Hyuk sat in his room, tired. His body was sure as hell tired and the wound on his leg hurt like a bitch, but his mind was running at a million miles per hour. He just couldn’t calm down. The last thing he remembered was seeing Yeonwoo and Reno and being put into a unique looking truck. And after that, he woke up in, what one can only assume, was a hospital.

By the time he woke up, he found that his wound had already been appropriately dressed, his clothes neatly changed and his arm hooked to an IV drip. He also saw no sight of any other human beings. Not even the mean, weird guy who brought him here. 

His thoughts obviously headed towards his friends, Yeonwoo and Reno. He knew they were safe and alive as well, but he had no idea where they had gone.

As for the other members of the group…Hyuk gulped. The more he thought about it, the more complicated things became for him. Besides, he was told to….

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud thud on the door. He immediately looked up, his eyes wide in alarm. Leaning against the door was the officer he had heard the others call Minjoon and next to him was…

“Yeonwoo!” Hyuk cried out in joy.

Yeonwoo gave a huge smile in return. Unlike Hyuk, Yeonwoo was still dressed in his grimy clothes from the day before and he hadn’t had the time to clean himself up either. But still, he ran towards Hyuk and gave him a huge hug.

“How are you feeling?” asked Yeonwoo, breaking away from the hug and scanning Hyuk from top to bottom. He seemed to be in much better shape since when he last saw him. Despite being a rundown hospital, looks like they still did their job quite well.

“Feels like I got a morning shot.” Grinned Hyuk. He looked around and then frowned. “Where’s Reno?”

Yeonwoo’s face slightly dropped and Hyuk immediately assumed the worst. His face grew grim too. “No, you don’t mean—”

Yeonwoo shook his head instantly. “No! No. He’s fine, it’s just, uh, they have like sector thingy…concept? Here? So, both of us are in different sectors for now.”

Hyuk’s eyes widened in understanded and let out a sigh of relief.

“This hospital does not conduct aptitude tests for sectors. Most hospitals don’t, it’s pretty much a military thing.” Said Minjoon, rolling his eyes at the sappy scene in front of him. “Lucky for you, you’ve got a military officer right here. One with proper authorization too.”

Minjoon walked towards the bed where Hyuk lay. His eyes slightly drifted towards the wound on Hyuk’s leg, but he looked away almost immediately.

“What are you doing?” asked Yeonwoo as he watched Minjoon search for something in his pockets.

After fumbling around his pockets for a while, Minjoon finally managed to recover a device from within his coat.

Without providing Yeonwoo with an answer, he merely pushed him out of the way and sat in front of Hyuk.

“Hey, what are you going to do to him--?”

Minjoon turned and glared at Yeonwoo. “Can you shut up? If I wanted to kill your friend, would’ve done it a while ago. I’ve had plenty of chances so far.”

Unable to come up with an answer, Yeonwoo glared at Minjoon’s back in response although his glare was pretty much ignored.

Minjoon bent slightly towards the drawer placed near the patient bed and opened the topmost draw. In it was a bunch of hospital supplies, including gloves, clothes, gauzes and the thing he was looking for : disinfecting wipes.

“Stretch out your arm.” He said and Hyuk obliged willingly.

He wore the gloves from the draw and ripped open the wipes. Working almost identically to Dr. Miya, he first wiped the area around vein and then picked up the syringe.

Yeonwoo gulped, feeling slightly anxious. When the Dr. Miya was doing it, he didn’t seem as nervous but considering how the person was Minjoon, he couldn’t help but feel slightly on the edge.

Minjoon carefully inserted the syringe into the vein and drew blood out. When he got how much he needed, he immediately pulled the needle out softly and wiped the area with a disinfectant wipe. He then ripped some cotton out and placed it on Hyuk’s arm.

“Press it and fold your arm. I’ll tell you when to remove it.” Said Minjoon. He then removed his gloves and threw it the nearby dustbin.

Hyuk obediently nodded his eyes darting between Yeonwoo and Minjoon. Minjoon then opened the drawer and grabbed a set of hospital clothes and tossed it at Yeonwoo. The implication was as clear as day. He wanted Yeonwoo to change into this.

Although Yeonwoo’s current clothes were filthy beyond measure, he still looked at the hospital clothes, hesitation written on his face. They were a simple set of shirt and pants, with identical blue and white stripes printed on it. Ideally, there was nothing wrong with it but having to blindly obey Minjoon pissed him off at the same time.

However, after glancing at Hyuk and his wounded leg, Yeonwoo just decided to wear whatever was given to him. Hyuk was in no position to put up a fight if things were to go down and he was not about to put his friend’s life in danger because of his foolish actions.

Yeonwoo decided to start with his pants. As he hooked his fingers into his pants to take them off, Minjoon’s eyes immediately widened and he said, “What the hell are you doing?”

Yeonwoo frowned in return. “Isn’t this what you wanted me to do?”

“Have you got no shame?”

Yeonwoo felt like rolling his eyes. “Lost it when I was made to cohabit with 15 others because of the establishment of this kingdom. Any other questions?”

Hyuk let out a small chuckle. He looked at Minjoon and said, “You can just turn your head here and look away from him.”

“And what if he decides to run away?”

“My friend isn’t going to leave me behind. I trust him.”

“That doesn’t mean I trust him. Or you for that matter.”

“Well then, you can just watch me get changed. I’m sure you’ll enjoy that.” Said Yeonwoo. Without waiting for an answer from Minjoon, he continued stripping his clothes. Minjoon immediately turned his head and fixated his eyes on the corner of the bed while Yeonwoo changed his clothes.

After barely a minute had passed, Yeonwoo said, “Okay, finished.”

Hyuk looked at Yeonwoo and grinned. “You look awesome!”

Yeonwoo playfully raised an eyebrow, “In hospital garbs?”

“Yeah! I feel like I’m seeing you in a new light.”

Although Minjoon wanted to block this inane conversation from his ears, he just let them talk since their conversation was rather mundane. While they conversed lightly, he took a device from his inner pocket and poured some drops of Hyuk’s blood into it. It was similar to the testing they had used back at the military base but of course was not as advanced as it. He just needed to get the base results to decide which sector to put Hyuk into. Although…

He felt a small buzz in his hands as the result displayed on the tiny screen.

Hyokshin.

Minjoon stared at the results on his screen and then took a glance at Hyuk, who was still engaged in his conversation with Minjoon. He shook his head and stared at the device in his hand. He took a short breath as he long pressed the button on the side of the device, resetting it.

He cleared his throat.

“Hyuk’s results are out. He’s in the House of Tanyu. Until we get approval about where to put Yeonwoo, we’ll put you in a basic history course. To familiarize yourself with this place and then off to your own sectors you go.”

Yeonwoo was secretly glad that Hyuk wasn’t placed in the same place as him. But he had hoped at least Reno and Hyuk would be together. Well, deep down he knew it was just wishful thinking. He had no idea how many sectors existed in the first place, so he had no idea how the odds were. And also logically, they wouldn’t place the outsiders in the same sector in fear of inciting a rebellion. 

“By the way,” Hyuk started, directing his gaze towards Minjoon. “Which sector are you in?”

Minjoon looked at Hyuk, his eyes indescribable. Hyuk felt a shiver go down his spine. He didn’t find Minjoon as irritable or terrifying as the others but considering what he had been through, he was still unsure of what to make of Minjoon.

Without a single change in expression he said, “House of Tanyu.”

-------------------

The trio descended down the stairs with Yeonwoo supporting Hyuk on his shoulders. He also held one of Hyuk’s crutches in his other hand while the other crutch was tucked under Hyuk’s right arm. Lucky for them, Hyuk’s room had been on the lower floor, so they didn’t have to deal with a lot of stairs.

Minjoon walked in front of them, not even bothering to help them. His role was simply for escort these newbies and then once he dumped them, he’d finally be free of them.

They reached the reception again and it seemed like the receptionist had managed to come back to her senses after being knocked out. Minjoon was almost impressed. Considering the force with which he had hit her, she seemed to have recovered pretty speedily.

She rubbed her head, a sharp pain ringing through her head. However, before she could record the severity of her injury and assess what treatment she required, her eyes widened at the sight in front of her.

These guys were kidnapping her patient!

She was a headstrong woman and extremely dedicated to their job. And considering how many odd patients she received on a daily basis, she had no choice but to develop this kind of resistance to threats, especially from higher ups and military personnel. She was quite used to situations where they made insane requests out of her but usually, she had managed to always settle the situation in one way or another. But this…this was a situation she had never dealt with in her entire life. What was she supposed to do when a patient was getting kidnapped right in front of her eyes?

“We’ll be off, then.” Said Minjoon, not providing any other necessary explanation.

But of course, he was stopped by the receptionist. She appeared right in front of them, ignoring the stabbing pain in the back of her head. She stretched out her arms, blocking them.

“I didn’t know military personnel had the right to kidnap patients. I apologize but except for your ID proof you haven’t shown me any document from the right authorities. Without that, I absolutely cannot let you take my patient away.”

She snuck a glance at Hyuk and said firmly, “Regardless of whether he is willing or not. This is breaking the law. I will be required to contact the authorities.”

Yeonwoo and Hyuk stared at the scene in front of them in awe. They both were incredibly impressed the sheer guts of this woman in front of them. Despite Minjoon’s young age and good looks, they both were aware of how scary and ruthless the man could actually be. Yeonwoo genuinely began to worry for the safety of this brave receptionist.

However, much to everyone’s surprise, Minjoon let out a laugh, “The authorities? You mean the imperial police? Those dogs who barely have any power? What are they going to do?”

The receptionist frowned but didn’t say anything for a while. She knew that there was some truth in his words. Considering Minjoon’s rank, even if law enforcement arrived, they would whimper away at the mere mention of his rank. Even though she was aware that she was just putting herself in danger, she simply couldn’t let him get him what he wanted. At least she wanted to rebel in some way or another.

“Then, I will have no choice but to call the director.” She spoke.

This time Minjoon let out an even bigger laugh. “Oh my, you’re interesting. The director, huh?”

Chills ran up Yeonwoo’s spine. He opened his mouth to intervene but as if sensing what he was going to do, Minjoon raised his hand and Yeonwoo’s mouth closed just as fast as he had opened it. He gritted his teeth in anger, Yeonwoo wanted to do something in this situation, but he was all too aware about how powerless he was.

Minjoon folded his cuff and put his palm out to the receptionist, revealing his wrist to her. No weapons, nothing. He just elegantly placed his arm out in front of her. Almost as if inviting her for a dance.

However, the color completely drained out of her face as she studied his wrist. A small dragon tattoo was visible on his wrist.

A look of displeasure came over Minjoon’s face. This was the last thing he wanted to do but the receptionist just had to be stubborn and honest to a fault.

“Are you interested in palm reading?” he said.

Yeonwoo and Hyuk, who stood behind were unable to see what exactly he was showing her. The confusion on their faces was evident but they knew their questions would not be answered. They were essentially prisoners as this point and prisoners did not have the right to ask questions.

The receptionist looked down at her feet, angry and frustrated. She had tried her level best to fight back against these higher ups, but she was always blocked. There was always an obstacle in her path. As a receptionist, there was only so much she could do.

Minjoon turned and looked at Hyuk and Yeonwoo. “Get into the car. Let’s go. Can’t wait to get you shits out of my hair.”

They both obediently listened to him even though Yeonwoo wanted to pluck his hairs out. Casting one last glance at the defeated receptionist, Yeonwoo and Hyuk walked out of the hospital with Minjoon following behind.

Just as Minjoon was about to exit the hospital, he looked back at her.

Ensuring that both Yeonwoo and Hyuk were out of earshot, he turned back to her. His eyes finally fell onto the badge on her chest.

“I’m sorry, Jenna.” He whispered.

Jenna looked at him, anger and frustration written all over her face. She turned away from him and spat, “Get lost.”

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