Author note : I will explain a lot of things about this story and myself in my feed later  but 1st :  I decided to chapter this story in a time laps sort of style ( yes I'm that who likes a complicated stuff ) Tumblr peers know that this first chapter was announced as a snippet of a later chapter but SURPRIIIISE,  it's ch1 for y'all.  As if it wasn't enough, I'm writing this as in real time- present  ( you'll notice specific dates, even if I'm not giving the number)  there's more than a reasons for it, you'll see, but obviously it's a way to pace this so it runs always behind the July 1st. So I will continue the time lap that starts here meanwhile giving past time laps in between. Hopefully chapter 2 will be up today, if not, tomorrow. * still can't find how to insert emoji here*  GREETS! 

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ch 1 

Last Tuesday of May

Pedaling like a maniac, Kyungsoo’s usual reasonable state of mind starts to emerge to his conscience, as if going out of a daze -which has been really big in the last 12 hours- bringing the thought of what credible excuse he’s going to pull off to try to, at least, reduce a more than possible penalty.

His legs are brought to a radical hit on the brakes, right at the middle of his route. He looks at a big stone at the side of the road. He checks there’s nobody around. There’s no other way…

Still unsure of everything, he makes his stop at the base entrance post, saluting and informing about his current situation with the required solemn militar speech. The guard eyes him suspiciously on the head while talking through the post communicator device. Kyungsoo takes a second to look inside when he sees Chanyeol spotting him from a distant window with those black weird scared eyes. It is Sergeant Major Kim’s office. He’s the higher-up of the base.

.

He knows he needs to be firm, so he musters all the ‘stone faces’ he knows he has so well mastered during his entire life, and takes his way inside when he’s allowed by the guard. Reclining the bike outside of the office he peeks at the marks in his inner forearm, surprised that they’re already scarring, and quickly unroll his sleeves to the correct uniform code, even if the weather it’s starting to feel warm.  

He doesn’t get the chance to a second nock. Chanyeol makes an exaggeratedly fast door opening with his front body totally facing him -thankfully blocking Sgt. Kim view- the big weird black scared orbits trying to speak to him, now adding his also weird frowned eyebrows to the picture when he glances at Kyungsoo’s right side of his head.

”STEP INSIDE, PRIVATE!”  The higher officer commands him from his seat.

Despite his short time in the base, Kyungsoo already knows that high pitched y tone so well. The one when things turn bad.

Chanyeol steps aside quickly to let Kyungsoo in, then places himself in his glorious tall militar stance at the right of his subordinate, arms at the back. Kyungsoo adopts the same position. The superior command of the base stops his writing to rise his eyes with a serious questioning scowl in his face. They both remember they are not in school but in a military service which require first of all saluting their superior ranks. “Joong seong!” There’s a void after that when Sgt.Kim starts writing again on his papers. Kyungsoo decides the next course is up to the chief. The nerve. “Permission to speak,sir!” He salutes with his hand again.

”Report.”

Kyungsoo takes an imperceptible breath. “It was a matter of life saving, sir.” 

Sgt.Kim keeps writing while eyeing him for a second. Kyungsoo doesn’t waver though. 

“What kind of life?” 

Kyungsoo does hesitate there, but realizes that his superior is really asking about species. “Animal, sir.”

Sgt.Kim closes his eyes a bit longer than one second, disdainfully, but doesn’t stop writing. “What kind of animal?”

Kyungsoo has thought about it high and low already. Meanwhile he fast pedaled back there, thanks heavens, he remembered something he recently read that was the perfect deal.

“A deer. A siberian musk deer, sir.” From the corner of his right eye, he can feel Chanyeol weird nervous left side-eye on him but he manages to remain unmoved. 

Sgt. Kim addresses the move, stopping his writing, to finally leave the pen over the table and seats back on the chair.   “Do we have those around here?” He squints at Chanyeol, the someday-in-the-future-to-be veterinarian.   

Chanyeol’s answer is constricted. “I think I’ve have seen it in Mokpo.”

Sgt. Kim now gives the shortest a serious rise of his brows.

“Sir, I was also shocked to see the baby deer. Since I’ve read it’s one of the species in danger of extinction in this province, so I had to save it, sir.”

Sgt. Kim now puts his left cheek resting over his left hand, elbow also resting over the armchair. He’s really studying Kyungsoo now.

“ I will patiently hear the whole story and how is that related to your head wound and the fact that it’s 7:36 hs.” 

Kyungsoo knows he can’t it up so he reviews a flash of his made-up story in his head for the last time. 

“I left the base at 15:05 hs after the lunch repose to my weekly exploration round.”

Sgt.Kim makes a stop hand sign. “I’m assuming you were informed since you’re his Corporal?” the officer directs to Chanyeol.

“Yes, sir. Specialist Do has been assigned the weekly mission of ground exploration & samples collection, by signed agreement with the Maritime Museum & University.”

“THAT I DO KNOW.” the officer rises an octave, exasperated, and both soldiers blinked out of alarm. “I’m asking if PRIVATE Do informed you yesterday of his departure time.”

“Yes, sir.” 

“Does he always go the same day of the week?”

“Mostly Mondays, sometimes Tuesdays, since we have to take the samples to the city before the weekend. It depends on the base scheduled activities.”

Sgt.Kim returns his look to Kyungsoo. “Continue”

“I was about to have my return here when I heard this whining. I followed it and saw this little one trapped under a tree that seemed recently fallen.” He cleverly remembered that tree that he took account of in the middle of the small forest at the end of the island; apparently someone tried to cut it doing a poorly job but it ended up falling later.

The sergeant remains still.

“It was a little difficult to lift the tree by myself ...” he didn’t miss the snort coming from his superior. “...I managed pulling it off with my whole body though while trying to grab the little one. I got up carrying it in my arms so I could check his state but he went crazy writhing ...mm yes I observed he was a male. And it made me lose my balance and I ended up falling, sir.”

“ AND?”  sergeant seems getting impatient.

“My head crashed against a big stone,sir.” 

Again a void.

“Time?”

“It was already sunset, sir.”

“ So this happened around 19:00 hs.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Eleven hours unconscious.” the sergeant subtly glance at the wound in the soldier’s head. It’s barely a cut with a little bump around. 

“Apparently, I was pretty tired after the morning routine, sir.”

Sgt. Kim makes a sarcastic smirk that Kyungsoo thinks was intended to be a smile. Perhaps not.

“Apparently, your little basic training month in Nowon-gu was not enough to make a potential soldier out of you. So I’m correcting that. 1- Special training level 4 starting now. Your Corporal will be in charge and instructed to it. Morning and afternoon.”

Kyungsoo’s heart sinks. He kind of expected this. He hears Chanyeol long silent exhale. 

“ 2-  Helping in any task the base requires from you. Morning and afternoon.

He can’t help the whimsical twitch of one corner of his mouth. So this means...

“ 3- Retention in the base perímeters for 15 days.”

He looks to the floor. .

“OBJECTIONS?” The sergeant major rises his usual octave again and  takes his time observing both reactions, but mostly Kyungsoo’s.

What kind of ing question is that? Does he want a fight?!

Both soldiers salute in unison  “ No, sir!”

“Of course not. I’m being benevolent.” the officer singsongs lower.

Kyungsoo does not agree but he hopes the clench inside his mouth pass unnoticed. Chanyeol however, swallows audibly hard.  

“DISMISS!”

“Permission,sir! Joong seong!”

They are out of that office walking as if the soil burns under their feet, but Chanyeol stops his fellow before entering the dorms where he’s going to grab some cereal bars as both’s breakfast -the base one ends at 7hs for recruits. 

”Why do I have the feeling you’re protecting something? Or someone…”

Kyungsoo remains ‘stone faced’ again, looking at his corporal.

The tallest lips forms a disappointed grimace. “You are not going to tell me, right? The guy crosses his arms in his chest, waiting, but the other stays in the same stance. “ Yeah, you seem like the kind to sacrifice yourself for good causes. Prepare for hell.” And with that, the Corporal leaves the biologist there and enters the dorms. Kyungsoo sighs and his eyes go by his now clothed forearm. He checks his surroundings and rolls the sleeve. He knows he has to hide those 5 marks as if the salvation of humanity depended on it.