He looked through the cabinet, moving pots and pans around as he tried to find what he wanted. More than once, he pulled out the wrong item before he put it back into the cabinet.

He probably looked for another minute before he gave up.

It was his turn to cook, and since Ḑ̵͇̪͎̫̆̃̕ȃ̵̗͓̮͎͉́͠y̶̜̪̮͐̅͒̚ë̸̼̫͓̠̦̀̂͐̕͜o̶̡͈̪̒̿͊n̵͕̒̊͌̕ was the one who cooked most of the time, he tried to let her rest when it was his turn, but he needed help.

"Ḑ̵͇̪͎̫̆̃̕ȃ̵̗͓̮͎͉́͠y̶̜̪̮͐̅͒̚ë̸̼̫͓̠̦̀̂͐̕͜o̶̡͈̪̒̿͊n̵͕̒̊͌̕ ?" She looked up from her homework just in time for him to hold up the pot," Where is the…" fuck what was the name again?

He always forgot the name of the stupid thing, the one that went over the pot to cover it.

What was it?

It's such a simple word too, son of a bitch.

She nodded her head slowly, clearly waiting for him to finish the question. Fed up with his inability to name the stupid thing, he just went on." Where is the hat to this pot?"

He knew that he used the wrong word, but he had to admit, he felt like a dork when Ḑ̵͇̪͎̫̆̃̕ȃ̵̗͓̮͎͉́͠y̶̜̪̮͐̅͒̚ë̸̼̫͓̠̦̀̂͐̕͜o̶̡͈̪̒̿͊n̵͕̒̊͌̕ snorted, a wide smile on her face as she asked," Do you mean the lid?"

Lid!

Yes, that was the stupid word!

In his defense, hat and lid both had three letters.

And he was going to go with that for the rest of his life.

Keeping his face straight, he just nodded his head," Yeah. Where's the lid? I can't find it."

Still chuckling to herself, Ḑ̵͇̪͎̫̆̃̕ȃ̵̗͓̮͎͉́͠y̶̜̪̮͐̅͒̚ë̸̼̫͓̠̦̀̂͐̕͜o̶̡͈̪̒̿͊n̵͕̒̊͌̕ pointed at the dish rack behind him," It's in the dish rack. Don't forget to grab its little bowtie."

He huffed, and he almost pouted as he stared at her.

She just laughed.

A light tap on his arm jerked him awake, instantly, he forgot the dream he had in the process, and upon seeing that it was a nurse (That he scared the shit out of) he relaxed. It turns out she was just there to tell him to put the finger clamp back on and then was on her way.

Or at least, he thought so.

Now he was just starting to get pissed off.

He could deal with the nurse waking him up to put the finger clamp thing back on for his heart rate. Fine, he could deal with that, he had it on when he woke up, and he would much rather prefer that than her trying to put it on while he was asleep. At least by waking him up, he wasn't going to attack her by accident. He could deal with that. Yes, it was annoying to be woken up, but it wasn't a big deal, he was asleep again within twenty minutes.

What he couldn't deal with.

Were the nurses waking him up every two fucking hours.

That was the one thing he couldn't deal with. He had some patience but they were starting to push the limit.

The third time a nurse woke him up. He decided fuck it and after letting the nurse leave, he left not long behind her.

If they didn't let him sleep, he was just going to go and find a place where he could sleep.

Of course, the guards protested him leaving the room in the middle of the night, but after he snapped at them that he was just going on a walk, they left him alone.

He didn't tell them that it was a walk to find a place to sleep in peace, but that was their problem. It was not his fault they were stupid enough to believe him.


The sound of his ringtone going off made him wake up with a groan. He wiped his drool away before rolling onto his side for the nightstand. Patting around blindly until he found the stupid thing buzzing and singing away.

God, he already knew that it was way too late for something like this, especially since he could tell that it was still dark outside.

His eyes stung at the bright screen and was internally groaning when he saw that it was almost three in the morning," Yeah?" his voice was heavy with sleep, the 30 seconds he had been awake was nowhere near enough for him to wake up completely.

" Sir," Saem sounded professional as always, but the slight nervous tone in his voice made him wake up a little bit more. It was never a good thing to get a phone call in the middle of the night, especially when it was one of his men that he had left as Ijin's security detail. He sat up straighter in bed, and was already turning on his lamp when he heard, " Ijin's gone."

He damn near sputtered.

Well, that helped him wake up.

Kicking off the blankets, he got out of bed and started to get ready to head over to the hospital.

"How did you lose a teenager?" That was a genuine question because it's not like Ijin was a small kid, he was just as tall as the others! And with that silver hair of his, how the hell did they not notice Ijin sneaking away?!

They were posted outside his door for god's sake! He would understand if they were on the ground floor, but Ijin's room was almost at the top, there should have been no physical way for Ijin to get the slip on them!

" He got upset that the nurses kept on waking him up and went on a walk," Kyong hopped on one foot, trying to pull on the sweats without losing his balance," We tried to stop him, but he snapped at us when we told him that he shouldn't be walking around unnecessarily."

" Really?" he drawled out, pulling the hoodie over his head and then his jacket," You didn't stop him because he snapped at you?"

" You saw what he did to Seokju."

Alright.

That was fair.

Seokju wasn't the strongest, but he certainly wasn't a weak little teenager. He was a skilled bodyguard who had enough skill to protect himself and Yeona. Just the fact that Ijin had mercilessly taken Seokju out, showed how he felt about them. Granted, Liam had reassured them that as long as they are peaceful, then Ijin wouldn't become physical, but that didn't mean any of them were willing to test the young man.

Grabbing his keys out of the bowl, he slipped on his shoes, "Okay," He locked the front door and quickly made his way to the parking garage," I'm on my way. Did he leave the hospital?" he better not have left the hospital, because there was going to be problems if Ijin really had managed to leave the building.

" No," Good. Looks like they weren't going to get extra training after all," security already checked the cameras. He's still in the building, but we can't find him." Well, that was good, that meant all they had to do was actually find the kid and hopefully convince him to not disappear on them again.

"That's good," It was bitterly cold in the parking garage,," I'll be there soon, get into contact with Liam or Isak, they probably know him well enough to help find him."

" Yes sir." He hung up and started to concentrate on the road.

Honestly, he still didn't know how he felt about Ijin losing his memories. It was upsetting that Ijin had lost them (for apparently the second time too) but at the same time, Kyong felt a sense of loss.

It was still Ijin he was dealing with, it was still the young man with silver hair and insane fighting skills that they all knew and cared for. Only now, it was a version of Ijin that refused to show weakness. While he wouldn't have called Ijin's neutral face as warm or inviting, at least he didn't look like he was going to snap at anyone who stood too close.

Despite the fact that Ijin's face was neutral, there was something about him that looked miserable. Kyong couldn't quite put his finger on it, but Ijin just looked unhappy.

It was almost upsetting how miserable Ijin looked.

It was difficult to explain. He looked like some type of doll, his eyes looked hollow as if he was too disinterested to take note of anything. But despite his disinterested look, the moment you walked into the room, he would notice. Kyong had only interacted with Ijin once, and that was when he delivered clothes to the teenager, but even then, it was enough to notice the change.

Ijin wasn't childish per se, but he did have childish tendencies. Whatever interested him, he would dedicate his full attention. When he was curious about something, he would tilt his head like a child would, with curiosity in his eyes and an eagerness to learn. He wasn't expressive, but he couldn't hide his emotions worth a shit, it was always easy to tell when Ijin was flustered, embarrassed, etc.

It wasn't until now that Ijin had a stare that would coldly analyze you when he realized just how much Ijin trusted them. How he trusted them enough to let his true personality show, to let them see his genuine self.

Now that he saw the current Ijin, the one that Liam and Isak knew, Major Kang clearly did the work of god by helping Ijin adjust to civilian life. He had heard that Ijin had been a handful, but he didn't believe it until now.

Kyong finally arrived at the hospital, and after meeting up with Saem, Hanuel, and the brothers on the first floor, they exchanged any and all relevant information that could aid in their search for the teen.

Well.

As it turned out, if there was one thing Ijin was good at, it was hiding. According to Liam and Isak, Ijin apparently had the ability to disappear for hours on end when they used to work together. However, that was when they worked in an undeveloped area, not in a city that was covered with security cameras. Cameras that they had access to.

They disregarded their advice to just wait until Ijin came back. Just because the kid was able to disappear for hours on end in the jungle, didn't mean that he would have the same ability in a building that had plenty of surveillance.

Yeah.

It turned out Ijin could disappear in a building that had plenty of surveillance for hours on end.

As annoying as it was.

Kyong wanted to tear out his hair when Ijin came out of the stairwell, he was still wearing the clothes Kyong had given him along with a leather jacket. Despite his almost chronic resting bitch face, Ijin looked more refreshed, like he had more energy than the previous day.

Granted, it was good, but that didn't mean he was going to approve of Ijins disappearing act either way. They had lost track of him for almost five hours, and honestly, that was completely unacceptable.

Saem and Hanuel were there for his safety and they couldn't keep him safe if he was off god knows where. They were there for a reason.

Before he could confront Ijin about disappearing, Liam did it first, "Hey," he had a disapproving tone in his voice, "you can't be leaving like that." it would have been nice if Ijin had cared.

Ijin flicked his hand as he got closer, silently dismissing his friend's concerns, "What do you care? Fuck off and leave me alone." Yet another thing he was never going to get used to.

It was so odd to see Ijin cursing like it was his second nature. The quiet, blunt, but polite young man was drastically different from the still quiet, but crude teenager that was in front of him now.

When Ijin tried to walk past the blond, Liam grabbed onto his jacket sleeve, halting his advancement. Somehow, just that simple move was enough to make the air tense. He and the other men exchanged looks, all of them tensing up and preparing for some sort of altercation between the two.

Liam and Ijin didn't make eye contact, nor did they move, but it was silent as Liam continued, "We're not in the camp anymore." His voice was low, but he had a gentle tone to his voice, "You don't have to be a dick you know." Liam's words and tone didn't match, but yet, Ijin seemed to understand.

Ijin huffed before he pulled his sleeve out of Liam's grip, "It's weird as shit to hear that from you." Liam snorted and just like that, it was like it had never been tense and now Ijin seemed a little bit more open, "Fine. I just went somewhere to sleep, the nurses kept on waking me up."

Kyong wanted to scream.

It was almost like that was standard procedure for a man that got a severe head injury that left him in a coma for almost two weeks.

"They knocked the shit out of your head," Liam drawled out, pinching the bridge of his nose, "they're waking you up to make sure you don't die or something."

As always, Ijin was unphased, "Wasn't I in a coma a few days ago?"

"I see your point, but no."

"I'll leave again if they keep waking me up." The worst part was that they all knew that it was true. Ijin really would leave if he kept on getting woken up.

Liam heaved out a sigh and he expressed his frustration by running his hand through his hair, "I know I can't stop you so just text me next time. We've been looking for you since three, you asshat."

001 huffed and walked into his room," It's not my fault you guys are shit at searching," but he still gave in as he picked up the phone from the nightstand, "but fine. If it makes you feel better." 001 began to swipe through the phone, no doubt trying to get more familiar with the object.

Liam huffed at his nonchalance, "It will make me feel better." Based on the way 001 glanced at him, he could tell that his former leader really didn't care about how he felt.

Good god was it exasperating to deal with him sometimes.

"Hey," He carefully kept his tone even as he started. Although 001 didn't look at him, the twirl of 001's hand told him to continue, "how are you feeling?" that made 001 look up at him, a raising of his brow radiating the words of 'are you serious?'. Liam stared at him back, silently prompting 001 to answer his question.

Seriously, it was just a simple question, just answer it already.

001 looked at him up and down before he finally answered, "Fine."

Sometimes, Liam questioned how he used to have the patience to deal with 001 and his bullshit when they were younger.

Restraining another sigh of annoyance, he continued, "Does your head still hurt?" Liam was just going to ask that first next time, just to avoid the annoyance of 001 giving him monosyllabic answers.

001 sighed, finally facing him properly as he caught on, "What do you want, 006?"

Well, it's not like he was trying to be subtle, and he needed to ask anyway.

"Do you feel up to meeting some people?" When he saw 001's blank look, Liam added, "It's been a week and a half since you've talked to your family and friends. They're worried." 001's hard gaze softened, and instead of looking defensive, Liam could tell that he was truly pondering over the question. 001 mulled over the question, staring at a random corner of the room as he did so.

Liam could tell that he was a few seconds away from convincing 001, so he added, "I would be worried too if I couldn't talk to Isak after he got shot."

That did it.

001 sighed softly, some of the tension leaving his body as he nodded. "What time?"

Looking down at his watch, he saw that it was already almost eight. Considering that visiting hours started right at 8:30 AM, chances were high that 001's family were going to show up right on time as well, "They're probably going to be here around 8:30, you have around 30 minutes to get ready."

001 nodded, "Ok. Out." Liam damn snorted at that.

He forgot how blunt 001 could be, especially since 001 had softened up before all of this happened.

Feeling a little bit daring, he grinned, "Don't you need help? You were in a coma a few days ago." In his defense, Liam didn't want to find 001 passed out in the shower, simply because the idiot thought he was well enough, only to find out otherwise. So it was truly a question that came from a good place.

001 didn't even blink as he repeated, "Get out, or my foot is going to have a new shoe."

That made him snort.

Leave it to 001 to make a veiled threat of sticking his foot up his ass.

Raising his hands in surrender, he started to walk towards the door, a slight teasing tone in his voice, "I forgot how touchy you were, 001." Of course, he didn't say that until he was in the process of closing the door.

He was daring, but he wasn't an idiot.

001 huffed after 006 closed the door.

Fucking idiot.

Moving past 006 being annoying, he was quick to take a shower. He got that he was meeting with people that he apparently trusted, but that didn't mean that he wanted them to catch him with his pants down.

Literally.

If there was one thing the camp taught him, it was how to do shit fast. Especially when it was something as vulnerable as washing up. He was in and out of the shower within ten minutes and within five more minutes, he was dressed and ready.

After he saw that he had another 30 minutes until it was time to meet whoever was coming, he started to browse through the phone again.

Again, he took his time in looking through the gallery.

Everything still looked vaguely unfamiliar. He still didn't recognize anyone, and he didn't know who was who. He didn't know if he was looking at his friends or at his family because, to be frank, he didn't look like anyone in the pictures. He was the only one with silver hair, and he didn't share any features with anyone.

The only person he could guess he was related to would be the man with brown hair, and he was only assuming that because they were around the same height. Even then, 001 could tell that the man with brown hair was too young to be his grandfather.

He had no idea who was who.

001 continued looking through the photos, trying to find at least some information about the people who claimed to care about him. He wanted to know something about them, just so he wouldn't be walking into this blind. But as one might expect, it was difficult to gather information from photos that weren't labeled.

Getting sick of looking at photos of strangers, he went through the rest of the phone. He was in the process of going through the notes in the notes app when the door opened up again.

001 stood up at once, and although he saw that it was 006 leading two people in the room, he didn't let down his guard.

It was a girl and an elderly man that he was leading in. He had seen the girl the day before in the hallway (perhaps that was why she looked oddly familiar), but he didn't recognize the old man at all.

Yet for some reason, they were both giving him a kind smile. Their body language was somewhat tense, the old man's hands were clasped behind his back while the girl's hands were clutching onto the bag she was holding. 001 could tell that they were nervous, but for what, he didn't know.

001 eyed them warily, not trusting either one of them in the slightest. He didn't think they could hurt him, but 001 had seen the results of complacency before. He wasn't planning to become one of the idiots that let laziness bite them in the ass.

They stared at each other. They were waiting for him to make the first move (which was something that he was not going to do), and 001 was waiting for them to make the first move. They were the ones who wanted to see him, so they were going to be the ones to make the first move.

All while 006 watched from the sidelines.

No one said anything, the girl tried more than once, but ended up looking like a fish because she chickened out of it each time. The old man just stood there smiling for god knows what and either one of them didn't have the hindsight to introduce themselves.

Whatever, they were just standing around like idiots and they weren't going to get anywhere if they kept it up. He turned to 006 and asked, "Who are they?" 006 was the one who brought them in, he should know who they were.

006's stern expression flickered at the question, though 001 didn't understand why. It was a simple question and it was one he needed an answer to. 006 took in a deep breath as he glanced over at the strangers and exchanged nods with the old man.

The old man's voice didn't waver, and was firm as he said, "I am your grandfather."

Ah.

That's who he was.

The old man's voice was slightly strained, but he was keeping his composure as he gave 001 a small bow, "It is a relief to see that you're awake. Truly." So this was the family 006 and 032 told him about.

Now that 001 knew who the old man was, the pictures in the phone made more sense. The old man was in more than one photo, and he was always with the girl too. That must make her his sister that 032 told him about.

He turned to the girl, scrutinizing her as she almost wilted under his gaze, "Oh! Um- my name is Dayeon," she was quick to copy her grandfather and bowed to him. Though she didn't have any of the confidence that her grandfather had. "I'm your younger sister."

So he was right.

He gave them a nod in acknowledgement, but he made a point out of not offering anything else. 001 still had no idea why they were there, or if they wanted anything from him.

006 cleared his throat, prompting him to look over as 006 said, "She's the same age as Isak."

So she was two years younger too.

He looked down at their arms, at their hands that were soft from a peaceful life. Neither one of them had any scars on their hands, showing just that they most likely never had a hard day in their lives. Especially the girl, her hands showed that she has never done any physical labor.

Perhaps that was a good thing.

It was good that they were able to live a peaceful life, one where they didn't have to worry about their safety, where their next meal was going to come from, whether they were going to be attacked or not while they slept.

But it left them weak.

001 already knew that if Mad Dog found out about the two of them, then he was going to send people after them to try and strong-arm him into submission. Dayeon and her grandfather were not going to be able to defend themselves against the average person, forget a camp operative. She was too weak to do anything, and her grandfather was too old.

It wouldn't be too much of a shame if her grandfather died, he was already elderly and had lived out most of his life. He probably doesn't have longer than 15 years anyway, but that didn't mean he deserved to die either. He didn't know much about families, but he did know that Dayeon would be greatly saddened if her grandfather died.

He redirected his gaze over to the girl, to his younger sister.

She was the same age as 032. If he was 19 now, that meant that her and 032 were 17.

It would be a shame if she died.

She was just 17. She still had at least another 60 years of life ahead of her.

She had another 60 years of life ahead of her as long as Mad Dog didn't find out about her.

She only had months if Mad Dog found out they were directly related.

Dayeon nearly crumpled under his gaze (which only proved his point). "Um," Dayeon started again, her voice completely devoid of confidence as she did so, "we brought you some more clothes…here." Dayeon ended lamely as she held out the bag for him to take.

After a few seconds of eyeing the girl and her offered bag, he took it with a nod, which was as much thanks as they were gonna get out of him.

He set the bag down onto the bed. He could always look at it later after they left. But based on the weight of the bag, they were at least being truthful about clothes being in there.

He gave the pair a long and hard look, one that left Dayeon averting her gaze again, and her grandfather giving him another smile.

They would only get killed if they stayed in contact with him.

He didn't know much, or remember much, but from what 032 told him, his attempts to keep his family safe had failed. Miserably at that. He had been attacked in their home, so that meant that Mad Dog knew where he lived. Where they lived.

"Leave." Even 006 sputtered at the sudden request for them to get out. When 006 sent a surprised look over to him, he huffed, "You said that it was Mad Dog who sent the kill order," 006 nodded at that, confirming what he thought. Mad Dog was the one who ordered for him to be killed, and he was the one who sent the men. That only cemented the fact that he can't bring Dayeon and her grandfather into his business.

He nodded his head and then gestured with his head for them to get out. "You seem like good people. Nothing good will come out of associating with me. Leave. Before you get hurt." He kept his tone was flat and emotionless, as if he was dealing with one of the numbered instead of his family.

Something ached inside of him when he did that, but how he felt about the situation was meaningless. Keeping the people in front of him safe and out of his business mattered more, not his emotions.

"001," 006 snapped out, as if he was offended on their behalf, "they're family. They worried about you." Their worry was just going to get them killed.

He didn't miss a beat, "I don't need their worry." He said calmly, not even blinking an eye at the way his words were making his sister tear up. "I don't care if we're family. I care about keeping civilians out of our business. They'll get killed if Mad Dog finds out they are involved with me." He didn't like the way he was making the girl cry, but he wasn't sorry about it in the slightest. He would make her break down into sobs as long as she understood that she couldn't be involved with him.

Family or not, she couldn't be upset if she was dead.

006 looked frustrated, but he knew that 006 was on the same page as him, because he wasn't arguing.

They may have been family but they were still civilians, and if Mad Dog finds out that they were family, it was a damn near promise that they would be used against him. They weren't like him or the others, if Mad Dog went after them, then their deaths were almost guaranteed.

"Ijin…" Dayeon's voice was waterlogged, and although he had the urge to soothe her pain, he stood firm.

He let his annoyance leak into his voice as he said, "I'm not the person you knew. I don't have any attachments to you, but that doesn't mean I want you two to be killed because of me. Do yourself a favor and pretend that bullet killed me." Dayeon flinched as if she had been physically struck, the tears finally spilling over her cheeks.

He hated it.

He didn't know why he was reacting like that, why his stomach twisted at the sight of Dayeon crying, but he hated it.

But it would keep her away from him.

It would keep her alive.

"001, stop being a dick." 006 gritted out.

Anger flared up at 006's works. "You're not involved in this, 006. Shut up before I make you," he said firmly, his voice dropping into that tone he would use when he was snapping out orders. 006 should know full well that as a numbered, or at least, a former camp operative, anyone and everyone who was involved with them were at risk of being attacked.

He was doing this for their own good.

006 didn't even get a chance to make a rebuttal before he was redirecting his attention to Dayeon and her grandfather. "Don't make me repeat myself." He took full advantage of the fact that he was taller than both of them as he loomed over them. "Get. Out ."

Poor Dayeon was in tears. Her tears streamed down her face as she cowered from him, truly terrified by the show of intimidation that he was showing.

All her reactions did was prove his point.

Her grandfather, on the other hand, stood firm and kept his head held high as he stared him down. Her grandfather smiled, as if he wasn't threatening them, and calmly said, "We're here because we care for you, Ijin. We understand the risks and we're willing to take them for you." His smile continued, despite the way he was gritting his teeth. "We'll give you some space. But do keep in mind that we love you, and we'll do anything to help." Despite her grandfather's kind words, he was not moved, he was glaring at them as if the elder told him a threat rather than reassurance.

"Dayeon. Let's go." As if nothing happened, the elderly man guided his crying granddaughter out of the room, comforting her as she hiccupped.

As soon as the door was closed, 006 turned to him. "What the fuck is your problem?" He didn't even glance at 006, instead, he turned to the bag he had set down earlier. "I get that you lost your memory, but that doesn't mean you can be such a prick to them. They were worried about you. You made your sister cry. " 006 was raising his voice at that point, and that did nothing to make the situation better.

"I may not remember them," he said calmly, his hands sorting through the bag as he did so, "but I can tell that I cared for them at some point. The number of notes I found on the phone is disgusting." That notes app on the phone was chalk full of notes. Of what Dayeon liked and was allergic to, their home address, all the way to birthdays of different people.

He could tell that he cared for them at one point.

So he had to keep them safe.

"I'm doing this for the me who cared for them. I'm sure he would have done the same."

006 just stared at him with his mouth hanging slightly open. Clearly, he was not expecting that answer, but it was the truth. There was no point in beating around the bush because if he wanted to keep Dayeon and her grandfather safe, he needed 006's help.

He turned back to the bag, trying to will the ache in his chest to go away.

He knew that he was doing the right thing. Dayeon and her grandfather needed to be safe, and for them to be safe, they needed to stay away from him. All they were going to do was get in the way and cause problems. He knew that he was doing the right thing, the logical thing.

So why did it feel so wrong?