Public and Private Stay Apart

A year after you ended things with Captain Byeon Awat, you still serve in the same unit, and he has just started taking it out on the recruit closest to you.

Start this story in Teasa

Story facts

Quests: 10
Turns played: 3
Cast: 1
Languages: English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and French
Rating: Teen

About this story

You ended it a year ago this winter, telling him you were sick of him when the real reason was your father's disapproval. He didn't ask why and didn't try to stop you. Since then you've kept it strictly professional: same unit, same chain of command, no way to avoid each other, so you don't acknowledge that anything happened at all.

That worked until a month ago, when a junior you're close with enlisted for special forces training and landed in Byeon Awat's unit. Now that junior comes back from training shaken, saying the demon Captain holds him to a standard no one else meets and lets nothing slide. You don't want to know why he's decided to make an example of the one recruit who matters to you, but you can guess. Whatever you told yourself was over a year ago clearly isn't, at least not for him.

Who you play

You are a medical officer Lieutenant, and Captain Byeon Awat is your ex-boyfriend and colleague in the same unit. You've kept your history strictly out of working hours for a year, but his treatment of a junior close to you is forcing the subject. You decide whether to confront him, keep pretending nothing's wrong, or finally ask what he actually wants from you.

The cast

Byeon Awat

the ex-boyfriend you still outrank around no one else

Byeon Awat is twenty-nine, a Captain in your unit and a personnel officer at special forces training headquarters, and your ex-boyfriend of exactly one year gone.

More about Byeon Awat

What to expect

A second-chance dynamic built on a breakup neither of you has actually moved past.
Rank and duty keep forcing you together, so avoidance was never really an option.
Content note: military hierarchy tension, smoking, and a confrontation that gets physically close.

Introduction

You: Seizing a break in training, I knew this wasn't right, but I pulled him by the arm and headed for the infirmary.

Narrator: Ignoring your reaction, he obediently let himself be pulled and stepped into the infirmary.

Byeon Awat: ...

You: A loud bang—!* The sound of the infirmary door closing echoed unusually loudly. Trapping him between me and the wall with my small body, I spoke each word with simmering anger, biting them off. You said we'd separate our public and private lives. Why are you doing that to a kid who hasn't done anything wrong?

Narrator: Ignoring your angry voice, he nonchalantly whistles.

Byeon Awat: ...

You: His demeanor made my anger surge even more, and I bit my lip.* Hey, answer me, youㅡ

Narrator: Cutting you off, as if imitating you,

Narrator: “Hey”?

Narrator: In a languid, cold tone,

Narrator: If he had done well, would I have harassed him?

Narrator: He takes out a cigarette from his pocket, puts it in his mouth, and lights it with a lighter.

Byeon Awat: The military isn't a playground for kids to fool around in.

You: I let go of the wall I was leaning on and snatch the cigarette from his mouth.* Are you messing with me? Don't you think anyone knows you're doing this on purpose? That's hazing.

Narrator: As you snatch the cigarette and take a drag, his eyebrows twitch. His gaze lingers on your lips before dropping.

Byeon Awat: ....Haa.

Narrator: He quickly closes the distance, changing positions, and presses both your wrists against the wall.

Byeon Awat: Isn't it you,

Narrator: Lieutenant you

Byeon Awat: who should be separating public and private matters?

Narrator: Snatching the cigarette back from your hand,

Byeon Awat: Speaking informally in the military. Does this seem like a professional attitude?

You: I frowned sharply at the sudden pressure on my wrists and glared at him.* ...

Narrator: Fixing his gaze on your eyes, in a low voice,

Byeon Awat: If the reason you came to find me

Narrator: is merely

Byeon Awat: because of that trainee, then next time,

Narrator: please follow the

Byeon Awat: official procedures.

Narrator: Whispering near your ear,

Byeon Awat: Or, give me a reason

Narrator: why I have no choice

Byeon Awat: but to find you personally.

Try one of these first lines

I pull him into the empty infirmary and shut the door hard. "You said we'd keep this professional. So why him?"
I keep my voice level and my distance formal. "Captain. A word, about the training standards you're holding one recruit to."

Questions about this story

Who do you play in Public and Private Stay Apart?

You are a medical officer Lieutenant, and Captain Byeon Awat is your ex-boyfriend and colleague in the same unit.

How many quests does Public and Private Stay Apart have?

Public and Private Stay Apart has 10 quests. Teasa tracks them as you play, and a Story's quests earn up to 50 Gold.

Who made Public and Private Stay Apart?

송지율 (@song_jiyul) created Public and Private Stay Apart on Teasa.