Kyungwan’s POV
2012…July…

Peace cannot be achieved in a system where there are people who see war as profitable. Unit six, my unit was on a secret mission in North Korea. I sweated through my uniform and was sitting next to Chaeyoung, my best friend. I was so nervous and anxious. The mission was important to us, the mission: steal North Korea’s nuclear bomb plans. If we failed then there might not be a home to protect.

I stole glances at Chaeyoung and saw him staring at a picture of him and his Japanese girlfriend.

“I am about to puke”, I joked.

“We are in a submarine, maybe you’re seasick”, we laughed at his lame response “seriously, when will you ever have a girlfriend?”, Chaeyoung puts back the picture in his pocket, tucked it carefully like his whole world is safely secured in his heart.

“I don’t have time”, I looked away “I’m too busy saving the country”, I winked at him.

“Or because you are boring and cold as ”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that”

He laughed while I looked down again… Thinking about it, I am almost twenty-eight and I still don’t plan to marry, let alone a girl to come home to … the story has always been the same: there is not enough time in the day for me to balance between love and saving the country.

“Captain, there is a call for you”, one of my team said. I followed him to an empty corner in the submarine and held the phone.

There I saw Kim Sungsoo, the general, “sir”, I saluted him and he smiled at me. I told everyone in the room to give us privacy.

“Captain Kyungwan!”, he seems cheery to see me, “make us proud son. I know you’re the only one our country can count on, and”, he smiles like a proud father would staring at his son, “make your father proud, he’s watching and protecting you from above”.

I got teary-eyed upon the mention of my father. He passed a few months ago. He died without warning; I came into his bedroom a night and found him lying in bed lifeless. The doctor declared a heart attack … I wish he didn’t leave me alone so soon.

“I will do my best sir. I will personally deliver the files to you.”

He smiled at me and saluted me.

---

“GENTLEMEN! … I see the fear in your eyes; this isn’t some aid or rescue mission for our allies or reconnaissance mission. The fate of our country, our home, is in our hands. Our enemy has a weapon that could destroy everything we … our parents … our ancestors build. Not going to lie, men, this will be hell. Our future could end today … but I won’t let it. I’ve grown with you; I’ve seen you grow to be strong men who stand before me. You are my family. You are all my brothers. I lay my life in you, and I will die for you. I love my country! I love my home! I will make-damn-sure each of us will have a home to come back to. UNIT SIX! MY BROTHERS! Fight with me to victory!”, I cheer in the ship’s cabin, hoping to give strength to my men.

“HURAAA! SIR YES SIR!”, I couldn’t be more proud of the young men who’ve been with me through thick and thin. I cocked my rifle ready before the doors open to our bright future.

---

“Five headshots”, Chaeyoung bragged to me.

“Twenty, work harder soldier”, I smirk and patted his back before breaking the door. The laboratory was empty, it never hit me to be suspicious of how sparse the security is, but regardless, I grabbed the file and we ran out of the laboratory. ‘This was too easy’, I thought as we are just about to run out of the building, I told the team to stop. I hear twenty or more gun cocking behind the door. They were waiting for us outside. The predator has become the prey.

“On three”, I said through the microphone.

“One, two… Three”

---

We were not ready. I was not ready. The gunshots cracked into the air as loud as thunder, a tiny spark of fire from the exchange of rifles, exhausted feet from running, and gasp breath of my fallen brothers were heard over the microphone. My frantic eyes scanning the battlefield I never calculated to be in. What is happening?

I hid behind a tree in the dark forest that separate South and North Korea when I saw Chaeyoung leaning on my right under a tree catching his last breath. My lonely-Saturday-night date, my partner in crime, my no-jam, my brother is dying.

“It’s okay, you’re gonna make it Chae”, I said between deep breaths, my uniform and hands painted red with Chaeyoung’s blood. I was pressing on the wound located under his heart but blood kept coming out like a never-ending waterfall.

“Kyungwan”, Chaeyoung called, his hand reached to his neck, he tears his dog tag off,“tell Sana that I am sorry I couldn’t make it to the dinner date I promise, tell her that I love her.”

“Tell her yourself, stupid”, crying wasn’t easy to me but right now… tears are the only thing that came, “just wait a bit and they will come to save us”, I looked around ignoring the loud sound of the gunshots and bombs praying that the chopper will arrive soon and take them away from here.

“They won’t come in time”, Chaeyoung breathed, he looked away at the other brothers of unit six, “Kyungwan run”.

“What? No-”, I was confused, my eyes followed Chaeyoung’s gaze just to see my men killed one by one. A man dressed in a black trench coat with no affiliation to any nation, a mask to cover his lungs from all the gunpowder, gloves to protect from contamination of my brothers blood, and huge dark brown military boots crunching whatever is in its path, checked on each one of them, making sure they are dead. He grabbed the file from one of my brother’s pocket and looked around for more of his victims, “Kyungwan go”, Chaeyoung pushed me away, “save yourself and live for us, go!”.

I crawled back and stood up quickly before I ran away. A sound of a gunshot made me stop and turn around. I saw the masked man holding a smoking Glock towering over Chaeyoung dead body, “no”, my heart crumbled. No words or actions can bring back Chaeyoung and the other soldiers.

After running for what felt like a decade I collapsed in an unoccupied cave, I clenched my fist that was holding Chayeoung’s dog tag and frowned, “I won’t let your sweat, blood, and tears be wasted, I promise”.

Few days after – Chaeyoung’s funeral.

After hiding for days, I showed up at Chayeoung’s funeral. I watched soldiers firing their blanks in the air, paying respect for him from afar. I see Sana, Chaeyoung’s supposedly soon-to-be fiancé, crying, clutching his picture as if it was he himself standing before her. It’s heartbreaking, their relationship was beautiful, Chaeyoung loved that girl like no other. He was going to propose after this. He was her future I could not bring home.

His coffin was wrapped with South Korea’s flag … The country we were fighting for betraying us. This mission was covert, someone on our side ratted us out. I was still considered as ‘missing-in-action’ and soon to be pronounced dead. A pat on my shoulder made me turn around and point a gun at the person in front of me, “sir?!”, I bowed humbly to Chaeyoung’s father and apologize for my actions. He looked colder than ever, with his swollen eyes from crying the loss of his only son.

Son Youngsik is one of the most powerful and influential men in South Korea, the owner of the GS group. They are one of the leading groups in energy and fuel refinery and many more fields.

“You want another chance?”, he asked and I was confused. “They planned this, killing my son and I won’t let that pass easily”, I clenched my jaw at the mention of how my own country betrayed me and my team, “I am willing to train you and give you all of my wealth and connections in order to find and kill whoever took my son away.. Will you?”.

Revenge was the only thing on my mind as I watch Chaeyoung’s casket disappear 6-feet under, but, “with all due respect sir, I am only one man against … an army”, I chuckled at the thought of the saying ‘bringing a knife to a gunfight’, it felt like that.

“Trust me, son, you won’t be by yourself, you know exactly GS group is at some point stronger than the country itself”.

It is true, the government will always be dependent on people like Son Youngsik, money makes the world go- … no … money makes the bullets for the guns we shoot is more like it. I frowned and looked away, “I would want nothing more than to make the men suffer for killing my brothers, but sir-”, I pointed at the people down below, “I’m supposedly buried with them, how am I supposed to show my face?”. I'm supposed to be dead, I’m lucky to be alive and I can’t thank you enough Chaeyoung.

Mr. Son smirked, “a small nose surgery with minor cosmetic surgeries will be able to change some of your facial features. We will bury Kyungwan and bring life to another.. You will be respected and feared by many.”, he muted a bit, “other than that I don’t want you to worry about anything else, I have names that can help you and you will probably uncover unpleasant secrets but it won’t be easy son, it will take us a few years to have power, are you ready for it?”

“Secrets?, I frowned.

He patted my shoulder, “you will understand in time, are you ready son?”.

“More than ready sir”.

I need to know what he is talking about… And who hired someone to kill me and my team …

2012… December…

I was sitting in the penthouse located on a hill that overlooks the beautiful sea, away from the noise of Seoul. I was standing on the balcony staring at the horizon when I heard a few footsteps behind me.

“Kyunwan”, Youngsik called, I turned to face him. “Your face changed a so much son”, he chuckled, “now it’s time for your identity. Yoo Jeongyeon”, he handed me my new ID and passport. He’s right, I did change.

Youngsik patted my shoulder before giving it a small squeeze, “I have faith in you. Bring peace to my son and your fellow brothers Kyungwan”.

“I won’t fail you or myself, sir”. Little did I know that would be the last time I would hear my name birth name ever again.”

Youngsik smiled at me, this might be the first genuine smile I’ve seen him give after months of mourning his son. But just the aurora lights greet the night sky, I don’t see it again.

Present… 2