Village

@Joanna Kuchta [ whispers sorry sorry sorry ;; for the lateness of this ]

A thousand questions were running through Taehyung's mind at the moment, only one of which was wondering what the consequences of this would be to the soldier who seemed to have more humanity in her little finger than how much many of the soldiers he had met as of late had in their entire bodies. Did she need to be with her batallion? Would she be in trouble for putting saving innocent lives before fighting a cuase that no one truly understoof or stood by? The thoughts were there, but buried somewhere in the back of his mind as he followed the instructions carefully. It wasn't a bad idea, if they split up, they might have a chance.

Tucking the flare gune behind him, the only place he knew it would sit securely, Taehyung cradled the little body in his arms again and shooting the soldier one last look to convey the message that he would do all he could to save the little boy, as much as she would have, he turned around and began a brisk walk. He had to rush, the rubble and dust was starting to settle too heavily not to suffocate with even the piece of cloth that had covered his face. He would shake it out once in a while, but it was of little use.

It wasn't long before what he had dreaded happened, and three blocks away from the hospital, Taehyung came to the alarming discovery that the child was no longer breathing. Panic set in. Looking around, he dashed into the nearest buulding he saw which he coud get into and rushed into a room where the window was facing the opposite direction of the blast. Gently laying the child down and moving the cloth, he proceeded to do all he could without medical assistance-- positive air flow through mouth to mouth.

In the few seconds he had between when the boy began to breathe again in slw shallow breaths, he ran to the window and practicaly hanging outside, shote the flare gun up. With any luck, the soldier or an ambulance you see it and find them before it was too late.

@Joe Fahy Why was it that there had to be ONE bar in the whole town that she was allowed to enter unless she leaves to the other part of the city where it was warless? Why ONE out of all the numbers? Tonight was a celebratory night for the "gentlemen" of the army, at least the clique's. Yeah, you best believe there even are cliques in places like the army. The dude who got a promotion didn't even deserve to be Sergeant. He was a complete douchebag, not to mention a convicted and murderer. Who was she kidding...most of them were criminals at mind either way regardless of how they act in real life. They're all scum bags...

Especially...

"Ey! Babe." Joanna stopped her footsteps and mentally rolled her eyes as soon as the familiar voice of "goat man" came to her senses. She turned her head, and of course she was right. Who wouldn't be able to tell that annoying, irritating accent from ten miles away? Joe Fahy. If it weren't because he was Sam's (made-up character) brother, she would've planted a bullet in his skull years ago. Ever since Sam's death and their drafting, Joe had been nothing but cruel to her in all ways possible. It already being a woman in the army, and with Joe Fahy being her so-called partner?

Literal Hell. "Come here, let me talk to you for a bit." Joanna scoffed slightly underneath her breaths and slowly obliged to his calls. Why does she do it? Obviously for Sam's sake--at least that's how she tells herself so. She hated Joe Fahy. She still hates Joe Fahy and she could only imagine she will always hate Joe Fahy. That man had no good in him, and he never will.

"What." She said blandly as she stood next to him, her arms crossed over her chest as she ignores the rows of cat-calls coming from the men sitting at the same table as the she's trying to have a peaceful conversation with.

@Kim Taehyung As a soldier who serves the country at the most absolute inhumane time of history, she'd never thought that she would be able to actually assist the people of London at her fullest. All of their goals were to maintain power, show no mercy and have no sympathy--Joanna was aware that her actions now could cost her her own life, though it was worth it. She'd lost too many of her own; her birth parents, the one person she loved most more than anything, Hell, she doesn't even know if her adoptive parents were still alive back in Cambridge. She can't risk it. She can't lose anymore. She doesn't want anyone else to experience what she had to go through, and as a woman of the military, she most definitely wouldn't let an innocent civilian die like this. Not like this.

"Let's just get him as far as we possibly could, I'll try to get attention from an ambulance and gather as much people as I possibly could. Head towards the hospital, I'll be right behind you." She instructed, keeping in mind that the boy's life was hanging onto a thin thread. She was scared, there was no lying she was scared. She doesn't want him to fall into the traps of death, but...she at least had faith. If it was anything her late lover taught her, it was to have faith in everything she does. The necklace he gave her hangs loosely around her neck, and with a breath, she pushed through her fears and lifted the young boy up. Quickly, she reached back and handed the man in front of her a gun.

You better be trustworthy or else I'm gonna put a bullet in your head when we're done..

"Here, take this. It's a flare gun. Find a clear spot somewhere and shoot up. Repeat, you have to shoot up." She said as she gave the young boy a last look and the taller lad in front of her. She trusted him. She doesn't know him, but something tells her he's a good man, and if there was anything everyone in this town needed right now, it is a good human being like him. With that, she went on, remembering to rip the back of her shirt and tie it around her face to help herself breathe. She hoped, oh for God's sakes, she hoped that there are still people alive.

@Joanna Kuchta ing hell, why did they have to have a limit on how much they had to drink, that was the only thing that was running through his mind. It wasn't everyday that he had opted to drink but when he did; a child's idea of drinking was not what he wanted. The bar was louder than usual that night, but that was only given considering it was a weekend. He scanned the room ignoring the ones that he was that night. One of the soldiers had gotten a promotion, and this was supposed to be the celebration. Tuning out the noise, his attention landed on someone that made their way into the facility.

Joanna. Joe's lips twisted up into an lopsided smirk; part of him hated her and to him, he had good reason. His eyes were set on her for the next few moments, watching her as she made her way in the bar. Once she was close enough that she could hear him he starts to speak, "Ey! Babe."

Waiting for moment to her her attention he continued, "Come here, let me talk to you for a bit." He beckons her to come closer with his index finger eyes never leaving her for a moment with that sickly smirk plastered at his lips.

@Joanna Kuchta [ it's okay eue I don't mind at all. We can keep it short. ]

@Joanna Kuchta Taehyung cringed as the unavoidable happened and after the shockwaves of the initil blast had blown away everything, the dust and ash and smoke began to settle heavily around them. He had also caught the sound of the tank on the move, but had thought nothing of it until she spoke. A sick feeling settled in his stomach as he nodded. "I can do that," he assured, carefully picking up the limp body, then noticed that she was once again coughing. "Tear a piece from the back of the shirt and breathe through it," he suggested before glancing down at the boy in confusion. But what about the kid? If he was having trouble breathing because of the residue in the air, then covering it would help. But if it was a blast lung, then covering his airways even with a cloth would be a death sentence. He wasn't a doctor, how could he know what to do?

His features were wrought with worry as he waitied to be directed in the right direction. "If he stops breathing, we'll have to take him into a building where the air is relatively clear and get him breathing again with mouth to mouth," he informed instructionally, oddly certain that she wouldn't take offence in it. It was, after all, to help the child that he had recruited him to help. Positive air flow, that was key. And if the air was polluted, it wouldn't do much. "If that happens, our best bet might be to wait until an ambulance with an oxygen mask at hand could come and get him."

@Kim Taehyung Joanna felt a little jolt of panic run through her body, though quickly washed away by the sight of the unnamed man running towards them. He had knowledge of medical first aid--at least now she knows not everyone in this town is scared completely less that they're too dumb to do anything if an emergency happened. She breathed in and coughed, the air around her filled with smoke and flying ash, buildings and houses around were burning up into large flames... until the sound of the large tank vehicle she came with driving away signaled her.

"," she muttered, "I did, but now I don't." She said, troubled now that there wasn't exactly a way for her to travel back to the camp in enough time. It was then, that she noticed the sounds of sirens--ambulance sirens, to be exact. That's right.. There's a local hospital nearby. "There should be a hospital about five blocks up, do you think you can carry him all the way down there while I go around and check if there is anyone else out there who's still alive?"

[] sorry dude this should've been longer, divergent is on so im like super distracted slkjdfkljasf

@Joanna Kuchta Part of Taehyung wanted to scoff, since when did a soldier that worked for the government care much about the safety of the citizens? He chastised himself for the thought immedieately. They were only human. Some were living a similair nightmare, one infinitely more dangerous with the possibility of a thought that ran the wrong way costing them their life. And in the expression of this soldier, he saw none of what truly terrified him in somme soldiers regardless of their size or gender-- the blood thirst and hunger for power.

At the sudden attacks, Taehyung clutched the telephone pole, going rigid in alarm-- no sense in panicking, this was nothing new. He'd become resigned to thefact that he would make it, or he would not. It was a comforting feeling to no longer be afraid of death. He cast a practised gaze around, and it seemed they had caught sight of the child at the same time. Ignoring the sharp pang of guilt that struck him, Taehyung stayed put and looked up at the street light a few feet away. It was time, this was the message he'd been waiting for. The light went dead. Then, four short flickers, and then a longer one. Again, it was dead. Another five flickers. Darkness. And at last, it came on for a few seconds, then went dead again. The message now completed in perhaps half a minute, Taehyung stared back at the soldier and child with wide eyes.

When she shouted the order, Taehyung was only glad to oblige. He ran over as though startled into action by the command and made quick work of looking over the boy, There was a head wound that was bleeding profusely (impact from something blown to bits by the explosion hitting him, he presumed), and a few scratches to his body when he's fallen, which were minor. He held a finger to his nose, a wave of panic washing over him as he realised that his breathing was labored. If the shock waves had caused a blast lung, then they didn't have time to loose. "Do you have a vehicle?" He asked, looking around for one, quickly taking off the shirt he was wearing, and tore off the sleeve to tie up the head wound, thankful for the undershirt that minimally helped the chilliness of the air. "I can carry him to it if you do." Perhaps he could have puttled of the facade of an idiot before, but not when a person's life was in danger. Especially not a child.

@Kim Taehyung She furrowed her eyebrows at his words. She could see it in his eyes, he was slightly unafraid of her--not a surprise, however. No one takes a woman seriously, ever, especially if she's a soldier. Not to mention she was possibly one of the only few. She took the moment that the taller lad's gaze wasn't on her to roll her eyes. With her self straight, she continued to speak. "Well, sir, you should be heading back now, you should be aware it isn't safe if--"

Before she even finished her sentence, the ground moved. Joanna stumbled, leaning forward to grab hold onto the telephone pole as the explosion from nearby went off, followed by another, and another. This wasn't a test, it was an attack. Her already furrowed eyebrows curved even more so inwards as she let go of the pole and turned to the man in front of her. "This is exactly why we want you in your homes before curfew," she said, yelling at the top of her lungs as the sounds of explosions continued as well as cries of those civilians who didn't exactly make it into their homes in time as well. She took a quick look around, and at the corner of her eyes, she spotted a child, lying limp on the floor. Flashes of images from the day similar to this came through her mind and a struck of pain drove through her heartstrings. Joanna ran forward, as fast as she could towards the child.

"No, no, stay with me kid," she whispered to herself as she knelt down and pulled the child's head up, two fingers on his pulse. He was alive. She sighed in relief to herself and turned her head, finding that there were no other soldiers in sight. Yet another reason why she hates this government. The man from earlier was still standing there, dumbfounded, pissing her off. She screamed again, this time louder out of the pouring emotions coming from somewhere inside of her that loathed the sight of helplessness. "Hey, you! Come over here and help me get this kid to the hospital, will you?!"

@Joanna Kuchta When the woman was finally before him, Taehyung looked over as though interrupted from his thoughts. It was with considerable surprise that Taehyung noted that she was indeed a woman-- not because he was among the kind of scum that believed that women who were supposedly of a weaker constitution and couldn't handle such jobs such as being a soldier, but because he could tell the strides were long. This woman, or /girl/ because that is truly what she seemed to be, was petite.

He blinked in wonderment and looked around, apparntly taking in only now that it had become dusk. "Oh," he replied absently, then plastered a sheepish, and vaguely alarmed look on his face. Indiffference could cost him his life-- no one was unafraid of soldiers. "I-- sorry, ma'am," he replied quickly, scratching the back of his head. He glanced around, not particularly worried about seeming a little dull-minded to buy some time. "I guess I didn't realize that it'd gotten so late. I just came out to get some air."

@Kim Taehyung 4 minutes... Joanna thought to herself as she squinted, staring out into the almost empty streets. People were quickly gathering themselves back into their homes or at least find a place to stay for the night before the sound of the curfew would signal. She knew, it was a daily routine. It's not like this was any different from what she'd seen for the past two years of working with the tiest people in the world. She doesn't want to be here, but she doesn't want to die nor does she want her parents to die. There was no choice left for her but to continue doing her duty-- and just as she was just about to lose herself in her thoughts, she caught someone, standing not too far forward, leaning against an old telephone pole.

He's gotta have a death wish, she thought to herself as she hurriedly step closer to the male, taking large leaps forward (considering she's got tiny little legs underneath all those layers). "Excuse me, sir," she said firmly as she stopped next to him, cursing in her head as she notices she was also shorter than the man. "The curfew is in three minutes, are you not aware? You should be heading back to your respectful home."

@Joanna Kuchta He shouldn't be lurking around there at this time of night, Taehyung knew. Even if his home was only minutes away, there were no excuses for being around the are this time of night-- not with the war going on. No one knew what the war was, but they had all been wanred that for their protections, they should avoid staying out in the open.

In another four minutes, there would be the signal. Then, he would leave as casually as he came. Leaning against the telephone pole, Taehyung gazed out into the pastures just beyond the fenced walls of the cities. The area was relatively empty, but it wouldn't be long before a soldier patrolling would find their way-- He didn't have the time to even fully complete the thought before the heavy boots sounded on the grounds. He knew better than to flinch. Keeping his eyes out on the fields as though he hadn't heard the approaching soldier, or thought nothing of it, Taehyung braced himself for n unpleasant encounter.

@Jung Soojung "Mhm, I was thinking of opening up the windows" As she fumbled with sleeve of the cup, he tried not to keep his eyes on it. Of course she would have notice the little message, but then again that was something that was the habit. Hidden messages on pastries and little notes were the norm between them They had been around each other; known what they to focus on. To the unknown eye the elegance in the moves would hide any kind of doubt that any rebellious messages were sent.

"Why thank you kind comrade." Sungmin offered a smile before taking the tip and dropped in along with the rest of the change. As he moved back to his position, from the corner of his eye he catches a glimpse of a soldier walking by. Tipping the hat that was part of his uniform he greeted the man outside before he joined the other, scrutinizing the words that she had wrote. Confusion spread across his face as he looked up at the female.

His mind speeds across the possible people that may know her from the past but finds that he knows none. He leaned over over once more as if trying to read the notes to fill the missing boxes. "Can I?" He asked as he stuck his hand for the pen, twisting the paper so that it was facing him. 'Becareful' He wrote as one word but quickly looked up to her as if to tell that he was not convinced that it was safe (given the limited information he had on this certain person that may or may not be a threat).

The look should have been enough to convey his message but they would meet that evening outside and so he would be able to ask more. Despite the fact that he wasn't older than her, he had gown quite fond of her through out time that they lived together, and a threat to her identity was not something that he took lightly- even though, she had mentioned that it was safe to trust them.

@Choi Sungmin She keeps a casual smile on her face, though pretending to be occupied with reading the newspaper she has brought with her, her eyes were already glued to his actions. She knew to keep look of the smallest details because anything could be of ways to alert her and possibly, save her. A faint hum passes her lips and she'd meet his gaze once he sets her drink before her, the detailing were way too obvious, but that was something only the both of them would notice.

"At least the weather is nice today," she softly mentions.

Her suddenly talks of the weather was her way of alerting him that something has happened and she must let him know as well. Before taking hold of the warm cup, the sleeve has caught her attention, so she knew he has left her a message as well. Taking hold of the cup, she stalls time by pretending to wait for the coffee to cool before taking a sip from it, so she secretly picked at the sleeve of the cup with her fingernail, allowing some room for the note to slide out without being so suspicious.

Once taking hold of the note between her fingers, she reaches for her newspaper once again, pretending to read it but instead has found ways to read the note he has written. 'Meeting today at 7', it reads and she'd crumble it between her fingers before placing it into her pocket by pretending she were fishing for coins to pay for the drink.

She hands him the coins and subtly speaks, "keep the tip," she smiles, indicating that she has seen his message.

Soojung then takes a sip from the coffee he has made, laying the newspaper flatly on the counter so he could also see, she takes a pen and begins to play the daily crossword puzzle. Using the spaces on the crossword, she wrote incoherent messages, making it seem as if she were just doing the puzzle but instead used it as a way to send messages to him.

It was something that has just recently happened, and the reason for her delayed time in coming to the cafe. She has met someone from her past, thus leading her identity to be exposed, but she trusts that it would not suddenly change the way she has been living her new life. She only wonders though if Sungmin could trust the situation and Soojung needed his help to see if she should also be cautious.

'Past' - 'Identity' - 'Revealed'; are the first words she fits between the spaces. Then cleverly using the smaller spaces, she manages broken words, 'can' - 'be' - and 'trusted'.

@Jung Soojung The presence of the female was nice, despite how restricted the conversation was. More than simple talk would get them into trouble. "You got it." He says, as he moved to the back side of the store ruffling around in the back with the coffee machine before pouring the drink that she wanted. It had been the same everyday, she would come in, he would get her the coffee, they would talk, and then she would go. But that day was different. There was something he needed to tell her, an he had known that if he didn't tell her now, that was the last time he would see her until they got back home.

"It's been dead all morning." He said as he moved to the corner of the cafe where the sugar was placed. and conveniently one of the spots in that were hidden to the camera. Pretending that it was only to add the sugar, he reached into his apron to get a pen and a small piece of paper. 'Meeting today at 7' he wrote before sliding between the sleeve of the cup (something he knew she would notice as she usually did not use a cup sleeve). Coming back to where the other was Sungmin eyed the paper cup as he slid it across the counter trying to indicate that she should look under it.

"Here you go," He places his elbows over the counter before leaning in slightly then continued a slight smile tugging the corner of his lips, "careful though, it's hot even though I took the initiative to even put a sleeve on so your hands wouldn't feel the heat."

[ y reply is y ]

@Choi Sungmin Her work load has piled up this morning due to the local school asking her for a variety of books to add to their library, and because of the sudden request she was behind her usual routine. Soojung knew better than to show any sort of displeasure or even to act upon it, especially not at the bookstore, so she kept the trouble to herself. Carrying on the request, she had gathered a wide collection to be ready for shipment to the academy, but even the carrier was late to arrive.

It was almost ten past 11, when her tasks were completed. Allowing time for her usual schedule, though a few minutes late, she places an associate on duty and sets off for break.

The weather was warm though soft breezes would brush against her, rustling few strands of her dark hair. Few pedestrians roam the streets, their expressions nonchalant, yet timorous. Soojung would avoid meeting their eyes and directly looks to the road where she walks. Across the street is a cafe where she frequents every day for breaks, entering the shop she meets the familiar face of a man she knows.

"You're late today," he greets, "the usual?"

With a sheepish smile, she makes way to the counter where he stands and takes her seat. "The usual as always," she replies before noting the barely occupied facility. "No customers today?"

/11:07 AM/ Sungmin's eyes were fixed on the clock, the minutes were ticking by way too slow for his liking. He had barely any sleep the night before, and he was sure that the one ahead was going to be the same. He was to get off work early that evening at 5:00pm but that just seemed too far in the future with how tired he felt. His eyes drifted from the clock to outside, it was a particularly slow day that day, not many customers, not even those that would stop by the cafe only to use the bathroom before leaving.

/11:08/ A groan left Sungmin's lips, and internally he thinks that he wouldn't loo at the clock for at least another 30 minutes. It was then that something caught Sungmin's attention, a familiar face making their way out of the building infront of the cafe. Through the glass window he watched as she made her way over. A smile spreads across his lips for a moment before hiding it as she entered. He had been expecting her, but then again for one that had visited all day, he was hoping she would come sooner to break the silence of the cafe. He had been growing tired of listening to news that played on the tv.

"You're late today" Sungmin says as he straightened up from behind counter, his hand was already reaching for the cup size that she usually ordered. "The regular?"