She spoke the other girl's name much more clearly than she'd expected herself to.  The shorter girl peered up through her bangs, which were new and gave her a much more mature look than she'd had so many years before.  The visitor opened to speak.  

-------

Jihyo's heart raced as she clasped the locket around her neck, in it the picture she'd been showing Mina the night before.  For all her experience and success in the field, she still got nervous on the morning of the days of reckoning.  She shuffled towards the bathroom and towards the mirror, pulling her hair into a tight ponytail as she walked.  Jihyo was an early riser - she always had been, and it was no different now.  She was almost always the first one awake of the four - herself, Mina, Nayeon, Sana - so it surprised her when she bumped into Sana on the way in.  

The older girl looked horrendous.  She had bags under her eyes that she hadn't the night before, and her eyes were puffy and her nose was red.  She'd definitely been crying, and Jihyo couldn't blame her.   From what leader-hyo had heard, Sana was a convenience pick for her well-roundedness, and she'd never actually been in a high leverage tactical situation.  

"A-ah, Jihyo, good morning."  Sana stumbled over her greeting, staring down at her toes.  Her voice shook, and her hands were trembling too.  Jihyo could see the muscles in her left thigh twitching, indicating sleep deprivation.  That wouldn't do her any good come mission time.  

"Good morning, Sana.  How did you sleep?"  Jihyo asked out of politeness - she already knew the answer. 

"Honestly, not that well," Sana replied.  "I'm frankly terrified, scared out of my mind."  She said it with a little chuckle, which caught Jihyo off guard; it was an uncharacterisitically accepting gesture from a girl who otherwise wasn't taking the situation well at all.  "You see, I've never been on a field mission before, even though I graduated the academy at the top of my class.  I always..."  She trailed off at Jihyo's hand on her shoulder.  

"The first time I went on a mission, I was 22."  Jihyo rubbed circles on Sana's back.  "My mom was sick, and my dad was going through some hard times at work.  And I had just gotten together with my boyfriend, who's now my husband and the father of my daughter.  The thought of losing everything in the blink of an eye scared me so much.  And you know what happened?"  

Sana replied only with an inquiring glance.  

"I met Nayeon and Jeongyeon.  They jointly led that mission, and they showed me some of the finest teamwork I'd ever seen."  She tilted the Japanese girl's face up towards her own.  "Don't be afraid.  You're taking on a difficult mission, but you have the support of eight of the strongest soldiers in the world.  We'll keep you safe.  I promise."

-------

Momo frowned and rolled her eyes at Nayeon with furrowed brow, who glanced back helplessly.  Chaeyoung's nervous habits, as bothersome as they were, couldn't be helped; she continued to drum on the table with the ring on her left index finger (her best friend's name was carved into it, Dahyun engraved in beautiful lettering).  Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum, the noise continued, until Momo had had enough, picked up her tray, dumped its contents into the trashcan, and sped out the swinging doors, which recoiled back after her exit.  Mina barely avoided the backswing as she nimbly dodged out of the way, spinning with tray in hand, and sat herself beside the jittery Chaeyoung.  

"Morning!"  She chirped with almost appalling cheer.  Chaeyoung looked up at her sadly, mouthing 'Momo' with an adorably sad frown.  "Don't worry, it's not you," Mina reassured the smaller girl.  "She's been going through a lot, and she's really on edge these days.  It can't be helped."  Chaeyoung continued her antics and didn't reply; her hyperactive mind now focused on the next girl to come through the door.  

"Dahyunnnn!"  She wailed as her best friend shuffled over and rested her chin on the top of the seated girl's head.   

"Good morning, beautiful."  Dahyun had a visible smirk as she observed a panicky Chaeng and a very frustrated looking Nayeon.  "What's all the fuss?"  She asked with a mirthy smile.  

Jeongyeon smacked the weapons sergeant's shoulder as she placed her loaded tray onto the table with her other hand; Tzuyu sat down opposite to her.  

"You know damn well what the fuss is," the older girl chuckled.  The smile dropped off her face as she turned to Chaeyoung.  "But what's wrong, though?  You're always good with pressure."  

"Um," Chaeyoung started.  "I don't know about this whole mission... and I'd rather not die," she tried with a tentative smile.  

"Well hey, if I die on this mission, at least I get to do it right next to my best - damn - friends -" she punctuated each word with a kiss to the top of Chaeyoung's head - "in saving Kore