He took another sharp around the corner, and he had to hang onto the handle if he didn't want to topple over to the driver's side. Anxiety was stewing deep in him, but he kept his expression calm, if not a little bit nervous.
Most of the time, he would have been utterly terrified at the way his brother was driving, he knew that Liam was a very good driver, but it was still nerve-wracking at times.
This time, he was nervous for a completely different reason.
He looked down at the phone in his hand and was relieved to see that they were almost there," It's going to be on the right. Do you think we made it on time?"
Liam grunted as he turned sharply into the parking lot, screams erupted as he barely missed running over the panicked Koreans that were running away from the building," Either 001 is dead, or he'll be the only one alive." And based on the way they could see people running away from the building with panicked looks on their faces, it was obvious that despite their best attempts, they had not managed to intercept the mercenaries on time.
it was only out of pure luck that they had managed to intercept the message the camp had sent to their men, the same men that were on their way to 001 to finally take him out. but yet, despite their best attempts, and even though they had been calling him, and trying to get into contact with him through virtually every method since ten in the morning, 001 did not answer.
Although they had gone as fast as they could in their 'borrowed' car, it was obvious that they hadn't made it in time.
Without a single word being exchanged, they were getting out and rushing into the building, fighting against the flow as the occupants continued to escape.
It was complete chaos, there were the stomping of feet of the residents coming running out of the building, the terrified muttering of said residents as they tried to figure out what was going on, all while there were gunshots that were making the crowd even more panicked.
It was difficult, but they managed to force their way upstairs, to the top floor of the building as the last residents came out. Isak's eyes lingered on the girl-001's little sister now that he looked properly- that was struggling against the hold of an older boy as he carried her down the stairs.
He was still horrible at the Korean language, so when he made eye contact with her, she said something that he couldn't understand for the life of him.
But the tone.
It was her tone that made his stomach twist, he didn't need to know Korean to hear the pure desperation and fear in her voice.
He didn't need to understand her to know that something had happened to 001.
Liam must have understood what she said because he was letting out a foul curse under his breath before he was picking up the pace.
At last, they had made it to the entrance to the top floor, and now that they were close enough, the gunshots made their ears ring. but they didn't stop until they got to the apartment. Even then, they only stopped long enough to figure out who was who, who needed saving, and who needed to be killed before rushing in.
Of course, they noticed 001 at the entrance of the apartment, it would be difficult to not notice their former leader collapsed on the floor with a puddle of blood under his head and vomit next to him.
But they also knew that they would be in danger if they stopped for a single second to check up on him.
Like always, he and Liam were like a well-oiled machine together. No words were exchanged as they both picked their targets.
He rushed into the living room, and drawing the knife that was hidden in his waistband, he ambushed the disguised man, easily hiding behind the suited man until the last moment. From there, it was easy because as annoying as it was, the camp had trained him well.
He was much smaller than his opponent, so he kicked the side of the man's knee and as predicted, it brought him down. The man reached for him, and he just grabbed his wrist, easily twisting it around his back before he plunged his knife into the side of his neck, twisting it for good measure. He pulled out his knife and was rolling to his feet, ready to help his brother or anyone else.
Liam killed his opponent just in time, and for a few seconds, all they could do was breathe, looking around the room to make sure that there wasn't any other opponents to deal with.
The men in suits stared at them with wide eyes, their eyes flickering between them, their weapons, and the bodies that were bleeding out. He made eye contact with Liam, and just like that, the spell was broken.
Stopping just long enough to wipe his knife against the body's shirt, he rushed over to 001, absentmindedly listening to Liam as he spoke to the men.
He pulled 001 onto his back, taking note of the way blood was staining his skin and hair, the way there was a trail of vomit coming from the corner of his mouth. The voices behind him kept on talking as he found 001's pulse point and confirmed that despite all the blood, 001 was still alive.
"Call the ambulance," He cut into the conversation, not looking at them as he used his sleeve to wipe away the blood from the wound on his temple, there was a concerning chunk of flesh missing from 001's head, but it was definitely better than a bullet wound," He was grazed, but he's going to be in trouble if we don't get him help," Liam said a few more words to the men and was by his side. He just watched as he pried 001's eyelids open, and his worry only increased when he saw the way that 001's right pupil was completely dilated, the way the pupil only left a thin ring of dark brown in his iris. While his left eye was just a small pinprick of black as the pupil contracted as much as possible.
He swallowed thickly. He had seen many people be in this state after a battle, and unless they got 001 to a hospital, he knew that it wasn't going to be long until there was blood dripping out of 001's nose and ears.
Liam barked something out in Korean before muttering," Shit." His brother tore a piece of his shirt off and held it up against 001's temple," This asshole is going to be lucky if he survives."
His eyes went back to 001's little sister and the stairway. She must have seen 001 get shot, or at the very least, she saw him on the floor already.
A chill went down his spine at the thought of 001, of their leader that had fought so hard to escape and had finally found his family dying before his time.
001 may have been an asshole.
But even he didn't deserve to die.
He wanted the ground to swallow him whole. It was taking every fiber of self-control that he had to maintain a calm disposition, to keep his foot from tapping on the floor. Yet, he couldn't stop the subtle shaking of his hands as anxiety filled his veins.
Thankfully, he was able to convince (threaten) the higher-ups into going back to Korea before their leave to check up on the kid. He hadn't heard much, all Jiyeh had told him was that he had been attacked and hospitalized, but other than that, he knew nothing of what was happening. He hadn't been able to get into contact with Seokju, Dayeon, or Ijin's grandfather. At the moment, he was truly mourning the fact that he hadn't gotten the number of Ijins other friends because while he had originally wanted to text them random shit about Ijin, now he just wanted someone to answer the fucking phone.
His heart beat heavily in his chest, not at a faster pace, but in a way that made his anxiety worse as he waited for the elevator to stop on the top floor. He truly appreciated the way Jiyeh and S.W had taken it upon themselves to put Ijin into a secure hospital room, but he certainly did not appreciate the way they hadn't given him more information.
With a sigh, he finally stepped out of the elevator, his shoulders were set, and his expression was one that conveyed his determination. If it had been any other time, he would have felt bad at the way some of the bodyguards cringed upon looking at his face, but he couldn't care less at the moment.
He didn't bother knocking and entered the room rather boldly considering that he swung open the door quite loudly compared to the silence of the room.
The first thing he saw was Dayeon and Ijin's grandfather looking up at him from their chairs. Their eyes were bloodshot and tired, their overall appearance matching that theme. Next, he noticed the sleeping forms of Seokju, Jiyeh's younger cousin, along with Ijin's other friends scattered around the room.
His breath caught in his throat when he saw Ijin laying in the hospital bed, bandages covering the forearm that was sticking out of the blanket. His stomach twisted when he saw the thick bandages that were wrapped around the young man's head, the bandages displacing his hair in favor of wrapping firmly around his temple.
He pursed his lips.
He knew full well how dangerous it was for Ijin to have a head injury. He lost his memories to a severe head injury, he regained his memories through another head injury. That, combined with the fact that he had amnesia, made severe head injuries dangerous to Ijin's recovery.
It was silent as he stepped in, the mood somber enough that he only exchanged tired nods with Ijin's family.
For a few seconds, the only thing he could do was stare at the young man that had wormed his way into his heart, at the stoic, but the honest young man that was practically family. After a few seconds, he just set his hand onto Ijin's, the knot in his throat got slightly smaller when he felt the warm skin under his palm, only for it to return when Ijin didn't flick away his hand like he would have done if he had been awake.
Ijin had always been a little bit odd, resistant to touch where he hated it when people held his hands or grabbed him needlessly, but touch starved enough that he wouldn't reject actions of affection from his friends. It was quirks like that that made the boy seem more alive, more human-like.
It was almost heartbreaking to see him laying so limp in the bed.
"What…"He didn't want to ask the question, but he had to," What did the doctor say?"
It was silent as he waited for the answer, but he was somewhat relieved when Dayeon spoke up," His memories…she said there's a chance his memories were affected…again."
Fuck.
That meant that they had no idea how his memories were going to be affected. If he was going to lose a few hours, days, months, or years.
His biggest concern of his is the potential of Ijin losing the past few years.
The Ijin he knew now, and the Ijin from then were two very different beings. If the kid lost the last year or so, then they were going to be faced with the quiet, but aggressive and untrusting teenager that he met so long ago.
No one seemed to understand just how bad Ijin was initially, how abrasive and guarded the young man was. They must have thought that it was some type of over-exaggeration when he detailed Ijin's behavior when they first met, but there was no doubt about it.
There was going to be a problem if Ijin woke up missing the memories of the past year.
Glancing over the sleeping students, he mulled over their presence, wondering if it was truly a good idea to have them crowding the room if and when Ijin woke up.
He liked to hope for the best, and prepare for the worst. At the moment, the worst situation would be Ijin waking up with absolutely no idea who the others were and reacting aggressively. In that situation, it would be best if it was just Dayeon and their grandfather in the room, maybe he could be in there as well, but that was a big if.
"Is there something wrong?" the simple question jerked him back to reality. Ijin's grandfather was looking at him curiously (He looked just as exhausted as Dayeon, if not more) waiting for the answer.
Well, if anyone needed to know the truth, it was definitely going to be Ijin's family.
With a sigh, he pulled a seat over to them, close enough so they could have a quiet conversation between the three of them," To be honest," his voice was still low in the silent room, the quiet beeping of the heart monitor doing nothing to conceal it," if Ijin lost his memories of the past year…then it would be best if myself or one of my men stay in here with you two." Upon seeing their surprised looks, he continued," When I first met Ijin…He was very closed off and apprehensive. It took us months before he realized that we weren't going to hurt him, and it took us even longer for him to get a smile out of him." He absolutely hated the way they looked sad at his words, but they needed to know.
Rubbing the back of his neck, he looked down at the floor as he quietly admitted," Chances are high that he'll react aggressively if he did forget the last year, and to be quite honest, Ijin is very skilled in combat, to the point even the most skilled of my men had difficulty beating him in a spar. I'm concerned that he may hurt someone if he doesn't recognize them."
His words lingered in the air, the two of them processing his words with pale and worry-stricken faces. They both looked highly uncomfortable at the possibility of Ijin waking up as a completely different person, and he didn't blame them.
"Was…was he really like that?" her voice was timid, her hands gripping the fabric of her jacket as her eyes lingered on her older brother.
"Yes. Ijin lived in a very dangerous place. I…I don't know how much Ijin has told you," And good god was he hoping that he didn't cross some type of line with Ijin with what he was telling them," But the only reason Ijin survived was so long was because he became skilled enough to protect himself." It was vague, as he wanted as he didn't want to tell them that the kind teenager that had been living with them for the past year was really a former mercenary and child soldier. But at the same time, he knew that it was enough for them to figure out that should Ijin lose the past year worth of memories, then they had good reason to be worried.
Dayeon swallowed heavily, before nodding with her grandfather, the both of them had a serious, but saddened look on their faces.
The conversation dropped off as they sat in silence, as they all waited for the young man to wake up. Kang hoped with every fiber of his being that Ijin wouldn't any of his memories. But he knew that with his injury, it was inevitable.
He just hoped that Ijin didn't lose too much.
