Thousands of footsteps marched in unison to stand in neatly organized lines outside the Busan gates, the sound of heavy boots on hard pavement filling the otherwise silent morning. The sun had barely begun to rise above stormy dark clouds when the group had been forced to wake up and prepare for departure. Now, with their bags packed and bodies covered in steel, protective armor, they all waited patiently in front of the ocean harbour as Jungkook approached them with long rows of loyal warriors following closely behind him.

Jungkook did not smirk or mutter any sarcastic jokes, nor did Taehyung glare at him the way he normally would on any other day. There was a thick tension hovering in the air all around them – a seriousness overtaking everyone’s features, a grimness that precipitated any war. The fear of the unknown and prospect of death had crushed any animosity which remained among any of the members of their group. With the ensuing war, everyone had reached the mutual consensus to put the past behind them. After all, the last thing they needed was more enemies on an already unfair battlefield.

They only had each other. And their best chance of survival rested on their ability to trust and depend on one another.

Jungkook, in his all black-clad uniform and matching black armour, came to a halt in front of Chaeyoung. Only offering a nod as a greeting, he then whirled around on his chestnut-coloured horse and raised one hand. Immediately all 10,000 warriors marched to a halt a few steps in front of them. As Chaeyoung, her nine companions, and Jungkook faced the stoic, brawny soldiers who awaited their commands, a tense silence fell upon them.

After a few long seconds, Jungkook cleared his throat.

“Attention!” he commanded in a loud, authoritative voice. Slowly, he paced from one end of the organized rows of men to the other as he addressed the crowd, “the journey you are about to embark on will be long. It will be exhausting, it will be gruesome, and it will be painful. But this is what you have spent your entire lives training for. The ten people you see in front of you will be your leaders, your commanders: Namjoon, Taeyong, Jennie, Seokjin, Taehyung, Chaeyoung, Lisa, Jimin, Yoongi, and Jisoo. You will show them the same loyalty and respect that you show me. As you have all witnessed yesterday, they have earned that right.”

He returned to his spot in between Chaeyoung and Jimin and gestured for Chaeyoung to continue the speech, finally allowing a ghost of a smile to cross his lips when she began to clear in the same manner he had and prepared to give her very first battle speech.

“In a week, you will enter a battlefield that may appear unbalanced. You may feel overpowered and begin to think the war has been lost before it even begins,” she spoke in a clear firm voice, the tone reminding her eerily of her late father’s, “I want you to erase these thoughts from the corners of your minds and fight as if you hold the fate of this country in your hands. Because you do.”

Simultaneously, each of them stomped once to indicate their understanding, the sound causing the ground to quiver beneath them.

“All 10,000 of you will be travelling via ship later this afternoon to the battlefield of Gaegyeong,” Jimin explained, “so for now, you may help us load the ships and say your last goodbyes to your families. We sail at sundown.”

Slowly, the men began to scatter about, the majority of them beginning to load horses and army provisions onto the ships while the rest reunited with their families at the gates for a brief farewell.

A numbing stab of guilt pierced Chaeyoung’s heart as she watched the men embrace their loved ones for what could very well be the last time. The cries of children being torn from their fathers echoed loudly in her ears and every tear shed from their wives, their lovers, their parents, their siblings, their friends, caused her stomach to sink further with dread. It was a scene filled with so much love and pain all at once, a beautifully tragic memory.

Who would make it out of this war alive? Which one of these families would be reunited in a few days and which ones would never be whole again? Who would cry tears of relief after the war and who would weep in anguish? These questions and their unclear answers clouded her mind and burdened her conscience.

“Any word on the rest of our soldiers in the city capital? How are we to unite with them?” Jimin asked Namjoon as he began to pull his hair back with a navy-blue ribbon.

Namjoon nodded as the rest of the group steered their horses towards him, all of them alert and attentive to hear the latest news.

“Yes, Jackson has spent the past few days rounding up soldiers from the southern cities. We will be meeting him first in the Ilsan tunnels and then travel north where Daesung will be meeting us in the tunnels a few miles away from the city capital. The numbers are still unclear, but we should be bringing at least 5,000 more soldiers to the battlefield.”

Yoongi exhaled heavily, “30,000 against 15,000. It will be difficult.”

“Difficult, but not impossible,” Taehyung responded in a sing-song voice.

“Save that optimism for the battlefield,” Yoongi scoffed but Chaeyoung was certain she saw the corner of his mouth lift in a tiny smile.

They stood there for a few more seconds, engaging in harmless banter and taking final playful jabs at one another. In a strange way, it felt like they were having their own family farewell as they idled around one another, tip-toeing around the word ‘goodbye’ as if uttering the words would only make it more real.

Eventually, Namjoon was the brave soul to break them apart.

“Alright, it seems the sun has completed its ascension. If we are to meet Jackson by tomorrow night, we must leave for the tunnels now,” he stated as he gazed up at the narrow ray of light peeking out from the looming dark clouds above.

Chaeyoung sighed, disappointed at the inevitability of this situation. Namjoon, Jennie, Taeyong, and Seokjin would be parting from them immediately and to say Chaeyoung was unprepared would be an understatement.

“Safe travels,” she said softly as she hugged Namjoon, catching the older man off-guard with her informality. He had been the compass guiding them throughout these past few months, and though she was slightly terrified to enter this war without his wisdom and support to rely on, she knew he was the only one who could safely guide their troops through the confusing underground tunnels of Goryeo.

He carefully returned her embrace, patting her back in an odd, fatherly-like fashion, “you as well, your highness. Never stop fighting for the things you believe in. Life has a magical way of making things happen. All will return to its rightful place eventually. A little bit of patience and a little bit of hope is all that is required of you.”

Chaeyoung nodded, plastering a brave smile on her face before moving on to embrace arguably the first new friend she had acquired on this adventure, Kim Seokjin.

“This is not goodbye!” she exclaimed as she flung her arms around his wide shoulders, “please take care of yourself as I won’t be there to do it for you.”

“Yes, Queeeeen,” he dragged out that word as if the more emphasis he placed on it, the more respect and admiration it would portray, “and you need to stop looking so hot in battle armour, or you’ll distract Taehyung right into his own death.”

“Shut it,” Taehyung smacked him on the back as they pulled apart, and then immediately engulfed the older man into an embrace of his own.

Chaeyoung smiled as she watched the two of them laugh their way through a farewell – one that somehow managed to be cringey and sweet at the same time.

Suddenly, Jennie approached her with a rare gummy smile spread across her small face.

“Listen,” she muttered quietly, avoiding eye contact, “I just wanted to apologize for my, as Seokjin so rudely calls it, ‘y’ behaviour towards you ever since we met. I know I have not been the most welcoming or friendly person in the world, but I hope you know that I am committed to your cause and will see to it that we win this war. I may not be a great friend, but I am one hell of a warrior, and the one thing I hate more than mismatched clothing is losing.”

With a small, relieved chuckle, Chaeyoung engulfed the smaller woman in an awkward but endearing hug, “I have always admired your strength, Jennie. I know you will not disappoint on the battlefield.”

She smiled again as they broke apart, “I also wanted to thank you.”

“For what?”

“For bringing that kind of smile to Tae’s face,” she nodded towards where Taehyung and Jimin had just finished saying their farewells to Namjoon, both of them laughing lightheartedly at something Yoongi had said. “I thought we had lost this happy, cheerful Taetae a long time ago, but it appears, for once in my life, I was wrong. I haven’t seen him this happy since before his sister’s death. So, thank you for bringing colour back into his life. Thank you for bringing our Taetae back to us.”

Chaeyoung was speechless. The two of them had never bonded or agreed on one subject, but the one clear thing they both shared so plainly was a mutual love for Taehyung. In a subtle way, Jennie seemed to be giving Taehyung and Chaeyoung’s engagement her blessing. And for some reason her validation meant the world to Chaeyoung – like she had just been accepted a little further into his family.

“Jennifer!” Taehyung interrupted them before Chaeyoung had a chance to say anything else, “remember: the key is to aim your arrow at your target, alright? Not at the ground or the sky.”

“Shut up, that was one time!” Jennie exclaimed and seemed like she was ready to fight before Taehyung immediately threw his arms around her with a low chuckle and caused her glare to dissolve into a small smile.

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter