CHAPTER FOUR: Rain check

"Are you really going to kill her, Taeyeon?" Sooyoung asked.

Taeyeon turned to them. "Hey, Sooyoung. Yoona. How are you guys?"

"Same as you, like ," Yoona said. The improvised grenade almost took out her arm. Sooyoung's torso had been ripped apart. They would be fine after a week's rest.

"She's innocent, almost a civilian," Taeyeon said to answer Sooyoung.

"What else is Taeyeon going to do?" Yoona said. "The officer is right. She might leak national secrets."

"We're national secrets?" Taeyeon asked.

"If that's what they call us, then yes."

"We fight in broad daylight. We're going to be known entities sooner or later. That corpsman is genuinely trying to help the doctors here. She doesn't deserve this."

"Why are we talking about ethical killing and questioning orders? We're soldiers, and I'm the maknae here. Can we please behave like we went through the proper military training that we did, Team Sierra veterans?"

" you, Yoona," Taeyeon said. "Don't talk about Sierra."

"Shut up, both of you," Sooyoung said. "Neither of you are wrong... this isn't a black and white issue."

Taeyeon pulled out the handgun the officer had given her. A silencer was attached. "Give me time to think about this."

"There's nothing to think about, Taeyeon," Yoona said. "You've both lost your damn minds. If you doesn't take her out, someone else will. And they are not going to let you get away with this."

Taeyeon tuned Yoona out as she checked the ammunition chamber of the Sig Sauer. It had a full magazine. The medical officers had left her assault pack, with her guns strapped on, next to her bed. Taeyeon had everything she needed to leave.

"Say, hypothetically, that I deviate from my mission," Taeyeon said. "What would you two do?"

"I'm going to do the right thing and stop you," Yoona said.

Taeyeon looked at Sooyoung, who said, "I'll support whatever decision you make. If Yoona stops you, I'll stop her."

"This is also pure speculation: If I deviate, I'd have to follow through and that corpsman offshore. Would you two want to come with me?"

"I'm sorry but I can't," Sooyoung said. "I have to honor my father."

"I understand. Yoona?"

"I want to dishonor my father without dishonoring myself, thanks." Yoona's glare was piercing. "Are you seriously going AWOL over somebody you don't even know? How many other South Korean soldiers are going to die because you back out?"

Taeyeon cocked the gun and latched the safety. It would save an extra second to the first shot. Her gut was telling her not to kill the blonde woman. "I'm sorry, Yoong."

"The you call me?"

"Yoong. It's time you got a nickname."

Yoona flipped Taeyeon the bird. "Going cheesy on me doesn't change the fact that this is a bat decision you're pulling out of your duck . The military police is just going to kill her and drag your back."

Sooyoung sighed. "Yoona and I can handle Firefly on our own, so don't worry about us. Major Lee will probably get a helper squad or a platoon to make up for you."

Yoona had lost the argument, and she knew it. Taeyeon imagined that Yoona would have folded her arms if she could. "I don't give a anymore. Just don't die and don't get caught, Taeng."

Taeyeon's grinned widely, and then her smile faded as she began to think of an escape plan. The blonde woman would get a wheelchair for Taeyeon, and they would wheel out quietly, steal a military car, drive to Incheon port and take the first ship to Japan. Military cars always had their keys in the ignition, so jacking it would be easy. 

Then the blonde woman walked into the classroom ward and Taeyeon hastily shoved the handgun back under the blanket. With her free hand, Taeyeon gestured at the blonde woman. 

In English, she said, "Name?"

"I speak Korean," the blonde woman said with a strong American accent. Looks like the morphine wasn't that magical. "My name is Soojung. What's yours?"

"Kim Taeyeon. Thanks for helping me."

"No problem. It's what I'm here for."

"The two of them are my squad mates. That beanstalk is Im Yoona, and that -less giant is Choi Sooyoung."

"Hi, Sooyoung-ssi. Hi Yoona-ssi."

They nodded back, neither friendly nor unfriendly.

Soojung turned back to Taeyeon. "So, are you really, like, superhuman?" 

"Uhh..." 

"Were you born like that? Because that's like really convenient for a soldier."

"Yes... that's... I was born cool," Taeyeon said. Sooyoung started coughing.

"I was really surprised when I saw your legs heal themselves at lightspeed. It was really awesome. Sooyoung-ssi and Yoona-ssi, are you guys like Taeyeon-ssi too?"

"No," Yoona said. "Taeyeon's the only cool one."

"Lucky."

"Actually..." Taeyeon said, drawing Soojung's attention back. "No outsiders are supposed to find out about my... ability."

Soojung's face turned serious. "So that's why that officer was trying to get me to leave."

"Yeah."

"I mean, I didn't come to spy on Korea," Soojung said. "I'm just a Navy corpsman here to provide medical assistance because that's what I do. I don't see why I'd need to tell my commanding officers about this because they won't think to ask it."

"So you'd tell them if they asked?" Yoona said.

"Only if they did. I do work for the USA. But who in their right minds would think to ask if I met any supersoldiers in Korea?"

Taeyeon was running through her plan again. Get a wheelchair, steal a car, board a ship. Three simple steps. She was actually going to do it, defect from the Marines like a dirty AWOL bastard, because it was the right thing to do. She was leaving Team Firefly in the lurch, but Sooyoung said it was okay. Maybe other teams would be affected, but they had their own part to play in the war. She would never get to see-

Taeyeon tightened her grip on the handgun. That was not okay. She was a pretty big deal to the army. Who knew what lengths they would go to flush her out? Her family was defenseless in Jeonju. And then there was Hyoyeon. Taeyeon had promised to fight Hyoyeon's share of the war until Dr. Seo cured her. Now she was going to betray Korea for one foreigner?

Yoona was right. She was being silly, defecting for an insufficient reason. Taeyeon pulled out the Sig Sauer and pointed it at the woman. 

Soojung's eyes widened and she did not move. Sooyoung and Yoona were just as silent at the abrupt change.

Taeyeon's hand was perfectly steady. It was something she always had. No matter her emotional state, her hands were that of a calm person. 

"That officer you were talking about? He ordered me to take you out," Taeyeon said.

"Wait... I'm an American... from an ally country. You can't do this."

Taeyeon didn't look into Soojung's eyes. "Any last words? I can pass it on for you after the war."

"T-taeyeon-ssi, w-wait. Let me see the officer. We can work something out."

Soojung was just stalling for time now. Taeyeon should pull the trigger before any more sympathy got in the way. She unlocked the safety catch. 

"Taeyeon, wait!" Sooyoung said. Taeyeon glanced at her. "Don't shoot. I have an idea."

"Spit it out."

"We don't have to think in binary terms. Like you said, w- your ability can't stay a secret for long. Just put Soojung-ssi in custody until then. Everyone's happy and no one gets hurt."

Taeyeon lowered her gun. She punched the button for a nurse. "You're a clutch playmaker, Sooyoung."

Soojung backed into the blackboard behind her, heaving a sigh of relief. Her eyes didn't hold the same warmth and openness anymore. She was done with these South Korean soldiers.

A medical officer came, and Taeyeon sent him off to fetch Captain Park, who looked unsurprised but disappointed to see the American corpsman still alive. Taeyeon told him about Sooyoung's idea. "This is the best way, captain. We don't offend the USA, we don't kill an innocent person, and we don't leak temporarily classified information."

Captain Park relented. He took back the Sig Sauer from Taeyeon and escorted Soojung away.

"," Taeyeon said. "I really almost pulled the trigger. I just... it. From now on we tell all foreign soldiers and medical officers to stay away."

For the next month, Taeyeon learned that the fastest way to repel foreigners was to spit the worst she could think of at them. When she told them firmly to go away, they would politely cling on. Eventually, Taeyeon decided to just skip the niceties from the get go. Her guilt for sending Soojung to jail made it an easy decision.

Currently, they were back at Seongnam base. Major Lee was suddenly inspired with benevolence and granted them a week off. Taeyeon was wiping her guns down with Yoona in their room when their radios buzzed.

"Syoung here. We have a meeting at Debriefing Room One-Alpha. Come now. Over."

"Taeng here. Over."

"Yoong here. Over and out."

Taeyeon and Yoona set the gun parts down and made their way over to the main building. Inside Debriefing Room 1A, one eight-man team of medical officers were present. Taeyeon noted that they were all wearing uniforms with the American flag on their lapels. In particular, the only woman of the group caught Taeyeon's attention. It was another Korean American, hair dyed auburn brown. Other than the dull, glazed eyes, Taeyeon found the rest of the woman attractive.

Nobody but Hyoyeon, Shoo and her high school basketball teammates knew this, but Taeyeon was into girls. Her crushes all had thin noses, sharp jawlines, bright eyes and a fulfilling S-line. While this brown-haired woman failed in the eye department and the quality of her curves was hidden by her straight-cut uniform, Taeyeon still thought she was kind of crush-worthy.

Major Lee was up front with Sooyoung. He told everyone at present to stand at ease before briefing them. "We're beefing up the Battalion Aid Station in Anyang. The U.S.A has generously provided highly qualified doctors, so we need to ensure that they reach Anyang safely. These seven men are specialist surgeons, the woman is a regular U.S. Navy corpsman."

They introduced themselves. James Southerland was a cardiac surgeon. Norris Cole was a dental surgeon. Toney Douglas was a craniofacial surgeon. Shawn Williams and Jeff Withey were trauma surgeons. Luke Babbitt and Ryan Anderson were general surgeons. And then there was Jessica Jung, who was fluent in both Korean and English. She would help Team Firefly bring the surgeons to Anyang before returning to provide general help. Major Lee noted that the mission wasn't particularly dangerous. The only bottleneck was having to move a group of civilians who mostly couldn't speak Korean.

Taeyeon shot Sooyoung a meaningful look. What the hell? Aren't confidentiality issues freaking important?

"A war correspondent from The New York Times is accompanying us for this mission," Sooyoung said. "We'll meet her later."

Taeyeon's grin was eating. After this mission, she didn't know how long it would take for the correspondent to write and publish an article about them. Maybe a week? Then Taeyeon was going to Cheonan Prison personally with a release agreement to get Soojung out.

Major Lee left, and Sooyoung briefed the medical officers on how they would be moving and what to take note of. Taeyeon watched as Jessica translated the instructions for the doctors and helped them ask questions. Jessica had a nice voice. Her American accent was cute. 

One question the doctors had was why they were being escorted by a three-woman team instead of a proper platoon. Major Lee assured them that Team Firefly was more than capable of the job without explaining exactly why. Later Sooyoung would confirm that they mostly had to keep their genetic enhancements under wraps. It was only because of the high value of these doctors that the higher-ups weren't risking lesser platoons to them.

Taeyeon wasn't sure if she had to be a to all of them if the war correspondent was traveling with them. It meant that the higher-ups were ready to expose Team Firefly to the world. But until that happened, Taeyeon was going to play it safe. She didn't want to end up with any more Soojung's on her conscience. 

After the meeting, Sooyoung dismissed the medical officers. Jessica returned with the journalist. Did all Korean American women dye their hair? This one had deep reddish hair. She had the confidence and poise of a highly educated person, but the functional clothes assured Taeyeon that the journalist wasn't a complete civilian pushover.

"Hi, I'm Tiffany Hwang, from The New York Times. I can roughly speak and understand Korean, but Jessica here will help me out. I'll be tagging along and will try not to get in the way. I'm just here to report what I see and help the public outside of Korea know what's going on."

"It's nice to meet you, Tiffany-ssi. We'll be glad to answer any of your questions," Sooyoung said. 

"First, I'd like to get to know you guys better. Could we take a seat?"

They sat. Sooyoung, Taeyeon and Yoona briefly introduced themselves with name, age and rank. Tiffany asked them when they joined the army and why, and then what they thought about the war. Taeyeon had no real answer for the last question, so she lamely replied that it was worth it to protect her country. She didn't tell Tiffany that she had one of the three highest kill counts in Korean military history. Tiffany could find that out for herself later, then maybe she wouldn't be smiling so damn brightly.

Taeyeon found Tiffany's questions unimpressive. How do you feel about the North Koreans? How is it like being an all-female platoon? What would you be doing if there wasn't a war? The interview was quickly becoming pointless, and Taeyeon could see that their relationship was going to be strictly perfunctory. All she needed from Tiffany was a published report of Team Firefly's genetic enhancements. Taeyeon wanted to tell Tiffany right there and then to get things over with, but she needed to learn how much to reveal from Sooyoung later.

Tiffany and Jessica were more than acquaintances. During the interview, they filled in for each other with the chemistry of good friends. Her closeness to Jessica made Tiffany slightly more interesting to Taeyeon. Taeyeon estimated that she had four nights for the mission to score a home run with Jessica. Two days to Anyang, and two days back to Seongnam. Taeyeon had steam to blow. Jessica was presumably stressed out in a foreign war zone. Taeyeon's gaydar balls, so she would have to ask Jessica if she liked too. Taeyeon didn't care if she got rejected. Life was short, and she was unlikely to ever see the American after the war.

Once the interview was done, Taeyeon stood up first. "Jessica-ssi, Tiffany-ssi, would you like to join us for dinner?"

"No, thank you," Jessica said quickly. Tiffany looked slightly surprised. "Maybe another time? We need to settle something else tonight.

"Sure," Taeyeon said, undeterred. She flashed a smile, and was put out when only Tiffany responded. Jessica's mind was elsewhere. That's OK. Everyone has a bad day. She doesn't know you want to make hers better.

A/N: Thanks for the comments/upvotes/subscriptions last chapter! If you could, leave me some feedback for this one:))