His chest felt uncomfortably tight as Han-Gyeol stood in front of him with that goofy grin of his. He kept on motioning for Ijin to grab what he was carrying," You can carry her if you want Ijin." Despite the ecstatic grin that Han-Gyeol had on his face, his voice was calm and soothing.

He shook his head.

Just the thought of carrying her made him feel wrong.

God knows how many lives he had taken with his hands, how many people he had hurt with his hands.

He didn't want to hurt her.

"Come on Jinny," Han-Gyeol's nickname for him fell out of his mouth smoothly as he took a step forward, already holding out the tiny bundle," I know you," Ijin rushed to put his arms into position, trying his best to mimic the way Han-Gyeol had his arms," I know you won't hurt her."

If only Han-Gyeol knew how much those words meant to him.

To hear that someone had enough faith in him to be harmless to such a precious being.

He was stiff as Han-Gyeol placed his daughter into his arms, allowing the father to make small adjustments to the way he was holding her so she could be properly supported.

His breath caught in his throat.

She was so tiny.

So small and frail.

So dependable on everything else.

Was he also that small at one point?

He had to be, everyone was that small at one point.

But he couldn't imagine people, such as the Major and Kyong, to be just so small at any point in their lives.

She yawned, her black eyes- Han-Gyeol eyes now that he noticed- opening to look up at him. A toothless smile spread across her face at the sight of him.

She looked like a potato.

But Ijin already knew that she was a potato that he would defend with his life.

He used to think that the audio clip of 'if anyone hurts them, I will kill everyone and then myself' was an exaggeration.

But now he truly understood. He would most definitely kill anyone who hurts the tiny child that was in his arms, and if it called for it, himself.

Forget the fact that she was Han-Gyeol's child, she was a child. A precious child that needed to be protected at all costs.

There was a chuckle," She's beautiful, ain't she?"

He nodded, bringing her closer to his chest just the tiniest bit," I will kill for her." His voice came out softer than intended, but Han-Gyeol heard it nonetheless.

He burst out in laughter," I should hope so," Han-Gyeol finally said after a few seconds of laughing," Regardless of blood, she's your niece."

At Ijin's head tilt, he added," I told you. You're my little brother now, that makes her your niece. Unless you don't want that."

"No," Ijin said immediately, which made the soldier smile even more," I don't mind."

Han-Gyeol's smile threatened to split his face in half," Good. Because I need a babysitter."

Ijin jolted at that, his face going into his notorious ' uh what?' face that he tended to make from time to time.

"Pfft! I'm kidding Ijin! I would have to train you first."

Han-Gyeol only laughed even harder at the huff Ijin gave.

The soldier continued laughing, even as he walked off to go and use the bathroom, leaving Ijin by himself on the park bench.

He couldn't keep the small smile off his face even if he wanted to. The baby girl, Han-Gyeol hadn't introduced her now that he thought of it, smiled up at him. Her eyes moved around to look at different things but was seemingly content with being held by him.

He ran his thumb over her head softly, admiring how soft her little tuft of hair was. She cooed at the contact.

Yep.

He would strangle anyone who dared hurt her.

Without a doubt.

"Oh thank god! Ijin!" He nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden voice that appeared behind him," Here!" Han-Gyeol strapped the baby carrier onto him within seconds, using a speed that told Ijin the man had plenty of experience with the carrier," I gotta go take a leak! Thank you!"

Ye-Jun made her usual baby noises as she leaned against Ijin's chest, Ijin staring at her father's back as he made a mad dash for the bathroom.

Well, it was odd.

But it certainly wasn't the weirdest thing that had happened to him so far.

He smiled down at Ye-Jun, and let the little girl hold onto his finger as Ijin waited for her father to return and his friends to arrive.

Oh, they would be able to meet her.

That was going to be fun.

He gently swayed side to side, soothing Ye-Jun with the constant motion as she slowly fell asleep against his chest.

She was adorable.

"Uh," He looked up, perking up when he saw the rest of his friends together.

Understandably, they looked thoroughly confused at the sight of their friend holding a small child.

"What's with the baby?"

He turned to face them, his hand resting on the back of her neck so her head could be supported," This is Ye-Jun. She's my…" he trailed off, scrambling for the word that Han-Gyeol used to describe their relationship.

He was blanking.

What did Han-Gyeol say again?

He couldn't remember in the slightest. He knew the word in Grianian, the word to describe a sibling's child but he didn't know the Korean translation at the moment.

Curse knowing a second language.

What's the word?

"...Kid," Was that the word?

Probably.

"She's my kid."

Hopefully.

"She's your what?!"

He scowled," Hey," He leaned away from them, easily covering her tiny ears with his hands," You're going to wake her up. Be quiet."

Everyone, from Jaehyung all the way to Seokju, was staring at him. Their mouths hung open as he looked between him and Ye-Jun.

"You have a kid?" Seokju said breathlessly, much quieter than Jaehyung's outburst.

Why did he say it like that?

He nodded," I just met her a few weeks ago, but yes."

Uh…

Why were they looking at him like that?

They looked like a mix of amazed and utterly disgusted in him.

What did he do?

"You barely found out that you have a kid!?" Hyeokjin said in surprise, the others nodding along with his statement.

What was the big deal?

" No," he said truthfully," I found out a few months ago, I forgot."

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say.

What the hell did he do?

Ijin leaned away from them, his four male friends glaring at him in disappointment as he did so.

"Oh you're a lifesaver Ijin," Han-Gyeol said happily as he bounded up to him," Thank you so much for taking care of her. What are you doing here?"

Ijin held onto Ye-Jun as Han-Gyeol undid the baby carrier," I came here to hang out with my friends," He motioned with his head for the man to look behind him.

Han-Gyeol looked at them for one second, before turning back to face Ijin," why are they so mad?"

Oh, so it wasn't just him.

He shrugged his shoulders," I don't know. I just introduced Ye-Jun and they got upset."

"Ijin," Yeongchan said slowly, his eyebrow twitching as he continued," You just introduced us to your daughter that you forgot about. How could we not be upset?!" the others nodded along with his statement.

They frowned together.

"Ye-Jun is my daughter."

"Ye-Jun is not my daughter. She's my kid."

"Niece," Han-Gyeol corrected automatically, before he frowned," Wait," He turned to face Ijin, who seemed to be slightly confused," Did you tell them that Ye-Jun is your kid not your niece?"

Realization dawned on him.

"…I used the wrong word didn't I?"

Han-Gyeol couldn't help it.

He burst out laughing, his face turning red as he started gasping for air.

Ijin started to slowly turn red, finally realizing his mistake and what he accidentally told his friends as the soldier kept on laughing. That only made the others start laughing.

That has got to be the reddest they had ever seen their stoic friend.

"Oh, I'm definitely texting this to the group chat."

He would have covered his face if he hadn't been holding Ye-Jun.

"Please don't..."