Hyesung P.O.V

I was staring emptily at the ceiling. I didn’t feel like going out. No, it was more like I can’t. It was in utter chaos outside. The streets were deserted as compared to its once vibrant town bustling with people. The buildings were shattered to rubbles. The dead were left exposed in the streets, the dying was piling up in the hospitals where human and medical resources are depleting within minutes. Food resources are scarce. I knew I was next in line. And true to that, I could hear faint knocking sounds against the front door. I didn’t move. Not until I heard the knocking sounds getting louder.

I ambled slowly to the doors, under the watchful eyes of my parents. My father’s hand was on my mother’s shoulders, while her hands were engaged in a cross. Both faces were cast with fear. I opened the door and there stood a group of man and woman. The woman, who I believed to be the head of the group smiled at me and said in a firm tone, “Congratulations, you have been chosen to fight in this war!” She extends her hands towards me and in her hands, was an envelope. I was about to grab it when suddenly my mother came forward. “I hope you can reconsider this. He is still too young to be fighting in this war. He is our only son.” Tears were welling in her eyes. I didn’t look at her, for my eyes was still fixated on the envelope. But I could feel her warm tears on my shoulders.

However, the woman wasn’t deterred by my mother’s action. She begins with an even firmer tone. “Madam, everyone here either has their children dying in the battle or is on their way to one. It’s not just your son. We are in the same boat together. This is a great honor. Your son is now on the path to create history.”

“Mom,” I pat her hands and squeezed out a smile as if to reassure her. I reach out for the envelope and was about to grab it. But my hands hover over it for a few seconds and I could see from the corners of my eyes that the woman in front of me was getting agitated. Without wasting any more time, I grabbed it off her hands while a big part of me was suddenly loaded with fear and reluctance. 

I looked at them and said without any effort to hide my rud