When Jonghyun opened his eyes he wasn't sure whether he had slept at all. He felt impossibly exhausted so maybe he had been just lying unmoving, lifeless, empty. He felt grateful when it was finally time to get up. He dressed up and got out of the quarters not sparing the still sleeping Jinki even one look.

He was having a breakfast duty today so he went straight to the kitchen, washed his hands and tied an apron around his waist.

A sergeant in a red cap was waiting for him, his hands clasped behind his back. "Private Kim. You'll be in charge of making kimchi pancakes. All you need to do is mix the prepared ingredients, season them and then fry them with private Choi. Make sure you are finished before 7 am. Everything clear?"

Jonghyun glanced at Minho and made a displeased face. The last thing he needed right now was that stupid Minho tree. "Yessir." he replied nonetheless and immediately got down to work.

A few minutes later the door to the kitchen flew open and revealed a slightly breathless man. "Hey Jonghyun. Why didn't you wake me up? We could've went together." Jinki said pouting and hurriedly put his apron on as well.

Jonghyun almost flinched at the voice, the corners of his mouth turning downwards as he pressed his lips tightly together.

"Private Lee, you're late." the sergeant hissed out and when Onew was about to open his mouth to speak he waved his hand dismissively. "I don't need your pathetic excuses, make sure it doesn't happen next time if you don't want to get in trouble. You're going to peel the radish, cut it into thin strips, then sauté it and lastly season it as written in the recipe. Hurry up."

"Yes sir." Onew grabbed the huge plastic bowl with the radishes and put them on the counter next to Jonghyun. The younger lowered his head slightly, desperately trying to avoid any sort of contact with the man.

"Hey, are you okay?" Onew asked worriedly and started peeling the radishes, his eyes uselessly trying to meet with Jonghyun's.

"I'm fine." the younger muttered and cursed himself in his mind when the voice came out sounding so freaking wretched and hurt. He hadn't thought everything through yet, he didn't know what he wanted to do in his current situation. What he did know though was that he couldn't look at Jinki yet, that his skin still prickled with disgust towards the older man.

The sergeant's eyes narrowed as he took a step forward. "If you still have time to be talking then maybe I didn't give you enough work? We can fix that if you're really that eager."

"That won't be necessary sir." Onew replied quickly and Jonghyun suddenly felt a tad of affection towards the man in the red cap. No talking meant no Jinki talking and that meant he'll be able to do his thing quickly and leave without worrying about his hyung questioning him about his weird behavior. He took a deep breath and put the chopped chives into the bowl with the pancake batter.

 Jonghyun let out a tired sigh as he put the last kimchi pancake on some private's tray.

Onew walked over to the sink and rolled up his sleeves in order to wash his hands. "I don't understand why they didn't want to eat my radish. It was super delicious if I say so myself."

The younger unconsciously looked at Onew and his body stilled as he noticed a red, teeth shaped mark on the older's forearm. And then it all came rushing back to him, the whispers coming from the closet, those disgusting, obscene sounds and Taemin's loud moans which later became restrained, with Jinki's arm as it turns out. He felt sick a