He rang the doorbell, waiting patiently for the occupants to hopefully open the door.

It had been roughly a week and a half since Yeona and Seokju informed them that Ijin's family had died in an accident. Information that they had only found out when their teachers asked them to take Ijin's school work to his home after a few days.

A week and a half since anyone had been able to contact Ijin.

All phone calls and texts had gone unanswered. In the beginning, they were worried but weren't freaking out as their calls were connecting, they weren't just being answered.

But as soon as the calls were immediately sent to the incomplete voicemail, they started to get extremely worried. Because that meant that whatever was going on, Ijin's phone had died. The fact that the calls were no longer going through had meant that for whatever reason, Ijin had stopped charging his phone.

It was the unknown reason that made them extremely concerned.

It wasn't until Seokju and Yeona were mourning the fact that they didn't have a 'Major Kang's number in front of Jiyeh that the madam remembered that her fiancé and Ijin were close.

It was only then that they discovered that the young teenager had been staying at the house of a mutual friend. While that explained why he hadn't been answering the door, it didn't explain why he hadn't communicated with anyone.

That is why he was there. To check up on the young man after a week and a half of no contact.

He had to hold in the giant sigh of relief when the door swung open, and though he was confused to see a woman standing on the other side, he was relieved that he could ask someone about the teen.

"Ma'am," He bowed politely, feeling slightly out of place in his casual clothes," My name is Kyong Kim. I work with Ijin." It was a good sign that the woman perked up. It was a sign that she knew who he was talking about," I heard from Major Kang that he was staying with you. May I talk to him? Its been over a week and a half since we were able to get into contact with him."

She pursed her lips and glanced over her shoulder at something he couldn't see from his angle before she stepped out into the hallway. Closing the door behind her as she did so.

"You are aware of what happened to his family yes?"

He nodded," That why I'm here ma'am. He hasn't contacted anyone, it was his friends who brought up their concerns. And to be quite honest, I'm concerned as well."

That seemed to be an acceptable answer, but there was clearly something else that was bothering her. She stared at him for a few seconds, deliberating something before she sighed in defeat," Alright," She rubbed at her forehead tiredly," Maybe you can help him."

Well, that was a weird answer.

"Ma'am?"

She started to look even more stressed," Ijin is taking his family's death really hard. Really hard. "

He nodded in understanding. That was to be expected. In less than two hours, Ijin had lost his remaining family. It was to be expected that Ijin was taking the loss hard.

But apparently, she didn't like that answer.

She sighed in annoyance," Just…just come in and see. You'll understand what I mean."

…okay…?

Okay, he was really starting to get worried.

He entered the apartment behind the woman, accepting the pair of house slippers with thanks. She led him to the living room, it only took him a few seconds to spot Ijin sitting on the floor, leaning against the couch as the little girl in his lap played with his fingers.

He exchanged glances with the woman, and when she jerked her head forward to silently tell him to move forward, he did just that.

The fact that Ijin didn't react to his presence was a red flag. The fact that one of the most vigilant people he knew, was too absorbed in his thoughts to register someone else's prescience was extremely concerning.

"Ijin?" while he kept his voice low, he also didn't say it quiet enough that the teenager wouldn't have heard him. Ijin just stared down at his lap, watching the little girl pull and bend his fingers.

"Ijin." He said firmly, pressing his fingertips against Ijin's shoulder.

That little contact was enough to almost violently jolt Ijin out of his daze, his head snapping up to look at him as he pulled the child closer to his chest protectively.

And shit.

He really did have to see the kid for himself to understand what the woman was talking about.

Kyong felt exhausted looking at him. It looked like he hadn't slept for the past week and a half, and it looked like he lost about ten pounds of weight that he couldn't afford to lose. He looked like he was a few pounds away from looking gaunt and sickly.

Realizing the fragile state of the teenager, Kyong kneeled to Ijin's level, softening his tone as he said," You got us worried kid. No one has heard from you for almost two weeks."

He wasn't on shift anyway, he wasn't there as a superior, but as a concerned co-worker/friend.

Ijin averted his gaze, his arms tightening around the babbling baby," I'm sorry sir…" his voice was painfully quiet. Much quieter than usual.

"It's fine," Kyong said immediately, trying to make it known that Ijin was not in trouble," But Seokju and Yeona are worried. You haven't been answering their calls."

Ijin curled in further on himself,"…I don't know where my phone is."

Yet another red flag, because Kyong has never heard of a teenager, a 19-year-old nonetheless, that had lost their phone almost two weeks ago and hadn't gotten it replaced. It wasn't like S.W paid their bodyguards poorly, so Kyong knew that Ijin had enough money to buy at least a temporary phone at the least.

Without a second thought, he dug through his pocket to pull his business card out of his wallet," Here," Ijin took it slowly, taking a few seconds to infer the reasoning behind the offer," Call me if you need something. I'll let Seokju and Yeona knew that you're okay. And Ijin?" The teenager looked back up at him, looking about five types of exhaustion in the process.

"I'm sorry kid. I know there nothing I can say to make it hurt less, but from the bottom of my heart, I am sorry for your loss."

The only response he got was Ijin lowering his gaze, his eyes looking lifeless as he gave a tiny nod.

Patting his shoulder, Kyong stood back up, and waited until he was back out in the hallway to ask," Have you thought about taking him to a grief counselor?" Because it sure seemed like the kid needed it.

She sighed," If the kid said nothing when Major Kang asked, I doubt he's going to stay anything to someone he doesn't even know."

That was a good point.

Kyong could vividly imagine Ijin ignoring the therapist's attempts to get him to talk by just staring at them. The kid was on a different level of private and keeping to himself.

"And I'm sorry about his phone. I didn't realize he didn't have it."

He waved off her apology," don't worry about it, ma'am. Taking Ijin into your home was generous enough." It was beyond generous. And after seeing the way Ijin was acting now, it was an act that he was grateful for," May I ask for your permission to share your address with some of his friends? They have been worried about him."

She agreed immediately, "I can imagine. That's fine."

He looked at her up and down, quickly picking up the signs of stress from the mother," Ma'am. I could take Ijin into my home for a few days if you'd like." He had to imagine having a long-term guest in the home being stressful.

"No. I want to keep an eye on him," She said firmly, her features schooling into stubbornness," Besides. Ijin is always looking for stuff to do. He's not a burden, he's very helpful. My daughter is a good distraction for him, but…"

"It's when he has nothing to do that's the problem?"

She sighed heavily, looking more tired as she admitted," Yeah. So trust me. Anything that distracts him for at least a little bit is more than welcome."

He nodded in understanding," Alright. Thank you for letting me see him Ms…?"

"Jaup. Eun Jaup." He probably should have asked for her name earlier," I'll go to his apartment and try to find his phone."

"That would be greatly appreciated Ms. Jaup." He waited until he was back in his car to send a text to Seokju, informing the young man of the location where his friend had been saying that.

He wasn't surprised when Seokju called him almost immediately.

"I-Sir-Thank you. How is he doing" he cringed at the question, the question that had been rushed out after the teen stumbled over his words a few times,

"I suggest you hurry up and visit him," he said seriously as he turned onto the street," He could use the distraction."

" He's that bad?"

Most definitely.

" I would say he's worse than Ms. Yeona when she lost her father." And that was the honest truth. Because at least then, the young woman made an attempt to continue with her everyday life.

Ijin. Ijin looked like if he was able to, he would just stare off into the distance listlessly until he withered away.

There was a sharp breath," Alright. Thank you sir. He's okay? He still isn't answering his phone."

"He's doing the best he can. He misplaced his phone and hasn't made any effort to find it."

" …That idiot," He was sure that Seokju hadn't intended for him to hear that," I'll tell Yeona and the others. Thank you sir. Truly."

" I was worried as well, no need to thank me."

"S till. Thank you."

"I'll send you the address once I get home. Try to visit him soon, he needs the distraction."

For some reason.

He had a sinking feeling in his stomach.