"We have to go." These words were enough for Taemin to understand that trouble was afoot unless he followed Jinki - no questions asked. 

He took a quick scan of his surroundings and registered the probability of having scaled this height out of his own free will. If Jinki’s only objective was to lead them away from here then Taemin had no objections.

Jinki was already crossing the window sill to return to the building's interior without any offer of help. His civic duty to Taemin had been fulfilled, and he had no qualms leaving Taemin to fend for himself for the rest of the night. 

This is the end of it, Jinki thought. This would be the last time that I deal with this psycho. I just need to go home, take a hot shower and wash away the remnants of today. So long as they both evacuate in record time, there would be no risk of bumping Into any guards possibly roused from their posts by Jinki’s chilling scream. Superstitions were rife in this camp and the guards were not prone to go looking for the source of trouble, especially if the disturbance had only been momentous. 

Taemin trailed quietly behind Jinki trying to piece together the moments that led to their second encounter of the day. He distinctly remembered the contempt mirrored in this Doctor’s eyes as he dialled for guards to seize a younger recruit who brandished a pair of scissors without any real faculty to harm. Would it have been so wrong to talk him down? He was but a child. Taemin was older and fully anticipating that the Doctor would cancel him out just like he had done thoughtlessly with the kid.

But Taemin also knew they were in the wee hours of night and if he did not speak up, he would have no roof over his head for the coming weeks. Why else would he be loitering around camp with his condition? If one had asked for any form of concession for in-camp mates with sleepwalking syndrome, they would be slapped with extra cleaning duty to drive them to exhaustion and maybe assigned a self-sanitised toilet cubicle to retire to.

He caught up to Jinki and took the wrist of the doctor who snapped at the physical contact with disdain. 

“What do you want.”

“Let me explain.”

“Save it. I don’t want to deal with you and your problems.” 

“But you practically just saved my life?” Taemin mused with a hint of doubt shading his eyes. If he had misconstrued Jinki’s role as altruistic saviour, he would need a different approach in seeking favours. Had he forgotten how the doctor had turned the recruit in for disciplinary action just hours before? Of course he would need some collateral to use against Lee Jinki.

His saviour’s response was a haughty scoff. “And then what? Have your brains splattered on the pavement and someone get on my case as the in-camp psych OIC (overall-in-charge) as to why this wasn’t prevented? No thanks, I have enough work as it is.” Jinki saw Taemin gasp and realised it was too late to shut his gap. In the back of his mind, an inkling of regret was faintly registered at the hard-nosed person he had become.

But instead of a display of self-pity or rage at his insensitivity, Jinki saw Taemin smile. There was a sheet of pre-punched paper in his hands, and Taemin held it gleefully like a child boasting of perfect grades to a prideful parent. “If work is so important to you, why haven’t you missed this?”

The sheet paper was snatched by the incredulous doctor who was sure of its insignificance - probably no more than a day’s excuse chit issued by him on a whim for a quickie with the night duty guard - of course he was no angel. Yes he is gay as they come. Everybody needs a ual outlet, don’t they? 

He was barely fifteen when he realised his stepfather’s caresses were more ually charged than those of his mother’s. Who could blame him for his budding youth? Certainly not his mother. She was just as enthusiastic in goading his stepfather on while the breadwinner’s gruff hands roamed Jinki’s supple body after a long day at the office. She kept mum as a subservient homemaker, and nothing fazed either parent as long as order was kept. Jinki just imagined himself as one of his stepfather’s many cherished prize-winning bonsai - a delicate sapling to prune to its desirable state and keep his waywardness in check.

Taemin observed Jinki carefully as his face turned dark in a series of complex motions. 

“Whe..where did you get this?” Taemin knew from Jinki’s wavering tone that he had gained the upper hand. 

“From your file of P-tags.” Jinki scrunched the paper in distress at the impervious answer Taemin gave. He was close to laying his hands on him but was afraid he wouldn’t be able to retract them once triggered.

“You took the file?? Where’s the rest of it???”

“Finally I have your attention. Anyone could have taken it, it was right under my nose and I barely stepped 2 minutes into your office.“

Taemin had every right to be smug because Jinki was careless to leave a confidential file in the open and furthermore out of his plane of vision. He had been so buried in work that the file was left askew on an adjoining low cabinet, dog-earred and splattered with post-its to remind him of coming back to it after completing other tasks at-hand. The lowness of the cabinet explained why Taemin was able to swipe the file at an elbow’s length and lodge it behind his back without detection. Pity that his office was in disarray on this particular day, but no amount of effort to get his together could have foresworn prying eyes and hands of people determined to bring him down. 

Thief!, screamed the accusatory look Jinki shot at him. But even then, Taemin sensed that Jinki’s anger was simmering down as his right brain dominated and arrived at the foregone conclusion of blackmail and suddenly Jinki looked strangely acquainted and comfortable with the familiarity of his situation.

He gave a loud sigh and Taemin nearly jumped out of his own skin. 

“What is it? You want ? My door is open. Just make an appointment.“ Suddenly all Jinki cared about was to go to sleep. His sleep-deprived brain couldn’t process anything beyond. 

Taemin was a little flustered. Had he overblown the importance of the collateral file? P-tags was classified information on soldiers dealing with psychiatric issues. Many of them were young and vulnerable, with likes of the recruit who was prone to rash actions and unstable emotions. A psych OIC was responsible for keeping patient confidentiality plus ensuring no harm came to them under enlistment and vice versa. Lee Jinki could lose his job if files were leaked and patient confidentiality broken. Some of these information could even be used against criminal offenses in court because it’s not uncommon for street thugs to treat army camp like their personal boxing dojo and break some faces and limbs, then plead a case of mental incapacity to lighten the sentence.

The bullying happens all the time. The trick is to minimise visible damage and keep victims silent. Above all - Don't get caught.

"Are you coming?" called Lee Jinki as he sauntered down the dark corridors. This is just acting calm, Taemin spat softly through gritted teeth and hurried after him.