Yelena was more than amazed by the unexpected revelation. That man turned out to be the new Deputy Commander! Was that why he knows her name? But why didn't he introduced himself at that time?

She had many questions and she was shocked but she couldn't lose her composure. He was still a superior no matter what their past encounter was!

​​

Captain Eleanor was equally surprised as her. Did they already meet each other beforehand? But still, she also couldn't react. They were trained that way.

"Please have a seat." Colonel Arias offered them to sit down and they complied right away.

"I know that greetings usually finished after the introduction but that's not how I work." Colonel Arias said. "I want to have a good and friendly atmosphere with every subordinate, especially someone like the two of you who leads a skilled and important team. I hope you don't mind me taking some of your time."

"We are okay, Sir. We are lucky to have a thoughtful Deputy Commander like you." Yelena replied with her voice remaining respectful.

Colonel Arias glanced at Captain Ella waiting for her response. "I'm fine with it, Sir." She answered.

"I also have a chat with the other Captains as soon as I joined and you two are the only ones left. As time passed by, you will witness how friendly I am and I truly hope that we can get along and achieved many great things together." The Colonel said with a friendly smile.

His words put Yelena in a daze because it was rare to have such a friendly superior. After all, it's the army where everyone was binded by ranks and discipline. Superiors normally issued an order, not a request.

She snapped out and responded when she realized that the Colonel was still waiting for her response. "I apologize, Sir. I will try my best to catch up with your instructions." She respectfully replied.

Once again, the Colonel shifted his gaze to Captain Ella, hoping to hear her response. "I will try my best." She simply replied as if she was annoyed.

Colonel Arias chuckled at her response. "Did I perhaps do something to offend you, Captain?" His gaze fixated on Captain Ella.

Yelena was feeling a little anxious. Did her friend pick up her old hobby again? Disliking people for no reason? It would be okay if this man was a random guy but... he was a superior. On top of that, he was a Deputy Commander!

She desperately prayed that her friend wouldn't do anything to get on the bad side of the Deputy Commander.

"No, Sir. There's no such thing." Captain Eleanor responded.

"Please forgive her behaviour, Sir. She tends to be a bit moody sometimes." Yelena pleaded, hoping to save her friend.

"Moody?" Colonel Arias chuckled once again. "Is that why or is there another reason? Answer me, Captain." The question was directed to Captain Ella this time as well.

Trying her best to hide her displeasure, Captain Ella lowered her head. "I apologize if I offend you, Sir. Please forgive me." As much as she felt displeased, she was also not dumb enough to be stubborn to a superior. She hardly swallowed her pride and apologized.

The two Captains left the Deputy Commander's office after having another few chats. As soon as they stepped out of the room, Yelena glanced at Ella with an irritated face. "How can you behave like that? Do you want to bring yourself trouble? Fortunately, Colonel Arias seems to be a good man. If not, you won't spend your time here in peace!" She scolded her.

"However, I hate him," Ella grunted, unfazed by Yelena's continuous scolding.

Yelena sighed at her friend. What had gotten into her? Disliking people without a reason was her hobby but she never made it this obvious! Why can't she hide her displeasure in front of none other than the Deputy Commander?!

She glanced at her wristwatch and realized that it was almost 1 in the afternoon. She still needs to greet her teammates and she will be free for the day.

"Do you want to have dinner together? Are you free tonight?" Yelena asked despite not hoping for much. Much to her joy, Ella agreed.

"Okay. Let's do that. But where?" Ella simply asked.

"Let's go to that place where we always went during our training days. We went there whenever we have a holiday." Yelena opined with an exciting smile.

"Fine. Let's meet there. I'll be off then." Captain Eleanor bid goodbye and returned to her office.

Yelena briefly visited her team's office where her team members gave her a warm welcome but Lt. Morris was not there. He was busy dealing with the aftermath of Operation Peace Day. As such, she didn't even stay for long and went home after a few minutes.

* * *

As promised, Yelena and Ella were having dinner together in a restaurant where they always dined years ago. The place was a small one in the side of a buzzy street which people from the upper class would never visit. But it was a place where the two friends frequent.

Having some light alcohol over dinner, they chat and gradually rebuild their friendship that was once tainted.

Captain Eleanor keeps on glancing her phone and typed a message from time to time and it doesn't go unnoticed.

"Is something wrong? You seem to be troubled today, which is very unlike you." Yelena asked as she poured some drinks for her.

"No. Just a small thing, not enough to trouble me." Ella simply replied but it was not that convincing.

"Is it hard to tell me? If that's the case, it's fine. I'm okay with it." Yelena calmly said with a reassuring smile.

"It's not that. It's..." Ella made a deliberate paused and looked at Yelena. "I feel embarrassed to say."

"Wow! You have changed so much. You even know how to feel embarrassed now?" Yelena teased her friend with laughter. It's indeed a miracle. "Just tell me."

"The thing is..." Ella was about to say something but she realized that her friend's focus was already shifted to the entrance which was not far from their table.

Yelena gawked as she stared at the man who just entered the restaurant. "Ella, I see Colonel Arias." She muttered.

"What?!' Ella turned around as her back was facing the entrance and saw Colonel Arias in a casual dress. She instantly maintained her normal position again. "What an unlucky day!" She scowled.

"What do you mean?" Yelena finally looked at her friend. She was lost. What's with her friend behaviour today? Did she changed this much during a year?!

Before Ella could respond, Colonel Arias already reached the place where they sat. Yelena instantly rose from her seat and Ella did the same.

With a confused face, Yelena asked, "Sir, what brings you here?"

Colonel Arias flashed a smile. "I think I need to introduce myself one more time." He wrapped his left arm around Ella's waist and said, "I'm Ella's boyfriend, Arias. I've always wanted to meet you, Yelena."