His mind blanked as he ran his hands over the object.

It was so soft and so plush. Softer than anything he had ever touched in his life. There was something about it that made his chest feel tight out of pure ecstasy and joy.

A deep chuckle made him flush, but he kept on squishing the toy in between his hands, a small smile on his face the entire time.

Major Kang was hiding his grin behind his hand, taking in the way Ijin was acting with the stuffed animal he had given the teenager.

He had heard about people who had shitty childhoods having their childish desires repressed due to stress and other factors.

And he figured that as a kid that forgot his childhood and didn't have a good experience in his preteen and teenage years, Ijin would have a lot of childish desires that had been repressed for him to survive.

His assumption was spot on.

Ijin was holding the stuffed panda close to his chest protectively, occasionally digging his fingers into the fabric as if he was still trying to cope with how plush it was. Ijin was a rather bland person when it came to expressing his emotions, but Major Kang could tell.

The former killing machine of a teenager was struggling to keep his giddy smile hidden behind the stuffed panda.

It was adorable.

"Do you like it?"

Ijin nodded his head without hesitation, half of his face hiding behind his new plushie as he answered," I always wanted one when I was a kid. I had given up on the idea of ever getting one after a few months in grian."

Alright, Major Kang was going to try and ignore the pang in his heart that came from those words.

Poor kid couldn't even toy with the idea of getting a stuffed animal when he was a child. When he was just nine years old.

That was downright shameful and tragic that a mere nine-year-old couldn't be a child like he should have been.

"Well, you have one now," Ijin nodded eagerly at his words, truly overjoyed that he had finally gotten a stuffed animal after ten years of not being able to have one," You better take care of it."

Just the look alone was enough for the Major to know that Ijin was going to take fantastic care of it.

A few months later, the Major was facetiming Ijin with a few of his men behind them. All of them were eager to see the teenager and to see how high school life was teaching them.

Behind him, they could all see the neatly made bed of the teenager, as well as a single panda plushy placed delicately next to the pillows, leaning in the corner where the bed was placed.

His men nearly went into a frenzy when he saw the tiny stuffed animal keychains they had sent him, were hanging from a lanyard off the doorknob, all of them overjoyed to see that he was actually using them instead of putting them away as a teenager his age would normally.

Major just watched with a grin as Ijin laughed and deflected their questions, a happy emotion he couldn't quite describe blooming in his chest as he watched Ijin flourish.

It was good.

It was good to see Ijin finally coming out of his shell, to see his personality develop more and more from a mercenary to a high school student, enjoying life as he should of.

He was a good kid.

"Hey Ijin, give me your address so I can send you another plushy."

The smile on Ijins face was the biggest smile he'd seen yet.