Part 1?

 

He thought he’d only be part-taking in his mandatory military service. He thought, he would be done with his duties in the military in almost six months. Yet, here he was in the middle of the battle field. Dying.

 

Taeyeon clad in his uniform, hid in the trenches. His machine gun on his side. Tears streaming down his face as he felt death was coming to take him away. His tears were for his loved ones that he missed. His family; mom, dad, hyung, and his baby sister. His mind wandered to the love of his life, Tiffany, who he promised that he would return in one piece. But that promise seemed to have vanished as he was alone gripping his side, trying to stop the bleeding.

 

North Korea broke the treaty. People were too stupid to fall for it. It put everyone at ease as they thought that they were no longer at risk. It lasted only about five years until they broke it. As militaries of Korean alliances slowly left their small peninsula, they made their move. And here they were, fighting for their lives. Fighting for the families they left behind, hoping that they were still at one piece. Fighting in World War III.

 

During his training time, he learned a lot about combat. When he was finished with his training, he was promoted. Surprisingly high for any trainee that came out of that wretched boot camp. He was fit, and he surpassed all of the drill sergeant’s expectations. He was given the opportunity to join the Korean Marines. And he did.

 

Yet, here he was in the frontlines in North Korean territory. His squad had moved to the next trenches upwards. He was going to join them, but as soon as he climbed out, he was shot. So, there he was, leaning against the mud wall hoping that someone would rescue him.

 

He shuddered at every bomb that blasted. They had been fighting for a few months now. They were making progress, but were they really though? The sky was dark, but the bombs that flashed miles away or a few feet away flashed bright lights. It was a true war zone.

 

He shut his eyes closed, trying to drown out the sound of death. He started to cry. He was alone, and his comrades were out there dying. His eyelids were growing heavy. He was beginning to feel cold. Looking down, he knew that he had already lost so much blood.

 

As his eyes grew heavy, he looked up hoping that this was all just some terrible nightmare. His vision was beginning to blur, and all he could see was his family and the love of his life.

 

He pictured his graduation day at university. He had finished his master’s degree in architecture. The way his lover was so happy for him, for them, to finally be done with college forever. His heart ached at the memory of his beautiful girlfriend and that signature eye-smile that he fell for. He remembered the day that he told her and his family that he had enlisted in the military to get it out of the way as soon as possible.

 

 

He pictured their sad goodbye. The tears that streamed down not only his mother’s eyes but his girlfriend’s.

 

“Come back in one-piece TaeTae” she whispered, eyes disappearing behind those eye-smiles.

 

“I will my mushroom, I will” he wrapped his arms around the woman and pulled her close. They were going to be separated for two years. He gave her a gentle yet passionate kiss on the lips that conveyed his love. A kiss that lasted more than just a few seconds. Hopefully, this would hold them both over for the time being.

 

“I love you”

 

“And I love you more~”

 

He fought the sleepiness. He tried with all his heart. But his body won, and his eyes began to close shut.

 

···

 

 

“He’s coming back”

 

His eyes fluttered open. But as he finally got his eyes to open, he squinted at the bright lights. They were too bright, and everything was so white. Did he die?

 

“Taeyeon-shi?” called out a soft, yet angelic voice.

 

He blinked a few times, taking in his surroundings. Then he looked at the voice that called out to him. It was a woman with caramel colored hair.  She was wearing a lab coat and the ID that was pinned to her coat were in English?

 

He furrowed his eyebrows.

 

“Taeyeon-shi, can you hear me?”

 

He slowly nodded his head. His head was aching. Was the war finally over?

 

“W-Where am I?”

 

A soft sigh escaped from the woman’s lips as she checked his vitals. “You’re in a hospital in America” she softly said as she flashed a light into his eyes making him flinch.

 

“A-America?!” he slightly tried to shoot up from his position, only to be held down by the woman and a nurse.

 

“Please refrain from abrupt movements”

 

“I-Is the war over?”

 

She shook her head “No”

 

“T-Then why are a-am I here?”

 

He watched the woman walk to the end of his bed and picked up the metal clipboard. There was some silence. The woman jotted down a few things before waving off the nurse.

 

“You were flown here by the U.S. Navy. They found you at the brink of death. There wasn’t enough space at the medic center for you to stay there and they have their hands full. When they found you, they stabilized you as best as they could before bringing you here”

 

“Oh” he looked down.

 

So many things were running through his mind. The world was beginning to spin.

 

“You lost a lot of blood. You’re fine for now. But I want to keep you here for a while to make sure that you’re okay”

 

“W-Will I be going back to f-fight?”

 

Silence.

 

He eyed the woman suspiciously.

 

She shook her head. “I-I’m sorry Taeyeon… there’s no better way to say this… but… you’re paralyzed from the waist down”

 

Right then and right there, his world shattered. To him, a few hours ago he was just running around. He wakes up and he’s in a different country paralyzed?! This was definitely a night mare, right?