-XXX-XXXX: Where does Ijin train again?

-Boss Man: At one of the S.W training centers.

Hang on. Lemme get the address.

-XXX-XXXX: leave it to Ijin to start working as a bodyguard.

-MY LEG!: Hey, that's better than him being a mercenary.

-XXX-XXXX: True.

He chuckled as he looked down at the group chat.

For the first time in many moons, their entire squad had finally managed to get leave together.

Obviously.

That meant that they were going to kidnap Ijin again so they could finally give the kid the proper thanks he deserves.

He quickly arrived at the training center and threw his car into park. He had a bounce to his step as he walked up to the doors.

He boldly walked in, he knew what he was there for and there was no way in hell he was going to leave without the kid.

That would mean facing the wrath of all of his teammates and he wanted to avoid that thank you very much.

It was a little bit too easy to get into the training center for his liking, but he was sure that it would have been harder to enter when it wasn't being used.

Walking into the training area, he immediately caught the attention of the trainer and the trainees. As to be expected as in their rush to hurry up and get Ijin (As some of the other men would have to leave next evening) they didn't let him change out of his fatigues. He was standing out compared to everyone else. Although, there was only one member that recognized him.

Ijin was standing at the bottom of the rope, no doubt getting ready to warm up before he walked in. Ijin frowned at the sight of him and when he hesitantly waved, Sung-Ho motioned for him to come over.

Without a second thought, Ijin came over at the same time as the trainer, the both of them frowning at the sight of him

"Sung-Ho?" Ijin had his head tilted to the side again, curiously asking," What are you doing here?"

He waved off Ijin's question, he would get to that in a few seconds, before he turned to the trainer. He was a man who was a little bit taller than Ijin, with brown hair and the typical dark eyes," Hi. I'm Sergeant Sung-Ho. I'm here to pick up Ijin."

Ijin blinked in surprise, which was understandable since they didn't tell him that he was going to be picked. Again, it was rather spur of the moment.

Actually, now that he looked at Ijin… he could see just the slightest bit of movement by the kid's left hand.

He frowned.

Not again.

"Hey," His voice was stern as he tugged on Ijin's ear, much to the teenager's surprise," What did we tell you about waiting until you completely healed?"

To his credit, Ijin's expression did not change as he boldly said," I'm fine Sung-Ho." They had gone over this many times, and he swore that he could hear just a hint of exasperation in the kid's voice.

Oh, this fool.

After six months of dealing with the teenager, they had long learned how to discern when Ijin was hiding an injury. While the teenager didn't know it, he had a habit of pressing the fingertips of his thumb and middle finger together when he was in pain. It was very subtle, and it had taken months for Dae-Hyun, their medic, to notice.

But once they noticed, it certainly came in handy.

He smiled threateningly as he tugged on Ijin's ear just a little bit harder." Would you like to repeat that in front of the Major and Dae-Hyun? Or do you wanna tell me now what's hurting?" slowly, training came to a stop as he scolded Ijin. No doubt, this had to be the first time they had seen Ijin be scolded. Overall, he was a good kid, but it was moments like these that just reminded him just how stubborn Ijin could be at times.

He could feel the trainer's eyes on him as Ijin averted his eyes. Finally realizing that he was not going to be able to lie his way out of this situation," I broke my ribs two weeks ago…"

Based on the sound the trainer made, it looked like he was disapproving of Ijin too.

He felt a vein in his temple throb, and he did not let go of Ijin's ear as he gritted out," Do you really want a repeat of the mess hall incident?" the mess hall incident had been the time Major Kang had ruthlessly jabbed his fingers into Ijin's then bruised ribs when the teenager had refused to rest in the infirmary. They had gotten a glare for the action (the first show of emotion they had seen from the young man), but it had also helped them convince order Ijin to get his ass back into the infirmary and wait until he got the green light from Dae-Hyun.

Now Ijin was looking like a properly-chastised teenager," No…"

Well, at least he realized that there was no point in fighting it.

He finally let go of Ijin with a huff, crossing his arms as he said," Those ribs better be wrapped up young man."

This boy really had no sense of self-care at times.

Ijin was massaging his red ear, a slight blush on his face as he answered," They are."

Well at least he was doing one thing right," Good," He nodded in approval before he turned to the trainer," Sir, considering that Ijin is not," he emphasized that word while sending a glare Ijin's way, making the teenager blush just a little bit more," supposed to be training. Am I allowed to take Ijin?"

The trainer was just staring at the two of them with furrowed eyebrows, his eyes flickering between himself and the still blushing teenager. He could see disapproval written all over the man's face.

"Ijin, come back when your ribs are completely healed, yes?"

Just as Ijin was about to protest, a stern glare from the two of them made him stop," Yes sir," Ijin let out a small huff, which was the closest thing to a pout they were going to get from the kid," I'll go get my stuff."

As soon as Ijin was out of earshot, the trainer turned to Sung-Ho," How did you know he was in pain?"

He shrugged his shoulders before raising his hand," Kid has a habit of pressing his fingers together when he's hurting," he demonstrated, feeling a sense of relief when he saw that Ijin's trainer was taking his advice seriously," Took us months to find that out. Just don't make it obvious. I don't think he knows he has that habit and he's gonna hide that one too if he finds out."

The trainer nodded in understanding just in time for Ijin to return with his bag. Showing just the smallest bit of weakness as he ever so slightly favored his right side.

Sung-Ho held out his hand for the kid's bag. And when Ijin just frowned at him, he sighed before quietly saying," Give me the bag kid or so help me…"

Ijin scrunched up his nose, finally showing his annoyance as he handed over his bag, still favoring his right side as he said," I'm not a child Sung-Ho."

"Compared to me you are," Sung-Ho snarked back as he slung Ijin's backpack over his shoulder," Come on. The others are waiting for us."

"I thought you said I wasn't allowed to do anything until my ribs were healed."

As yes.

The infamous sass of Yu Ijin.

It was quite hard to get to that point as he usually only did it when he was annoyed, which was a task in itself.

He flicked Ijin's arm," Don't give me sass or I just might let it slip that you were training with broken ribs to the Major and Dae-Hyun."

He knew he had won when he heard Ijin's annoyed huff.

Ha.

He may not be able to beat Ijin in fights.

But at least he was able to beat him in this regard.