20 March, 1915 

"Okay, mom, I'll take care!" Na-Rae sighed, bidding adieu to her mother and father as she saw the gates of the Korean Military Academy opening before her, "I'll keep safe, alright?" 

"But, child, you're a girl! And you're just 15!" her mother worriedly complained, "I still don't want you to go..." 

"So what, mom?" Na-Rae childishly whined, "We've talked about this! There aren't many girls in the army, so I'll be one of the firsts!" 

"But Na-Rae, you-" before her mother could complain more, her father jumped in, "Hey, it's the year 1915! Times have changed, darling! Na-Rae will make us proud." 

The fifteen-year-old gleefully grinned, skipping up to her father to aggressively hug him for a couple of seconds before letting go, letting him chuckle. 

"Just stay well," her father said, appearing nonchalant but worried painfully for his daughter. The girl had been adventurous and courageous ever since she was a toddler, but letting her go and live alone amongst men, who might be prejudiced, too, was something he was tensed about. He just wanted her to lead a life she would be proud of, and he was not supposed to be interfering in her quest to attain pride and strength.

"I'll see you both soon! Bye, mom and dad!" Na-Rae cheerfully blew a kiss to them and skipped into the premises of the academy, stepping into a world of unknown and unprecedented happenings.

She cast one last look at her parents, who stood behind the closing gates, waving goodbye to her, and she waved at them until the gates closed, and they were no longer seen.

Na-Rae then inhaled and exhaled sharply, balancing herself on the flat heels of her shoes. She watched as a group of men under training marched past her to the left, while there were some grown men jogging to her right. She admirably gazed at them, slowly walking past and ending up near the reception of the academy, where a man sat behind a desk in a not-so-spacious cabin, eating a banana.

"Hello," she said boldly, "I am here to be admitted to the new batch of trainees."

The man stared at her incredulously, "Are you a boy?"

Na-Rae ran a hand through her shoulder-length black hair, "No, sir. I'm a girl."

The receptionist sized her up and down, and then sat back, "I'm not in the mood for jokes, kid. Go away."

"Sir," Na-Rae slammed a hand with full force on the register placed on the desk, "I cleared the exams and I have submitted my registration form, too. You better find me my goddamn room."

The man halted eating his banana, and then stared at her as he opened his own register, asking, "Name?"

"Kang Na-Rae."

He used his index finger to point at the name, and there it was: her name amongst the sea of names of the new trainees. He handed her a pen to sign against her name, and as she did, he handed her a key to her shared room.

Na-Rae carefully walked past the structures of the academy, observing the buildings and the training areas, and the long, stretching grounds and the green fields. Everything about this place was a dream come true; a whirlpool of opportunities knocking at her door, waiting to be accepted and transport her to the idea of what she wanted to consider herself to be: strong.

She wanted to be strong -- rather, the strongest.

She carried her bags to the room designated to her, and opening the door of the so-called dormitory, she wondered whether her roommates for the rest of the training period would be amicable or not. She knew that they wouldn't be girls -- females being in the military was still not widely accepted, but she was glad her parents had a progressive thought process. 

A minute later, as she was setting her travel bags on the floor of the side of her designated bed, the door to the room of six beds slammed open, and in came a tall boy, panting, as if he had come running to the room, "AM I IN THE RIGHT ROOM NOW?" 

"Um, check for yourself," Na-Rae shrugged, not sure how to answer him. 

"Hwang Hyunjin, Hwang Hyunjin, Hwang Hyunjin..." he kept mumbling his own name, checking for tags above the beds, and then exclaimed, "AHA, I'M IN THE RIGHT ROOM!" 

"Could you, like, tone it down a few notches?" she spoke up. 

"Sorry... but yeah, nice to meet you! My name is-" 

"Hwang Hyunjin," she chuckled, shaking the hand that he had struck out a second ago, "I heard you chanting your name. I am Kang Na-Rae, nice to meet you too." 

The boy smiled, lips stretched wide and small crescents for eyes, "I wonder what the rest of our roommates will be like." 

(a/n: that was just a tiny bit of insight as to what the setting is like. the rest will be introduced soon!!

HEHEHEHE I WAS SO EXCITED TO POST THIS IM LIKE NDNBNAHDJAJDJ IT'S BEEN A MONTH SINCE I'VE WRITTEN THIS AND IM JUST RELEASING IT N O W  

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