Quickly, he scrubbed his body before the limited hot water ran out.

It had been a particularly rough day at the training center, and after the way they had run around outside in the sand pit, Seokju knew that he couldn't leave without taking a shower. Just the fact that the ever-so-tolerant Ijin declared that he needed to do the same, only backed up Seokjus sentiment.

Seokju was in the middle of scrubbing the dirt off his arms when he heard, "Hey, "Ijin tapped against the shower divider, the metallic sound rang throughout the shower area, "I forgot my shampoo, can I have some of yours?" Obviously. He passed the bottle over and within 30 seconds, Ijin was passing it back with a thanks. Seokju thought nothing of it, so he took his bottle back and finished washing up. It wasn't until he was rinsing off the bodywash when an idea struck him.

A grin spread across his face.

It was gonna be great.

He shook his hands free of excess water and taking his shampoo bottle in hand, he grabbed onto the top of the shower divider to pull himself up. As he wanted, he was able to peek into Ijin's cubicle, just enough to see the top of Ijin's head as he rinsed off the shampoo.

And without a single ounce of hesitation, along with a huge grin, he carefully squeezed a dollop of shampoo onto Ijin's head. Seokju squeezed it onto the part of Ijin's head that was under the stream of water so he wouldn't notice the addition.

Ijin was so going to kill him when he found out.

But he could live with that.

That, combined with the water and the way Ijin was scrubbing his hair, only created more bubbles. The lather that had been almost completely washed off, had returned in full force. Ijin must have felt the added bubbles because he made a confused sound before he started washing it out again.

Again, as soon as Ijin was almost done washing out his hair, he added another squirt of shampoo onto Ijin's head.

Seokju had to bite down on his lip to keep himself from laughing out loud, especially when Ijin muttered, "what the hell" under his breath before he started the process for the third time.

It was far funnier than it had a right to be.

"Seokju, "Ijin called out, and he had to drop from the divider when Ijin started to wipe the soap away so he could open his eyes, "what the hell is up with your shampoo?"

He almost snorted into his hand. "what do you mean?" If anyone saw the grin on his face, they would have known without a doubt that he was lying through his teeth, "You don't like the way it smells or something?" It was a struggle, but he managed to keep his voice steady, innocent as if he wasn't the one that was causing the shampoo to drive Ijin crazy.

Ijin gave an audible huff, "It's a pain in the ass to wash off." When he heard the water start splashing again, he carefully peeked over the divider. Ijin started washing off the soap again, that time around, he had an urgency that hadn't been present previously. That was when Seokju decided that maybe enough was enough.

He poured more shampoo onto Ijin's head before he fell away. Seokju was struggling to hold in his laughter the entire time as he wrapped his towel around him. With his hygiene products in hand, he opened the curtain and started to walk out of the shower room. Feeling particularly refreshed after such a relaxing shower.

The way Ijin groaned in annoyance only made him feel even more refreshed.

As one might expect, after needing to wash shampoo out four times, it took Ijin much longer than usual to finish. By the time Ijin came out, Seokju was already pulling on his school blazer.

Again, it took everything Seokju had to not start laughing when he saw Ijin's face. Ijin walked out of the shower room with a scowl, and he looked all types of annoyed as he started to pull on his clothes.

"Your shampoo makes too many bubbles." Ijin's voice was flat and was a telltale sign of him being utterly annoyed.

"really?" Seokju opened his locker, and used it to hide his smile as he pretended to look for something, "I usually use a different brand, I thought the lather was a little lacking."

He would have paid to be able to see Ijin's expression at his words. Just by the reaction noise alone, he just knew that Ijin was staring at him with that confused look of his. He must have been looking at Seokju as if he had grown a second head, which was fair because as far as Ijin knew, the shampoo took way too long to wash out and it was apparently not enough.

"If you had just a hard time washing it out, "Discreetly, he took a steadying breath before he closed his locker and looked over at Ijin, "You must have used it wrong."

It was a glorious moment to see Ijin's face scrunch up in confusion, and if he was reading Ijin right, he was currently questioning everything he knew. "what-its shampoo," the best part was that they were the last ones left in the locker room, there was no one else that could accidentally sabotage his prank, "How could I use it wrong?"

He shrugged his shoulder, cackling internally as he said, "Did you lather it up in your hands?" Which to be fair because according to yeona, you were supposed to lather your shampoo in your hands first to keep your scalp healthy.

Ijin looked so confused, "No?" And it was hilarious to see how confused he was getting.

"See, "Seokju turned again to hide his smile behind the locker door while he grabbed his bag, "You used it wrong." It took everything he had to not start laughing hard enough to make his stomach cramp. But Seokju managed, though he did not waste any time in leaving the locker room so he could laugh without Ijin catching on.

Again.

He would have paid to see Ijin's face.


"I didn't know you were supposed to lather shampoo in your hands first."

Ijin knew that dayeon was confused by the sudden topic with the way she turned around to look at him, her homework momentarily forgotten on the table as she turned in her chair, "Ijin what are you talking about?"

He tried to explain it. "I looked it up and if lathering is supposed to make more bubbles, why were there so many bubbles when I didn't lather it. This doesn't line up with what Seokju's shampoo did." It just didn't make sense. How did it produce so much lather when Ijin had never lathered the shampoo in the first place?

"Ah." Dayeon turned back to her homework, "Maybe it was the kind of shampoo. Guess you should have asked him how to use it."

Ijin felt as if his sanity was at stake. "It's shampoo dayeon. I know how to use it! Or at least I thought I did? I don't know anymore."

It was late, so Ijin didn't hold it against her, but dayeon let out a soul heavy sigh that portrayed her attitude towards the conversation. "Just…just go to sleep, it's way too late for this. You can question shampoo tomorrow morning."

Ijin needed answers however, "I swear to god I was washing the bubbles out for like five minutes." Even then, Ijin was willing to say that he washed out the soap for ten minutes, fifteen minutes even. He was sure that soap wasn't supposed to take more than two minutes to be washed out.

"uh huh, that's good, you're supposed to do that anyway- wait." Dayeon slowly turned to look at Ijin, her face showing her confusion, "You weren't doing that before? Man, your hair must have been really dirty. Thank god you tried his shampoo." Out of everything, she latched onto that part? Of course, she latched onto the part that made it sound like he didn't know how to wash his hair.

"You-just never mind dayeon, you don't get it." He was just going to listen to her and go to sleep.

Maybe he did use the shampoo wrong.


After the way he stayed up at night thinking about his experience with Seokju's shampoo. Ijin came to a conclusion.

Nothing about it made sense.

The little squirt of shampoo he had gotten shouldn't have been enough to make that amount of bubbles. It made no sense how he needed to wash his hair out for almost fifteen minutes just to get the soap out. Even dawn dish soap wasn't strong enough to make that many bubbles!

Was he using it wrong all that time?

No, he couldn't be. It was shampoo! You put it in your hair, scrub your scalp for at least a minute, and then rinse it out. Even if he didn't lather it beforehand, it shouldn't have changed his experience that much!

Whatever the reason was, the point was that Seokju's shampoo was weird as shit, and he was never going to borrow shampoo from him again. There was something about his shampoo that made him question everything he knew.

So, Ijin made a point out of taking his own shampoo. One that he knew for a fact wouldn't bubble excessively and one that he could wash out within ten seconds or less. He used it all the time at home, and if he hadn't forgotten his shampoo, he would have used that one. He knew that it was going to work the way he wanted it to.

So why! Was he having such a hard time washing it out!?

He scrubbed at his hair again and he felt like he was going insane at the way he could feel the bubbles still forming under his hand each time he passed his hands through his hair.

What the hell!

Wiping away the water with his forearm, he opened his eyes and stared down at his bubble-covered hands.

Did he lather the shampoo?

He didn't remember lathering the soap, but maybe he did it without thinking? That was the only way he could explain the excessive bubbles in his hair. There was no other explanation for the amount of bubbles that were coming out.

Was he having an aneurysm?

It felt like he was. Has his shampoo always made so many bubbles and he just didn't notice, or was he losing his mind?

He was staring down at his hands when a drop of fresh shampoo landed on his wrist.

What the fuck?

"Shit."

What the fuck.

The voice came from above him, and without a second thought, he looked up to see what the hell was going on.

There, leaning over the divider was Seokju, a wide-eyed look on his face as he held his shampoo bottle above him.

He connected the dots within seconds.

Seokju also threw the bottle at his head within a second, his laughter echoing throughout the locker room.

"Seokju, you fuck!" Seokju disappeared behind the divider and without a second thought, he grabbed onto the divider, fully intending to go over it until he saw Seokju, who had decided to come back in after finishing up, running towards the door.

He dropped from the divider, and after regaining balance on the slippery shower floor, took off after Seokju. Not giving a single shit that he was buck naked in favor of getting back at Seokju.

Seokju, the absolute fucker, must had convinced the others to hold the door closed because Ijin damn near smashed his nose open trying to open it. If it hadn't been for the fact that there weren't any handles on that side of the door, Ijin would have thought that it was some sort of pull door. The fact that he could still hear Seokju laughing on the other side, along with some of the men, didn't help at all.

Thoroughly fed up by both the prank and his delayed revenge on Seokju, he rammed the door open, using all of his body weight to do so.

He almost glared at the grinning faces of saem and hanuel after he stepped through the door.

Though their grins quickly turned into shocked expressions when they realized that he was planning to chase after Seokju in his birthday suit. He didn't even get two steps toward the door before he was grabbed.

Ijin almost immediately started to struggle against their grip, "You can't stop me from getting Seokju back for this!" He twisted his arm out of hanuel's grip but was quickly stopped from going further when Sung-ho grabbed onto him as well while someone else threw a towel at him.

"Buddy, "Hanuel grunted into his ear, and Ijin felt some satisfaction knowing that the mass amount of soap that Seokju had caused made it difficult for Sung-ho to hold him down, "That's not the reason I'm stopping you right now."

"For christ's sake Ijin!" Kyong sounded appalled, but Ijin was annoyed enough that he didn't care, "At least put on some pants before you go after him!"

Ok fair.

"Fine!" He finally escaped hanuel's grip, and upon seeing almost everyone blocking the exit to keep him from streaking the hallways after Seokju, he forced himself into his slacks before he was finally allowed to leave.

It didn't take long for that to happen, but it was long enough for Seokju to find yeona, his face a bright red as he laughed, much to yeona's confusion.

He slid to a stop.

(no, he did not slip)

And pointed at Seokju with a menacing look, "You." Ijin gritted out, already on the verge of losing his shit after the prank and the way Seokju ran away.

Seokju, who was playfully covering yeona's eyes, just cackled as he ran away again, and as one might figure, wearing shoes gave Seokju a better grip on the floor as he ran away. Especially since Ijin was still sopping wet and didn't have his shoes on.

By the time he got to his asshole friend, Seokju was coming to a stop at a corner, looking at something that Ijin couldn't see from his position.

He did not hesitate.

He tackled the shit out of Seokju.

Seokju sputtered, "Ijin!" He sounded appalled, but he didn't care. Besides, it's not like Seokju landed in a bad way, Ijin even made sure to keep a solid grip on his shirt so he wouldn't bang his head on the floor.

"I got you now you absolute di-"

Someone cleared their throat.

Oh fuck.

Seokju had an 'oh shit' look on his face, one that Ijin couldn't help but relate to.

Slowly, he looked to the right, and he wanted to do nothing more but bash his head against the wall when he saw that it was the ceo and his bodyguard. The ceo looked more than amused.

Fuckkkkk.

"This is your fault Seokju."

"Hey!"

When the ceo chuckled, he started to get the feeling that maybe they weren't in as much trouble as he thought, "while I don't mind some tomfoolery, "Seokju frantically started tapping Ijin for him to get off, and Ijin agreed. Within seconds, Ijin was scrambling off his friend, helping Seokju get to his feet so they both could stand at attention. As if Ijin wasn't standing there sopping wet, shirtless, shoeless, and with soap suds in his hair, "please try to keep it restrained to the training center."

No problems with that. None at all.

"Yes sir." Seokju and Ijin returned in unison, but they were internally relieved that they weren't in trouble. Because good god they had been practically asking for a reprimand with the way they acted like absolute idiots.

"Good, "The ceo nodded in approval, but for some reason, his bodyguard didn't seem as inclined to forgive them.

The two of them seemed to make some quiet agreement because while the ceo started to walk back towards his office, his bodyguard stayed behind. The bodyguard was oddly focused on Seokju, and it wasnt until he turned to him to ask, "Do you mind if I speak with my grandson for a moment?" When it clicked.

He was Seokju's grandfather.

Fuck.

Ijin definitely didn't mean to get Seokju in trouble with family of all people.

But still, that was Seokju's grandfather, and he wasn't going to stop him from talking with his grandson.

He nodded his head, and although he found it a little bit odd that Seokju and his grandfather were going to have a conversation in the nearby conference room, he wasn't going to judge. For all he knew, they were just a private family, Seokju was definitely a private guy, so it made sense to him that they didn't want him to listen in on his conversation.

The air conditioner kicked on, and all it did was remind him of how wet and naked he was. He rubbed his arms to try and warm up, despite the way cold air was blowing right onto him.

Welp.

That was just a sign for him to go back and finish getting ready.

So, he did just that.

He went back, finished washing the soap out of his hair (it was much faster since Seokju wasn't being a jerk and pouring fresh shampoo into it) , dried himself off properly, and got dressed. He also grabbed Seokju's stuff on the way back, because while Seokju had annoyed him with his bullshit, he didn't piss him off.

It was just harmless fun that he got too caught up in.

It was silent as he walked back to the conference room, and he only got more and more confused when he realized that the reason he wasn't running into Seokju on the way back, was because they were still in the conference room.

Wasn't a talk supposed to last about five minutes or less? It had already been at least 15 minutes at that point, and he didn't know much about social stuff, but he was pretty sure it was becoming more of a lecture at that point.

But he just brushed it off, maybe they had more stuff to talk about? Seokju was busy, and he had to imagine that his grandfather was busier due to his position, so maybe they were taking the chance to catch up?

Either way, he was going to wait, not only did he have Seokju's stuff, it felt wrong to leave him behind after getting him in trouble like that.

It took another five minutes, but at last, they finished their 'talk'.

It took one look for Ijin to know that whatever they had talked about, it had not been pleasant in the slightest.

Seokju came trailing out behind his grandfather, and the usual confidence that his friend had was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he was subdued, ducking his head in a way that was almost meek.

What the hell did they talk about?

Just what did he tell Seokju?

The grandfather noticed him across the hallway, his eyes flicking to Seokju's bag and jacket that he was carrying. That was apparently enough for him to get a nod of approval from the older man, "How responsible."

With the way that Seokju's face flushed at the comment, he just knew that it was a silent jab toward his friend. One that was completely unnecessary.

Biting his tongue, he held out Seokju's stuff for him to grab, and when Seokju mumbled out thanks, his grandfather was swift in butting in, "Enunciate."

Ijin's frown deepened, and nothing was cleared up as Seokju properly said, "Thank you." His words were slow and like the man wanted, carefully enunciated.

And then he fucking bowed.

Why the fuck did Seokju bow?

He didn't know much about Korean culture, but Ijin knew for a fact that Seokju did not have to give him a bow at all. It was just a stupid prank that Ijin himself had taken out of proportion by chasing Seokju around the building.

So why was Seokju apologizing like he had dropkicked his firstborn child?

Seokju didn't even get a chance to straighten up before his grandfather's hand landed on his shoulder, and Ijin could tell that it wasn't an act of affection.

"And?" That single word only confirmed it.

Seokju never looked smaller at that moment.

He hated it.

Ijin hated the way Seokju's own grandfather was making Seokju seem so tame, so weak to pressure when he knew for a fact that Seokju was just as stubborn, if not more, than him.

"And I'm sorry for pranking you. It was immature and disrespectful and will not happen again."

What the fuck?

The older man hummed in approval, and the way Seokju's grandfather left without a farewell left a sour taste in Ijin's mouth. What type of family member leaves without saying goodbye?

Seokju slowly straightened out of his bow, and while he was exceedingly confused by what the fuck was going on, he waited until Seokju's grandfather was out of sight for him to ask, "why did you apologize?" Because to him, it was completely unnecessary.

If anything, Ijin was the one who needed to apologize because he tackled Seokju.

Without making eye contact, Seokju walked past him while saying, "Because I shouldn't have pranked you. It was stupid anyway." Well, Ijin couldn't deny that it was a stupid, but effective prank.

But he definitely didn't like the way Seokju said that. His tone was flat as if he was already defeated by that 15-minute talk.

Ijin quickly caught up, trying to clarify things for his friend, "I wasn't mad. Well, you did annoy me, "And good god did Seokju annoy him with that prank, "But you didn't make me mad. Don't apologize for having fun when no one got hurt."

Still, Seokju wasn't looking at him and Ijin found himself wondering just what the actual fuck did the older man tell Seokju for him to be so withdrawn?

"I was the one who took it over the top. I don't know why you got in trouble." Despite his adding that at the end, it was clear that it did nothing to help Seokju feel better.

For the first time, it was not a comfortable silence between the two of them as they walked towards the exit. Seokju hadn't said a single thing beyond the bullshit his grandfather forced into his head, and he still hadn't even looked at Ijin.

At last, just as they were about to walk out of the building, Seokju took a deep breath and gave him a grin.

It felt hollow.

Ijin just saw Seokju grinning like a madman less than 30 minutes ago, he knew how Seokju's grin looked like when he meant it.

That. That was not a genuine grin. It was just an empty, hollow smile that was supposed to placate him.

"I wouldn't worry about it. My grandfather has a lot on his plate, "Yeah Ijin wasn't believing that bullshit answer, "I don't need to add more by making him worry about what I'm doing. I should have kept that in mind before doing something like that." They had made it to the sidewalk, and save for the fake ass grin he gave him, Seokju was still avoiding eye contact, "I've got to head this way. I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

That has got to be the stupidest fucking reason he has ever heard.

So no, the conversation was not done yet.

"That's fucking stupid." He said it without hesitation, much to Seokju's surprise. While walking with Seokju to wherever he was walking, he continued, "Grandfathers are always going to worry about you, you can't let it stop you from doing everything." He didn't miss the disbelieving pop of Seokju's eyebrows, and he was starting to get the feeling that he was missing something big.

Why was Seokju reacting like the idea of living your own life was a foreign idea?

He continued, purposely cutting off Seokju before he could say a thing because it was probably going to be something stupid, "It was dumb for us to act like idiots at the training center. But as long as you're not doing anything wrong, there's nothing for your grandfather to worry about."

If anything, he should have been more worried about the way Ijin tackled the shit out of him, he shouldn't have been worried about Seokjus behavior.

Seokju mulled over his words, but it was still clear that he was missing the point, "It was still wrong of me to mess with you like that.

"The only thing you did wrong was let me catch you, "Ijin drawled out. Honestly, Seokju should have run faster after doing something like that. If the ceo and his grandfather hadn't shown up, then Ijin was pretty sure that he would still be chasing around Seokju at that point.

Seokju still showed no sign of agreeing with him, and Ijin had to hold in a sigh.

Is this how the major felt when he was being inflexible? No wonder he got so exasperated.

"You just annoyed me, you didn't hit me, or insult me, you just annoyed me. It's not that big of a deal. I was the one who was running around without a shirt. I should have gotten in more trouble than you."

And instead of agreeing with the fact that he got in trouble for nothing, Seokju redirected the subject, "I can't believe you ran out like that." Seokju wasn't looking at him and although it was a sign for him to drop the subject, he didn't.

He scowled at the redirection, "You know how you and the others get annoyed when I change the subject without agreeing?"

"Yeah?"

"Then you know how annoying it is. Stop it. You don't have to apologize next time. And don't bow next time either. It was weird." and it just felt wrong.

Seokju was his best friend. After everything he had done as 001, all he knew is that he definitely did not want Seokju bowing to him as if he was some type of superior. They were equals and Ijin absolutely hated the thought of Seokju bowing to him.

Just like Ijin had his strengths, Seokju had his strengths. Yeah, Seokju couldn't beat him in a fight, but at the same time, Ijin couldn't make a powerpoint to save his life, so he would say that it evened out.

Ijin could tell by the way Seokju bristled that he touched a nerve.

Good.

Maybe instead of pussyfooting around the matter, they could actually get somewhere. But instead, Seokju gave a long exhale before saying, "It's what you do. It's respect."

Despite his efforts, he still couldn't keep all the edge from his voice. "I don't want it." he didn't want respect from Seokju if he was going to show it like that.

"That's not up to you." considering that he was on the receiving end, it was damn well up to him. He didn't want Seokju to show him respect if he was going to be treating him like some type of stranger.

"Then who is it up to? Your grandfather?"

At that Seokju's whole face flushed, and Ijin realized that maybe the nerve he touched was a little more exposed than he thought. "I'm sorry you didn't grow up here and don't know etiquette, but that's how it's done." that was the first time Seokju was throwing his past into his face, and he did not like it in the slightest.

He huffed at that, deciding to move past the jab in favor of getting Seokju to see his point, "That's not-"

"Go home, Ijin." Seokju cut him off, glaring at the pavement with a fierce scowl.

"I-"

"Go. The fuck. Home." Seokju had gritted his words out, and at last, Seokju was finally looking him in the eye again. Only showing how touchy the subject was.

Ijin knew that he had crossed a line, but he also knew that everything about the situation was fucked.

Seokju tried to walk away, but he grabbed onto Seokju and didn't let him shake it off, "Listen to me-fucking listen to me Seokju." Seokju stopped trying to twist his sleeve out of his grip and was glaring right at him. Most of the time, that would have been enough to make Ijin let go, but he had a feeling that this conversation had far more significance to Seokju than it did to him, "You're right, I didn't grow up here and I have dealt with my fair share of shitty people and respect is earned." If there is one thing he didn't agree with in Korean culture, it was definitely the way respect was automatically given to superiors and elders.

If he had done that back in grain, if he had automatically respected everyone else just because they were older, he wouldn't have survived.

" I grew up in a shit hole where if you didn't listen, you got beat. Yeah, I listened to my superiors, but I didn't respect them. I listened to them because I didn't want them to beat the shit out of me." There was a flicker of surprise on Seokju's face, no doubt it was because he was telling him an aspect of his life that he had never told him before, but that surprise was quickly hidden behind that glare of his, "I respect you because you've earned it. I respect you because I know you won't do anything to hurt me or my family, because I know that I can trust you, "There was a flicker of emotion across Seokju's face again but it was gone before Ijin could discern it, "But I don't want your respect if you're going to treat me like one of our clients." they were friends.

They were equals.

He finally let Seokju jerk his arm out of his grip, but he didn't stop, even as Seokju stared right back at him, "I may have not grown up a normal life, but I know we're friends and you are. Not. Supposed to treat me like some type of stranger out of etiquette." Maybe if it was six months earlier, he would have been fine with the sudden distance between the two of them. But since he got a taste of how friends were supposed to be, how it was like to have a healthy friendship with someone.

He hated the thought of one of his closest friends treating him like he was a stranger out of 'respect'.

"I was the one who got you in trouble. You didn't attack me, you didn't insult me, you didn't hurt me. You pulled a prank. I don't care how proper it is, I don't care about etiquette, I care about the way you treat me and until I get it through your thick head, don't show me any respect if you're going to show it like that. I don't care what your grandfather tells you about how to apologize to me. Are you going to live your entire life with your grandfather in mind? Take it from someone who grew up where even the food I ate was controlled. You are in control of your life." despite his words, Seokju showed no sign of accepting what Ijin told him.

And instead of trying to understand what he just said, instead of trying to understand what he was trying to say. Seokju took the one thing Ijin trusted him with and threw it back in his face.

He meant it, Seokju truly meant it when he leaned forward with a sneer and very clearly said, "Obviously your superiors didn't do it enough if you're still behaving like this."

Ijin felt a wave of ice cold disbelief wash over him.

Ijin told him mere minutes ago that he used to get the shit beat out of him for disobeying his superiors and Seokju threw it back in his face by saying that. Ijin trusted Seokju with that personal information, he trusted Seokju to be somewhat vulnerable with him for just that moment.

And Seokju threw it back in his face.

All he could do was stare at Seokju in betrayal. His stomach twisted something fierce as he did not find an ounce of regret on Seokju's face.

Seokju had truly meant it.

He didn't even know if he was feeling more hurt than anger. He's been betrayed occasionally, especially when he was a mercenary working with other mercenaries, it just happened sometimes. He thought he was used to it, and he thought he knew the signs so he could expect it.

There was something about it coming from Seokju that only made it hurt more. It felt like he had been punched in the gut with that comment and Ijin couldn't deny the pure and utter hurt Seokju's words had caused. He didn't know how else to describe it, it just hurt to hear that from his best friend.

The hurt turned into anger. Ijin felt his fists start to tremble from the hurt that had turned into rage, and he wanted nothing more than to show Seokju the results of his words.

As much as he wanted to, punching Seokju would have just been him stooping to mad dogs level. If there was anything Ijin wanted to avoid, it was most definitely following suit in mad dogs lack of emotional regulation.

He spat out his words and Ijin almost regretted that he wasn't able to infuse as much vitriol as he wanted to. He wanted to hurt Seokju just as much as Seokju had hurt him.

"Fuck you Seokju." Ijin's words sounded like pure venom and even then, Ijin felt like it wasn't enough. Seokju didn't blink, he didn't say anything and realizing that he was on the verge of losing it, Ijin left.

He left, and not once did he consider looking back.