The eighteen-year-old boy stared at the various cameras surrounding him, all pointing at his self. He felt his stomach churn with nervousness and anxiety. He knew he was being watched by the entire world. And yet, he did not feel uncomfortable because of that. It was because of what he was about to say. 

As soon as he felt his palms moist with cold sweat, he inwardly sighed. You're a Team Leader. Team leaders don't feel, he mentally reminded himself, before opening his dry mouth to speak. 

"I still remember the whistling sound of the bombs falling from the skies..."

Cameras started flashing at him, and he instantly saw his face projected on the sky. It looked quite lost. Not like a Team Leader should look, a voice in his head spoke up. He willed himself to mask his scared expression with an unreadable, determined one before continuing. 

"...the agonizing screams of my neighbors, of my family. After the first bomb set my house on fire, I could not hear anything else. But I could see the chaos unfolding in front of me. Machinery from the sky began shooting down at us, and my shoulder was wounded. The pain exploded quicker than I wish it would've. I felt my knees buckle, weakened by the burning sensation in my body. I could not go any longer. I thought that was it... I was sure I would die."

The boy paused at this point. It had been eight years since that day, but he felt as if it had been yesterday. It was still hard for him to remember that day.

"It wasn't long until Planet Terr's troops began swarming into the streets, into my destroyed house. In front of me, they shot to death both of my older brothers. They didn't even care, they showed no hesitation. I thought I would be next, but to my surprise, they didn't see me. I was hidden by the debris. So they ran up our stairs, where my parents and my baby sister had stayed. I was beginning to close my eyes and give in to death, thinking I would meet my family in Heaven."

The boy put his hands on the podium. He needed to keep himself from falling down. Telling the stroy was making him feel dizzy, and he couldn't let anyone else know. 

"But my brother's ragged breathing caught my attention. I looked into his dying eyes, and he mouthed the word 'go' to me before finally closing them. His dying wish was for me, that scrawny little kid he used to tease everyday, to save our remaining family. Some sort of strength burst inside me that moment, and I picked myself up. I'd lost too much blood by then, but I still tried with all my might to crawl up those stairs. The first room I arrived to was my baby sister's."

The boy blinked, stopping his speech. General DO gave him a stern gaze behind all the cameras. Continue, he seemed to say. 

"I got in time to see that ruthless soldier pointing a gun at an innocent, wailing baby. I did not even think it through, and with all my body, I pushed his arm away. He shot, but the bullet hit the window instead. After that... everything went black. I suddenly woke up in the hospital, my wound tended. My parents and my sister had survived. I did not understand what had happened, until I was informed that one of our own soldiers ran into the house that moment, sacrificing his life to save ours."

General DO's face was filled with approval. Next to him, EX0's president, Suho, stood, his arms clasped behind his back. As usual, the boy could not make out his unreadable expression. But he hoped he'd also approved.

"Three years later, I joined EX0, an organization made by our own military to train the young kids of our planet Aflan to fight an impending war against Terr. My name is Luhan, and I don't regret joining EX0. I feel it's the only way to thank that soldier that saved my life... to make justice for the death of my brothers... and to protect our world. Thank you."

More cameras flashed as he stepped off the podium. 

"Good job," General DO said, roughly patting Luhan's back.

But he did not feel satisfied at all of his words. It wasn't Aflan's soldiers that saved him. A compassionate Terr soldier had spared his sister's life, and taken him and his remaining family out of the house. 

He'd lied. But it all had been for the right cause... right?