[CONTENTID1] CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT - ALPHA TEAM [/CONTENTID1]
[CONTENTID2]

Another long chapter ahead! Hope you had a very merry Christmas!!! AND HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR TOOOOO (but I'll probably update again before then xD) Instead of doing my school essays, I'm here writing more chapters....oops ._. <3

The next day, I got up and dressed quickly. I had breakfast with Hyoyeon, Jessica, Jongin and Jackson but had it fast because I had one thing in mind: I had to find Karim. Although I slept well, I still woke up with worry for the young boy because of what had happened the night before. If Doojoon and his minions had it out for me and they knew I had a soft spot for Karim, they'd surely go after him to get to me. I couldn't let that happen.

I leave the dining hall and search the military grounds for the young boy. As I pass one of the training yards, I hear orders being shouted at the kids. I have time to spare. I turn to watch them train, disgust boiling inside me every time they're whipped for failing to do something they were ordered to do. 

"s," I mutter under my breath. My eyes dart from one child to another; I want to look away completely but I can't. The determination on their faces, the fear in their eyes - it's captivating. It's heartbreaking. They vary in ages: some look to be as young as five while some are as old as twenty. It seems to me that anyone above that age is upgraded from a trainee to a...a what? An assassin, maybe? Or just a normal frontline soldier? I don't know...and I don't think I want to find out. 

I spot familiar black curls bouncing up and down and zero in on a lean body running fast. Karim. He blasts through the obstacle course at a great speed - crawling under, climbing over and jumping through different obstacles. He's fast. He's good. I put my fingers through some holes in the fence in front of me and continue to watch on. 

One of the captains - I'm assuming the ones shouting are captains - calls him over and pats him on the back, saying something in his ear. I can't hear at all from how far away I am. All I can see are bodies and Karim's vivid green eyes. As I look around, I see that almost every child is male - only a few are girls. I can also see that they're all shirtless, dressed in dirty combat trousers and boots. I scowl upon finding that the boys, from the age of ten or so and upwards all have developing abs. 

How on earth can kids have abs!? It worries me. For all the exercise they do, they should not be on such low fat diets. Especially not at their ages, they've barely hit puberty! I growl under my breath but continue to watch the scene before me. The captain talking to Karim points at a large crate, sending him over to it. Karim walks over and pulls a sniper rifle out. From where I'm standing, it looks like an M82 Barrett .50 calibre. 

What can I say? When you're with men like Sehun, Jackson and Henry twenty four hours a day, you pick up a thing or two. 

Karim adjusts the rifle before setting it up and lying down on the ground, his body behind multiple sacks of sand. He aims at targets several hundred metres away and I bite my lip, knowing he won't be able to make the shot which means he'll be reprimanded. He fires the weapon and, to my amazement, lands a bullseye. 

He does it again. And again, and again, and again. He does it until the magazine of the rifle is empty. My jaw is hanging loosely as my wide eyes are fixated on the young boy. I always forget what this place is whenever I speak to Karim. I forget that because he always looks so sweet and innocent. Despite his age, he is what he is: a child soldier. My heart breaks at the acknowledgement that these people have ruined so many childhoods. 

Karim gets to his feet and dusts his knees, then slaps his hands together. The captain walks over and pats him on the back. Someone touches my own back and I gasp, spinning around. Jackson puts his hands on my arms, holding me in place. I relax upon seeing that it's just him, not Doojoon, Jonghyun or any of their friends.

"What are you doing here?" He asks. I incline my head and he follows the direction, his eyes landing on the trainees. "Ah. Is that Karim?" 

"Yeah."

"I can see his eyes from over here," he mutters in amazement. I turn to watch the young boy in action. "Wow, he's good. Who knew..." Karim is now sparring with another boy, though the boy looks to be a few years older. Once they're done and Karim lays him on his , the boy is dragged away by another captain. 

"What do you think they'll do to him?" I ask Jackson.

"Who, Karim?"

"No, the other boy. Did you see the way he was taken away?" I sigh and shake my head. I pity each and everyone of those kids. Another boy is forced into the ring with Karim. My eyes widen. "What the !? That guy is at least eighteen! That's so unfair!" I start to walk away but Jackson grabs my arm.

"Hyerim, what are you doing? Where are you going?" He questions, looking worried. I shrug out of his hold and walk to the door in the wire fence, pushing it open. Two soldiers standing behind it step forward.

"Only authorised personnel and trainees are allowed in here," one of them says. 

"I need to talk to someone," I tell them. The other soldier steps forth.

"Sorry, we can't let you past," he responds. Jackson walks up behind me and I put one hand behind my back, giving him the OK sign. In synchronisation, we both attack the soldiers and swiftly knock them out with blows to the face. 

"Hey, I asked nicely," I shrug, walking away from their unconscious bodies. I reach the training ring and multiple trainees, guards and captains look at me. I ignore their confused stares and call out to Karim. The boy snaps his head in my direction, his partner doing the same. The eighteen/nineteen year old is Asian, I see. From what I can gather, Korean, too. One just knows when they see someone from their own country. "Hey, you!" I point at the captain.

The closer I get to him, the taller and broader he gets. When I finally reach him, I feel dwarfed and pathetic. The confidence I had coming in has dwindled, it's nothing to what I had before. 

"," I mutter under my breath. I crane my neck to get a better look at him. He's the tallest man I've ever seen in my life, with dark hair and penetrating eyes. My own big browns travel down the length of his body and I gulp upon acknowledging his bulging muscles. His light green t-shirt is clinging to him like second skin. Speaking of his skin - like Jungkook, it's completely covered in tattoos. He folds his arms and raises a brow at me. I hate the amused smirk on his face.

"Can I help you, miss?" He asks in English. Then, he leans dangerously close and pulls his lips back into a full grin. "Or would you be more comfortable if I spoke to you in Korean?" Did he...did he just speak in Korean!? It's then that I notice the slightest of all slants to his eyes. He's...he's Korean!? What!? 

I force myself to compose my thoughts and posture. I raise my chin slightly and look the giant in the eye. I speak in English, only because I don't want to give him the satisfaction of...whatever it is he'd gain satisfaction from. "You're being unfair."

"Oh?" 

Jackson smacks his hand over his face, knowing nothing he says will stop me. "Karim is obviously too young to be paired with someone like that!" I snap, pointing at the older boy standing with Karim. "Look at the difference in their bodies." 

"You underestimate Karim's skills," the man says and I scoff. "Park Jimin, come here. You too, Karim." I frown, wondering for the first time why they have names if Jungkook said they don't get to keep them.

"I thought the kids get their names taken away," I blurt out and the man quirks a brow at me. I bite my lip, hoping he won't ask how I could know such a thing. "I mean, that's what I've heard..."

"They do but...I do things differently. I ask them their names and address them by it. That's if they remember by the time they get to me, of course. I don't like how things are done in this place," the man answers bluntly. I look at him with the utmost confusion and fascination. "If I could, I'd leave. But I can't, so this is what I do instead." I look at Karim then back at the man. "You must be friends with Jay." Jackson stiffens beside me.

"You know Jay?" I ask and he nods.

"I'm the one who tattooed him, of course I know," he replies with a grin. "So, if you know Jay...you must know his real name." 

"How did you know she's friends with him?" Jackson question suspiciously. The man tilts his head, inspecting me with his eyes.

"No one else would do what you just did, storming in here like that. No one except Bora but Bora doesn't have any friends other than Jay." I shake my head.

"She does. She has me," I say, fighting a smile from surfacing on my face. I narrow my eyes at the man. "Who are you?" He sticks his hand out and I stare at it. 

"Julien Kang, pleasure to meet you," he grins and I shake his hand without hesitation. Something about him makes me feel at ease. Still, I should keep my eyes open just in case he surprises me... "And who are you, might I ask?"

"Choi Hyerim. I knew Jay before he became Jay," I answer and his brows shoot up. "His real name is Jungkook. Jeon Jungkook." I have no idea why I'm trusting this man with this information. "Now, back to my reason for being here. Karim can't go against...sorry, what's your name?" I turn to the other boy.

"Jimin," he answers with a cheeky grin. I can already tell that he's a troublemaker. From the scars covering his body, he must have gotten caught and punished more than a few times. "Nice to meet you, Hyerim-ah." I narrow my eyes at him.

"It's noona to you, kid," I snap and he smirks wider, winking at me. "Aish! You must be whipped often. I blame you." I point at Julien. "You're making him all cocky." 

"No, that's just Park Jimin for you," Julien replies with a shrug. "Besides, if the way I handle the kids made them cocky, they'd all be dead. And they're not. None of my trainees have died...yet." 

"H-H-Hyerim, w-what a-are y-you d-d-doing h-h-here?" Karim asks and I grab his face, checking him for any cuts or new bruises. I find a few tiny wounds but nothing serious. He must have gotten those from the obstacle course. "I-I'm f-fine, I-I p-promise." 

"Good," I mutter, fixing his wild black curls.

Julien chuckles. "If you weren't so pale and looked so young, I'd think you were his mother." Jimin teasingly nudges Karim and I glare at him. "You two, spar. I'm going to walk with Miss Choi for a few minutes." The two boys nod obediently and Julien leads me away from them. Jackson catches up with us and stands between our two bodies, increasing the distance between us. "Sorry, who are you?"

"Jackson Wang," Jackson replies and the two shake hands though it's obvious that there is hostility between them. And it's mostly coming from Jackson. I bite back a grin. "So, Julien, what's the catch with you?"

"Excuse me?" 

"I don't buy the whole 'I'm different from all the other s in this camp' act, so you can drop it," he snaps. I let him talk because, after all, we don't know Julien. We