Chapter 1 – Part 8

About a month later, in their military base.

Anne spent one of the worst weeks and found herself facing a devilish Friday.

The hospital floor was sticky with red blood, and the cries of many echoed through the hospital.

But what was worse than anything was the quiet sound of death.

Even during the brief moments when they left to tend to other patients, the injured passed away silently. This instilled a deep sense of guilt in the medics.

Eventually, the medics moved about like dolls, their eyes heavy with sleeplessness.

There was simply not enough manpower to handle the influx of patients.

Anne shook her head in despair and stared at the floor.

Blood-soaked newsletters were strewn across the floor. The news about them was hopeless.

[Is this the final battle, or the true beginning of the end? The outcome of the Cherapf region’s recapture remains uncertain.]

[Over 4,000 casualties in four days. What lies ahead?]

[Nason Province was successfully recaptured. Evan Davis’s tactics paid off!]

Anne glanced at the report, then turned back to tending to the wounded.

At first glance, most of them were gunshot wounds. This was a real challenge. Even after a while, she was terrified to treat them.

‘How am I going to save someone who’s been shot? ’

Even before Anne came here, if the bullet was not visible, there was nothing to do but let them die.

The medics were doing what she’d told them to do, stopping the bleeding while watching out for infection.

If it was urgent, they would somehow extract the bullet from the body, but if the bleeding became uncontrollable, it was usually fatal.

“I need to see my mom,” the pale-faced wounded man said as soon as he regained consciousness, and Anne found herself wondering what her last memories were of her previous life.

It had been a long time since she’d been Anne Riley, and her churning mind had settled down, but strangely, she couldn’t remember her last moments as Ba-wool.

It was like the old cadet parallel theory… She didn’t know if the other here was still living in Korea, or if she had died.

She kept thinking of her family back there and tears would form in her eyes.

That’s when it happened. A soldier ran up and grabbed Anne’s arm.

“Lieutenant, I need you to come with me for a moment.”

“I need to see this patient right now. Can’t someone else who has time…?”

“Right now, there is no patient more important than this one.”

Anne looked at the soldier through narrowed eyes; he didn’t appear to be injured beyond a few bruises, but his face was pale.

“…I see.”

Anne, who didn’t speak, followed the soldier’s lead and her mouth dropped open in surprise at the familiar face.

Anne’s first kiss…. It was Commander Evan Davis.

“…Commander?”

“Well, I told you to bring anyone, and you really brought anyone.”

Beside him, a panicked-looking First Officer wrapped his hand around Evan’s bullet wound.

It was obvious that Evan had been seriously wounded: his shirt was red, and he smelled thick and bloody.

It must have been a hell of a battle for him to be injured that badly…. The newspapers were busy praising Evan Davis’ achievements.

The only good thing was that he was conscious.

“I know you’re unhappy that I’m here, but don’t say anything.”

“You two?”

Joseph, unlike before, questioned the friendly behavior of the two but found it hard to compose himself after seeing the commander’s condition.

“Hold on, let me check the wound first.”

Anne hastily changed into a fresh pair of gloves and shoved the First Officer with her shoulder.

“Gauze, please! I’ll also need saline and disinfectant alcohol.”

Evan’s breathing was ragged as he leaned against the bed, sweating.

For a moment, Anne wondered if he was having trouble breathing, but there wasn’t much she could do.

She cut open his shirt with scissors, poured saline solution, and examined the wound closely.

Evan’s gaze fell on her as she deftly worked as if she had done this many times before.

“Fortunately, the bullet didn’t penetrate too deeply. We just need to disinfect the wound and stitch it up.”

The aide, standing beside her, sighed with relief and nodded vigorously.

However, there was a significant problem. The anesthesia to numb the pain had worn off just the day before.

The medic at her side brought her a sterilised needle and thread, but Anne looked at Evan, her hands trembling. The pain must be worse than she dared to imagine.

Joseph saw her pause and spoke anxiously.

“What’s wrong?”

“…It’s going to hurt like hell, and I don’t have an anaesthetic.”

Evan’s sea-colored eyes flicked to Anne, and he smirked.

“Why hesitate? You’re supposed to treat it, Lieutenant.”

“Are you sure you’re okay? …The commander doesn’t trust me.”

Anne’s words caused Joseph and the other medics to stare in surprise. Anne’s eyes fluttered wildly, and her hands, which had been steady before, trembled strangely now. As if she were nervous.

With dry lips slightly parted, he spoke.

“It doesn’t matter who does it.”

At his words, Anne nodded her head and took off one glove, pulling out a handkerchief from her pocket.

“Ah, please.”

“What?”

As he answered, Anne inserted the handkerchief between his slightly parted lips.

“If you don’t want to hurt your teeth, bite on that.”

Evan nodded, his face pale.

His expression as he looked at her seemed to faintly hint at a smile, or was it just a misconception?

Anne pulled her gloves back on, trying desperately to hide the feel of his lips against her fingertips and the heat of his gaze.

She ran her fingers down the bullet-ridden side of his body and let out a long breath.

“I’ll get it out; just brace yourself.”

Anne removed the bullet with a small incision in the skin, avoiding touching the surrounding tissue as much as possible.

As she placed the bullet on the tray, Joseph breathed a huge sigh of relief.

“Just five stitches should do it.”

Usually, after just one stitch, the patient would scream in pain.

After a few experiences, Anne realised that it was better to go as fast as possible, so she sat back in her chair and threaded the needle.

“The person next to you.”

“What?”

“I need you to hold the hand.”

“Okay, okay, okay!”

At her words, the soldier strangely grabbed Anne’s wrist lightly.

Though the soldier seemed unsure why he was doing it, his expression clearly showed that he thought, ‘I don’t know why she’s asking, but if she’s asking, I’ll do it.’ His ears turned bright red.

Evan’s intense gaze moved to Anne’s wrist.

When she looked at the soldier with a questioning stare, he scratched his head and asked,

“Where am I supposed to… hold your hand?”

Anne burst out laughing and pointed to Evan’s hand with a jerk of her chin. In response, Evan said in a low, disgruntled voice

“Don’t waste time and stitch.”

Anne shook her head.

“In case the Commander can’t cope with the pain and pushes me away, which, of course, is unlikely to happen with the gentle Commander.”

“Gentle?”

“Yes. You need to stay calm. Now, go ahead and bite the handkerchief.”

“You’re acting scarier than before.”

The soldiers around them gasped at Anne’s behaviour, as if she were coddling a frightening commander.

Evan’s brow furrowed slightly.

It wasn’t a very pleasant feeling to have a rough man’s hand touch her hand.

However, as he bit his handkerchief again, the scent of strawberries passed through his nose.

He remembered the messy night he’d spent biting her full lips over and over again.

A strong strawberry scent, unique to her, wafted from her shyly opened lips.

Evan leaned languidly against the bed’s backrest, the corners of his mouth twitching upward.

‘An intriguing woman.’

Evan didn’t groan once as she stitched up the wound.

He did, however, grimace with each pass of the needle, his abs showing more clearly with the exertion.

Anne wiped away the sweat trickling down his abdomen, glancing at him. A cold sweat was dripping from his forehead, indicating he was in severe pain.

‘How did he get hurt like this? ‘

From what she had heard from patients she became acquainted with, he’s incredibly skilled…

“Lieutenant, how long will it take?”

The soldier beside him, holding Evan’s hand, asked. Evan’s grip was tight, causing pain, but he didn’t show it and just grimaced silently.

“Oh, I’m almost done.”

Anne spouted the most common lie in hospitals and showed the thread to the medic standing beside her.

The medic cut the thread, Anne tied it off, and finally applied the disinfectant.

Drenched in sweat, Evan’s eyes slightly glazed over, Anne pulled the handkerchief from his mouth and said,

“I told you it would hurt.”

A subtle smile appeared on Evan’s face. He released the soldier’s hand beside him and grabbed hers instead.

“It smelled like strawberries. What’s that?”

“Oh… it’s strawberry-flavored candy. Since we ran out of painkillers, I gave these instead. Of course, it won’t be much help.”

Because sometimes the most readily available human happiness comes from food.

Anne checked Evan’s complexion again, gingerly inspecting his body for any further injuries. A low voice with a smile rang in her ear.

“Yeah, it smelled good.”

“…I’ve only got a few left now, but if you’ll wait, I’ll get some for you when the hospital is a little less busy.”

Anne started to turn and walk away, but Evan gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

His grip tightened, and she stared at him in disbelief as he refused to let go.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Can’t the current situation of the field hospital be handled by others?”

“…I know you’re saying a mere twenty-year-old can’t do anything but I’m surprisingly capable, so let me go.”

Hearing Anne’s confident reply, Evan grabbed her hand.

“…Commander?”

“Are you going to stay here if I ask you to hold my hand because I’m still in pain?”

‘Did it hurt that much?’

But his gaze kept persistently focusing on her.

Anne looked at his hand and replied gravely but firmly.

“No. You know I’m busy, and you’ve seen with your own eyes what a terrible place the battlefield is….”

“Well, I’m sorry if I’ve been rude, but when you’re done, be sure to bring me some strawberry flavoured candy, because I’d like to taste it with you.”

When an embarrassed Anne averted her gaze and nodded, Evan gripped her hand tightly and said,

“Answer me.”

“Well, I will.”

Anne withdrew her hand, blushing deeply, and left the room.

Evan leaned back and gave her a faint smile.

But as soon as she was out the door, he wiped the smile off his face and called to Joseph, who stood in the distance awaiting his orders.

“Nason Province, rearrange the troops to prevent further losses. We’ll clear a supply route from there.”

“…Yes, I’ll review the supply route.”

“Bring pen and paper. We need to secure the budget first.”

* * *