Seo Dae Young’s POV

“Didn’t you say you always found it hard to be up with the chickens? Why are you here?” I ask Shi Jin’s girlfriend who’s sitting in front of me, busies herself with stirring her hot coffee.

“How did you know I never like waking up early? Did Yoon Shi Jin tell you by any chance?” She abusively drops her spoon on the table and stares angrily at me. And now I wonder what crime I committed to take the blame for all Shi Jin’s might-be trivial mistakes. Out of the blue, his disturbing voice rings in my ear, (“Always leave the difficult tasks to Sergeant Major Seo,”) At the moment; I know just got real.

“No, he didn’t.” I answer. “You stated it on your own when the commander offered you to join the armed force.”

“Really?” She knits her brows, pondering. “I thought Myeong Joo’s dad was only putting ideas into my head.”

Running into Kang Mo Yeon has never been my intention to begin with. It has always been my daily routine to get up from my bed at 5 in the morning to jog along the street for roughly an hour. After that, I usually stop by the quietest coffee shop in the neighborhood to get myself a drink.

I run my eye over her from head to toe. She dressed casually, far from her usual casual attires she wore in Urk actually. I couldn’t conclude she was wearing her pajama because everybody is unique. Not everyone I know minds putting on a shirt when they are going to bed – most soldiers prefer to remove everything but underwear, especially in summer.

To my surprise, she is likely the very first person (or girl) who can hang around comfortably with an acquaintance, bare faced.

Come to think of it, I barely know her. We hardly talked despite our girlfriend and boyfriend.

“What are Shi Jin’s two comrades doing here?”

Dr. Kang reaches for the stuffed animal Shi Jin always carries whenever he gets dumped and takes the wolf (is it?) doll in her arms. “I should’ve been the one to ask – what are you doing here, Sergeant Major Seo? Aren’t you supposed to be on duty alongside of him?”

“Sadly, the overseas trip was only assigned to the commissioned officers.”

Her eyelashes flutter rapidly, uttering confusion. “If you’re not a commissioned officer then what are you?”

“A non-commissioned officer,” I emphasize, which hurts my pride a little. “The only ones who could get involved in are ranked higher than sergeants.”

She doesn’t reply directly. I catch sight of her rubbing the doll hair fur gently and affectionately. “Ah, I see…”

An awkward silence fills the air.

Even Myeong Joo gets along with Shi Jin extremely well.

“So that means… Myeong Joo has also left for the department store?”

I pause for a split second. Department store? Since when were we discussing about the department store exactly? Until I figure out by myself, the ‘department store’ are only terms they use when they happen to have to talk over it in public. I see. I clearly see it. Since Myeong Joo and I are both serving in the military, we don’t bother to be creative (or dedicated, must I say) to come up with a false name that indicates ‘carrying out orders’.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked an answered question.”

No, I should’ve been the one to apologize. For bobbing belatedly.

“May I ask you something?” She breaks the ice once again.

“Go ahead.”

“What did you get for Myeong Joo when she was having her birthday?” Well, that was unexpected.

The truth is, it hasn’t been quite too long since Myeong Joo and I started dating. Even though I might have exaggerated a little when Shi Jin was intrigued to know. If I were to omit those times I made myself believe I was a coward by turning my back on her, we’ve only been dating for 18 months by now.

I tried my hardest to forget what happened on Myeong Joo’s supposed-to-be very special day, her first birthday that we celebrated together. To sum up, it was a huge disappointment.

Myeong Joo said she was different from other girls. I should’ve believed everything that came out from . Not the popular belief, which conveyed all girls fancied flowers. Even Shi Jin encouraged me to present Myeong Joo with a bouquet of flowers.

She is indeed different from other girls because she’s a