Case 143 🌹 Seungjin

8

Hyunjin's thumb pressed against the flat surface of the dog tag around Lily's neck. He was sitting in the area outside of the shooting range daydreaming about his time in the military. He could thank his dream for that. It brought back memories. Some were good and others were bad. That came with every relationship though.

Park Jihoon. Hyunjin and he had enlisted on the same day and met at boot camp. They were two of the best guys there. Boot Camp was hell for beginners catching their first glimpse of what real war called for. If they weren't throwing up from fatigue a few days in they were cheating. That or their current profession was comparable and they were struggling more with the harsh mentality it took. Hyunjin himself had been put through the wringer. But he was a fighter and so was Jihoon.

They made it out somewhere near the top. Shit didn't stop being difficult after that. Truthfully it only got worse. They were the lowest on the totem pole. People were to be stepped on and bossed around until they made their way into a higher rank or a new batch of boots came in. On his fourth year of enlistment, at twenty-one, he'd saved a dozen men trapped in a sinking destroyer with the help of his best friend. North Korea had shot test missiles and by the time the detection picked it up, there was a hole in their ship.

Two or three lost their lives. Hyunjin tried to think about it in the way that if he had taken that life jacket and jumped ship, there would have been thirteen. After that, Jihoon and he were offered a spot in BUDS, which was boot camp for those who wanted to be SEALS. Then he spent five and a half years before being discharged. Fucking pathetic. The most elite of all military and he only lasted half a decade. He didn't even deserve the title.

But when you watch your best friend of a decade walk into a room with a bomb that is supposed to go off in the next two minutes, and you are forced to leave him behind to save sixteen other lives, let's just say a title doesn't mean shit. Seeing Jihoon's smile, hugging him before sending him to his death, clutching onto his dog tag for life as tears slid down his face-he watched his brother die that day. There was no corpse to retrieve. Nothing he could send back to his little sister except a steel plate with his name that would never substitute for his presence on Earth.

Jihoon's sister had given it to Hyunjin. She told him he was more of a sibling to him than she ever had been and that he should keep it to remind himself he wasn't alone. He had always been grateful. The number of times it saved him from making a disastrous mistake was more than he'd like to admit. They'd been through hell. Hyunjin would always regret being the only one to make it back.

Lily placed her head on Hyunjin's knee. He wiped his face and brushed her ears back with a gentle smile. "You miss him too, huh?"

Lily had always loved Jihoon. She only took to people with genuinely kind hearts. Which confused Hyunjin because she seemed obsessed with Jeongin. Every time he walked by she turned and followed his side for a few moments before running back to Hyunjin. She greeted him like they were decade-long friends just like Hyunjin and Jihoon.

She liked Seungmin too. Not so much Jisung and Minho though. She intentionally drifted from them. Strange as that was, it wasn't nearly as weird as her odd connection to Felix. She was skittish around him at some points and then played around with him at others. Hyunjin didn't know if he should be happy she was comfortable or worried. She was becoming less adherent to him.

He'd have to take some time to go through old training. It might give him ideas on how to get through to Jeongin, as well. Not a bad start. Hyunjin lifted his eyes from his companion and watched Minho exit out of a hallway. His fists were wrapped up and he was wearing black sweatpants and a shirt with a bag slung over his shoulder. His eyes connected with Hyunjin's and he halted in his steps.