Chapter Text
2017, Seoul
There had been many rules growing up at the Busan Academy of Jaeger Pilots, and Jeon Jeongguk had followed them to the letter.
No running along the tarmac. Physical training at the main hall at 5am. Lights out at 9.30. Meals were to be eaten slowly, and deliberately, for good digestion. Safety first, safety second, and coolness third.
Well, that last one was one of Jeongguk’s own - but it made sense, so he’d committed it to memory too.
They weren’t airforce pilots - not strictly; but they trained like them. Jeongguk carried himself with the posture of a military man; back straight, feet together, a steely, no-nonsense gaze glinting in his chocolate brown eyes. It made sense that the boys at the academy were trained to respond and act with such precision - there was a very small margin for error in their chosen field of work.
After all, there wasn’t much of a grey area, and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure the game out. When you were fighting a kaiju, all 250 feet of alien muscle spewing electric-blue acidic toxins at you, you either came out alive, or you didn’t.
Jeon Jeongguk was nineteen, and he planned on hanging around for a while.
So it was rather disconcerting that, for a trained military man, he was turning greener with every passing minute, as the tiny helicopter he was currently seated in was battered around by what seemed to Jeongguk to be gale-force winds.
“Are we there yet?” Jeongguk choked into the microphone, clutching the edges of his seat, attempting to keep the panic at bay (and the bile in his throat) as the plane did another stomach-wrenching roll.
“Soon, Sir. We’ll be making our descent to the Seoul Shatterdome helipad in five minutes.”
“Roger,” Jeongguk grunted, as he gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the way the helicopter bucked once again, with another blast of wind from the East.
Peering out the window in an attempt to quell his fear, Jeongguk cast his sights toward the horizon. In the distance, Jeongguk spied the kaleidoscopic lights of the Shatterdome blinking in the distance; a vast complex rising out of the sea.
In an instant, the fear in Jeongguk’s gut dissipated.
I am Jeon Jeongguk of Busan, codename Seagull, he thought. And there - that place - is where my destiny awaits.
“Welcome to Seoul, Jeon Jeongguk.”
Jeongguk bowed deeply, returning the general’s greeting with a weak smile.
“Thank you, General Kim -”
“Don’t stand on ceremony, it’s just ‘Namjoon hyung’ to you. The pilots and I - we’re all family here,” The man said, placing a hand on his shoulder as he sized Jeongguk up. “Wow, the cadets from Busan get taller every year. Did you have a good flight?”
Jeongguk’s stomach lurched a little at the recollection of his eventful journey in the Academy’s helicopter, but suppressed his nausea long enough to reply in the affirmative.
“Good, good. We just had a dispatchment this morning, a small Category Two crawled out from the breach - so everyone’s in the dome, getting things sorted in the wake of the attack,” Namjoon said, beckoning to Jeongguk to follow him.
Jeongguk hefted his army backpack onto his left shoulder, trailing behind Namjoon. He attempted to keep up with the man’s long strides - Jeongguk swore the General was at least 80% leg - as the man resumed speaking.
“So, Busan, top of your class, special awards for pilot simulations?”
Jeongguk blushed. “Uh, yes, sir - I mean, hyung.”
Namjoon whistled. “Nice. Well, you probably know a little bit about us - all the Seoul Shatterdome pilots were top cadets. What’s left of us, at least.”
“What’s left of… hyung?”
Namjoon eyed him skeptically. “Kid. You do know what it means when we call for a new recruit to join the Seoul team, don’t you?”
Jeongguk nodded.
There were only so many reasons why a jaeger would lose a pilot.
Namjoon sighed heavily, halting as they arrived at a set of large, reinforced steel doors. “I shan’t burden you with the heavy stuff. It’s your first day here, anyway.”
Jeongguk shook his head. “There’s nothing I can’t handle, hyung.”
Namjoon smirked. “Well, that’s nice to hear. Alright then, young whippersnapper. Ready to step into Wonderland?”