Sanction -Minho-

Chapter 61

Grace was able to stop the bleeding. She had never fixed such a large-scale injury before, but she had managed to do it. Of course, someone with a better understanding of medical knowledge would need to fix him properly, but that would have to wait until they returned to the shipyard. For now, Thomas was alive.

Jorge and Vince were at the front of the Berg, flying it back to the shipyard. Grace sat away from the others, head in her hands as she thought about the recent events that had taken place. Thomas and Minho were alive, which was good, but Teresa and Newt weren't. They had died. Newt was gone. Teresa was gone. Grace never imagined she would lose them.

Grace felt as if she had lost a lot. Jeff. Chuck. Clint. Zart. Ben. Newt. Teresa. And so many more. They were all gone. How was Grace supposed to handle that?

Suddenly, someone sat down beside her. She felt their shoulder against her. Grace moved back, wiping her tears quickly. The person beside her was Minho. He looked exhausted. She couldn't imagine what he had been through. "Hey," he said softly.

"Hi." Grace had imagined their reunion millions of times in her head. Only, she didn't imagine it like this.

Without thinking, Minho reached over and wiped the tears she had missed. His eyes never left her. He studied every inch of her face. The last time he saw her, she had a severe injury to her forehead. Now, it was nothing more than a scar. "I really missed you."

Grace blinked a few times. "I really missed you too." He kept staring at her. "What is it?" She assumed he wanted to say something.

"I thought of you every day while I was there," he whispered. "But you're so much more beautiful than I remember."

Grace couldn't help but smile, letting her head fall against his shoulder to hide the blush that coated her cheeks. "I'm so glad you're alive, Minho."

He let his forehead fall against the side of her head, breathing in her scent. "Took you guys long enough."

That laugh that escaped her caught the attention of a few others. Brenda glanced at her friend, smiling to herself. "Aris said the same thing."

"Smart Shank."

Grace moved away, resting her chin against his shoulder. She was beyond grateful that Minho was alive and safe with them. That was all she wanted for months. Adjusting her body, she felt something in her pocket. That was when it occurred to her that she had something that belonged to Minho. "I have something for you." That got his attention. Minho stared at her curiously. Grace pulled the wooden heart out of her pocket.

His eyes seemingly brightened when he saw it. "You have it?!" He took it from her quickly. The action surprised her.

"Woah."

Minho pressed it against his chest, a vibrant grin on his face. "I thought it was gone for good." Grace was shocked by his attitude. It seemed to mean a lot to him.

"Why do you have this?"

His smile only brightened as if he had been waiting for the day Grace would ask that question. "You stole my heart. I only thought it was fair I stole yours as well." The words came tumbling out of his mouth so easily. Grace wouldn't have been surprised if he had rehearsed the line before. She stared at him, blinking a few times. The situation was almost unbelievable. Before Minho could say anything else, she moved forward. Her lips met his in a passionate kiss. Six months apart. Six months of pain, fear, anger, and sadness, all expressed in one kiss. Teresa and Newt were dead. It still didn't feel real. Grace had never imagined their journey home would be harder than their journey to the city. She pulled away from him, biting her lip nervously. "I've also been looking forward to that."