The next day, the men all meet at the barber’s at their appointed time. One by one, they all get their hair dyed to a platinum blonde rather than staying a natural black and shaving their heads. Yongguk explains to the squad that even with shaved heads, black hair would stand out too much in the desert so they decided to go with a color that would blend in well with their surroundings. Jongup complains say that it doesn’t matter anyways since they’re always wearing their headgear but he can’t argue with safety measures just in case something ends up happening to their headgear. Still, he hates dying his hair and the thought of having hair close to the color of desert sand doesn’t sound appealing.

Youngjae finishes first and dismisses himself to go study. He decided that with the limited time they have, he should spend the next few days studying the software he encountered the last time in Mato. He decides to go through any files the military has documented on this complicated software so he will be better prepared for the next time he confronts it. He begins to get a headache after looking at encoding for several hours straight but he doesn’t stop; he can’t stop. He can’t stop and he doesn’t have the time to stop when not only his life, but the lives of four other men are relying on him… just like the last time…

Jongup and Daehyun are the next to finish up with their hair. Daehyun is assigned by Yongguk to make sure all the equipment and gear they are taking on the mission are in proper condition. Even though the General said the equipment will be taken care of, Yongguk can’t help but to be extra careful so a double check feels necessary. Daehyun leaves to take care of his task and Jongup decides to head over to the gym to work out, indicating he has a lot on his mind. Whenever Jongup is troubled, he tends to workout constantly until his mind clears up and until he gets over whatever is bothering him. He does endless reps of different exercise on various training equipment until sweat is drenching him. In the end, he still feels troubled but decides to hit the showers as night approaches knowing he’ll need rest for tomorrow when they begin training once again.

After Yongguk and Zelo finish up with their hair, they head over to the training facility. Yongguk holds a rehabilitation session with Zelo to make sure his body is functioning back to normal after all the damages that were done. He stretches Zelo out and makes him do several exercises to loosen his body up. They work together for a few hours and afterwards they hit the showers.

Once in the locker room, the men begin to remove their clothing, backs facing each other. They wrap a towel around their waists and put away their belongings into separate lockers. Zelo shuts his lockers and turns around, going straight into a state of awe once he sees Yongguk’s well-defined body. He can’t help but to stare at Yongguk’s toned chest and his finely-carved abs.

“Wow, you’re ripped,” Zelo says.

“Thanks,” Yongguk replies, with a laugh. “Hard work pays off.”

Zelo laughs along and agrees. Lately he’s been getting along with Yongguk, who hasn’t been as hard on the squad.

“Well, I guess you don’t work hard enough,” Yongguk says before poking at Zelo’s less-defined stomach and heads into the showers, smirking to himself.

“I’m getting there!” Zelo retorts.

After they finish showering, they get dressed and head back to their rooms. They board the shuttle and take a seat across from each other as the shuttle begins to drive off. Yongguk gazes outside taking in all the scenery of the military base thinking that it may be his last viewing. He looks around and his eyes find his way to Zelo’s, which are looking directly at his.

“Thank you,” Zelo says.

Yongguk, confused, asks, “For what?”

“For being a great leader.”

Yongguk is taken aback, not believing the words coming out of Zelo’s mouth. Yongguk feels as if he’s had a conversation like this with someone else before but he can’t exactly put his finger on it.

“No, I haven’t been that great of a leader. I put you through hell and got you seriously injured,” Yongguk says, slight guilt lacing his voice as his eyes fall to his lap.

“Yeah, you did put me through hell. Yeah, you did get me seriously injured. But you also made me into a stronger person. So, thank you,” Zelo says sincerely.

Yongguk, taken aback once more by Zelo’s words, looks up and connects eyes with Zelo again. “’A stonger person…,’” Yongguk repeats the words in his head, the exact some words he’s heard before. Zelo smiles and Yongguk smiles back. “It’s that smile again,” Yongguk thinks, and it hits him; it hits him that Youngjae was right… they are very similar.

“Thanks,” Yongguk says before the shuttle stops and Zelo parts ways with him.

“I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Get some rest, Captain,” Zelo says as he jumps off the shuttle.

The doors close and Yongguk thinks to himself how this little runt has changed him so much in the past few days. He also thinks about the past about how another person changed Yongguk’s personality as well. He’s thankfully for Zelo’s words because he really needed that. His confidence as a leader has been wavering lately. He remembers not too long ago how he though Zelo was a lost cause and a huge up, but now, he doesn’t think that way anymore. “He was a up too,” Yongguk thinks, a smile creeping on his face. Just like he did, Zelo has changed Yongguk and has taught him to become a better leader. He’s truly thankful for the both of them.

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Although the men have been training hard over the past days, they still feel unprepared for what’s to come. And that’s literally what they keep constantly asking themselves… What is to come?

All the members of Squad 6 wake up at 0300 and prepare for one of the biggest days in their entire lives. After grabbing their bags and equipment, they all gather at the hangar, all dressed in tan camo. It’d be a lie if they said they were the tiniest bit nervous; however, Yongguk pushes his nerves aside and leads his squad. He wants to ensure that everyone will come back in one piece, his personal and main objective over all the others.

“Good morning, Captain Bang. We’re ready to take flight on your command, Sir.”

“Yes, we’re ready to leave now,” Yongguk responds to the pilot.

He starts walking towards the helicopter and his squad follows. Many emotions and thoughts are running through the minds of Squad 6 but they won’t allow it to show, they won’t allow themselves to show any signs of weakness. The helicopter takes off into the darkness, leading the men into an abyss. They stare out of the helicopter reminiscing on happy times as they look upon the starless sky for they all know they may possibly never be allowed to return to these memories in a worst-case scenario.

Youngjae doesn’t know why but he feels so attached to the other four men. Even though he’s only known some of them for a few years and others for a few days, he honestly feels like they’re like his brothers. This is probably attributed to the fact that he’s always been alone throughout most of his life. No parents, no relatives, no one other the abusive foster parents that would be swapped out every few months or years. He has nowhere to return to if he was to leave the military so Squad 6 is all he has, it’s his life, his family. It hurts to imagine losing any of them because it would be like losing a part of him. He pushes these thoughts out of his mind hoping for the best, hoping that they all succeed together, hoping that he won’t have to say any goodbyes, again.

After hours of flight, the men finally arrive at a secret military base hundreds of miles away from Mato. The helicopter lands sending sand and dust flying throughout the dry and hot air. Out of all places, Mato has to be located in the center of a desert. Once they enter the base, they do a final check on their items before loading into a small military vehicle. They all sit in the back, drinking as much water as they can before they start traveling on foot. Beads of sweat pour down the men’s faces as they travel hours through the scorching desert. Eventually they reach their destination and exit the truck. Now they have miles of walking until the reach Mato. They put on all their gear, including all their weapons, head gear, and protective gear, and head straight into hell.

They men barely speak as they drag their feet through the infinite grains of sand. It feels like forever until they can actually spot gray buildings in the distance, although the sun is beginning to set.

“Alright, we’re getting close guys so be aware. I’m sure they have millions of mines buried all over. Let’s take a break so I can check if I can find any sort of signal out here that connects to Mato,” Youngjae says through their high-tech helmets. The boys down some more water to keep them hydrated while Youngjae pulls out a laptop and connects a small satellite to it. He scans the area only to find nothing but he doesn’t give up. After another ten minutes, he picks up a very faint signal from Mato. He tries to enter into the server and to his surprise, he does.

“That was way too easy…,” he mutters to himself before asking Yongguk to come over.

They discuss how the security seems to be a lot weaker than last time, way easier to break into. He deactivates the cameras making sure to cover his trace from Mato. Yongguk asks if he can deactivate the mines. Youngjae responds saying that the mines aren’t currently active, which seems to be very odd.

Daehyun overhears their conversation and remarks, “They’re expecting us,” causing the four others to turn in his direction.

“What do you mean?” Zelo asks.

“They’ve been waiting. They’ve been waiting for Squad 6’s return. Walking in there would be falling into their trap,” Daehyun says nonchalantly through his headgear.

“Hmmmm… I think he’s right,” Yongguk agrees.

“Wow, I think that’s the most words I’ve ever heard you speak, Daehyun. But anyways, what do you want to do now, Captain Bang?” Jongup says.

After minutes of thinking, Yongguk decides that they’re heading in at full force. It’s all a game of chess from here on out.

“They’re expecting us, like Daehyun said, and they’re also expecting us to figure out that they’re expecting us. This means they’re expecting us to reorganize our plan and to find another way in, but we have to do the unexpected. This is the only way we’re going to get ahead of them in this game of strategy,” Yongguk says with a sense of authority.

“Walking in there is just going to end in bloodshed like last time! What kind of strategy is this?! Are you freakin’ insane?!,” Jongup yells.

“We should do what Yongguk says. He’s right. The only way we’re going to be able to complete our objective is by keeping ourselves ahead of the enemy,” Daehyun replies.

“But-“

“No ‘buts,’ Jongup. We’re doing this my way and if anything goes wrong, I’ll take responsibility for it…,” Yongguk says before heading off towards Mato.