[CONTENTID1] The Only Exception [/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2] We've met at a time where we have a Country at war. The North and South Korea had broken their long standing truce from the 1950s when North Koreans bombed the South Korean central, Seoul. A war has now broken out and every one from the South was enlisted in the Military along with our allies, Thailand, Philippines and America. Every one of these nations have helped South Koreans fight the North Koreans. Therefore this was the reason why I was drafted as a soldier, it was mandatory for every South Korean to be drafted when the country needed the man power. Not even women like me are spared. My name is Rosé Park and I am retelling this story amidst an air raid by the North Koreans. I was a Captain of the 13th Special Mission Brigade, in charge of neutralizing enemy occupied, districts in the Northern part of South Korea. My Sister Alice similarly was a Vice Captain of First Special Forces Brigade. We often meet each other in battles like this. We were running to a retreat post, avoiding the air raid and shooting down which ever bomber plane gets too close overhead us. I shut down five planes currently as I hid in a mountain top.

I am a South Korean Army Captain, a decorated War Hero or at least soon to be decorated, after we've won this war against the North and unify our war torn country and she was a soldier from the Royal Thai Army 13th Infantry Division, a Captain of her Company. We are one in the same as we fought for Korean independence and unification. South Koreans were always out numbered by invading forces of the North. They seem to be concentrated in arming their men, but not enough training in surviving attacks, because the 'Country' had Nuclear deadly weapons and explosives, they can just bomb everything and the doom of South East Asians will be at hand at a press of a button. That was a fact that the rest of the world knew and so they are taking sides and it just so happened that the South, a relatively peaceful country and would not like to be at war with the rest of the world, was pitted against the North Koreans. South Koreans had allies from the Philippines, America, Japan and Thailand, while the rest are hanging by and expecting the South Koreans to win the war. The North Koreans were allies with China and Russia. Both have funded the North Koreans with their arms. Weapons were always delivered by the two allied countries of the North.

Even a child in North Korea was armed with an AK-47 and have fired aimlessly at us. The South Koreans meanwhile have evacuated their Children in a safe place with an Elder in the Family. While us, Young Men and Women are drafted into the armed forces of South Korea. Even our parents who are still able to fight are fighting along with us. My Parents Mason Park and Clare Park similarly fought in the air force and navy. We are all involved in this war, we knew a year before the war resumed that we are about to be bombed and a war will ensue. I had to train as a Sniper for 13th Special Mission Brigade along with Kim Jennie, Kim Jisoo and Jeon Somi. My friends and colleagues in the Army. The whole Park Family was no different these days, everyone of my cousins have been drafted into the South Korean Armed Forces. Joy Park, Jihyo Park, my cousins who are now fighting for South Korean independence and unification. We are all drafted into the Armed Forces of South Korea and we will fight for our rights to be free and to protect our country.

We are now at our bunker in the Mountains, Bomber planes ahead of us, every ten seconds loud banging are heard over head. We were holed up in our bunker together with the Royal Thai Army 13th Infantry Division. We somehow retreated together upon the air raid warning alarm that sounded in the dead of the night. I hope my friends Jisoo, Jennie and Somi are alright, wherever they are fighting currently. Major Kim Taehyung instructed me to go up the mountains together with the 13th Infantry Division of the Thai Army and take cover up the North side of the mountains and by dawn be ready for an attack to the North. It was a long night of hiking and taking cover. Moving silently through the dead of the night. I wasn't originally going to join the army, I was a model for St. Laurent, guns are not my thing, but the Government threatened everyone in the family of death once the war was over and we will be forever labeled as traitors to the country, beheaded and displayed at the capital.

Yeah, they're that serious that I nonsensically just signed my life away. Rather than be labelled as a traitor to the country, I chose to defend my country. I was never one to try and drink ungodly amount of alcohol, I never smoked too, but now I do. It helped with the nerves of killing thousands if not hundreds of North Koreans. It was a thing for soldiers to smoke and handle their nerves, from the loud banging and shots fired. I naturally gravitated towards cigarettes in this hell hole called War. I smoked right this instant as we listened to rustling of leaves and the air raid. As I read the orders sent to me via a communicator tablet. The newest technology not available to the North Koreans. Major Kim was promoted to a Lieutenant Colonel Post and announced that I was also promoted as Major. The orders were to wait for the clock to strike two then he instructed to meet him together with additional forces he has at the south western of the hemisphere of this bunker we are at right now. I responded by thanking him for doing a great job in leading us and I asked him if we should bring our reinforcement teams or should they stay behind and wait for further instructions. I put down the communicator on the make-shift tables we had inside the bunker as I smoked. 

I wished the reinforcement teams would wait until we are outnumbered by the North. But an order from Lieutenant Colonel Kim is an order I would have to take regardless if it was a dumb idea. I breathed in and out as I waited for further instructions and as I smoked a cigarette. It would've been great if I was at home and playing my guitar as I smoked. That's an activity I could drown in for a while. When the Thai Captain, Lalisa Manoban sat with me, smoking her own cigarette. She doesn't speak to me, because she knows no Korean, she was just here to help us with combat. But she understood English, having been raised by a Swiss Step-Father and she studied all her life in an English Academy in Thailand. I similarly lived and studied in Australia all my life, not until I returned to Korea did I learn how to speak fluently the Korean Language. We both shared meaningful looks at each other as she takes a hit on her cigarette. We've been mostly like this, we don't speak when we have downtime, we are just here for Korea. I decided to break the silence and ask her something about herself.

"Tell me something about yourself and your life back in Thailand prior to joining the army." I asked her as I took a drag on my cigarette.

"Oh. Uhm. I was part of a Hip-Hop Dance Crew called WeZaaCool. I loved to Dance and I like KPOP Mostly." She replied to me.

"Why did you join the army?" I asked her.

"Because I took two gap years and enlisted in the Thai Royal Army, I was looking for a way to straighten my life out and maybe some discipline from the army would help." She replied and smiled bitterly at the thought. 

"What happened that you needed to straighten your life out?" I asked her as I took another drag on my lit cigarette.

"You know how when you're young, you do whatever you want and then after you regret it? It was that and a series of bad decisions, I'd rather not talk about Captain Park. What matters is I learned my lessons and I regretted everything and I am now here, serving my country." She replied smiling at me.

I felt her bitterness and pain, something clicked inside of me, I will be her first new friend in her new life as a Captain of the army. We are now technically sisters under this war that North Korea has brought upon us. We are bonded with the shared experience of war. 

"I know, Captain Manoban. It's Major Park now, FYI. But not that I don't want to be called a captain anymore, I was just setting things straight because you're my sister and friend now." I replied and took another drag from the cigarette, she does the same.

We've both had no chance to even bathe since last week, we've been bombarded by the North. We're sticky, dirty and bloodied from hundreds of our comrades dying, we hauled them to safety of course and some have been air lifted to the barracks. While some who died, we buried haphazardly and left grave markers, a Thai Flag for the Thais and a Korean flag for the Koreans. We wrapped them around their hands so that when we exhumed them after the war we have proof and accounts of our dead.  It was the best we could do for them, they joined us as brothers and sisters and they died for us. 

"Let's be sisters and friends after this war. Let's visit each other often and have good meals. I love Thai Noodle Soups." I followed up to her hoping to lighten up the mood. 

A smile, a beautiful smile was quickly drawn from her face. 

"My Daddy cooks great Thai Noodle Soups, we can go to his restaurant once the war is over." She replied and took a drag on her cigarette.

"That's a date, Major Park, just so you know and don't get confused." She says as she takes a last drag on her lit cigarette and put it out with her boot.

She took out a ration pack from her sling pouch and opened it, she gave me one of her tortilla soup with some of her crackers and an army retractable spoon. 

"For now, this will do for a first romantic date over the bombings." She replied chuckling.

"So dramatic! Oh god!" I slapped her arm.

She gave me a long and cute pout might I add? Yeah. She's cute when she pouts like this but I was a fierce tiger of the Korean Army, no spaces for tender moments in the middle of the war and certainly not with an ally. I thanked her and for the 'first date' soup she offered me and ate. When I didn't see her pull out any food from her pouch, I fed her some soup from my ration pack she just gave me. She was shy about it at first and she took a sip of the soup. Seeing that she won't join me, I offered her my own ration pack of nuts and a beef taquito with a few jellies from previous packs, I was saving them for another time, but since we are now on a 'first date' over the bombs going off. Not an ideal first date but it sufficed. She's a real smooth talker, she took a pack of jellies and half of the taquito she took and placed the other one inside my ration. We ate our meal and while we were eating, the communicator sounded, I looked at the message and I was relieved that they will drop off a care package for us fifteen minutes before twelve once all the bomber planes go back to their bases. They were asking for our coordinates and the care package was supposed to be dropped off right in front of our hole around 20 meters away. 

23:45:05 A.M. Korean Standard Time

I led my team out of the clearing and I saw the care pack drop off from the skies. I positioned my team and commanded two of the big guys to run towards the middle and haul the care pack back to our hole and the rest stood guard around the two strong guys. We were cautious on how we should haul them back. The two guys ran back to the hole we were hiding at carrying with them the care package. The rest of Captain Manoban's men welcomed them inside, quickly pushing everyone in, the rest of us ran back inside and we distributed the packs to the men, three for each soldier. There was twenty-seven of us t