Chapter 9

            It had been a few days since Soomin’s return.  The whole campus seemed a bit brighter.  She shone into every room and every situation with something otherworldly.  Every spare moment that the twins had was spent with her.  She proved to be somewhat of an escape from the immeasurable horrors that the Academy had provided.

            Soomin had only garnered a bachelor’s degree in communication, hardly making her the flawless psychologist that the twins needed.  But even the subtle things, such as the way she could freely hug and show affection to them in the way Youngbin couldn’t, was vital to their sanity.  Minseon began to talk more often, revealing her vivid nightmares and desperate thoughts.  Minjin was grateful for Soomin to allow her more time with her sister, to comfort her and keep her from falling apart.

            Psychological wounds had piled up over the years, but now physical wounds were appearing more frequently.  Minjin and Minseon had new injuries after every “test”, and Youngbin was thankful for Soomin’s ability to help him patch them up.  The girls never liked the on-campus nurse.  He was a young, snappy gentleman who had no compassion for “babies and their whining.”

            “He needs to be more understanding,” Soomin grumbled the day after she returned.  “These aren’t irrelevant injuries.  Besides, they’ve lost the capability to have a mental state corresponding to their age.  They’re going to act younger than they are.  This is what happens when you mix innocence and top-level military training.”

            Youngbin had spent the past half an hour in the cafeteria, sipping a juice box and thinking over his circumstances in his head.  It was late at night, and the twins were being put to bed by Soomin.  All he could do was wait and reflect by himself.

            “My girlfriend stopped sending me letters a few months after I arrived here.”

            A group of four guards (or officers, seeing as that’s what they really were) sat at the other side of the cafeteria, sharing a bottle of soju.  Youngbin sighed, wishing he wouldn’t have to hear this long, depressing talk every time he visited the cafeteria.

            “She’s probably married with kids by now,” the guard continued.  “It’s not even my fault.”

            “I don’t know how they expect us to live in this hell hole for all this time,” another guard told wearily.  “It’s cruel.  My own grandmother died a few years ago, and I couldn’t even go to her funeral.  I missed the last of her days.”

            “It’s because of this level five classification nonsense,” a guard said bitterly.  “We’re stuck here because of this project’s high clearance.  In the meantime, people die, relationships die.”

            “I feel like I haven’t seen a woman in ages,” the first guard sighed. 

            “There’s always Soomin.”

            “Yeah, she’s alright.  I guess I’ve just grown used to her over the years.”

            “I wish she’d been here over the summer,” one guard smirked.  “She usually dresses like an old maid, but during the summer…some of her tops are delightfully scandalous.”

            “Ah, yeah, you’re right.  Hmm…I ought to catch another glimpse of her sometime.  Maybe we could sabotage the air conditioning in this place and make her resort back to her summer outfits.”

            “Hey.”

            The group of guards turned to Youngbin, who suddenly stood up from his seat.  He wandered towards them, his face contorted into an angry scowl. 

            “What is it, Youngbin-ah?”

            “You shouldn’t be talking about a woman like that,” Youngbin reprimanded crossly.  He threw his juice box onto their table and looked at them all individually.  “You sound like a bunch of teenage boys.”

            “Hey, don’t scold us,” one of them retorted, rolling his eyes.  “You’re the only one here getting any affection.  You don’t know what it’s like to be us.”

            “What is that supposed to mean?”

            “We all know you’re with Soomin,” a guard sneered, leaning back in his chair.  “You get to experience what we can only fantasize about all day.”

            Youngbin suddenly grabbed the sneering guard by his collar and pulled him up from his chair.  “Do you want to keep talking like that, Jo?  Or would you like to keep this face of yours nice and pretty?”

            “Are you afraid my face is going to steal your girl?”

            The bottle of soju smashed onto the floor as Youngbin pushed Officer Jo onto the table.  He smacked his fist against the officer’s face and held him down tightly.

            “You still want to keep talking, Jo?  Do you still want to talk?”

            “What is going on here?”

            Every guard turned to face Mr. Ko, who stood in the doorway of the cafeteria.  Youngbin quickly let go of Officer Jo and stood at attention, along with his fellow officers.  Mr. Ko took slow, calm steps towards his officers, giving a smile at Officer Jo’s broken nose.

            “Wow, Officer, I do believe you need to be patched up,” Mr. Ko chuckled.  “Please, hurry to the nurse.  We can’t have blood staining the floors everywhere.”

            “Yes, Sir.”  Officer Jo looked sheepishly at Youngbin before rushing out of the cafeteria.

            “As for you, Officer Kim,” Mr. Ko began, turning to Youngbin.  “Follow me.”

            Youngbin closed his eyes and took a deep, fuming breath.  He gave a terrifying glare towards his fellow officers before reluctantly following Mr. Ko out of the cafeteria.  The halls seemed so long and thin.  His thoughts bounced around in his head without end.  How could he have kept from beating Officer Jo till he bled?  If only Mr. Ko had heard what was said about his daughter.

            “Please, have a seat, Mr. Kim,” Mr. Ko offered as they entered his office.  Mr. Ko sat behind his desk as Youngbin sat across from him.

            “I’m sorry for acting so irresponsibly, General Ko,” Youngbin admitted sternly.  “I have no excuses for my behavior.”

            “I’m not going to punish you for teaching Officer Jo a lesson,” Mr. Ko laughed quietly, leaning back in his chair.  “I heard the words he spoke.  If I hadn’t needed to meet with you so urgently, I do believe I would have allowed you to continue.”

            “What?”  Youngbin looked at Mr. Ko curiously.  “You’re not angry?  But what I did was out of line.”

            “It’s not an entirely important matter,” Mr. Ko assured with a cold smile.  “Don’t worry about it anymore.  And don’t bother mentioning it to anyone.  I’m sure Jo would like to be spared anymore shame.”

            “Well…thank you, General.”

            “But I do need to speak with you about something,” Mr. Ko began slowly.  “You see…I’m no fool, Officer Kim.  I’m fully aware that you and my daughter are in some kind of romantic relationship.”

            “Oh…”

            “That by itself is out of line as well,” Mr. Ko reminded.  “But, as you can see, I’m not too concerned with such trivial matters.  I would like to forgive your disregard for protocol if you are willing to provide me with some information.”

            “Some information?”

            “Ever since my daughter’s return, she’s been strange…tense.  Would you happen to know why this is?”

            “I…I didn’t notice anything different about her,” Youngbin replied sheepishly, looking down at Mr. Ko’s desk. 

            “She’s been avoiding me,” Mr. Ko continued.  “I feel her mind is elsewhere.  I’m worried…for her.  With you two being so close, don’t you have any information as to why she is acting this way?”

            Youngbin’s mind raced on and on.  Mr. Ko wasn’t asking a simple question.  He knew there was an answer, and he wouldn’t leave until he received one.  His frigid glare sent Youngbin into a panic.  If anything concerning Soomin’s plan were to be leaked to her father, the fate of the twins would be lost to a life of secret military duties. 

            Finally, Youngbin gave a nervous chuckle and gave a sad sigh.  “Well, Sir, you’ve always been very observant.  I didn’t think anyone would realize it.”

            “Realize what?”

            “You see…Soomin broke up with me as soon as she got back this week,” Youngbin explained with a frown.  “Apparently she found someone else over the summer.  We’ve both been sort of on edge ever since.  Avoiding people is how she seems to handle these situations.”

            “You…you broke up?”  Mr. Ko furrowed his eyebrows and sneered.  “That’s all?  That’s why Soomin is acting this way?”

            “I believe so,” Youngbin insisted.  “If there’s something else, I just wouldn’t know.  We haven’t talked much since that day.”

            “Well…I’m glad everything else seems to be in order.  I’m sorry for your heartbreak, Kim.  Though, I wasn’t necessarily for this pairing since the beginning.”

            “I’m aware of that, Sir,” Youngbin whispered resentfully.

            “If that’s all, you may leave, Kim,” Mr. Ko suggested calmly.  “I’ll see you around.  Don’t be so soft on the girls.  You have a tendency to underestimate their potential.”

            As soon as Youngbin stepped out of Mr. Ko’s office, he rushed down the hall to find Soomin.  Her office was only a few doors away from Mr. Ko’s, and he knew he had to inform her of the new lie he had just developed for their plan.  Even upon entering her office, he couldn’t decide whether his lie was useful or detrimental to the twins.

            Soomin’s office light wasn’t on when Youngbin entered.  Only a small lamp on her desk was on, revealing Soomin standing behind it, holding her phone in her hands.  She looked up at Youngbin in confusion.

            “Oppa?  What are you doing here?”

            He swiftly walked over to her and took her phone from her hands.  After placing it on her desk, he took a deep breath and began his story.  “Soomin-ah, I may have complicated things.”

            “How so?”

            “Your father pulled me into his office,” Youngbin explained tensely.  “He said you’ve been acting strange ever since you got back.  He said you’ve been ignoring him.”

            “Oh…Have I really been so obvious?” she asked anxiously, her worried eyes looking down at her phone.  “I don’t want to be trapped into revealing anything to him…So I guess I’ve been avoiding him.  Oppa, does he suspect something?”

            “He did suspect something,” Youngbin admitted.  “But I made up a lie to make him think your behavior was for a different reason.”

            “What could you have told him to send him off the trail?”

            “I told him…I told him that we broke up.”

            Soomin’s eyes opened wide with surprise.  She suddenly grabbed his arms.  “Why would you tell him that?  Wait, did he know we were seeing each other?”

            “You didn’t know?”  Youngbin gave a small chuckle.  “He makes snide comments to me all the time, saying how above me you are.”

            “Ah, oppa, I had no idea!” she cried.  “I’m so sorry!  I’m hardly above you.  He’s just a heartless human being.”

            “Well, forget that, Soomin-ah.  And lower your voice.”

            Soomin nodded her head hesitantly.  “But why did you tell him that we broke up?”

            “I told him you met someone over the summer and broke up with me as soon as you returned,” he continued.  “He thinks you’re avoiding everyone in order to deal with the breakup.”

            Soomin squinted her eyes and raised one eyebrow.  “Oh really?  That sort of makes me out to be…a jerk.”

            “It was all I could think of at the moment,” he admitted remorsefully.  “I’m really sorry, Soomin-ah.”

            “No, no, this could be good,” Soomin said suddenly, looking around her office with thoughtful eyes.  “I mean, as long as we act hateful towards each other, no one will suspect we’re working together on this.  If I ever get caught, at least you won’t get in trouble too.”

            “Don’t say that, Soomin-ah.”

            “One of us should still be here for the twins,” she grinned optimistically.  “And this will challenge us to be a lot more secretive when we meet.  We really should be more careful when discussing the twin’s safety.”

            “Ah, this was so stupid,” Youngbin grumbled.  “I’m sorry, Soomin-ah.”

            “Don’t worry, oppa,” Soomin smiled, carefully adjusting his jacket and patting his rigid shoulders.  “Things like this are bound to come up when we’re trying to do something so difficult.  This won’t hinder us at all.  The only thing I’m concerned about is…How could I ever act like I hate you, oppa?”

            Soomin’s playful grin brought a smile to Youngbin’s lips, and he gave a bashful snicker.  Taking her hands, he shook his head.  “I don’t know how I could act like I hate you either.”

            “Before we have to part ways in this pretend breakup,” she started, emphasizing the falseness of their separation.  “I want you to know…that I love you.”

            “I love you too, Soomin-ah.”

            Soomin giggled gleefully and wrapped her arms around him.  He pulled her closer and kissed her.  They stood that way for a while, blissfully confident of their complicated plan.  Both their hearts stopped when they heard the office’s light flick on, and Soomin suddenly pushed Youngbin away.  He looked down at her shocked, nervous face just before she slapped him across his own.

            “Youngbin!” she cried, staring at his red face with stunned eyes.  “I…I told you I don’t have those feelings for you anymore!”

            “What is going on here?”

            Youngbin and Soomin looked over to see Mr. Ko standing in the doorway.  He peered at them with his aloof, curious gaze as he stepped farther into the office.

            “Father!” Soomin called shakily.

            “What are you trying to do to my daughter?” Mr. Ko questioned angry, taking quick steps towards Youngbin.

            “Daddy, no!”  Soomin took her father’s arm and stopped him in his tracks.  “It’s…It’s not his fault.”

            “I’m very sorry, Sir,” Youngbin said quickly, his red cheek still stinging.  “I…I thought we could patch things up.”

            “You two are acting like children,” Mr. Ko groaned wearily.  “Please explain to me the nature of this breakup.”

            Before Soomin could speak, she looked back at Youngbin’s cheek, amazed by the strength and violence she was capable of.  “Daddy…you see…I met someone over the summer.”

            “Youngbin told me everything, Soomin,” Mr. Ko interrupted heatedly.  “I just want to clarify a few facts.  While you were still in an acknowledged relationship with Officer Kim, you met someone over the summer, began a relationship with him, and totally discarded Officer Kim?”

            “Well…yes,” Soomin sighed.  “But, Daddy-”

            “You’re just like your mother.”  Mr. Ko gave a bitter glare towards Soomin before taking a deep breath.  Soomin stared up at him in awe as the life quickly drained from her eyes.  Mr. Ko slowly stepped out of the room, leaving Youngbin and Soomin alone.

            Youngbin looked at Soomin helplessly, observing her heartbroken eyes.  He reached for her limp hand and held it tightly.  “Soomin-ah…are you okay?”

            As tears filled her eyes, she weakly pulled her hand away from him.  “I…I’ll be okay.”  She conjured a feeble, unbelievable smile as she looked down at the ground.  “I think…I think I’m going to go to sleep.”

            Youngbin watched Soomin leave the office, unable to think of a single word of encouragement.  Only regret filled his mind.  If he could have reversed everything only to spare Soomin from those five, stinging words, he would have.  And now he would barely see her.  How could anything good come from this?

Author's Note: This was supposed to be a lighthearted chapter in order to balance out all the sadness. I'm sorry for the sudden turn for the worst at the end, hahahaha, the twins will return in the next chapter.