Gritting her teeth, she speeds up towards the sheltered area, waiting for the clear siren that never came. That can only mean one thing – the war is about to start. Joohyun snatches the first-aid kit from Yoona shaking hands as she runs through the door. She is one of the few who are not terrified of the deafening bombs attacking their country because she knows how much the soldiers are sacrificing to protect their people from harm.

They do not even know what is going on. Nobody could give them an answer. All they can do is to run and hope that you will not get killed ruthlessly. Unfortunately, that is not the case here. Joohyun finds herself running everywhere, trying to help as many people she can. Unlike Yoona, she is in charge of treating the treatment of their people, that is until Yoona came to her crying because she cannot handle being in the field. Wordlessly, Joohyun hands her hand out for Yoona’s kit and badge, changing roles with her without informing any of their subordinates so Yoona would not get into any trouble.

“I will be okay.” She reassures Yoona, hugging her before heading out to the specific tent the other field medics were waiting.

Chaos is not the correct term to describe the situation but it will have to do for now. Pulling her hair in a ponytail, Joohyun rushes forward, helping one of the medics to stop the bleeding from one of the semi-conscious soldier.

“Hello? Sir, can you hear me? Stay with me.” She raises his leg, shining the light on his bleeding wound. “You,” getting the attention of the medic, “talk to him, make sure he stays conscious.”  Losing consciousness is something Joohyun will not want to deal with as it is may increase the risk of losing the guy judging by the lack of surgeons they have now.

She has no time to put on gloves; using her bare hands, she starts picking out the leaves around his wound. At least it is not a gunshot. Joohyun grabs a bottle of distilled water, washing the dried blood away as the soldier screams in pain. She gently applies a small coating chlorhexidine before washing it away again. Feeling relieved that he has stopped bleeding; she reaches for her kit, quickly bandaging the soldier’s leg as she helps him up.

“Sorry about that.” Joohyun apologises, passing him a small bottle of milk to help him replenish his energy as he has to head out sooner or later. She bows after excusing herself to help the other soldiers.

Joohyun understand what set off Yoona’s anxiety. Just being in the tent where hundreds of soldiers will come in seeking for help will raise your anxiety levels by a few feet. “Joohyun, I need your help.” She sprints barefooted as she puts her arm below the soldier, helping him to a chair.

“It’s you again.” Joohyun helps herself to the towel, wiping the dirt off the soldier’s face as he continues speaking again. “You helped me with my leg the other time.”

“Oh, you remember me?” She stops, meeting the soldier’s light brown eyes for the first time. “I’m Joohyun.”

“Call me Yonghwa.” He grimaces in pain when Joohyun places her hand on his right shoulder. “We might be seeing each other more than often.” He jokes as Joohyun rips his shirt off for better access to his wound.

“People usually don’t flirt during a war; especially with a medic.”

Yonghwa smiles, tilting his head to the left so Joohyun can take a closer look to determine if he can still go out there and fight for their country, “But you’re a fairy.” Joohyun rolls her eyes at his reply. “I would jab your shoulder with my knife if I didn’t know that you’re usually like this, Mr. Jung.”

“So you do know me.”

Joohyun nods. “You’re one of the frontliners. They told me to pay more attention to the frontliners as you guys are much more prone to injuries.”

She carefully applies a cooling lotion on his shoulders after realising it is a sprain which can get worse if he were to continue fighting recklessly. However, that will be hard to avoid because they are losing soldiers by the dozens and the soldiers have to fight like their lives depend on it. Not that they were already risking them.

It became a daily thing. Yonghwa will be constantly hurt but he will not give up. He will not listen to Joohyun’s word about taking a rest. He will rush out of the tent the minute Joohyun is done dressing his wounds. Stubborn yet heroic.

“Joohyun, several soldiers are injured in the field. I need you to follow me.” Joohyun bites her lips, fearing for the worst as she follows her senior out.

Being as careful as she can, she tries not to attract any attention because she does not want to die just yet. She is still ‘young. There is a lot more that she wants to do. It can’t end just like this.

“Yonghwa?” She asks, removing the soldier’s helmet that is covering his face, revealing several slash wounds that needs to be stitch immediately. Unlike her calm composure, she is shaking in fear.

“Joohyun, I’ll be okay.” He grins, holding her hands before letting her work on his wounds.

Even under the dire situation they are in, Yonghwa could not help but to admire Joohyun’s beauty. He tells himself that once the war is over, he will ask her out. Then he laughs at himself for thinking that far when he could not even raise his arms at the moment. His smile eventually falls when he hears a few leaves being crushed near them. “Joohyun, run!” He yells at the girl, resulting in her dropping the gauze as she turns to the soldier raising his rifle towards Yonghwa’s direction.

Yonghwa can only watch in horror when Joohyun steps in front of him, blocking his body from the soldier as her body are embedded by several bullets as her body folds into half when she falls in front of him. “I’m sorry.” She chokes out as Yonghwa watches her eyes turning duller by the second.

“Your turn.”