or Woohyun to tell him otherwise, Myungsoo acted on impulse to find out the truth. "Captain Suk, I have some news to relay to him. If anything, I would like to know where he is staying so that after your meeting is over I may talk to him."

Captain Suk made a slight hesitation before answering, lifting up his finger to speak but backing out in the last seconds as he opened his mouth. Choosing his words carefully, Captain Suk made a firm face and nodded. "Of course. I will show you the room and you can meet Sunggyu later."

(((())))

Dongwoo walked along the river, gripping the strap of his rifle as he weaved through the crowd to meet up with his friends. It was overwhelming walking in a place like Hunang, in which his Korean army served as a minority in a sea of majority Australian soldiers of strange accents and different faces. As the people he travelled with infused in the crowd, it was harder to find people he recognized. 

He took time to observe the reflection of the city by the water. A faint silhouette of Hunang shown in the polluted grounds. The area was a budding industrial center with large buildings in their downtown area with billboards galore. The water was hazy, turned to a slight brown and stained with areas of bright red. Several tall buildings off in the distance were destroyed, the aftermath of a previous battle days before their squads had arrived.

With time by himself, it struck Dongwoo just how lonely he truly was. With always someone by his side, Hoya, Sunggyu, Woohyun, Sungyeol, Myungsoo, Sungjong, Dongwoo felt invincible. He always had someone to joke with, talk to about the meaning of life, smile and share in the beautiful moment of life. A temporary separation and isolation from the people who meant the most to him did so much. His blank stare paid no attention to any other surroundings as he searched for someone. Something.

It came in the form of an unsuspecting person bumping into him.

"Sorry," Dongwoo apologized, shaken a little from the impact but suddenly awake when he recognized the person. "Kyung?"

A man of his height and age stood wearing the Korean uniform on, his face dirtied and his complexion pale as if all life had been out of him. "Hey I remember you. But I forgot your name."

"Dongwoo. Jang Dongwoo," he reminded.

"That's it," Kyung nodded.

Park Kyung was a soldier in Squadrant 11405, the same one in which the infamous Kim Yu Kwon resided. Dongwoo remembered his face very well, especially for his nose. He also remembered Kyung explaining that he had been friends with Yu Kwon since childhood, just as Dongwoo had with his own friends. It was a brief encounter with Kyung days ago, and after Yu Kwon's death he had not thought he would see Kyung ever again.

"How are you? We haven't really talked much since we went to that bar together. How's the war holding up? Dongwoo asked, interested in sparking up any kind of conversation.

Kyung nodded his head reluctantly, clearly suffering the edge of the war but trying his best to hold it together. "I'm doing my best, but the war is hard." He bit his lip, unsure what to say next. "How are you?"

Dongwoo shrugged his shoulders. "I'm ok. I slept the whole ride through. I'm trying to find my friends now, but there are a lot of people here."

Kyung cleared his throat. "Yeah, there are. The Australian army as well as the British army and Southern China army took over this place maybe four days ago. They've taken control of the area, which I think used to be called Jinzhou. It's a little scary. There are rumors that there is an underground road built below the city that led to a prison in which Sotenans were being tortured and killed. Many of them were previous Chinese and North Korean citizens."

"Wow." Dongwoo raised his hand to his mouth in shock. "I can't believe that."

"Also, there are rumors spreading that a nuclear bomb misfired to Japan and hit the ocean."

"I had completely forgotten about their nuclear weapons."

"As we're approaching Yundo, things are getting pretty serious. Did you hear about these nuclear weapons? They have been made to kill an entire city and destroy everything. There was also word that some of these weapons were mastered to kill people without destroying any buildings. Something about a mixture of fission to play with frequency."

Dongwoo found himself losing breath, gasping for air at the thought of a bomb that could wipe out an entire race without destroying anything in the process. He felt like he would have a panic attack as the looming thought scared him into further oblivion. "These... these are just rumors right?" he stuttered.

"Yeah, they are. No need to worry now." Kyung scratched his head, trying to change the subject. "I heard about your one friend who died a couple days ago. I'm sorry."

You could have mentioned anything but that. It all happened so fast. Dongwoo clutched his chest, his whole body almost imploding with a whirlwind of thoughts to consume him. "I'm sorry about your friend, too." He attempted to sympathize with Kyung, sharing the same idea of losing a friend they had known their whole lives. 

"They say it gets easier as the days pass, but I think it only gets harder," Kyung spoke softly, lowering his head and drawing symbols on the dirth.

"It doesn't help we're in this war either," Dongwoo added. "I mean, there's never any time to mourn, to show any emotion. Honestly, all I want right now is time to cry. But I can't have that. Not right now in this setting."

Kyung crossed his arms, agreeing with every word he said. It was equally hard for him when Yu Kwon died, knowing someone his whole life for everything to come to this. With his other friends staying back in Korea, Kyung was alone. He had nothing to share his sentiment with. "I get what you mean. We have to stay alert and attentive at all times. Even at a rest stop like this, it's only 5 hours." Kyung cleared his throat. "Well, there are some things that I do for a quick fix of relaxation."

Kyung dropped his hands to the side of his pants to a pocket, reaching in to grab onto a bottle without taking it out. Instead, he shook the bottle in his pocket vigorously to emphasize something inside.

Dongwoo faltered, taking a step back nervously from hearing the sound of pills clashing together. 

"You take one, and you get a kick of relaxation for a few hours. They sedate you, taking you to a place like heaven for all of your senses to let go. What's even better, is that this is also a painkiller. You'll be tranquilized for a couple hours, but after that time the sleepiness wears off. That wears off, but the painkilling effects stay in your body for days. So when you go out to battle... you don't feel a single thing. It's almost like a two-in-one deal."

Dongwoo had no reaction. All he had were questions, and a storm of them flooding his head. How did he get this? How long has he been taking this? Are the effects as true as he says? What if he gets caught and there's a drug test?

Should I take this?

His eyes were fixated on his pocket, pondering what would happen if he participated in something like this. Dongwoo had never done something like this, but the aftermath was too good to be true. Ease of pain. Invincibility. A small break to paradise, a paradise Dongwoo had been trying to find since his whole world came crashing down on him in the war.

"I was planning on taking this now with a couple people in my squad, so that by the time we leave some of the effects are gone. I don't know if you wanted to come by."

This was something out of character. This was something Dongwoo would never do. This was something that if anything, Dongwoo despised.

At the same time, Dongwoo was feeling desperate. 

"Umm." Dongwoo stammered his words, his throat turning dry as he could not believe what he was saying next. "I'll go with you."

(((())))

The clock struck 14:00. Woohyun and Sungyeol walked back to the base together along a street called the Antique Road, a place that used to serve as a streetside market for the people to buy arts and crafts. There were very few sellers out due to the most recent battle, which had many Sotenans hiding in their homes out of fear. For others, who worked this as their only way of living, posted their items even in the middle of a warzone. Much of the craft was jewelry, selling many handcarved items of unique gems they had never seen before. 

Woohyun and Sungyeol had only united minutes before. The two of them had spent their time apart eating street food for nourishment and searching for their own friends. The streets were far apart and the city was wide, it was hard to catch anyone with the large amount of soldiers based there. It was a miracle that Woohyun and Sungyeol ran into each other at one of the intersections. With a slight detour to eat, both were serious about finding the rest of their friends.

Sungyeol perched over to hold onto a pair of earrings that caught his eye at one of the booths. Spending a small moment doing his own shopping, he was reminded of Myungsoo and how he told him to talk to Sunggyu during their caravan ride. He wondered what they discussed, if they even created a plan to take down Captain Peo. Many thoughts rushed through his mind on potential plans, but his eyes were distracted by the vibrant earrings polished to perfection.

"You haven't seen any of them yet?" Woohyun wondered.

"No." Sungyeol brought himself back to standing and bit his lip. "It's really crowded here."

"I don't even know how we're all fitting."

"Well we're going to leave soon. It's my understanding that the previous armies staying here like the Australian army are going to wait a little longer before heading out to Yundo. They're leaving at midnight." Sungyeol cleared his throat, placing the earrings back in their rightful place on a stand. "We have two hours to find them. But maybe they're at the base."

After spending several more minutes on Antique Road, Woohyun and Sungyeol walked back to the base together. Many soldiers were mingling and interacting together as the allies had finally intersected for a upcoming battle to infiltrate Yundo. Their whole squad was dispersed, only seeing several Korean soldiers they recognized. Faces blended together, and it was difficult for them to spot a single person they knew. 

"Should we split up to find everyone?" Woohyun asked. "There are some people who shouldn't be left alone right now. Sunggyu is fine. But Dongwoo..." Woohyun bit his lip, expressing worry on his face for the mental stability of his friends.

"And Myungsoo," Sungyeol nodded. "Well, let's go ahead and split up. Sunggyu and Myungsoo are probably together eating somewhere. Dongwoo probably doing the same, maybe he found Sunggyu and Myungsoo along the way. We'll meet back at the trucks in two hours?"

"Yeah. We'll return in two hours," Woohyun agreed.

With a single hug to end their conversation, the two of them divided once more to find the rest of their friends in question. They had expected little to happen to Sunggyu, Dongwoo, and Myungsoo during this time, with only a temporary degree of separation to unite the friends before continuing on with their journey. In their minds, everything seemed ordinary upon arriving to Hunang. It was closing in on 16:00.

Two hours till they left.

Two hours not enough.