"Save us a seat outside. I'll be right out," said Hyewon as she browsed through the shelves for something to eat for herself.The older trainee nodded and walked out of the story with a cup ramen and triangular tuna kimbap in hand.

Once she was alone, Hyewon looked around to assess her surroundings. She looked around to check whether this quaint little convenience store had CCTV cameras that would interfere with her plan. She saw one behind the counter, but the camera had no blinking red light which implied that it was only there for show. The shop owners must have thought that a large convex mirror at the back of the store was enough to keep shoplifters in check. Hyewon smirked as she picked up one Jin ramen and a pizza bun and made her way to the counter to pay for her food. 

"That will be 3,000 won," said the elderly person behind the counter.

The spy reached for her wallet and pulled out a 10,000 won bill and said, "Here you go, Granny. Keep the change."

"No no, kid. I can't accept this. You are too kind."

Hyewon took the elderly's hands into hers and said, "Granny, I saw you shaking earlier. Have you even eaten lunch yet?" The elder woman shook her head in response.

"Then, you should use the spare change to eat. It's three in the afternoon already. You should be eating your meals on time, Granny!"

"Alright alright," the elderly lady conceded to the younger's pleas, "I will go eat some red bean paste buns right now. Thank you for your kindness, kid." The woman then stepped out of the cashier's booth and went to the steamer section to get some fresh red bean paste buns. What the elder woman didn't see was the sly smirk that the spy had when she looked at the muted TV behind the counter before walking towards the door.

The subtitles on the TV said: Here are the headlines for the 4 PM news.

----

"Jin Ramen, huh? I've always preferred Shin Ramyun," said Eunbi as Hyewon sat down on the seat in front of her while she waited for her own cup noodles to cook. She absentmindedly looked at her wrist to check how much time had passed since she put the hot water into the cup, but all she saw was the bare pale white skin of her arm. She must have forgotten her watch at the dorm.

"Hyewon, do you have the time?" asked Eunbi,  "I seem to have forgotten my watch."

The younger girl nonchalantly pulled out her watch and answered, "It's 3:10 PM. How many minutes do you still need for your ramen to cook?"

"I've been counting the seconds in my head since I closed the lid and I'm at two minutes and 14 mississippi 15 mississippi 16--"

"I'm setting the timer for two more minutes then."

"No! It has to be exactly one minute and thirty four seconds. Any second over this will make my noodles soggy and I won't be able to eat it!"

Hyewon put her hands up in front of her, slightly taken aback by the sudden aggression from the older trainee, "Chill! It's just noodles, Eunbi. Your army background is showing."

Eunbi looked up at her inquisitively, "How did you know?"

"You weren't really subtle about it during training day. You paraded your army shirt for everyone to see."

"Oh. Right. That's how we do it in our house. Everything has to be perfect to a tee, even the ramen," said Eunbi. Hyewon could hear the disappointment in her tone as she spoke.

"That , but at least you have the perfect texture for your noodles right? Speaking of, your one minute and thirty-four seconds have elapsed," Hyewon reached over the table to hand the older girl a pair of chopsticks, which the latter took without a word. "So is everyone in your family in the army?"

"Everyone except me is serving right now. My mom and my dad are officers of the army and my brother is doing his mandatory military service with the navy."

"What about you? Did your parents ever try to recruit you to the army?" Hyewon knew the older girl's situation well. She too was from a family of military personnel. Her father served as a high-ranking official in the North Korean army and his recommendation played a key role in her recruitment to the army and later on, her recruitment to the special forces. However, she knew that the family culture could be different between the two countries. It was interesting for her to hear that the girl in front of her was in the same situation as she was when she was younger. The only difference now was Eunbi was pursuing her dream as a dancer while she was trying to finish a mission given to her by her government.

"They tried. They enrolled me into the military-oriented high school without me knowing until two days before the first day of class. That was when I fought for my dreams, I wanted to perform on stage as a singer so I told them I will attend an arts high school even if they don't support me."

"Let me guess, you went your own way?"

"I'm here now, aren't I? They don't even know I joined this program. It will be a huge shock for them when they see me on TV." Eunbi chuckled as she slurped the last of her noodles.

"Are you still in speaking