"I only had one shot left. I'll stop the car!"

Suddenly, he had a very bad feeling about this. He finally managed to get the rest of the Alpha Team to come over, but he still couldn't shake if the uneasy feeling.

"10 metres..."

"5 metres..."

"Now!"

He heard a shot. And even more shots! Sounds of tires screeching. More shots! A crash! His heart started racing even more. Sijin said that he only had one more shot left. But that would mean... the rest of those shots he heard was coming from the men in the car. And if Sijin wanted to stop the car... he would have to be stationary in front of the car!

No matter how hard he tried not to think of the worse... he couldn't help feeling that Sijin would have still ended up on the receiving end of those remaining shots! He ran even harder.

He could see Snoopy, Piccolo and Harry Potter converging towards one particular lane. He must be nearing the crash area! But then he noticed the looks on their face and he couldn't help being alarmed. He turned his head towards the direction they were heading; he could see the black van now—Oh no!

Seo Daeyoung willed himself to run even faster as he saw Sijin lying on the floor, covered in blood.

xxx

He wondered why he had to recall that incident at this time. Perhaps it was because... in both cases, Sijin almost died in front of him. Both times, he had the fright of his life. Just as bad as the time, he thought he'd lose Myeongju against the threat of the M3 virus.

He gently ran his hand over Sijin's forehead. His fever still didn't go down. But at least he wasn't bleeding to death.

For that, he was thankful. The militia somehow managed to drag a hapless doctor from somewhere to treat Sijin, so that kept him amongst the living for the time being.

Daeyoung glanced around their small cell. He wondered where this place was located. There weren't any windows... so this prison must be located underground somewhere. The place seemed to appear very sturdy. But then that would pose another problem to them. How would they escape?

Daeyoung glanced back towards Sijin.

"I have to go..."

He was scared, that time when he heard Sijin said those words. Just like back then, in Seoul. Back then he had called for the ambulance immediately and tried to keep Sijin awake and breathing until help alive. But just as the paramedics arrived, Sijin passed out again and stopped breathing. And he had to watch helplessly as the medics tried to revive him before taking Sijin into the ambulance.

Sijin managed to survive regardless, thanks to Kang Moyeon. But he couldn't forget how he nearly let Sijin die under his watch.

Sometimes he just hate Sijin. Sijin was the kind of guy... that once he sets his mind to do something, would give his everything in order to accomplish a mission perfectly. But that means... half of those times, Sijin would end up getting hurt. And he couldn't bear seeing him hurt. Sijin, after all... was more like a family to him now.

"I'm going to retire from the army."

He remembered how disappointed Sijin had looked when he told him of that decision. The look that spoke on how much Sijin felt betrayed over his thoughtless decision. Back then he realised how wrong he had been. So he decided to stay; not just for Myeongju but also for Sijin and the rest of his comrades. And for once, he was glad that he managed to choose the right decision.

Because if he had chosen to retire; if the events still happen in the same way, who would have watched Sijin's back other than him? Of course, there would still be the rest of Alpha Team, but he wouldn't be able to stand it if he wasn't the one to be supporting Sijin all the time.

Like now.

"Hang in there..." he whispered softly, holding Sijin's hand tightly.

"I'm not going to let you die!"

A/N: I guess you can say, this was a sort of companion piece to By My Side. And I looped Winds Beneath Your Wings so much I just had to write this.