“I love you.” Choi Sooyoung whispers into the telephone and with those words her heart breaks, her tears fall and her breathing turns shallow.

She doesn’t hear anything from the other line and for a moment, she wonders if he heard her at all. “Oppa, did you hear me? I said I love you.”

“I love you too.” Choi Siwon answers and she hears the tears in his tone no matter how hard he tries to toughen up. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“Okay.” She nods, even if he can’t see her. “Be safe.”

He doesn’t tell her goodbye and she doesn’t too. There’s something about that word that they both hate. It screams of finality and emptiness and loneliness. Sooyoung knows he meant what he said. It’s his promise; the very thing that she’s going to hold on to for days, weeks, months – will it reach years? – to come. The word goodbye cannot exist in their minds and in their hearts.

Sooyoung hears a deep, loud voice in the background calling for all the soldiers.

Then, she hears a click and the call ends.