Chaeyoung's eyes opened slowly as the familiar alarm pierced her consciousness, tearing her away from the gentle cocoon of sleep. She groaned, shifting in her bed and lifting a hand, trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. Her familiar military dorm greeted her still slightly blurry vision. Stretching, she could hear the others in her room groaning as they too woke up.

She sat there in silence for a moment longer, mind still riddled with sleep. It's been a while since she'd had to wake up this early and she had to admit, she missed sleeping in her warm, comfortable bed in Seoul. Then, a small grin slowly spread across her face and she jumped down from her bunk, ready to start the day. 

It was their first day back to from holidays and Chaeyoug couldn't deny that she was just slightly excited. She hadn't seen Sehun since that night at the night market, and she looked forward to seeing him again. A smile rose to her face when she recalled his expression when she'd kissed him on the cheek. It was the most flustered she'd ever seen him. She hoped she hadn't made it awkward, as her smile slowly faded in uncertainty. Would he start avoiding her again? Had she been too forward?

Those worries plagued her as she made her way to the breakfast hall. Absent-mindedly, she grabbed her tray and turned around. Unfortunately, since she wasn't paying attention, she almost collided into someone and slipped. Luckily, steady hands grabbed her shoulders, stopping her from tripping just in time.

"Woah, watch where you're going there, Cadet Park," a familiar voice spoke, and Chaeyoung's gaze snapped up. Her captain's handsome face stared back down at her, eyes twinkling with the familiar combination of exasperation and amusement. 

All of a sudden, it was as if all the air in her lungs had vanished. 

"Captain!" She immediately straightened herself and saluted, the action a little awkward as she balanced her tray in her other hand. "Sorry, sir. I wasn't paying attention."

"Obviously," he raised an eyebrow. "What were you thinking so deeply about, hm?"

Chaeyoung blinked, lowering her hand. 'It's not like I can say I was thinking about you...' "N-Nothing, sir," she coughed, willing her cheeks not to turn red. Why now of all times did Sehun suddenly want to strike up a conversation? Forcing herself to calm down, she looked up at him and smiled. 

"How are you, sir?" she asked, recovering from her previously flustered state. Sehun raised an eyebrow, noting her change in demeanour in amusement. "How was your holiday?"

"It was decent," he replied flatly, grabbing is own tray and walking with her to their usual table. As usual, multiple sets of eyes followed them, still marvelling as to why the high-ranking captain wanted to sit with such a lowly cadet. But neither of them paid any mind as they seated themselves.

"That's good," Chaeyoung played along with their polite conversation, conscious of her pounding heart. Why was Sehun so calm!? She could barely look at him without her heart skipping a beat. Every time she did, images of her kissing him on the cheek flashed through her mind, causing her face to flush. 

(Unbeknownst to her, Sehun was actually going through the same dilemma, but unlike Chaeyoung he hid it well.)

"Where's Chanyeol?" she coughed, trying to distract herself. She'd been unable to spot the lanky giant anywhere in the mess hall. 

"He's-"

"Boo," a familiar, deep voice interrupted them from behind as Chaeyoung felt something tug a strand of her hair. She blinked and looked up to see Chanyeol standing over her, grinning down at her. She blinked again. 

"Chanyeol-ah....what happened to your hair?" she asked blankly, staring at the absolute mess of locks sticking up on her best friend's head. The said boy grimaced as he sat down, running a hand through his tangled hair. 

"A friend of mine dared me to brush styling gel through it and sleep on it to see how it turned out," he explained, plopping himself down in the chair with an undignified huff. "What do you guys have for breakfast?"

Chaeyoung looked down at her tray for the first time. Since she'd been distracted by Sehun previously, she hadn't taken note of what was being served. Her stomach dropped when she saw the familiar capsicum salad decorating her tray. 

"Capsicum..." she pouted, glaring at the vegetable sitting innocently on the table. Suddenly, a hand entered her vision and switched the plate with a side of pumpkin salad. She blinked and looked up to see Sehun expressionlessly eating his toast...her capsicum salad now residing on his tray instead.

Surprise registered across her face. "What..."

Sehun ignored her, but his eyes said it all. 'Just shut up and eat,' they told her. 

A slow smile began to spread across her face. Sehun noticed and scowled. "Yah, don't look so happy. I'm just in the mood for some fresh vegetables, alright?"

Trying not to smile too widely, she nodded solemnly and began eating. Sehun glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and couldn't help chuckling silently at her joyful expression. Then, his gaze flickered up to Chanyeol, who was now calmly eating his own food. Their eyes met and Sehun blinked. 

Chanyeol smiled. Sehun was like an open book when it came to these kinds of feelings. 

**

Training continued normally. Chaeyoung was finding it easier and easier to keep up with the rest of the class, and as a result, the other cadets seemed to slowly warm up to her. Now, they no longer purposely ignored her, and sent her occasional smiles as she walked past. It made her ridiculously happy to be accepted, and incredibly proud. 

Her relationship with Sehun warmed considerably. Neither of them spoke about the kiss and maintained a professional instructor-cadet relationship, but the fleeting glances, subtle smiles and light bantering between the two didn't go unnoticed. Thankfully, no rumours spread about the two of them dating. They had learnt their lesson already. 

Everything seemed to be going well. After the past few months of constant struggle, exhaustion and emotional suffering, things were finally beginning to look up.

Chaeyoung just wished it would stay that way. 

**

A sharp alarm pierced the air, tearing through the previously tranquil night. Chaeyoung's eyes shot open and she sat up in bed, disoriented in the darkness of her dorm. Footsteps pounded down the corridors outside and loud voices were shouting aggressively. Screams and cries could also be heard. 

Chaeyoung rubbed her eyes and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, trying to blink the sleep from her eyes as she jumped down from her bunk. Her other dorm mates were groaning and getting out of bed hurriedly just as the door crashed open and armed guards poured in, their guns pointed directly at them. Chaeyoung's eyes widened as she instinctively dropped to a defensive position. 

"All of you! On your knees with your hands in the air, now!" the man who seemed to be the leader of the squad roared, pointing his weapon at one of the girls who was fumbling with her drawer, as if trying to find a weapon. Immediately, she dropped to her knees, eyes wide with terror. Chaeyoung's heart was racing in fear as slowly, she knelt down too. She knew there was no way they could fight their way out of this situation. 

'What's going on?' she thought, bewildered. 'Is this a training drill?' Then, a more horrifying thought occurred to her. 'Have we been invaded? But this is a military base with thousands of soldiers, surely we would have had some warning... '

'Are Sehun and Chaneyol okay!?'

She gulped, her mind racing. However, that suspicion died when she noticed the uniforms of the men were of their own army. She blinked. 'Is this a mutiny?' The leader gestured with his gun and the men behind him immediately moved to grab each girl and haul her up. Chaeyoung's thoughts were interrupted as she was roughly pulled to her feet, her hands trapped in the other man's grip. 

"If any of you try to escape, we will shoot," the leader growled, before leading them outside. A girl next to her tripped and cried out in pain as the man who was holding her pulled her up sharply, twisting her arm. 

"Let her go, you bastard! What do you think you're doing?!" Another girl shouted angrily, struggling fiercely. "You're part of this army! What are you doing?!" The man holding her growled and struck her in the abdomen causing her to cry out and stumble, doubling over. 

"Don't ask questions," he snapped. Chaeyoung swallowed, willing herself to stop shaking as she glared up at the man holding her tightly. She stared at his face, trying to identify him. She was pretty sure she'd seen him around the base before, meaning he was a soldier in the army. The man stared straight ahead, however, and didn't meet her eye. 

Soon, they reached a large room. It was their lecture hall, she realised, however from what she could see the tables and chairs had been cleared, and their entire trainee class was kneeling with their hands up, multiple guns pointed at them. Many were shaking in terror as Chaeyoung's small group entered. Her eyes scanned the room and her heart dropped when she noticed who was standing at the front. 

"Sehun...?" she breathed, eyes trained on the tall, dark-haired man standing impassively at the front of the room, his eyes icy cold as he glared at the class. Then, as if he felt her gaze, his eyes swung up to meet hers. A brief flash of something passed through his eyes, so quick Chaeyoung thought she'd imagined it, before his eyes hardened again and he looked away. Chaeyoung's mind was whirring before she was harshly shoved onto the floor, landing painfully on her elbow. The trainee next to her gave her a sympathetic glance. Here, any negative emotions between trainees vanished as they connected in a situation where their lives were all in danger. 

Chaeyoung's mind was racing in confusion, but then Sehun began speaking