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Haksoo held tight to Dalgis's hand while she slept, the only sound the soft beeps of the machines in the large private hospital room. His powers had saved her life after such a terrible scuffle with the new wolf shifter, but Haksoo was still concerned and wasn't going to risk taking any chances in making sure that his sister was alright. It had been a few days, and all Dalgi did was sleep. That was fine with Haksoo. As far as he was concerned, she deserved a good long nap after everything she had experienced. He could tell by the soft thump of her pulse that she was sleeping soundly, trusting the heartbeat he could feel in her wrist a lot more than any machine. The warmth of her hand and the feeling of her soft skin was also of great comfort to him. He was feeling clingy more than ever lately.
There were so many questions about what happened, about Didi's escape and her current whereabouts, made all the more frustrating by the fact that no one had any answers. If Haksoo knew where Didi was, he would have been the first out the door to hunt her down himself. Other soldiers were already out searching.
The babies were sleeping in a cradle nearby, within arm's reach and where Haksoo could easily keep an eye on them from where he sat next to Dalgis's bed. The cradle positioned away from the door so that anyone coming into the room would have to get past him before they could reach them.
Almost on cue, the door opened. Haksoo stiffened for a moment before settling back stiffly into his seat as he recognized his fellow soldier.
"What do you want, Iris?" Haksoo asked bluntly, only to receive all scowl from the snake lady.
Iris didn't look happy, but she rarely ever did, except for when things were about to get very scary. Today, thankfully, wasn't one of those days. She held up a bright pink post-it note, not giving Haksoo time to read it before crumpling it up into a ball and tossing it at the Haksoos head.
"What the hell is this? Who the fuck quits with a post-it note? How much of a dumbass can you be?"
The furious snake was not trying to be quiet at all and that only irritated Haksoo more as he let go of Dalgi's hand, gently setting it down on the mattress before standing to face Iris.
"This is not the time."
"Oh, no. It's exactly the time. You're glad that I found this before Chen did."
"Damnit, iris. *
Haksoo's irritation was spoken with through hushed breath as he got up and stormed past iris, he didn't want to risk waking Dalgi from her deep sleep or the boys, and this conversation seemed headed in the direction of loud. He held the door open until she followed after him, careful not to touch his fellow soldier. He waited until they were both out in the hall before slowly and quietly closing the door behind them.
"You need to butt out of other people's business."
"You need to stop being an idiot."
Iris seemed to get the point that Haksoo wanted privacy for this conversation, taking hold of Haksoo's arm and pulling him a little further down the hall where they could speak normally. She seemed to understand that Haksoo wasn't going to wander too far. When Haksoo pulled back and brushed her off, Iris didn't try to grab him again.
"Stop calling me an idiot. I'm trying to protect my family. They need me."
"I'll stop calling you an idiot when you stop acting like one."
Iris huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. It wasn't like her to poke her head into his business or try to bail him out of trouble. She was the kind of person that would stand back and laugh at him, fiercely competitive and long suspected jealous of Haksoo and Chen's friendship. Having him quit should have been a reason to celebrate, so it only confused him more about why she was even here.
"We need you! Chen is the only reason you have this family right now, the only reason that an idiot like you is even still alive and walking around, and you were going to spit in his face and walk away with nothing more than a fucking post-it."
"Given the reaction the last time someone quit, it seemed safer."
Haksoo lifted a hand and rubbed his head, feeling a burning headache come on. Maybe not the smartest move to only leave a short note, but Haksoo had crunched for time and had resigned himself to accepting whatever angry reaction his friend might have over his resignation.
"I should have left it and let him take your head off, but there are more important matters to take care of first."
Iris pulled out a thick brown folder from the bag she had hanging at her side and slapped it against Haksoos' chest.
"Jaeseong and his group are pinned down in a red zone and need to be extracted. You're to head out immediately."
Now he understood why she was here. Haksoo tossed the folder aside without even looking at it. There was a time where he would have jumped at the chance to rush into such dangerous places just for the thrill. The dangers made him feel alive. Haksoo was one of the best at getting in and out of bad situations, but those days had passed. Haksoo had something else to live for now. Three people needed him alive and well.
"I don't care. send someone else."
"There is no one else, and you know it."
Iris bent down and picked up the folder, setting the documents back inside before holding it out to him. Her fingers held tight to the edge of the brown paper. He could tell by the way it wrinkled in her grip that she was holding back.
"Look, stupid. If I could do it, I wouldn't be here talking to your stubborn ass, but think about it this way. Chen helped you take care of your kids when you were in trouble. Now it's the time to return the favor. I know you want to leave. I will even help you write a proper exit letter when you come back. You owe him. Now, go and do the job you were hired to do."
Her words hit a nerve that hurt much deeper than he thought it ever could. Haksoo glared daggers at Iris as he took the folder from her.
Iris spoke up before he could as if reading his lingering hesitation. Her voice was suddenly softer.
"Go. I'll keep them safe until you get back."
She cracked her knuckled with a sly smile as if to accentuate the point. She wasn't the biggest or the strongest in the IST, but that hardly mattered with the poison that Iris could wield to paralyze her enemies. There were very few that could face off against her and come out on top.
Haksoo took a deep breath before nodding and opened up the folder in his hands, starting to flip through the pages. The situation was not good, but that wasn't unusual with so many outbreaks across the cities, this was going to be a very long day indeed.
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