Case 143 🌹 Seungjin

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Hyunjin had his eye up close to a scope, index finger tapping the trigger of a rifle in his hands. Man by man in front of him was shot down, bullet wounds forming around their foreheads and chests. Hyunjin adjusted a pair of goggles over his eyes and dropped his rifle, allowing it to hang around his body while he grabbed a pistol from its halter. He shot another man in the knees, then grabbed his hair, pointed the gun under his chin, and pulled the trigger. Blood splattered over his face but he didn't flinch. Hyunjin tossed the body on the ground with a deep breath, quickly pushing his pistol back into its home and discarding the rifle's empty ammo clip.

He turned and pulled the stock of the rifle up to his shoulder when he reloaded it. The gun found itself aimed at a bloodhound. A canine with a broken leg and fur drenched in rotten blood. They stared at each other for a moment, sizing each other up. Hyunjin suddenly yanked his rifle up and took a shot. The bullet flew over the dog's head and hit the center of the target behind it.

The hound sprinted forward, dodging Hyunjin's body by sneaking under his body. It launched itself off its hind legs and grabbed a gun from a scientist's hand. The weapon was tossed to the side, while the canine tackled the man to the ground. Hyunjin watched as it ripped out the throat, successfully stopping the target's airways. 

When the man stopped moving the dog turned back to Hyunjin. He was kneeling on one leg, goggles lifted from his eyes, and arms open for the hound. He called a name he couldn't hear, and then the dog ran at him. He transformed from a dog to a human and then. . . He saw nothing.

—

Hyunjin sat in the corridor of the third floor, eyes locked onto the door of one of the rooms that were used for physical examinations. He knew he shouldn't be there. Getting attached to the children they'd rescued any more than he was would only make it harder on him. He did what he could. He saved them from future torture.

Even so, he found himself waiting outside, watching every child that was escorted in and out of the room. He saw them cry. He saw them shake. He saw them walk out unbothered and numb to everything going on. It hurt, but it could never bring as much pain as it did them. So he endured it and watched.

His mind at some point drifted away from them. His eyes observed the area as his head replayed the events of the early morning after the mission. Seungmin. He'd stayed with him for hours comforting him; even slept with him so he didn't go into another panic attack. He was there in case a nightmare woke him.

It was strange to wake up to someone next to him. Hyunjin had never experienced it. The image of someone's head pressed against his shoulder was a foreign concept to him. It was things he saw in movies. The stuff he deemed impossible for himself. Yet Seungmin had proven him wrong with his mess of disheveled bedhead at nine in the morning.

One of his arms had been slung over his torso while the other had fallen asleep in his hair, no doubt from stroking it. An act of consolement Hyunjin found himself indescribably fond of. Oddly enough, it didn't feel weird to have Seungmin in his bed. Then again, if he could have strange girls in his bed for an hour on a whim, having a potential love interest should be far less concerning.

Hyunjin wasn't concerned, truthfully. More shocked by how natural it felt. If he had woken up beside Jisung he'd probably of shoved him off the bed. However, Hyunjin had done the opposite of that and pulled Seungmin closer. He'd threaded his fingers through his wavy locks and caressed the sunkissed skin on his arms and face. He marveled at his sleeping image with admiration for every small flaw and gift.

From his closed eyes down to his slightly pursed lips, Hyunjin had, to the best of his ability at that moment, taken it all in. He appreciated the compassion Seungmim had for him. Whether it had romantic undertones or not, Hyunjin was comforted by it. It made him feel alright. He felt protected.