Rei threw herself onto her mattress upon finally returning to the base, not caring about the mess she was making. It was now 23:17 and all she wanted to do was sleep. Forever.
Sighing, she sat up at the base of the bed, carefully taking her boots off after pulling out her daggers. She placed her bag carefully onto her bed, unsure of what to do with the writhing, feral cat. She knew she wasn't very good at thinking things through but—this? This, she had nothing to work off of.
Taking care of an animal? She admitted that she could barely even take care of herself.
She gulped, realization setting in as she slowly concluded that she'd have to talk to someone about it. Ijin wouldn't have any idea, and on top of that, he was probably dealing with his friends and was most likely in bed by now. Which meant that she had one other person she could turn to.
If only he was here.
Okay. She had to do something. Wallowing over the fact that she was running out of options wouldn't lead her to deal with the problem.
Pulling out the drawer of the dresser, she reached for her bandages and ointments, a set of new clothing articles, and the towel she had been using, and made her way to the showers. She required one after today, and she would be killing two birds with one stone as it would be easiest to clean her wounds with running water too. She might as well take advantage of the showers while she had the chance.
Despite whether or not she wished to stay at the base, she knew that her time here would not last.
She left the room, making her way to the bathrooms a few halls down.
She passed the mirrors on the way to the stalls, cringing upon noticing her blotchy red face and disheveled hair as most of it had fallen out of the braids she put in earlier. Finding an open stall, she gingerly removed her blood-soaked bomber jacket and hung it on one of the wall hooks, her towel on another, and placed her wound treatment materials and clothing on one of the benches away from the shower head. Her shirt stuck to her skin, matted with blood from when the cat ripped her skin through it. It took a few moments to pull the fabric from her head. Once she did, she let out a relieved gasp, tossing the torn shirt into the corner.
She traced the jarring gashes across her arms and abdomen, itching to the touch yet burning as if she just rested her skin over an open fire. The area around the scratches was violent red, swollen fervently.
She huffed. No wonder her skin was so agitated.
It was infected.
***
Hamchan Kang had been working on a report for the past three hours when he heard a knock upon his door. A muffled shhh made him furrow his brows in confusion as he realized that it was Rei's voice on the other side. Who was she talking to? And why did she need to talk to him at this hour? Was she alright?
"Come in," he said, his voice strained, yet trying to sound like he wasn't worried out of his mind about the girl. He tilted his computer screen, bringing himself to his feet as the door opened to reveal Rei. He could only see her side profile sticking through the door frame, her black hair pulled back in two slick braids, which meant that she had recently taken a shower. She only then stepped into the rest of the room after ensuring it was just him.
He rushed away from his desk upon noticing a large square of gauze taped to the side of her face when she turned to him, blanching when he realized that she was carrying something that was trying to escape her grasp.
"Rei! What are you—is that—what happened to your face—why—?"
His mind ran with so many questions as he took in everything in front of him from the unmistakable squirming ball of fur to her bandaged face and the fact that it was past one in the morning by now.
She walked up to his desk, about a meter away, holding up the wriggling creature with her right hand by its scruff so he could get a good glimpse of the noodle-like animal that was very uncomfortable in her hold.
"Cat," she responded simply.
She merely stared at him as if her response answered everything he was wondering, although it only managed to produce more questions.
"Yes, I see that," Kang said with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. She was like a child sometimes, unaware of anything and everything. He had no clue how to go about this because of course he was the one she trusted and he wasn't equipped nor knew anything about how to deal with teenage soldiers. He thought Ijin would be it.
God, he really received more than he bargained for.
"Let me rephrase my question—" he said, bringing his hand back down to look her in the eyes, but trying not to scare her with his exasperation, "—why do you have a cat?"
She hummed, lowering her arms as she slightly softened her grip on the cat who hung miserably in her hand. The cat lay limp as if having given up on trying to escape for the time being. She pondered for a moment until she said, "It was in the erm—I don't know the word in Korean—hallway but...outside?"
"Alley?"
She nodded. "It was alone."
Oh. That made some more sense. Upon further look, he noticed that the cat didn't have a collar, so he was glad that she hadn't accidentally stolen a cat and some owners back in the city were freaking out about their lost pet. Still, that meant that this cat probably had a lot of problems and didn't have any shots to protect it from any pests and diseases and whatnot. At this moment, any scratches Rei was receiving from the cat meant that these wounds would have a much higher risk of getting infected. Shit.
"Okay," he said, more to himself than to her, but he couldn't let her get any more hurt than she already was and he needed to put the cat somewhere before she'd end up strangling the poor thing to death. "How about, for right now, you let the cat go so you don't hurt 'em?"
She kept eye contact with him as she widened her grip and dropped the cat. The white ball of fur landed on its paws with a grunt and immediately started skittishly running around the room, hissing and yowling at the two of them.
"So," he said, ignoring the cat that was going to tear the room to shreds if it lasted too long in here, "what was your plan with the cat?"
"Have it for a little."
"Okay...do you know how to take care of a cat?"
"By keeping it alive."
He sighed. "It's a lot more than just keeping it alive, Rei. Cats need litter boxes, which need to be cleaned out daily, and food and vaccinations and—" And a lot more. He stopped, forgetting that she probably didn't understand half the words he just said. He wasn't trying to freak her out, but he wanted her to understand the amount of responsibility she'd have to take when caring for another living being that wasn't herself.
Rei shrugged. If she didn't understand what he said, she didn't show it.
"Talking about vaccinations," Hamchan said, realizing that he still hasn't brought up the topic yet, so they might as well get it out of the way, "you need to have yours done."
"Vaccinations?"
"Right now your immune system isn't doing the best as you're now in a new country, and you need to get some antibodies before you get sick or something else happens. Normally, children get them when they're young, and then every few years once they get older, which means that you've probably missed...a lot." Kang ran his fingers through his hair, trying to explain the situation as simply as possible to her, knowing that he was failing horribly. "I wanted to get your shots done earlier, but I didn't want to spring it over you the moment we got you to Korea. And then you ended up having a concussion and I didn't want anything to be compromised, which is why I'm only telling you now."
She tilted her head, staring off into the distance as she tried to understand what he had said. He could tell that the idea of receiving her vaccinations bothered her. If he were in her situation, he'd be wary too. Injecting something into her body without knowing or having any say in it? He knew that she'd have to trust him and that nothing would happen, but how far did her trust reach?
Her eyes flickered back to his, and whatever had replaced that original interest was now distant.
"...When?"
"Within the next few days. Preferably tomorrow, or, well, later today," he added on upon remembering that it was no longer today but tomorrow and today was now yesterday.
Okay. He needed some sleep. They both did. He had been working on this report for much longer than he hoped, and he still hadn't finished it, which he needed to do.
"Sorry, Rei. I shouldn't have told you right now. This is a conversation for later on when we're both working on a night's sleep." Rei nodded, probably ready to end the conversation too. "You can keep the cat," he added as he remembered why she originally came into the room and a hissing noise made him do a double take as he said, "Oh my God, it peed." He bit his tongue before he'd say anything else so he wouldn't let his frustration show. "Rei, please take the cat and go."
"Yes, sir," she said, her voice void of emotion as if she were speaking on autopilot. Her eyes dulled—which was something they did whenever she heard something she didn't like, he noticed—as if she were trying to cut off her emotions so no one would know what she was thinking. He frowned. He hadn't meant for this conversation to go this route for her, and he hated to see her look so much like Ijin when he first came to the base. Like a doll.
He figured the idea of her getting her vaccinations done would bother her, but not to this extent.
The cat was in the corner behind one of Kang's multiple bookshelves, taking small steps backward until it hit the wall as it defensively bared its teeth, tail puffed up. Rei paid no mind, not hesitating as she made her way closer until she was at arm's length. Major Kang merely blinked, taken aback at Rei's speed as she darted forward, grabbing the cat by the scruff with one hand. She stood up, making for the door all the while trying to keep it from escaping from her grasp with its oily fur.
The door clicked open as she walked through, eventually closing the door with her empty hand, the other one clenching the cat as it yowled and hissed to be let go.
***
Rei blinked, her eyes heavy from the lack of sleep as she sat on the edge of the same infirmary bed she had been laying on just yesterday. When Major Kang meant today, he really meant today. They were going to talk about it today, she thought, over a 'night's sleep' as he had said—although the conversation nor her night's sleep ever happened, to her dismay.
The cat had kept her up all night, running around and pouncing everywhere, having headbutted the wall and then her bed multiple times. Apparently, these animals were nocturnal, which she hadn't realized. It wouldn't have bothered her so much if she hadn't needed sleep as much as she needed it yesterday. Any other night would've been fine since she found that she also enjoyed staying up during the night. Unfortunately, as she kept proceeding to stifle her yawns, she was starting to grow very agitated over the whole situation (that she only had herself to blame for).
So here she was, sitting on the edge of the infirmary bed, awaiting to take these 'vaccinations' or whatever Major Kang called them. They sounded to be in the form of shots which slightly frightened her. She had barely tolerated the needles when she first woke up after her fall almost a week ago, but no matter how she tried to rationalize it, this was different.
The idea of putting these unknown antibiotics into her body, which could very easily have traces of substances that could kill her, did more than bother her—more than it logically should have.
It felt as if something in her subconscious was screaming at her no. She wasn't sure why she felt this way, as she couldn't remember ever having to deal with needles, although she was aware that there was a portion of her memory that was missing from when she was super young. So the best thing was for her to put those thoughts away and deal with them another time, only hoping that those memories would come back eventually to give her some reasonable explanation.
Rei turned her eyes toward the movement of the side door to the room opening, in walking Major Kang and a nurse who she hadn't yet seen before. The nurse gripped some sort of white, plastic panel which must've held the vaccinations and antibodies.
Rei swallowed down a shaky breath, clutching the sleeves of her shirt, wishing she felt the weight of her bomber jacket which was being cleaned due to the immense amount of blood it had received. She missed it dearly despite knowing that she'd be gaining it back shortly. Tapping the side of the bed with her fingers in intervals of three, she waited as the nurse placed the tray on the rolling cart.
Rei's heart raced erratically as she eyed the syringes, Major Kang's voice bringing her out of her thoughts as he said, "I'm sorry for such short notice, Rei." He stopped next to the bed, waiting for Rei to respond; however, she only had the energy to glance at him, before going back and idly staring at the needles.
She couldn't tell if her goosebumps were because she was cold sitting next to the vent below her or due to the fear bubbling underneath her skin.
"We're also going to get a cheek swab for your DNA test if that's alright. Just so we can get a few things done at once," Major Kang continued, slightly hesitant as if wary of her response.
"DNA test?"
"Well, it will hopefully help us find where you're from, and from there, we'd be able to find if you have any living relatives by reaching out through the database."
"...I don't know my name."
"That's alright. We don't need it with the DNA test."
Why was he so insistent about her needing to get a DNA test done? Did she really need to know who her relatives were? She could take care of herself just fine, so it wasn't like she needed a parent watching over her after all this time.
Rei turned to Major Kang, nodding just enough for him to see that she agreed with what he was asking. She knew that questions would turn into demands over a certain amount of time, so she might as well agree now than have to go through the troubles later on.
Major Kang spoke a few words with the nurse in a hushed tone before the latter pulled out a capsule from her tray, clipping the top open to reveal a cotton swab-looking thing that Rei assumed to be the object she'd be using for her DNA test.
"I'm sure Major Kang told you to not eat or drink anything 30 minutes prior before coming here?"
Rei immediately picked up that the nurse talked with a hard-edged voice and a no-shit type deal as most medics Rei had dealt with did; however, she wasn't rude, nor was she impatient.
Rei blinked, taking in the nurse's words. It didn't matter that he hadn't told her as she seldom remembered or wanted to eat breakfast—but the fact that he was supposed to let her know of some things beforehand instead of fucking springing it on her as he had done—made her incredibly ticked off. She responded with a nod once more as it wouldn't have mattered if he told her or not, making sure to ignore Kang's guilty eyes as he tried to get her to look at him.
If he really cared, he would've waited.
She knew that she'd have to get the vaccinations at some point, as it sounded like they were mandatory, but she thought that she'd at least have a say in it when she and Major Kang were to talk. Today. Instead of having the vaccinations done today.
The nurse's eyes flickered back and forth between Rei and Major Kang, then handed over the cotton swab with gloved hands. Rei took it, twirling it between her fingers as she looked at the nurse with skeptical eyes. It was a thing of cotton and plastic. How was it supposed to read her DNA?
Upon noticing her confusion, the nurse said, "Rub the cotton on the inside of your cheek. It will collect some of your DNA, and we'll send it off to a lab to have it checked."
Oh. So the cotton didn't read her DNA right away. That made more sense now.
Without another thought, Rei held the swab firmly in her fingers and placed it in her mouth. She rubbed it against the inside of her cheek as the woman told her to, trying to dismiss the agitating sensation of the cotton against her teeth. She pulled it out after a few moments, hoping it would do the trick, and placed it into the open vial the nurse was holding. The woman clicked it closed, placing it back onto the tray. She reached for one of the needles, positioning the pieces together.
The nurse turned to Rei. "You can't wear long sleeves for the vaccinations. I need to have access to your arm." The nurse looked at Major Kang with an exasperated sigh, knowing that he very well had not talked to Rei at all beforehand.
"Okay," Rei said simply as the nurse turned around to finish piecing everything together. She thought she'd only have to pull her sleeves up to her elbow, which was exactly why she hadn't thought twice about wearing her normal long-sleeved shirt. It didn't make sense since the last time she had a needle in her, it was connected to the crook of her elbow, but this was a different situation, she presumed.
With a sigh, she went to pull off her shirt, trying not to strain her wounded shoulder.
"Oh—" the nurse said, turning around when she finished, Rei's shirt bundled up in a ball on her lap. Why did she seem so surprised? Was Rei not supposed to take off her shirt? Was that not what she had just been told to do?
Major Kang let out a sigh to her right, although stopped when she felt him glimpse over her bandaged wounds. Shit. She kind of forgot about that. She could tell he was having trouble looking away as his eyes kept passing over one spot on her arm multiple times. Rei looked down, realizing that what he was looking at wasn't a bandaged wound.
It was a scar.
It was an ugly scar.
It was one of the first she had received from the Camp to her dismay. It had been caused by a jagged knife, which was owned by a number who never made it into the 40. Because of the knife's properties, the wound wasn't smooth when he cut her, running from her mid forearm to her triceps on her right arm. Portions of the scar had been covered by some of the bandages, but most of it was still fairly visible.
But she didn't understand why that had bothered Major Kang so much.
Of course, she had scars.
Everyone had scars.
"Well," the nurse said, bringing her out of her daze, "we can't do one shot on each side if you have your shoulder bandaged like that."
"So are you only going to do one, or both on one side?" Major Kang said.
"Both," the nurse replied. "She'll be fine. Her arm will just be a lot sorer compared to only one arm receiving the shot."
Rei frowned.
"Are there any other side effects I should know about?" Rei said, trying not to sound too agitated, although the situation wasn't helping.
"You'll probably feel a little sick. Maybe a headache or nausea, but you'll definitely feel fatigued. You shouldn't be bedridden or have a fever, so if you have any worse symptoms, let one of us know."
Rei nodded.
What the fuck.
These were the side effects that Major Kang managed to not inform her about?
Rie let out a long breath, although it was hidden as the nurse faced her, saying, "Is it okay if I touch you?" Rei tilted her chin, hiding her confusion with a nod. She wasn't sure if she was more confused over the fact that it was a weird question (as she had never been asked anything like that before)—or that she liked that the woman had asked her.
Rei shivered as her skin made contact with the alcohol wipe.
"Ready?"
Rei nodded, swallowing thickly as the nurse picked up the first syringe out of two, flicking the sides to remove any air bubbles. Rei's mouth started to hurt as she clenched her jaw for an elongated time, waiting for it all to end. The nurse held her arm, trying not to touch her bandages. The grip was soft but firm enough to most likely keep a steady hold to inject the fluids.
Rei's breath caught in her chest as she felt the needle touch her skin, everything flashing black around her despite her eyes staying open. Did someone turn off the lights?
She grimaced, mouth drying as someone's smoky breath feathered against the side of her throat, and she let out a soft whine. Her heart raced, her heartbeat audible in her ears and a scream strangled in the depths of her chest. She felt a flicker of pain on her neck and her hand raced to cup the wound to ease the pain. Her fingers came back slick with blood.
No, no, no, no—
Rei jerked her eyes toward the sound of fingers snapping in her face, her hands at her sides.
She was back in the infirmary, the bright fluorescent lights a stark contrast to just before. Rei batted her eyes, taking in her surroundings with weak muscles.
"Rei?" Major Kang said, bringing himself to one knee so they were near the same height. Her hands kneaded into each other on top of her shirt, palms clammy as she met his eyes. My jacket, she thought miserably. "Are you alright?"
She nodded, slow to respond.
"Well, you're all done, kid. Good job."
Wait. The nurse did both of them already? How was that possible?
Rei lowered her head, turning her hands over and over. Just moments ago, she was bleeding—was she not? She swore the pain she had just felt was so real.
Her thoughts became a jumble, only one question sticking out.
What was that?
***
a/n
the incorrect quotes that started it all:
rei sneaking into the base with a huge coat:
major kang: what's in the coat?
rei's coat: meow
rei:
major kang:
rei: drugs