Eve signed back in her gear and headed back to her apartment for the night. It wasn't far; perhaps a ten minute bus ride followed by a five minute walk. As Eve stepped off of the bus, she was met by the cold wintry night air, her breath rising to the air in puffs of steam.
She tugged her blazer closer around her body.
On the way home, Eve dropped by Haneul-bap—a fast food restaurant—and ordered Korean fried chicken and gimbap for takeout.
Throughout the entire day, she hadn't had much time to eat as she had mostly watched over Nia. A Royal Marine offered to take her place while she ate, but Eve had declined.
After placing her order and taking the slip with her order number, Eve scrolled absentmindedly on her phone.
Thinking about it, it was pretty surreal for Eve. Two years ago she no doubt had stood at the same spot, doing the exact same thing, grabbing a late-night meal.
Now, she was a Tier One special forces operator. She found it absurd in the tiny details, too. Even when scrolling, she was inherently aware of her surroundings, standing around waiting for her order number to be called.
"Excuse me?"
Eve glanced up from her phone. A group of girls, all noticeably younger than Eve, had spoken up. They looked to be around high school age—probably grade ten or eleven, Eve guessed. Waiting with them was an older boy, likely in university.
A girl with long black hair stepped up, dragging the guy with her.
"Yes?" Eve put away her phone and straightened her back.
"I just wanted to say that I like your fit."
Eve glanced down at herself. With the blazer, white tee, and jeans, she personally thought she looked pretty plain-jane, especially compared to the high school girl who was speaking to her, who wore a short fancy dress.
"Thank you. I like yours too. It's cute."
The high school girl smiled. "Thank you~ also, if you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"
"Twenty-one."
The girl's eyes lit up. "See—bro, she's totally viable!" She turned back to Eve. "This is my brother. He said you looked pretty."
"Hey—" The girl's brother had short, fluffy hair and wore similar clothes to Eve's. He was broad and heavyset like a bear, and good-looking in an average kind of way.
He patted his sister on the head and sighed.
"Sorry about that. My sister's unhinged, and she loves twisting my words."
The high school girl who had spoken out rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. Quit it and ask her for her number already. See, this is why you can't get a single girlfriend."
The guy flushed furiously. "Alright. That's enough, you." He bowed to Eve. "I apologize for my sister."
Eve was completely caught off guard by the situation and burst out laughing. After all the stress guarding captain Nia and even after her little awkward situation with her handler, this was most definitely not within Eve's expectations of what would happen during the day.
Her brown hair bobbed as she giggled. She wiped tears out of her almond eyes. "Sorry—I'm not laughing at you, it's just that I've had a long day and hearing that certainly wasn't on my list. Oh—there's my order."
She ran up to the counter with the slip of paper with her order number on it. She thanked the cashier, then walked back to the two siblings with her takeout in the plastic bag.
"Sorry I have to disappoint, but I'm taken," Eve said.
The guy glanced at his sister like I told you so. His sister looked slightly dejected. He shrugged his shoulders and bowed to Eve once more. "Sorry for the misunderstanding." Turning back to his sister: "Really, sis, you should learn to grow up."
"...And you should get a girlfriend already," his sister shot back.
The guy playfully ruffled his little sister's head. "I'm sorry again," he said. "Though I must say that my sister and I are both a bit jealous of your man."
"Woman," Eve corrected.
The guy blinked. "Sorry?"
Eve smiled and turned away. "My woman," she repeated. "I have a girlfriend."
- - -
[Eve's apartment, 0127 hours]
By the time Eve got home, it was already past 1 o'clock in the morning. Eve set a timer for 0630 before she sat down at her table and unwrapped her dinner. It'd been a long time since she'd eaten this late, and nostalgia practically drowned her as she thought back to her late-night study sessions, where she'd usually order the exact same dishes with perhaps a cup of ramen and an energy drink.
But then, thinking about the dishes made her think back to what she'd said to the guy back at the restaurant.
I have a girlfriend.
Biting down on the Korean fried chicken nuggets, Eve felt her cheeks grow hot.
She repeated the sentence to herself out loud, staring at her desk lamp.
"I have a girlfriend."
God, why did I say that… Now, it just makes everything seem more complicated. I mean, Elise is technically my girlfriend—even the fucking Bloom said so. Jeez… what am I thinking? But… What do I consider her?
The question stopped Eve where she was.
My girlfriend? But even if I remember some bits after I got my memory wiped, I don't think that we're close enough now for me to call her that. Even if she has memories of me, I don't really remember or know her as a person at all… Does that mean I should push her away?
She paused as her heart sank.
But then, I'd just be hurting her more, wouldn't I? And I clearly…
Eve stared at her closed window shutters. Then, she thought of how both Elise and Isa had actively fought to save her, how she wanted the date to go, how she had felt when the bloom did… that…
Eve's chewing slowed down.
I like her, she realized. True, we did have some past, and I'm not sure where this is going now, but… I like her. I love her. Is that enough?
Eve wasn't sure who 'her' referred to just yet. Maybe Elise. Maybe Isa. Maybe both of them at the same time. Though weren't they technically the same person now? Just thinking about it made Eve's head hurt.
She finished eating and swallowed, cleaning up the dishes, cutlery, and neatly stacking the takeout boxes for her to take out in the trash the next morning.
Eve then brushed her teeth and went to bed, those words still on her lips.
"I have a girlfriend," she whispered to herself as she drifted off to sleep.
- - -
[Captain Nia's hotel, 0925 hours]
"Good morning, ma'am." Eve was fully dressed in her suit and bore the black tactical mask. Beneath her dress shirt, slim body armor hugged her frame. Her Five-Seven rested concealed at her appendix, hidden under both the suit jacket and shirt.
Waking up early in the morning, Eve had crammed a breakfast at Haneul-bap, and had headed down to the conference center to pick up her gear.
"Good morning, Sergeant." Captain Nia was fully dressed and in uniform. Even though she'd already had her morning coffee, Rosemary Nia still felt listless. After making things awkward with Eve last night, she'd barely slept a wink, overthinking the entire thing and every possible scenario that could have arrived that morning. She had been too humiliated and devastated to sleep, as black bags hugged her eyes.
Luckily, Eve didn't make the situation any worse for her.
She stood by Nia's side as they descended the stairs and entered the armoured car that would be taking them to the conference center.
She was the epitome of professionalism, with nothing changed at all from how she'd acted the previous day.
She was still friendly, of course, but Eve chose to ignore how Nia had acted. She figured that it would be the best for both of them. Nia on the other hand wasn't sure whether to be hurt or relieved. She decided that she was a mix of both.
It was her fault, after all.
It was strange how silent it was as they sat in the back of the armoured car. Nia's throat reluctantly allowed her to speak. "I'm sorry for last night, sergeant. It was out of character for me. I'm not sure what came over me."
"Not at all, ma'am."
"..." Nia sighed. She'd messed things up pretty badly, hadn't she? "I'll continue to act as your handler and superior officer from now on. If you wish to file a complaint against me, you have the right to do so."
Eve was silent.
While there were no explicit rules or laws in the Halcyon Military or TRACE against an officer and a NCO being friends, it was generally seen in a bad light and discouraged. Of course, corruption or favoritism was always a possibility—but the Halcyon Military's strict discipline left little room for it, and in the rare cases it surfaced, punishment was severe.
Then there was the matter of practicality. In the end, they were a fighting force. For TRACE in particular—given the number of high-risk, often under the radar missions they undertook—maintaining the highest level of professionalism wasn't just expected, it was essential.
A handler needed to be able to stay emotionally detached from her squad in order to make unbiased decisions on the battlefield.
Eve breathed out as the car moved on in silence.
"I don't think I will, ma'am. File a complaint, I mean. I can understand where you came from."
Nia just stared. Eve's eyes still flicked from window to window, scanning for threats.
"Thank you," Nia said, her voice barely above a whisper. She clenched her fists as she looked down at her lap. The nineteen-year-old captain's face was obscured.
Eventually, the car stopped as it reached their destination.
Eve stepped out first and held the door open for Captain Nia. Eve stood behind Nia, shielding her from view as they walked up the long steps to the conference hall. Normal Halcyon Armed Forces Marines flanked the door.
They moved quickly up the stairs and Eve rushed Nia forwards, watching constantly as they did.
And that's when Eve heard it.
CRACK.
Eve acted on instinct alone before her mind had even processed the origin or meaning of the sound.
She grabbed Nia and covered the captain with her body as she felt the heavy-duty round punch right over her shoulder, grazing her.
"SNIPER!"