Seung Ho felt his confidence waver with every passing second, as the arm holding the rifle went weak and eventually let go of it even though he had been grasping it tightly. He had been so sure that once he spotted a North Korean, he would take him or her captive immediately, threaten for information, and eventually leave the poor fellow to die as a prisoner of war. But in reality, he just couldn't bring himself to do any of it.

The girl had lost all faith in being rescued when she realized that he was donning the uniform of the enemy, and she whispered shakily, "I'm sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?"

Seung Ho didn't believe that he said those words - they sounded so harsh, so brute, so hurtful. He wanted to take them all back, say something along the lines of "you're not at fault", "don't apologize", or even "I'm just glad I found you instead of my fellow soldiers".

But no, he didn't.

"For being the enemy. For being a North Korean general's daughter." She looked straight into his eyes, imploring for a kind of reaction invoked in him. "If it wasn't for the Cold War, who knows? We wouldn't have to meet each other this way."

"We might not have even met each other at all."

Yang Seung Ho didn't understand what he was doing at the moment. This was not what he learnt in the army. To view North Korea as an enemy, yes. To fight against the enemy, yes.

To strike up a friendly conversation with the enemy? Definitely a no.

"You're going to take me as a prisoner of war, aren't you? Imprison me, interrogate me, torture me, then eventually kill me." She stood up, her legs shaking. "I shouldn't make things hard for you. You're just an ordinary soldier being told to do this by your superiors."

Seung Ho saw a look of resolve on her face, and then a tinge of despair flitting in her eyes. She didn't want this, but neither did he. Sure, he wanted to get this war done and over with, teach North Korea a lesson, and then go back to his old, peaceful life, but assisting in the death of an innocent girl? 

She had long, chestnut brown hair that curled nicely at the tips, beautiful grey eyes that spoke of a history of pain and woe despite her relatively wealthy background, a nicely sharp nose, and lips that begged to speak more. He wanted to hear her stories - who she was, what she did, how she lived; so much couldn't be done and over with in a few sentences.

Loyalty was shouting in his mind to do his duty as a South Korean soldier, but something else told him that he would regret it if he suppressed his desire and his feelings. 

"No."

Seung Ho grabbed her hand, and felt the warmth creeping up through her hand to his, reminding him again that this girl was just another human being like him, a human being that had feelings and a beating heart.

"No?"

"Why should you be involved in this? You're not the one shooting missiles at us. You're not the one pledging to get us killed. You're just..." Seung Ho lifted her chin up gently with his other fingers, his eyes commanding her to trust him, "you're just a girl, placed in the worst of places and in the worst of situations."

"Do you believe that you aren't meant to be here too?"

Seung Ho looked away, and the girl knew his answer. 

Gunshots rang nearby, and Seung Ho knew that time was running out. His fellow soldiers would spare no thought for this girl, and even he himself would suffer from dire consequences should they find out that he had hesitated to capture her. Either way, he would suffer from a life of regret if he didn't attempt to save her, or suffer from being labelled as a 'betrayer' to his nation.

Decisions were hard to make, but Seung Ho knew that he could live with the one he had made. 

"I'm sneaking you to South Korea to hide with my best friend so that you'll be safe for now. Do you trust me?"

The girl didn't betray any emotion as she held his gaze. It wasn't a time to ask questions, and this was the best she could ask for since she was going to fall into the enemy's hands anyway. She gave a weak smile, the best she could muster as shouts of victory from South Korean soldiers were becoming too close for comfort.

"Yang Seung Ho, Byun Haneul will trust you."