| Two | inseparable duo

we used to be close
but people can go
from people you know
to people you don't

"morning Prez, what's cookin..."

"move out of my way before I cook you."

Wang Tae-man was laughed at by the class as their class president erased the green board clean with the duster. The kids were happier than usual, mostly because their term exams were cancelled and CSAT postponed for a quarter and were due for extra credits if they complete their training. The girls sitting on the first two benches snickered and laughed at Tae-man who shrugged at them.

"Well atleast I'm trying..." He justified his clownery, everyone knew he was always kidding and upto no good. "Right So-cheol?" He wrapped his arm around his friend's neck and So-cheol only laughed in response. They made their way to the middle of the class, sitting besides each other.

Their first class was to start in ten minutes and since homeroom was the first lesson, things weren't as bad as it seemed. So-cheol sat across the classroom, glancing at his mates. The girls ahead were discussing about some popular kdrama and magna, the group towards the back were talking about some random topic which cited anything from world affairs to sports. Tae-man, Il ha and the others were laughing aloud discussing whatever they thought was cool whilst Kim Chi-Yeol or Kimchi as he was teasingly called, was eyeing at someone from his seat.

So-cheol frowned, Kim Chi sat ahead of him and was the nerd of the class. So seeing him distracted was a new thing, but when So-cheol traced his line of sight he was bewildered to see Nara, his twin being the reason of Kimchi's lost gaze. Nara was seated towards the right, behind her was Ae-sol. The loner and the outcast were best friends.

"Ya!" So-cheol shook Kimchi, a little too loud to garner attention from the others. "Why are you staring at Nara?" He yelled, although they weren't in good terms, they were siblings and always will be.

Kim Chi-yeol was red in embarrassment, and with all the eyes on them, he was praying for the earth to split in two and for him to be buried immediately. "Wha- what?" He adjusted the spectacles on his nose, hesitant and averted his gaze from Nara who was also looking at them. "what do you..."

"Whoa!" Tae-man hooted, the other boys joined him, "Kimchi likes Nara? What an epic love story between a nerd and a loner!"

Nara as always, didn't give a hoot, she was still mad at So-cheol for being nosey than at Kimchi. Her intense glaring was  misunderstood by Kim Chi-yeol. "Stop it," Kim Chi said, standing up and addressing the crowd. "There's nothing... And I'm not a nerd..."

"And Nara isn't a loner." So-cheol butted in again, glaring at the boys. "Stop teasing her with this nerd."

"Ya So-cheol." Nara spoke from her place, her voice was enough to silence them. "Stop calling Kim Chi a nerd and stop being nosey." 

The class was stunned. Nara hardly voiced her opinions but now that she did, they could not help but stare at her both horror and admiration. The class president who often had a grip on the chaotic classmates, was also wondering at the turn of events. None of them knew that the quiet Nara and the charming So-cheol were siblings, twins to add more emphasis. For them, this was like a love triangle where they presumed Nara liked Kim Chi but So-cheol liked Nara. 

"I am being nosey?" So-cheol stood up in his place, staring at the girl. He could not believe his twin and the audacity she had to question his integrity in front of the class. "How is looking out for you being nosey?" So-cheol never lost his cool, the smile he had on his face was his way of hiding the pain he had and seeing him serious, the boys looked at each other. Kim Chi was the only one who knew they were twins and felt stupid for riling a fight between the duo.

"I never asked you to look out for me," Nara replied, slowly yet articulating her words well. She was engaged in a staring contest with her twin, "I can perfectly look after myself, so jebal, do not..."

"Nara, So-cheol," The class president, the short haired girl with round spectacles stopped the chaos at once. The thing about Kim Yu-jeong, their prez, was that the entire class liked and respected her. Nara sat down at once, Ae-sol immediately placed her hand on Nara's hand while So-cheol was still staring at Nara. 

It was difficult for him to come to the terms that they were inseparable duo at a time. 

Miss Park entered the class on cue, and the commotion was put to rest. She could sense the tension in the room, "all good class?" She asked, and the moment she smiled at them, the class felt at ease. "Anyway," Miss Park was hesitant to address the new situation, she knew things were going haywire especially with the way military was already here for the kids. "Before we start class today..." She gulped, eyeing the class, "I just want to tell you guys that I am here for you." She was tearing up, confusing the kids. 

"Is everything okay, Miss?" So-Yeon who sat on the second bench, the social butterfly of the class asked, everyone else nodding. "You seem, shaken?" 

"Ani Ani," Miss Park faked a smile, waving it off with her hands as she introduced Lieutenant Lee, and in came a very tall, sturdy handsome army man. "He will take over the rest of the class... pay attention." 

The class stiffened up when the new entrant spoke to them while Nara felt something stirring up, more like a storm, maybe a war. She rummaged through her pocket and found the pager her father had handed to her and held it, just holding it was assurance that he was there. So-cheol on the other hand sat back with a sigh, ignoring Kim Chi who was trying to talk to him and wondered what was the need of getting army officers to train high school kids. If his mother was here, she'd be so happy to see him finally hold a gun and shoot. 

"Platoon Leader, Lieutenant Lee, and you are the new military enlisted officers. We start training today. Co-operate, if you do not want to die." 

_

Sae-bom was furious, very very furious when she learned that her kids were training for a war. Of course it was a war, even though she was told otherwise by her senior officials she knew this was something off the radar, something fishy. But more than that, she was furious at Yi-Hyun for signing the consent forms without even discussing it with her. 

"Are you out of your mind?" Sae-bom was pacing from left to right in Yi-Hyun's cabin, not giving a hoot about who was watching them. Yi-Hyun was a captain of his department and when he saw his ex-wife barge in with her hair down, fire in those eyes and sleeves folded, he knew this meant trouble. "How could you sign it? How could you even agree to our kids handling actual weapons when they are supposed to study for universities!" 

Jung Yi-Hyun took a deep breath and forwarded the glass of water to her which only got Sae-bom to glare at him. "Sit down, seeing you pace makes me giddy." He tilted his head and Sae-bom groaned, taking the glass of water and sitting across her ex-husband. "Also, the school is taking responsibility, I do not understand why are you worrying so much?" 

"Why am I worrying?" Sae-bom was close to release the private information she knew about the spheres, or whatever they were called. The rumors about a sphere completely eating up an army squad was not based on lies, but confidentiality was holding her back. "They are kids," She said, softly, she could hardly keep up with her firm stance when Yi-Hyun was this close to her. "They are my kids." Sae-bom sat back, running her hand through her hair, "I don't want them..."

"Sae-bom-ah," Yi-Hyun leaned in on his seat, all the 'lets be cool' façade fell off when he saw her this upset. Sae-bom was his kryptonite, always was and will always be, she and their twins. "They are my kids too, and then, you handed them dummy guns when they were 10, and you took them to shooting arcades ever since they learned walking. I thought training them was something you would want too." 

Sae-bom met her husband's soft gaze and she could still find herself losing in them. Sighing, she averted her gaze, and the ex-husband and wife sat in silence. Yi-Hyun was hopeful whilst Sae-bom was worried, they definitely had their roles exchanged.

"I do not care," Sae-bom shook her head, tears in her eyes after all the nightmares she got, she wanted her kids in front of her and not undergo training. And they were already trained, they did not need to defend anyone, their parents were for that job. "I am going to get them out," Sae-bom stood, ignoring Yi-Hyun's sigh. "Both of them, both my kids." 

"Sae-"

Their conversation was cut short when an officer barged in, apologising yet handing a tablet to the duo who looked at the screen and then at each other. 

Evacuation, lockdown initiating, citizens of Seoul are requested to immediately enroute to the local shelters. Do not take this as a drill. Please move as fast as you can and avoid the purple spheres.

"We gotta go..." Sae-bom said, mid-way and Yi-Hyun nodded, opening the drawer and getting the baseball bat. "the kids."

"let's go get our kids."

_