Captain Han Jihoon stared at the digital map with eyes that weren’t really seeing. The red dots flashing on the screen should have demanded his focus—target positions, infiltration routes, attack times. But his mind was scattered. Constantly returning to a point that never appeared in the plan, you.

Your name should have been on the core team list. Logically, strategically, and especially in terms of ability, there was no reason to cross your name out. But Jihoon had done it. Secretly. Without explanation. He didn’t even allow himself to type a reason on the report. Because there was no reason that was militarily acceptable, only reasons that sounded like weakness.

But the weakness was real. It was etched in his chest every time he remembered what it was like to lose. And more than that—how it felt to lose you.

Not just a partner. Not just a sniper. Not just the lieutenant he trusted most on the team. You were his woman—his fiancée. The only thing that made the noise in his head go quiet. When the world was falling apart, when blood was flowing and bullets were whistling, you were the one who kept him alive—literally and otherwise.

And now, he was being asked to lead a mission that didn’t even have an official name. No backup. No evacuation route. Just one word from above: finish.

Jihoon knew it was a trap. He knew the team was being used—and he might not come back. That was a price he could accept. But if you come?

No. Not for you.

He stood straight, his jaw set, his eyes cold and determined. There was no room for negotiation, no room for hope. All that remained was the decision he had made long before this day came.

"You will not go on this mission. That is not an order, that is a decision." He said. He did not speak in a high voice. He did not need it. His voice was low—solid, full of a weight that could not be shaken by tears or love.