EMERGENCY
UNTOUCHABLE"What! You ARE friends with that hot doctor?" asked Amber, her voice echoing in the headquarters' canteen.
Sooyoung, who's sitting in front of Amber, gestured her hand, telling the latter to lower her voice. "We're close friends with her because we went to the same university together. Seungwan's best friend is also Cap's ex-girlfriend."
Amber still couldn't hide the shock on her face. "But did you date her in the past, Sooyoung?"
"Of course not. Just because I'm Seulgi's friend, it doesn't mean I need to date her girlfriend's best friend too, right?"
"But you don't want to date her, do you?"
Sooyoung laughed. "C'mon, Amber. I do have a boyfriend!"
"I'm just making sure. Your boyfriend lives far away. Who knows, maybe you want another one."
"Sooyoung's not like you," Seulgi told Amber. "Her relationship with Sungjae is far better than any of the relationships we've had. They already stood the test of distance."
"Does that mean that I can start making my move to woo the doctor?" asked Amber, looking more excited now.
"You can. But I wish you good luck. That woman is married to her work," said Seulgi.
"And she doesn't like people who fool around," added Sooyoung. "If you want to date her, you've got to be damn serious about it."
"And before you make your move, you have to consider that we're going to be assigned in the south after our vacation leaves," said Seulgi before taking a bite of her sandwich. "The chances of seeing her after that are slim."
Amber slumped back on her chair, dejected. "You're right. It's tough to find a girlfriend if you're part of SAU. Sooyoung is just so lucky to have a patient Sungjae always waiting for her."
"Maybe you should find a girlfriend in SAU instead," suggested Seulgi.
"Ugh. I want someone who's not involved in killing Evens," said Amber, scrunching up her face. "Maybe I should find one this vacation."
Sooyoung turns to Seulgi. "Speaking of vacation leaves, what are your plans? It's going to be a one-month break. Don't tell me you're going to spend it here in headquarters while waiting for our reassignment?"
"That's what I'm hoping for," said Seulgi.
"Seulgi, you can always come with me, you know that. You're more than welcome to stay at my house. My mom will love to have you again."
"I... I don't know..."
Sooyoung looked at Amber for help. "Aish. So stubborn. Amber, you convince this kid."
Amber obeyed right away. "Captain, Sooyoung's right. You need to go out. It was the doctor's advice too, right? You need to have fun. Get laid."
"Oh my gosh." Seulgi covered her face. "We're not going to talk about my life again, Amber."
"I'm just concerned about you," said Amber, not affected by Seulgi's embarrassment. "When was the last time you touched a girl? Are you satisfied with just touching yourself?"
Seulgi waved her hands in front of her due to embarrassment. "Will you drop the topic now?"
"But Amber has a point," said Sooyoung. "It's not just about though, you just need to go out, mingle, and who knows, maybe find a new girlfriend?"
"But there was a girl in your town, Sooyoung. Remember the first and last time we convinced Seulgi to come with you? She hooked up with a girl, right?" asked Amber.
"Hook up is such a strong word." Seulgi laughed. "I never did something like that."
"Was that Chungha?" Sooyoung asked Seulgi. "Yeah. I kind of remember you were sort of flirting that time..."
"That Chungha is one of Sungjae's friends, right?" asked Amber, getting a nod from Sooyoung. "Does she still live there?"
"Yes. I've heard from Sungjae that Chungha likes Seulgi," said Sooyoung, side-glancing Seulgi. "And that was the first time I've seen Seulgi enjoy being around a pretty woman after her ex-girlfriend."
Amber snapped her fingers. "Okay. That's settled. Since that girl has the potential to be Seulgi's girlfriend, Captain Seulgi will spend the break with you, Sooyoung."
"Agreed. And I'm going to book your flight now, my friend." Sooyoung took out her phone.
"I believe I'm the one who should be deciding on that matter," said Seulgi, trying to snatch away the phone from Sooyoung's hand.
"No! No!" Sooyoung is blocking Seulgi with her left arm. "You need this. Trust me."
Before they could continue the fight, an announcement was aired through the entire headquarters.
"SAU Troop C, proceed to Control Room now. I repeat. SAU Troop C, proceed to Control Room now."
The three friends stared at each other, all surprised.
"Why are they calling us? Our vacation leave will start in like a few hours, right?" asked Amber.
"I'm not sure. Maybe there's an emergency," said Seulgi.
"Goodness. I just hope this won't mean I would need to cancel my flight home next week," said Sooyoung. After that, they stood up to leave the canteen.
---
"So, there's just five of you left in your troop?" asked the short woman in fatigue, curly hair tied up.
"Yes, Commander Sunny," said Seulgi, straight-faced. "All the others have gone for their vacation leaves and will be back after a month."
"Who's got a scheduled flight today?" Commander Sunny noticed one raising a hand. "Oh. Sunyoung. What time is your flight?"
"In six hours, Commander."
"Okay. Pack your bags now. You have my permission to leave the room. Have a safe flight, Sunyoung."
"Thank you, Commander." Sunyoung gave a salute and left the place right away.
"So, it's just the four of you now, huh?" said Commander Sunny, thinking. "Seulgi... Sooyoung... Amber... Krystal..."
"Is there an emergency, Commander?" asked Krystal.
"Yes. But it's not going to take long. It'll be a quick operation."
Seulgi smiled after hearing Sooyoung whisper, "Yes!"
Commander Sunny pointed at one of the big screens in front of them. "Do you know where this is?"
"That's in Jeoswa village, Commander," said Amber, looking at the screen. "We've had a scheduled Cleansing there this afternoon."
Commander Sunny nodded and pointed at the other screens in front. "AEF handled the Migration earlier with SAU Troop A. Like what your troop experienced last week; there was an attack during the Migration. But this one is harder because it rained. And as we all know, Evens use waves to function. Whenever it rains, it causes them to go berserk because of too many waves they are receiving."
"Any casualties, Commander?" asked Sooyoung.
"Eight people," answered Commander Sunny sadly. "Two captured, four civilians, one from AEF, and one from SAU."
There was a chorus of, "...", "My gosh...", "Uuugh..." from the people inside the room.
"Were the remaining people migrated successfully, Commander?" asked Seulgi.
"They are in the Base Camp now. However, not all of them." Commander Sunny shifted the camera angle to show them the outskirts part of the town.
"It looks empty," said Krystal.
"Look closely." Commander Sunny zoomed the camera into a car.
It took them a few more seconds before realising what the commander is trying to point out.
"Is that a kid inside the car?" asked Krystal, surprised.
"! It's a kid!" Amber exclaimed.
"H-how did they miss this one, Commander?" asked Seulgi.
"The kid is with her paternal grandma during the Migration," explained Commander Sunny, showing them the footage on another screen. "This one shows that granny is carrying the sleeping girl. But when the attack happened, she ran back to their house instead of going to one of the nearest Sanctuaries. There... she put her granddaughter inside the car..."
"She's opening the windows a bit to give air inside," said Sooyoung, looking at the footage. "Good thing the kid didn't wake up. Wait, where is the granny going?"
The video revealed an Even from afar approaching the car. The granny runs to the opposite direction and made gestures as if calling the attention of the Even. This worked because the Even approached her and webbed her right away.
Krystal is already sniffing, crying because of the footage.
"She's one of the two who were captured," said Commander Sunny. "Knowing the Even will go away after capturing a food, she sacrificed herself for her granddaughter. The little girl's parents are both working on duty in the headquarters' hospital when the Migration happened. The dad is a surgeon and is currently in the middle of an operation procedure. It was the kid's mom we were able to contact. We asked her to call the kid to give instructions. Troop A's already been deployed to another site along with the others. Troops E, H, and R will arrive here in five hours, which means that you're the only SAU members left here in headquarters now."
"So, our mission is to retrieve the kid," said Seulgi, still looking at the monitor, remembering how it was so alike with what happened to her before.
"Yes, Captain Seulgi. We'll do the Cleansing once you get out of the village. By the way, the granny was wise enough to leave a phone with the kid. We've recorded the incoming call we got from the mother fifteen minutes ago." Commander Sunny pressed the play button and adjusted the volume. "Please pardon the mother's voice. She's nervous when she found out."
---
"H-heyow...?"
"Hi, sweetheart! Where are you?"
"I'm... I'm in caw, Mommy..."
"Okay... good... do you see any monsters around?"
"Hmm. No..."
"Okay. Good."
"W-when you going home, Mommy?"
"We're going to see each other in a bit, sweetie. Just... just stay in the car for now. SAU will come to get you there."
"SAU? The... the fightews...?"
"Yes, sweetie. They are your heroes, right?" the mother's voice sounds like she's already crying. Her sniffs are audible.
"Uh-uh."
"Okay. They will come and pick you up there. You must be a good girl and stay inside the car. Could you promise mommy that?"
"I... pwomise..."
"Okay. Good girl. Now, I'm going to hang up for now before your battery runs out. I'll call again later, got that?"
"Yes, Mommy..."
"Okay... in the car, baby... okay...?"
"I'm... I'm... waiting here fow... SAU..."
"Yes, yes. SAU will come to get you. I... I have to go, baby. Mommy needs to talk to SAU. I'll call you back in a bit."
"Okay, Mommy. Yabyu!"
"Oh, I love you more, baby."
After that, the call dropped.
---
"W-was that--" Sooyoung couldn't continue her sentence. She looked at Seulgi, who was equally as shocked as her.
"You know the mother?" asked Amber.
"I... I think so..." answered Sooyoung, still hasn't recovered from the shock. "Was that Bae Joohyun, Commander?"
Commander Sunny looked at the paper on the table. "Oh. Yes, you're right. Bae Joohyun is her maiden name. She's married to a surgeon, Kim Junmyeon."
Sooyoung looked at Seulgi, her eyes still wide.
Unknown to everyone in the room, Seulgi's mind has already teleported her somewhere else.
---
"Hey, baby..."
"Seulgi! My gosh. I missed hearing your voice!"
"I missed hearing your voice too. How are you?"
"Doing great because my baby is going home next week."
"Haha! Me too! I can't wait to see you."
"You have no idea how much I'm missing you now, Seulgi."
"Awe. I'm sorry if I was busy lately."
"Totally cool. I understand that my girlfriend's got a world to save."
"But I promise that next week, until the rest of my vacation, it'll be just you and me."
"Awe... I love you! I love you! I loooove you!!!"
"Haha! Oh, I love you more, Hyun-ah."
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