Time- 8:16PM
---

Yoo Bin's eyes immediately opened when she heard something foosteps outside. She shot up and turned to the window behind her, already fully awake. All she saw was the empty area where the school was located. The others were sleeping. Yoo Bin stood up, careful and alert as she picked up the rifle and left the room. She quickly walked to where the commander was sleeping to find the room empty. Her heart sank as her eyes widened slightly. She immedaitely knew the situation and ran out of the premise. Her head turning to and fro, trying to look for the person. The land under her feet was bare, only a few weeds growing. It was dark but she just jogged as she continued to look for him, ignoring the fact that a little motion was enough to alert the enemies who would be coming to the site at anytime. Heavy breathings awoke the silent night, but she continued to look for him, not willing to leave. The heavy boots she was wearing stomped the earth as she frantically continued her search.

"Who's there?" A sudden loud voice filled with surprise further disturbed the silence of the night. Yoo Bin spun her head towards the direction of the voice. The both of them lifted their rifles and aimed at each other in response. The man recognised her and heaved a sigh of relief, putting down the gun. Yoo Bin sighed in relief as well, walking towards him. She sat beside him when he sat down, leaning on the stretch of haystack behind them.

"Why are you here?" She asked in a soft voice, looking at him. "It's dangerous, we should go back in." He only stared at the front.

"You go on in. I will stay here for a little while." He replied, not even looking at her. She breathed in deep before turning to the front, facing the old campus infront of them. They shared the silence within them, staring in space as thoughts ran through their minds.

"Sir," Yoo Bin called after a while. She turned to him. "What is in your mind?"

"My mother." He simply said. She smiled faintly to him.

"Earlier, I dreamed of my brother." He turned to her, staring.

"Why did you follow your brother here?" He asked a moment later.

"If I don't follow him, I will be alone." She said as she flashed a small smile, looking down.

"That's why you refused to leave even when I allow you to?" She nodded., still staring at her hands on her lap.

"It's scary to be alone out there." She continued. "At least there are people here with me."

"You will die if you are here." She finally looked up, looking at the main door of the school.

"I know." She breathed. "I really wish the war could end."

"I will let you leave now if you want to." He said.

"Why, you think a girl couldn't help much?" She turned to him, smiling faintly. He kept quiet.

"You're a nice person." She uttered, her smile wider this time. He looked at her wonderingly. "Kind, soft-hearted..." She turned to the front again before continuing. "You wanted me to leave after knowing I'm a girl. You are worried for me." She looked down, smiling as her heart skipped a beat. He only stared back at her. Indeed after he found out that there was a female student soldier under him, he don't like the idea. He was shocked when he saw her family picture dropped out of her belongings as she pulled out her clothes to change. He picked it up and very clearly, the young lady inside was her. Yoo Bin gasped softly when she saw what he picked up and immedaitely snatched it back, hugging the photo to her chest, showing feminine habits. He stared at her in horror, seeing a always manly and daring subordinate behaving like how a girl would, like hugging something to her chest when a secret was exposed. And also, she screamed out "oppa" when her brother was shot. She knelt beside him, crying her eyes out, totally ignoring the fact that the war was still on. She kept on screaming for her brother not to die even when her brother had closed his eyes. The others that no choice but to drag her away to a safer place which she struggled, yelling.

"I promise my brother to protect the country on his behalf. Our parents were killed when war took place at where our home was. I saw how bodies were bombed into nothing but blood. In a second, they were gone, right before my brother's and my eyes." She continued as she recalled the past. "When the country started to recruit student soldiers, I begged my brother to bring me with him. I don't want to be left alone. He refused but I secretly packed my stuff and hopped into the vehicle when the lorry was about to move off." He listened to her as she tell him her story. "Then I arrived here." He made no sound, just standing up after awhile which she followed. They began to head towards the campus when they heard noise. In an instant, they sprung back, eyes widened as they scanned the area. When Yoo Bin saw movement at the lower land infront of them, she immediately fired a few times towards that side. When everything became motionless again, she strode forward to check, the gun still lifted. He immediately followed her. She stopped and heaved a sigh of relief when she saw a young man lying on the ground, blood spilling onto the dry ground. She aimed her gun around, looking out for more enemies. When she found none, she slightly cocked her head to the side, eyes narrowed.

"It's strange." She said softly, still looking around. He stared at her. "It shouldn't be just one of them coming here..."

"Leave." He said, looking around as well, wanting her to go to a safer place and do the checking himself. She ignored his instruction and turned back to check. She thought her heart stopped when she saw a man wearing a different uniform aimed the gun at them. In a split second, she lifted her gun and fired, the bullet flew passed the commander's ear and hit the foe's chest. The commander froze. From her suddenly aiming the gun at him to the flying bullet missing his face, it happened so quick. Yoo Bin ran to the corpse and kicked it, making sure he was dead. She clutched her chest, closing her eyes and she breathed heavily.

"Sir, we should leave." She said when she got back to him. He slowly nodded, the shock still travelling in him. They headed back and retired to their rooms.

Before the sky brightened, the soldiers were already at work. Following the order, they were preparing bombs and getting ready for the war that would come anytime. Yoo Bin ran up to the rooftop to see Seung Hyun arranging large oil cans into a short wall for hiding. He stopped what he was doing and stared at her. She glanced away and ran to the other side of the rooftop and lifted the haystacks to reveal a rifle. She picked it up.

"Sir, everything is going fine downstairs." She reported. He just nodded and continued to do his stuff. She bowed before going down the steps. She leaned against wall at the middle of the stairscase.

"Oppa..." She called whisperingly, holding the rifle to her chest. "War is coming today. I may not survive this." She tightened the grip on the weapon. "But you would still help me, right?"

Meanwhile, at the rooftop, he sat down against the short fencing, clutching the amulet in his palm.

"Omma," He called softly, staring at the brown round stone with a string attached to the edge. "It's coming. I might die today." That was when a bomb was heard. He shot up and saw soldiers charging as they fired. His heart thumped rapidly. He ran to the staircase. He saw Yoo Bin there, staring at him in fear.

"All of you! To the roof!" He shouted to those who were about to head outside. His plan didn't go well. He did not expect the war to come so early. While Yoo Bin and the others ran up, he ran outside.

"Go to your respective sites!" He yelled and the soldier heard him. They were told where they should be when war comes and they obeyed, scurrying off. Some situated themselves in the classrooms while some remained outside. When the second commander ordered the bombs to be triggered, they exploded the moment the enemies stepped on them. Gun-shots were heard everywhere and bodies started to drop to the ground one by one. He was firing by the door of the school when Yoo Bin ran up to him, joining him.

"Why are you here! Go away!" He shouted over the booming noise. She ignored, instead, she pushed through him and stepped out to the battle field with two rifles slinging on her. His eyes widened and ran up to her but could only concentrate in killing the enemies as they advanced towards them. The both of them just fired, occasionally hiding behind the oil cans that they had arranged earlier.
-
"What? It ended?" She asked in surprise when the chaos died down. She turned to him, still confused. "Just what are those people planning?" She asked, feeling slightly nervous and afraid. He got up, facing to where the student soldiers were hiding. When he was about to command, Yoo Bin reached for his leg. He looked down.

"It's not as simple as it is. They are planning something else. They would attack again." She said which he paused for a little while, as if to think and then called in a loud voice.

"Those who are supposed to stay here, stay and make preparations. The others, go to your respective sites." Soldiers could be seen running off to work. He turned back to her.

"Go to your site." He said before running off to the injured soldiers who were crying in pain. Some of the soldiers helped those injured ones in. As stubborn as Yoo Bin was, she ran to the classroom instead of the rooftop. She was inside preparing the first aid when the injured were brought in. He stared at her, disagreeing her act but could only go with it since time was running out. Together with the soldiers, he and Yoo Bin tended the wounds. Pirecing screams from the injured could be heard and Yoo Bin could not help but turned away, closing her eyes when one of the soldiers tried to remove the bullet in the fellow soldier's arm. Another scream that made one's hairs stand erupted the classroom as that soldier struggled from everyone's hold. Yoo Bin and the others could only tighened their grip, controlling him. After tending to everyone of them, the commander and Yoo Bin went to the warehouse, together with some soldiers to prepare more bombs.

"I called you to go upstairs." The commander said again when Yoo Bin followed him.

"I want to help, Sir." She replied, bending down to pick up the oil cans. Being a female, Yoo Bin had difficulties lifting the large cans.

"Move away." The commander pushed her aside and lifted the can, passing it to the soldiers outside. The soldiers were working outside the warehouse while the commander and Yoo Bin were working inside. The both of them worked quietly.

"I want you to go to the rooftop immediately when the enemies come." He said, tying the bombs.

"I can help you." She replied, putting the finished grenade in a box.

"You are when you listen to me." He said sharply, slightly irritated by her continuous disobeying.

"Don't see me as a girl. You allow me to battle before you found out I wasn't a male." She said, totally not afraid of causing anger to the commander. He sighed, can only admit that he felt that he should at least be lenient on her on everything.

"You even acknowledged my skills." She added, looking up at him. He looked away, getting back to work. He then noticed that she was having two rifles with her. She saw him staring at her weapons and when he turned to her, she smiled.

"One of them is my brother's." She stated, picking up another grenade.

"Your brother was really a skillful soldier." He acknowledged.

"Right?" She turned to him, smiling.

"You're good too." He said. She smiled.

"When my brother and I were younger, we used to attack birds with catapults. As time passed, we became so good at it that we can hit birds flying in the sky." She boasted a little. He smiled, nodding a little.

"It's my first time seeing you smile." She uttered, smiling at him. "You look better." He stared at her.

"You're always emotionless, like now. Just staring..." She added. "You're always quiet, even before becoming a commander. I never see you fire the rifle before you are promoted.

"I can't bring myself to." He said, softer this time, sighing. "How am I suppose to fire at a person?"

"It's always difficult at first. I can see you struggling when you were about to fire the first time."

"That soldier was calling for his mother. If I wasn't involved in the war, I would have let him go." She just smiled faintly.

"That's why I never shoot well." He concluded.

"Want me to teach you?" She asked, trying to lighten the mood. He turned to her.

"This is what my brother taught me. Just aim at the person's chest." She said. "Most of the soldiers aim at the enemies' head so that they would die instantly. But most of the time, they would miss. So just aim at the chest." She smiled again when she saw him just staring at her.

"You would be better after more practice." She assured. That was when the second commander ran to them.

"Sir, they are coming...!"  He reported as he panted and the both of them shot up. The commander nodded and called.

"Bring the bombs out!" The others bolted out and started to distribute the bombs.

"It's time to practise." She smiled, picking up her rifles. When he was running out, she called, causing him to turn around.

"What is your name?" She asked. Knowing they would die soon, she wanted to at least know his name.

"Choi Seung Hyun." He said and she smiled.

"I'm Kim Yoo Bin." She said, flashing a smile before sprinting outside. She wanted to be infront of him, always. To protect him. She lost count of the number of shots she got on behalf on him. From the start, when he wasn't able to perform like a normal soldier caught her attention. He was too scared to even fire the gun and this only drew more of her attention to him. When she saw him fired for the first time at an injured enemy, she saw the hesitation in his eyes. Even when in war, he was kind. And unconsciously, she fell for him. If Seung Hyun wanted to protect her just because she was a girl, then Yoo Bin wanted to protect him because he was too kind to kill.

Outside, tanks were rolling in and the enemies possessed better and more powerful weapons. Everywhere were bombs and people could be seen being thrown into the air when in contact with the explosion. Yoo Bin lifted her rifle and began to fire, not exactly aiming, just shooting as she moved her rifle to and fro. She replaced more bullets and stood up again, battling bravely. Seung Hyun was not far from her, throwing a grenade to the front where the enemies were charging towards them.

"Retreat!" He screamed when he saw them advancing quickly. "Retreat!" He commanded again. He turned to Yoo Bin and Yoo Bin saw the overwhelming seriousness in his eyes and obeyed this time. She backed away into the school, still shooting at the enemies who were attacking them. She kept an eye on Seung Hyun, wanting him to be safe. After they reached the door, the both of them ran inside. The condition of the school had worsened. Everything just broke into pieces and bodies were everywhere on the ground.

"Watch out!" Yoo Bin shouted when she saw a soldier from the other country behind them. She pushed Seung Hyun behind her to the wall. Seung Hyun fired at the soldier at the same time as the soldier fired at Yoo Bin, hitting her in the arm. She fell back, grabbing her bleeding arm. Seung Hyun grabbed her, running to the most inside of the school. Blood flowed profusingly and Yoo Bin's face twitched with pain. She hissed, not wanting to cry and scream like a girl. Seung Hyun tore a part of his uniform and wrapped it around her wound.

"There's no time. So just bear for the time being." She nodded. It wasn't the first time she encountered such things and she knew what to do. And together, they charged out again. Killing the soldiers, they took their machine guns and attacked.

"Go upstairs!" He yelled to her. She wasn't sure if she wanted to go or not. "Go!" He pushed her and turned back to shoot the enemies. She went up as she turned back to help Seung Hyun in shooting. Seung Hyun was infront of her, retreating a step at a time. When she reached the rooftop, she saw a soldier wearing a different uniform, back facing her. She quickly lifted her machine gun, about to fire. The fellow soldiers were all killed by then and she had to be fast in killing that soldier. But the enemy sensed movement and quickly turned back, firing at her. It hit at the right side of her chest and she fell on her knees. Her eyes blinked a few times as she laid completely on the ground. Seung Hyun had managed to reach the top safely and his eyes widened when he saw another soldier there. He lifted his rifle and they both shot at the same time. The difference was that Seung Hyun fired a few times at the opponent's chest and Seung Hyun was shot once at his stomach. They both fell to the ground. He saw Yoo Bin and reached for her hand. She turned slowly to him, forcing a smile, tears filled her sockets. He shifted closer to her.

"I'm sorry." He breathed, feeling his heart thumping fast and a certain fear engulfed him. He wasn't sure what it was for but he was sure it wasn't because he knew he would die.

"Please bear with it." He uttered, trying to pull her up. She shook her head, feeling weak and numb.

"I can't..." She choked. "Anymore..."

"Please..." His tears started to gather in his orbs as he reached for her cheek, patting it to stop her eyelids from closing. She smiled faintly.

"It's nothing. My family members went through this too... I have to go through this to meet them again..." Her voice soft and airy. Tears threatening to pour as she stared at him, her gaze soft.

"Seung Hyun..." She called informally. "I love you..." She confessed with much difficulties. His heart nearly stopped when he heard her, doing many somersaults.
--
He stared at her, still digesting her words. Why was he feeling this? Yoo Bin managed to smile.

"I said I love you..." She breathed heavily and slowly. "Since the beginning..." Her eyelids were heavy and she refused to close them, afraid that she will never be able to open them to see him again. He don't know what were all those butterflies in his stomach for. He moved himself closer to her, pulling her by the waist. He knew she would die soon. They both will die soon. He tighetened his hold as he felt safe with her in his arms. Yoo Bin sighed when she felt herself being wrapped, immediately knowing Seung Hyun was hugging her. More tears flowed as she embraced him slowly. Her whole body numbed from the pain, but she could feel the bliss and happiness overwhelming in her. She felt her life was been out as blood flowed continuosly from her chest, but she doesn't care. She was so willingly to leave the world while being in his arms.

"Oppa... Omma..." She breathed, her eyes half-opened. "Appa..."

"I would like to meet your parents too. They must be people as great as you..." Seung Hyun's voice was airy as well and he was feeling tired but he wanted to cherish their last time being together.

"I want to apologise to them for not protecting you." He added. "I'm sorry, Yoo Bin..." A tear rolled down. "And thank you. For letting yourself injured for me all the while." She just smiled, not even having the strength to make the slightest sound as a response.

"They..." She took in more oxygen, realising that she couldn't speak. "They... Will like... You..." Seung Hyun's tears flowed again, hearing her voice. Her voice told her that she was ready to leave forever.

"I love you..." He tighetned the hug. He felt his heart lightened after uttering those words. He wasn't just saying so that she could leave without regrets. He was saying it because he really wanted to and he meant it. Yoo Bin's eyes had closed. She gave him a small nod and her arms loosened its grip around his waist. Seung Hyun sighed as he too, closed his eyes, another tear rolling down.

Two bodies lied there, hugging each other as their souls were no longer present.

She, got to know his name at the last day of her life. Choi Seung Hyun... And she saw his smile.
He, got to know her name at the last day of his life. Kim Yoo Bin...
She confessed to him at the very last minute of her life. The feelings she had been keeping for months.
She loved him to the very last minute of her life.
He felt his heart beat at the very last minute of his life, for the women in his arms.
He did not leave with regrets as he was loved and had loved someone in his life. If he was really to list what he regretted, it will be that he did not realise his feelings earlier and could not spend more time together with her.
She was more than happy, to know that she was not bearing unrequited for him at her very last breath.
He felt the urge and desire to look for her in the other world and left after his very last breath.

===

Thanks for reading and hope you all enjoyed it! ^^

P.S. Please accept this story as an apology for letting you all wait for a long time for updates of the other stories.

Schedulex2(C)

Started- 8:16PM, 290511
Stopped at '-', 10:10PM, 290511

Continued- 8:41PM, 300511
Stopped at '--', 10:31PM, 300511

Continued- 10:00PM, 040611
Ended- 10:42PM, 040611

Typed author's note and posted at 12:20AM, 050611