"I'm what?" the squirt asked with a slight tilt of his head, his hands scratching Sunny's chest as he did so. Sunny was accepting the attention happily, her tongue lolling out and her tail thumping against the bed as she usually did.

Kang smiled brightly, joy blooming in his chest as he repeated," You're coming back home with us!" When he saw the questioning look on the kid's face, he was quick to add," It's time for our leave, for us to go back to Korea so we can see our family. You're coming with us, I had to pull some strings to get your documents in line, but you're coming with us!" Kang said happily and was happy to see that he wasn't the only one that was excited about the news.

The men damn near swarmed the two of them, all of them repeatedly asking if he was really going back home and cheering once Kang confirmed that their resident teenager was returning with them.

Slowly, he nodded his head, letting Sunny react to everyone's excited energy as she went from soldier to soldier, her tail wagging madly as she accepted pets from everyone," Okay." It didn't sound too bad. Besides, wasn't Korea his home country?

He's always been curious about his homeland.

"When are we leaving? I need to pack our stuff."

At that, Kang looked confused, his eyebrows scrunching up in confusion as he repeated," Our?"

This time, it was his turn to be confused as he slowly nodded his head, pointing with his thumb as he said," Yeah. Mine and Sunny's stuff. It shouldn't take too long." They didn't have a lot of stuff in the first place, he just needed to pack his meager belongings and Sunny's leash, and then they were done. It wouldn't take long at all.

For some reason, Kang looked utterly heartbroken at his words. As if he had delivered exceedingly bad news or something," Kid..." Kang started slowly, his hand rubbing the back of his neck," You can't bring Sunny with you."

What?

He stiffened up at that, his stomach twisting something terrible as he processed that.

What did Kang mean he couldn't bring Sunny?

It was Sunny. He had to bring her with him to Korea.

He had to bring her too.

He couldn't just leave her behind on the base.

Just...no.

He couldn't do that to her.

"What do you mean?" his voice came out weaker than he would have liked, but his gaze was firm as he waited for the answer. As he waited for Kang to explain the reasoning behind leaving Sunny behind, the reason why he couldn't bring her with him to a new and foreign place.

His heart clenched at the thought of leaving her behind. The thought of leaving her all alone on the base was enough to make his chest tighten from anxiety. Korea was hundreds of miles away, he couldn't return easily if he wanted to see her, nor could anyone bring Sunny to him.

He couldn't do that to Sunny.

He knew how painful loneliness could be. He knew how terrible it was to be alone.

Sunny had to come with.

Kang pursed his lips," Sunny..." his voice was gentle, and he seemed to be grasping for words," Sunny can't come with you squirt. She needs to be vaccinated and quarantined for a few months. That's going to take at least six months before you can see her."

No way.

No fucking way.

He was not going to let Sunny be alone for six months. Sunny was his dog, she was his responsibility. And there was no way in hell he was going to let her out of his sight for that long. A week or two was just fine, but six months?

No.

He shook his head firmly," Then I don't want to go." He didn't want to go anywhere without her. He knew how terrible it was to be abandoned by the people you once trusted, how the betrayal left bitterness in your heart. Sunny was smart, but she wasn't smart enough to understand being left behind beyond being left behind. All she would know was that he left and never came back.

He couldn't do that to her.

Kang looked stunned as if he had physically slapped him instead of saying a mere refusal," What?" His voice was almost breathless, but that did nothing to shake his stance.

"No." He repeated, putting more emphasis on the word this time." I'm not going without Sunny." Slowly, the rambunctious men came to a stop as they overheard the conversation, and it wasn't long until all of the men were staring at him as if he grew a second head.

"Kid..." Kang said slowly, a strained look on his face," This is your chance to find your family, to go back home. You have to leave Sunny behind."

Like hell, he had to!

Anger flared up in him, and he jumped to his feet as he declared," I don't have to do anything!" he snarled out, his hands clenched tightly at his sides," I'm not going without Sunny! Sunny is my dog and I'm not leaving her behind!" he was left panting by the time he finished, and he could feel that his face was red out of anger, but he couldn't help it.

He was not going to leave sunny behind! Not if he could help it!

Kang was staring up at him with wide eyes, thoroughly taken aback by his exceedingly rare show of emotion. It was dead silent in the barracks as his back burned from everyone staring at him.

A wet nose pushed into his palm, and some of the anxiety in his chest got smaller as Sunny leaned into his leg. She pawed at his pant leg, clearly trying to ease the distress he was experiencing. Despite her attempts, Sunny's actions did nothing to smother the anger that was burning in his chest.

Slowly, Kang stood up, and when the soldier tried to reach out for him, he took a step back. Pure and utter hurt twisted his insides as he quietly said," You said you wouldn't make me do anything I didn't want to." Kang knew how important choice was to him. Kang knew that as a former member of camp Iron, he never had a choice. Kang knew how important it was to him that he had at least some control over his life.

So why was he doing this to him?

"Squirt," Kang tried, an apologetic tone in his voice as he tried to reason with him," I'm sorry kid. But you don't have a choice in this. We already arranged everything to get you back home. I had to call in favors to make it happen. You have to leave her behind."

He was acting spoiled.

He knew that he was acting like a fucking spoiled brat who stomped their feet when they didn't get what they wanted.

But if there was one thing he thought he had the right to be spoiled about, it was Sunny. The dog that Kang had promised was his to take care of, the dog that Kang promised was his and his alone.

Kang tried to rest his hands on his shoulders, probably to comfort him or something. But the moment Kang touched him, he shoved the soldier away, just hard enough for him to stumble back a few feet.

It was his first show of rebellion since he had arrived over a year ago, and he knew that he was being completely unreasonable, but he didn't care. With clenched teeth, he stared up at Kang as he gritted out," I was stupid to trust you." He should have known like every adult in his life, Kang would eventually force him into doing something.

He should have known better.

All Kang could do was watch as the kid stormed out, Sunny following closely behind him as he retreated to wherever he was going.

For a few seconds, all they could do was stare at the doorway where the kid stormed out. All of them were thoroughly surprised by the sudden burst of emotion the young teenager had shown. It was his first outburst in the year and a half the kid had been staying with them and to call it shocking would be an understatement.

It was a different type of terror to see the quiet person lose their cool.

None of them knew how to feel about it.

"Um..." Dae-Hyun started, turning to Kang for guidance," I'll go and talk to him...?"

"No...no," Kang said quietly, swallowing hard enough where it was audible," Leave him alone. I'll...I'll talk to him in a few hours. Give him some time to cool down." It was clear that the kid needed some space for himself. Kang would talk to him after he cooled down, there was no point trying to talk to the kid now when he was so upset, especially since Kang didn't even know if the kid could listen through his anger.

All Kang could do was hope that eventually, the kid would come around.


By the time Kang figured the kid had enough time to cool down, it took a few hours before Kang was actually able to find the kid. He was better at hiding than Kang thought, and if it wasn't for Sunny whining, then Kang was positive that he never would have found them.

He ended up finding the kid in one of the empty hangers, sitting in the dark with his face ducked into Sunnys fur, who was more than happy to return his love by licking the side of his head, and based on the way his hair was sticking up, Kang could tell that they had been sitting like that for a while already.

Quietly, he sat next to the teenager, waiting for the young man to come out of his shell. Though as soon as Sunny noticed his presence, it wasn't long until she was slipping out from the kid's arms to greet him with her usual face licks and tail wagging.

Most of the time, Kang would have smiled at the dog's behavior, but when he saw the way the kid curled up into a tighter ball, not even glancing at him, he couldn't find it in himself to smile. He had never seen the kid be so upset, and it truly broke Kang's heart to see him like that.

"You know I would bring Sunny along if I could right?" his voice rang throughout the empty hanger, sorrow was permeating his voice as he said that.

Nothing.

The only reaction he got was the squirt leaning away from him as if his very presence bothered him.

It probably did.

It hurt, but Kang couldn't blame him.

Kang had made something of a promise that he would never force the kid into something. Kang knew that the squirt had grown up in a shithole where he was under someone else's control for most of his life, so for the most part, Kang had upheld his promise.

Until now.

Kang continued," I'm sorry kid, I really am. But there's nothing I can do. Korea is strict about animals coming in and well...I have to take you with me. I was able to get your documents figured out because the higher-ups want you off the base. Sunny can stay but...you can't..." he was sure that Sunny was allowed to stay because she boosted morale among the men and because she was cheaper to take care of than a human being. But they had already reached the end of the line with the squirt staying on the base. Kang needed to take him to Korea or he would have no other choice but to kick the kid out, and he really didn't want to do that.

He didn't want to separate the kid from his dog, but Kang really didn't have a choice.

The kid said something, but it was muffled behind his arms and legs. Kang leaned in closer, straining his ears as he asked," What was that?"

He repeated himself, this time, loud enough for Kang to hear, "Do what you want." He sounded so defeated, he sounded like he had accepted his fate, and to hear that from the squirt, it did nothing to help him feel better.

It just made him even more worried.

The kid sounded like he did when he first arrived when he was apathetic to everything that was going on around him.

His heart sank," Kid...that's not what I'm trying to say." That wasn't what he was trying to say at all. Sure, the kid didn't have a choice, but they were in the same boat. Kang didn't have a choice but to take the kid with him, and the kid didn't have a choice but to leave Sunny behind. It was a shit situation but it was one that they couldn't squirm out of.

"What does it matter?" The kid's voice was flat, after almost half a year of the kid allowing his emotions to leak into his voice, this was very concerning," I don't have a choice."

The worst part is the kid really didn't have a choice, but it's not like Kang had a choice either. It was just a situation that had them halfway up shit creek without any paddles.

Kang fell silent at that. His military training did nothing to prepare him for something like this, and sometimes, it was best to just shut up. It's not like Kang had any idea of what to say anyway. Other than apologies, there was nothing he could do to fix the situation.

They sat in the dark together for a few more minutes, the two of them processing their situation and what they could and couldn't do.

"Will...will they take care of Sunny?" The kid's voice had never been so quiet, and Kang had to strain his ears to hear his words.

Kang nodded as if the kid could see him," The men will take care of her. Sergeant Kim will take care of her while we're gone. You know he loves her." Kang was confident that the men would take care of Sunny while they were gone. There were a lot of dog lovers on base, and since Sunny was the only dog around for miles, Kang just knew that they were going to take excellent care of her. That was one thing he didn't need to worry about.

But it didn't make it any easier for the kid.

The squirt nodded his head, and when he extended his arms, Sunny was more than happy to worm her way into his arms again. He squeezed Sunny tightly," I don't want to leave her..." his voice warbled as he said that, showing Kang how he truly felt about leaving Sunny behind.

It broke his heart.

Huffing, Kang saw it as a minor victory when the kid let him pull him into his side," I know you don't. I'm sorry kid, but we don't have a choice in this." Gently, Kang ran his fingers through the kids' hair, trying to provide as much comfort as possible as a poor attempt to remedy their situation.

Kang knew that not having Sunny was going to affect the kid. Sunny was there to brighten the kid's mood, she was there to help him through his nightmares, to help give him some responsibility and structure in his life. Kang hadn't planned for it, but the kid had gotten rather attached to the dog, far more than he thought he would. Never would he have thought that the emotionless teenager would get so attached to an animal, and that lack of hindsight was clearly biting him in the ass at the moment.

At last, the kid let go of Sunny in favor of giving Kang one of his rare hugs, tucking his head under Kang's jaw as he did so. It just showed how the squirt felt about leaving his beloved dog behind.

But Kang just couldn't bring Sunny along. Even if they started the process the next day to get her into Korea, it was going to take well over six months before Sunny would be allowed into the country.

They had no choice but to leave her behind.

Wrapping his arms around the teen, he cradled the back of his head as he whispered into his silver hair, "I'm sorry kid."