Ji Hyo POV

"Ji Hyo ..." hissed Minho as he sent a flying kick at one of his attackers. "What are you doing here?!"

I gave him a glare, then yelled, "Duck!" as I spun and kicked over his head at another man who was creeping up from behind. I turned to face him, then said softly, "Do you really think I'd let you go?"

He looked at me with the same eyes that had caught my heart those years ago, bright, soft, brown eyes that seemingly stared into the depths of my soul. "But I'm a danger to you, and Joong Ki," he replied, hanging his head. "Look what I've done already."

I shake my head, and say, "That's not your fault. You didn't choose to be ... Kandong's son."

"NOONA!" yells Joong Ki, throwing a series of punches at several men, in front of Sooyoung. "Sorry to interrupt your lovey-dovey moment with Minho hyung but there's a battle going on right now ... Did you notice?"

I growl under my breath. "I am going to kill him ..." I mutter, then flash Minho a smile before drawing my knife and finding off a group of men, Minho at my side. Apart from several nicks in my arms, face and body, I am fine. Sooyoung is bruised but on her feet, assisting Joong Ki with more skill than I imagined. And Minho - I manage to catch a proper glance of him, and feel relief to see that he is relatively fine. I fix my gaze onto those sickeningly familiar black uniforms, and think, We have a score to settle.

But then, I should have known that the Black Dagger are more than this.

This was just a distraction. The thought slipped into my mind, and I momentarily froze, my eyes widening. No.

As I opened my mouth to scream at them, I heard the courtyard suddenly go silent. No movement. I froze, feeling my muscles tense up almost painfully as I looked around.

A few yards away from me, I saw Minho held in a headlock, a knife pressed so close to his throat that breathing to deeply would result in a cut. On the other side of the courtyard, I saw Sooyoung in a headlock as well, her arm twisted behind her back, a pistol herld to her stomach. And Joong Ki ... he was -

My eyes widened for a moment before I quickly regained my composture. I must not let them know if they haven't noticed that he isn't here. 

I felt a knife point touch my neck, and I stiffened, blood rushing to my face as I turned back to face the familiar man in front of me. 

"Choi Kandong." I say, internally surprised at how calm and steady my voice came out. The man let out a dark chuckle, walking forwards as if he had all the time in the world. He was spinning a pistol between his hands, and I kept one eye on it, ready to jump out of the way if he fired. 

"You recognized me, young lady? And let me guess." his face hardened. "Song Ji Hyo."

I stared back, my gaze unfaltering, as he glared at me, now starting to circle around me.

"The daughter of that Yoona and Taecyeon? I can see the same fire in your spirit." he continued. I carried on fixing him with me gaze, at the same time breathing slowly, each breath bigger than the last, feeling the knife point retreating as my neck shifted slightly. I gave a small twitch in my expression. He noticed.

"Nervous, are you?" He chuckled, and I felt a burning anger bubbling up inside me.

"And what reason would I have to be, Kandong-ssi?" I replied, my voice still steady. I held him with my gaze, and felt my inner self jump in excitement as I saw his expression falter slightly.

Such insolence?

I'm a rebel.

He was speechless. I saw his gun go still.

Taking advantage of the situation, I raised my hands to my mouth, and blew out, creating a sharp, screaming call. The Eagle.

"I think, I would rather say why you would have to be nervous, Choi." I twisted away from the knife at my neck at the same time as Minho slammed his body back into the one of his captor, and leaping away just as the man reacted fast enough to just give a small cut across his neck. Across the yard, I saw Sooyoung's captors turn the gu non her, and I screamed out, "Joong!"

On my call, Joong Ki leapt out of the brush, diving onto Sooyoung's captor and wrestling him to the ground. The four other men him, and I managed to catch a glimpse of Sooyoung launching a series of attacks on them, before I turned to the more urgent situation at hand. 

What was I thinking?!

More men had started to pour out of the buildings nearby. I realized - this was a series of traps, one after the other in a chain reaction.

And I had just set them all off.

.

I spun around and instinctively dived to the side as I caught sight of a flash of light. A second later, a knife came whizzing past my ear, barely missing it. I snatched up the knife and turned to face Kandong, then my eyes widened as I realized he was holding a gun. Another moment, and I heard the boom and the sharp whistle.

My reflexes took care of the job, and without knowing I felt my hand jerk upwards, bringing the flat of the knife before my face as I dropped to the ground. There was a crash as the blade shattered under the force of the bullet, and I had just enough time to see Kandong's furious face before -

"Ji Hyo-ah!" I heard a yell, and then a bang and nothing. My heart froze, and I turned to see Minho lying on the ground, blood streaming steadily from a hole in his shirt as he still managed to weakly bat away his attacker with the handle of the gun he was holding. I felt my breath hitch as I stared around wildly, unable to process what was going on when

Then I heard it.

That call.

From the edge of the woods.

A long, high, sharp clear whistle.

My eyes widened as I turned, all of the battle going on before me rushing out of my mind as I stared at the brink of the woods.

"What ..." I whispered.

Then suddenly, a great shout rose up from across the courtyard nearest to the woods, and my heart leapt as I saw two familiar figures running towards me, with two long daggers in each hand.

No. Way.

"Long time no see, sister!" called Luhan, flashing his familiar grin at me before turning to face another opponent, knocking him dow with a high kick. Besides him, I saw another face that I knew, so well - 

"Yuri unnie!" I cried out in shock. 

They ... they survived??

Even the Black Daggers were affected. For a second, everyone was frozen, even Kandong, staring at the new arrivals. The two reached me, and I said to them, "Normal way?"

"Code Sol," agreed Yuri. Luhan flicked the spatters of blood off his dagger, and gave a sinister smile. "You're going down, Dangeom."

"What are you waiting for?! Kill them!" screamed Kandong, his face twisted in hate and fury and shock, mixing into one expression. He slotted a new magazine into the pistol faster than I could see and turned it on us.

We both scattered as I charged towards Joong Ki and Sooyoung, who had snapped back into action and were gradually being beaten down. I sprinted faster towards them, gritting my teeth as I pushed all thought out of my mind. This situation, again. 

Don't think.

The voice in my head soothed me, and I tried to empty my thoughts as I reached the first man and