Your soldier (Itzy Yeji X Male Reader)

Chapter 18

Location: "Black wolf palace"
Perspective: Yeji
11 pm local time

I can't stop staring at the picture in my palm. It's a very small one. But it means so much. My heart feels like it got tied into a knot and then cut open. I feel how I slowly start to tear up. This never even crossed my mind. I never expected this.
The tiny photocard has a little dirt on it and what looks like a small drop of blood on the bottom left. The upper right and left corners are buckled. I feel a sob form in my throat, as I see what (y/n) has carried around all this time while he was away.

A picture of me. I don't even completely understand what it means. Does this mean he still loves me? Even after I broke up with him? Did he keep thinking about me this entire time? Just like I thought about him?
The sound of the door sliding open behind me brings me back to reality. All the girls are looking at me. Half smiling half worried. I realize that small tears are rolling down my cheek.
The footsteps of (y/n) and Tiger are the only sounds in the room. I close my eyes, unable to look at the man I love.
It sounds like Tiger sits down first, before (y/n) takes his seat next to him. I feel my lip quiver.
"Yeji? Are you alright?"
This is what breaks me. His voice. His calm, soothing voice. Asking if I'm okay.
I keep my eyes shut as I scramble to my feet. Without a word, I open the door and run out of the restaurant. I can't believe I hurt him this whole time.
Only when my feet are soaking wet, I realize that it's raining heavily. My hair is sticking to my skin and my clothes are completely drenched. I keep sobbing as I look around. I don't know where I am.

Perspective: (y/n)

I jump to my feet when I see Yeji storming out.
"What happened?"
I ask the girls. Startling them, as I talk louder than usual.
"You dropped Yeji's photocard."
I curse myself as I feel my cheeks heating up. Running out of the room, I try to catch up to Yeji.

Location: Ukraine
Third person

Panther breathes heavily as he tries to put his weight on his injured leg.
"How is it feeling?"
Wolf is standing behind him, holding him, in case the older man falls.
"Better than yesterday. But still hurts like hell."
"We can't go any further with you in this condition. Maybe a few more days here and then we will find something else."
Wolf almost expects Panther to disagree as usual. Saying it's not safe enough to stay in one place too long when you are in enemy territory.
But he can see that it's costing almost all the man's strength to keep standing.
Once he guided him back to the small bed, Panther sits on the edge, looking into the distance. As if the wooden walls of the small house don't exist.
"I owe you my life. Thank you for that."
Wolf sits next to him.
"We are brothers. We fight together. Always."
The older man chuckles.
"I remember the first time I met you."
"I try to forget that day."
Panther keeps talking, just ignoring him.
"You were serving your 18 months of the mandatory military service. Which one was it again?"
"The fifth one."
"Yes. The fifth one."
With shaky fingers, Panther takes the plastic cup from the small table, taking a sip of the ice cold water.
"I was supervising your group's training that day. After I made you run five kilometers, all of you were tired. And when I told you, you would have to put on your gas masks, everyone started to complain. Except-"
A painful groan escapes Panther's throat, as he moves his leg the wrong way.
"Except me."
"Yes. You didn't complain. That's why I told you to come to the front. I ordered you all to do ten push ups, then run a lap around the track and then answer random questions. All of it with your masks on. I made you the guy who counted the push ups for the whole group."
"I hated you. We had to do all of it 10 times."
Panther sighs as he leans against the wall behind the bed.
"You were the only guy who was still standing properly, when I said the exercise was over. Everyone else fell to the ground and pulled their masks off. Only you stood there. With perfect posture. Your gas mask still on."
"You said the exercise was over. Not that we could take our masks off."
The older man nods.
"True. But that didn't make me recommend you to the special forces. It was the fact that, despite being just as tired as anyone else, you kept going without complaint. You didn't question why I made you all do it."
"I was young. I was proud of being the fittest."
"Don't be humble. If you weren't good enough for this job, you wouldn't be here."
Wolf acknowledges that with a nod.
"Anyways, I wanted to tell you now, why I made you do all this. Not just that one exercise, but all the others as well."
"You were just trying to push our limits and make the best out of us. Although I didn't like that we had to swim in full armor through the Han river two days before Christmas."
Panther grins.
"My hot chocolate tasted delicious while I was watching you freezing your asses off."
Wolf shakes his head in disbelief.
"But that's not why I made you do all this. It was to make sure that all of you had higher chances of survival. If something like a war would brake out. I only did this to protect you. Not to torture you."
Wolf stays silent, as he thinks about it. The running with the gas masks on. The swimming in full clothes in winter. The workouts in the scorching sun during the summer, getting sun burns on purpose. Days and days of physical and mental exhaustion. He always wondered, why captian Yoo was so harsh on them. But in the end, he only wanted the best for them.
And he realized, that he needed some of this training during his time in the team. It helped him. Physically and mentally.
"Anyways..."
Panther motions Wolf to get off the bed, before lying down on it, resting his head on the dirty pillow.
"I just meant to tell you, that if the time ever comes, try to find someone to replace me. Don't cry about me for too long."
Without another word, Panther closes his eyes and Wolf is left standing in the small room.
He wonders what he means. His leg is healing well, considering the circumstances. It is safe to say, as long as they don't get caught, all of them would probably survive. So why say stuff like this?
Wolf shakes his head to clear his thoughts.
"I always imagined it was your picture, while you made us practice on the shooting range for hours on end."
A slim smile appears on the captain's lips. Barely noticeable.

Location: Seoul
Perspective: Yeji

I shiver while sitting on the bench of the bus stop. I'm completely drenched and the bus doesn't come here at this time of day. The sobbing has stopped by now. But the guilt hasn't disappeared yet. I don't think it ever will.
"You are going to get sick."
Startled, I look up.
(Y/n) looks at me.
Not smiling. Just a concerned look on his face.
"How did you-"
He shuts me up as he puts his uniform over my shoulders.
Only wearing his brown shirt, I see the scars on his arms. Those weren't there before.
(Y/n) sits down next to me, putting his arm around my shoulder. I lean against him, as if we are still together.
"There were some moments- A lot of moments- where I thought I wouldn't be coming back. But there was always one thing that helped me calm down in those hopeless times. This picture of you. You as a person. The hope the two of us could sit like this someday. You in my arms, while you tell me about your day as we just wait for the bus."