The window was cool against his forehead, the chill from the outside world permeating through the glass as he leaned against it. Far below him, he could see the headlights and taillights of cars as they drove up and down the streets, as they pulled away from the curb, or drove up to it.

He had to admit.

This was his first time seeing so much life in a city, and it almost fascinated him. He was used to the small villages, to the tent city that he lived in. It was such a contrast to the camp that he lived in, he couldn't help but stare.o

His eyes drifted up and scrunched up his nose when he saw that he couldn't see the stars at all. Despite his position in the tall building, he couldn't see any, save for the north star and a few others. Something in his chest tightened at the realization that he couldn't see the stars, because it was just his luck that the one thing that shouldn't have been affected, had been affected.

And for some reason, there was something about their lack of presence that almost made him far more anxious than it should have.

Swallowing the rising anxiety, he scanned the sky, trying to find the smaller stars that were so common, but for some reason, all he could see were the brightest stars. Maybe the stars weren't as common in this area? That was the only way he could rationalize their absences.

Well, either way, he didn't like the way he couldn't see them anymore.

There was a burst of activity somewhere further down the hall, and he found himself stiffening up, turning his head to look over his shoulder as they got closer. If it wasn't for the fact that he could hear them talking to each other about blood pressure and oxygen levels, he would have thought they were coming after him. He would have thought that they were some shitty mercenaries that had shit handlers train them.

The sound of footsteps and chattering of the nurses went past his room as they rushed to the patient, and he let out a quiet sigh of relief when he realized that they really were nurses as he thought. Just because he could take care of himself, didn't mean that he was keen on the idea of getting into a fight. Even he liked to have some downtime.

He leaned just a little bit too close to the window and jerked his arm away when he felt the cold glass touch his arm. It was such a stark temperature difference, that he couldn't help but scowl as he rubbed his arm to warm it back up. He may have forgotten the last five years, but he still hated the cold with a passion.

Which only led him to the next point, a point that had taken him a long time to process.

He looked down at his arm, his fingers gently tracing over a scar that he didn't remember getting. A long scar on the inside of his forearm made it all the more obvious that he really had lost his memory again.

Everything was so weird.

Everyone was too nice.

The nurses smiled at him, and the men in suits who brought him these weird-smelling clothes were smiling (Which was another point because where the fuck was his shit?). They all gave him poorly hidden pitiful looks as if he had done something to garner their worry. It was just so different compared to everything else that he knew. The people he worked with barely smiled, if anything, the only smile he saw from them were the smirks they would have before they made a snide comment or in the case of a particular asshole before they killed someone.

So to see everyone just smiling at him for no reason, as if they wanted him to be there, it was weird, almost unsettling even. But like he'd been doing for years, he just swallowed his discomfort and remained unfazed on the outside. Despite whatever the hell was going on, the fact that he had to keep anything and everything to himself remained unchanged.

After he had finally figured out how to use the shower, he started to find more scars that contributed to 006 and 032's story. A bullet wound on his shoulder that had gone clean through, a stab wound that had been neatly sewn shut on the right side of his stomach, another scar on his lower right thigh, along with scars that were either knife wounds or from shrapnel. He remembered getting none of those scars, which really only cemented the fact that he had lost his memory.

But what he was really confused about was the Camp.

Why was he there?

Was he being treated so nicely because they knew he was 001 or was it because the camp had threatened him into treating him?

Not that that made sense either, since the camp had never given him treatment past the first day, and the first day was just his wounds being wrapped up, and being allowed to rest for the day. But that was it, once that first day was over, they would throw you back to the wolves that were supposed to be their teammates. He had been awake for at least a couple of hours already, so why weren't he, 006, and 032 getting a move on things? Sure, he appreciated the extra time so he could both clean himself up and process everything for a little bit, but they were going to get their asses chewed out at this rate.

And where was he anyway?

He could read the characters easily, though it wasn't the characters he had read while growing up in the camp, that didn't mean he could identify the language. It was somewhere definitely unfamiliar as every time he looked out the window, all he saw were new landmarks to take note of. It was obvious that they weren't in the middle east anymore, but he still had no idea where he was.

Mad Dog and the other mercenaries had always called him some slur that was related to the Chinese, so maybe he was in China? For the first time, the people around him had similar features to himself, so maybe?

Everything was just so weird. If he didn't get some answers soon, then he was definitely going to force it out of 032 and 006 when they came around.

The door slid open, and without a second thought, he turned his body to face whoever had walked in. His head still hurt and he still had some weird dizzy spells from time to time, but he didn't want to seem weak to anyone.

032 walked in, a plastic bag in his hand, "Hey," He relaxed, and allowed himself to take a few seconds to blink away the spots in his vision. Note to self, try to avoid turning so fast, "Finally put your ass away huh?" despite his teasing words, he had a monotonous tone to his voice, a tired look on his face as if he was already done with the day.

Knowing full well that he was referring to the weird gown he had woken up in, he rolled his eyes, not annoyed by the jab but not exactly in the mood, "What do you want?" He looked at 032 up and down, taking in the boy's appearance as he did so.

Well, 032 was taller than he remembered, and the little baby fat he remembered clinging to 032's face was long gone. And for the first time, 032 seemed to be wearing clothes that actually fit him. Not the fatigues that swallowed him and his tiny stature whole.

But that did make him internally question why the boy was wearing those clothes instead of their gear. Sure, they looked comfortable, but they were completely impractical. The fabric didn't look thick enough to protect him from bugs at the very least, and the colors were eye-catching compared to their usual uniform.

Weren't they on a mission?

Unless those were the clothes they needed for the mission?

032 shrugged his shoulder and held the bag out to him, "Liam told me to talk to you while he talks to your friends and family." He motioned for him to take the bag from his hands, but he made no move to grab it.

He stared, confusion taking over all of the other thoughts as he asked, "Who's Liam?" And what the fuck did he mean by friends and family? He had no family, and the only people he could potentially call a friend were 032 and 006.

So just what the fuck was 032 talking about?

032 gave him a weird look as he took the bag back, and set it down on the nearby chair, "006, my brother. His name is Liam." He scrunched up his nose, because why would 006 ever tell them his name? And why did it sound so familiar?

"Is he trying to get us in trouble with Mad Dog?" Because honestly, that was the best way to get the three of them killed. Mad Dog hated anything and everything to do with friendships. He didn't even like the idea of the three of them helping each other out for missions, forget the three of them calling each other by name.

"Well," 032 let out a breath that puffed out his cheeks, leaning against the bed as he did so, "That's what I'm here to talk to you about. " 032 paused and was looking at him expectantly as if he wanted him to say something. The quirking of his eyebrow was enough for 032 to continue, "001… five years ago, you deserted the camp. Me and my brother left a few months ago too so… you don't have to worry about Mad Dog anymore."

What?

What?

He blinked once, and then twice. He couldn't hide the shock he felt even if he wanted to. What did he mean he deserted the camp? They weren't allowed to leave the camp unless it was their body being taken away.

He…

He got away?

He escaped ?

And so did 006 and 032?

"Yeah," 032's voice brought him back to reality, and he had to consciously remind himself to unclench his fists, to breathe before he passed out. "Are you okay?" 032 leaned forward, a concerned look on his face.

He shakily cleared his throat, "Yeah." Just…

For a long time, all he wanted to do was escape from Mad Dogs' control. Even in his darkest moments when he was staring at the cliff mere meters away, the thought of escape was what kept him going. It kept him fighting to survive.

Only to find out that he really had escaped, and that that memory was now lost.

It just…

It felt like it had been taken away from him. The moment that he wanted so desperately, was now lost?

032 tapped his shoulder gently, and he jolted as he realized that in his daze, 032 had stood up, and was now standing right across from him, "You good?" 032 had a concerned look on his face, and he couldn't help the shame he felt as a result.

He swallowed thickly, struggling to keep his head on straight in some weak attempt to keep some type of control over himself, "Just…I thought we were never going to get out of there…" But they did get out of there.

They really got out of there.

And he couldn't remember.

032 gave him a weak smile, but there was just something in the back of his head that whispered to him that it wasn't genuine, as if the boy was smiling for his sake. "Ha, yeah. Me too. But, uh…" just like he thought, 032's smile turned into a nervous look, his hand going up to rub the back of his neck as he averted his gaze.

Since when did he do that?

032 had always made a point of not breaking eye contact unless he was ordered to, or it was in his best interest to look away, but other than that, 032 was very good at keeping eye contact. It was a trait that the numbered all shared, the almost intrinsic trait to almost never back down. So what was making him nervous enough that he was looking away?

"What is it?" he found himself softening his tone before he realized it, as if it was natural or something.

032 looked even more nervous, he started shuffling on his feet, and it felt like it was ages before 032 finally said, "…About a year ago," He started slowly, as if he was trying to figure out how to pronounce the words before he said them, "You met this Korean soldier, and well… with his help, you were able to recover your memories and… he found your family." What? "You have a little sister and a grandfather." He was barely able to understand 032 after he rushed those words out, but the message was received either way.

He… he had a family?

He was reeling from the truth. Distantly, he felt 032 grab him and gently lead him to the bed, guiding him to sit down before his legs gave out on him.

No… he… it's always been him.

It's always been just him. No memories and no family to speak of. Unlike the others who had little trinkets, or precious memories that helped them survive the hellish training they had endured, he just had himself, just him, and the will to survive just to spite everyone.

Only to find out that he wasn't as alone as he thought he was.

"…What? I… I have a family?" the words slipped out before he realized it, and just like that, he was forcing himself back to reality, forcing himself to listen to each and every word that was going to come out of 032's mouth.

032 still looked nervous, but he knew , he just knew on the way 032 nodded his head, that what he was saying was the truth. "Yeah." his mouth felt impossibly dry at that moment, and he just couldn't wrap his head around the fact that he wasn't alone as he thought. "Are you sure you're okay?" most of the time, the repeated question would have annoyed him.

But even he had to admit that the question was well warranted.

He cleared his throat, and if it wasn't for the fact that he had been put through that hellish training, he wouldn't have been able to hide the pure shock he was experiencing in the slightest, "I'm fine. I…"

God.

He really needed to take a few more hours to just stew over everything he was hearing. But he knew that he didn't have that luxury. He needed to hear everything all in one go so he wouldn't be blindsided by anything later on.

"Do you need a few minutes?" 032's question was sincere, and he found himself wondering when did the little shit that used to be so lifeless like the rest of them develop that caring quality.

He swallowed heavily again. A sharp throb made his entire head pound as he clenched his jaw just a little bit too tight, "No… just… keep going. What else do you need to tell me?" His head throbbed again, and he had to bite down on the inside of his bottom lip so he could hide the pain.

The pain was starting to get worse; it felt like someone was trying to stick an ice pick into the side of his head. "Ijin." The sudden word helped him recenter himself, despite how it just made him confused.

"What?" his voice came out strangled, the iron fist he had on his pain was starting to loosen.

032 became flustered, "No-just." He had to bite back a cry of pain, god why did it hurt so much ?" That's your name, Ijin. Yu Ijin." His ears started to ring again, and it felt like the icepick had been replaced with a serrated knife that was being jabbed into his head over and over again.

"Fuck if I know. Ijin, which one does your sister get?"

He couldn't help it. He groaned in pain as he gripped the sides of his head, the pounding and ringing only getting even stronger. He dug his fingers into his scalp, the pain from his fingernails did nothing to distract him from the pain of his entire head throbbing .

"001?" The world was spinning again, the light colors of the room dimming and brightening in intervals. His stomach churned dangerously the entire time.

"Hey Ijin, quick question, what in the fresh fuck are you doing up there?"

An arm was wrapping around his shoulders, and jerked him back into a sitting position, "Hey- Are you okay?!" 032's voice sounded distant, yet close enough to make the ringing in his ears only get worse.

"Hey, swear to me Ijin."

The voices… what were those voices?

"Ijin. Please. You have to drink something."

The voices made his head spin; he felt saliva fill his mouth as nausea returned in full force. They rang inside his head, the unfamiliar calls of both men and women, calling out to him as if he knew them. They had varying tones, ranging from tones of fondness to tones of frustration, all of them making him feel like he was going temporarily insane.

"001!?" Ice cold hands were tapping at his cheeks, grounding him as the cold touch sent chills down his spine, "Jesus- answer me you fucker!" the hand tapped his cheek again, and the room seemed brighter than ever as he looked up at 032's face. (When did he lie down?) The light stung his eyes, and he closed his eyes to try and blink away the reflex tears, "Don't close your eyes dipshit!"

"What. The. Fuck. Ijin?!"

032's tone matched the voice in his head, and that alone made his head hurt far more than it had a right to, "Shut up." He rasped out, and he felt the hand (that was still on his face) freeze before pulling away. He jolted when he felt another hand touch him, and without a second thought, he slapped it away, feeling the texture of a glove as he did so.

Ah… shit.

A cold hand, it must have been 032's, grabbed his and kept him from slapping away the hand again, "Hey, don't hit the medic." 032's voice, although strained, was calmer than he was feeling at the moment.

Right.

Don't hit the medics. If you pissed them off, then you were going to be at their mercy during the treatment. Or not if you pissed them off to the point where they refused to treat you. The medics were probably the only people that didn't catch shit from the camp as a whole.

He swallowed thickly and let the medic look over him. Although there was nothing he wanted to do more than to get away when the medic grabbed his wrist, he also knew that it was better if he didn't.

Slowly, the ringing in his ears faded away with the voices, and the sharp pain that had filled his head faded away to a dull throb he would associate with a headache. Granted, it still hurt, but at least it felt like he could actually think again. He opened his eyes, internally sighing in relief when he saw that the room was dimmer than before.

He felt completely and utterly exhausted. It was like that small episode had drained all of the energy from his body even though he had done nothing but lie down.

032 moved into view again, and he looked less than happy after whatever happened, happened, "You good?"

No. It felt like he needed to lie down for a few hours before he felt like he had enough energy just to sit up.

"I'm fine," He lied through his teeth, wincing at the way the male nurse was shining a light into his eyes, "I… I think you triggered a memory." Maybe? It was his first time recovering a memory (At least, the first time in which he remembered), and he didn't know if it was supposed to be so painful, or so disorientating.

Well, it's not like he had anyone to ask.

032 perked up, and he almost looked hopeful as he asked, "Really?"

He hummed tiredly, "Yeah." The nurse said something about getting the doctor, but he was too tired to listen to anything beyond that. "I heard a few voices calling out to me. I don't recognize them though…" The only thing he could recognize was the genders of the people talking to him, as well as a vague sense of familiarity that accompanied it.

The younger boy looked put down, "Oh. Um- ok. I'm going to go and get my brother," He tried to sit up at 032's words, getting as far as propping himself onto his elbows before 032 stopped him, his hand resting on his shoulder, "You look really pale so just wait here." His tone had no room for argument, he almost had an ordering tone in his voice.

For once, he didn't mind listening to 032.

He flopped back into bed, and threw his arm over his eyes as he quietly muttered,

"Okay."

God, this was such a mess.


As Liam requested, 001's employer, the same one that had posted the guards by 001's room, had gathered his friends and family into the room. For the most part, he recognized everyone: 001's sister and grandfather, the Major that he had told him about, the S.W girl that he protected. Other than that, he didn't recognize the guy that 001 had strangled (he looked familiar too now that he thought about it) along with the redhead, the faux blond, and the boy with the buzzcut.

All of them looked varying degrees of nervous and/or worried, all of them giving him wary looks as he stood near the doorway, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

Realizing that they were just going to sit in that awkward silence, he sighed before getting straight to the point, "I need to talk to you guys, about 0-Ijin I mean." of course, they all perked up at his words, and 001's almost victim rose his eyebrow at his slip up.

In his defense, just because they knew each other's names now, didn't mean that they were going to use them after years of referring to each other by their number.

But, first things first.

"Who knows?" They blinked in surprise at the question, the vagueness of his question doing nothing to clear up the situation. He continued, "What did he tell you?" He needed to figure out how much he needed to say without repeating general information, as well as tailor his explanation for 001's family if needed.

They exchanged looks, and with the exception being Major Kang and the bleach-blond boy, all of them looked all types of confused. Liam just watched as they looked at each other, and raised his eyebrow when he saw the bleach-blond and soldier lock eyes.

They stared at each other and the moment they exchanged nods, Liam knew that 001 had only told those two about his past.

With a sigh, Kang raised his hand, looking almost guilty as he did so. It took a few seconds, but it wasn't long until the blond was doing the same, raising his hand almost meekly compared to the adult.

And just like that, everyone was staring at the both of them, their mouths hanging open as the blond withered under their gazes further.

The redhead looked most surprised for some odd reason, "Hyeokjin?" Ah, so that was his name.

Hyeokjin nodded his head, and rubbed the back of his neck as he said, "Ijin…" He started slowly, his voice getting stronger, "He's told me about the camp and well… everything really." Major Kang nodded in agreement, and if people could wither away, it looked like Hyeokjin would do that under everyone's stares.

"And he's only told you two?" Honestly, he was surprised that 001 had told them at all. That guy was private enough where he would keep things to himself unless he deemed it necessary. Which didn't sound bad at first, until you realized that as long as he didn't find it necessary, he would hide injuries and ailments.

The pair nodded their heads, "Yeah, I- Uh, I've been talking to him, trying to convince him to tell you guys about it too," Hyeokjin let out a resigned sigh, effectively showing his frustration with the topic. "Yeah, he's pretty stubborn."

That was an understatement.

At this point, he was sure that 001 was alive only because he wanted to spite everyone who doubted his survival in the camp. 001 was ridiculously stubborn, to the point where it would be easier just to drop the topic than convince him to do something. "He is." And to think they hadn't even met 001 when he was at his worst, "Anyway, I have to tell you guys the truth about Ijin. About what really happened in our childhood."

He truly had to prepare them for the 001 that they were going to encounter. 001 was back in the mindset he had when they were 15, when relations between him and their superiors were at their worst. Back when he used to smoke up to half a pack a day of cigarettes just to cope with the stress from everything.

They really had no idea just how much 001 had grown as a person and no idea of how aggressive he used to be.

He sighed heavily.

Honestly, this was the type of shit that 001 was supposed to tell them himself. It was his secret and his life. It was his responsibility to inform them. But considering that 001 didn't even know about his family and friends, the responsibility fell onto him.

Accepting the fact that he had to tell them, he just jumped right to it, "We used to be soldiers. Ijin, me and my brother I mean." It had been a while since he'd been in such an awkward situation. Everyone, including Hyeokjin and Major Kang, was listening to his each and every word, "We've been running missions since we were 12, anything and everything from escorting to assassination." He let the words hang in the air for a few seconds, waiting for them to process what they just heard.

Liam saw them go through the emotions as they finished processing his words.

001's little sister, the S.W girl, the buzzcut kid, along with the elderly man looked utterly horrified. Major Kang and Hyeokjin just nodded their heads sadly, while the redhead and 001's black-haired victim gritted their teeth. A pained look on their faces as if his words confirmed what they had been suspecting.

He hated it, but someone had to tell them. They couldn't interact with 001 as he was without that bit of information.

Liam could see that they wanted to ask questions, but he interjected before they could, "Just listen. I'll answer your questions when I'm done." He waited until he got (reluctant) nods of agreement before continuing, "Let me say that we never did it willingly." The only one that hadn't been as reluctant as the others was probably 004, but even he showed some discomfort the first time they were ordered to attack a village. "We had no choice. We would get punished if we failed a mission and well… the first time 001 tried to disobey an order, he was beaten halfway to death. We didn't have a choice."

Besides.

After seeing 001, the one who was the strongest out of their group, beaten black and blue by Mad Dog and a few other superiors, any thought of rebellion was effectively cowed.

They had all seen what they had done to 001, and they didn't want the same to happen to them.

Perhaps that's why 001 and Mad Dog were always at odd ends. Mad Dog hated it when the numbered would help 001 instead of leaving each other high and dry like he wanted them to. And 001 hated it when Mad Dog would punish them needlessly, or when Mad Dog would send them to missions that they wouldn't have come back from if 001 hadn't stepped in. That, combined with 001's new sense of independence had made for quite a tense situation back in those days.

"Unfortunately for us," He huffed, and crossed his arms as he said, "Ijin thinks he's 15 again, and well… that was when he and our leaders were at their worst." When 001 was snapping at every little sign of disobedience, Mad Dog was taking every chance to try and maintain his vice grip on him, "Do not expect him to accept your help, don't expect him to be nice either." As soon as he said that, the black-haired kid rubbed at his neck, no doubt feeling sore at the way 001 had mistakenly strangled him, "We were taught to take advantage of anything and everything. That meant that even our own teammates would attack us if they thought they could get away with it. He's not going to be nice, he's not going to think you're being nice out of the kindness of your heart, he's going to think that you want something from him." Because to be fair, during that time, even the numbered wouldn't help each other unless they were getting something out of it.

He was positive that if it wasn't for the fact that 001 would continuously defend them from Mad Dog, then he and Isak would have been the only ones helping him

"So until he gets his memories back, if he does get them back, let me and my brother handle him. He trusts us more than you all and if we're lucky, he'll let us help him." And good god did he hope that 001 would let them help him.

All of this was going to be much harder if 001 didn't let them help him.

Hyeokjin and Major Kang nodded their heads understandingly, all while everyone else looked like a bunch of fishes with the way their mouths kept on opening and closing.

"Why…" 001's little sister's voice sounded strained and Liam could tell that it was taking every ounce of self-control she had to keep herself together, "why wouldn't he let us help him?" Her simple question had everyone nodding along in agreement, all of them were eager to learn as much as they could in this situation.

He sighed heavily, "Because at that point in time, no one ever helped him without hurting him." Their faces twisted in sadness, but he needed them to understand where they were coming from,"Our handlers didn't let us be close to each other. We had to be careful so they wouldn't punish us because they didn't even let us help each other." 001's sister bit her lip as tears filled her eyes, an action that had her grandfather and the S.W girl comforting her.

Liam sighed heavily again as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "Look, just let me and my brother handle everything. He's talking to Ijin right now and letting him know what's going on." That seemed to make her feel a little bit better, all of them really, "He's a little bit of a dick right now, but as long as we give him his space, he'll work with us." More than one of them clearly did not like the way he called 001 a dick.

In his defense.

If they had grown up with 001 and had seen just what an asshole he was during that time.

He was positive they would either agree or they would be calling him a dick right with him.

"And what if he doesn't?" the S.W girl's voice was meek, almost like she didn't want to ask the question, but knew that she had to ask anyway. "What if he doesn't believe you?"

"He's not an idiot," Liam said simply, an almost bored tone in his voice, "but it's a different story if he'll listen to us. " 001 was definitely the type to acknowledge something, but go against it simply because it pissed him off or he just plain didn't want to. "I know you're close to Ijin, all of you. But I guarantee that if anyone tries to order him around, it's just going to piss him off."

None of them looked happy about it, not happy in the slightest. But at least they nodded in agreement, showing that all of them understood what he was saying.

He almost sighed in relief.

Great.

Now to hope 001 would actually listen to them.