CHAPTER TEN: Demotion

Still cupping Taeyeon's face with both hands, Sunmi kissed her. Taeyeon melted against Sunmi's soft lips for a second. Jessica wouldn't like this. She put her hands on Sunmi's shoulders and turned her face away.

Sunmi drew back, surprised. Taeyeon could see the questions in her eyes and the conclusions she was reaching. Taeyeon didn't correct her. Even though there was no relationship with Jessica, there was a commitment. Jessica had explicitly stated that they were exclusive. Taeyeon was surprised at herself. She had thought she was someone who would choose love over lust. 

The war first broke out when she was still in Marines training. The first phone call she got to make turned out to be her last before public telecommunications went down. Taeyeon hadn't wanted Sunmi to wait for her. Who knew how long the war would go on for? Who knew if either of them would survive it? They hadn't wanted to leave one person alive, alone with love for a dead person. So they agreed to break up. 

It had been hard at first, but not anymore. The fighting was intense, more than how she felt for Sunmi. She didn't feel that strongly about her girl anymore. She loved Sunmi in a romantic, nostalgic way. That sort of love wasn't worth much.

Sunmi studied Taeyeon's face, wanting to make sure. "Are you with someone else now?"

"No, not since you and I," Taeyeon said. But she wouldn't kiss Sunmi. In a few hours she'd be back in the war, and she'd have months with Jessica. Starting anew now wasn't worth risking that.

Hope crept onto Sunmi's face. "Then if it's because of our pact, I have something to tell you. I've been thinking about it. I've had so many days to think about this."

Taeyeon said nothing.

"We should treasure the time we have now. Even if we can't see or talk to each other, we should be together instead of not at all, you know?" Sunmi said. "If you're still on the same page as me, then I want us- no, I need us to be definite. I want to be sure."

"Do you know what you're asking?"

Sunmi nodded. 

"Maybe you've forgotten, but one of us could die, and it's mostly likely going to be me. I don't want to do that to you."

"Cut the crap, Tae. In every couple, one person leaves the world first. This is the same thing."

"No. Thirty, forty, fifty years is not the same as three, four or five years," Taeyeon said.

"I don't care about that. I just want us to hold on while we can."

Taeyeon sighed. "We broke up, and I have no intention of getting back together at the moment. I don't think about us. Haven't in a long while. My whole brain's on the war and not you, and that's not gonna change."

"Why do you have to say that?"

"I just want to make it clear. Let's just forget it and sleep, okay? I only have four hours to do that."

Sunmi sniffled and Taeyeon didn't look at her. Sunmi said, "Fine. I know you still love me. I know you're just trying to push me away to protect me. You and your thick head."

Taeyeon ed her uniform and let it slip off her shoulders. She caught it before the shirt fell through her fingers and placed it over her chair. She pulled off her sports bra, underwear and pants, lay them on the seat. She went over to the wardrobe. Her clothes were stacked at the bottom. She pulled out some pyjamas- loose school shirt and baggy sweatpants- and put them on. 

"You got shot." Sunmi said in a low voice, as if she would cry if she raised it any higher.

She forgot that Sunmi would be able to see the scars clearly under the fluorescent ceiling light. Most of them were from the past three months. Taeyeon hadn't been thinking when she changed. Taking off and putting on clothes around Sunmi was as natural as breathing. They did it since they were kids up till two years ago. 

Taeyeon shrugged as she set Hayeon's alarm clock for four-thirty. She hopped onto her old bed. "Come on. I wanna sleep."

Sunmi flipped the room switch and climbed into bed with Taeyeon, who shifted some of the blanket over to her. The bed was narrow, so side by side, their shoulders and legs were touching.

"You're kind of stinky," Sunmi said.

Taeyeon huffed. "But you hugged me."

"That was because I didn't know how dirty you were."

"I should shower, but I want to sleep more. You can go use Hayeon's bed."

"No, I'd rather be with you."

Sunmi didn't try to kiss her, which was good. They could share a bed. They were still good friends. Sunmi shifted so that she faced Taeyeon. Sunmi slipped a hand under Taeyeon's shirt and traced the ridges of her six-pack. "You're so ripped now."

"Comes with the job," Taeyeon said. Not a lie. "You like?"

"It's awesome to touch but I prefer you toned, not jacked."

"Yes, captain." Eyes closed, she smiled, drifting off to sleep. I'm not that jacked. Not like Hyo. She opened her eyes. Not like Hyo was.

"What have you been eating in the army anyway? We used to do so many sit-ups in training and never got this definition."

"Lots of protein. Lots, lots, lots," Taeyeon lied. "How's the food supply in Jeonju? Have you been eating well?"

"Meat is rarer than ever, but the farms are still working so we have veggies and rice."

"That's good."

"How's the war?"

"It's fine." Taeyeon realized she couldn't say anything more, because Sunmi wouldn't understand. Jeonju and Seoul had always been different. The country and the city, now peace and war. Sunmi didn't know what being shot at was like. Didn't know the feeling of crushing a man's skull with her bare hands. Didn't know the pain of shrapnel embedded in her legs and being able to walk it off days later. "How about you and your family?"

"I've been fine. The university closed. Life has stopped basically. I know it sounds y, but I'm bored just rotting here waiting for the war to stop, you know? My parents are okay. We help my uncle with his farm."

"Hmm." 

"Are you going to stay in the army after this?"

"It's my job."

"It's so dangerous. You know that yourself. Come back home. There are lots of other jobs that require physical labor. You'd still be able to make enough money here to support your family."

"I dunno. Maybe."

They lapsed into silence. They could both feel the disconnect, and it was jarring to realize that it existed. 

Sunmi said, "I wish we never broke up in the first place."

Taeyeon said nothing. Sunmi just had to get things off her chest. 

"You've grown up, by the way. The old you would have just shed your clothes on the floor."

Taeyeon smiled, turned her head, and fell asleep.

A few hours later, she jolted awake from the first ring of the alarm clock. Sunmi was still sleeping. She turned off the alarm and patted Sunmi on the shoulder. "I'm leaving."

Sunmi woke up at that and pulled Taeyeon into a hug. "Stay safe."

"Don't worry."

Taeyeon went to Jiwoong's bedroom and woke up Hayeon and Yoona. She kissed her little sister on the forehead and told her to behave. While Yoona went to wash up first, Taeyeon went to Jiwoong, who was entangled on the couch. "Oppa. Hey."

"You're leaving so soon?"

"Yeah. Any later and I could get Yoona in trouble. Help me tell umma and appa I said goodbye."

Jiwoong patted Taeyeon's shoulder. "Okay. Don't worry, they're happy to see you. We all love you very much."

"Don't say such mushy things to me, oppa. Do that to your girlfriend."

While she washed up, Jiwoong brought out a box of kimbap from the fridge and gave it to Yoona for them to eat on the road. Taeyeon and Yoona finished the whole box even before they hit the highway, and Taeyeon ordered Yoona to sleep while she drove. There was no knowing if they had a mission waiting for them immediately after. By the time they reached Seongnam, it would be eight at the earliest. Taeyeon hoped that Major Lee didn't look for them before that.

Major Lee did. He had a mission for Firefly at seven-thirty, and waited in Firefly's dorm room with Sooyoung standing at attention until Taeyeon and Yoona hustled in quietly. Needless to say, Taeyeon nearly jumped a foot in the air when she saw Major Lee. She saluted the major and stamped her foot to attention. Yoona did the same.

"Where were you?"

"Yoona and I went to Daejeon Hospital, sir."

"Why?"

"It was my fault, sir. I wanted to see for myself that Staff Sergeant Kim was still alive."

"You went AWOL, effectively. I could have you executed for this."

"It was irresponsible of me, sir, but I was going to come back as soon as I could, and I have. Punish me if you will, but please don't blame Yoona."

"You know what's the worse kind of soldier? The kind that is reckless and self-entitled. You're a soldier, Corporal. Your stupidity will get your fellow soldiers killed if you don't fix that."

"Yes, sir."

"You're demoted from this moment to Lance Corporal and I will be making a note in your file."

"Yes, sir."

Major Lee's face was set in a firm frown. Then his palm swung in the air and struck Sooyoung across the cheek. "That was for allowing your subordinates to be heads." 

And again. "That was for allowing Lance Corporal Kim to take Private Im off base after curfew." 

His third slap was like a crack of lightning. "That was for the team being late to report. Firefly should have been off base forty minutes ago. I have briefed Lieutenant Choi on the mission. Get moving."

"Yes, sir!" They grabbed their assault packs and ran out. 

The two Americans were already waiting at the Chinook. They sensed that the three Koreans weren't in a good mood and said nothing. Before the Chinook took off, which was when it would be too noisy to talk, Sooyoung relayed the mission brief to Taeyeon and Yoona. After she described everything concisely, she said, "Is that clear?"

"Yes," they replied.

Silence. 

"I'm sorry," Taeyeon said.

Sooyoung's right cheek was red and swollen. "It's fine. How is Hyoyeon?"

"She's not doing well," Taeyeon said, deciding not to tell Sooyoung that they had detoured to Jeonju, "but she is alive."

"That's good to know."

"And I really am sorry. I won't ask to do something so brash again."

Sooyoung nodded. Tiffany and Jessica were looking at their knees.

The pilot got aboard the Chinook and got settled into his seat. The dual rotors whupped steadily and the helicopter rose vertically. Seongnam base became a distant, palm-sized compound. Taeyeon watched the buildings and roads of Seoul pass beneath her and they crossed Han River.

The mission was to clear out the North Koreans posted around the border of Kaesong, the North Korean city that the South now controlled. The North was coralling the city, killing South soldiers that tried to cross into other parts of North Korea. To cover the whole perimeter of Kaesong, at least a whole company of North soldiers had to be involved.

Firefly had four days to figure out how to get rid of this perimeter. Sooyoung's plan was to scout the area for two days and two nights, to study the enemy's schedule. They would regroup and rest on the third day. In the middle of the third night, they would attack.

This mission wasn't like their previous missions. There was a large geographical scope and many resources at their disposal. Sooyoung was given control of three supporting Army platoons. 

They didn't have air support because of the anti-aircraft weapons the Northerners had deployed along the river separating North Korea and South Korea. After they had broken out of Kaesong, the army would be able to destroy those anti-aircraft weapons. Being able to use the Air Force would be a big boost to the South.

After executing a mission of this size, Sooyoung would surely get promoted to First Lieutenant, or even Captain. For that reason, Major Lee hadn't demoted her. Team Firefly couldn't afford to have a low-ranking commissioned officer if Firefly was to coordinate other platoons. It was already bad enough that the rest of Firefly was composed of low-ranking enlisted soldiers. In the end, politics trumped discipline.

Taeyeon didn't know how to feel about being Lance Corporal. She'd never been one since she was fast tracked to Corporal, but that wasn't the problem. She was worried she'd have a hard time getting promoted again. Then again, she deserved this for dragging Sooyoung and Yoona into her unprofessional impulses. She hadn't acted like a Corporal at all. She didn't regret it though. Getting to see Hyoyeon was worth it. 

The Chinook descended at Munsan train station, and they walked across Freedom bridge to get to Dorasan station. From the station, they went through a tunnel that led to the main South Korean-controlled outpost in Kaesong.

Going to the armament, Taeyeon selected a Colt CM901, a Colt Modular, which meant that she could reassemble the assualt rifle into a long-range rifle or a carbine like the M16 she was used to carrying. She tagged her M16 and stored it on the rack. She didn't know if she needed the accuracy of a marksman rifle for the mission. Taeyeon disassembled and reassembled the gun a few times before trying it out on a practice target. After an hour, she was familiar with the weapon.

They split up to conduct reconnaissance. Taeyeon could finally be alone, but then Tiffany said that she wanted to follow Taeyeon, and Taeyeon couldn't think of a good reason not to let her.

Taeyeon kept her eyes peeled for possible hostiles as they made their way through Kaesong. The city was full of decrepit, low buildings. The main road was a long, straight, four-lane street that divided the city. The greenery lining the road was groomed, but everywhere else in town was unkempt. Forestry swathed the borders of Kaesong, making it easy for the enemy to hide out there.

Taeyeon was taking the lead, the new Colt Modular in hand. They stuck to the narrow streets parallel to the main road. While this was South Korean territory, there were still unknown pockets of civilians inhabiting their homes, and Taeyeon couldn't know for sure that they were harmless. Tiffany kept close. She was wearing a standard issue Kevlar vest, carrying a gray camera backpack with neon pink zips.

"Did Sooyoung and you fight?" Tiffany asked.

"No."

"Then why did you apologize to her in the chopper? And why was half her face bruised when it wasn't yesterday?"

"I made a mistake, she got reprimanded for it."

"What was it?"

"Is this for an article?"

"Maybe, if there's a story."

"Then, no comment."

"Okay, off the record."

"Then, you don't need to know."

Tiffany sighed. "You don't seem to like me very much, Taeyeon."

"Maybe looks are deceiving?"

"It was just a polite way of saying that you've been largely uncooperative."

Taeyeon shrugged. Journalists weren't in her chain of command. And as she proved earlier today, she was a piece of even to those in that chain. 

"Have I offended you in some way?"

"Not at all," Taeyeon said. Tiffany wasn't distracting her. Tiffany's voice was like white noise.

"Then why won't you tell me what happened? If it's something confidential or too personal, then don't tell me, but-"

"Why do you want to know?"

"I want to know you guys more. Knowing what you can do is impressive and all, but what people really care about is people, so that's what I want to deliver. To make a person come alive on paper, there has to be realism and detail, there have to be stories to flesh out a persona."

"I don't care." She didn't. Not anymore. There wasn't a reason to get publicized anymore.

Tiffany was silent. For two whole hours, even when they stopped for lunch. The meal was unbearably quiet after so many days of American-accented chatter.

"Fine," Taeyeon said. Tiffany didn't even blink. "I did something stupid. Something happened yesterday night, I freaked out and did something stupid, which made me freak out again, so I went home to Jeonju, which was even dumber. Because, one, I'm a goddamn soldier on duty. And because, two, my parents were ashamed of me for derelicting said duty. And, three, my best friend and I aren't on the same wavelength anymore because of the war."

Taeyeon couldn't look at Tiffany. She didn't know why she was spilling her guts to a nosy civilian. "Which shows that I'm an asshead, so I got demoted and Sooyoung got blamed for it by our direct superior."

Tiffany was quiet for a beat. "Is Jeonju in Seoul?"

"No. It's in Jeolla province."

"That's far."

"There and back is three hours from base. I wanted to stay the night at home to get my head straight. It just created more problems."

"I see. I suppose I can't ask you about the bunch of somethings that were stupid and freaky?"

"No, and don't push it."

"Don't worry. I told you before, you can always tell me to out."

"You were giving me the silent treatment."

"I just thought you wanted me to stop bugging you and respected that. I would've asked Sooyoung or Yoona later."

Taeyeon stopped and stared at Tiffany. This conniving ! She regretted feeling guilty. She didn't answer to any journalist. Next time, she wouldn't go all weak in the knees. She would tell Tiffany what she wanted to, when she wanted to.

A/N: Thanks for the comments/upvotes/subscriptions last chapter:) Let me know what you thought of this one!