She pressed on her eyelid, mourning the fact that her makeup wasn't letting her rub her eyes like she wanted to.
It was starting to get late, far past the time she usually left. Glancing at the corner of her screen, she debated over leaving at the moment, or waiting for another fifteen minutes before she left.
Pursing her lips, she glanced towards the doorway, easily seeing the black masses of her bodyguards standing outside through the frosted glass.
Wait.
Ijin was on shift today, and it was about 30 minutes shy of midnight.
Looks like it was time to go.
She didn't like to favor Ijin too much, but at the very least, she did feel bad that she was the one keeping him up so late on a school night. She still remembers how it was being a student, and considering the fact that Ijin was still behind on his schooling, she didn't want to keep him out late.
Also, she did feel a tiny bit responsible for the kid, especially since her fiancé was so fond of the young man.
Sending a text to the Team Leader, she wrapped up her work in ten minutes, by the time she was walking out her office door, Kyong and Ijin were ready, escorting her to the door so she could go home.
It was silent, and to their credit, her men looked like they were ready to go for another work day without a break. But she didn't waste time in returning home. At almost midnight on a work day, the building was completely silent, as was the sidewalk outside.
Taking out her phone, she walked as she opened the weather map, relying on Kyong in front of her to lead her to her car without fail. Last week, she had forgotten to check her weather app before leaving for the day and had suffered the consequences when she had to run inside the building with Kyong's suit jacket over her head to protect herself from the rain.
Ijin was pushing Kyong out of the way and it felt like she had been punched in the process. The impact against her shoulder flung her backward and within two seconds, she found herself staring up at the night sky. Completely and utterly confused about what just happened.
"Move!" a hand was wrapping around her arm and pulling her up," Get him inside! Now!" Kyong didn't even let her get back onto her feet, he just picked her up with one arm, and bridal carried her inside the building," Lock it down!"
Everything was happening too fast. She was being laid on the floor behind the receptionist's desk, Kyong apologizing to her before he ripped open her blouse, popping off the buttons and exposing her undershirt.
She didn't even get the chance to be upset or embarrassed before he was pressing against her shoulder, a sharp pain from the pressure made her cry out. "What are you doing?!" she pushed at his hands, trying her hardest to get him to just stop pressing down on her shoulder and causing that horrible pain throughout her entire body.
"Stop it," Kyong said calmly, easily holding onto both of her hands with one hand, while continuing to apply pressure to her shoulder," you were shot, ma'am. I need to do this."
She was what?!
"Stop it!" Kyong hissed out, his rare show of frustration towards her bringing her to a stop," We don't know when we can get medical assistance. Please stay still." She stared up at him, trying to process what was happening and the fact that she had been shot when he turned away from her to ask," How is he?"
She turned in the direction he was looking, and the sudden anxiety made her stomach hurt.
They had already pulled off his jacket and dress shirt, leaving them hanging off his right shoulder as Sung-Ho and Saem helped him sit up. Revealing his bloodied shoulder, and the knife holster he had on his forearm. Hanuel was pressing their suit jackets against the front and back of his left shoulder. Ijin was deathly pale, a glazed look to his eyes as he leaned his cheek against Sung-Ho's shoulder.
"Not good," Hanuel hissed out, pulling back his hand to peak at the back of Ijins shoulder before quickly applying pressure again," The bullet went through him, but he's bleeding too much. How is she?"
Kyong took off the pressure for less than a second, not even letting her feel relief before he was pressing down again," I don't think the bullet went through, but it doesn't seem to be shallow."
Sung-Ho hummed, a pained look on his face," It lost most of its speed after going through the kids shoulder."
Kyong gritted his teeth, it didn't seem like the madam is going to be in danger of losing her life.
But Ijin definitely was.
Whatever hit them, had been a bullet from a gun powerful enough to rip through Ijin's shoulder, who was not a thin man, before going into their madam's shoulder. Kyong didn't know a lot about guns, but he just knew that the exit wound on Ijin's shoulder had to be a nasty piece of work.
"Fuck," Hanuel cursed out, making everyone look at him," He's going into shock. Come on, help me lay him down." He just watched as they bundled up the suit jacket under his shoulder, before slowly lowering Ijin onto his back, relying on Ijin's body weight, and the pressure on the front of his shoulder to stem the bleeding from the exit wound," Where's the first aid kit?"
Saem looked across the room, prompting everyone else to look.
There was the first aid kit.
Across the room, there was no way possible to get to it without being at risk of being shot through the multiple glass windows that made up the outer walls of the ground floor. They didn't even know if the shooter was going to pursue them into the building.
"H-Hamchan," The madam stuttered out, sweat dripping down her face as they looked down at her," He has a medic on his team. I can call him." Despite the pain, she started to pat for her phone, and then stilled," shit," They blinked in surprise," I dropped it outside. And I don't remember his phone number either." Her idea helped Kyong figure out what to do.
"Get the kid's phone," Kyong ordered," He knows Major Kang as well, he has his number.
He watched, still applying pressure to her shoulder as they patted Ijin's pant pockets, before going through his suit jacket to pull out the phone.
"Got it-Oh, he doesn't have a password."
"Stop rambling." Hanuel ordered Saem.
"Shut up, what's his name?"
A whine of pain escaped the back of the madam's throat as Kyong answered," Hamchan Kang. He might have him as Major Kang." They waited anxiously, waiting for Saem to find the contact they were sure that Ijin had in his phone. It was tense, the only thing they could hear was the slow controlled breaths of the madam as she tried to control her pain, and the fast shallow breathes of Ijin as he was getting worse.
"Got it!" that made the ball in his chest get slightly smaller," Old Man Major, hang on." Saem put it on speakerphone and handed it to Hanuel.
The phone call was answered, and everyone physically perked up," Kid?" His voice was groggy and rough with sleep. There was a yawn as the connection crackled," it's midnight. What's wrong?"
To his credit, Hanuel was calm as he said," Major Kang. This is Hanuel Jeo. I'm Ijin's co-worker. Listen to me, Ijin was shot and we are in lockdown," There was the sound of rustling and a sharp breath," I need you to get your medic on the phone while we wait for the all-clear." They had no doubt that an army medic had a rough idea of what bootleg treatment they could give Ijin to help.
There was the sound of rustling again," I understand," The major's voice was steady but tense. His voice was faint and they could barely hear a 'get the fuck up' before a new voice was on the phone.
The madam focused on Kyong as Hanuel started exchanging information with the medic," How long until it's safe?"
Kyong furrowed his brows," I don't know ma'am," He said truthfully," We don't know where the shooter was." He was actually surprised that Ijin had noticed in the first place.
She got misty-eyed," Oh my god," her voice was shaky and subdued," what if he dies?" she was looking at Ijin, who was unconscious a few feet away from them, his face an ashen gray," I don't want him to die protecting me."
Kyong had to admit that he wasn't keen on Ijin dying on them as well. Despite the fact that Ijin had signed up for it as a bodyguard, none of them wanted him to die while on the job.
The thought of Ijin dying made his stomach twist and turn horribly.
Ijin was still young, he had his entire life in front of him, a life that he barely started after returning to Korea less than a year ago.
He was far too young to die.
If they got out of that place safely, he was most definitely going to scold the young man for pushing him out of the way. He was grateful, but just like the madam, he didn't like the idea of Ijin dying for his sake.
"He won't die," Kyong said firmly, trying his best to keep both him, and the madam calm," He's too stubborn for that."
"You want me to do what?!" Hanuel's sharp voice made them look over at the group.
The unfamiliar voice hissed back," That's your only option. Even if you got the first aid kit, there's nothing in there to stop the bleeding. You need to cauterize it!"
" That's going to kill him!"
" Either he dies from blood loss or he dies from shock! I don't like it either but this is your best choice. If one of you guys has a lighter, heat up one of Ijin's knives and cauterize it. Anything is good at this point! If we're lucky, his body is going to produce adrenaline and that's going to help with the shock."
They all exchanged looks, all of them looking between Ijin, his phone, and each other. All of them having mixed feelings about the advice.
" Ijin survived being hit with a mortar," Major Kang came back on, a grave tone in his voice," and got up to return fire. He's a stubborn bastard. I have faith in him. Please."
It was silent. The five of them mulled over the man's words until there was a clear-"Fuck it," Hanuel said firmly, making eye contact with all of them," He's right. It's a gamble, but I want to try. He's saved our asses more than once. Saem, give me your lighter."
His words prompted everyone into motion.
Sung-Ho and Saem took out their lighters, Hanuel took Ijin's knife from the forearm holster and held it as the two men heated up the blade. All while Kyong maintained the pressure on the madam's shoulder.
" Do the exit wound first," The medic advised," Do you know how to do it?"
"Yeah," Hanuel said gruffly, turning the knife over," I had to do it to my squad mate in the military. Sir," he looked over Kyong, directing his words towards him," I'm going to need your help holding him down. This is gonna hurt like a bitch."
When Kyong looked over at the madam questioningly, she gave him a firm nod. Despite the obvious pain, she pressed down on her gunshot wound herself, silently conveying to Kyong that she would be fine and that he could go help.
Returning the nod, Kyong left her side. With Haneul's help, they turned Ijin onto his front, revealing the bloody mess that was his back, and the exit wound. He had to swallow his bile at the sight of the wound. The rifle bullet had ripped through Ijin's shoulder, the exit wound being much bigger than the entrance wound. When the wound healed, it was going to leave an indent in the boy's shoulder.
Saem passed the knife to Haneul, all of them putting their hands on Ijin's body to properly hold him down. All of them knowing full well that if they didn't hold him down properly, he was going to jerk out their grip and chances were high that he would only hurt himself more with a hot knife cauterizing his wound.
Although brief, their exchange of looks and nods were enough to speak a thousand nerves. Nods to confirm what they were doing, glances as they all checked each other's grip on Ijin's body.
The oldest members exchanged looks, Kyong and Haneul before they nodded at each other once.
He pressed the hot knife against the wound.
Ijin screamed.
His scream was low and guttural. They could feel his muscles contracting and relaxing under their hands as he tried to pull away from the knife. The smell of copper and burned flesh filled the air as steam rose from the wound. He tried over and over again to arch away from the knife, his hands and feet scrambling at the floor as he tried to find some type of handhold to help him escape. Using all of their body weight, they pinned him to the floor.
Just as fast as they started, it was done.
Hanuel placed the knife to the side, allowing him to use both hands to hold down Ijin. Restraining the boy so he wouldn't tear anything else. They loosened their hold on him, allowing the boy to expand his chest as much as he can as he panted on the floor.
The glaze to his eyes that had been there previously had been replaced by a distinct awareness that made them have mixed feelings. Ijin lay his cheek against the floor, his eyes looking around the room, only landing on Kyong and Jiyeh from his position. He made eye contact with the madam for a few seconds and blinked a few times as if he couldn't quite grasp what he was looking at. While it was good that he was awake and more aware, it was clear that he was still disorientated.
"Ijin," he blinked slowly, and when he made eye contact with Kyong, he tried to push himself up, making everyone thoroughly flustered.
"Don't move."
"Stay still!"
Their words were almost hissed out, all of them pressing Ijin down against the floor. Ijin squirmed for a few seconds but seemingly accepted his fate.
"Is he awake?"
"Kid?"
Oddly enough, that made the kid perk up, weakly lifting up his head and letting it fall against the floor as he weakly muttered out," Major?"
Kyong snapped his fingers for the phone, which Hanuel dutifully handed over," He's right here sir." He placed the phone next to Ijin so he could answer the man.
"How do you feel kid?"
"And do not lie to us Ijin."
It took a few seconds for the teenager to answer the men, his response being weak, "Cold…I hate the cold."
For some reason, hearing the normally stoic teenager admit that he was cold, and then following it up that he hated the cold, made their stomachs twist. If it wasn't for the fact that their suit jackets were currently stemming the blood flow from both Ijin;s and the madam's shoulder. They happily would have given them to the young man to keep him warm.
"I know you do buddy. I need you to stay awake okay?"
Ijin frowned, obviously upset by the order, but still said, "Yes sir…"
"I'm gonna be pissed if you die from this. You survived a fucking mortar attack, you can survive a gunshot."
Ijin made a noise in the back of his throat," I'm a bad bitch. You can't kill me."
The teenager paid no mind to their snorts or their stares. He was completely and utterly focused on the Major and his words.
"…did you just reference a vine?" Good to know they weren't the only ones that were thrown off by his answer.
He hummed tiredly," Ji-Hoon showed me it."
"I'm too old to understand stuff like that kid."
Ijin grunted, almost loopily saying," Who knows what you were doing when you were 15 sir."
"…you know. I hate that you guys let him in on that joke."
"He's right, who knows what you were doing when you were 15. Sir. You could have a 19 year old kid by now." That was when they understood what Ijin and the medic were inferring. Despite the tense situation, they found themselves smiling at the topic.
The rest of the time went on like that. with them occasionally rousing Ijin to try and stay awake, the major and his medic talked to the young man. Their questions and overall chatter seemed to be enough motivation for Ijin to stay awake, and it worked all the way until everything was given the green light.
It took them nearly 45 minutes after the incident for their youngest member, and for their madam to be taken to the hospital.
The sound of voices slowly made him wake up. Everything felt fuzzy in a way that he knew was due to him being on pain medication. Even then, there was a dull pressure against his shoulder that made itself known. It wasn't painful, but it wasn't unnoticeable.
He opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling before a face moved into view. He blinked once and then twice, his drugged-up brain taking longer than he'd like to admit to comprehend what was happening, and who he was looking at.
"Jaehyung?"
The red-head grinned," Hey, you recognize me this time!"
… huh?
Ignoring his flustered protests, Ijin slowly sat up, his hand pressing against his shoulder as he sat up. He was even more confused when he saw Hyeokjin, Yeongchan, Yeona, Dayeon, and Seokju crowding around his bed. All of them had ranging emotions from relieved, all the way to nervous.
"Welcome back to the world of the living."
"Good to see you up again."
"You had us worried man."
"How do you feel?"
He stared at all of them, his brain taking forever to comprehend what was happening," …What?"
Seokju rose an eyebrow," Do you know what happened?" Ijin accepted the cup of water from his sister and took a sip before he answered. The water soothed his painfully dry throat and when he answered, it no longer came out as a croak.
"I remember up until the paramedics came," Though it was fuzzy, all he really remembered was the Major's voice in the background as two unfamiliar men carted him away," What happened?"
Hyeokjin sighed and crossed his arms," You got a pretty bad infection a few days after you were brought here. Its already been two months."
It's been how long?!
His eyes bugged out as he stared at Hyeokjin with a frown. Yeongchan whacked his arm," Don't tell him that," Yeongchan scolded," Its been only two weeks, don't listen to this idiot."
Two weeks was still a lot though…
"Yeah…your fever was bad. You called me Ariel when you saw me."
"Ah…" Ijin felt his face heat up a little bit," Sorry."
Jaehyung laughed," It's okay! I'm just gonna blackmail you with this for the rest of your life.
Ijin rolled his eyes," Thanks." He turned to face his sister, a slight tilt to his head," And Grandpa?"
Dayeon ducked her head," He had to go to work. But he'll be back in a few hours."
Ok. That made sense.
One of them must have called a nurse when he had woken up, as, within minutes, there were nurses along with a doctor coming in to ask questions as well as answer questions. All of them but Dayeon were ushered out so she could listen in as well.
The bullet, a bullet from a rifle that had been identified after they took it out of the madam's shoulder, had torn through his shoulder. He wasn't surprised to hear that it had caused a lot of damage, especially by the exit wound. But at the same time, he was extremely lucky and unlucky. Somehow, the bullet managed to avoid hitting the artery in his shoulder, as well as his collarbone and lung. While there had been extensive damage to his deltoid muscle, the surgeons had been able to repair it. Though they did say that he was going to have to work to rebuild and strengthen the muscle in that arm once it did heal. They had even fixed the damage that had been done when his shoulder had been relocated improperly.
Then he was extremely unlucky as he had caught an infection from the hospital itself. And in the doctors worry that he had caught a deadly infection such as MRSA or MSSA, they had given him antibiotics strong enough to get rid of the infection.
As well as the flora in his stomach and digestive system.
That meant for the next few months, his immune system was going to be virtually nonexistent and he was prone to even the weakest of bugs. He was even at risk for contracting sicknesses that only newborns or toddlers get. Unfortunately for him, they recommended that he eat kimchi (the bane of his existence) as there were a lot of probiotics in the condiment that would help him repopulate the flora in his digestive system.
At the moment. He was surprised to be alive.
He most definitely would have died if this had happened when he was a mercenary.
There was a knock on the door, and Ijin got a distinct 'oh shit' feeling when he saw three faces staring back at him.
Major Kang, Dae-Hyun, and Kyong were looking back at him, strained smiles on Major Kang's and Kyong's faces, with a disapproving frown on Dae-Hyun's.
Oh, they were pissed.
"We need have to a talk with you kid.
…
Fuck.
The condescending pats from Dayeon did not help.