this already felt leagues better than crying in her room by herself . she knew that deep down, he empathized with her . even if he had never been through something as harrowing as the north, she could tell he wanted her to be okay .
eyes eventually drift up to look at his face,
the majority of her body wanted to move past him . to say she’s fine and move on with her life . to forget what she had done in those moments .
. . . but she’d be falling into the same traps those before her did . bottling up those feelings would only lead to a sudden outburst .
and she knew it wouldn’t be pretty .
so with her brain at the wheel, arms slowly wrapped over his midsection, pulling herself close and laying her head against his chest . hesitant, shaky breathing came from her lungs, eyes still producing tears .
“ and growing up is realizing all the struggles they faced and keep facing . all because they love their life . “ a new smile floods her features . it’s pure this time .
carefully looping her fingers over the dog tags kept around her neck . a reminder of her own existence .
“ I’m sure they’ll be so proud of their boy, Dunn . you’ve done so much to help people like me . people like them . . . “
finally standing again, moving herself towards the door . it’s probably time she made some calls . but first . . . honesty .
“ hey . . . I’m sorry I lied
maybe later . or another time . not right now .
“ sounds like they love you a lot . sure they’re that perfect family we talked about in school . “ a chuckle of her own, hand combing through her hair as a way to calm herself .
keeping a level head is important in this job .
“ a dog sounds nice . then again, having companions just sounds nice in general . even if they can’t talk, they sure can listen . “
finally, she decided to post up beside him . again giving space, but closer than before . seems like they’re getting comfy .
they all experienced whatever propaganda their countries wanted them to see . a universal experience most are still learning from . including her .
“ hyesan . they live in the south part of the city . thought about fleeing to china multiple times, but the money needed to
move them doesn’t grow on trees . that’s why I enlisted . to try and make enough money so they could be free . . . “ hands fold into one another, fingers mindlessly tapping against the backs .
it’s clear they wouldn’t be able to clear that area for a while . it’s too far
his hesitation wasn’t unwarranted . everyone here, regardless of their struggles, always said they were fine . never spoke up about sensitive topics .
a reflection of a past life . she’d been in that position before . always meant to be a model soldier, never someone with
trauma .
pressing the issue now might make it worse, so she laid off . now moving to lean against a nearby wall while she sat . more comfortable .
the mention of family doesn’t make her tense or weep . must be a positive sign .