For a few minutes you watched as the sergeant gave oral lessons to the rookie soldier. It was confusing to hear all the army terms they used, some didn't even make any sense if put in sentences. Some gave your brain a hard time to process and some made your tongue all tied up when you tried to pronounce it yourself. All through the lesson, you noticed the rookie kept stealing glances of you and the children then and now. And everytime you caught his glance, he'd give you some sort of a brief smile, like the slightest move of his lips curving into a smile before he turned back his attention to the blabbering sergeant.

      "... so that's all for today, soldier," you heard the sergeant finally said, "I will be leaving this post to you, so you better start practising what I have taught you." He eyed you from between the bars. This time, you found the courage to look at him in the eyes and shoot him a piercing glare. Surprised, he withdrew his head and took a step back. You couldn't believe your eyes. He was taken aback.

     The sergeant cleared his throat. "So, soldier, I'll be going now. Good luck in your task." He then turned around and left the scene.

     Checking that the sergeant had totally went out of sight, he sighed in relief and turned to face you and the children. You saw him did the double wave again in front of his face and  then as if controlled, the children dashed to the front of the cell and began to bombard the rookie soldier with questions and pleads. He knelt down in front of the children, pressing his index finger to his lips to calm them down.

     "Shhh. Shush, slow down, you don't want him to come back now, do you?" He fell into a low whisper and whispered something with the kids. Since you were still rooted  to the back wall of the cell, you had no idea what they were conversing about, but you saw the childrens nodding in agreement altogether to what the rookie had to say. Join them? Nah, you thought, looking away from them, it would look awkward since I don't know him and suddenly I go barge in their talk. You sneaked a peek. No no, you, control yourself, don't make a fool out of yourself. NO.

     As the meeting finally reached it's end, so you thought, the children dispersed and  came back to the back of the cell, getting in small groups and began to play silently with each other. You reached for the nearest, wanting to ask what was discussed with the rookie just now, until a small hand touched yours.

     "you unni..." Eunri's tiny voice greeted your ears.

     "Yes my dear? What is it?"

     "Oppa wants to talk to you~"

     Your expression hardened. Although unwillingly, you let her small hand tow you to the front of the cell, directly in front of the rookie.

     "What do you want?" You struggled to keep your face and voice nonchalant. You glared at him with the scrawniest face you could pull.

     "I am not trying to spark trouble between us, Miss," he started, his expression relaxed and calm, "but please, don't use that tone against me. It's... not polite for a young lady." He flashed a humble smile.

     You snorted in disbelief. "I don't take orders from you. Blood-thirsty animals. Always looking for prey. The same, all of you."

     "You might be a stunning girl to look at from the first impression. But your language, definitely a shocker to me." He sneered at you casually, as if it was not an insult thrown at you.

     Offended, you gripped the bars that were standing between you and him. His eyes were still unreadable even when you stared deep into them. "Well sorry that I can't be your type of ideal girl. Oh wait, I don't even want to. So yeah, I plan to continue using this language and this tone towards YOU." you spoke through gritted teeth.

     He let out a low chuckle. "Miss, you still rank lower than I am, even for a rookie. You don't       "

     "O-owwch!!!"

     Surprised, you turned around and saw a writhing girl sprawled on the dusty ground, clasping the side of her neck with a face contorted in total pain. "Ji-jihyun?" You rushed to her side and cautiously turned her body to face you. "W-what's wrong?!"

     "S-something bit me!! A-an-d it hur-ts!!" she exclaimed with difficulty.

     "Bit?" You heard the rookie repeat.

     "Let me see it..." You took her hand and removed it from her neck. Gasp.

     A big bluish purple swell. And it was swelling bigger and bigger every moment.

     You heard the clanking of metal and in a split second, a pair of boots appeared by your side. Alarmed, you stood in between him and Jihyun, throwing open your hands to block him. He tried to reach for her, but you shoved his hand away in every attempt he made.

     "Don't you DARE touch the kids when I'm here!!!"

     "No, Miss, I'm just trying    "

     S L A P !

     He looked at you, shocked with the powerful slap you had given him.

     "You filthy vermin, don't you ever TRY to get near us. I might be a girl, but I ain't scared with a rookie soldier."

     He looked at you and his eyes, for the first time since you met him, lit up with fury. "You don't understand. She's going to be seriously sick. She can even die."

     Your hands fell to your side. Your mouth slightly hung open. "S-sick? DIE?"

     "Unni..." Eunri tugged at your ragged shirt, close to tears, "... let oppa help, please..."

     Slowly, you stepped aside to give way to him. He knelt down and examined the swell. "A brown recluse spider bite." There was a hint of panic you detected in his voice. "She must've been bitten down at the basement a few hours ago..."

     "C-can you help her?" your voice quivered.

     "Now look who's whimpering looking for assistance from the highe     "

     "I'M BEING SERIOUS NOW! Help her, save her..." Tears began to flow from your eyes. "P-please... I can't afford to lose another one."

     He stared at you for a while. He sighed, stood up and hoisted the little girl into his arms with ease. You watched as he strode out of the cell and continued forward. He paused in his tracks and turned. "Hyowon, would you lock the door for me and keep the keys please?" Hyowon hurriedly nodded and scurried to the cell door to lock it.

     "And Miss?"

     You looked at him, being sure that your eyes were all red and puffy already.

     "Pray that you wouldn't need to lose any of them, actually."

     And then he turned back, carrying the already limp girl in his arms until they were out of sight.