Work Text:
Yu Dayeon liked peaceful afternoons.
School was over, the sun was warm, and the streets were calm.
Which was why the scene currently happening looked… incredibly strange.
Because walking beside her was a very tall, very intimidating man who looked like he belonged on a battlefield instead of a quiet neighborhood sidewalk.
This man was 002.
mercenary.
Leader of the surviving Numbers.
A man feared by trained killers.
And he was currently holding… a strawberry milk.
Dayeon swung her bag happily as they walked.
“Is it good?”
002 looked down at the carton in his large hand.
“…It is sweet.”
Dayeon giggled.
“You’ve never had strawberry milk before?”
“…No.”
002 had survived war zones.
Explosions.
Gunfire.
Assassination missions.
But somehow this small pink drink felt more confusing than any battlefield.
He took another careful sip.
“…Acceptable.”
Dayeon beamed like she had accomplished something important.
Meanwhile…
Across the street…
Koh Seokju froze.
He blinked.
Then blinked again.
Because Yu Dayeon — the sweet, polite sister of Yu Ijin — was walking casually with a man who looked like he could snap a car in half.
Seokju slowly lowered his sunglasses.
“…Why is Dayeon with a grown man built like he could snap me in half?”
The man was tall.
Broad shoulders.
Expressionless face.
And Seokju had a very bad feeling.
He immediately grabbed his phone.
Phone Call: Emergency
Ijin answered after one ring.
“Yes.”
“Ijin,” Seokju said calmly.
“You need to come outside.”
“…Why?”
“Your sister is walking with a suspicious man.”
Silence.
Seokju continued.
“He’s tall.”
Pause.
“Very tall.”
Another pause.
“He looks like he kills people for a living.”
Ijin finally spoke.
“…Does he look calm?”
Seokju frowned.
“…Yes.”
“Is he holding strawberry milk?”
Seokju slowly turned his head.
Across the street, the terrifying man was indeed holding a pink carton.
“…Yes.”
Another pause.
Then Ijin sighed.
“…It’s fine.”
Seokju blinked.
“What?”
“I allowed it.”
“You WHAT?”
Back to the Walk
Dayeon pointed toward a bakery.
“Ooo, they have cream buns!”
002 stopped immediately.
“…You want one.”
“Maybe!”
002 walked straight inside.
The cashier stiffened instantly.
He looked like someone who had never smiled in his entire life.
002 placed money on the counter.
“One cream bun.”
The cashier nodded nervously.
“Yes sir.”
Dayeon giggled quietly.
“You’re scaring the staff.”
“…I am behaving normally.”
“Your face says otherwise.”
002 considered this.
“…Understood.”
He attempted to soften his expression.
It somehow made him look more dangerous.
Dayeon burst out laughing.
Seokju finally walked up to them.
He stared at 002.
002 stared back.
The air became heavy.
Dangerous.
Like two predators sizing each other up.
Dayeon waved happily.
“Oh hi, Seokju!”
Seokju whispered to Ijin through the phone.
“…He’s staring at me.”
“Don’t worry,” Ijin replied calmly.
“He won’t hurt you.”
“That is not comforting.”
The Truth
Dayeon held the cream bun happily.
“Oppa said you’re like my second older brother.”
002 looked slightly confused.
“…Second.”
“Yep!”
She smiled brightly.
“You protected my brother when he was younger, right?”
002 didn’t answer immediately.
Memories flickered in his mind.
The camp.
The brutal training.
A small boy named 001 learning how to survive.
Finally he nodded.
“…Yes.”
Dayeon grinned.
“Then that means you’re family.”
002 went quiet.
The word family was unfamiliar.
Heavy.
Warm.
“…I see.”
Later
Seokju watched them walk away.
Dayeon was chatting happily.
002 walking beside her awkwardly like a giant guard dog who had no idea what to do with affection.
Seokju sighed into the phone.
“Ijin.”
“Yes.”
“Your sister just adopted the most terrifying babysitter I’ve ever seen.”
Ijin was silent for a moment.
Then—
“…He’s good with her.”
Seokju looked again.
Dayeon was making 002 try another sweet drink.
The feared mercenary looked deeply confused.
“…Yeah,” Seokju admitted.
“…Somehow I believe that.”