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I can't sleep without the scene flashing through my head. It never leaves. 11 years with the same memory reenacting through my brain like it only happened yesterday.
I turn over and watch the clock. Three more hours. I turn once again onto my back, staring at the blank ceiling. Three more hours until I leave for training.
Then I hear a popping noise outside. I jump to sit up, hearing yelling and crashing outside the door. Then more popping. Gunshots. I reach under my pillow, grabbing my handgun and cocking the hammer back. I crack the door open to see the three of my bodyguards laying on the ground along with my trainer, Amar. Glass is scattered everywhere, blood sprayed all over.
No. He couldn't have found me.
Then I see him. A knife to my brother's throat. My eyes widen. My chest tightens and I cant breathe. The fear on his face reminds me of the fear on my sister's. I fight the tears that threaten to rise.
I step out of the room, my barrel not leaving his direction.
"Put the gun down, Y/n." He says with a disgusting grin on his face. I make eye contact with Seho. His eyes are filled with panic and fear, but urges me to obey to Hyun-Shik. My eyes sting and I click the safety off of the gun, aiming it away from him.
"Now take the clip out." He snarls and I hesitate. Seho lets out a pained whimper as Hyun-Shik presses the edge of the blade onto his throat a bit harder, leaving behind a shallow red cut.
"Okay!" I raise my voice. My hands shake at I release the clip from my gun.
"Good Y/n. Now slide the gun over." I obey and give him a pleading look.
"Let him go." I say, trying not to show any panic, but my shaking voice betrays me. "Please."
"No." He grins once again, showing his crooked teeth. "Not until you hand yourself over." He tilts his head. I don't trust him, but I'm desperate. Seho is all I have left. "Hyunsoo has been waiting for a long time."
"Fine!" I say and Seho shakes his head.
"Y/n no!" He cries out, but I ignore his protest.
"You really think you could hide from us forever?" He chuckles.
"Just let him go." I plead and Hyun-Shik nods. Then two strong arms wrap around mine. I tense up and try to push them off, but he's too strong.
"Take her out to the van and get her ready. I'll take care of her brother." Hyun-shik says carelessly and my eyes widen. I kick out at Hyun-shik but I'm too far away.
"What?! You said you'd let him go!" I scream and Hyun-Shik smiles. "You bastard!"
"Sweetie, you're the only one we needed. Everyone else was disposable." He gestures at the fallen bodies and smirks. "That includes your brother." My stomach drops and he slashes the knife into Seho's throat. I scream and tears start to fall.
I look at Hyun-Shik. "You son of a bitch!" I wail as he drops his body. I watch the life leave from Seho's eyes and I feel my throat close up. My weight collapses beneath me and I let out a sob.
"Take her now. My father needs her alive." He chuckles, wiping the blood on his pants. Then the man starts to push me foreword as Hyun-Shik leaves out the door like I was nothing.
My blood boils and I pull back, a fit of rage taking over my body, replacing the grief. As we near the door frame, I let them take me, but when we get close enough, I lift my feet up and use all my weight to push backward. I catch the man off balance and he falls backward and I fall with him, loosening his grip when we impact the floor.
He land straight into broken glass, letting out a scream, but I clamp my hand over his mouth. Since I landed on him, I wasn't affected by the glass as greatly as he was. I roll off him and onto my knees, into the shattered glass. It stings my legs, but I fight through it. I quickly grab a shard of glass and stick it into his jugular, covering his mouth from making noise. I hear someone coming from outside and scramble to my feet, looking for somewhere to go. I jump onto the desk by the door and wait.
Being barefooted, the glass slices my feet open and I stifle a cry in pain. Another guard comes in and looked around. Before he takes another step, I leap onto his back, my arms wrapped tightly around his neck. He whips around, trying to pry me off of him with his fingers, but I'm clinging on too tight. He chokes and gurgles, but I tighten my arms, closing his airway. He slams his body back into the wall, well, a picture frame and I loosen my grip, winded.
He tries to take advantage, but he's already too weak. I wrap my legs tight around his stomach and pulls more on his throat until he sinks to the floor, weaker. Weaker. And dead. I slowly get off him and grab my gun along with the clip. I try not to look at Seho. Not yet.
A warrior doesn't grieve until the war is over.
That's what Seho used to tell me. I slide the clip into the gun and grab a shard of glass. The biggest I could find.
My clothes and skin are covered in blood. It hurts to walk with every step, agonizing pain ripping through the bottom of my feet. But I slowly walk out of the cabin. The not-so-safe safehouse. One more guard. For now. I crouch slightly by a bush. The guard in front of me, back to me. No one else is looking, so I quickly jump up and cover his mouth, slicing his throat.
I let his body drop to the ground with a thump. Walking around the house, I see the glow of some headlights. Then a voice. His voice. I cock the hammer back and turn the corner.
"Three guards are never enough." I say, pointing my gun at Hyun-Shik as I turn the corner. "I learned that today." My voice breaks. "Seho and I learned that today."
His eyes scan my red stained body, fear crossing his features. He swallows and pulls the phone away from his ear.
"Y/n. Let's not do anything rash." He says and I take a step closer to him. He puts his hands in front of him. "Let's talk."
"Now you wanna talk!?" I scream, shaking the gun in front of me in anger, my vision blurring.
"Yes. I don't think this is the best idea." He says. He's just trying to save his own skin. "Think of what could happen. I'm the son of Hyunsoo. He won't take this lightly. You'll be in more danger." His hand moves a bit but it's too dark to see.
"It's worth the risk." I hiss and aim the gun toward his heart, but his hand pulled up with a metallic handgun. He shoots, but I pull the trigger faster, making him jerk to the side as the shot goes off.
A white hot pain rips through my shoulder, but I don't pay attention to it.
He falls, letting out a painful scream and I walk over to him. I crouch next to him and take his phone. My throat dries up. Then I hear yelling over the speaker. His father is still on the phone. My hand shaking, I put the phone to my ear. I keep my eyes on Hyun-Shik, aiming the barrel at his head.
"Hyunsoo." I say, a flat voice.
"Y/n! I swear to god if you don't-"
"You have three seconds." I put the phone to Hyun-Shik's mouth, which gurgles.
His father continues to scream and Hyun-Shik's eyes won't leave mine. Then I pull the trigger.
"Time's up." I say in a monotone voice and hang up, throwing his phone out into the forest.
I slowly walk back inside and a sob escapes my throat as I near Seho. I drop to my knees, the glass slicing into me and put my head into his limp chest, crying hard and wailing for him to come back.
But he doesn't wake up.
*****
Sirens sound in the distance, snapping me out of my trance while I stare at Seho's bed with my bag slung over my shoulder.
A gun holster wraps around my upper thigh and I grab Suho's hunting knife off his desk. I slip on my combat boots and take one last glance at Suho's lifeless body.
"I'll finish the job." I whisper before leaving out the back door, my eyes still wet from tears.
Then I run as fast as I can out into the night.
******
I took all the money in the house. I forget about the credit cards, just take the cash. It's wasn't much, but it was enough to get away.
On the train, I keep my head low and avoid eye contact. I can't be made. Not now.
"Miss, your ticket?" A woman says. I look up and hand her my ticket. "Oh! Miss, you're bleeding."
I cover my shoulder.
"It's just a scratch. Have a good night." I say, urging her to leave. Now that she mentioned it, the wound started to become more and more painful.
After hours of silence and drowning in my thoughts, the train came to a stop. I don't know where I am. I don't care. I just needed to leave. I quickly stand, but feel lightheaded immediately. I grab a seat for support and stabilize myself before moving again. My whole body burns.
I leave and look at the sign. Busan. Far enough for now.
I grip my bag and pull my hoodie over my head as I walk out of the train station.
I walk for about 15 minutes until I find a gas station. I walk inside, my face feeling flushed.
"Bathroom?" I ask the cashier. She points behind me, worried look on her face, handing me the key.
I stumble inside, dropping my bag and taking my hoodie off. I bite my lip to keep myself from crying out. The blood is soaking the upper left portion of my shirt. I rip off the sleeve and take alcohol from my bag, cleansing my wound. I let a small whimper as the alcohol burns my flesh and close my eyes as tears spring up.
I let out a sharp breath and shake my head, examining it. It went clean through, I'm okay for now. Better than last time, at least. Still hurts like a bitch. I grab bandage wrap from my bag and wrap it around my shoulder, wincing in pain.
I slip my pants off and look at my bloody cut up knees. That's a lot of dried blood covering my kneecaps and streamed down a few inches as well. I wet a cloth with the sterile alcohol and start to wipe off the blood, getting more gentle when I get to the wounds. I take heavy breaths and wrap bandages around my knees to prevent pain from the friction of my pants.
I finally look at myself in the mirror. My hair is tangled and there's a bit of dried blood splattered on the side of my jaw.
But the most noticeable change. I look empty. I am empty. That son of a bitch took the only thing I had in my life away from me. He ripped my life away when my parents died. My sister. When I had to run for 11 years since I was 10 years old. Seho was my support. He kept me sane and even though he was two years younger than me, he protected me. My eyes well up and I shake my head.
Don't think about him. I have to keep going. I collect myself and zip up my bag, slinging it over my good shoulder.
I just have to find a safe place to stay for a while. Until I can figure everything out.
I leave the washroom and give the key back to the cashier. I bite my lip and nod behind her. Through the mirror, I see a tall figure standing close to me, looking through the shelves, but his head is actually turned to me. He won't look away. Shit.
"Can I get a few bottles of water actually?" I ask and pull out some money. I pay her and she gives me a strange look when she notices my shoulder.
"Have a good night." She gives me some change and I quickly walk out of the gas station into the night.
*****
I've been walking for an hour. I passed a motel but there was no vacancy. I continued to walk for a while until I came across another one. I chew on my lip as I pick up the pace. My legs are killing me and I feel my body will cave in on itself any second.
I walk in and ding the bell. I wait patiently and a bubbly middle aged woman jogs over to the counter, smiling. I keep my head low.
"Hi, miss. Room for one?" She asks and I nod.
"Yes just a queen." I say and she starts tapping her machine.
"And how many nights?"
"Er.. just one or two." I say, pulling out a wad of cash.
I pay her the correct amount and she gives me a key, wishing me a good night. Yeah. I wish.
I unlock my room and put my bag on the bed. I unzip it, revealing medical supplies, a couple changes of clothes and weapons. Three handguns, one magnum pistol and Seho's combat knife. I sigh and spin the tip of the blade on my fingertip lightly before putting it down on the bed.
I take my guns out and stick one of my handguns under my pillow. The others will be hidden in the room in case the maid comes in. I take my holster off my thigh and turn the news on. I need to know if they found them.
"Authorities found a total of seven bodies at the scene, including 20 year old Min Khyun. It appears at least one other person was involved, but fled the scene, due to the empties drawers and that there was no evidence of suicide-"
I turn the TV off the second they show the cabin. My lips are pressed into a tight line as I remember what Hyun-Shik said when he came in.
You didn't really think you could hide forever?
How long did he know we were there for? Did he know that we would be gone in three hours so he struck at that specific time? What did he mean that Hyunsoo needed me alive?
My head is spinning with questions and my chest is pressed with emotion and I feel so overwhelmed. Seho is dead. I killed the mobster leader's son. No doubt he'll come for me. I need to stay alert. Lay low for a while until he stops looking.
*******
I open my eyes to a burning light in my eyes. I fell asleep? I'm laying on the end of the bed, my fingers still wrapped around the TV remote.
I quickly stand up and grab a change of clothes.
I pull on a black t-shirt with camo pants. I put a black hat on and fasten a knife holster onto my thigh and stick Seho's knife into it. I look in the mirror. My tattoo is peeking out at the end of my short sleeve shirt and
I sigh and take it off, revealing the feathered that extended from the top of my shoulder down to just above my elbow. Seho had the same kind, but it extended to his back.
We took the design from his knife, which was my father's. The handle has a pair of wings spreading from one side to the other. It was our bond. We could survive and never let the other one fall. We got them two years ago on his 18th birthday. It's one of my favourite memories.
I shake my head and pull a black long sleeve over my head before tucking my gun into my waistband and covering it with my shirt.
I walk out into the bright daylight and walk down the stairs, stuffing the keys into my pocket. I just realized how hungry I am. As I walk by the registry, I see two men standing there. They speak to the woman, who has a bit of a serious expression. She's answering something.
I get close to the door and listen in.
"I mean, there was a girl-"
"Is she here?" The taller one with a deep voice cuts her off, sounding eager.
"What is this about, boys?" She asks.
"It's just business, ma'am. Now if you know where she is, you must tell us." The shorter boy answers.
Her eyes meet mine and I shake my head slightly, telling her to shut her mouth.
"No. She just passed through. Didn't say where she was going."
"Okay.. Thank you ma'am. Sorry to bother, we will be on our way now." They begin to turn around, but before they see me, I quickly went out of sight. I go to the back of the building and watch as they get into the car and drive away. I slowly go to the front of the building and walk in to see the lady there, giving me a worried look.
"You have some explaining to do." She says, her hand on something under the counter and her bubbly attitude faded completely. I swallow.
"Listen, I just need somewhere safe to stay for a few days, nothing more." I say, putting my hands in front of me.
"Why?" She asks eagerly.
"The less you know the better."
"Do you wanna be forced out?" She glares at me.
"Okay okay.. I can't be specific though. There are some bad people looking for me right now and I need to wait them out."
"Are you a criminal?!"
"Me? No!" I lie. "Please, I mean you absolutely no harm. Just let me stay for a couple days and I'll be out of your hair. I promise." I plead and she chews her tongue.
"You can stay for tonight and you must be out by twelve tomorrow. If anyone shows any sign of danger, I'll drag you out myself." She says sternly and I nod.
"Understandable." My stomach grumbles and she sighs.
"Are you hungry?"
"A little bit. I was going out to find somewhere."
"Here. I can give you something." She says and I hesitate.
"Thank you."
*******
It's dark out by now. The woman has been very nice to me all day. But I don't trust her. Not yet anyway. You never know with anyone.
Now I'm back in my room.
I take my shirt off, leaving me in a tank-top. I hear something rumbling outside and I peek out the window. A black car. The headlights make it hard to see, but I'm sure it's the same car from earlier. Whatever reason they're here, I can't risk being caught. I quickly go to my bag and start to stuff my things back into it. I clip my gun holster on my other thigh and stick one of my guns in, putting the others in my bag.
I'm moving so fast, it's dizzying. Or maybe that's just the pain of my shoulder and lack of sleep lately. I look out the window and put my hat on. No one is there. Or in the registry. Suddenly the phone in my room rings. I'm hesitant to answer.
"Hello?"
"I didn't say anything, but those boys are back. If they're what you're running from, I suggest you leave."
"Why are they here?"
"They needed somewhere to rest. Go before they find out you're here."
I quickly hang up and look outside. They must be in their rooms by now. I crack the door open and look around. No one is here. I step out and lock the door, the cool breeze chilling my bare arms. I notice a light on a few rooms down, so I go the opposite way.
I take quiet, light steps and drop my key outside the registry building. I slip around the side of the building and let out a breath. I'm okay.
As I'm about to follow the road, a hand clamps over my mouth and pulls me back behind the motel.
"Hello, Y/n." A deep, raspy voice says in my ear.
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Well this was an extra long chapter sksksksk. Bangtan isn't really in this chapter, but I promise they will be included in the next
Otherwise, let me know what you think 💛 I decided to try something new this time, I hope you enjoy this series 💛💛