He took a deep breath, savoring the way the smoke slightly burned his lungs before he slowly let it out. The plume of smoke was blown away by the gentle breeze that cooled him down at the same time. His light shirt was thin enough to let the breeze go through the fabric almost effortlessly.

It had been a long time since he's had a cigarette, a habit he picked up from the older men when he was a kid. Though he forced himself to stop when he was around 16 or so, it was still nice to smoke one every once in a while.

The last time he had one was probably when he snuck away from the others to have one back on the base. He still remembers the horrified look the men gave him when they found the cigarette pack in his bunk. The thought alone almost made him smile.

"I didn't know you smoked."

He looked over his shoulder, mildly surprised to see Seokju up on the roof with him. He briefly considered to continue smoking while he inquired what he was doing up there, but when he saw Seokju scrunch up his nose from the smell, he put it out against the bottom of his shoe. He knew that the smoke smelled bad, there were days where even he got a headache from the smell.

"Old habit." He flicked it into the nearby trashcan.

He watched with a raised brow as Seokju leaned against the railing right next to him, watching the city with him," Do those things even taste good?"

Accepting his new company, he looked back at the city, his eyes drifting to the stars as he answered," Only if you like the taste of smoke."

"And you like that taste?"

"You get used to it."

"When did you start smoking?"

"13. Helped me stay awake when I was on guard." Also with helping him cope with the stress of completing both solo and group missions. Along with the stress of leading and handling the rest of the numbered mercenaries.

He had something of a temper at that age now that he thinks about it.

Seokju hummed in response, and it didn't take long for them to fall into a comfortable silence. Their quiet personalities mixing well with each other as they watched the cars below.

Although it was obvious that Seokju had come for some reason, Ijin wasn't going to be the one to start the conversation.

It was silent for a few more minutes, before Seokju asked," Can I ask you something?"

Ijin motioned with his hand for his friend to continue, a silent 'yes' as he traced the Big Dipper with his eyes.

"Who are you hiding from?" that made him pause, glancing at Seokju out of the corner of his eye before he faced forward again. Before he even got the chance to completely ignore that question, Seokju quickly added," And don't pretend that you're not. I'm not an idiot."

That was true.

Seokju was not an idiot.

That was why he had already realized that Ijin was hiding from someone.

He sighed and leaned his jaw onto his palm," Its better if you don't know."

That was all he was planning to say, just so Seokju could be innocent should one of the camp members come along and start questioning him if he knew a 001. He wouldn't have been lying if Seokju said that he didn't know a 001 if he kept the truth from his friend.

But the can of beer and the cigarette had made him a little bit more relaxed than he planned for.

Seokju made a disgruntled noise, most likely annoyed by the secrecy he was practicing," You don't trust me." The fact that Seokju said it as a fact, instead of a question, made Ijin's stomach turn a little bit.

"I do trust you." Ijin quickly followed up, taking Seokju slightly aback by the quick answer," The people who are after me are dangerous. It'll be safer if you don't know."

Seokju must have been dwelling on the topic for quite a while already, as Ijin's continued reluctance to tell him the truth annoyed him," I can handle myself Ijin."

Not against people from the camp. But he wasn't going to say that for the sake of peace.

"I know. Its safer if I don't tell you."

"What?" Now Ijin was starting to get annoyed," Are you scared they'll tell me something?"

Why couldn't this asshole just take his word for it?

"I'm scared they'll kill you Seokju." Ijin said bluntly, a tone of annoyance in his voice as he turned to face his shocked friend," Look," Ijin started as he messed up his hair in exasperation," The people who trained me are pissed that I'm still alive. That's all you need to know and that's all I'm telling you. If they find out you know me, they're either going to kill you to draw me out, or torture you to get information."

Seokju stared at him in shocked silence for a few seconds, before he finally said," Oh."

Yes. Oh.

He sighed while pinching the skin between his brows, almost wishing that he didn't put out his cigarette for the ass.

"…Is Yeona in any danger?"

Alright, Ijin had to admit.

He was starting to get a little bit pissed off.

"Not if you stop asking questions."

"My friend just told me that people are trying to kill him and expects me to not ask questions?!"

Alright looks like Seokju was starting to get pissed too.

"What. The. Fuck. Ijin?!"

Good lord.

It's been a long time since someone pissed him off like this.

Probably since he was 14 and got into a fistfight with 004 that made the camp realize it was best to make them work separately if they didn't want one of the numbered (004) to return with broken ribs each time.

"I can handle it Seokju." Ijin gritted out, trying his best to keep his voice level as he spoke to his friend, not one of the annoying mercenaries he used to work with.

"You wouldn't be asking for my help to track down those foreigners if you could Ijin!" Seokju snarled out, his face scrunched up in anger as the conversation continued.

This fucker.

"Drop. It."

"Tell. Me. The. Truth." Seokju gritted out, his tone was just as harsh as Ijin's.

"You're pissing me off Seokju," Ijin said as a warning, an old habit from when the other mercenaries and numbered kept on asking unnecessary questions and wasting his time.

"You're pissing me off Ijin."

Alright. He took a deep breath.

Alright.

Seokju was his friend.

He was not one of the numbered. He was not one of the mercenaries he worked with, nor was he some type of arrogant ass that thought he could handle anything in the world.

Seokju was coming from a good place, but he was doing a shit job at going about it in a good way.

Still, he had to remind himself that Seokju was his friend and teammate, not his subordinate like so many others had been before.

His moment of calm did not last long.

"I don't have to tell you anything." Ijin gritted out.

"You can't ask for help without telling me anything!"

"Goddamn it Seokju!" Ijin finally snapped, slamming his forearm onto the railing, making it vibrate from the force he used. He had no doubt that he was going to have some type of bruise the next morning from the hit," I don't want you to die! My past is coming back to bite me in the fucking ass! They are trying to kill me! Do you have any idea how fucking lucky I was that they sent 006 be-" he cut himself off. Momentarily horrified that he allowed himself to make such a bad slip up in his anger.

Yep.

That was his temper kicking in. It always made itself known whenever someone kept on questioning him despite his insistence.

He huffed, trying to push down the burning anger in his chest as he rubbed his forehead tiredly," Stop asking."

He stared forward at the city, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he waited for some type of answer from his friend.

"This…this is much bigger than I thought…isn't it?"

Seokju's quiet and hesitant voice made a bitter and scornful laugh come out of Ijin, his hands going up to cover his face as he sighed heavily once again," Yes. It is."

The fact that he was a former member of one of the best underground mercenary companies in the world was absurd. Include the fact that he was one of the top mercenaries at the age of 12? Then it sounded like some type of joke. Sprinkle in the fact that he was a deserter of the said company that faked his death to escape, and now that they found out that he was alive and trying to change that. It sounded like some story you would find online.

"Whoever is after you. Are they really that dangerous?"

Undeniably so.

"Yes."

There was a sigh," Alright," Oh thank god," I'll drop it. Just do me a favor and don't die. Text me or something if you need help."

Sighing in relief, he took out another cigarette," I will. I'm not planning to die any time soon."

Seokju made a sound of disgust just as he took a deep breath from the cigarette, the end burning brightly as the smoke filled his lungs. Seokju must have been desperate for a subject change, as he immediately said, "I don't see how anyone can like those."

He used to think the same thing as a child, at least until Mad Dog ordered him to smoke it so he could stay awake.

Without a word, he offered it to his friend, the stick burning between his pointer and middle finger as Seokju gave him a weird look," Try it before you say anything." Though he was rather sure that he wasn't going to like it since he's already noticed that Seokju slightly favored sweeter foods instead of earthy foods.

He glanced at Seokju when he felt him taking the stick of tobacco. He had to hold in his snort when he saw that he was holding it like it was a blunt, but he just watched as Seokju slowly took the smallest puff he had ever seen.

Just like he thought, Seokju reacted negatively to the smoke. Coughing and hacking out a lung. His face scrunched up in disgust as he gave back the cigarette.

Ijin took it back, a smile tugging at his lips.

"You knew I wasn't going to like it." Seokju said in between coughs, thumping on his chest as he tried to clear his airways.

Yep.

"No."

That's what he gets for not dropping the subject.

"Liar."

That was fair