Distance

by Seasilver17

One day Ijin was there and the next day, he was gone. Someone called 004 retrieved him from training, Ijin said that he would be back within a week. He wasn't Teenage Mercenary / Mercenary Enrollment Fanficiton

1. Chapter 1

"Did you remember to do the Cal homework?" The simple question had Ijin freezing in place, mid-stride through the doorway as Seokju leaned against the adjacent wall.

Seokju could tell that Ijin did not remember to do the homework. Again.

His expression must have been enough for Ijin because Ijin let out a soul-heavy sigh, his head dropping slightly to the side in the process, as he admitted no, he did not do his homework.

Seokju didn't understand how Ijin consistently managed to forget to do his homework. It had even become the norm for Seokju and the others to send reminders to the group chat just so Ijin wouldn't forget. Yet apparently, despite that, Ijin did another feat by forgetting. "I'm going to get you a planner at this rate," Seokju grumbled, "I'll help you do it after training, but you better not forget again. This is the third time." Seokju pushed off the wall and his friend straightened up, Ijin was quick to fall into line with him as they walked towards the mats for their warm-up.

Ijin nodded. "Thank you." Maybe he should get Ijin a planner. Seokju was nice, but there was going to be a point when Seokju no longer helped Ijin with his homework out of frustration and accountability. Seokju would rather avoid that as he just wanted to get Ijin to remember to do his homework in a timely manner.

Seokju grunted as he waved his hand around flippantly, dismissing the comment in favor of starting the warm-up to their warm-up. It was simple stretches and movements, just enough so their muscles would be prepared for the laps around the track. The methodical movements allowed Seokju to fall into autopilot, his thoughts preoccupied with his upcoming responsibilities. Responsibilities that involved helping Ijin with his homework before he went home with Yeona to do more homework with her with the occasional patrol around the house before he could finally go to his own home to go to sleep.

He was just wondering how Ijin had managed to make it to senior year with his forgetfulness. It was like Ijin had missed out on most of his math classes and that combined with his memory, made Math a struggle for Ijin. Even the cheat sheet their teacher allowed them to have wasn't enough to save Ijin. It was going to be a miracle if he passed the class and according to Jaehyung, Ijin was going to have to make a deal with the devil himself for him to be able to pass the semester.

If Jaehyung hadn't been right, Seokju would have been offended for his friend.

Leaning into a deep lunge, the back of Seokju's thigh had a gentle burn as he stretched the hamstring. He held the position for a few minutes before he switched to his other leg.

The sound of a commotion made Seokju look over at the entranceway. For reasons Seokju couldn't explain, dread washed over him. It felt like someone dragged their ice-cold fingers down his spine, chills erupted over his entire body, the feelings of dread saturating every fiber of his being and within seconds, he was standing up, his back ramrod straight. Seokju could see Saem, one of the older bodyguards, at the entrance, his arm across the doorway as he barred someone from entering.

From his position, Seokju could see a tanned hand wrapping around the back of Saem's head, the same hand pulling down the man's head into a knee, that same knee reeling back to kick Saem out of the way.

A man in a sleeveless vest walked in, "001!" The strange man roared as he stepped over Saem's body, rage contorted his features and his shout had brought attention solely onto the man. Men rushed to contain the stranger and one by one, the ruffian was knocking them out of the way effortlessly. He was knocking them out of the way as if they were flies rather than full-grown men. "Where the fuck is your phone!?" The man spat out and like Seokju, the others followed the man's stare to Ijin, who had an intense stare that Seokju had rarely seen.

Ijin's entire body was tense, his brow furrowed, and his jaw was visibly clenched, Seokju felt stiff just looking at him.

Ijin made his way over to the man, who was nearly snarling at the men that got too close to him. "It's okay." Ijin said, earning looks of incredulity, "I know him." If that didn't have jaws dropping, Seokju didn't know what did. Seokju was positive that everyone, like him, was wondering just how in the hell the ever-so-calm Ijin knew such a volatile man.

"004," That earned Ijin looks from his coworkers, and Seokju found himself wondering just what did Ijin do for him to know a man that went by 004. "Why are you here?" Like always, Ijin got straight to the point, but his voice wasn't as level as it usually was. Ijin's voice was terse, his voice holding a weight that Seokju only heard in the direst of circumstances.

004 huffed, "Everything went to shit," And to make it worse, none of the men were giving them the space for a private conversation and Seokju was right there with them.

In his defense, it became a communal conversation the moment 004 barged into the training center and hurt the others. They lingered around the two of them as 004 told Ijin what happened. "016 fucked up, 032 got caught and his dipshit of a brother went in after him. 008 got hurt trying to get them back." Seokju frowned and when he exchanged looks with Hanuel, he knew that they were all wondering the same thing.

How did Ijin get himself involved with people who referred to themselves and each other by numbers?

In a weak attempt of getting some privacy, Ijin got closer, as close as he dared to get without invading 004's personal bubble, "Forest?" A nod, "What did 002 say?" Just the fact that Ijin knew the numbered people well enough for him to request a certain person like that only showed that Ijin had been associated with them at one point in time.

Ijin's question made 004 stop glaring and with a click of his tongue, 004 was looking away, "He told me to bring your dumbass after you wouldn't answer your fucking phone."

Ijin's eyes narrowed as he scrutinized the man, "How bad is it?"

"How fucking bad does it have to be if we're bringing you back into it." 004 snapped out.

Seokju frowned. What did 004 mean by bringing Ijin 'back into it'?

Ijin didn't look at any of them, he didn't look away from 004 as the man continued. "001, this is the only way to protect the life you deserted us for," Seokju's eyebrows went up, "Get your shit together. We're leaving for the port as soon as we're out of here."

Ijin was one of them?

He was the 001 that 004 had been calling for?

Seokju struggled to understand what was happening because if 004 was strong enough to take down Saem, who was easily one of the best fighters on the team, effortlessly.

How strong was Ijin where he was picked to be 001? He knew that Ijin was strong, ridiculously so, to the point where Ijin had to limit himself during training to blend in. But if 004 was strong, how strong was Ijin?

Just what had Ijin been hiding from them?

Oddly enough, Ijin just accepted his words without a second thought. With a firm nod, Ijin agreed. "I need to go back home. Give me 30 minutes."

"Don't bother," 004 said as he jerked his head over to the doorway, "We have everything you could need. Call who you need on the way there."

Ijin didn't flinch, "I need to tell my family."

004 also didn't flinch as he snapped out, "Yeah well that family will be dead if you don't get a move on. Hurry the fuck up and get over yourself already."

Ijin's expression darkened, "004," Ijin's voice dropped, his tone ice cold as he stared at 004 with an intensity that made the observers, but not 004, shirk back. "I may be a deserter, but don't think I got any weaker." Seokju had never heard Ijin talk like that and Seokju would be lying if he said that the sudden change in his friend's demeanor didn't faze him. It was unsettling, disturbing almost, to see Ijin acting like that. To see the ever so quiet, reserved teenager threatening the foreigner, the same one who had a look that could kill.

And yet, 004 wasn't fazed. The man almost sneered as he leaned forward, "You stopped being my leader the day you fucking left us." The two men glared at each other and Seokju almost wanted to get between them just to prevent the fight that was on the verge of starting.

Ijin huffed and Seokju could tell that Ijin, the calm Ijin he had become friends with, was past the point of upset. "We don't have time for this." Still, even as Ijin admitted that he didn't break eye contact.

"That's what I've been telling you." 004 replied smoothly.

Ijin was pulling out his phone and just like that, the two of them were willing to cooperate again. With the way they were acting, it almost seemed like a normal event, for the two of them to butt heads to that degree and then to return to normal soon after. If Seokju didn't know better, he never would have thought that they were on the verge of brawling.

His fingers flew across the screen and Seokju could only think that Ijin was sending a text message to someone, most likely his sister or grandfather, as he spoke, "Who else is hurt?" Ijin was speaking at a normal level again, it was like he had thrown any sense of privacy to the wind because just like they had been the entire time, everyone was still listening to the conversation.

"Napalm, 008 and 005 are roughed up, but they can still operate. 002 and 016 are fine. The only ones that are fucked are 006 and 032." Napalm? Just who was named after an explosive?

A huff, "Stop calling him that, use his number. Seokju," Ijin said as he turned to Seokju, and before Seokju could even question what Ijin wanted from him, Seokju found himself catching the phone that Ijin tossed at him, "Tell Dayeon and my grandpa I'll be back in a week. I'll call them when I'm on the way back." Then…

Shouldn't Ijin take his phone for that exact purpose?

His question must have been obvious. "001 doesn't want to be tracked. "004 said that in a tone that made it sound like it should have been obvious when it really wasn't. What the hell was Ijin getting himself into where they had to be worried about being tracked?

"What's going on?" They all turned to the doorway, where Mr. Park was walking in, his brow creased as he took in the scene in front of him. No doubt, one of the men had reported the intruder known as 004. "Who are you?"

To be honest, Seokju wasn't even sure if he could explain the situation even if he had tried. It felt like he needed a few business days to process everything and then another day to figure out the best way to explain everything.

"No one," 004 answered before anyone could, and with a nod towards the door, both Ijin and 004 started to walk towards the exit, "We're already leaving. I need to borrow him for a few days." That did nothing to clear up Mr. Park's confusion and Seokju didn't blame him.

Ijin did nothing to help. All he offered was, "I'll be back in a week. Seokju can explain the rest." And the two of them were gone. All of them were too stunned and too confused by the conversation to even protest their departure. By the time Seokju even thought to question Ijin about the fine details, they were already gone.

Mr. Park turned to him, as did everyone else.

Why did Ijin refer Mr. Park to him? It's not like Seokju had any insider information about what the hell just happened. All he knew was that apparently, Ijin was part of a group (faction?) Where he was the leader of people who were numbered, that Ijin was called 001 in that group, and that they needed his help to save two of their members. The only thing he struggled to wrap his head around was the fact that apparently, Ijin's family would be in danger if Ijin didn't go and help. He just didn't understand how something out of the country could affect Ijin to that degree. He knew that Yeona's family had the power to do something like that, but who was Ijin involved with for his family to be at risk of being killed.

Seokju was just realizing that there was a lot that he didn't know about his friend.

Mr. Park was still looking at him, as was everyone else as they waited for an answer, something to explain everything that had just happened mere minutes ago.

Seokju's mouth became impossibly dry and when Ijin's phone vibrated in his hand, he was not comforted to see that it was a message from Ijin's friend, Major Kang. That meant that instead of texting his family that he was going to be leaving without seeing them, that Ijin had found it far more important to text the soldier what was happening and what he was going to do.

That meant Seokju was going to have to go to Dayeon and their grandfather and tell them in person, what little he knew.

"Seokju?" Mr. Park prompted, and all Seokju could do was shake his head as he answered honestly.

"I have no idea sir."

---

Seokju was in a foul mood. His morning had been full of anger, frustration, feelings of incompetence and a persistent headache that threatened to make his head burst.

Despite the permissions that working at S.W. granted him and the help from the police, no one had been able to figure out what happened. Seokju could pour over the city's security cameras as much as he wanted, over the official records that recorded who entered and exited the country via ports of entry and airports, he couldn't find a single thing. Not a single thing that couldn't give him even a vestige of an idea of what happened.

If Seokju had been a lower man, he would have broken something out of pure frustration. Trying to find Ijin was on another level of difficult, the few times Ijin had asked him for help to track people down seemed menial compared to trying to find Ijin himself. That was saying something as those tracking sessions had left him with a migraine and eye strain for at least a day.

That time around, the headache was not letting up, but with the help of Yeona's eye drops, blue light glasses, along with a healthy dose of painkillers, he was working through it.

Yeona whined as she flopped onto the desk in front of her, her head buried into her arms, "Why can't we find him?" Her voice came out with a whiny tone, one that Seokju related to far too much, "No one has been able to find him…" that was the worst part, that despite the entire team pitching in for the search for Ijin, no one was able to find him. None of them had the credentials they needed to access all the city records that could partially help, heightening their frustration.

There was a quiet knock, the mere courtesy announcing Mr. Park's presence before the man walked into the room. "Nothing?"

It took everything Seokju had to keep his answer level, despite that, he nearly spat out his words. "No." He pinched the bridge of his nose as his headache made itself known and while it didn't help with the situation, Seokju took comfort in the hand Mr. Park placed onto his shoulder. The gentle squeeze almost grounded him as a deep and weary sigh escaped the teenager, "I don't know why he told you that I can explain everything, I don't even know what happened and to make it better! I can't find him! I checked the ports; I checked the airport records but there's nothing. I don't know where he went, I don't even know when he left the country! If he left the country!" Seokju felt almost hysterical, but at that point, Seokju felt like he had earned the right to be.

How was it that none of them were able to find Ijin?!

Mr. Park hummed and with his hand resting on the back of the chair Seokju was sitting in, he leaned forward to get a better look at the monitors. "The police told you that there's footage of him entering the airport, right?" Mr. Park asked, but the man was already doing something on the computer.

Seokju's eyebrows rose when he saw Mr. Park entering a username and password into the database, one that he knew was different from Mr. Park's personal account.

Then his jaw dropped open when he realized that the account, unlike his and Mr. Park's, had little to no restrictions. He couldn't help but stare at Mr. Park as Mr. Park pulled up the security tapes for the airport. "I managed to get access to this after I bugged the police chief for a while," Mr. Park said, in a faintly distracted tone as he typed in the date into the search bar, bringing up the exact date when Ijin left. Mr. Park further narrowed the search by restricting the tapes to the evening and annoyingly, within seconds, they were able to find him.

Yeona scrambled from her seat to get closer, the three of them huddled around the monitor. They were silent as they watched Ijin and 004 walk through the airport. Neither of them had bags and it looked like the only thing they had on them were their passports, allowing them to walk right to their terminal without missing a beat.

Upon seeing what terminal Ijin and 004 walked in, it was a simple matter of looking up the information for that flight. Within seconds, they realized something. "Huh…" Mr. Park trailed off as he sorted the passenger list into alphabetical order and scrolled to the bottom of the page and when that didn't work, he tried the search function, typing in Ijin's name to no avail. "He's not here…" They exchanged looks. They didn't have to say it, it was fucking weird that Ijin was not on the passenger list for the plane the cameras recorded him boarding.

"Hang on," Taking the mouse from his superior, Seokju clicked on the icon that allowed the pictures of the passengers to be shown, and within seconds, they found the passport photo of Ijin staring back at them. Even his picture showed a different side to Ijin they hadn't seen. Not only was he thinner, which was saying something considering that Ijin was already quite lean, but he had an empty look in his eyes. It was nothing like the Ijin they knew, unlike the warm look Seokju had learned to associate with Ijin, his eyes were cold, lightless even, as if he had given up on life. Not only did Ijin look different in his passport photo, but his name was also different.

It was under a different name. A completely different name with a different nationality.

"He used a fake passport?" Mr. Park had a tone of incredulity in his voice and Seokju didn't blame him.

Yeona was just as surprised, "Where did he even get one…"

Why did Ijin use a fake passport? And why did Ijin even have one? How did he get one?

That explained why Seokju hadn't been able to find out where Ijin went. He had been using Ijin's name to search the little records he could, only to find out that Ijin had left using a completely different name.

He was going to kill Ijin once Seokju found him, but that meant that they had to find Ijin first.

Seokju just moved on. Well, he tried to, but when he saw the destination, it was like his thoughts were coming to a screeching halt once more. "He went to Cambodia?" What the hell was Ijin doing in Cambodia? Ijin had told him and the others that he had stayed in the middle east for a decent amount of time, so he had figured that Ijin had gone to that area, especially since 004 seemed to know him from the past. He wasn't expecting Ijin to go to Cambodia of all places, almost the exact opposite of what he had expected.

"At least we know where he went now," Mr. Park had an idle tone as he straightened back up and while he was right, that did nothing to clear anything up. Nothing made sense, from the man that retrieved Ijin, to what little they understood about the situation. Nothing made sense because of the massive amounts of information that they were missing, and they had no way of finding out said information.

Seokju came to a decision within seconds. "I'm going." He had to go, nothing was panning out and even though it was going to be a long shot, he knew that he wouldn't be able to rest until he took a more active position.

If that meant traveling to Cambodia by himself, then so be it. Ijin would do the same for him, Ijin was quiet, but Ijin was loyal, a quality that couldn't be taken for granted.

That earned him startled looks. Mr. Park's eyebrows went up in surprise, and his body language expressed it as well, "By yourself?" Yeona nodded along with his words and Seokju didn't have to ask for her opinion for him to know that she didn't like his idea.

The teenager started to gather his stuff, he knew where he needed to go, what city Ijin landed in, but he also knew that he needed to hurry up and go if he wanted to get to Cambodia as soon as possible. The good thing was that after years of working and saving his money, he had more than enough saved up to fly over and hire a local translator to help him find Ijin. For Seokju, it was a no brainer. "Ijin has been gone for three weeks. I'm going." Seokju had started looking into Ijin's absence two days after Ijin was late and up to that point, he hadn't found a single thing.

It was his first lead, and he was going to follow it. He had to.

And Mr. Park seemed to know it because the man didn't even try to argue about it. All Seokju got was a nod of approval. "I'll get into contact with the Cambodian branch. It's small there, but I'll get a translator for you."

Mr. Park was nothing if not reliable. Seokju was truly thankful for the man's kindness. "Thank you, sir."

"I'll go with you," Yeona started to stuff her things into her bag, her face set in a determined look that made the bodyguards exchange looks. They knew full well that whatever made Ijin go missing for two weeks, was also too dangerous for Yeona to tag along.

"Yeona," She froze, the grip she had on her backpack tightening as she stared down, "you know you can't go Yeona." Mr. Park said gently, trying to maintain some sort of respect as he almost reprimanded the girl, "Whatever made Ijin drop off the face of the planet is too dangerous for you to get involved. You know how well Ijin is trained."

She was not happy. "Ijin is my friend too," Yeona whispered out, a tone of frustration in her voice, "and Seokju can't go by himself. If it's too dangerous for me to go, it's too dangerous for Seokju to go by himself." She said stubbornly, giving them a pointed look that portrayed her frustration towards everything.

It was a good point…

If they found it too dangerous for Yeona to tag along, then it was too dangerous for Seokju to go by himself. But at the same time, there was no one who could go with him. None of their friends were trained to be of any help and none of the bodyguards could go in such short notice as well. They had family and bills to pay for, the only reason Seokju was able to leave within hours was because all he had to do was submit emergency leave and that was it. He didn't need to make arrangements for anyone but himself.

"I'll be fine Yeona," Seokju quickly supplied, scrambling to put together a lie that would appease her, "You know me. I won't get in over my head. If I think it's getting out of hand, I'll come back home and start going through the legal routes."

Seokju knew full well that he wasn't going to do that.

He knew full well that the Korean police weren't going to help even if they reported Ijin missing, especially since Ijin left the country of his own accord, only for him to go missing overseas of all places. Their best chance of finding Ijin was one of them going to do the search themselves and Seokju had already decided that he would be that person.

They all knew it, but none of them were willing to say it.

Yeona turned away from them, her bottom lip enduring the result of her anxiety as they pointedly ignored the forming tears. "Fine," the girl whispered out, her shoulders caving in as she gave into them, "but you have to be careful." At last, Yeona was facing Seokju again, showing how serious she felt about the topic. "It's going to be just you, you have to be careful, even if someone from S.W is with you." Even Mr. Park was nodding along with her words, further portraying the gravity of their words.

Seokju nodded. "I will." He didn't plan to go missing like Ijin had.

---

"Mom," Seokju hissed out, trying to pull away from the hands that were cupping his cheeks, "I'm going to miss my flight. I need to go."

Yet, at her age, the woman was reluctant to let go of him. Seokju tried to pull away because he really was going to be late, but his mother kept him in place by giving him a harsh pinch on his cheek.

"I know. But you listen to me," her voice changed from the previous lighthearted tone to a serious one and Seokju stopped trying to leave to give her the proper attention. "I don't mind you going to go find your friend. I know I can't stop you. But you come home. I don't care what happens, you make sure you come home okay?" Seokju could hear the sincerity in her voice and within seconds, Seokju found himself nodding.

"I will Mom. Don't worry." It was a more than reasonable request and it was one that Seokju would make sure he would fulfill.

She nodded. "Good," She tilted his head down for a kiss on his forehead and Seokju went through the motions. "Now get going. Because you really are going to miss your flight." That was what he had been saying the entire time.

He gave her a brief, but tight hug before he started running towards his terminal. Seokju rushed to get onto the plane, and he had no doubt that if he didn't do cardio every day, he wouldn't have made it. He was the last one to make it onto the plane, the flight attendants closing the door as soon as he stepped through it.

He had gotten on the first flight to Cambodia and while that left him rushing to get everything together, he had made it. Unlike Ijin, Seokju had made a point out of letting people know where he was going and when to expect him back, along with having multiple forms of communication available. The last thing he needed was for him to disappear like Ijin.

Passengers looked at him as Seokju made his way down the aisle, the flight looked full and Seokju already knew that he was going to suffer with the way the first-class flights with Yeona had spoiled him. But it was worth it in exchange for the fastest flight.

At last, Seokju found his seat, and just as he sat down, he was startled, "Seokju?" The teenager blinked in surprise when he heard the voice coming from the seat behind him. Leaning around the seat, Seokju was able to see who had called him. "Right, sorry, my name is Hamchan Kang," The soldier greeted, his hand extended toward Seokju over the headrest.

The final call for everyone to go to their seat had already been made and upon seeing that Ijin's military friend was sitting in a row, by himself, Seokju shamelessly moved to his row. Seokju took the hand as he sat down, "I know, Ijin has talked about you a few times. Are you…?" He trailed off. Considering that they were on the same flight to Cambodia, Seokju knew that Major Kang most likely knew that Ijin had gone radio silent but he also didn't want to worry the man if he didn't know.

Fortunately for both of them, Major Kang did now. "Yeah." Major Kang sighed as he took out his phone, "I'm sure you know, but Ijin was supposed to come back two weeks ago, and this was the last message I got from him before he went dark." Major Kang turned the phone screen towards him, allowing him to see the last message Ijin sent.

It's more complicated than I thought. I wired you the money. Send them out of country until I get back.

His eyebrows went up. Just what the hell was going on?

First of all, while they got good pay as S.W. trainees, that didn't mean that Ijin should have saved enough to send his family away, he had only been working for less than a year. And second, what the hell was going on where Ijin found it necessary to send his family overseas until he returned?

What was happening? And where did Ijin get the money to send his family away like that? Seokju knew that Dayeon and their grandfather had left on a trip, but he thought they had left to look for Ijin, he had been too concentrated on his search to pay much attention to their departure. He didn't know they had left on a trip because Ijin wanted them out of the country, thus making them less accessible to whoever Ijin was worried about.

"I know," Major Kang said as he took his phone back, with a lull in the conversation to buckle themselves in as the plane prepared to take off, "I got this two weeks ago and I had to pull some favors to get leave just so I could go and find him. What do you know?" Major Kang asked, his body language expressing his hope that Seokju could provide more information.

Seokju almost scoffed at the question, "Nothing. All I know is that someone called 004 told Ijin that 006 and 032 got captured and they need Ijin's help. And Ijin left Korea using a fake passport." The more Seokju looked into Ijin's situation, the weirder everything got. It was like he was slowly chipping away at the enigma that was his friend, but instead of digging up information that allowed him to understand Ijin, all he was digging up were more questions with no answers.

Oddly enough, Major Kang did not look surprised in the slightest. "006 and 032 huh…" Major Kang crossed his arms, his chin in the pit of his thumb and index finger as he mulled over the information, "Ijin has told me about them. I know they were part of the…" Major Kang trailed off and Seokju was subjected to an intense stare where Major Kang scrutinized him, searching for something on his face that only he was privy to. "How much do you know?" It was a vague question, but Seokju knew exactly what he was talking about.

It was clear that for the time being, Major Kang was the only person who knew just what exactly was going on with Ijin. He didn't have surface information like Seokju and everyone else, he knew far more than what he was letting on.

That was the exact information that they needed.

"I know he used to be called 001," Major Kang's eyebrows went up, "And I know that he used to be the leader of a group of some sort." What type of group, Seokju didn't know but with the way everything was playing out, there was no way in hell it was good. 004 did not seem like a person who would do stuff out of the kindness of his heart.

Major Kang continued his staring. Seokju stared back, patiently waiting for the man to take the next step.

"Well," At last, Major Kang started and the soldier turned towards Seokju as much as he could in the tiny airplane seat, "You're part of this, I might as well tell you. I don't want you to be surprised at the wrong time." Seokju was right.

There was far more to Ijin than he originally thought.

Major Kang leaned in closer, and he lowered his voice to maintain some semblance of privacy in the packed airplane, "Ijin spent most of his life as a soldier for a private organization. I met Ijin when he was 18 because my superiors hired him to save me and my men after we were captured and held hostage."

Despite the shock Seokju felt, everything started to line up. The dots started connecting and the story finally started to make sense. All of the discrepancies that Seokju had noticed over the term of the friendship seemed obvious. From Ijin's skill to Ijin's seemingly lack of basic school education, the fake passport, the appearance of that 004 guy, and even the way Ijin was able to fight at full capacity despite his numerous injuries. It was obvious that Ijin was so unbalanced because, at one point, he had been in a specialized group. That specialized group was being a soldier.

It all made sense.

Seokju had to take a few minutes to process everything. He knew that Ijin was an oddball, but he had just thought it was just an intrinsic part of Ijin's personality. He thought Ijin was just a naturally quiet and awkward person, but to hear that Ijin had grown up as a soldier made him think otherwise.

He didn't know a lot about Ijin's childhood based on that information alone but he could make inferences and he could infer that if Ijin grew up as a soldier, he didn't grow up in a safe environment, nor did he get a chance to have a normal childhood. Would he be just as quiet? Or would he be more outspoken like the others? If he had more time, Seokju would have wondered how Ijin would have come out if he had grown up in Korea.

But that still didn't explain what was going on with the men that needed Ijin's help.

"Did he desert the squad he was leading?" Seokju already knew the answer, but he both wanted and needed to get more information out of the man. As the major said, he needed to know everything so he wouldn't be blindsided in the heat of the moment.

A nod. "Yes. The people who trained him, they made him do all sorts of things. From what I understood, he didn't have a choice but to listen. That's why he deserted the group when he was 15. He worked as a mercenary until I met him, then I found his family and brought him back home."

Okay.

Okay, that was a lot to take in, but Seokju could handle it. Because even though it was a lot to find out about Ijin all at one time, the new information started to fill in the gaps, which allowed Seokju to process everything faster.

Seokju just needed to keep on asking questions until they, well he, figured everything out. "Does this have to do with an organization called Forest?" He still didn't know a lot about Forest and he could only hope Major Kang had some information.

That made the soldiers' brows scrunch up, "Ijin hasn't told me anything about a group called that." Well, that was a problem. "Last I heard, Ijin was having problems with his original group. A few of his teammates are pissed that Ijin is still alive. He faked his death to desert the group," Major Kang supplied when he saw Seokju's confused look, "what did you hear about this Forest?"

Finally, it was Seokju's' turn to contribute to the conversation. It had been three weeks since he overheard the conversation Ijin had with 004, but it was one that Seokju was sure he would never forget. "004 told Ijin that they were having problems with a group called Forest. Ijin seemed to know who they were but 004 said that they needed his help saving 006 and 032, that 008 got hurt trying to save them, but that everyone else was fine."

"And he left after that?"

The teenager nodded, "Right after that. He didn't even go back home to tell his sister and grandpa that he was leaving. I had to be the one to tell them that he was leaving." That had not been fun either because Seokju had to endure their questions, the same questions that Seokju could not answer because it was not like he had the answers himself.

Letting out a sigh of exasperation, Major Kang ran his hand through his hair, "Damn…the kid must be in some deep shit if he left like that." Seokju had to agree with that.

The entire situation had been concerning from the very beginning, but Ijin's prolonged silence only heightened the worry.

"Ijin…Ijin left his phone with me, something about him worried about being tracked," Seokju said slowly, he was trying to put his thoughts together as he said, "Do you think that has anything to do with it?"

"Probably. That just means that whoever he's dealing with is powerful enough to be able to track people from their phones." Seokju pinched the bridge of his nose.

Of course, Ijin was dealing with someone who could do something like that. Of course, he wasn't dealing with a common thug because, by the sound of it, Ijin and his former squad were dealing with a heavy hitter.

Hindsight was a bitch. Seokju almost felt like an idiot for thinking that Ijin was a simple teenager.

"I know. This kid is gonna be the end of us." Major Kang groaned out, "That's all I know. I'm going to get some sleep and I suggest you do the same. We're going to have to hit the ground running if we want to catch up with Ijin." That was a good point, Ijin was nothing if not efficient and if he was going to be with the people he had worked with as a soldier, Seokju was positive that they were all going to be as efficient as Ijin.

Major Kang took an eye mask out of his pocket and started to get settled into his seat. "Do you think we'll be able to find him?" The soldier paused for a second, his eyes flicking toward the teenager before he started to move again.

"Yes. If Ijin is leading the Numbered again," Major Kang paused as he put the eye mask on, but kept it over his forehead as he looked over at Seokju, "He's going to leave a trail of bullets behind him. We'll be able to find him. Now sleep," Major Kang put on the mask and leaned his head against the headrest.

"You're gonna need it."

They did indeed hit the ground running.

Seokju stood outside the payphone as Major Kang called whoever he was calling, watching everyone as they milled around them. After Major Kang had told him that he had hie own connections for a translator, Seokju called Mr. Park to let him know. It was for the best as the translator wasn't going to show up in the city until the next day and both Major Kang and Seokju did not want to waste time. They didn't know if Ijin had time and to be frank, they didn't want to risk being too late because of someone else. Major Kang had his connections, Seokju had Major Kang and that was enough for them.

A translator Major Kang worked with was willing to help them, they just had to meet him in his village. Based on the buses that were passing by, Seokju already knew that he was going to have a different experience. Just from what he saw, all of the buses were packed, and he felt was sweltering just looking at them.

With nothing better to do, Seokju overlooked the map that was right next to the payphone. It was in a different language and with a few lewd drawings along with overall graffiti, made Seokju studying pointless. The only thing he knew was that they were in the city with the red dot and that was about it.

"So. We have-"Major Kang paused mid-word, the payphone door stuck closed halfway. Pulling a face of annoyance, Major Kang closed the door, opened it halfway before it got stuck again, closed it for a third time before he opened it hard enough for something to loudly crack. Major Kang didn't even blink as he walked through the newly fixed door, "Okay. We have a problem. My friend isn't answering the phone, but he could be busy. I printed out the MapQuest directions, so I know how to get there. We just have to get there-what?"

Seokju just stared. What kind of millennial used MapQuest? "My mom is the only person I know who uses MapQuest." Even then, she only used it when she wanted to be annoying, not when they needed to get somewhere as soon as possible. It was an outdated form of navigation, Seokju was almost surprised that the website was still working as it was so old.

Major Kang didn't even blink. "Shut up. I don't see you having the directions." Damn that was a good point. Clearly Major Kang was used to catching shit about using MapQuest. That was a smooth response.

"Fine. Where do we have to go first?" Prompting the man to dig through his bag to pull out a clean, crisp packet of paper, neatly stapled in the corner.

"Oh. Right here," Major Kang said as he pointed at the nearby bus stop, "now we just have to wait." Though the moment Major Kang said that, a bus started to pull into the bus stop, leaving them rushing to get to it before it left without them.

Simply getting on the bus showed just how drastically different the public transportation system was from what Seokju was used to. Public transportation in Korea was usually deathly quiet. People didn't talk and if it was possible, there was a healthy distance between each passenger. The current bus he was on was completely different. When they initially got on, they had to stand because of the lack of seats and with two stops, the bus was completely packed to the brim. Each bump along the road had people knocking into him from in front, behind, and if it wasn't for Major Kang being by his right, on both sides. It was hot and uncomfortable from both the proximity and the heat. Seokju found himself wondering if that was how sardines felt when they were getting canned.

Then there was the matter of getting off.

He flipped through the pages for a few seconds, "This is our stop," Major Kang started to make his way to the front, not even waiting for the bus to stop before he started leaving. "Come on," Major Kang added when he saw that Seokju hadn't moved and grabbed him to follow along, "We have to tell the bus driver, let's go." That was very much out of Seokju's experience, but he could handle it. It wouldn't be the first uncomfortable thing he had to do for the sake of getting things done.

Seokju went up with Major Kang, and after Major Kang managed to convey that they needed to get off, the bus started to slow down, the driver opening the doors in the process.

Major Kang started to go down the stairs before the bus stopped and for reasons unknown, Major Kang tried to drag him down with him, "Wait," Seokju pulled away, trying to stop the man from pulling him down, "Wait for the bus to stop." Why did Seokju have to tell him that? Why? It should have been obvious. He understood that Major Kang was probably anxious to get to the village but to hop off the bus while it was still moving was going overboard.

The bus driver said something behind him and Major Kang tugged him down, "We're the only ones getting off, he's not gonna stop." They had to hurry up and get off before the bus driver decided that they could wait until the next stop and that was going to be a problem.

"What do you mean he's not going to stop?!" Seokju shot back and when he turned to the bus driver for support, he was met with the sight of the man motioning for them to get off and to hurry it up.

Major Kang tugged him down, "It'll be fine, he's already slowed down." Seokju was not convinced because that wasn't the point! The point was that the bus wasn't going to stop! And ignoring Seokju's sputtering, Major Kang hopped out the doors, landing lightly on his feet.

Seokju felt like a total idiot when he saw Major Kang keeping up with the bus with an easy jog, the soldier holding out his hand as he waited for Seokju to get off.

Oh, the things he does for Ijin. That asshole. He better appreciate the shit he was doing because Yeona was the only other person Seokju would do that for.

Swallowing his hesitance, Seokju made his way to the bottom of the stairs and before he allowed himself to get nervous once more, he hopped off and nearly stumbled because of the momentum. If it wasn't for Major Kang grabbing him and steadying him, Seokju was sure that he would have tumbled right over.

"There we go!" Major Kang said with a bright smile as he patted Seokju's shoulder, proud that the young man had managed to get over his fear, "See? That wasn't that bad, let's get going." Though he did have to admit that out of everything, Seokju had been nervous to get off the bus. It was a bit funny as Seokju was fine flying overseas for the search of Ijin but he wasn't fine getting off a bus that was moving at five miles per hour. But to each their own, Major Kang was sure that it was Seokju's first time getting off a bus like that so it had to be nerve-wracking.

Again, after Major Kang flipped through the directions for a few seconds, the soldier directed them to a nearby path in the forest.

They exchanged looks. Just looking at the entrance to the path was enough to set off alarm bells. With all of the vegetation, it was almost like walking through a dark pathway, with their only hope of not getting lost being their common sense and the printed directions.

"Ijin is going to be the end of me, I swear."

"He's going to be the end of us. And he's so awkward, he probably wouldn't even realize the magnitude of our efforts." Seokju tried to keep the annoyance out of his voice, because Ijin was still his friend after all, but it was undeniable. Ijin was not going to understand the magnitude.

With a chuckle from Major Kang, they ventured into the forest. It was a small path, there was barely enough space for the two men to walk side by side and when someone was walking in the opposite direction, Seokju had to walk behind Major Kang until they passed. The heat was just as uncomfortable as it was back in Korea, with the biggest difference being that the mass amount of vegetation blocked what little breeze there was. If they thought the city had been hot, the wilderness was so much worse. Seokju constantly moved his hair out of his face, the teenager envied the short, cropped haircut of the soldier. At least Major Kang didn't have to deal with strands of hair sticking to his skin uncomfortably.

More than a few miles in, Seokju made a conclusion about his experience.

It was hot and miserable.

His shirt clung to him and if it wasn't for the mass amount of bugs that were around, Seokju would have happily taken off his shirt. He almost hated his backpack at that point and if Seokju had a better place to carry his I.D and passport, he would have happily tossed it into the nearest fire. It just made the heat seem so much worse. And much to his amazement, the soldier was seemingly fine in his thin, but long-sleeved shirt with his even heavier backpack.

"Aren't you hot?" Seokju felt hot just looking at him.

"What?" Major Kang looked down at his clothes, "Oh. Yeah, but I got used to it. Long sleeves are all you can wear out in the field. But this humidity is going to be the end of me. Make sure you drink water." They fell into silence again. That made sense to Seokju, he could only assume that the military uniform was made out of thick fabric so the more skin that was covered, the better. "Funnily enough," Major Kang's voice brought him out of his thinking. "long sleeves was the only thing Ijin didn't fight me on." Major Kang said lightly and Seokju perked up at that.

"You would argue with him?" Because that didn't sound like Ijin, Ijin was the type to do stuff just because someone told him to. Not to mention Ijin usually didn't argue in the traditional sense because most of the time, Ijin used his fists as rebuttals.

Major Kang laughed as he pushed a branch out of the way, "No no, it was more of me trying to convince him to do stuff, but he was really quiet back then, he would just stare at me before telling me no. It wasn't until he trusted me some more when he would actually argue with me."

"Huh…" Ijin was already quiet. Granted, Seokju was too, but Ijin was just on another level. Sometimes Ijin was so quiet, it was almost easy to forget about his presence. "Was he even quieter? Because Ijin is already pretty quiet."

The soldier almost cackled at that. The kid really had no idea how quiet Ijin could be, which was good, it just showed that Ijin was comfortable around his friends, but it was funny. "Ijin was so quiet, I used to be happy when he asked me questions because he was at least talking and-hm." Major Kang cut himself off, his eyes focused on the path in front of them that curved around a bend that they couldn't see around.

Seokju tried to look at what the soldier saw, but other than the mass amount of leaves and vegetation, he couldn't see anything.

"Wait here," Major Kang ran up around the bend in a light jog, leaving Seokju high and dry on the trail. Why did he go ahead? Did Major Kang see something that Seokju didn't?

The teenager didn't have to question it further because it wasn't long until Major Kang was coming back around, the lighthearted expression that had existed mere moments ago had been replaced with something of a frown. The man wasn't mad, but he also wasn't happy. His expression was carefully controlled and considering that they had been laughing earlier, Seokju just knew that something was wrong. "Alright," Major Kang said slowly, his hand going up to scratch the back of his head, "We have to pass through a village, and let's just say that we weren't the first ones to visit. Just…just don't look into the buildings okay?"

Seokju felt dread washing over him. He took a hesitant step forward and felt a steady breeze on his skin, the same breeze that made the nearby vegetation sway gently.

The breeze brought smells of rot, smoke, and a chemical that he couldn't quite place. It smelled like the few times he and his family had encountered a rotting animal when they went hiking but to a much higher degree.

It smelled terrible, Seokju had to breathe through his mouth to keep himself from gagging but even then, he swore that he could taste the smell each time he took a breath.

That explained why Major Kang told him to wait.

Major Kang saw his face turn and he was quick to try and provide what little comfort he could. "It's okay, we can walk around it if you want, but we can't go that far because we don't know the area. It looks like everything was contained to the village but…yeah, I'll walk in front." Major Kang offered as if it would make everything better.

As if that would make him forget the fact that a destroyed village was within throwing distance. Seokju knew why Major Kang was taking him to the outskirts of the village, but Seokju didn't want to think about it beyond that. He just couldn't.

Ijin was going to owe him the favor of a lifetime. Forget the fact that Seokju left Korea of his own accord, but it was Ijin's lack of communication that was getting him wrapped up in that shit.

With a nod, Major Kang took up the lead and after pushing a few branches out of the way, they started to make the trek around the village. It was rough and they couldn't see the village from their position in trees, which he supposed was the point, but somehow, Major Kang knew his way around. Following a curve that only Major Kang knew, the smell never got better, and more than once, the man had abruptly redirected them, the soldier positioning his body to block something until they had walked past. Again, Seokju didn't want to think about it.

A branch whacked Seokju in the face and an arm was slamming into his chest as he was forced to the ground. The strangled gasp Seokju let out nearly covered up the sound of wood cracking above them.

"008 what the fuck!" Major Kang was in the way, the soldier hovering over his body protectively, but he blocked his field of vision in the process. Seokju could hear the different voices, but that's all he could identify about the situation. One second, they were walking through the brush and the next second, he was being pushed to the ground. How the fuck did they get ambushed in such a dense forest? How did they not hear the attacker sneaking up at them?

The only thing he knew was that 008 was there, who had been one of the people that 004 had talked about.

"They were talking about 001," the gruff voice said simply as if that excused whatever had prompted Major Kang to fling them to the ground.

"Yeah, and they used his name dipshit! They don't know him as 001 or Jin!" The voice hissed out, his voice wasn't quite as low as 008's, but Seokju could tell that he was a man as well, "Besides, look at them!" At last, Seokju was able to shimmy out from under Major Kang and he peaked at the men from behind his shoulder just in time to see the blond one, motioning at them wildly with his arms, "They don't have any gear! Fuck we'll be lucky if they even have bug spray!" The blonde one had his hair cropped short, his hair cut close to his scalp, a face covering bundled around his neck, and an earpiece in his ear.

He also had enough weapons that Seokju felt cross-eyed trying to keep track of all of them. He had a long gun slung around his shoulders, it looked like the guns he had seen in so many action films, with a knife strapped onto his legs and pouches hanging off his belt and protective vest.

"Do you think they could hurt any of us with their bare hands!" The blonde exclaimed, earning a hum from the much much bigger 008. The behemoth of a man had a mohawk and a beard to match. From his position, Seokju could see a burn scar that started from his shoulder joint and extended up the side of his neck, right up to the point where his hair started on his scalp. Seokju didn't even want to start on how muscular the man was, he looked like he came out of the womb pounding back protein shakes. However, despite the man's terrifying appearance, 008 had a look on his face that Seokju would only describe as bashful.

"I suppose not." 008 rumbled out, his hand went up, and Seokju saw the source of the sound as 008 pried the machete out of the tree trunk they were under. With a flick of his wrist, 008 flicked the blade free of debris before he was sheathing it back into his belt. "Get up. We'll let you talk and we'll figure it out from there." 008's words had the blond rolling his eyes but it wasn't long before he himself was motioning for them to get up from the forest floor. Up to that point, Seokju thought it took some effort to intimidate him. He thought he had experienced enough where it would take someone doing a show of violence or cruelty to intimidate him.

He was sorely wrong. With just those two men, it was enough to make Seokju want to cower. And to make matters worse, he seemed to be the only one who was uncomfortable because even Major Kang was standing firm, even though he was just out of place as Seokju.

Major Kang hesitantly got up, he moved slowly and in a way that kept his hands in view of the men, "We're friends of Ijin. I'm Hamchan Kang and this is Seokju Koh, they go to school together." 008 earned another pointed look, "we didn't come to hurt him. We're just worried. He was supposed to come home two weeks ago." The soldier helped Seokju up and Major Kang made a point out of corralling the teen behind him, the man becoming a physical barrier between the men and Seokju.

Seokju accepted Major Kang's protection without a single thought.

"We know." The blond said lightly, an uninterested tone in his voice.

They waited for the blonde to continue, but when he didn't, Major Kang did. "Where is he? Is he fine or…?"

The men exchanged looks. "Well," 008 started, "He's alive. He ended up staying longer than expected because of a few problems." Again, they waited for more information but the men, who were surprisingly easy to talk to, were more tight-lipped than they expected.

Despite his hesitance, Seokju just decided to get to the point. "Where is he?" They were beating around the bush, all they were saying was that Ijin was alive, as if that was a sufficient answer, but he wasn't saying how he was doing. Okay, he was alive, but how was he? Was he hurt? Sick? Busy?

The two men didn't even look at him, instead, their eyes went over to Major Kang, only for the soldier to say, "We're not leaving until we see him. Or at least talk to him."

"No," Seokju cut in, earning looks from everyone. It was like the more he spoke, the more confidence he got, "we did not come looking to the middle of nowhere in Cambodia just to talk to him. We're not leaving until we see him for ourselves." Was it bold of Seokju to demand something like that?

Yes. But Seokju felt that it was only right. If Ijin was really fine, then it should have been just fine for them to see him. Hell, Ijin didn't even have to go back home with them, they just needed to see him, set up some form of communication and then they would fuck off and go back home.

The blonde sighed, his hand going up to pinch the bridge of his nose, "look, I'm sure 001 would appreciate the concern, but he's busy, we're all busy. If our enemy finds out about you two, then you guys are fucked. They're going to assume that you two are part of our group and you two are definitely weak enough for them to get rid of you without breaking a sweat. Did you even use fake passports to come here?" At their blank looks, the blond sighed because why the fuck would they use fake passports to travel. "Right. Of course, you didn't."

"006 is right," 008 grumbled as he crossed his arms and the Korean's eyebrows went up. The blonde was 006? The very same person that Ijin had left to help? But if 006 was right there in front of them, why hadn't Ijin gone home?

Unaware of their confusion, 008 continued. "Even if you two get away before they do anything to you, all they have to do is bribe a few people and they can find out everything about you and how to get to you. 001 won't want to risk it."

Thankfully, that time around, Major Kang hopped onto the train. "We want to see him."

"For the love of-Do you want to die?" 006, asked seriously, his hand moving in a chopping motion as he did so, "You're getting in over your heads. Neither of you have experience in the field, you don't even look like you've ever held a combat knife, forget a gun," 006 said as he gestured to Seokju, and despite the indignation Seokju felt, he had to admit that 006 was right. "We're good, but we're not guard two idiots through a battlefield good. That's 001's specialty."

"I've served three tours as a Special Ops member. I lead my own squad." Major Kang calmly returned, "I may not be as good as you two, not if you're anything like Ijin. But give me some equipment and I can at least take care of myself and the kid." Major Kang gestured to Seokju as he said that and not for the first time, Seokju was thankful that his traveling partner was Major Kang.

008 looked over at 006 and when they met eyes, they had a silent conversation that only they knew until 006 sighed, "This is a terrible fucking idea. Fuck me. Wait here." 006 said as he walked away, his hand going up to his ear as he did so.

"He's going to tell our superiors. It's going to depend on their orders." 008 supplied and they both perked up at the sound of that.

"Ijin?"

"No. 001 should be on a scouting mission right now. 002 will be the one deciding." They could faintly hear 006 talking about them and it fell silent as they blatantly overheard the conversation.

"No they know 001…ones a soldier, the other is just a normal kid…the soldier is part of the special ops, he can take care of the kid and himself…What?...Ok. We're on our way back…Yeah yeah tell him not to get his panties in a wad." Seokju and Major Kang exchanged looks.

That sounded promising.

006 announced his return as he stomped through the brush, "Alright, let's head out. 001 said that he wants to see them. He said that they better get there safe."

008 in particular looked surprised, "He did? I thought he was out on a mission."

Motioning for them to start following, 006 led them back into the village, "He got back early. 002 said to hurry it up and get back before sunset. We're going dark until we get back." Major Kang chimed into the conversation and just like that, the three of them were talking about how to use the soldier part of their formation and what Major Kang needed to know to be prepared beforehand.

All while they walked through the center of the village.

The few buildings that weren't burned, were partially collapsed. The smell had intensified and Seokju swore that he could taste iron from the air alone. But yet, the men weren't fazed, even Major Kang wasn't reacting to the destruction around him.

Major Kang was right, everything seemed to be contained to the buildings, but he could still see the evidence everywhere. Blood seemed to stain every porous surface there was and after Seokju kicked a suspiciously soft lump while walking, he didn't even want to think about what he had kicked.

With a gentleness that surprised him, 008 forced Seokju to walk on the left side of everyone, earning a scoff from 006 and a hum from Major Kang. "Don't baby him 008. He needs to know what he's getting into."

"That doesn't mean we have to be dicks. We know she's there, he doesn't." 008 said calmly and it wasn't until then when Seokju realized that 008 was trying to hide something from him. Just like Major Kang had done when they were trying to avoid the village as a whole.

Seokju almost wanted to look to see what was so bad.

"Don't." Major Kang said, even though he was looking to the right, a pained look on his face. "You don't want to see her." With the wind came the gentle creak of wood, the sound of rope tightening accompanying it.

Even 006 looked saddened as they exited the village, leaving the sound of creaking behind.

"Poor kid."

All Seokju could do was not think about the connotations, about the way his brain pieced the sounds and their words together. The image nearly formed in his head until he forced it to go away.

He felt physically sick.

Chills went up and down his body as Seokju tried to force nausea away. 006 was right, Seokju needed to know what he was getting into, logically, Seokju knew that he was going to see some stuff that he needed to at least try to distance himself emotionally from.

However, emotionally, Seokju knew that he wouldn't be able to take much, not as much as the literal battle-hardened soldiers in front of him. Everything was just out of depth for him. It was a completely different world compared to what he was used to and there was nothing he could do that could have prepared him for it.

The men seemed to know it.

With a pat on his shoulder from Major Kang, a silent show of support, the men started talking again, Seokju listening in half-heartedly.

Going 'dark' meant that until they returned to their base, they weren't going to have communication. Seokju could only assume that something had happened, which supported the fact that they had to return before sunset.

Seokju looked up at the sky. Due to the way the trees loomed over all of them, he couldn't see the exact position of the sun, but he could tell that they only had a few hours before sunset.

By the time he looked back down, 006 was right next to him, scrutinizing him as they walked. Seokju just leaned away from the man, unsettled by the man's sudden bout of staring.

006 narrowed his eyes further and something seemed to click for the man because he was pulling away, a smile on his face as he hit his fist into his palm, "No wonder I recognize you!" 006 said happily and Seokju found himself wondering when and where the hell the two of them met.

"You're the dude that hit me with a car!"

Seokju felt the horror dawn on him.

Major Kang and 008 whipped around to look at them, both of them sharing the same expression. "006 what do you mean he hit you with a car?!" 008 hissed out, Major Kang nodding along eagerly with the man as he eyed Seokju with a questioning look.

The teenager scrambled for an explanation, that 006 had attacked Ijin back in Korea and that he had only been helping his friend, but 006 waved them off as if it was a menial subject. "It was when I was sent to Korea to kill 001. But it's okay, no hard feelings," 006 said with a smile, "001 roughed me up more than the car did. And I don't think Seokju was trying to kill me either, huh?" 006 asked, his question being directed towards Seokju, which did nothing but force all of the attention onto the teen.

Quietly, Seokju nodded his head. He really hadn't been trying to kill 006 when he hit him with the car, he had just been trying to help Ijin.

"See! He was just trying to help 001. Good on you for being a good friend. Just do me a favor and don't hit me again." Seokju wasn't sure if his face felt so hot because of the heat or if it was because of the embarrassment.

"I won't."

It didn't help when his bashful answer made 006 laugh and, if he heard him right, 008 snort. Major Kang was still staring at him in astonishment but that was fair considering that he just found out that Seokju hit 006 with a car because he was trying to kill Ijin in Korea.

Thankfully, the men started to pull the attention away from Seokju as they walked up to the truck that they had hidden under branches and a camo tarp. The moment the truck was uncovered, 008 was reaching into the back seat and Seokju couldn't deny the jolt he felt when he saw 008 pulling out another weapon. It was exactly like the ones 006 and 008 had and he was almost shocked to see 008 offering it to Major Kang.

The soldier was shocked as well because he certainly hadn't been expecting to be offered a weapon. They had just met moments ago and they knew that Major Kang was a trained soldier, yet they were offering him a weapon. When 008 saw the uncertain look from the soldier, he clarified, "If 001 trusts you, I'll trust you too. He doesn't trust easily." Major Kang nearly snorted at that and took the gun. It was a good point, trying to earn the trust of Ijin was like trying to earn the trust of an abused animal.

Based on the way Major Kang was inspecting the gun and handling it, Seokju already knew that it was a model that Major Kang was familiar with. "I'm fine with this. I don't want to show up to your base with too much on me."

"That's all I was giving you anyway. And you," 008 tossed a vest at Seokju and the teen nearly dropped it because of the unexpected heft to the thing, "You get that. You're the only one who doesn't know how to fight here. Might as well make sure you don't die." Major Kang caught on within seconds, and honestly, he was impressed. It would be common sense to give him a vest as well, he could see another spare in the back, but in the event, that Major Kang tried to hurt them, it would be easy to take him out. It was an easy form of insurance that he would try to replicate one day.

"Oh…" Seokju looked down at the bulletproof vest and it was like the reality of the situation was being pounded into his head as he looked down at it. "Thank you." He honestly had no idea what else to say. All he could do was accept help from Major Kang as the soldier helped him put it on before they climbed into the truck.

Again, Seokju was the only one who felt out of place as the others started talking.

"About that village," Major Kang started, his voice nearly being drowned out by the diesel engine," we were passing through to meet someone else, I guess we don't have to now that we're with you two, but what happened to it?" Seokju didn't get a chance to hate the fact that Major Kang asked before they were answering.

"It got taken out by a militia a couple days ago," the behemoth of a man answered smoothly, "That's all we know. We just spotted it while scouting and while we were checking to see if it was related to us -it wasn't- we found you two talking about 001."

Well, that was a relief. At least they knew that Ijin and his group weren't part of the village's demise or that they didn't attack them out of mere chance.

It didn't make it any less upsetting…

It was silent in the truck and no matter how sociable 006 and 008 had been, Seokju still felt the undertone of tension in the air. They were all being cordial then, but it could and would go to shit within seconds if something triggered it. Seokju could feel his nerves being rubbed raw, he almost wished he could go and sit somewhere, by himself, in the quiet just so he could destress and process everything. Everything was happening so fast, to the point where Seokju envied the way Major Kang was rolling with the punches because Seokju certainly wasn't.

His mouth felt dry, and it felt like a physical effort to make sure his voice came out smoothly, "How long until we get there?"

"Couple hours."

Right…

Seokju couldn't get comfortable even if he tried. He just couldn't, all he could hope to do was use that time to process everything.

The biggest thing Seokju was struggling to cope with was the brutality of everything. The fact that 008 had introduced himself with a machete to their heads. If it wasn't for Major Kang throwing them to the ground, then they could have easily died.

They could have died.

Seokju wouldn't have known it. The branch in his face blocked his field of view and 008 looked big enough to get the job done in one hit. One moment, he would be sputtering because of the branch, and the next second, that was it, that would be the end of him. It had happened so fast, Seokju wouldn't have been able to think about the pain, and while that was usually something people wanted, to die painlessly, the thought did nothing but terrify the teenager.

Even then, they could be killed within seconds. All 006 and 008 had to do was turn in their seats and use the guns they were carrying in their laps, or the multiple weapons that were strapped onto their person.

And Ijin, Ijin was capable of the same things. If 006 and 008 were capable of killing them within seconds, Ijin had to be capable of the same and more. He had to be and Seokju had no doubt about it that Ijin was better at doing it. There had to be a skill gap between 006 and 001. And honestly.

Seokju didn't know if he wanted to see the skill gap for himself. He just hoped that things were going to go to plan, even though the only plan they had at the moment was to check on Ijin before they went back home. But Seokju knew that chances were high that once they met up with Ijin, plans were going to change.

He didn't know how he knew the plans were going to change, but he had a feeling.

Turning his attention to the window, Seokju just watched the greenery pass by. They were still on a dirt road, traveling at a pace that made the road bumpy, moving his body side to side as they traveled.

Before he knew it, the truck was jolting to a stop, jolting the teenager out of the semi doze that he had entered. "Sorry," Major Kang said when he saw the way Seokju had gotten startled. It would have meant more if the driver himself had apologized, when Seokju leaned forward into his seat, he understood why they had stopped like they did.

Three trees were laying across the road. All of them were thick enough where there was no way in hell the trees had fallen naturally, right into the road, blocking the entire thing.

The sun was nearly set at that point, sparse rays of sunlight illuminating the dark forest floor. It was practically night because of the dense canopy. Everything in front of the truck was illuminated in red, the headlights being a harsh red rather than the usual light.

006 turned on the brights and despite the humming of the engine, they all heard the loud and distinct sound of a bush rustling. The fact that the rustling was right outside of the driver's window, only made it all the more obvious.

006 slammed the gear shift into reverse and the truck jerked backward as 006 went full throttle within seconds. Both 008 and Major Kang pushed Seokju into the wheel well and just like that, the world went to shit.

"The path to the base is blocked. Me and 006 are facing frontal fire." 008 spoke rapidly into the radio, the air vibrated with each shot, and within seconds, Seokju's ears were ringing. Glass was flying everywhere, and Seokju felt his entire body jolt and jerk with each bump of the truck as 006 frantically reversed out of the trail.

Major Kang brought his upper body back into the truck. "I need another clip!" Major Kang hissed out and within seconds, 008 was directing him to the ammo box that was back there with them, the same one that Seokju had right in front of him.

He had to get the bullets.

It was right in front of him. The ammo box was right in front of them. All he had to do was contort himself forward, open the stupid thing, and then maybe, just maybe, they would live to see another day. Seokju had to get the bullets and he knew that.

He just couldn't move. It was like his body just wasn't working. He knew what he had to do, he knew it, but it was like after weeks of stress and walking through the forest relying on nothing but Major kangs leads, his body wasn't listening.

A fist slammed into the top of his head.

"Fucking move!" 006 snarled out, his eyes boring into him for a split second before 006 was turning back around.

Seokju nearly lunged for the ammo box. Once, twice but it was the third attempt when Seokju was finally able to get the box open, his entire body feeling the momentum as 006 turned the truck around. "Major Kang!" That was all Seokju felt like he was able to say, but it did the job. Major Kang dropped back into the seat, his head low as he discarded the pistol and started to insert the new clip, and within seconds, Major Kang was leaning out of the window again, returning fire.

Seokju felt a thud against the door he was leaning on and he instinctively looked up. A man was hanging off the side of the truck. Seokju saw him, but he didn't see Seokju.

He seemed to be the only one who noticed their hitchhiker. He was the only one who noticed as the man extended his arm, a gun in his hand, the gun pointed towards 006.

He was the only one who could do something.

Contorting his body once more, Seokju kicked the man's arm up, a snap could barely be heard over the chaos, the gun falling out of the man's hand and landing right onto Seokju's chest.

Terrifyingly, the man didn't scream in pain. All he did was redirect his attention to Seokju. Seokju couldn't see his face, all he could see was the vague outline of a man in the dark, but Seokju could feel the glare. He could feel the death stare the man was giving him.

He couldn't say anything. He couldn't call for help, he couldn't do anything. It was a damn miracle he was able to move, it was a miracle that he didn't shoot himself when Seokju scrambled to grab the gun that was still on his chest.

Recoiling from the man's hand, Seokju lifted his trembling hands, the handgun felt like a million pounds in his hands. He had to do it, he had to his mom wanted him home. She wanted him home he had to go home. She wanted him to make it home. It's going to recoil, he had to adjust for the recoil, he had to he had to he had to he had-

The man fell away from the shot. The recoil had forced Seokju's hands up, the vibration was so intense, it was almost like Seokju couldn't feel his hands as they pointed straight up to the ceiling. At the same time, there was a scream of pain as the tire of the truck rolled over something.

He shot someone. Seokju shot a person. He shot them.

He killed someone.

He killed someone.

Another jerk of the truck had Seokju slamming into the back of the front seat, reminding him that he didn't have the time for a mental breakdown.

Flinging the gun to the side, Seokju felt his entire body trembling as he hunkered down behind the seat, only moving when Major Kang or 008 needed another clip.

Slowly, everything slowed down. 006 was no longer jerking the truck around. 008 and Major Kang sat back down in their seats and between the two of them, they were sharing bandage rolls, sweeping glass off surfaces, their heads on a swivel as they prepared themselves for another gunfight.

Seokju didn't move from behind the seat.

No amount of coaxing from Major Kang could get him out, no amount of pain from sitting on a car floor could make him move.

He was distantly aware of how his body was violently trembling, shivers wracked his body no matter how tight he tried to curl up. Distantly, he was aware of the way Major Kang was holding his hand, the way the man's fingers were gently massaging his hand, forcing it to relax. It was the only thing that seemed to ground the teen at the moment.

The truck was silent, 006 and 008 communicating with Ijin and the others as they coordinated relocating to another base they had prepared beforehand. More than once, they glanced into the back, checking on the state of their passengers and more specifically, the teenager.

Major Kang was shining his phone flashlight into his face and despite the way the light made his eyes ache, Seokju didn't move. It was taking everything Seokju had to keep himself from spiraling, he didn't have time to care about the light.

Carefully, Major Kang ran his hand through Seokju's hair as the man checked him over, trying to make sure that the young man was not physically hurt. Major Kang had seen Seokju shooting the hitchhiker and it was no doubt a shock to the boy's system.

But Major Kang needed to clear some things up.

He ran his hands through Seokju's hair, "You don't have any blood on you."

Seokju leaned into his hand as he curled up tighter, "'m not hurt." Seokju muttered into his arm, not willing to look at the man at all. Shame and guilt burned deep in his chest.

"Seokju. I saw you shoot him," Seokju flinched as if he had been physically struck, but he continued, "You shot him point blank." His words prompted Seokju to look away in an attempt to hide his face, his expression crumpling as he faced the seat upholstery. "You were close enough where you should have gotten blood splatter from shooting him."

At last, Seokju seemed to be connecting the dots. Slowly, he looked up at Major Kang, his hand going up to wipe at his face, revealing a trembling, but clean hand. "You don't have any blood on you. You didn't kill him. You shot him in his vest." And it had been the impact of the bullet that had flung the man off the truck.

"You didn't kill him Seokju."

Seokju was looking up at Major Kang as if he was the boy's savior, Major Kang could see the metaphorical weight being lifted off his shoulders, the pure and utter relief running through the teen's body as he almost slumped into himself.

Quietly, Seokju nodded his head and while he didn't move, Seokju never let go of his hand.

Major Kang provided what little comfort he could.

They ended up showing up far after sunset. After the firefight and the base relocation, they ended up showing up much closer to midnight. Their journey had only taken them further into the Cambodian wilderness. Major Kang knew that even if he had tried to lead them back to the village, not even the city that had the airport, all he would do was end up lost amongst the twists and turns of the path. Major Kang had been far too busy during the firefight to pay attention to where 006 had been taking them. All he knew was that they made it out alive and that he had a traumatized teenager right next to him.

It was silent as 006 parked the truck. None of them said anything as they got out of the car and after Major Kang helped Seokju out, the silence continued.

If Major Kang noticed Seokju sticking to him like glue, he wasn't going to say anything. Major Kang understood why he was doing it and he didn't blame the boy for how he was acting. Seokju seemed to force himself into thinking again when he slapped his own face with a little more force than Major Kang would have found necessary but again, he wasn't going to question it.

It was all anti-climatic.

They all walked into the building, 008 strode into the building without a second thought, and after 006 noticed their slight hesitance, they walked in after he waved them in.

"Hey," someone spoke up, a woman with a glare that could kill said as she sat at a table. Her arm bared as someone else, a boy with light brown hair and freckles, wrapped up her arm with bandages. "About time. We were starting to think they got you." 008 dropped his stuff into the corner, leaving Major Kang and Seokju with 006.

The boy with freckles rolled his eyes as he finished the job, "I think 005 means good to see that you're not dead."

"Shut up 016." Yet despite their words, neither of them had any real heat in their voice, much to the amusement of 006.

"It's good to see you too 005." All 006 got back was the middle finger.

A boy with cropped silver hair, much like Ijin's but with a lighter more platinum-like color, walked up to 006 with a smile. His eyes were a reddish color and if it wasn't for the boy's tanned skin, Seokju could have thought the boy was some type of albino. The boy tilted his head to the right when he saw them, "Are you the ones who know 001?"

Major Kang answered for them, "Yes. I'm Hamchan Kang and this is Seokju Koh."

The boy nodded, "032," Major Kang and Seokju discreetly exchanged looks once more. It was the other half of the pair that Ijin had left to save, confirming that Ijin had saved the pair, but he had decided to stay behind.

032 motioned toward the nearby table. "Put your stuff down there. 002 wants to see you two first."

"Why?" 006 cut in and it was clear that they were the only ones who were expected to take off their equipment as 006 and 008 were sitting at the tables with their weapons. Either way, Seokju listened and put the vest onto the table, pretending to ignore the way his back and chest were saturated with sweat.

032 shrugged his shoulder, "I dunno. He just does." Despite his words, 032 was giving 006 a pointed look and maybe if they had some insight into 032's brain, they would have known why 032 was doing that.

006 seemed to notice. "Huh, alright then. 002 is right through there," That seemed to be the end of the conversation as 006 pointed at a door, and with no other choice, they walked through the door. Major Kang was the one being bold because while Seokju would have preferred that they waited for a few minutes before walking in, Major Kang just walked in.

The room was empty save for a single man and despite the fact that the man, who had to be 002, had his back facing towards them, Seokju could tell that he had a different energy to him. 002 was leaning against a table with both of his hands, pouring over something that they couldn't see due to the angle.

"You're lucky 001 has a use for you two."

Major Kang and Seokju exchanged looks.

That's the first thing 002 said when he hadn't even looked at them?

002 straightened up and put his hands on his hips as he turned around to look at them. They couldn't tell what ethnicity 002 was, but they could tell that he seemed to be some type of European. "I remember you." Seokju looked up at the man. He was tall, even when the man was slouching, he was still taller than both him and Major Kang. He wasn't taller than 008 but tall was tall. 002 had a relaxed posture and he looked indifferent, but that did nothing to get rid of the scare factor. The gun slung around his shoulders and the multiple knives strapped around his waist and thighs added to that factor.

It took everything Seokju had to not shirk back when the man leaned in closer, "You're 001s teammate. I remember seeing you when I was watching 001. I haven't seen you before." 002 said to Major Kang and like he had been the entire time, Major Kang was quick to introduce them to the man.

At that rate, Ijin was going to owe Seokju and Major Kang multiple favors, and Seokju was going to owe Major Kang multiple favors as well. The only one that didn't have to owe anything was Major Kang and that was due to his very active stance in the situation.

002 didn't look particularly interested in them. "Okay. Don't get comfortable, you're not going to stay here for long. 001," They didn't get a chance to question what he meant before 002 was picking up a receiver, "006 and 008 are back. Your visitors are here."

The signal crackled for a few seconds before the voice finally came in, "002," Seokju and Major Kang perked up at the sound of Ijin's voice. They couldn't hear the fine intonations of Ijin's voice because of the crackling, but they couldn't deny the pure and utter relief they felt when they heard his voice, "I'll take care of them. Come and keep an eye on 004." The sound of static indicated the end of the conversation, much to the confusion of Major Kang and Seokju.

004 was one of their men, why did 002 need to keep an eye on him?

"Stay here," 002 ordered as he walked past, his eyes lingering on the both of them, "don't try anything." That was the plan.

Seokju and Major Kang collectively agreed that they would never try to do anything. They didn't even have to talk about it, a single look was enough for them to reach the same conclusion. They wanted to walk out of the building alive thank you very much, consider them well-behaved.

It was the first time they were alone together since they've run into 006 and 008 back in the village.

"Hey," Major Kang made sure to keep his voice gentle, "how are you doing?" He knew that the teenager wasn't as well as he was coming off. Major Kang recognized the signs that Seokju was forcing himself to function, even though the boy had full right to be traumatized after that shitshow in the truck.

Though he did turn in Major Kangs direction, Seokju didn't look at him, his eyes focused more on Major Kangs chest than his face more than anything. "I'm fine sir." Seokju's eyes flicked up towards his face, but when they made eye contact, he was quick to look away. "I don't regret coming…but Ijin…Ijin is deep in all of this stuff, isn't he?"

"He didn't want to be," and that was the honest truth. Ijin had been trying to get out of the mess that had been his former life for the past five years by then. "Ijin's been trying to get away from all of this for years." It just so happened that this former life wasn't ready to let go of him, as aggravating as it was. Major Kang knew that Ijin had to feel some sort of responsibility for the team that he led for his formative years and while Major Kang didn't blame him, it was a damn shame that he couldn't pull himself free from their antics. "He just wasn't able to get out of it this time."

Seokju frowned at that, he looked on the verge of saying something, perhaps he was going to voice his disapproval of Ijin's actions or their actions when they were cut off.

"Never mind," 002 came back into the room with a frown, "001 wants you to come with me." That was all the warning they got before 002 was walking out again, leaving the two of them almost rushing to catch up.

002 led them through the building, allowing them to see the rest of the group that Ijin led. There was a man with straggly hair tied up into a ponytail and a bandana on his face, who was talking with 008 and the others. The three of them stared at them as 002 led them through the room and even as they walked out, Seokju and Major Kang could feel their eyes boring into the back of their heads.

They were all so intimidating, it wasn't even funny how cold and calculating their stares were. If Seokju didn't know that they were Ijin's former teammates, he would most definitely be questioning Ijin's sanity, if any at all remained.

The building was bigger than they thought, 002 led them down into a basement and immediately, they felt the temperature dip in the muggy, but cold basement.

They heard Ijin before they saw him. "You're going with them." And already, 002 was picking up the pace as he jumped off the second to last step, Major Kang and Seokju doing the same just to keep up.

They walked into quite the sight.

Ijin, who had his back facing towards them, was standing over a man in bed, the man sitting up propped against a wall. Like the others, Ijin was dressed the same way, with fatigues and weapons strapped onto his body. Even from behind, they could tell that at one point, Ijin had cut his hair, most likely in an attempt to cope with the suffocating heat.

"Who's going with who?" 002 asked as he sidled up next to Ijin, ready to hear the reasoning behind Ijin's words.

Frowning, Ijin looked around, but when he spotted them a few feet away, he just gave them a nod before he turned back to the Numbered.

Seokju scowled at the way they were greeted. They had gone all of that way and Ijin just gave them a nod? As if he hadn't been missing for the past three weeks?

"004 is going with them. He's just a liability right now." Ijin explained, much to 004's offense.

"I'm not going anywhere!" A step to the side and they were able to see the snarl that 004 had on his ashen face. "I'm not leaving until I can get those-argh!" A poke of 004's shoulder was making the man nearly scream in pain. Seokju almost hissed in sympathy when he saw 004 curl in on himself, his hand clawing at the blood-stained bandages that wrapped up his shoulder, "y-you fucker." 004 hissed out, his voice portraying how much pain he was in.

"Your shoulder is destroyed. You're lucky if the bone is still intact." Ijin's voice was monotonous as he said that, not a single ounce of sympathy in his voice even though he had been the one who poked 004's shoulder. "None of our pills are helping the pain and at this rate, you're going to get an infection. We don't have time for that. You're going with Major Kang and Seokju back to Korea so you can get treatment."

Well, that explained what 002 meant by Ijin needing them to do something.

004 did not look convinced, "I can get treatment here. Just take me back to the city dammit!" 004's voice was shaking from both rage and pain; the man was not happy about his dismissal in the slightest.

002 hummed. "001 is right. Forest will take advantage of your injury if you're with us. That or they'll outright kill you when you're getting treatment. You need to go with them. They won't think to look for you in Korea." 004 looked between the two leaders, his face still contorted into a snarl and when Seokju accidentally made eye contact with the man, he could practically taste the true and utter loathing the man had for him.

Ijin stepped in between them. "We still have opiates. I can give you one for the plane ride. It'll last until you land in Korea."

"F-fuck that, I'm not touching that shit," 004 stammered out, his voice lacking the aggressive tone he had earlier, "You know how hard it was to break that goddammed habit. Fucking Mad Dog." 004 ended in a grumble and Seokju could hear the man shifting around on the bed in the silence. "Fine." At last, 004 agreed to what Ijin and 002 were telling him. "You better kill those fuckers." 004 extended his good arm and with Ijin's and 002's help, he was pulled onto his feet. The man wavered unsteadily on his feet, his eyes blinked rapidly as the other two worked to keep him standing up. It was clear that 004 was far worse than he looked and even Seokju was resisting the urge to try and help when the man took a shaky step forward. That was enough to make 002 grab 004, bringing the man back onto his feet after he started to list to the side again.

"We will." Ijin idly commented and as much as Seokju wanted to give Ijin the benefit of the doubt, he didn't know if Ijin meant it or if he was merely trying to placate the man. "Take him up to the truck, I need to talk to them." Ijin said, motioning towards Seokju and Major Kang with his head in the process.

"Will do. 004," 002 started to help the man up the stairs, "I got you."

"You better not fucking drop me." 004 grumbled and for a few minutes, all the three of them did was stand in silence as they waited for the pair to exit the basement. Once they did leave the basement, Seokju and Major Kang waited for Ijin to start the conversation.

Only he didn't. All Ijin did was stare at the two of them, as if they were the ones who needed to start the conversation.

Seokju almost wanted to scream, he didn't know what he expected. It was Ijin after all.

"Well first of all, I'm happy to see that you're alive," Major Kang started out, earning a slight upturn of Ijin's mouth, "I would get mad at you for not telling us what was going on but I'm going to go ahead and assume that it wasn't safe for you to do that." Ijin nodded, which helped confirm everything Seokju had been thinking.

Ijin turned to Seokju, "I didn't think Major Kang would drag you along with him."

Seokju had to admit that that comment annoyed him more than it should have. "You've been gone for three weeks," Seokju nearly snapped out, "why the hell wouldn't I be worried? He didn't drag me along for anything." It had been a coincidence when they met up on the plane, but it's not like Seokju wouldn't have searched for Ijin if they hadn't.

The teenager's eyebrows went up, disappearing under his hair, "You came to look for me?" And why was Ijin surprised? Granted it's not like they were the most affectionate of friends, but they were still friends. Good friends at that, Seokju would be hard-pressed to name someone he valued more as both a friend and a trustworthy person.

The disbelief peeved him. "Why wouldn't I? For all I knew, you were dead and none of us would have known." Besides, it's not like he was the only one who was worried. Practically everyone he knew would ask about Ijin, from their coworkers to their friends, they were worried about Ijin. For some reason, that idiot had the gall to be confused.

Ijin still looked confused, even as he offered a short apology. "Sorry. Thank you for coming. But you two need to leave. The only reason I agreed to see you two is because of 004. It's dangerous for you two."

"We've caught on," Major Kang said, a flat tone in his voice, no doubt referencing the way they had gotten caught in a firefight with 006 and 008, "We'll be out of your hair soon. How much longer until you come back to Korea?" It was a show of Major Kangs maturity because the man wasn't asking a single thing about Ijin's situation and despite the way Seokju wanted to do the same, the curiosity was almost too much.

If Seokju didn't know that Ijin was just going to ignore his intrusive question, then Seokju would have happily asked for an explanation.

"It depends." That was all that Ijin offered, which did nothing but prove Seokju's point. "How are Dayeon and Grandpa?"

"Good. Jiyeh helped me out. They're at a resort S.W owns."

"Don't tell me where they are."

"I know. Jiyeh said you won't have to worry about the cost. She's counting this as repaying you for saving her life."

"Understood. 004 will be in the truck 006 and 008 brought you in. Use that to get back to the airport."

"Got it."

"Wait," Seokju cut in, baffled by the way everything was going, "that's it? Aren't you going to say anything about how we came all the way here just for you?" Seokju wasn't going to say something, but it was getting to be a bit ridiculous. Their location wasn't a stone's throw away, they were in the wilderness in an entirely different country. A country that took eight hours for them to get to in the first place and Ijin had the audacity to not mention a single thing about their presence.

The way Ijin and Major Kang exchanged looks gave off the impression that they thought he was overreacting, which didn't help Seokju's mood, "We came to check on you and make sure that you're okay. You can't expect us to leave when you're in a mess like this!" They didn't even know if Ijin was going to go back home to his family! All Ijin was telling them was that he had to sort out some stuff, and Seokju had already long made the connections to the Numbered's get up to know that it wasn't anything good and it certainly wasn't menial.

Major Kang tried to say something but with Ijin stepping forward, he stopped. "Seokju, I don't have time for this. Thank you for checking up on me, but I have a few responsibilities to do before I can go home." That had to be the most Ijin had spoken yet, but Seokju wasn't having it.

"You call this responsibilities?" Seokju motioned wildly to everything around him. All it looked like to him was Ijin was getting ready to attack something-someone. Ijin had just as much equipment as the others and based on what they saw upstairs, there were boxes of bullets and weapons all over the place. Seokju was sure that if 004 had been in good health, then he would have been just as prepared as everyone else. "Ijin, you guys look like you're getting ready to attack someone. 004 just told you guys to make sure you kill whoever you're going up against! How is that a responsibility of yours?!" Because it certainly did not look like they were trying to defend themselves!

Call Seokju sensitive but how did the responsibility of launching an attack fall onto Ijin's shoulders? If the threat was so big, why weren't there any bigger, official forces working against them? Why was Ijin trying to work against them when he very well could easily get the national army involved, rather than Ijin doing it himself?

By that time, Ijin was staring at him blankly, his emotions carefully tucked away behind a face of indifference. Behind him, Major Kang had a pained expression, but even Major Kang had to admit that Seokju had something of a point. They had gone to Cambodia to retrieve Ijin and it was going about every way but that. While he wasn't willing to say it out loud, Major Kang was right there with Seokju, he would much rather Ijin left with them right then and there rather than Ijin sending them home.

"It became my responsibility when I became 001," Ijin leveled his gaze at Seokju, the teenager's voice eerily calm, "If I don't take care of them now, then they will hunt me down. They will hunt down the rest of my men. There were thirty-five of us when I left, now there are only nine of us. If they can kill twenty-six of my men, they can kill Dayeon and grandpa. They're cowards, and they won't hesitate to kill my family." At last, Ijin showed some type of emotion as he frowned and Seokju couldn't tell if it was directed towards him or if it was because of the situation.

Ijin sighed, some of the tension leaving his body as he averted his eyes, "The Numbered are like family to me, for years they were all I had. Those twenty-six died because of my defection. This is my responsibility. Go home Seokju. I've had enough people die because of me." Ijin said quietly and Seokju felt like the trash of the earth. He had practically forced Ijin into being vulnerable with them with what he had said.

Seokju felt his heart break when he remembered that the Numbered, the same one that Ijin just said was his family, had lost twenty-six of their members.

"I don't want you to die Seokju. I don't want either of you to die." Ijin added as he alternated between looking at Seokju and Major Kang, showing his sincerity in his words, "Hurry up and leave. All the members are Forest are tall and their code names are based on trees. I've only seen a few of them, but the shortest one is my height, the others are either 002's height or taller. They'll stand out." Just like that, Ijin was back into mission mode as he started to give them orders. With a notepad in his hand, Ijin started to write down the names they had to avoid.

"The leader is called Sequoia, 002 says that he's taller than 008. The second in command is Birch, he's taller than me, but shorter than 008. The only ones we know are Sequoia, Birch, Sandbox, Hawthorne and Sapling. Sapling is the one that's my height. As far as I know, that's all the members they have. Major Kang," Ijin took out a pistol from his leg holster and after handing it over to the soldier, he started to pull out boxes of ammo to go with it, "Take this. If you keep 004 hidden in the back under a tarp, you two will most likely go under their radar. If anyone asks, you two are here for vacation and you got lost. You'll be in the home stretch once you get to the airport, but you have to make sure that you hide 004. 005 will lead you back to the main road. I would send someone as an escort to the airport, but they all know our faces, they would be able to recognize us in an instant."

"Wow," 002's voice made the three of them turn towards the stairs, where the man was walking down, "You're really worried about them."

"I like them more than you," Ijin replied smoothly and the unexpected snark from Ijin nearly made them laugh. Even more so when Ijin ignored 002's hum to focus on them. "Use the red lights until you're back in the city, don't stop for anyone unless you want to get carjacked.

"You really do like them more than me. I'm wounded 001."

"002."

002 was so weird.

002 flipped-flopped between moods. The man had walked in with a smile and a teasing tone and with Ijin's warning, 002 was back to his blank face as he leveled a look at them. For not the first time, Seokju had to fight the urge to lean away from the man, "Take care of 004. 001 may be our leader but 004 is my subordinate."

Seokju was sure that had Ijin been by himself, Ijin would have rolled his eyes at 002's words. Instead, Ijin was going to settle for a blank look that still managed to show his displeasure towards 002.

Seokju had no idea how Ijin considered a man like 002 to be like family. He certainly didn't seem pleasant to be with full time.

002 sent Ijin what would have been a pleasant grin if it hadn't been 002 who was smiling. "I already stuffed 004 into the back, in the tool chest. It's time for you two to get going. Feel free to stick your thumb into his shoulder if he's being difficult."

That only proved his point on how weird 002 was. Seokju didn't understand how the man could claim to care for his subordinate, only to give them permission to hurt 004 if he was being a problem.

"I'm sure he won't be that bad," Major Kang nearly stumbled over his words as he said that, earning yet another amused look from 002, "I don't think he would be very happy about that anyways."

All 002 offered was a shrug of his shoulders and Seokju didn't know how he was supposed to feel about that. When he looked over to Ijin for some type of clarification, support maybe, all he got was Ijin motioning for them to follow him out of the basement.

"Ijin," Ijin stopped, a foot propped up on the first step as he looked back at Seokju, "you better come back after all of this," Seokju said seriously, leveling a look at Ijin, staring right into Ijin's eyes, "you made me tell your family that you left and that shit sucked." At last, Ijin had the sense to look bashful at that, but Seokju wasn't done.

"Don't make me tell them you won't be coming back." Ijin almost looked stunned at his words and clearly, it was something that Ijin hadn't even thought about. Seokju didn't know if he should be concerned, either Ijin had thought of the possibility that someone, most likely Seokju and Major Kang, was going to have to tell his family that he wasn't going back home, or that he had never considered the possibility of him not making it back home.

For the first time since Ijin agreed with Seokju and turning around, he started to go up the stairs again.

"I won't. 016," 016 was already standing at attention by the time Major Kang and Seokju walked out of the basement. "Get me the map. Come here 005." 016 was taking off and within seconds, he was back.

It was like a switch had flipped in Ijin and Major Kang because just like that, Ijin, Major Kang, 002 and 005 were hovering over the map that 016 had brought to Ijin. The four of them went over the map as they discussed routes, which ones gave them the advantage of an ambush along with giving them sufficient cover.

Seokju was left off to the side and Seokju knew that he wouldn't be able to contribute to the conversation. He didn't have any combative experience, nor did he have the strategizing skills that they needed, it was just better if he stayed out of it.

"You don't look like a mercenary. Or a soldier." Seokju nearly jumped out of his skin. Whirling around, Seokju was faced with the sight of the man who was wearing a bandana on his face, standing right behind him. The black bandana hid most of the man's face, forcing Seokju to discern the man's thoughts from his eyes up.

As far as Seokju could tell, the man looked curious, his head slightly tilted to the side, the corner of his eyes crinkled up in a smile when he saw the way he startled Seokju. "Oh, you're not one of us. Not at all." The man only got closer, Seokju leaning away in response, "what are you doing here?"

"Napalm," 016 said, suddenly right next to Seokju, "leave him alone. 001 won't be happy if you keep on messing with him."

"Its 001," 008 said idly, and with a frightening familiarity, 008 pulled out a pistol, only for him to disassemble it to perform maintenance, "001 is never happy. So, leave him alone." Gentle clicks of metal filled the air as 008 methodically cleaned his pistol.

Well, although their views of Ijin were inaccurate, at least 008 and 016 were trying to advocate for him…

Napalm didn't stop. "Don't be like that. It's been ages since we were able to talk to someone who isn't one of us." Seokju swore he could hear the pout in Napalm's voice and for some reason, Seokju had a feeling that he wasn't reading the man right. A war-hardened mercenary was someone who would not pout.

Then again, there were a few times where Ijin had pouted…especially when the others were giving him shit…

Maybe he was pouting.

"And that's for a reason Napalm." 016 sighed out, "Keep that bandana on and maybe more people would talk to you."

"Geez. You fuck up the ratio once and you never hear the end of it. They don't even call me by my number anymore," Napalm said to Seokju, a deadpanned look on his face, "apparently blowing myself up with Napalm was enough reason for them to call me that."

With a huff, 008 set his reassembled pistol down onto the table with a clang before he stood up, his chair scraping loudly against the floor as he did so. "Leave him alone." 008 said firmly and although Napalm tried to get away, 008 kinda just picked him up.

"I didn't even do anything!" Napalm huffed out, hanging from 008s hand as if he was a kitten getting picked up by the scruff. "I was just talking to him!"

"I don't care," 008 grumbled as he picked up 016 in the exact same way, much to 016s indignation.

The scariest part was that 008 wasn't even struggling…

Seokju knew that Napalm and 016 had to be heavy, there was no way they were lighter than 150 pounds, they had to be lean with muscle. Yet there was 008, picking them up from the back of their clothes high enough where they couldn't touch the floor and where they couldn't reach back to grab him as he placed them on the other side of the room.

"Go on patrol if you're going to be annoying."

Seokju wanted to lose it. He felt like he was going to lose it. After everything that had happened that day, all while he was operating on six hours of sleep, he wanted to lose it. Why were they so weird? How were they so weird? He was expecting a group of heartless killers, not people who get picked up by the back of their shirt as an artificial scruff. He cradled his head in his hands.

"I think we broke your friend 001." And he hated that 002 had a faintly amused tone in his voice.

"Thank you 008." Ijin said, earning a nod for the giant. "Get anything you need," Ijin said to Major Kang, straightening up from his position over the table. "Unless Sequoia decides to attack us in a few hours, you'll be fine. But I don't want to risk it, it's better if you guys are back in the city by the morning."

For not the first time, Seokju was eager to leave.

The departure had been quick and to the point. Or it had been until it was just the three of them outside, 005 inside the building and 004 in the truck. It was time for goodbyes and it was clear that none of them wanted to leave, even though Ijin had been insistent in their immediate departure, they were all stalling.

"How…how are the others…?" Ijin said slowly, painfully awkward as he directed his question to Seokju, snapping the teenager out of his thoughts.

If Seokju had been paying attention, he would have known what Ijin was talking about, but he had been more concerned about the events of the day, many of the events still looming over him. "What?"

Ijin cringed, "The others. How are they doing?" Ijin repeated, allowing Seokju to catch up with the conversation.

"Oh. They're good. When I saw them. I was busy trying to figure out where you went. But they were worried. So are the men, we all took turns trying to figure out where you went."

If Ijin hadn't been cringing before, he was then. Ijin finally had the sense to look bashful and he should. His sudden disappearance had worried them all, hence the reason Seokju and Major Kang were there in the first place.

"Sorry…" Seokju almost waved off his apology. At least Seokju knew that Ijin was being genuine in his single-worded apology. It was on brand for Ijin to apologize like that and Seokju couldn't be surprised even if he wanted to.

He sighed, "I know I know, it wasn't safe for you to contact us. Its okay. I'll tell everyone that you're fine, just busy."

Ijin looked thankful, as he should, and he gave Seokju a nod, "Thanks." And that was all he offered before he was turning to Major Kang.

Without a single moment of hesitance, the soldier pulled Ijin into a sudden hug, Ijin momentarily stiffening up before he relaxed, much to Major Kang's amusement. "Don't forget you can always call for help, "Major Kang said as he patted Ijins' back and his smile only got bigger when he felt Ijin reciprocate the hug, "You know we owe you a few favors. You saved our lives, we can save yours." The teen tapped Major Kangs back, signaling to the man that he was done being held. Major Kang gave the teenager one more languid squeeze before he was pulling away. It was rare when Ijin let Major Kang be affectionate like that, Ijin didn't tolerate physical contact for long, but it was always enjoyable when it happened.

"I know. We'll be fine. This is a personal mission of ours." Ijin said seriously. "We want to take care of this ourselves." Major Kang caught onto Ijin's hidden message. It was something of a vendetta for the group and after what he heard down in the basement, Major Kang didn't blame him. Even though Major Kangs squad wasn't nearly as big as Ijin's, he would also be bitter if he had lost over half of his squad.

"I understand. Just know that you have to come back home. You say this is for your family, but this will all be pointless if you die."

Ijin nodded, "I know." The door opened as 005 exited the building, 002 right behind her. Ijin seemed to know that it was them because the slight smile that had appeared was gone within milliseconds, "It's best if you get going now." It was jarring to see Ijin switch within seconds like that, but they knew that Ijin had to maintain some type of decorum in front of his team.

Seokju almost laughed at that. It was the first time he had ever seen Ijin trying to keep up a front, it was almost out of character for him.

Major Kang sighed, "Alright kid, you stay safe. You too," Major Kang said to 002 as he got into the truck, which made the man blink in surprise. That prompted Seokju and 005 to get into their seats as well, "It would be shame if people as young as your group died. Besides, that would just make Ijin work harder."

The sarcastic response that was on the tip of 002's tongue melted away and was replaced with a snort, "I'd say that he deserves to struggle." Ijin scowled. "Now get with it. We need 005 to hurry up and come back."

"Yeah yeah," Seokju found himself wondering how Major Kang had managed to build some sort of rapport with 002 within two hours, "We're going. Stay safe kid." And with that, Major Kang rolled up the window, turned on the truck and left behind 005.

They didn't even go for five minutes before Major Kang started talking again.

"Make sure you talk to someone when you get home. With what happened with 006 and 008." The tone in Major Kangs voice only heightened how serious Major Kang was, "And I mean it kid," Major Kang interjected because Seokju could start his protest, "I've seen too many good men struggle because they bottled everything up. I don't want you to do that too. So go to a therapist, or someone that you trust, and vent. It'll eat you up if you don't."

It was annoying how right Major Kang was. Seokju had heard his fair share of stories about PTSD patients that gave into the trauma in multiple ways and well…Seokju also didn't want that for himself.

005 started to signal that she was pulling over to the side. "I will sir. I will." Major Kang hummed in return, signaling the end of the conversation.

005 had pulled over to the side, motioning for them to pull up next to the window. "Hey," 005 started when Major Kang rolled down the windows, her arm leaning against the door, "I don't give a shit about 001. I'm going to kill you if something happens to 004." Somehow, they didn't doubt that.

004, who 002 had pointlessly lied about stuffing into the tool chest, groaned from his position in the back seat, "Fuck you bitch." His words were weak and upon turning to check on him, Seokju could see his eyes barely open in the dark cabin.

The Numbered, they were realizing, were weird, as that made 005 smirk. "Yeah, fuck you too asshole. And don't worry," 005 started facing forward again, pointedly avoiding their gaze. "We want 001 to have a normal life." Seokju and Major Kang had struggled to hear her voice and as if she had said nothing in the first place, she pulled away from them, making the turn necessary to get back to the base.

They exchanged looks.

Shrugging, they decided that they didn't want to think about her words for too long. They were just going to take her word for it and admire her loyalty towards Ijin. Beyond that, there wasn't much they could do.

The drive to the airport had been the most peaceful part of the entire trip. Even though they had only been there for nearly two days, it had been an eventful two days where they got little to no sleep. However, even the silence of the long drive did nothing to help Seokju destress. His nerves were still thoroughly frayed and Seokju had a feeling that it wasn't until he was back home, in his mothers arms, when he would be able to let all of that stress go. Yeona was right. It had been a terrible idea for Seokju to travel by himself and if it wasn't for Major Kang, then Seokju would have died. Twice.

He really wanted to go home. They hadn't even been there for two entire days and Seokju wanted nothing more than to go to sleep, in his bed, where he knew he was safe. Where he didn't have to worry about people killing him because of his travel partners or friends.

At least he knew that Ijin was still alive.

They entered the city just as the sun broke over the horizon and even at the early hours of the morning, the city was busy. The few times Major Kang had to slam on the brakes, were also the few times 004 nearly cursed them out. Though 004 had been quick to settle down when they got off the truck, the headrush alone had nearly caused 004 to pass out, thoroughly pacifying the man.

"Okay," 004 muttered something under his breath as Major Kang led him to the nearby seats, "I'm going to go and get our tickets. If you need to go to the bathroom, go now so I can keep an eye on him." 004 muttered something about not needing to be coddled, but the way the man plopped down into the seat just proved his point.

They exchanged looks.

"Be quick."

"I will." Seokju rushed to the bathroom, and he let out a huge sigh of relief when he walked down the hallway towards it. It was somewhat secluded down a long hallway that took him away from the crowds, but he welcomed the seclusion.

Leaning against the sink with his hands, Seokju looked into the mirror, only for his bloodshot eyes to stare back at him. Seokju looked and felt exhausted. It was like seeing the sweat on his face made him realize how sticky he felt. How his shirt stuck to his sides, how his palms were clammy, and the way his fingers stuck together because of the sweat.

Seokju splashed water into his face. He just felt hot and uncomfortable, but the sensation of cold water splashing against his face was one that he welcomed. He could feel all of the sweat being washed away; he could taste it too. In between splashes of water, the remaining water droplets dripping into his mouth and he could taste that they were salty from his own sweat.

He rinsed out his mouth and after cupping water into his hands once more, he splashed water onto his neck and scrubbed his skin as best as he could. Lastly, he ran his hands through his hair, focusing on the sweat he could feel on his hairline to get rid of it. He didn't do a thorough job, there was no point to it when it was just so hot and humid, but he felt more like a human. The sensation of water washing away the sweat made him feel marginally better, a bit more put together and at the moment, all Seokju could do was relish the moment.

The sound of the door opening behind him made Seokju wrap up the moment, almost mourning the fact that someone else had walked into the public bathroom. Using the hem of his shirt to dry off his face, Seokju took out his phone and started to type a message to his mom. He had told her that he would text her when he was back at the airport, and he intended to fulfill that request. Then he would text Yeona. He pressed send for the message to his mom and as he pressed the back button, he glanced up at the mirror out of mere habit.

Someone stood right behind him.

Whirling around, Seokju backed up against the sink when he realized that the man was huge. He was at least two feet taller than Seokju and the man had his eyes focused solely on Seokju.

He was taller than 008.

The leader is called Sequoia, 002 says that he's taller than 008.

Seokju felt like he was drowning in the wave of dread that washed over him.

Sequoia seemed to know that Seokju recognized him.

Fear paralyzed his very being as Sequoia reached for him, an emotionless look on his face. He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't even keep his phone in his hands.

He couldn't do anything.

"Tough luck kid."