Descendants of The Sun: The Second Chapter

Chapter Five-Part Three

"We sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us."

(Winston Churchill)



Uruk

Ten days later
   Mo Yeon and her team collaborated well with the local doctors and also with Dr Michaels in their fight against the virus. For the past ten days, her team learned more and more about the virus. The virus got stronger ever since the vaccine was introduced, which meant that any conventional vaccines available in the sub-zero temperatures of the WHO research lab could not be used to defeat it, for the virus, in strange ways, can use the genetics of the vaccine to modify itself, thus making it stronger. Despite that fact, Mo Yeon never gave up, and went on with the research.

   Dr Athena provided the best support she could ever deliver, trying her best to help out to the best of her abilities. Her generosity touched Mo Yeon's heart, earning her respect to Dr Athena. In her eyes, Dr Athena is a strong, determined woman, a person that was a rare type in this current world.

   Mo Yeon had not forgotten about Si Jin though. In fact, she really missed him very much. Every time she went to bed after a day's work, she could not stop thinking about him. The precious moments between him and her were the only things keeping her love for him alive, besides the infrequent video calls through her laptop. Not only that, her honour for his duty was also the one thing that constantly reminded her about the reason for her to be back here, for a soldier's fight is no less different from that of a doctor's.

   On the tenth day of her stay in Uruk, Mo Yeon felt the strong urge to contact Si Jin for no particular reason. The intention sparked when she was was trying to clear all those nonsense notifications and junks in her phone when she stumbled upon his number in the call log. Not that she wanted to delete it intentionally, but it was already months since she last cleared her phone from all that junk. Upon seeing his number on the screen, her intuition wanted her tp call him badly, just to clear all that worry in her heart.

   However, she knew that if she did so, she might disturb his work. Besides, from what Si Jin told her days before she left for Uruk, China's security network was way more sofisticated than that of the Americans. As a Special Forces officer, their missions were meant to be secret. Therefore, she wouldn't want to take the risk of exposing him. They will only talk when Si Jin wanted to talk, and video call when Si Jin wished to. This was the regimented communication they had been having ever since they parted, and unknowingly, Mo Yeon began to get comfortable with it despite disliking the long wait for a talk initially.

   "We are ready, Kang-sonsaeng." Sergeant Major Han Yeol spoke, pulling her out of her reverie. She immediately turned to her back, and saw the Sergeant Major standing behind her. Mo Yeon was sitting on a bench at the hospital's garden, wearing her usual everyday clothing of a white tee and short blue pants.

   "Oh, okay." She replied as she got up and grabbed her bag while keeping her phone at the same time. The officer and the doctor walked together towards the three-vehicle convoy parked outside the main entrance of the hospital. She got into the humvee in the middle of the group and the convoy began moving to their destination.

*****

Uruk countryside
   The convoy arrived at a small rural village guarded by a UN patrol unit, and Mo Yeon, Yoon Mi and the rest of the soldiers including Sergeant Major Han Yeol got off from the vehicles. When Mo Yeon looked at the village in front of her eyes, she realised that the village looked completely worn down, the houses in the worst of conditions and dirt lied on the floor–a perfect breeding ground for the virus. It was a bright sunny day but the sight of the village made the atmosphere entirely gloomy.