They saw Corporal Ha and Private Kim off. Jiwoo looked like she was about to cry, which made Yena and Sooyoung nonstop. They laughed and Sooyoung started running away when Jiwoo began to punch her. She couldn't punch Yena, so Sooyoung had to take it all.

Yujin, who was side hugging a laughing Eunbi, wondered how someone like Jiwoo could fit into a war.

War. A terrible word. It had the taste of blood, pain, tear and every horrible thing. But Jiwoo? Jiwoo was nice and warm and cheerful. It was as if when god created her he had aimed at making someone who was capable of loving endlessly and knowing how to show it.

It was like Minjoo, somehow.

She had opened her arms wide when Jiwoo looked at her with a pout. "Next time." She whispered as she felt Jiwoo's reluctance to leave them.

Sooyoung put a hand on her left shoulder and squeezed it gently. "Next time." She said.

Enduring Yena locking her head with an arm, Yujin waved at them until the forest swallowed two soldiers.

Please guide them back safely.

Please guide them back safely.

***

"What are you doing?"

She turned around, facing the source of the voice and instantly felt the corners of her lips curling up.

"Hey." She greeted Minjoo. "Want to take a seat?"

"Sure."

When she settled down next to Yujin with a small distance between them (somehow the distance had shortened gradually day by day), she looked at the small palm-size notebook in Yujin's hands. "Can I ask what it is?"

"You can. I just finished it." Yujin gave it to Minjoo, who received with both hands carefully. "I just drew this place."

It took Minjoo a while to say something. "It was so beautiful." She muttered, her eyes fixed on the perfectly captured school. She could not describe it, but it felt like Yujin had brought every single day they stayed here and placed into the drawing.

There were memories hidden here, Minjoo stared at it for a long time.

"You will be the greatest painter when we get back." Minjoo tore her eyes away and gave the notebook back. However, Yujin shook her head slightly.

"There are more in it. You can take a look if you want to."

"Really? You won't mind?"

"How can I?" Yujin laughed. She let the other girl immersed in her journey so she could secretly watch how Minjoo reacted to the way she put her heart in each drawings. She wondered if Minjoo could feel it, feel it the same way she did, because it mattered to her so much. Besides her mom, Wonyoung was the only one she allowed to know about the existence of her notebook, and she would always see through Yujin's drawings.

When Minjoo had flipped to the school again, she turned her head to Yujin. There was something in her eyes, and Yujin quietly let out a sigh.

She felt it.

"So?" She asked in a joking manner to hide her hopeful voice.

"How did you do that?" Minjoo ran a finger slowly along the side of yellow papers, asking another question instead.

"Do what?"

"Storing everything here." Minjoo glanced to her. Yujin was looking at her softly. "I can feel it." She whispered. This was wonderful and amazing at the same time. "I can feel you."

All of sudden, Yujin found herself breathe easier as if someone had removed all the rocks that were pressed against her chest. She took in a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, then did it again.

It felt nice to be able to take a full lungs of fresh air. It felt nice to be seen, and it felt nice to be understood.

How did it happen? She realized that a hole was filled, and though she didn't know how many holes in her soul she had, or if she ever had any void at all, she just knew her being was moving closer to "whole", and despite the fact that she wasn't very sure what the definition of it was to her, she could point out clearly she had been less empty than yesterday. Much, much lesser. And it wasn't because she was diving deeper into the ocean that named Minjoo and it struck her how deep she was, no. It was more than that.

"It just... came." Yujin shook her head. She seemed to be lost in her head. "When I was younger, whenever it came for whatever reason and made me think about it over and over and over, I had to give up to that desire and drew it or else I could not do anything else. Now, I... I don't sketch every places because that would be too many, and you know some times we just rested there then we left. I keep with me the ones which mean a lot to me." She nodded absently. "I know that if I didn't draw it, I would be regret for the rest of my life."

This school. The forest. The river. Days and nights.

Laughing together. Talking together. Picking berries. Hunting down fishes. Fighting for food. Giving blankets. Teasing each other. Laying against the tree. Watching the night full of stars.

They were about to leave in two days. All of this would become memories soon. One day she would think about how lucky she was to be in that moment, and she would walk into every rooms and stare at the green land outside with a wish that she could go through it again no matter how hard it was, that she could go back in time and relive it in real life and not just her mind.

Sadness? Of course. At some point, it was so beautiful that it hurt, but a larger part of her was grateful that she had a chance to have this in the midst of a war. When she nailed that "leaving some thoughts behind and only bringing the beauty forward" lesson, she would sit with them, all of them, eating her mom's rice cakes and talk about how they used to live and how life was changing for better.

She had done what she could to enjoy this moment.

"I like it." Minjoo said to her. "I really like it. It feels like you."

"Yeah?" She was smiling. Minjoo shot her a glance and smiled back.

"Yeah."

She watched Minjoo fell for her drawings for a while. She knew that the girl loved it just as much as her.

"Do you know what was the first drawing of mine?"

Minjoo moved her gaze away from the notebook. "I don't think you draw people much. If it isn't your mom, then I can only guess it's really important to you and it must be close to where you were so you could usually see it."

"That's true." She grinned. "We got an orchard back home, and what I drew is where everything started. My parents. My childhood. My life. My dream."

"Is that a tree?"

Yujin nodded. "My dad was from another city. When he moved to the same one as my mom's, the first thing he did was to visit his friend who happened to work at the same university as my mom. That university had a beautiful white cherry tree, and the first time they met each other was under that tree. When they married each other, they decided to have a white cherry tree in the middle of our orchard to remember how their love started."

"When I came to this life, well, my mom told me that perhaps their love had stayed in me because I loved it so much and I would cry if they didn't let me play around the tree."

They all chuckled. Then, Yujin bit her under lip and let out a sigh.

"It gave me this kind of comfort that I could find it nowhere but from that white cherry tree. Honestly I don't understand why. There's no logic behind it, because maybe everything is just how I want to explain to myself, to give myself an excuse so I could stop wondering about it."

"That was exactly how I kept thinking about the tree over and over and over until one day I could not stand it anymore. It was past midnight, I was lying awake and I kicked my blanket aside, grabbing a pencil and a notebook then sneaked to the orchard. That was the first time I drew something. The next morning I showed it to my mom and told her I wanted to be a painter. I was nine that time. She just looked at me and smiled, then she kissed me on the cheek and told me I surely inherited it from my dad."

When her gaze landed on Minjoo again, she saw so many emotions in the girl, but one stood out and she could clearly feel it. "You are wondering about my dad, aren't you? Because I never talked about him before?"

Minjoo blinked to hide her feelings. "You don't have to tell me anything."

"No, no, we are fine. I and my dad. We are good." Yujin laughed lightly. "It's just when I was four six men had come knocking at my door and told my mom they were very sorry. Everything happened very fast in a war and when they finally realized, he had chosen to go with his men."

A silence of moment. Yujin wasn't looking at Minjoo to see that the girl had a hand in the air, half wanting to comfort her but could not know if she was allowed to do it. Eventually, Minjoo dropped her hand and said. "I'm sorry about that."

"It's alright." Yujin sensed something and looked to Minjoo with a small smile. "I was too small to understand anything. I was just worried about my mom. She didn't seem like herself that time. When I was old enough, I found a word that fit her exactly: Inconsolable."

Minjoo was so quiet. "But hey, I managed to make her smile again with my cherry tree! Well, ours, to be exact." Yujin shrugged. "Five years old, one year later, I was playing in the orchard and white cherry petals were floating down." She was telling Minjoo her dream, something she had not let anybody know before. "I just kept playing with them and when I turned to see my mom, she was smiling at me. I remembered I had asked her why, why she was smiling, and she told me I looked like my dad."

She reached to her pocket and pulled out a small tin. "That's why I asked her to give me these before I left." She opened it and took the things inside out, showing to Minjoo. "So I can always be reminded and find the support I need."

Minjoo looked at each of them. A teenage Yujin was smiling at her with her hair down and her cute bangs. The present Yujin didn't have bangs and she looked more mature and tougher, but still the same soul.

Next to it, a family. She observed the tall men carefully. Wise, gentle, soft, good-looking; Yujin definitely bore a strong resemblance to her dad. Minjoo lowered her gaze and saw the kid he was holding in his arms. Yujin. For sure anyone could easily point out they were father and daughter, she could feel the corners of her lips curling up at this.

Next to them was a beautiful woman, and there was something so elegant and loveable about her that Minjoo could feel herself getting attached to Yujin's mom. She quickly steal a glance at Yujin, who was staring at her and thought that even though Yujin didn't look like her mother much, she surely had gotten certain traits from her.

"Wait." Minjoo squinted her eyes at the baby that was smiling in Yujin's mom's hold. "Is that Wonyoung?"

"Yep. She's a part of our family. Her father was the friend who we could say in a way created the destiny of my mom and my dad."

Minjoo widened her eyes at the revelation. That was incredible. However, her eyes lost its light as she soon realized all had to say goodbye to the man they weren't ready to lose, that it must have been hard to all of them.

"You really look like you dad." Minjoo smiled at her.

Yujin nodded frantically. "Told you." She put the photographs inside but hadn't closed the tin yet. "What about you?" She asked. "Do you look like your parents?"

To her surprise, Minjoo also opened her pocket and took out a wallet. "This one belonged to my dad." She opened it and took out two photographs. "Of course I also asked for one so I could bear with the homesick, but my mom sneaked one more into my wallet and told me to keep it. She wanted me to see how beautiful I was and how worthy I was to enjoy all the best things in this world." She showed them to Yujin as the girl leaned closer to observe.

"You all look so beautiful." Yujin muttered. "You've got your dad's eyes and your mom's smile. Her nose as well." A short pause as Yujin squinted her eyes. "Your sister looks so cute." She let out a small squeal. "How old were you two when you took this?"

Minjoo thought for a quick second. "Ten for me and five for her."

"Sisters... That's cool." Yujin finally leaned back. She saw Minjoo put the photographs into the wallet again and chewed her under lip. "I have gotten a request and you can totally decline it if it makes you feel uncomfortable."

"I doubt it could, but go on."

Yujin, however, was still hesitate. "It might sound very weird."

"It's alright." Minjoo reassured her. "I told you once before, I like your thoughts. Just tell me, it's alright."

Yujin scratched her neck, unable to meet Minjoo's eyes. "Can I have your photograph? I swear it's nothing ridiculous, but," she got shy and dropped her voice, "besides the white cherry tree, I've found a source of comfort from you and it's kinda different in a good way." She could not tell Minjoo that was because she loved the girl for the love of the god. "So, well, I just think, if you find it alright..."

Her face was bright red and she could not continue it. Oh my god, she should have kept it to herself and not said anything to Minjoo. What if the girl thought that she was a creep and they could no longer be friends? What if-

"Yeah sure." Minjoo said. Yujin saw her beaming widely while giving her the photograph in disbelief. "Here. Take it."

Not wanting Minjoo to wait for long, she stretched out her arm but even when Minjoo had placed it on her palm, she was still hanging her hand between them.

"Are you sure?" Yujin asked. "I mean, you can say no if you want to."

"But I don't want to say no. I say yes."

Yujin moved her eyes from the photograph to Minjoo. "I can draw this for you if you like. So you can still have it in a way."

"No need." Minjoo shook her head, then her gaze landed on the opened tin on Yujin's legs and she looked away. "But, if you allow me to, I would like to have your photograph as well." She shyly played with her fingers in front of a stunning Yujin. "I mean, if you are really fine with it..."

"Of course you can!" Yujin snapped herself back to reality and picked up her own photograph before placing it in Minjoo's hands. They carefully put it in where they kept the things they treasured the most as if it's fragile and could break anytime.

When she's done, Yujin stared inside the tin and turned her head in instinct. Minjoo was also staring at the photograph which was now Yujin's. It was smaller than the family one, so when she put it in the front it only covered babies Yujin and Wonyoung.

Yujin's parents were still smiling at them softly, happily.

"Falling in love is great, isn't it?" Minjoo suddenly said. Her voice was tender and meaningful. Yujin followed her gaze and saw people she loved the most in this world.

"Yeah." Yujin said. "Falling in love," she left it there, spent a moment to rethink if it was the right time to say it, but she had lost all the ability to fathom any thoughts. Her mind was empty and her heart was telling her to do it, say it, let her know it-

"-with you." Yujin nodded her head a little bit. Then she repeated it once again, still avoiding looking at Minjoo. "Falling in love with you is great."

Minjoo didn't say anything, neither did Yujin. They were sitting there, breathing in and out, and when Yujin had gathered enough courage she moved her head to Minjoo's direction.

What she saw made she chuckle in indulgence. The other girl had this expression "can you say it again?" mixed with pink colour and bright light on her face, and was slightly opened as she could only blink in awe.

"Hey." Yujin called her. "When it's over, do you want to go and see the white cherry tree in our orchard? I promise it's as beautiful as you."

White cherry tree. Minjoo blinked again. She knew what Yujin meant. The start of everything. White cherry tree. Her heart was thumping loudly in her chest, and she dug her nails into her palm. "Is it alright if I hug you right now?"

Softening visibly, Yujin opened her arms wide and smiled. "Come here."

The moment their warmths finally met and melted into one, they both released a deep sigh as though they had been holding back too much and too long. When Minjoo hid her face in the crook of Yujin's neck and felt the other girl wrapped her arms around Minjoo's torso, it surprised her how at ease her heart could be and how right this was. Although she had never gone through anything like this before, and she refused to experience it with anybody else that wasn't Ahn Yujin, she knew, as clear as their beating hearts in the same rhyme, that Yujin was her home. Her home.

God, she's so in love with this girl.

"I like that." Minjoo's voice was muffled from Yujin's neck. "I want to see that white cherry tree with you."

"Alright." Yujin said. Every part of hers was bursting into fireworks with all the colours as she held the girl she loved in her arms. "I will take you there. But, just in case white cherry tree is too long, let's just call it white cherry."

Minjoo's hair left a pleasure scent of lavender around Yujin's nose as the girl pulled away a little bit so she could look at Yujin in the eyes. To look into those vixen-like eyes was like to look at a miracle. Yujin held back a shiver and stared back at Minjoo.

"White cherry." Minjoo muttered, grinning. Her breath was warm and her face was bright. She was the love of her life.

"White cherry." Yujin repeated after her.

God, Minjoo was so ethereal.

***

Someone tapped her on the shoulder from behind. She straightened her posture and turned around.

Wonyoung and Yena were smirking at her. She raised an eyebrow at them in a cautious way. "What?"

"Your lover is out there and keeps staring at the school for a while now." Yena motioned to the door and Yujin leaned over, finding the person that made her instanly smile stood under a tree.

"Go and check on her." Wonyoung said.

"Alright. But she's not my lover. I haven't asked her so I don't have that right to adress her like that." Pretending she didn't hear Yena snort at her, Yujin hastily made sure that everything was at the right place. "Did you guys finish?"

"We did." Wonyoung said, then pointed to something. "Your canteen."

Yujin thanked her and put it away.

"How are your stitches now, Yena?"

"What stitches?" Yena shrugged her shoulders. "I don't remember I have that."

Yujin put on her helmet and grabbed her rifle. "Very funny. I won't carry you if you destroy it."

Yena stuck her tongue out at Yujin. "No need. I have Yuri with me."

She ignored Yena and told Wonyoung. "We will be right back." Then to Yena. "Be careful with the stitches or else."

Despite her worry, Yena had recovered quickly in a short span of time as the girl pushed Yujin through the door and made Yujin stumble forward.

"Hey!"

"Shhh. Stop stealing Yuri's job and go to her."

Yujin stared at them and only gave up when Wonyoung told her Minjoo was looking their way.

"Watch out, Choi Yena." She gave the last warning before approaching Minjoo. Even when there was a big distance between them, Yujin could see Minjoo face glowing at her sight. She smiled back at Minjoo and stood beside her, also looking to the school.

"Hey." Minjoo said.

"Hey."

"What was that?"

She blinked at Minjoo in confusion.

"Yena just pushed you out." Minjoo reminded her.

"Oh that. Don't worry, I will kick her later."

Minjoo laughed at her tone. "You guys are so chaotic and cute."

"I don't think so but thank you." Yujin tipped her helmet, which made Minjoo giggle. "And what are you doing here mademoiselle?"

Minjoo stole a glance at her. "You and French are a nice combination."

"Do you want to hear more?"

"If you don't mind."

"Certainly I don't." Yujin grinned. "How can I?"

Minjoo was waiting for her. "Yujin?"

"Yeah?"

"French?" She pouted, and when Yujin saw this, she took in a deep breath to calm herself.

"Maybe if you tell me why you are here first?"

"Oh it's nothing. I just want to see this view a little longer."

They quietly watched the school for the last time and followed everyone walking in and out and talking to each other. This moment was bearable because they knew they felt each other, and that was the greatest consolation to both of them. It's sad, that's true, but it's better when you have someone to be sad together.

"Can I lean into you and hold your hand?" Minjoo said, and Yujin gave her a soft yes.

The girl slowly took Yujin's hand and rested the side of her head on Yujin's arm. "How do you say farewell in French, Yujin?"

"Adieu."

"Adieu." Minjoo nodded. A part of her soul was shaking and it broke Yujin. The taller girl gave Minjoo a light squeeze on her hand. You aren't alone. I'm here with you. "Adieu."

***

They walked back just in time everyone got out. Most of them were still talking to each other, but some had noticed Yujin and Minjoo's hold on each other, and they instantly threw smirks at the girls.

Wonyoung was mouthing at her. I know what happened there. Yujin rolled her eyes and smiled. Typical Wonyoung.

At least the girl had grabbed Yena to Yuri before Yena had a chance to make her more embarrassed. That was enough to make up for Yujin. She gave Wonyoung a faint nod as Yuri blocked Yena's way with her hands on the hip. She knew one day Wonyoung would use this against her, and perhaps that day might come very soon, but for now, everything was more than fine.

***

The road to the Yanys and Tiivers was just like any paths that they used to walk before. The only difference here was they had to stop more than usual since Yena had a tendency to push her limits, and it's likely that she would only tell them when the wound had actually started to bleed again.

"I strongly protest this." Yena huffed, sitting on a branch with Yuri next to her. "I can continue. I can even carry Yuri straight to there."

"Stop talking nonsense." Yuri said, and put a hand above the stitches carefully. "Does it hurt?"

"It's not. I'm fine, really."

They all knew that words from Yena at moments like this shouldn't be trusted. Yujin gathered a bunch of leaves then sat on them. At least it didn't rain. Hope so. The sky looked so bright and blue, there's hardly any cloud on it. That also meant they were bathing in this warm sunlight, and even though during day time mother nature provided them not many breezes as at nights, it felt nice.

This made her think of the old days. She and Wonyoung, two of them walking in the orchard, talking and laughing, then spending all days picking up fruits. This gave her the exact feeling, a feeling that now mixed with nostalgia.

"What's in your head?" Wonyoung asked her in an almost audible voice. That "many years being friends" had worked in the girl again.

"I miss you and the orchard." She said.

"I miss you and the orchard too."

"There are so many things I want to do when we get back."

"Like?"

"Walking with you in the orchard again. Fighting with you then accepting that you still get the first rice cake. Waiting for the rain and seeing you trying to stop me from jumping on the puddles. Visiting all the flowers and trees. Showing mom my notebook and telling her everything."

"That's a lot."

"Yeah."

"Let's do them one by one."

"Yeah." Yujin smiled. "One by one."

She moved her gaze in instinct and found Minjoo not far away from where she was. The girl was leaning on Sakura's shoulder and she had her eyes closed. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she looked at one of the greatest gifts this universe ever created and wondered how it could be real.

Minjoo was too good to be true. Too good. Too beautiful. Not perfect, Yujin didn't like that word, but Minjoo was someone who was even better than perfection.

It seemed like the girl felt the stare on her because she slowly opened her eyes and looked directly at Yujin. She blinked once, and twice, then Yujin saw the ends of curved up and her white teeth were shown as her lips moved apart.

She loved Minjoo's smile and her rare dimples. No day could be a bad day if she got to see this smile. And no pain would be an unbearable pain if she knew she would see this smile when the day's over.

She mouthed are you tired? and received a shake of the head. Minjoo pointed at her and she shook her head as well.

When they got to their feet after Yena threw a tantrum and insisted she could lift Yuri up, which helped her earn a joking (not really) punch from Hyewon, both Minjoo and Yujin stared after Sakura and Wonyoung in confusion. They had approached each other and begun to walk together as if their previous partners didn't exist at all.

Minjoo and Yujin, now behind everyone, exchanged glances and chuckled. They shortened their distance with giant smiles.

"Do you want to hold hands?" Yujin asked. Her cheeks were pink and her heart was knocking on her chest loudly.

"Sure." Minjoo was shy too, but she's also happy. "I would love to."

***

The moment Private Kim pointed to two different directions when Eunbi asked where were the 2nd Yanys and the 4th Tiivers, they all glanced to each other wordlessly. It's not like they didn't anticipate this, but on the way they had sort of hoped for a miracle which didn't exist at all.

Yujin tightened her hold on Minjoo and felt the other girl did the same. God, she did not want to stay away from the girls and especially Minjoo up to the final fight. They did not know how long they got until they were sent, and what happened after they went over, only God could tell.

Right when they were very much hesititate to go on separate ways, another Private approached the cat-like Private and asked her what she was doing. Private Kim said she was eating and raised her ham and bread. She was eating even before they arrived, and she did not care if they stood like trees after she answered. The girl seemed to be too hungry to care about anything else.

"Get up." The other Private said. Her voice was so low that it startled Minjoo. "Hyejoo is looking for you. She said that her food has disappeared, and honestly we can't think of anyone but you."

"That's not me." Private Kim shook her head, her face was emotionless. "I didn't do it."

"Chaewon even saw you take it."

"Imagination."

"You- Fine. Wait until Hyejoo punch you on the face you stubborn bastard." She groaned and finally noticed them, who perhaps appeared to her at first that they were resting and talking, not having a heartbreaking moment. "Oh hey, is there anything I can help you with?"

They all looked at Private Kim, who in return was staring at them as if the conversation a few minutes ago did not happen at all. Eunbi cleared and said, "Well, we just asked Private Kim where were the 2nd Yanys and the 4th Tiivers."

"Oh, that way!" This Private enthusiastically showed them again and added. "I met some from the 2nd Yanys, they are very funny and clever. The 4th Tiivers is a bit far from where we are, but my friend said that they are very nice and witty as well."

"Thank you." Chaeyeon smiled. "Thank you too, Private Kim."

They once again faced each other, no words came out of their dry throats. Eunbi volunteered to do the hard job, "Alright, if we are lucky, we might be able to see each other."

They all nodded. Turning to Minjoo, Yujin forced out a tight smile. Minjoo looked at her and smiled back. They were trying to be strong, not only for them but also for the rest. They knew it's not a pleasant thing to say to two people who were interested in each other that there's a high chance all they could do was hope for a glimpse in a middle of a bloody war, so it would be better if they did it themselves.

"Oh." That Private had caught on the situation. "Actually, it's not that hard to go around. I just told you, I even met some people from the 2nd Yanys. Just avoid the times your Lieutenant comes and try not to stay too long in case they suddenly call you. If you follow all, you'll be fine."

"See." Yena grinned. "Come on. Cheer up. It's not the end of the world mate."

"Right, right." Yuri glared at her as Yujin and Minjoo threw them shy smiles. "As if you didn't tear up last second, Choi Yena."

***

Sneaking, that's what they did now. Hyewon was the easiest one to spot because they'd always get her around the mess tent. She's always hungry, and somehow she'd always be seen with Private Kim no matter what time they caught her. It's like she lived there already. And the rest? They'd got a meeting place they had chosen under the instruction from Private Jeon, that low voice girl with bright energy and they came there whenever they could.

Everything was still the same, even when they had no longer stayed in that lovely school. It wasn't that same to be truth, because honestly, the reality had changed, and even though they were aware of it, they're better than anyone else at that ignoring job. It's like that. Choosing which feeling to live in. Which thought to focus on. All Yujin wanted to keep in her head and her heart right now was this moment when she could see their faces and their smiles, when she could hear their voices with laughters and she felt them- they were so close to her.

Someone took her hand and held it. She saw Minjoo smiling at her and she smiled back. She looked over Minjoo's shoulder and caught Wonyoung's soft gaze, and next to her was Sakura, and she also sent them a smile in return, but it wasn't long since the next instant Yena jumped on her, which made everyone let out surprised yelps simultaneously as Yujin dived forward uncontrollably-

This was of the second memory that flooded her mind when Lieutenant called them back all and said, "I've got the news. We are moving in two days. The time has come. Get yourself ready."

The first one? The first one was her mom and their white cherry tree. Of course that would be. But this wasn't something she placed in particular positions. They were all important to her, but she had written to her mom and every words she wrote stayed in her.

...so I will win it, whatever it takes.

She did not recognize that she had touched her pocket where the tin was and took in a deep breath. Gradually, her shoulders dropped in the act of relax, and she closed her eyes at the warmth the photographes gave her.

It's time.

***

The night before the day, Minjoo and Yujin both snuck out to a land next to where they were for around fifteen minutes and just lay together on the grass, not saying anything. It was dark and quiet. But not that dark, because tonight the sky was full of stars. Yujin moved their tangled hands to her stomach and found herself whispering, "They look so mesmerizing."

"They do." Minjoo said, and Yujin had this feeling that Minjoo was smiling. "I feel like we are stopping time."

"I like that." Yujin turned her head. And she saw Minjoo. She saw Minjoo lying there, beside her, her face was illuminated by this silver light and she wanted to cry so bad. It might sound weird because who the hell cried when they saw the girl they loved? But with Yujin it's like that. With Yujin, if her mom was an angel in the form of a human, then Minjoo was the pieces from every beautiful things that universe had collected and put altogether then sent to her.

"Why are you crying?" Minjoo pushed herself up a bit and rested on the side. Yujin closed her eyes when Minjoo used her free hand to wipe the tear running down to Yujin's cheek softly.

"Because I'm happy." She heard herself say.

Minjoo smiled. She was the most beautiful girl in this world when she smiled, but she was also looking as if she would cry, and even though Yujin knew it was good kind of tears, she still couldn't bear it if she had to see Minjoo cry.

Minjoo, however, held it in. "You are so important to me." She said instead.

Yujin felt Minjoo's thumb ran on the back of her hand, and another tear escaped her eye and it dropped onto Minjoo's fingers, which were still caressing her face. Minjoo then proceeded to tuck a strand of Yujin's hair behind her ear, also gave her ear a genlte scratch. Yujin shut her eyes again. She could feel all the goose bumps on the skin.

"I did this to you once."

"Did what?"

"Tucking your strand hair behind your ear."

"You did? When?"

"Remember the time Yena and Eunbi were away and you couldn't sleep? It happened after you fell asleep."

"So that's why I have no memory about it."

Yujin smiled. "I'm sorry I did it without your permission."

"Don't be." Minjoo laughed lightly, and her laughter sounded like a song. "I don't mind at all."

When the time was up, they stood up and just stared at each other.

"Hug?" Minjoo muttered. Without a word, Yujin gently guided the girl into her arms and embraced the shorter girl carefully.

"I want to say a lot of things." Yujin mumbled. "But I don't know how to."

"It's alright. You don't have to." Minjoo pulled away a little to look at Yujin in the eyes. "I can hear you."

I can hear you.

"Would you refuse me if I said I wanted to place a kiss on your forehead?" Yujin managed to get the words out calmly despite everything in her chest. It was raising continuously, but there's a feeling that the words stayed- they stayed. And sinked into her heart.

Minjoo saw her, and Minjoo heard her.

"I would never do so." Minjoo whispered. She held back a shiver when Yujin pressed her palms against her cheeks, and they both closed their eyes when Yujin kissed her forehead lovingly.

Lavender.

"You are my white cherry, Minjoo." Yujin spoke quietly. "Good night."

***

They would send the Tiivers first, then the Yanys. Eunbi, Yena, Yuri, Sakura, Chaewon and Minjoo held their rifles tightly, watching Lieutenant Park bellowing orders.

"All of you! Listen to me! On the first mark-"

"Hey."

They ignored the call out of nowhere and focused on the commanding voice. Whoever that person was, they did stop at the obvious annoyence. But after Lieutenant Park finished and turned away, that voice began again. "Hey."

"Who- Hyewon?"

"Shhh." Chaeyeon immediately placed a hand over Eunbi's mouth. "You don't want Lieutenant to notice us, do you?"

Eunbi nodded. Chaeyeon released the girl and smiled. "We decided to drop by and maybe give you guys some luck." She opened her arms wide, ready for a hug.

"You guys are insane." Yena, who's now squeezing Yujin to death, said.

"Oh shut up. You would do the same if you had a chance." Yuri let go of Wonyoung and welcomed Hitomi. "You guys be careful, alright?"

"Don't forget we have a date at Yujin's house." Hyewon said with her arms wrapping around Chaewon. "Who comes late can kiss rice cakes goodbye."

"We need to talk more about that." Yujin uttered. She could hear Sakura chuckle faintly next to her ear. "But my mom is waiting for all of you for sure. Don't be late. She loves punctual people."

"We'll keep that in mind." Nako nodded, and the shortest girl shot her a look. She was smirking. "Your turn, pup."

And she met Minjoo's shy gaze. Her cheeks were pink, and she's biting her under lip. The realization that Minjoo was the last person in line that's waiting for her hugs hit her hard, and the fact that she could even feel those kind of looks that her friends were giving both of them only made her turn another shade of red.

"Can I hug you?" Yujin muttered, slowly shortened their distance so she could wait for Minjoo's answer.

"Of course you can." Minjoo laughed. It seemed like she could not wait for Yujin because she softly pulled the other girl into a warm hug before Yujin could even do anything. "I'll miss you a lot."

"I will come back to you faster than you can even imagine."

"Please do that. I think we still have somewhere to go after all of this, right?"

They both pulled away slightly and looked at each other. With how the look that they were giving to the other was, the rest exchanged glances and smiled, turning away.

"We do." A beat, and then. "Can I kiss your cheek?"

She felt Minjoo's hold on her tightened. "You can decline. You can always say no."

"But I don't want to say no. I want to say yes." Minjoo studied her face carefully. "I say yes, Yujin. Yes."

"Are you sure?"

Minjoo smiled. This was how Yujin loved her, and she felt loved than ever.

"Positive."

Yujin placed a hand on her cheek, her thumb caressed the soft skin as she leaned closer and closer until the distance was erased entirely.

That sounds.

The sound of their heartbeats.

They could hear it.

So clear.

"Your heart beats so fast." Yujin muttered when she leaned back. She was grinning, but she's also blushing.

"So does yours."

"I like that."

"Our hearts beating together?"

"That. And my heart beats this fast just for you. And I know this might sound arrogant, but I like your heart beating so strong and fast when you are near me."

"It isn't arrogant. Not at all." Minjoo gave her a warm smile. She raised her hand and fixed Yujin's hair gently. "It's the truth. Only you can make me feel this way, and I would like to remain it for a long, long time." She met Yujin's gaze, and she realized it took her whole being to stare into those eyes. "And you will never be arrogant. You are not that girl. You are the girl that this world needs but doesn't deserve. That's who you are. That's how you are." A pause, then. "Beautiful."

Minjoo kept caressing her face, and Yujin kept holding the girl she loved. None of them said anything.

"Before you leave, there's a thing I want to do, but I need your permission to do it." Minjoo said quietly.

"You always have my permission, Minjoo."

Minjoo retreated the fingers on Yujin's skin and placed two on her own lips. Then, at that exact same spots, she pressed her fingers against Yujin's lips softly.

Yujin shut her eyes, took in a deep breath. When she breathed out, she opened her eyes.

So this was how Minjoo's kiss felt like.

Soft.

Tender.

Full of love.

And lingering.

Even when Minjoo's hand now back to Yujin's cheek, it's still lingering.

"I think you need to go now." Minjoo said. She tried to smile, but that smile was really sad. Yujin turned to her friends and saw Wonyoung gave her a firm nod. She nodded back and faced Minjoo.

"Please be careful." She pulled Minjoo into her arms again, as if they had ever left the shorter girl, and this time, she gave Minjoo a light squeeze. "I care about you so much."

"Me too. You are so important to me. Tell me you will be careful as well."

Yujin beamed. "I will be careful as well."

Minjoo smiled again. Yujin knew she wasn't going to cry even though somehow she looked sorrowful. Yena said Minjoo cried a lot, more like it's easy to make her cry, but they all knew Minjoo was stronger than everyone here. "Alright." Minjoo said, and she slowly dropped her arms. "White cherry?"

Yujin nodded. A part of her heart was breaking, but the idea pushed herself forward. That's all she wanted to keep in her mind until she went through whatever was waiting for her. She knew only it could keep her alive.

"White cherry."

The fondness spread out around Minjoo's lips as she watched Yujin walked backward while waving at her. Her eyes followed every movements and every changes and only then she could see it: she saw the light reflected on those shining orbs and everything slowed down until it stopped like a photograph being taken by her mind. She blinked and Yujin moved again. Her gaze fixed at the girl unwavering til her figure eventually disappeared, and now when she's absently staring into the space, she took the photograph out and looked at it again.

The light in her eyes.

The smile on her face.

If, if Minjoo could ever capture the youth, the sun, the trees, and the breezes in a photograph, it would be this one. She would always come back to this photograph, and she would never forget it. It'd live forever inside her as her favourite moment, and she'd think about it at every important steps in her life. One day she would stop working as her fingers suddenly refused to write any other words, and she would look at the blue sky outside the window and think of a moment that was far, far away from where she was. A really, really beautiful moment that she wished she could turn back in time to see it with her own eyes again and again and again, and she'd never grow tired of it.

Tired?

She could live in this moment for the rest of her life.

Eternity.

***

"The way you see her."

"What?"

Yujin got a look. Wonyoung was giving her a look. "I know love when I see it."

"That sounds like you love a lot before."

Wonyoung smiled, and man how lovely that smile was. "I love a lot before, and I love a lot right now."

"But not romantic love."

"Not romantic love." The younger girl laughed out loud. Wonyoung didn't notice this because her attention was on Yujin, but the girl had got everyone's eyes towards her direction. But again, that's understandable. Who wouldn't like Wonyoung? "But I grew up with great love stories around me. You see, and you remember. That's how I learned Yujin. That's how I recognized."

Yeah. Who wouldn't like Wonyoung? If they existed, then screw them.

***

With Minjoo, the last 72 hours didn't leave much memories in here. Maybe because everything kept playing on repeat.

She kept shooting.

Soldiers kept falling.

The guns erupted continuously and kept blasting away.

The whole world shook. She couldn't hear very well. There's this ringing sound in her ears all the time and even if they shouted until their throats bled, it's still soundless.

She had no idea what she was doing. She did everything because she had to do it. There's no time to sit and think about what to do. There's nothing like that.

It's insane, and it's terrifying. She ran and sprinted and stumbled. Chaos.

When she hid behind a tree, she finally realized she was breathing extremely fast and her body was stiff as a rock. She looked down and saw a dead man looking straight to the sky. There's a hole in his head and blood was still seeping out of it.

She looked to the front- where she just moved from.

Dead soldiers. Dead Vans. Dead comrades. Everywhere.

There wasn't even time for the thought that it could have been her who lay there to sink in Minjoo. Planes were flying above her head, and suddenly one dropped down like a kid dropped a ball as though soldiers on the ground were nothing to them. Nothing at all.

It crashed into the earth and instanly mashed anyone in the path of the plane. She could only stare. A loud explosive noise almost penetrated their ears and Minjoo was pressed hard against the tree. The fire followed quickly as it started to burn everything.

People were screaming. Some ran towards the blazing plane and began looking for their comrades.

Or their friends.

Friends.

Something in her snapped. Minjoo pushed herself up and moved closer to the disaster. In insinct, she turned her head and saw a Van raising a rifle, about to fire a shot. Minjoo immediately grabbed her own rifle and killed him outright. She watched him fell down and felt someone held her right shoulder. She turned around, ready to fire another one-

It's Yuri.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Yuri shouted. Her voice was nearly inaudible.

"HE TRIED TO KILL ONE OF US. I HAD TO DO SOMETHING."

"NOT THAT. WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? COME ON!"

"NO." She yelled, urging Yuri to look at the smashed plane. "I NEED TO CHECK IT. THERE MIGHT BE OUR FRIENDS THERE."

"NO THERE AREN'T. THEY ARE UP THERE. THE VANS ARE TRYING TO DESTROY OUR BLOCKS TO RUN AWAY. IF THEY GOT INTO THE SAFE PLACE IT WOULD BE A MASSACRE. COME ON!"

Yuri gripped her arm and both of them entered another living hell.

***

She did not know how it happened. Could not recall it.

It was noon. Or afternoon. No one was able to tell.

They heard nothing except their own breathes. There's no roar of soldiers, no bursting earth and no gunshot noises.

None of them dared to move a single muscle. They're scared they might break something and the worse would happen.

They watched. They listened.

Rifle in their hands. Wounds on their bodies.

It was like time had frozed itself.

Minjoo thought she had went deaf. Or dead. She held her rifle tightly and tried to catch any sounds. It was too quiet for a war. Too quiet for a war. She glanced to Yuri, Yena and Sakura.

Yena's waist was bleeding. The old wound or the new wound? She couldn't tell. Yena kept a bandage above it but applied no pressure. It might kill her if she did.

But the bandage had turned scarlet now.

She saw Yuri took Yena's other hand and pressed it against her heart. She knew Yuri was in pain. She knew they were all in pain. Scared. She could not lose anyone, not Yena, not her friend.

Out of nowhere, it came like a thunder. Or a lightning. She stared at them, they stared back, and she looked at others soldiers. Uncertain. What were that words again?

In the distance, it came one more time. And it spread out like waves. The echoes reached to them and got drowned by new words instantly. It took her a moment to make out what they were screaming.

"WE'VE WON! WE'VE WON!"

She looked to her friends, unsure if she heard it right. They were no better. Soon everyone around her began to shout the miracle out loud "WE'VE WON! WE'VE WON!", and she saw a tear escaped Yuri's eye.

It's over.

They won.

They finally won.

***

A medical officer lifted Yena up with Yuri and put the wounded soldier on a stretcher. They carried Yena to a filed station with Eunbi, Sakura, Chaewon and Minjoo walking behind. Except Yena and Eunbi who got a superficial wound because a bullet struck her skin, the rest only had bruises and scratches, and they kept insisting Eunbi to have her wound tended. Eunbi, however, said that it was not serious at all and she would move when Yena's fine. No one said anything after that.

"She will be good in no time." The medical officer told them. "Have someone to see your wounds."

But Minjoo had a different idea in her head. She had been unsettled the whole time with the thoughts all over the place.

"Can you guys stay with her?" She said. "I want to go and check on Chaeyeon's team."

"Me too." They replied at the same time, and they turned to each other, bursting out laughing.

"Let- Ouch! Let Yuri be here with me." Yena groaned painfully. "You guys go and find them. The more the easier."

"She's right." Yuri nodded. "You all go or she'll go herself. I'll stay to guard her."

They walked out and stared at the sea of people, overwhelmed by the sounds of , groaning and crying. Survivors, dying and wounded soldiers were everywhere with dead bodies lying like mushrooms after raining days.

This was still a living hell.

Their gazes followed every faces passed by. No familiar faces. Minjoo pushed her helmet up and said, "I have to go. Just stay here and stare won't help."

"Then let's spilt up." Eunbi said.

They went on separate ways and asked anyone they could about the 2nd Yanys. Most of them shook their heads. Minjoo thanked them and pushed her way through the forest. She avoided running into strangers by accident as much as possible while starting to pick up speed, moving outside.

"Sergeant. Do you know where the 2nd Yanys is?"

"No."

"Oh, thank you."

She turned to the left and caught at least six soldiers sat together next to what could be called the remain of trees. She approached them.

"Hello. Do any of you know where the 2nd Yanys is?"

One of them pointed to the left. "Try that way."

"Thank you."

She slipped past soldiers after soldiers. None were from Chaeyeon's team. None were Yujin.

Yujin.

She swallowed the lump in , continuting to ask another person. "Sorry, do you know where the 2nd Yanys is?"

The soldier she asked said no idea, but a Lieutenant who was carrying a gravely wounded girl stopped to look at Minjoo.

"The 2nd Yanys?" Lieutenant asked Minjoo.

"Yes madam."

She tried not to look at the girl with an arm around Lieutenant's shoulders. Half of her face was mashed up badly, and there's only a small spot under her jaw that wasn't covered with blood. The rest was horrifying.

"They were sent to the blocks to protect the safe place. Keep walking straight until you see three crashing planes then turn left." Lieutenant held the girl tighter then looked back to Minjoo; her eyes were soft. "But hold yourself Corporal. I heard it was terrible there."

Minjoo blinked. A beat, then she forced the words to come out. "Thank you, Lieutenant."

The kind Lieutenant moved along the line of people, leaving Minjoo with hopelessness started eating her whole being. She breathed in deeply and exhaled, then repeated it again and again for a short moment.

Standing still, Minjoo then raised a shaking hand to touch her pocket. She knew her dad's wallet was still in it. She knew the photographes were inside the wallet.

She could see her mom, her dad and her sister smiling at her.

She could see Yujin staring back at her. Bright. Cheerful. Happy.

Minjoo clenched her fists tightly. She needed to keep on moving. The sky was turning darker and she must find at least one of them before the day ended.

Followed the instruction from Lieutenant, Minjoo turned left at the crashing planes and emerged into another impromptu field station. She braved herself and moved to the tent.

"Madam, is the 2nd Yanys here?"

"Yes." The medical officer said.

"Do you know where is Corporal Ahn?"

"No."

"Oh. Thank you."

Everyone was too busy and extremely stressed to answer her questions. Minjoo walked through the tent and scanned every faces. If she couldn't recognize their faces, she tried to identify them by their bodies.

Still no one from Chaeyeon's team.

She moved to another tent. The sounds of the dying sent her shivers. But none of them had been staying with her in that school.

She turned, now walking outside with her heart aching. Please be the ones who walk back here. Please be the ones who are alive. Please don't be the ones who lay beside the blocks. Please don't be the one who have gone forever.

"Minjoo?"

She stopped and turned to the voice. She was sure she knew this voice, but how?

"Yena? What the hell are you doing here?"

Yena went closer to her with a grin. "So you know how to curse. I thought you were banned from bad words."

"I'm not joking. What are you doing here? You have a wound for God's sake!"

"Chill. I'm good as new now. You guys are taking your time so I begged Yuri to go and search with you."

"And Yuri agreed? Are you lying to me? If it's true then where's Yuri?"

"You are making me sad. Yuri did agree, and on the way here we ran into Hyewon. She's got a bullet in her arm and she's alone, so Yuri stayed with her while I continued to search."

"Why it's not you who stayed? You also have a wound, and did Hyewon say anything about the others?"

"I swear my mom would love you a lot, Minjoo." Yena ignored the first question. "Hyewon said they were separated when they went up. It was more violent than ours."

"That I knew." Minjoo said under her breath. She looked over Yena's left shoulder in instinct and stopped moving immediately.

She knew that figure. She knew that shape of body. There's no chance she's wrong.

"Minjoo?"

"There." Minjoo grabbed Yena's arm. "It's Wonyoung."

"Where?"

They tried to walk as fast as they could to the girl who's lying with one pant leg rolled up. Yena was still a patient, and Minjoo didn't want Yena never be able to remove the stitches.

"Wonyoung." They called the girl. Wonyoung was enduring the pain with her eyes closed while the medical officer worked. Her leg looked really bad with all those blood. They're going to stand in a red lake if she kept bleeding like that.

"God will she be alright?"

"At least she won't lose her leg." The medical officer answered Yena. They glanced to each other wordlessly and looked down to Wonyoung. The girl had already opened her eyes and stared at them with a frown.

Her forehead was covered with beads of sweat. "He- Hey."

"Don't talk. It's alright. We're here." Minjoo shushed the girl gently and held her hand. The next second, Wonyoung was screaming while squeezing Minjoo's hands with all her strength.

"Bullet out." Medical officer said.

"It's out." Yena wiped the sweat away softly. "You will be fine in a minute."

But Wonyoung was shaking her head. "I'm fine." She pulled Minjoo closer and looked at the girl. "But, but Yujin..."

Minjoo watched the tears running down on Wonyoung's face silently. She had never seen Wonyoung cry before. Now she knew what could break the girl down, and it was so understandable because it's actually killing all of them.

It hurted.

"I'm sorry." Wonyoung sobbed. "I'm sorry I lost her. I couldn't hold her back in time." She held Minjoo's hands desperately. "Don't bother me. I'll be fine. Please go and find her. She chased after some Vans and just vanished. I couldn't find her after."

"It's not your fault." Minjoo kissed Wonyoung's hand. "I'll find her. I promise."

Wonyoung stared into those clear eyes. There's a faint hint of pain and fear in there. She felt the tears rolling down even more than it already was. She could not stop.

Wonyoung nodded and released Minjoo's hold slowly.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"I'm staying with her." Yena told Minjoo and cut Wonyoung off before she had a chance to protest. "At least until you stop bleeding little girl."

"Let's do that." Minjoo said and straightened up. When she turned around, she took in a deep breath and looked up at the sky. It was much darker, she probably couldn't see anything out there in an hour.

Blinking away the tears, Minjoo walked away, disappeared in the soldiers.

***

She half wanted to give up on suppressing her emotion when she heard Sakura calling for her. The Japanese girl seemed to realize something and reached out to hold Minjoo's shoulders quickly. "What's wrong?"

Minjoo let the girl see everything. "I met Wonyoung earlier. She's got a wound, it's bad, but she can manage it."

Sakura scanned her, clearly knew there's more. "Then why are you...?"

She inhaled. Her lungs were burning. "She lost Yujin. I'm trying to find her. We don't even know if she-"

She choked up, shaking. Sakura pulled her into a hug, feeling her own heart twisted.

After a moment, she let go of Minjoo. "I've looked everywhere there." She pointed to the opposite direction. "Saw Chaeyeon, Hitomi and Nako. You are looking this way?" She motioned to the front road.

"Yes."

"Maybe we should go over the blocks. I heard some had crossed it. Come on."

Behind the blocks was the town where Yujin and Wonyoung grew up. They tried to keep the war far from where their civilians were so when they got inside, it was like walking from hell to heaven.

The town was wide, flat, all trees and flowers. She bit her lips at the memory Yujin told her why painter became her love. She looked around: no white cherry tree.

Sakura stood still. "This is why we fight." She said.

Small houses, big houses: Intact. Orchards: Full of different blossoms. Roads were as small as rivers, and they ran from here to there, connected every places together. Except for some broken windows and the bullets on the walls, this town looked exactly like how a normal town should be.

How their towns used to be.

Peaceful.

"It's worthy, after all." Sakura muttered.

But it's only really worthy to Minjoo when Yujin knew about this.

"I think they went that way." Minjoo pointed to a direction. They spotted Vans' bodies lying in kind of a line as if they had been shot one by one while trying to run away.

"Probably."

They followed the lead of the death and arrived to some abandoned buildings. School. Church. From here there's no more dead Vans. They either lay behind them all, or managed to hide well.

"Get your rifle." Sakura said.

They moved carefully, surveyed each corners they walked by. It was so quiet. Minjoo caught a man lying face down; his helmet was up forward, revealing a hole on his head. She approached him and heard something not far from where she was.

It sounded like someone was dragging a heavy body. Minjoo turned to Sakura. Over here. She gestured to her.

She in a breath- Sakura was next to her now- and moved with her rifle aimed to whoever that person was, ready to fire.

"What-"

She lowered her rifle down in suprise, then horror. In front of her on the ground was a Private on the side, pushing herself up by her arms.

"Oh my god." Sakura and Minjoo got closer to the girl. Behind her was a long line of blood from both of her legs. She had crawled all the way. "What happened to you?"

They moved the girl to lean against a wall so Minjoo could check her wounds. The bandages she wrapped around her right knee and her left shin had turned to a deep shade of red and got ruined. They were nothing but bloody rags now. Minjoo pulled out her own bandages and started changing for the Private.

"I'll go get someone."

"Wait- no!" The Private opened her eyes and stopped Sakura. "You need to go there. Please. There's another one in the house. Please go there and check on her."

"But you need medical assistance." Sakura pointed out firmly. "You've lost lots of blood. You are going to die. That bandages won't do you magic."

"I don't care. Let it be. She saved me." She begged them desperately. "Please. She saved my life."

Minjoo and Sakura exchanged glances. "You go, Sakura. I'll finish this and get back to find someone for her."

"But Yujin-"

"I'll also get Yena and anyone I can to find Yujin so we can find her faster. I can't leave her dying here."

To her surprise, the Private took Minjoo's hand franctically.

"Yujin? You are speaking about Ahn Yujin? Corporal Ahn?"

Stunning, they both stared at the girl, then Minjoo quickly snapped herself back to reality.

"You know her?"

"I do. It's her. She saved me. You are Kim Minjoo?"

"I am." Minjoo said. Her heart was on . "Where is she? Which house?"

"She told me to find you. Has vixen-like eyes and really beautiful..." The Private breathed in at the pain. "You saw the line?" She pointed to her own blood. "At the end of it, go straight and turn at that large brown house. It's the next one. White house. Three stories. She's on the third floor. All the Vans had been killed."

"Why- why she didn't- Is she-"

"She's alive. At least when I left. I saw her by the window. She yelled at me from there. She said that something's wrong with the door and her shoulders were hurt, she could not open it. She only asked me to find you because she thought I could walk, which was true at that moment. I couldn't stand up after that corner. But she's alive."

The Private smiled at the sight of relief on Minjoo's face. "Your lover?"

Blushing madly, Minjoo parted her lips to speak but Sakura was more eager to give an answer. "Not yet. But soon."

The girl chuckled. She looked like a normal person teasing her friend about love. "Congratulations. Now go get her."

Didn't need to be told twice, Minjoo got on her feet and started running. Running to the white house.

Running to Ahn Yujin.

***

Dusk had gone by the time she reached to the door she's looking for. On the sky above her head, the clouds had quietly covered all as if they were hiding something.

Briskly, she grabbed the collar of a Van who's blocking the stairs and moved him aside. She saw almost nothing while she's going upstairs because there's not a single light in this house, they had closed all the windows before they left. But she couldn't care less, seriously. She was here, and she's going to see Yujin in less than a minute, what this small trouble could do to her? Nothing.

On the third floor, she saw a Van at the end of the hallway. Next to him was a room with the door left wide open. The Private said Yujin couldn't open the door, and she seemed to tell the truth, but to be able to look down at the path it had to be the place around that dead man, and right now she only saw a room. The opposite was a solid wall with nothing on it.

She felt weak. She felt really sick. However, she kept moving forward.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

When she's close enough, she poked her head in first to check the room, and her heart jumped in joy when her gaze landed on a familiar figure sitting against the wall under the window.

"Yujin!" She yelled gleefully, instanly went closer to the girl. "Yujin, we won! We won!"

She didn't respond.

At the lack of response, Minjoo finally took a closer look at Yujin's face, and her heart, that damn dumb stupid heart just beat in happiness now dropped down straight to hell. She raised her hands to Yujin's face. They kept shaking and only moved inch by inch. She couldn't go faster than that. She didn't know how to face this. How to admit this.

"Yujin. Yujin. Baby, please. Say something."

She touched Yujin's face softly and a tear rolled down to her cheek. It was so cold. Her skin was so cold. Every single time Yujin hugged her and held her hands, this skin had always been so warm to Minjoo.

"Please don't baby. Wake up Yujin, we won. You promise me."

Silence. No shy Yujin. No bright Yujin. No sad Yujin. No happy Yujin. It's just- No Yujin.

At all.

Minjoo tilted her head, trying to look into those eyes and found the shining obrs that stayed in the girl no matter what time Minjoo stole a glance at her. But she could not. She could not find that damn light. She knew that whatever hardships out there could never take the light away from Yujin, so why did you give up at this moment? Why can't you let me see it again? Why don't you just wake the hell up and tell me you don't intend to make me cry and you're sorry for your joke?

Maybe,

maybe,

because Yujin would never do this kind of prank on Minjoo.

Or anybody else.

What's left right now for both of them was a pair of lifeless eyes that refused to acknowledge the person the owner of it used to love so much. That those would never see Minjoo or any other sights that the one who had them wanted to do so.

But with this, with how Yujin looked like, it appeared to Minjoo that she was staring at something, so Minjoo turned her head to follow her gaze, and no words, not any word could ever describe what she felt when she saw the photographes Yujin was holding in her hands

She cried. And cried. And cried. Her anguish echoed in the small room and back to her, again and again and again.

I don't want to think about it. I don't want to think about how you sat here, alone, knowing that it was so close to you, and just stared at us until you no longer can. I don't want to. I can't. It kills me. It kills me to see what you saw, and it kills me to feel your love that even death can't stop you.

Her head fell on Yujin's shoulder with a soft thud, which made Yujin's head landed on top of hers gently.

Minjoo buried her head into the crook of Yujin's neck. I can't feel you anymore. I can't smell you anymore. I don't think I will ever have another chance to hear your heart beating fast because of me and then you will tell me you like it when our hearts are like this just for each other.

"I'm sorry. Yujin. I'm sorry. Please wake up."

What should I do now? You need to wake up. This world is worthless without you. You need to wake up and see that we did it. We protected your home, Yujin. I can't lose you. No one can lose you, Yujin. I need you. Please wake up. Why it has to be like this? Why it has to be like this?

"You are my white cherry, Minjoo."

She wrapped her arms around Yujin's body carefully as though hugging a fragile treasure then pulled the girl closer to her.

I am your white cherry.

I am your white cherry.

White cherry.

White cherry.

***

I have no idea how they did it. Last minute, everyone was like everywhere, Chaeyeon, Hitomi and Nako were literally at the other side of this town. Now, I am standing here and can see all of them laughing together. It doesn't feel real to me. For a second, just a quick second, I thought that I was still in the school and maybe I just went back to my family after getting berris or something like that. I know I didn't say anything about this, and I'm the most terrible person when it comes to expressing love, but I do see them as my second family. I do.

I just want all of this to be over. I want to have them with me through the normal days again.

"Sakura?" Yena caught me staring at them. "What's wrong?"

I scan every faces quickly. My eyes land on Wonyoung, and I smile. "We've found Yujin."

"Really?" She widens her eyes in delight, and she tries to stand up but gets stopped by Eunbi. Oh god, I really love this. "Where is she? Where is Yujin?"

We smile at the sight of this Wonyoung. All of us love this feeling, the feeling when you see the pure happiness in their face and they can do nothing but let their honest emotion out. It's even more special to us since Wonyoung is the type who always has her feelings in check. We share that one trait, so to see Wonyoung like this, I feel really, really happy. After all, she's still young, I think she's the youngest among us. I asked their ages once and she and Yujin are like five or six years younger than me. What did she go through before to make her become this mature?

Besides, Yujin is important to Wonyoung. They have this unique connection which is very rare, and I just feel like everyone loves Yujin, but the way Wonyoung loves her is deeper than all of us. Or maybe it's not about depth. Let's not compare.

"Minjoo is getting her. But I need a stretcher. Found a Private there and she's losing a lot of blood." I tell them.

"I've got one here." Chaeyeon and Chaewon lift the stretcher up, ready to go. Wonyoung draps each arm around Yuri and Eunbi's shoulders, trying to adjust with walking or jumping- whichever way she could move herself.

This. I look at them and feel warmth spearding all over my body. I really love this moment. And they love it too. I can see it in their faces.

Hyewon's got us torches. She just went over to a Sergeant casually and brought back three torches. I want to ask her how she did it or why she knew that Sergeant was there and had many torches with her, but I think I can save that for later. Hyewon is friendly and I can't figure out how friendly people's minds work.

I hold a torch and run to where the Private is. Chaeyeon and Chaewon are right behind me. When we get to the Private's place, I give my torch to Yena, who never learn her lesson and keep following our speed without caring about her stitches and describe the white house for her. She can go there first and lead the way for the rest. I need to help Chaeyeon and Chaewon.

When we lift the girl and move her to lie on the stretcher, I put my bandages over her wounds to stop the bleeding. I really hope she would survive through this even though the chance is low. I really hope so.

The rest catch up with us half way when we are running back. I'd have continued with them but Hitomi stops me. She says it would be better if I guided Wonyoung to Yujin, and I look over her shoulders to see the brightest face coming this way. That girl would sprint up for sure if Yuri and Eunbi weren't there to hold her back.

I sort of have an argument with myself. It's true that I should stay to show them the path, because honestly I bet Yena has gone there already and didn't wait for us, but a part of me want to stay with this Private. I don't really know why. Maybe because she is the reason why we found Yujin. Maybe because she's really kind and nice, and I can't forget the memory when I saw her crawling with trait of blood behind her. I don't think I could do that if I were her.

I look at her, then Hitomi, then Wonyoung, and I feel a hand touches my hand. The Private is looking at me, and I feel like she's going to faint any moment with how she looks. But the girl is tough, I know that. She faintly taps my hand and motions to Wonyoung, then points to Hitomi and gives us a thumb up.

I laugh, but a part of me feels sad. She's too good, and she's too thoughtful. I bent down and tell her, "We will bring Yujin to you after you get your legs checked."

She smiles and nods. I think she wants to say thank you yet cannot because she doesn't have enough strength to do that. I stand there for a second watching them carrying her back with Hitomi, then turn to the girls. They are still moving, so I run to catch up with them.

I didn't know inside the house it would be this dark. I consider asking for a torch since I'm taking the lead, but somehow the way they keep talking and laughing stops me, and the torchlight from Nako's occasionally illuminates the stairs, so I just let it be and go up.

Behind me are Wonyoung and Yuri, and no one wants Wonyoung to slip down and crash everyone so they are nagging the girl to do it the slowest she can. With all those sounds, everything sort of turns back to being normal. But I don't feel normal. I don't. I feel like something is not right. Something is very wrong right here, right now. And I haven't figured out what that is.

So I speed up. Whatever this feeling in my chest is, it makes me want to throw up, and to stop it I need to check on everyone to make sure that they are alright. I leave the girls behind. Thankfully they are too occupied to notice me and my sudden uneasiness.

When I reach to the second floor and about to take a step upstairs, it hits me why I've felt weird from the moment I walked in here. It hits me so hard that it knocks the wind out of me. I can't breathe. I keep inhaling and exhaling faster and faster but no air gets in. All is fear and panic.

I take two steps at a time. My body is shaking, my hands are trembling, and my legs want to give up, but I keep going up.

I can't hear Yena.

I cannot hear Yena.

Yena has never been quiet when she's around Yujin. She has never been quiet at all. When she is, it eithers she confesses her love to Yuri, or- I don't even want to think about what the reason for this quietness might be.

The last time she didn't say a word for days, it was one of her friends lost the chance to see his newborn daughter. He took a bullet to the head when they sent him for food. That's the reason, and it's heartwrenching and I don't want to think why Yena isn't screaming or speaking or laughing.

She's supposed to do that right now. But she doesn't. I keep praying that I will hear her voice as I move closer to the third floor.

But I still don't. I don't hear her voice.

I see the torch I gave Yena lying on the floor instead. Its beam is pointing towards the face of a dead Van at the end of the hallway, and I shudder at his pale face. I have seen many deathes before- I'm a soldier, who just went through one of the most terrifying fights in her life, but this lifeless Van is something else I can't explain.

I look away.

I try not to make any sounds when I approach the room. I don't dare to.

I can see Yena's back with the light from the torch. Something inside me is falling along every moves I make as my view of her becomes clearer.

Yena is kneeling with the head low. Motionless.

Soundless.

One step away from the door, I hear muffled noise.

Someone's crying. And it breaks my heart. Her crying breaks my heart.

I don't know how I could do it, but I didn't stop. I didn't stop, and now I'm staring at a quiet Yena, a weeping Minjoo,

and a dead Yujin.

It doesn't sink into my brain. It can't. I think I keep refusing it. It can't be true. It can't.

Yujin is dead.

I don't remember what happened next. I think I was stuck somewhere and it helped because all I feel was numb, but then I hear Wonyoung's voice and when I turn my head in instinct, I see Yuri lets go of Wonyoung. I want to stop her. I want to tell her not to come here, but she's walking really fast for someone who has a wounded leg, and the next thing I know?

The next thing I know, I'm reaching out to catch her as she falls down.

From that moment on, a part of us would never be the same again.

***

How they got out of there and how long it took them, they didn't know.

How they walked back and found Lieutenant Bae from the 2nd Yanys, they didn't know as well.

No one spoke anything.

That's all they could do. Some couldn't stop crying, but mostly they were very quiet. That's all they could do. Being there. At that moment. Anything else and they could not bear it at all, not when it was already unbearable.

Because nobody wanted to stay in the world without the one they loved dearly.

When Lieutenant Bae approached them, Chaeyeon clumsily stood up, following by Eunbi. It would take two of them to keep themselves from breaking apart while going through this.

They saluted at the Lieutenant. Through the distance between Eunbi and Chaeyeon, the gaze of Lieutenant Bae landed on the person lying in Minjoo's arm. Just a quick look and she had understood everything.

Her gaze lingered at the young face she had taken care of for the past years. She would not admit this to them, maybe years later she would, that they were the kids she always found a way to check up on. That when General decided to send them away, she had prayed for them and hoped that beautiful kids would get the beautiful lives they deserved.

Lieutenant Bae shut her eyes, trying to take it in. When she opened them, pain crept into her eyes, and she forced herself to look at the Sergeants in front of her.

"Madam." Chaeyeon said, her voice was shaking. "We wish to bring Lance Corporal Ahn back to her family ourselves. Do you know where is the current place of her mother, madam?"

Lieutenant Bae nodded. "Wait for me."

It didn't take long for her to get the information they needed. "Her house is safe, so they sent her back. She's probably waiting in front of the door right now."

"Thank you, Madam."

Lieutenant Bae nodded again. She looked to Yujin, then she put a hand on Wonyoung's shoulder. The girl sat still, not reacting.

"Take care of each other." She said quietly to all of them. A short pause. "I'm very sorry."

Wonyoung slowly moved her head. She didn't look at Lieutenant Bae in her eyes, but she tried to say something which sounded like a faint "thank you". Lieutenant Bae gave her a light squeeze in return.

She stood there and watched them walk away. It's killing her, she knew it.

This world is not as bright as it used to be, now that you aren't here anymore.

You aren't here anymore, Ahn Yujin. 

***

Someone once said: "The dead body of someone you love is the heaviest thing you've ever carried."

They weren't wrong.

It felt like the ground was sinking under her feet, that the more steps she took the more this earth wanted to swallow her. But don't do it. At least not now. She still had to carry Yujin back, and she would not stop until it was done. There's nothing in her mind except the repeated thought, and only it could keep her dragging herself forward.

It had to be done.

Funny how normally she couldn't even endure one second whenever Yuri jumped on her back and asked her to give the girl a ride. Perhaps it was because something inside Minjoo had changed forever. Or maybe because she was holding Yujin, a lifeless Yujin, and not anybody else.

Or, this might be the reason: she was too numb to feel anything. She wasn't crying. She couldn't feel any part of her body except her own heart, the one that she wished she could rip it off her chest since she knew the pain would be too much for her, yet she could not.

For the pain was from Yujin. This pain was related to Yujin, and even if it might kill her, let it be.

Let it be.

Because whatever I do, I can't bring you back to me.

***

Wonyoung was slowing down.

It took the girl her whole strength to move, to walk through the roads that she once walked with her friend, to live in the memories of the beautiful old days just to be thrown back into the reality.

This was the hardest road she had ever taken. Not the ones with bullets. Not the ones with grenades.

This one.

The one that in the past, it was the opening to her second home. To her other love. To her everything.

But now, she just wanted to run away.

She could see it.

The house where Yujin used to argue with her about why she kept having the first rice cake and the other could not.

The house where she spent hours sitting with Yujin in the orchard and they talked about everything in this world.

The house where her childhood and her love were kept safely.

She found herself standing still. Everyone also stopped, looking at her.

"That's her house. Her home." She whispered. Somehow she knew they heard it clearly. "If her mom isn't waiting for us in front of the door, then she must be inside baking rice cakes."

Someone choked up in tears. They stood there for a moment, trying to hold themselves together before pushing their bodies forward.

When they took a turn, Minjoo suddenly wanted nothing more than to dissapear. That she would trade anything just to vanish into thin air right at this moment.

Her mother wasn't there.

Yujin in her arms was still quiet. She didn't jump up and grin as now she finally back home like Minjoo had hoped. She stared at the brown wooden door, half wishing she would never reach there.

Wonyoung couldn't bring herself to knock or do anything. Eunbi wrapped an arm around the girl, the other one stretched out to hit the door weakly.

They took in a deep breath as they heard the fast footsteps inside the house.

Stop it. Please. Stop it.

But the door was being opened. The smell of fresh baked rice cake took all the air in her lungs away, and though it's just a fleeting second, Minjoo had caught it, the look of hope on her face.

She looked exactly like how she was in the photograph Yujin showed her. Beautiful woman. Elegant. Lovely. Everything.

But that woman in black and white didn't know she would lose both her husband and her daughter as time passed, that what's waiting for her behind the door was an unimaginable pain.

The pain of losing her child.

Minjoo didn't realize she was crying again. "I'm- I'm sorry." She tried to make her words came out clearly, but it was impossible. She could not stop sobbing. "I'm sorry I had to bring her back like this."

The woman closed her eyes, tears rolling down her face quietly. When she opened them, she raised an arm towards Wonyoung, and the girl immediately stepped in, half leaning against her shoulder, weeping painfully.

"I'm sorry too, dear." She said, a hint of recognition on her face as she looked at Minjoo. She then looked down, staring at her own daughter with so much love and agony while tucking away all the hairs on Yujin's forehead.

"I'm sorry too."

***

Lost.

That's what she felt right now.

Lost.

It was like she's in a dream. Everything was just a dream. She turned around and walked out of Yujin's room. She couldn't stand another minute in it. It felt so familiar, but it also felt so strange there.

She kept walking. Slipping away.

The smell of rice cakes filled the house. She moved to a door, pushing it lightly and went out.

The orchard.

She continued through the road.

Wind was dancing around the leaves and flowers.

Stars were shining above her head.

It was a beautiful night.

Yet she paid no attention to those things. Once she saw the tree in the middle of the orchard, she walked towards it and sat down.

For a long moment she just leaned her head against the tree, staring into the space and breathed.

Nothing was in her head. Nothing was in her heart.

Please tell her it was just a dream.

Slowly, she undid her pocket and took out her dad's wallet. She tried not to think about how she put the tin containing two photographs back in Yujin's pocket.

She pulled out her photographs. Her family was still smiling at her.

Her mother. Her father. Her sister.

She looked at the other one.

Her lover.

Yujin. Ahn Yujin.

She caressed the photograph softly. Her face. Her dimples.

Her warmth.

She tore her gaze away, unsure of what to think and what to feel.

Lost.

As if it was a dream.

As if it was just a long and deep sleep.

Something entered her view. She watched a white cherry petal floating down until it lay on the ground.

White cherry.

She stared at the petal.

A long and deep sleep.

​​​

White cherry.

***

- Many years later -

She knew that face.

She recognized it. Across the street. She was just wandering around, waiting for her mom to finish delivering the flowers when she caught the sight of this woman. She was pretty. Like pretty pretty. But that's not the point. The point was, she had the face which she could recognize everywhere, and why would a pretty woman had that face? Was she like him too?

She hid behind a lamppost and kept staring at the woman standing in front of a house as if waiting for someone. The sunlight shone on her features a golden colour, and she thought that this woman looked really like a fox that her mom used to show her the drawings of them.

Not paying attention to the surrounding, she startled as someone called her from behind.

"What's this little lady doing here? Are you lost?"

She whipped around, now facing another gorgeous woman at the same eye level since she's bending her knees and lowering her body down.

She shook her head. "No ma'am, I'm not lost."

"Then what are you doing here?"

She was hesitate to tell the truth, but the woman in front of her looked friendly and nice enough to encourage her. "I was looking at a woman, ma'am."

"Oh? May I know who?"

She turned around, pointing. "That woman, ma'am."

Sakura followed the kid, her gaze landing on the person she knew too well. "Are you looking at her because she's pretty?"

"Not really, ma'am."

"So there's another reason? Can I know what it is?"

The small girl fumbled with her fingers. "Because she looks like my neighbor."

"How come?"

"He doesn't always look sad, but sometimes he looks really sad, and when I asked him why, he told me because there's a war living inside him." The girl looked into Sakura's eyes innocently. "Does that woman have a war living inside her too, ma'am?"

Absently, Sakura looked to the woman across the street just in time she broke into a smile when two other women approaching her. Wonyoung and Yena immediately pulled her into a tight hug, and they laughed together in the joy of seeing each other again.

But she knew those weren't the smiles she wished to see again. The ones she wanted to see had forever stayed at a school that was far from where and when she was now, and no God descended down here could ever bring them back to her.

She put a hand on the kid's head and rubbed her hair softly, her gaze remained fixed on those faces.

If only it was April again. 

If only we could start it one more time. 

If only... 

"More than that, little lady." Sakura whispered quietly. "More than that."

-The End-