DIVINITY ♛ LEE JENO

NINETEEN

"You're here early." Lieutenant Suh's voice greeted the General, along with the smell of dirt and sweat. That was the military base for you. He could hear the sounds of grunts and groans from outside of the fence. "I'm off Princess duty for now. Figured I'd pay a visit." Jeno tucked his hands into the pockets of his pockets. He looked different to his colleague when dressed in something other than camouflage, or his service uniform. Instead, he wore a slouchy hoodie and cargos. It still had some military taste to it. Johnny tilted his head down, opening the gate for him to enter.

Gravel snuck it's way into his socks in the first ten seconds of walking in. The General strode down the trail leading him to the heart of the base. Every face he passed by was familiar. He learned everyone by name. His chest was held high and seeing him back on the grounds definitely broke some necks. Everyone in his presence held their hand to their foreheads, wiping the sweat off of them after paying their respects. Some held their breaths, others let out one in relief. Lee Jeno was well respected.

"What've you assigned them, Lieutenant?" he asked. His palms were now latched behind his back, clenching each other for warmth. The base was colder than the city. A breeze from the seaside howled past his hair, pushing some strands up above his head. "Front line men are doing close combat, I've got some newbies learning how to fire a tank. Let's just say, some of them are not gonna be in charge of the tank." Johnny shuddered hyperbolically. Jeno chuckled dryly, hearing the machine fire off with a squeal following.

They climbed up a few steps of a post, seeing every angle of the base from the top. Jeno found himself there often, jaw clenching every time he heard something pop off. He was perched like a hawk. His eyes squinted examining what everyone was doing. "Where are the knights?" he questioned. It wasn't like he expected himself to spot them in the pool of green, but he was curious about what they specialized in. "Ah, your roomies." Johnny cooed. The General concealed a scowl at his teasing.

"Yangyang is on the front line. His earth shifting is mediocre, so we couldn't put him with the rest of them— wouldn't be able to build up blocks fast enough." Their heads turned to the group of men who handled real weapons in their hands. One of the commanders stood at the front, striking intimidation in each one of the men's faces. "Front line? You think the kid can handle it?" Jeno raised an eyebrow at the thought. The front line men had to be able to take the first hits. They experienced the first of the attacks, setting the tone to the enemies. Yangyang didn't seem the most intimidating.

"The kid may not be the strongest shifter, but he's got grit. He also has energy— lots of it. God, so much of it." Johnny's mind trailed off. The Lieutenant never encountered a lot of silly men in the army as expected. He was the silly man. Yet after meeting Liu Yangyang, it seemed he met his opponent. "We need that energy if they're gonna be fighting the longest." Hopefully. Front line men are either the ones in combat for most of the fight, or they end up dead in the first half— if they're lucky enough. "Reminds me of myself, don't you think?" Johnny laughed.

"Definitely." Jeno was fond of the kid. He was easygoing and talked to him a lot, but not too much. "And what about Mr. Kitty?" he leaned on the wood that kept them from falling off the height. Kitty, cat, feline— whatever variation it was, everyone knew he was referring to Ten. You couldn't deny that his look was uncanny to a house cat. Though, he had the roar of a lion.

"Sniper." Johnny smirked.

Jeno's expression contorted into shock. No one was a sniper in their first year, let alone their first month of training. Sure, Sir Ten had military experience. He just expected that the fighting that happened in the middle of nowhere would've put him at a disadvantage. "Are you sure I can trust you commanding my army, Lieutenant Suh?" he gawked, looking the man in his graphite eyes. Despite his higher ranking, Johnny was way taller than him. He found it hard to take the smaller guy seriously sometimes.