High in the sky was the sun, watching over two cars as they made their way through a highway. Leading the line was a black SUV and, just behind it, traveled a jeep with a redhead at the wheel and a blonde at her side in the passenger seat, who was currently meddling with a walkie-talkie.

Heehyun doesn’t usually complain when she drives regardless of the situation since it’s one of things she enjoys doing the most. However, she’d have preferred to have Doyeon as a companion rather than Kyungwon. The girl had been talking ever since they left the real estate and that was getting on Heehyun’s nerves real fast.

“And there was this time I called my dog, I don’t see him that much anymore since my mother left the country to travel to America, but you should have seen it, as soon as he saw me through the video feed he started the cellphone! So cute!”- Kyungwon was too engrossed in her narration to notice that Heehyun had stopped paying attention long ago – “Hey, are you listening? You seem to be zoning out a lot”

“Uh? Oh yeah, I’m fine, it’s nothing”- Heehyun answered, still sort of absentminded, with a pensive look on her face.

“Are you worried about that girl you left with boss?”- Kyungwon inquired, this time speaking without as much energy as before.

Heehyun wouldn’t lie, although she was worried about Doyeon’s fate, that was not at all what was occupying her mind at all. She had an encounter with Yeonjung before leaving the place and that was what was worrying her.

“Those assassins will be tasked with killing everyone inside that place, their actions will all be reported to JYP”- Yeonjung told her before she departed the building. – “I need you to get that little girl out of there before they arrive, if they find you there you’ll be incriminating me directly, do not fail and get out of there as fast as you can.”

Moreover, she gave Heehyun a case that contained two syringes. Heehyun may not the be sharpest tool in the shed but she was bright enough to figure out that those things contained the same liquid that put Doyeon in that emaciated condition. She couldn’t help but think about them.

“Yeah, kind of…”- Heehyun tried to sound as convincing as possible but gave up halfway – “Actually no, not exactly…”

“Is it about you friend back at the mansion?”- Kyungwon was sharp, Heehyun’d give her that.

“Yeah…”-She answered plainly with a sigh, her gaze still fixed in the SUV in front of them- “I’m sure they’ll be delighted seeing me again…”

“I heard you talking to Yeonjung this morning… I’m sorry about your loss”- Kyungwon continued and a metaphorical blade stabbed Heehyun through the heart, bringing back unwanted pain and rendering the redhead unable to answer.

Her face most likely betrayed her feelings and left her like an open book since Kyungwon corrected herself quickly.

“I’m sorry, didn’t mean to intrude.”

“It’s fine… I… I had no choice…”-Heehyun started talking again - “Yeonjung would have just had them all killed if they did something to Doyeon”

“I get you, you did what you had to do” –Kyungwon smiled at her, a smile that displayed silent consent - “I would do the same if something threatened them”

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that she was talking about the two girls who were currently driving in front of them. Heehyun could clearly see that she cared about them a lot, and the feeling was probably mutual.

“I heard from the blondie that you’ve been here for almost three years”- Heehyun remembered the few moments she spent with Eunwoo inside the real estate and, contrary to the indifference she had shown to Kyungwon ever since the trip started, decided to make some small talk.

“Eunwoo, her name is Eunwoo”- Kyungwon corrected her - “And yes, we came here after Siyeon and her finished their training, orders from Yeonjung herself”

Heehyun was about to comment on how sending three people to monitor a single group seemed way over the top, but Kyungwon beat her to it.

“Actually, I was supposed to come alone, but I managed to convince boss to let me bring them with me…  They didn’t like it back there”- Kyungwon continued and the atmosphere turned a little bit more dim that she probably intended - “At least, by bringing them with me, I could make sure that they’d never have to kill”

“Tell me more about them”- Heehyun found herself enjoying the conversation, she didn’t exactly know why but it felt like the kind of conversation she could have with a friend, and that relieved some of her contained stress.

“Eunwoo is the biggest dork you’ll ever know, I don’t know how she ended up training to become an assassin, but I swear that girl couldn’t hurt a fly even if she tried her hardest”- A smile returned to Kyungwon’s lips, accompanied by a light chuckle - “Siyeon may try to act tough and look like a bad girl, but in reality she is just a sweet and caring cinnamon roll”

*bzzt*

With a crackle, the walkie-talkie that Kyungwon was holding came to life followed by a distorted, disembodied voice and what sounded like hysterical laughter in the background.

“We can hear you, smartass, you left the communication line open”- Heehyun guessed that the girl that was screaming at the other end of the line was probably Siyeon.

“She also cannot help but to be a clumsy idiot who apparently cannot stand on her own feet without tripping every couple of steps”- Kyungwon ignored Siyeon and kept talking, only stopping when the sound of Eunwoo’s laughter roared over her own voice. As the laugh died down, she brought the walkie-talkie to to acknowledge Siyeon, who had gone silent. – “I dare you to tell me I’m lying princess”

“F-F- you!”- With a stutter, the line went mute.

Heehyun chuckled, trying to contain her laughter, but it was futile since in the next few seconds both her and Kyungwon were dying from laughter, unable to contain themselves.

“You planned that ever since the beginning, didn’t you?”- Heehyun playfully accused Kyungwon, who feigned hurt by bringing her left hand to her chest to clench it, looking at Heehyun with in the form of a circle.

“Me? No way, no way”- She laughed again animatedly – “See, I was right about her, wasn’t I?”

Their laughter died eventually and the mood returned to normal. Heehyun puffed, releasing the air she couldn’t while she was busy juggling between laughing and trying not to crash the jeep.

“I still don’t you why you came with me”- She talked to Kyungwon again, restarting the small talk but with a more serious focus.

“As much as I don’t like bringing them to the middle of the battlefield, I have to follow orders”- Kyungwon deadpanned.

“I don’t think this will end well”- Heehyun decided to be frank with Kyungwon, she didn’t want to make the girl feel like she was pressuring them in aiding her - “Know that I don’t care about what Yeonjung says, if you want to leave at any time you are free to do so”

“Don’t underestimate us, we may not fight that much but we are able to hold our own, besides, if we use stealth and get them before they see us then we can expect to be out of that house before the other assassin group even sets a food in the vicinity.”- Kyungwon smirked, patting Heehyun on the back reassuringly.

“You sure as hell look confident”- The redhead chuckled, her eyes still on the road.

“Confidence is one of the things that keeps one alive in this line of work”- Kyungwon cleared her voice before reciting a catchphrase Heehyun swears she had heard somewhere else - “‘True courage is facing danger when you are afraid’ “

“What was that?”

“A phrase from the Wizard of Oz”

“Cute”- The redhead chuckled at the short, eloquent response - “What about you? How did you get in this mess?”

“Unlike most of the recruits, I was introduced to the organization by my late father. He was a hotshot of the administrative department and, for some reason, thought sending his fourteen years old daughter to train on how to kill people more efficiently would be a good idea”- Kyungwon laughed as if she found the situation amusing. Heehyun did not - “Not that I hate him for it, I’ve forgiven him long ago”

“So you were part of the bodyguard program of your branch?”

“Yes, most of us weren’t given a choice when the system was overhauled five years ago.”-Then Kyungwon’s face turned grim for a second - “I saw Yeonjung giving those syringes to you”

“What about them?”- Heehyun wasn’t surprised, the walls of that building weren’t exactly made to protect secrets from getting out, you could hear things coming even from a couple rooms beside the one you were in.

“Don’t use them, I’m pretty sure you know it already but those things can kill you”- Kyungwon’s chipper attitude was gone by that point - “Your body can probably withstand one shot, but don’t take the two of them or you’ll die for sure”

“Then why did she give me two then?”- Yeonjung’s actions intrigued Heehyun, to say the least.

“I don’t know, but what I do know is that she’ll be near, watching”-Her words sounded lugubriously ominous - “This won’t be a normal assault mission”

“I agree a hundred percent with that, friend.”

-------------------------------------------------------

“Well… I tried… I really did, I wanted you to see it the way I see it, but you leave me no choice… I guess I’ll have to take you by force”

Heehyun lowered her arm, searching for her tranquilizer rifle. The whole place was dead silent after Heehyun had said those words. She could hear the *ticks* of the clock and the *click* that Kyungwon’s assault rifle made when her partner removed the gun’s safety. She figured both Siyeon and Eunwoo were ready to attack too.

A few seconds elapsed before anything moved at all. Chaeyeon was in front of her, ready to attack at any moment. That’s when Heehyun gave the order.

“Get them…”

And everything became a frenzy

Heehyun promptly raised her rifle, taking aim at Chaeyeon, if she were to make the girl fall asleep then the victory would be theirs. Her finger hoovered over the trigger for a quarter of a second…

*Bang*

The sound of gunshot lodging itself on the wall’s hardwood broke her concentration and caused the redhead to look to her right, the least she needed right now was more blood between her fingers. She saw Nayoung kicking Kyungwon’s rifle out of her hand just to engage in a fist fight afterwards. Behind them, the girl that was with Nayoung in the forest was fighting head on with Siyeon.

Her brain quickly processed the information in front of her in a matter of seconds. It ended up deeming it unimportant, Heehyun turned her attention back to Chaeyeon in hopes of being able to take the shot.

But it was too late.

Chaeyeon was already upon her, delivering a punch that left Heehyun stumbling backwards, threatening to fall as the rifle slipped from her hands. Chaeyeon hears the weapon slam against the floor and dives for it while Heehyun recovers herself. However, the redhead proved to be just as fast, lunging at Chaeyeon as she was about to get the gun with a punch of her own.

It didn’t connect, unsurprisingly, Chaeyeon changed her direction in the middle of her dive, stopping a few centimeters short of the gun and ducked low, turning her rush into a full blown sweep kick that hit Heehyun right in the ankle, sending her to the ground. Chaeyeon didn’t attack after that, instead she remained in position as Heehyun hurriedly got back on her feet.

“ing hell…”-She muttered, clearly annoyed – “I need some help over here!”

This last part was particularly directed at Eunwoo, who seemed to shy away from the battle. The blonde girl recognized Heehyun’s voice and came running to her side. Up close, Heehyun could appreciate Eunwoo’s shaky hands, probably product of the mismanagement of her adrenaline.

“On the count of three… THREE!”- Heehyun lunged at Chaeyeon

Her scream catches Eunwoo of guard but the girl rushes in with her nonetheless, throwing a roundhouse kick at Chaeyeon who still hadn’t moved from her position.

*swoosh*

Chaeyeon scrunched her nose and just when Eunwoo’s kick was about to hit her square in the face she moved aside, sidestepping out of the way. Eunwoo kept going, unable to recover, and was left an easy prey for Chaeyeon, who grabbed the girl by the collar of her shirt and pushed her back towards her, acting as a meat shield to thwart Heehyun’s attempt at punching her.

Heehyun couldn’t break her momentum in time and thus ended up hitting Eunwoo right in the stomach. The blonde girl grunted as Chaeyeon let go of her before scurrying to a side to regain her breath.

It was annoying to Heehyun the way Chaeyeon seemed to effortlessly dodge everything she threw at her. Enraged, Heehyun closed in again on the blind girl with a hook.

*swoosh*

Heehyun’s sleeves flapped as she threw another hook, then another, and even more. All of them either blocked or dodged by Chaeyeon, who gave the impression of knowing exactly from where each attack would come next.

Heehyun’s barrage of punches ended without a single one managing to even graze Chaeyeon’s figure, and the redhead, which was on the border of being consumed by frustration, threw a kick, an action that was more akin to a child throwing a tantrum than an assassin fighting one of her peers. It wasn’t a particularly strong kick given her lack of practice using her legs, but somehow, miraculously, it managed to hit Chaeyeon in her thigh, earning a surprised yelp from the girl who had until now remained untouched.

Heehyun was surprised too, but she couldn’t delight herself in her moral victory since Chaeyeon had decided to counter attack. In a matter of seconds, the blind girl rushed in front of her, clasping her right wrist with both her hands as she pulled Heehyun to her before using her elbow to hit her right in the nose. Heehyun cursed out loud painfully as her back arched forward but Chaeyeon didn’t stop there. She followed her successful hit with by kneeing Heehyun in the stomach before quickly extending her leg, finishing the whole onslaught with a front kick that hit Heehyun right in the middle of her chest.

“A futile effort, Heehyun”- Chaeyeon’s voice had no particular tone, but to Heehyun it sounded as if she was mocking her - “You know very well you can’t beat me”

“You are still as good as you were back then, huh?”-Heehyun got back on her feet, albeit staggeringly - “But I’m not giving up, I’m taking you back with me.”

Heehyun prepared again, getting into position, and so did Chaeyeon, but their fight was cut short before it even started as Kyungwon rammed an unsuspecting Chaeyeon, slamming her against the wall and pinning her there.

Heehyun took this as an opportunity and searched for her rifle in the vicinity, to no avail. Meanwhile, Eunwoo had rejoined Kyungwon and both were circling Chaeyeon, preparing to attack.

Heehyun was about to join