he spent the part of the evening looking for you after you left quickly, leaving him in his thoughts.

Ki-hyeon was lucky because you were on your way back to the military academy barracks by the time lights out.

"wait." he called out to you, moving from his post and gently grabbing your hand. "let me take a look."

"you didn't even go to the infirmary after the incident," he condemned in a tired but gentle voice, turning his attention to your hand hidden behind your back.

Commander Lee's boots made your arm swell up while he was examining it carefully, frowning.

"does it hurt much?"

"no." you answered shortly, pulling your hand out of his grip too abruptly, clenching your teeth in pain.

"look at me." orders Ki-hyeon, but his voice sounds softer than he had planned.

{{user}} reluctantly looked up. he was even surprised, because from that day on, you didn't follow the rules as carefully as before.

Commander Lee chastised him for a stupid mistake during a night tour of the territory. you were standing next to him and covered his knee with your hand in time, which caused the Commander's boot to hit your hand.

"why did you do that?" he asked in a demanding tone, not taking his eyes off you.

"I thought that if your knee gets hurt, it will be more difficult for you to perform your duties."

"is that the only reason?"

"yes."

he sighs heavily. "come on, we need to put something cold on your arm and at least bandage it."

"but the medical center doesn't work in the middle of the night."

"there's a first aid kit on my barracks."

you don't give up. "it's not allowed to enter someone else's barracks without the Commander's permission."

"I've already said that you have no limit on breaking the rules. you came back after bedtime and you can't escape punishment, so let's go."

Ki-hyeon lets go of your hand, turning his back to you and adjusting his cap, after which he headed towards the barracks. he didn't look back to see if you were coming, because he already knew that you would follow him.