› THE NIGHT BEFORE:
Yoohyeon slightly opened her eyes, noticing she was hanging upside down. She widened her eyes instantly, looking around as to how she could've possibly gotten into this position after passing out for a few hours.
She tried to remember how it happened, only remembering in how much pain she was and how she almost turned. The only possible way for her to have not turned infected was if she was under UV lights, and the only way for that to have happened would be if she was found..
"Is she awake..?"
Yoohyeon turned her head to her left, seeing a girl with a mask, maybe younger than her, holding a knife while visibly being cautious of her.
"M-Maybe she's turned, don't go near her!"
A masked boy from Yoohyeon's right spoke, making her turn to look at him and scaring him even more.
"I-I'm sorry, please don't hurt us.." The boy said with a stutter, standing behind the girl beside him. "You're such a scaredy cat! If she wanted to hurt us, she would've tried to escape and done that immediately.." The girl scoffed, walking closer to Yoohyeon and tilting her head with a glare.
"Just what exactly are you, Kim Yoohyeon?" The girl said, surprising Yoohyeon because she knew her identity. "How do you even know who I am?" Yoohyeon asked in worry, slightly making the masked girl confused because she expected Yoohyeon to act hostile instead of curious. "I'll tell you only if you tell me how the hell you're not turned." The masked girl crossed her arms, making Yoohyeon sigh in defeat.
"I'll tell you if you get me down from here. I'm feeling too dizzy to even speak." Yoohyeon shook her head, earning a scoff from the boy. "You might kill us for all we know!" He scoffed again, suddenly getting a slam on his head in return that surprised him.
"Shut up Jiho! She's too weak to attack us anyway, so I'll free her." The girl scoffed, walking towards the rope that was on Yoohyeon's feet. She abruptly cut it, making the older girl fall down on her back and wince.
"What a nice landing.. I definitely have good experience with landing on my back.." Yoohyeon groaned, releasinh herself from the ropes that were around her hands.
"Now speak. What are you exactly?" The girl pointed the knife at Yoohyeon, making her raise her hands up. "I don't know what I am, all I know is that I can be infected whenever I want to." Yoohyeon said, closing her eyes and showing her black-green eyes for a second before switching back. "I'm not planning to hurt you two. I just want answers without any fights since I can tell you two aren't fond of battles." Yoohyeon assured the two, taking her hatchet from her side pocket and throwing it away.
The two gulped, not expecting the rumor they've heard to be true. They sat down, giving eachother a nod and taking their masks off to show they didn't mean anything bad as well. Yoohyeon glanced at both of them and frowned, realizing just how young those two probably were. They slightly smiled, bowing down to the older girl.
"We're from the 'Explorers' faction. I'm Lee Jiho and that's Kim Jiwon, my comrade." The boy introduced himself and his friend. "We know about your identity because of a weird group of Bulldozers. Only they know of your identity because they want the knowledge for themselves.. And they know about the infected thing because of some fight you've had with Sacred." Jiho added, making Yoohyeon tilt her head and nod because it made more sense to her now.
"Oh wow, they really do know a lot..- But you guys seem so young.. How are you two Explorers?" Yoohyeon asked, getting a little sigh in return from Jiwon. "We signed in with the faction last month because our
survivor crew got attacked by mutated infected.. We are both 17 and it's our only way of providing food and stuff for our people." Jiwon answered, lowering her head.
"I'm.. I'm sorry if it's a hard thing to talk about.." Yoohyeon looked down, getting a little chuckle from Jiho. "It's just how it is for us, nothing new. Don't worry, you can ask us questions, but we'll ask you stuff back as well." Jiho said, earning a nod from Yoohyeon. She saw them as smart and experienced kids and didn't plan to hide too much stuff from them. After all, she could easily get away if they had any ulterior moves.
"Well.. What city are you two from?" Yoohyeon awkwardly asked, getting a little chuckle in return from both. "That's the first thing you will ask? Really?" Jiwon laughed, repositioning herself because she felt a little more comfortable around Yoohyeon now. "I'm not the best when it comes to questions.. And I don't really have much to ask you two, so I'll ask generic questions so I can get to know what you two are like." Yoohyeon answered with a smile, surprising the two. She didn't seem as threatening as they believed she could be.
"If that's so.. I'm from Incheon and Jiho is from here." Jiwon simply answered the older girl's answer, earning a little happy hum from her in return. "I'm from Incheon as well!" Yoohyeon showed her fist for a fist bump, taking aback the younger by this, but she still accepted the gesture. "Okay, I'll ask now. Why do you collect SYM magnets?" Jiwon asked straight-forwardly, making Yoohyeon widen her eyes.
"How do you- Wait, did you take the magnet from me?" Yoohyeon asked after searching through her pockets. Jiho showed the magnet to the older girl, hesitantly handing it to her. "We're sorry for taking it, but it surprised us because we thought it was stolen from the Bluebirds." Jiho scratched his head, making Yoohyeon tilt her head in confusion. "The Bluebirds? What's that about?" Yoohyeon asked, getting a little head-shake from Jiwon.
"Our question first. We'll tell you if you honestly tell us why you have it." Jiwon sternly said, earning a sigh in return. "I have a little mission with someone I know and we're trying to find them all to see what all of the SYM drama is about. I found this one in that jewelry shop you guys captured me at." Yoohyeon answered, not giving much more details about it because they didn't really ask about it.
"Now it's my turn. Can you tell me what the Bluebirds' deal is?" Yoohyeon asked with a little smile, not wanting to scare off the kids.
"When we became Explorers, we were told not to mess with them because their 'Motherbird' knew a lot about SYM." Jiho said. "And the curious kids we were, we wanted to know more and we saw them having a SYM magnet and hiding it in one of their stashes." Jiwon added, followed by a nod from Jiho. "And a week or so ago, we saw a person infiltrating their supply station and leave with a magnet just like that one in hand." Jiho added, pointing at the item Yoohyeon was holding.
"But when me and Jiwon followed that woman and kept a look on her, we saw another person taking it and getting chased by an Icebreaker, so I'm sure that the magnet is in your possession judging by your uniform." Jiwon finished, surprising Yoohyeon by that information.
"So that's how Bora got the magnet.. You kids know your stuff, that's very impressive. Even I didn't know that." Yoohyeon nodded in approval, making Jiwon awkwardly fiddle with her hands. "W-We know because my dad used to work for SYM and everything SYM related makes me interested.." Jiwon said, shocking Yoohyeon by that claim.
"Wait.. Your father worked there? What's his na-"
Right as Yoohyeon was about to continue the question, Jiho's radio buzzed and he quickly picked it up, instantly frowning at what he was told and widening his eyes. He looked at his friend beside him, alerting her because of that.
"The others got attacked by Sacred.. Let's go check up on them!" Jiho exclaimed in worry, shocking Jiwon by that. "They did!? We need to go!" Jiwon stood up, glancing at Yoohyeon for a quick second. "We're sorry for leaving you like that, but it's really urgent.." Right as Jiwon was about to turn around to run after Jiho, Yoohyeon stopped her.
"Can I help? I promise I'm a good fighter against those little assholes." Yoohyeon picked up her hatchet, showing a little smile. "Are you sure? They could be a lot.." Jiwon hesitantly stepped closer, hearing a little chuckle from Yoohyeon as she swung her hatchet around and started walking infront of Jiwon. "Killing those pests is my specialty, don't worry. Let's go save your people." Yoohyeon looked back with a smile, making Jiwon smile as well as she ran infront of the older and lead the way.
› 10 MINUTES LATER:
After a little run, the three reached a rooftop base and hid behind a wall, seeing a dozen of Sacred torturing their friends by kicking their tied up bodies and throwing small pebbles at them. Jiho frowned at the view, feeling his eyes shake out of anxiety while Jiwon was close to tearing up.
"They're so many.. We won't be able to fight them all.." Jiho weakly said, earning a little head pat from Yoohyeon. "Leave it to me. Just make sure this UV light will face me the whole time." Yoohyeon assured while handing him a flashlight, showing a little smile to them.
"You're not actually planning to turn into an infected, right? What if you completely lose control and we'll have to kill you afterwards..?" Jiwon worriedly asked, looking at Yoohyeon with a more gentle look than they first met. "Then you'll have to kill me. But, that won't happen if the UV light is on me the whole time. I trust you two, so I hope you guys trust me as well." Yoohyeon glanced at both, smiling when she saw how determined they were once they saw their friends getting hit by the Sacred.
"We trust you Yoohyeon.. Go save our friends and we'll watch your back at all times." Jiwon sternly said, making Yoohyeon chuckle. "Affirmative." The Icebreaker girl jokingly saluted, fixing her stance and preparing to fight.
"Hello little fuckers! Do you remember me?" Yoohyeon shouted with a smile, earning the Sacred's attention. Two of them widened their eyes, taking a few steps back. "I remember seeing that chick before.. She killed so many of our guys with her bare hands! I'm not risking this shit man, I'm out of here." One Sacred said and immediately fled the area, followed by another guy and a woman that were scared of Yoohyeon's notoriety.
"Awe~, only seven of you are left now? Where's the fun in that?" Yoohyeon taunted them, making the remaining men grit their teeth and growl. "Don't think of yourself as someone mighty, you bitch! We'll torture you even more than these kids here!" A Sacred said with a disturbing laughter, licking his knife and dashing first towards Yoohyeon.
Yoohyeon closed her eyes, smirking to herself. Since it was nighttime, her infected abilities were much stronger than usual. Because she was outside, the chances of her not turning back to a human were much higher, but she was calmer than usual, since she knew she'd be safe. She had two smart kids watching her back after all.
...
The girl's eyes turned into their infected color, shocking the Sacred that were looking at her. They all widened their eyes, suddenly smirking.
"It's the chick that those weird Bulldozers told us to be wary of. Go get her head!" The Sacred shouted, starting a battle cry between the others. Yoohyeon just tilted her head, sighing to herself. "Idiots.."
Right as the Sacred was about to slice her neck, she grabbed his head with her hand and squeezed it hard, breaking the back of his skull in a second.
"Alright, which weakling is next in line?" Yoohyeon taunted them by sticking her tongue out, enraging them even more. "Don't let her do that again! Everyone attack at once!" Another man ordered, earning a loud agreeing shout from the others as they all rushed towards Yoohyeon with their machetes out.
"This will end sooner than expected.." Yoohyeon sighed under her breath, evilly smiling at them and rushing towards the Sacred to attack as well.
The girl jumped, grabbing the first guy's head and pushing him down to smash it on the ground. She quickly looked up, seeing a machete getting closer to her face. She tilted her head to the side, dodging it in an instant as a smirk took over her. Yoohyeon pulled her hatchet out and sliced two Sacred's hands off, making them groan and fall back.
"Don't stop attacking!" An injured one ordered, making Yoohyeon even angrier. "Can't you fuckers see you're all too weak!? I'll just kill you all with my bare hands then."
Yoohyeon threw her hatchet away, grabbing one Sacred by his neck and throwing him towards one of his members, making them both fall from the rooftop to their death. She then groaned loudly, feeling a knife being stabbed on her thigh. Yoohyeon glared at the Sacred, noticing his smirk.
"The fuck are you smirking for? Are you that happy that you'll die now?" Yoohyeon said while slightly smiling back at the man, scaring him to his bone because of how terrifyingly confident she seemed.
"You're a proud monster now, but I know you'll be a crying bitch in despair once your little General Kim Minji gets slaughtered by us."
An injured Sacred said from the side, making Yoohyeon freeze on the spot by his words and look at him with pure murder on her mind.
"Say that name one more time and I'll make sure you regret breathing." Yoohyeon silently spoke, sounding much different than before. It was like her voice had been possessed by something evil, something devilish.
"So it's true.. You really do have a weak spot for her. You hear that, King?" The man smirked, waving his radio at Yoohyeon.
"We'll know who to attack once this is all ov- er.."
The Sacred paused the second he saw Yoohyeon's eyes. One of her eyes was completely blackened while the other one had it's black and green color. He gulped, dropping his radio and taking his obsidian knife out. He started waving it in panic, since his other hand was sliced and all of his other members were killed before he even knew of it.
Yoohyeon walked closer, gritting her teeth with a smile as she didn't see him as a criminal anymore, she saw him as his next meal.
...
"Hey, is this UV light even working now?" Jiho said by hitting it, making Jiwon hum in confusion. "It is, but doesn't Yoohyeon seem a bit different now? Look at her eyes, it's like she'll eat him alive!" Jiwon whisper-shouted, pointing at the older girl. "I think it's getting bad.. Should we interfere?" Jiho hesitantly said, leaving Jiwon in thought. "I don't know.. let's wai-"
*SCREAM*
Jiwon and Jiho turned their heads back towards Yoohyeon, widening their eyes at the view.
Yoohyeon's hand was cut off..
"Did you forget about me little one? Just because you sliced my hand, it doesn't mean you've killed me completely."
A Sacred woman spoke beside Yoohyeon, showing her other hand that was in tact. Yoohyeon had forgotten about her and that lead to her losing her hand.
But instead of feeling pain, Yoohyeon was even more angered. She started laughing to herself, scaring the two remaining Sacred.
"I fucking cut your hand off- The hell are you laughing for?? Are you that suicidal!?" The woman shouted in shock, soon regretting speaking because Yoohyeon was just giggling without showing any emotions in her demonic eyes.
"I promised Minji to be careful.. I'll fucking eat you alive for making me break my precious promise with her." Yoohyeon said with a terrifyingly neutral expression, frightening the two to their core. "Y-You're not even a monster, you're Satan himself.." The Sacred man tried to swing his knife at the girl, but he instantly failed because Yoohyeon punched his chest, leaving a huge bloody hole which made him drop dead on the spot.
The Sacred woman widened her eyes, trying to attack Yoohyeon, but she instantly retracted her move and took many steps back. She knew she'd be dead in a second whether she tried anything whatsoever. Yoohyeon looked at her hand on the ground, soon frowning because of a disturbingly familiar voice in her head..
"Eat her. Feed on her. Kill her."
Yoohyeon shook her head, pointing at her injured arm towards the Sacred. Soon, black goo started slowly forming from her stomach scar, moving around her clothes and soon reaching where her hand was supposed to be. It formed claws, very similar to the ones that her mother killed her father with, if not the same ones.
She pointed at the radio that was on the ground, making the Sacred woman look at it as well.
"Call your leader and tell him I'm dead. Say that General Kim Minji was just a decoy and that she has nothing to do with me." Yoohyeon said in a neutral tone, making the woman gulp in fear. "T-They won't believe me if I don't bring your head to them.." The Sacred said weakly, terrified of dying if she said something wrong.
Yoohyeon hummed, looking down. She saw her hand that was cut off right next to her foot. The girl picked it up, showing it to the woman.
"Take this hand and give it to them instead. They'll believe you if you think of a proper lie." Yoohyeon moved a claw closer to the woman's neck, making her finally agree to the order with hasty nods. The Sacred woman connected to the main settlement of her faction, gulping before speaking.
"King, w-we killed her.." She said, earning a cheer from the other side. "Good job woman! Do you have her head?" The other side asked, making the woman look at Yoohyeon.
"One wrong word and you're dead." The girl threatened with a whisper, earning a nod in return.
"N-No boss, We smashed her head to pieces so I can't bring it.. B-But I have her hand with me as proof.." The Sacred woman said, scared because the other line was silent for a second.
"It's fine, you said she's dead and that's what matters. Do whatever you want now." The other line said before disconnecting, making Yoohyeon frown. "You didn't tell them about Minji." The girl tried to sound calm, but it was obvious she was fuming with rage.
"I-I swear I would've told them, but they-"
Yoohyeon didn't let the woman finish. She already cut her head off, pushing her off the rooftop. The girl sighed, suddenly turning around and a brightly purple light blinded her vision, making her close her eyes in an instant. The second she opened her eyes again, they were back to normal as if nothing happened.
...
"Yoohyeon? Are you normal now?" Jiho asked worriedly, sighing in relief when Yoohyeon showed her sweet smile with a nod. "I'm okay, thanks for watching my back." The older girl said, brushing the boy's hair.
But then she widened her eyes, looking at the hand that was on the boy's head. She retracted it away and pointed at it in shock. "My hand is back!?" She said in a surprised tone. Jiho was left with his mouth wide open as no sound came out other than small gasps of perplexity and disbelief.
"What the fuck.." Jiho whispered to himself, but soon shook his head. "T-This is just crazy.." He added while sighing in shock, massaging his head. This night was too unbelievable for his brain to process.
Jiwon then showed up after untying her friends free, giving the older girl a hug. "You saved our friends and we saved you from losing control, so I think we're even now. And you even got your hand back somehow." She weakly chuckled.
"I'm sorry for being harsh towards you at first.. I just didn't know you were actually a nice person.." Jiwon apologized, making Yoohyeon pout and gently hug the girl back. "It's fine Jiwon, I'm not upset. Better to be wary than sorry afterwards." Yoohyeon pat the girl's back, slightly looking down when she noticed the duo's friends looking at her a bit worriedly.
"Guys, that's Kim Yoohyeon - our big savior and new friend." Jiho said with a smile, surprising Yoohyeon and the small crew. "Friend..? Are we friends?" Yoohyeon questioned with a bit of hesitation, making Jiho gently nudge her side. "What are you even saying? Whoever helps us without wanting anything in return is our friend by nature!" Jiho said happily, calling his crew over to Yoohyeon.
"If Jiho and Jiwon trust you, we shall trust you too. Thank you for saving us all." One of them said, showing a smile and bowing down to Yoohyeon. The older girl pouted, smiling to the crew. Seeing them made her remember the time she was one of the outcasts. Yoohyeon wanted to protect those kids, just like how she used to protect the outcast in the past.
"Well then, how about we have a little feast since you're all together now?" Yoohyeon suggested, showing a bag of sweets she had taken from the Icebreakers' cafeteria before starting her mission. The kids all smiled, cheering Yoohyeon's name and hugging her. This really made Yoohyeon feel nostalgic and happy..
› 30 MINUTES LATER:
The kids had their little party to celebrate their victory against the Sacred and were all mostly asleep, while Yoohyeon was watching over them with a smile.
"Hey there, aren't you going to sleep tonight?"
Yoohyeon turned her head to the right, surprised to see Jiwon awake and walking over to her.
"Says the one who is wide awake." Yoohyeon joked, tapping on the free spot that was next to her. "I always stay awake during the night to watch over them. It's a habit of mine." Jiwon answered, smiling to Yoohyeon.
"I used to do that when I was in a crew too." The older one claimed.
"Used to? What happened?" Jiwon asked, comfortably sitting while looking at the latter. "I left to join the Icebreakers so I can keep my crew safe by removing my data from the faction's database. I have a pretty bad bounty on my head after all.." Yoohyeon said with a weak smile, sighing to herself.
"That's pretty brave of you. You joined the enemy as long as your friends would be safe. You're pretty cool, Yoohyeon." The younger girl said, making Yoohyeon smile to herself. "I wouldn't have joined if I didn't have someone close to me there.. She's the one that keeps me going if I'm honest." The older said with a shy smile, making Jiwon hum.
"You mean General Kim Minji? That one Icebreaker that the Sacred mentioned?" Jiwon asked, making Yoohyeon nod in satisfaction of her guess. "You're pretty good at guessing. That's unexpected of a little kid like yourself." Yoohyeon teased, making Jiwon fake a punch that made both laugh. But right then, Yoohyeon hummed in thought after remembering something that Jiwon mentioned earlier.
"Can I ask you something?" Yoohyeon asked, getting a nod in return. "It's about earlier when you mentioned your father. You said he worked for SYM, so I'm pretty curious about that now. What is his name?" Yoohyeon asked, making Jiwon chuckle. "You wouldn't know him anyway. You're not connected to SYM in any way." Jiwon weakly said, looking at Yoohyeon's little smile in confusion.
"What if I am though?" Yoohyeon said cheekily, widening the other girl's eyes. "What!? How??" Jiwon asked in shock, scoffing with a chuckle when Yoohyeon mocked her words from earlier. "I asked first~"
"Fine fine~ You're a bigger child than me and Jiho!" Jiwon pouted, laughing when Yoohyeon mocked her pout. "Come on~ Just tell me. Pretty please?" Yoohyeon pleaded with puppy eyes. The younger girl then sighed, looking at the starry sky.
"He was one of the scientists there.. Kim Daemin.. He died without my family's knowing, which made my mother lose her mind. Because of that, she became an easy target of the Sacred's manipulation.. leading to her death as well."
Yoohyeon widened her eyes at the name, which didn't go unnoticed by Jiwon.
"What is it? Do you know him?" Jiwon asked curiously, surprised when Yoohyeon just hugged her and laughed in shock.
"Holy shit- You're alive! Oh my god!" The older girl stood up, holding her head in pure amazement while Jiwon was confused by everything.
"Don't leave me out in the open like this! What do you mean by that??" Jiwon asked again, making Yoohyeon point at herself while posing in a funny way. "I'm the daughter of your father's best friend!" Yoohyeon happily said with a smile, making Jiwon tilt her head in thought. The younger thought for a while, soon widening her eyes and pointing at Yoohyeon.
"Kim Yunseok's daughter!?" Jiwon exclaimed, laughing in shock because she didn't expect such information. Yoohyeon nodded happily, pulling Jiwon in a hug again and spinning her around. "Oh my god, you have no idea how worried I was if you were alive or not when your father mentioned you!" Yoohyeon said, making Jiwon furrow her eyebrows in realization.
"Wait, you've heard of my father before he died..?" Jiwon asked weakly, making Yoohyeon nod weakly and sit on the ground. "He was the one that informed me and my dad about the virus spreading. He told us about the UV lights thing too." Yoohyeon said while waving the flashlight. "And.. we were the ones that heard his last words.." Yoohyeon added with a weak smile, making Jiwon look at her with a saddened expression.
"What were his last words..?" Jiwon hesitantly asked, tearing up by the thought of not knowing them up until know. Yoohyeon called the little girl over to her, hugging her while sighing with a slight pout.
"He wanted us to tell you and your mother that he loves you both, but I couldn't find you this whole time.." Yoohyeon truthfully said, feeling the younger girl tremble out of suppressing her tears. "He said that he loves you, Jiwon. Those were his last words.." Yoohyeon hugged the girl tighter after Jiwon finally released her tears and cried on Yoohyeon's shoulder.
"T-Thank you Yoohyeon.. Thank you for r-remembering his last words for me.." Jiwon said while stuttering, wiping her tears and pulling out the hug to smile at the older. "I'm glad we met, because I'm sure that's what our fathers would've wanted.. Us finally meeting." Jiwon weakly said, making Yoohyeon smile. "Me too, kid. Now I'm glad you kept me upside down for hours just so we can have this talk afterwards." Yoohyeon said as a way to brighten the mood, and it worked. The younger girl was smiling and laughing while hugging onto Yoohyeon's arm.
But right then, Yoohyeon remembered something and she sighed in frustration, alerting Jiwon. The older laid down on the ground, pouting while looking at the explorer.
"I think I'm gonna get killed on the spot once I go back to my settlement.." Yoohyeon suddenly said, making Jiwon burst with laughter because of the sudden switch of mood. "That was random.. Why do you think so?" Jiwon asked, looking at Yoohyeon while playing with her boot's laces. "Before you guys captured me, I was in a radio call with my friends and one of them made up a stupid lie that I would come back with a 'surprise' for one of them." Yoohyeon sulkily informed, making Jiwon lighten up with a smile as she tapped on Yoohyeon's leg in excitement.
"Can I help you with that? I'm pretty good with picking presents for others." Jiwon offered, making Yoohyeon sit up in an instant with a smile. "Would you really help me?" The older girl asked again, giggling in happiness when Jiwon nodded while standing up.
"Let's get back to that one jewelry shop and hopefully find something pretty! Is it a gift for someone close to you?" Jiwon asked, making Yoohyeon slightly widen her eyes. "Okay, you're creeping me out now. How are your guesses so good?" Yoohyeon asked while ruffling the girl's hair, making her chuckle.
"It's pretty obvious, to be honest. And I feel like it's for that Kim Minji lady since you acted very defensive of her when she got mentioned." Jiwon cheekily sneered, making Yoohyeon scoff. "Like hell it is for her!..- Well, yeah, it's for her." Yoohyeon awkwardly admitted, earning another chuckle from the younger.
"I knew it! Let's go find a nice gift for your princess or whatever~." Jiwon said, shocking Yoohyeon. "How do you know I call her princess!?" Yoohyeon asked worriedly, making Jiwon hum in shock. "Huh? Do you really call her that? I just randomly said it as a joke.. Is she your girlfriend?" Jiwon curiously asked, making Yoohyeon slightly flustered by that last question.
"N-No, she's not! We're just pretty close, y'know.. She calls me her puppy and I call her my princess. All friendly stuff." Yoohyeon said with a smile, soon glaring at the teasing looks on the younger's face. "I usually don't call my friends with such names, but you do you, lil' pupper!" Jiwon laughed, making Yoohyeon tickle her and carry her like a bag of potatoes. The two got closer sooner than expected, which made both pretty happy that they've found a new friend.
A friend that definitely had to show up sooner or later.
› 20 MINUTES LATER:
After a while of walking and talking, the two reached the jewelry store and Jiwon instantly got serious.
"Okay, so, I have an idea in mind and I think you might like it." Jiwon said with a smile, instantly searching all around the store and finding all kinds of rings, necklaces and crystal-like carvings of many gemstones and such. "I'm listening, young ma'am." Yoohyeon leaned on the glass counter, looking at every ring the girl was showing.
"Do you know what color she likes? Any preferences?" Jiwon asked with a smile, soon dropping it when Yoohyeon scratched her head. "I don't really know.. But. red suits her a lot.. And she might like rings more than necklaces.." Yoohyeon said with a shrug, making Jiwon facepalm herself. "You're a lost cause- Whatever, let's just do red." Jiwon scoffed, taking out every ruby gemstone from the expensive necklaces.
"Okay, what's her real name? Is it actually Kim Minii?" Jiwon asked, making Yoohyeon hum at that question. "Yeah, it is Kim Minji. Why do you ask?" Yoohyeon answered, making Jiwon frown while looking surprised. "You found yourself someone from a noble family.. I'm jealous..." Jiwon mumbled, making Yoohyeon chuckle at that confession. That young girl really knew her stuff..
"What are you trying to do?" Yoohyeon curiously asked, seeing the younger girl using the jewelry shop's super glue to plaster something on two rings. "You'll see~ Just tell me your favorite color." Jiwon asked again, nodding when Yoohyeon answered. "It's green. But.. do you need help?-"
"Nope, no help is needed. In the meantime, you can go look for some flowers." Jiwon said while
yawning and concentrating on the rings, making Yoohyeon frown. "What flowers exactly?" The older asked, earning a shrug in return. "I dunno, something that your 'princess' would like." Jiwon mumbled, visibly trying to focus on the rings without falling asleep.
Yoohyeon just hummed to herself, walking out the jewelry store and looking at the sky.
"Just what kind of flowers would Minji like? Roses? Tulips? Lavenders?-"
"Can you be quiet and just go!? I'm trying to focus here!" Jiwon shouted from inside, startling Yoohyeon. "Can YOU keep quiet!? I'm trying to think here?" Yoohyeon shouted back, making Jiwon scoff. "Sure, keep on shouting so the infected can hear you and kill us both!" Jiwon whisper-shouted, making Yoohyeon sigh and shake her head. She knew the younger was right with that one.
"Alright then.. let's look around for some flowers."
› AN HOUR LATER:
"Jiwon, I got blue roses! Look!- Oh."
Yoohyeon entered the jewelry store happily, soon pouting when she noticed Jiwon had fallen asleep midway into making the custom rings. "You should've said you're tired, you little kid.." Yoohyeon sighed, walking towards the counter and she widened her eyes with a big smile after seeing what the younger had started making.
"Wow.. I love them.." Yoohyeon whispered to herself, staring at the design Jiwon had picked for the rings. Yoohyeon took a closer look, trying to grasp the idea and she then nodded, understanding everything.
"I see.. I'll continue from here, so you can sleep peacefully now." Yoohyeon caressed Jiwon's head, carrying her to her crew's base first before continuing on the rings. When she returned to the store, she sat down and cracked her knuckles, immediately getting serious.
Yoohyeon almost messed everything up a few times, but she got the hang of using the hot glue and was ready with the rings in about an hour. The girl stretched her arms, seeing it was dawn already. Yoohyeon blew on the rings to make them dry faster, glancing outside to see if the infected had started waking up. To her fortune, they weren't awakened yet.
"Alright.. Time to go back now." Right as Yoohyeon was about to leave, she slightly smiled at the thought she had and she ran back to the kids, waking them up.
"Yoohyeon..?- Wait, the rings-"
"Don't worry kiddo, I finished them." Yoohyeon assured Jiwon, patting her head. She then stood up again, handing them a map that she kept with herself. The kids looked at the map in confusion, looking back at Yoohyeon for an explanation.
"It's a map to my old crew's base in Busan. Since the Sacred will probably be after you, I want you all to go there and say that I was the one that sent you. And don't worry, they'll accept you guys as one of our family." Yoohyeon explained with a smile, making everyone teary eyed, especially Jiwon and Jiho. "Thank you Yoohyeon.. truly.." Jiwoo hugged the older, followed by every other kid in a group hug. Yoohyeon looked up, trying to suppress her happy tears from releasing because she felt glad.
She was glad that she managed to save many people, just like her father wanted her to.
"I'm going to go back now. If you ever need anything, you know where I am." Yoohyeon pat every child's head, waving at them before leaving. Now the real trouble occurred..
How would she explain everything to Bora?
...
Yoohyeon entered the settlement, carefully going to her dorm. She was just about to enter inside, but she didn't want to wake up Minjoon. She didn't want to mess up the surprise if she knocked on Minji and Hayoung's door as well, so she went to Bora and Yoobin's one. Right as she stepped infront of their dorm's door, Yoohyeon got stopped by a familiar voice.
"You really have the nerves to show up now without informing me, don't you?" Bora spoke from aside, making Yoohyeon awkwardly wave at her. "Good morning..?" Yoohyeon said with a weak smile, expecting to be scolded when Bora walked closer..
But she got hugged instead.
"Bora..?" Yoohyeon weakly uttered, noticing her best friend was close to breaking down. "I'm so happy to see you Yooh.. You don't even know how worried I was the whole night.. I couldn't even sleep.." Bora hugged the younger tighter, tearing up at the thought of never being able to see her again.
"I'm sorry for worrying you so much.. But I'm okay now, I promise." Yoohyeon said with a slight smile. "And I have a little story to tell you. I'm sure you'll be very surprised." Yoohyeon added, dragging Bora inside and waking up Yoobin by that.
The youngest then explained everything in detail to the two, giggling when their mouths were open wide the whole time. The whole rollercoaster that Yoohyeon went through was way too much for the two women to take in.
"Wait- You found Daemin's daughter!?" Bora whisper-shouted, smiling when Yoohyeon happily nodded. "Yup! And I'm sure they're on their way to our outcasts now!" Yoohyeon added, dropping on the bed while looking at her hand.
"I'm still shocked that this thing is back somehow.. I have no idea what Minji would do to me if I showed up without a hand." Yoohyeon chuckled, getting startled when Bora clapped with her hands. "Let's surprise her by saying you got hurt! She'll come rushing here out of panic and then boom! You'll show the gifts and it's a happy ending!" Bora suggested like a child, earning a nod from Yoobin in an instant.
"I like that idea!" Yoobin showed thumbs up.
"Let's call over Hayoung. We'll need someone to watch over us since this little rascal is all bloodied up." Bora said while pointing at Yoohyeon's uniform, making Yoohyeon chuckle awkwardly. "Isn't the idea a bit too harsh? What if she reacts badly?" The girl said, getting shushed at by Bora.
"Enough talking, more preparing! Yoobin, you go tell Hayoung since she's in the training grounds now and I'll get this animal here cleaned up like the mother I am." Bora faked a scoff, pushing Yoohyeon inside the bathroom. "Wait, are you planning to shower with me?" Yoohyeon exclaimed, making Bora frown in disgust. "You can shower yourself actually.. I'll wait here and look at what the 'special' surprise is." Bora hopped to the living room, making both Yoobin and Yoohyeon chuckle.
"Don't worry Yooh, everything will go as planned." Yoobin caressed the girl's shoulder before going out, leaving Yoohyeon smiling to herself.
"I hope she'll like it.."
› END OF CHAPTER 17 ‹
Aaaand the next chapter will basically be continuation of the present. Was this actually a good chapter? I was planning to add more characters and make the plot more interesting, so let me guys know if you like it for now.
Anyway, have a good day/night and thank you for reading! <3
› ‹