Jungkook was wrong. So, so wrong.
He didn't think it would happen, but he missed In-ah very much. He wasn't exactly sure what he missed about her, whether it was the teasing and arguing or if he missed making fun of her book. He just knew he missed her one way or another.
Time went especially slow in the prison cell. He wondered about a lot of things, such as if she worried for him... If she was working hard watching over him... Or if she missed him too...
To Jungkook's disappointment, the answer was no to all three.
In-ah sat crossed-legged in front of the TV, munching on doritos.
BREAKING NEWS:
THE HOPELESS THUGS SURRENDERED
The president made another long winded speech, detailing how three members of the Hope Gang went on a rampage to cause trouble in their peaceful city, only to be captured, put under control and eventually surrendered. Scenes of the vehicles' crash site were shown on the screen next, along with mugshots of Taehyung, Yoongi and Jungkook.
In-ah scoffed, dipping her tortilla chip into a pot of guacamole. It was no surprise that the KSI and the government would be using every opportunity to take credit.
Bullshit. She thought.
And she returned to her much loved book lying on her lap, having had enough of the pack of lies the government and the KSI were telling the world.
In-ah was on the last few pages of her book finally, nearing the ending of Alana and Lucas' story. The church was quiet and calm, save for the background noise from the TV and the little snores coming from the rest of the gang who were all sleeping on the church benches behind her.
Perhaps In-ah's observational skills had become sharper and more alert, but the rustling of the high grass and barley outside of the church had caught her immediate attention. Her ears strained to hear whether it was just a hoax, that some animal was just passing by, but something felt off.
And it was only when a shadow emerged behind the mosaic stained window that In-ah jumped to her feet.
She scrambled to wake the others behind her.
"What-" In-ah slapped a hand over Jimin's mouth, placing a finger against her lips to shush him. The others sat up, directing their attention to her. She pointed to the window, and by the time everyone looked to where she was pointing at, a few shadows were looming outside.
Without speaking, as quiet as a mouse, everyone reached underneath the benches, grabbed a gun each and readied themselves.
Taehee hugged a sleeping Hobi against her chest, placing a bullet in between her lips as she loaded her pistol. In-ah and Miyoung grabbed their laptops, stuffed them into a backpack and retreated to the back of the church out of the way. Jimin and Namjoon were already behind pillars, peeking from behind with rifles and revolvers. Seokjin stood behind the main door with a machete, ready to slit the intruders' throat. Meanwhile, Soo-ji knelt behind a bench, aimed her shotgun towards the moving shadows behind the window and followed their movements.
It was strangely quiet and slow. The shadows, however many there are, whoever they are, were waiting.
There are more of them, Soo-ji realised.
The peacefulness of the church was interrupted.
The mosaic windows shattered into a million pieces, a crash echoed through the holy building and everyone jumped back from the impact. Without warning, a shot was fired through the window before the bullet landed on Seokjin's TV.
Seokjin gasped.
The TV set exploded into a ball of fire, submerging the gang into a fume of soot.
"No... MY TV!" Seokjin breathed, eyeing his TV with heartbreaking watery eyes.
The first intruder jumped through the window. Donned in fully black military gear, the intruder fired his machine gun mercilessly from left to right, not caring who his bullets hit and where they hit.
Seokjin, who took cover on the ground, looked up and zeroed in on his TV killer. He spent ages fixing his beloved TV, only for it to blast into nothing with just a single bullet.
"YAH!" Seokjin yelled at him. The intruder, hearing a foreign voice, diverted his attention. The intruder laughed at the fuming Seokjin who was shaking in anger, but Seokjin wasn't having it.
In the short interval of time between them, a test of skill meant one or the other's death. The intruder raised his machine gun, Seokjin grabbed onto his machete. The intruder fired a shot, Seokjin threw his deadly weapon.
BANG!
The bullet scraped past Seokjin's ear and hit the wall behind. Seokjin's machete, on the other hand, struck straight into the middle of the intruder's forehead.
"THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR HURTING MY TV!" Seokjin yelled with all the anger within him, watching the intruder who was now slumped against the wall with a blade stuck in his head.
More intruders entered the church.
Jimin and Namjoon, from behind the pillars, shot the mob of trespassers to get them back.
"There's too many of them!" Jimin shouted, unable to load his gun fast enough when more men jumped through the window.
"There's more coming through the back door!" Miyoung and In-ah came running in from the back after trying to look for an escape.
Taehee, on the other side of the church, slid across the floor with a crying Hobi nestled safely in her chest. She appeared at Soo-ji's side, who focused on firing relentlessly at whoever came in her way.
The others joined them next with Jimin, Seokjin, Namjoon and Soo-ji forming a some sort of circle with Taehee, Miyoung and In-ah in the middle.
"We're surrounded!" Namjoon exclaimed, breathing hard.
"Good." Soo-ji answered back, raising her shotgun higher to her shoulder, "then we can fire in every direction!"
The Hope Gang fought back, punching bullets in every man's chest as they dared take a step towards them. One by one like flies, they dropped to the ground, but only to reveal another man running towards them.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Beeeeep.
An explosion so fierce and ferocious detonated at the front of the church.
Soo-ji's body was forced backwards, hurling her to the ground by its immense strength. Her head crashed to the floor first and she could feel blood gushing out of an open wound somewhere. She flickered her eyes open and close, shaky and unsteady, but she could just about make out the crumbling building raining down on her.
She laid there for what felt like hours.
Was this end?
Did they lose?
Taehee swam into view. Miraculously, she still had Hobi in her arms but half of her face was drenched red in her blood.
Taehee's mouth opened and closed quickly, saying incoherent things that Soo-ji could not process as the ringing in her ears grew sharper and sharper.
"Soo... can... hear me... leave... get up... NOW!"
Groggily, Soo-ji was pulled upright into a standing position by both of her arms. Miyoung and In-ah were by her sides, slipping their backpack over her shoulders just as Taehee shoved Hobi into her arms.
At the corner of her eyes, Soo-ji could see the boys were shooting again, covering their backs in the little time they had just as the building was collapsing around them.
"Take... you... Hobi... go... SOO-JI, WAKE UP!"
Taehee slapped her awake.
"YOU GOTTA TAKE HOBI AND GO!"
Soo-ji blinked. She looked down at her shaking arms to see Hobi's tear stained face staring back up at her, helpless and afraid.
"W-what?"
"Someone has to make it out of here alive!" Taehee screamed in her face, ducking her head slightly just as a bullet zoomed past her head.
"We'll cover you!" Miyoung said and they all circled around the leader, edging towards the front of the church which now had a gaping wide hole from the blast.
"What about you guys?" Soo-ji asked, zipping up her jacket with Hobi inside for extra support.
"We'll catch up to you!" Seokjin's loud voice answered in front of her amidst the booming shots. His feet inched step by step backwards with the others, both of his arms outstretched with a pistol in each hand.
They reached the opening. Soo-ji, weak on her feet, but desperate for survival, clambered up the debris to the other side, where the high grass and fields waved at her in the distance.
She took one last look at the others, who remained rooted to the spot, covering the space between the KSI men and her.
They wouldn't follow her anymore, using their bodies as shields to ensure her best possible chance of escape.
"GO!" The others yelled at her.
And she legged it.
Her tears blurred her vision ahead, her arms pushed the high grass out of her way and her legs moved on its own accord.
Hobi sobbed into her chest, but his cries were muffled by her zipped up jacket encasing his little body.
The roaring gunshots behind her grew quieter but her heavy breaths grew louder.
Gradually, it all went silent.
For a moment, Soo-ji was tempted to look back, go back to the others. The silence was eerily frightening and Soo-ji couldn't help but think of the unspeakable.
Were they... all dead?
Her legs slowed to a stop. Panting, she took one look back in a moment of hesitation but was met by a myriad of bullets rushing above her head.
She ran again, reaching the opening of the forest. Footsteps followed closely behind her, unwilling to let her escape. It was only a matter of time before Soo-ji knew her tiredness would slow her down. She looked around desperately, looking for a place to hide.
With no second thoughts, she counted in her head three... two.... one... and her leg leapt over a large log.
She took a deep breath, held Hobi tight in her arms and crashed into a rushing stream.
Her head submerged underwater for what felt like an eternity. A barrage of shadows rushed past her and Soo-ji knew then that she had successfully lost them.
She pushed up to the surface, gasping for breath and swam to the shore with all the weight weighing her down. Her wet clothes were dragging her back under, she still had the laptops on her back but most importantly Hobi was still with her.
She grunted, bringing herself and Hobi to dry land.
But when she unzipped her jacket, Hobi was no longer crying. His face turned blue, his eyes were closed and he was no longer breathing.