By now, the rest of the recruits all knew Chaeyoung was the weakest. Somehow, news got out about how she'd been called to Sehun's office, and rumours now followed her everywhere. She'd been shunned, despite her best attempts to make friends. She sighed as she entered the mess hall, wistfully eyeing all the filled tables. Taking her tray, she took a seat in the corner of the room, at a table all by herself. 

It was lonelier than she expected, but she shrugged the feeling away. She was used to the feeling, afterall.

Her chat with her superior had left her in a bit of a thoughtful mood. Chaeyoung wasn't one to dwell on the negative, and instead, focused on preparing herself to work harder. She was here for a reason and she wasn't going home without accomplishing it. Nodding to herself, she took a bite out of her dinner, not noticing a pair of eyes stare at her as they entered the room. 

Park Chanyeol noticed her sitting by herself at the corner of the room once again as he entered the dining hall. Frowning a little, he looked around. 'Does she not have any friends?'

In truth, however, he already knew the answer. He'd seen the dynamic of multiple trainee classes and he knew how they functioned. The weakest always got shunned by the rest, no matter how friendly and amiable they were in person. It was a lonely, ruthless position to be in, and the tall captain couldn't help feel a stir of sympathy for the girl. Making a decision, he grabbed his tray and walked towards her. 

He was aware of the multiple eyes following him as he approached Chaeyoung. He was a popular figure among the military base, with his friendly disposition and high ranking. The young woman hadn't even noticed him approach, however, lost in her thoughts as she stared absent-mindedly out the window. 

"Excuse me, but is this seat taken?" 

Chaeyoung had been admiring the scenery outside the window when suddenly, a deep voice punctured her thoughts. Jumping in surprise, she looked up to see Chanyeol, her superior and drill assistant, smiling amiably down at her. She blinked. 

"Ah, sorry for not noticing you, sir," she smiled back. "Yes, this seat is free, sir. You can take it." She assumed there was a lack of seats at the table he usually sat at, so he was asking to move one from her empty table. 

To her surprise, however, her superior merely grinned, placed his tray on the table, and took a seat, shocking both her and many of the inhabitants of the room who were watching. 

"S-Sir?" her eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion. "What are you..."

"You said this seat was free, right? So I'm sitting in it," Chanyeol tilted his head. "That's fine with you, right? I hope you don't mind."

"N-Not at all! I just thought..." her eyes shifted to the table in the centre of the room, where he usually sat with Sehun and a few other high-ranking officers. There were still plenty of empty spots there. "I just assumed you needed another chair for your table or... something."

Chanyeol chuckled. "A fair guess, but not exactly what I had in mind. I just decided to sit here, away from all the loud chatter is all." 

"R-Right," Chaeyoung nodded her head, deciding to just accept his rather odd decision to sit with her. It was a welcome change to sitting alone, anyway. She didn't notice the not-so-subtle glances that were being shot in their direction and instead, continued to eat like normal. Being the kind of person she was, she didn't find the silence that stretched between her and her officer awkward or uncomfortable, which Chanyeol found both amusing and oddly refreshing.

Still, he couldn't refrain from asking a few questions. "So do you usually sit alone?" 

"Mmhh," the young recruit hummed. She seemed completely unperturbed by the fact. "I don't mind it, but it does get a little lonely sometimes." 

"Is that so? Then why don't you try to sit with someone? Ask if you can sit with them?" he probed, testing her. He was curious as to what her response would be - would she rat out the other members of her class as being unwelcoming, or would she hide the fact and bluff?

Instead, she glanced up at him, amusement glinting in her warm brown eyes as she tilted her head. "Well, aren't you here right now?"

And for a moment, Chanyeol was completely stunned. The barest trace of a smile danced on the corner of her lips, creating a mischievous light in her eye. He blinked, swallowing slightly. His eyes remained trained on her face as she continued to eat, unaware of the thoughts running through his head. 

He found himself wanting to see her smile like that again some time. 

**

The next day, they finally began to learn hand-to-hand combat. Sehun demonstrated a few basic drills, with Chanyeol occasionally assisting him, before telling the recruits to find a partner and practise themselves. 

Unfortunately, due to there being an odd number of trainees, there was one cadet that would be left without a partner. And, knowing the class, both Chanyeol and Sehun knew it who it would be. 

Chaeyoung stood to the side, alone, as she watched the other trainees scramble to find a partner. She watched curiously and a tad wistfully as different friends paired up excitedly, wishing that she had someone who would befriend her like that. She sighed, resigning herself to approach Sehun to inform him of the situation.

"Sir? There's an odd number of students in the class, so I don't have a partner," she declared, aware that many of the trainees had turned to watch the spectacle, sniggering not very subtly. She refused to allow it to bother her. Sehun plucked an eyebrow. 

"Is that so, Cadet Park?" he asked, a tad mockingly. "Well then, what do you suggest we do?"

"I'm not sure sir, and that's why I was asking you," Chaeyoung replied, completely straight-faced. A few gasps rose from the watching recruits behind them. Sehun narrowed his eyes. 

"Cadet Park, allow me to remind you of your place. You are a cadet - and one on probation at that. You said you'd work harder, did you not? I don't see you trying very hard."

"I did say that sir, but not having a partner is something out of my contr-"

"I'll be her partner," a deep voice interrupt