“EONNIE!!! DON’T!!!”

But Yerin was faster than the words that came out. She ran toward the gray car that was hastily reversing. She aimed at it and fired almost an entire round of magazine but nothing made it stop. Everything happened so fast. I was scanning the lot for anything that could possibly offer us help. But there was nothing but empty cars, the sound of glass shattering to the ground, echoes of reckless gunshots and Sowon’s desperate cry.

When I completely snapped out of stupor, I found Eunha in the arms of Sowon and a grim pool of blood was forming underneath them. And then tears, ceaselessly flowing down Sowon’s face while she hysterically rocked her back and forth in the hopes that she would rouse from unconsciousness.

I stood up trying to remember what Yerin told me to do. I focused all my strength into lifting Eunha from the ground to take her into the backseat as quickly as I could.

She was limp and I carried every ounce of her dead weight. I squeezed my eyes shut briefly to control the tears from falling, for when I held her, her head dangled off my arm and I could not be certain if she was breathing. There was so much blood coming out that when I went back to check on Sowon, I saw the trail of crimson red that kissed the ground.

“Eonnie! I can’t carry you!” At this point I too was crying. “You have to help me! You have to stand up!” I yelled as I tried to pull her up from where she slumped. I could tell from her trembling and the pallor on her face that she was in greater shock than I was. She might have seen countless people dying; she might have even killed a few. But it was Eunha slowly dying in her arms. Her Eunha.

My anxiety doubled when I couldn’t see Yerin cutting through the lanes of the parking lot anymore and then I heard more gunshots which I was certain did not come from her handgun.

“SOWON-EONNIE!!! GET UP PLEASE!” Her arms kept sliding off of my grasp because of the blood that remained on her. “. EONNIE, I’M SORRY.” I knew she may take revenge for what I did next, but I couldn’t have thought of a better option; I am not as strong as Yerin to carry her, so, I slapped her hard on the face before going behind her and lifting her up with one decisive tug. Only at that point that she was able to escape the daze and collect herself slowly.

She wobbly ran, falling slightly to the uneven ground before reaching the back of the car. As she did, I slid myself immediately into the driver seat, then I saw that Umji was already calling the phone that laid on the dashboard.

“UMJI-YAH!” I answered as I started driving with hell speed.

“I know what happened! Sowon-eonnie forgot to turn off her mic, I was still listening to the feed! I already contacted Eunseo for help!”

“EUNHA-EONNIE! SHE GOT SHOT! WHERE IS THE NEAREST HOSPITAL? UMJI-YAH! YERIN-EONNIE IS STILL CHASING THE SHOOTER! I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO!”

“SinB-yah, calm down, listen! Find Yerin-eonnie and get her in. I’m setting your GPS to the nearest ER as we speak.”

“UMJI-YAH, WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING??”

“I will find out. I will be at the hospital as soon as I can. Eunseo is already coordinating your arrival. SinB-yah, protect your identity, we don’t know if this is connected to it.”

“I wi- EONNIE!!! GET IN THE CAR!!” I forcefully pushed the accelerator against the car’s floor and we sprang to a tire-burning revolution. “SHE’S STILL CHASING THE CAR!”

“Try telling her that Eunha-eonnie is losing blood!”

“EONNIE!!! God she’s so quick!” Only after a sharp turn was I able to find her. “EONNIE!!! SHE’S LOSING BLOOD! WE NEED TO GO! NOW!!!”

“TWO SECONDS.” Yerin yelled and leaped over a car before firing one last shot.

We were behind her when the brakes finally got the car to halt. In a few strides, she was already sitting beside me. But she reclined her seat immediately to gain access to the pair at the back.

“Is that Umji??” Yerin asked while looking at the GPS monitor. “Put her on speaker. SinB-yah, just drive fast.”

I did as told.

“Umji-yah! I shot a tracer into the shooter’s car. Tracer 819, find out who did it, ID the car!”

“I will. Be careful. I’ll be at the hospital soon. I need to go now.” With that, Umji hung up.

I concentrated on driving as hard as I could while holding Yerin by her pants’ waistband to prevent her from swiveling whenever I turned or stopped. The next five minutes was a blur. All I could hear was Sowon yelling at Eunha, the clicking of my hazard lights and the shrieking of my tires as I raced to the hospital.

* * *

“Trauma room 2! Reserve an OR, we’ll take her up after we stabilize her.” A middle-aged woman in blue scrubs concealed under a white coat was talking to a nurse as she sprinted to the gurney that rolled Eunha into the emergency room.

“We’ll take it from here.” The doctor gave us a look that told us that she has been expecting us. She pointed to us the waiting area before she returned her attention to a group of medical personnel who arrived to tend to Eunha. “Female, 21, GSW to the back, start an IV Saline, hook her on EKG… pupils reactive, GCS below ten, hurry on the O₂, 5LPM for now…”

Soon after the curtains were drawn, I was left speechless listening to the chattering muffled by their masks, scissors cutting through fabric and alarms beeping. When I replay that scene in my head, I realize how much I dislike being in a hospital and I wonder why Yerin wants to be in a profession that sees that chaos every day.

Before we could even move, a nurse approached us with a wheelchair.

“It’s okay, we can walk over to-”

“No, miss, your friend I think is about to faint.”

And Sowon did. The arrival of the wheelchair behind her was just in time to break her fall. She was immediately transferred to the bed and similar to Eunha, personnel in scrub suits rushed to her assistance.

“She probably got tired whining. She’ll be fine.” Yerin said calmly after holding my shoulder to pull me out of Sowon’s room. “Hey, I’m sorry I pushed you against the car. Were you hurt?”

She looked at me with her tired but worried eyes.  I swear I could have fainted myself with the way her eyes spoke to me, but I couldn’t let the exhaustion claim the remaining energy in my body, especially that Yerin was there. More than anyone, I expected her to be the most fatigued after the paintball game and the chase.

“I’m okay.”

“Are you sure?” Yerin started walking to the waiting area. By this time, I was certain that she knew the trauma I was internally battling with. I have not seen blood in my life as much as what I saw earlier. All along I thought losing my mother was enough experience to say I could handle death as it passes in front of me. But I was wrong. And being with Yerin in the emergency room surrounded by people with varying degree of compromise in their lives suddenly magnified the fear of losing the people I learned to care about.

I didn’t answer her. I am not sure why but probably because I didn’t really know if I was okay. Eunha and Sowon are both unconscious. Yerin and I side-by-side with our sweatshirts soaking with Eunha’s blood. The shooting may have been related to me. I don’t know exactly what to feel.

“I see you’re really a mad driver.” She said after situating herself in one of the stationary benches in front of what appeared like a nurses’ station. “Thank you for holding onto my pants. It wasn’t the most gratifying situation, but thanks.”

“I’m sorry, I drove too fast…” Was all that came out of me. I knew she felt how terrified I still was and she was trying to calm me down by distraction. “… Probably drove past a few red lights too.”

“That’s fine, I like fast driving.” She smiled briefly before glancing at the curtain that secluded Eunha.

“You said, you didn’t anymore.” I replied recalling the day I started calling her the devil.

“Let’s just say, I take it back.”

“Is she gonna be okay?” The gravity of the situation dawned on me. I still don’t know why everything happened, but even so, my conscience started haunting me the very second I saw Eunha’s body plummet to the ground. I will personally hunt down whoever did this.

“From their conversation, they’re thinking it’s likely a flesh wound but they’re looking for the cause of the nonstop bleeding. She’s going to need surgery to stop it.”

“Will she be safe soon?”

“I can’t be certain but as long as no vital organ was punctured, she’ll be fine. I’m not hearing them doing CPR, that means her heart is beating. She’ll probably need blood transfusion, but that’s a minor concern.”

“Should we donate blood or something?” I asked distractedly while watching the movement behind the curtains hinted by the several pairs of feet that paced around Eunha’s bed.

“They will have enough blood for her; she’s Type O, and she’s most likely not going to like your blood anyway.”

I probably furrowed my brows and pouted to her insinuation and disregard of my willingness to give up a pint or so of my blood for Eunha. “And why’s that?”

I felt Yerin’s blood-stained hands on my cheeks. “Hey… Look at me. Don’t be offended. I meant that in a strictly medical sense. You’re Type AB, her body will likely reject your blood. You understand how antibodies work, right?”

“Not as extensive as you do. I’m worried about eonnie. I just wanted to help.” More than that, I felt guilty.

“Listen… Eunha will be alright. Stop beating yourself up with worry. Come here.”

I only understood what she wanted me to do when I was already engulfed in her arms. She pulled me by my shoulders and wrapped me in a firm but reassuring embrace. I couldn’t raise my arms to return the hug and all I did was drop my head on her shoulder and let the tears out.

“You’re a bit too whiny for an assassin.” She teased that made me push her in disagreement and wiped my cheeks. But then I realized that I didn’t want the hug to end, so I pulled her back and made myself comfortable.

“Oh, I thought you were done…” Her tone was definitely jesting.

“I will never be done.”

“Soothe yourself.” She answered. I think she likes saying that when she is allowing me to enter her world. But every time, she says it with her nonchalant tone that prevents me from knowing if she liked it too.

“Wait a minute, eonnie.” I suddenly remembered something but I made no mistake escaping again from her embrace.

“Hmm?”

“Tell me... How exactly did you know about my blood type?!” I don’t remember telling anyone about it. Umji would likely be the only person to have acquired that information from the flash drive data she intercepted from the mission.

“I… ahh… I asked Umji to find out.”

“And why did you want to know?” I suddenly felt that she became nervous and I was enjoying it.

“I… ahhh… Shouldn’t I at least know your blood type before I start dating you?”

I tried to suppress the smile but I couldn’t and I know she could feel the movement of my face on her shoulder. “Were you checking for compatibility or something?”

“No. I… ahhh... I just wanted to know. Like in case you’ll need blood or something.” I could feel in her voice that she totally was checking for compatibility.

“Hmmm… So, what’s your blood type? I think it’s just fair to know since I’ll be sharing the same dating endeavor.”

“O.”

“Ah, so, you can’t receive my blood either.” I replied.

“But you can receive mine.”

“That’s comforting to know.”

It was probably the weirdest romantic conversation ever accounted for in the bible of love, but that too was the most intimate I’ve had with Yerin. Amidst the discomfiting circumstance we were facing after the shooting, and the overall disarray in our lives, I felt more reassured than ever just listening to Yerin’s voice.

“Yerin-eonnie is bleeding from her arm and you still have the guts to make her your pillow?” Umji’s voice resonated in my head.

“Hello. I’m fine, thank you for asking.” I sarcastically replied as I finally retracted myself from Yerin. “That’s Eunha-eonnie’s blood.”

“Yeah… You’re obviously fine. I need not ask.” She quipped while alternating her glances between me and Yerin. “The hug must have blinded you, but I’m sure she’s bleeding.”

“Yerin-eonnie, your arm!” That’s when I realized that her left sleeve was ripped and blood, though scanty, was dripping from it. “Excuse me! We need help over he-”

Before I could finish, she covered my mouth and looked at me intently. “Stop it. I’m not gonna die, the bullet just scraped my skin. I can even stitch myself up if I had sutures. The others need more help. Trust me, okay?”

“I trust you… I’m just worried.” I wanted to hug her again as the fear crept in. The danger Umji spoke about was real. I saw it back in that parking lot and I continued seeing it in front of me. The possibility of Yerin getting hurt was real. I could lose her because of my hatred.

“Do you want me to get you a room? Or you can just call me when you’re done?” Umji interrupted.

And just when I was about to rebut, the familiar doctor approached us. “Her condition is still critical, the bullet hit a major blood vessel. I don’t think we can treat her conservatively. We’re taking her to the OR now. Is there anyone who can sign consents for her?”

“That person just fainted. She’s right there.”

“That’s fine. I’ll just talk to JD later. And you, get that stitched up, room three.”

“How are her vitals?” Yerin asked disregarding the doctor’s instruction completely.

“She’ll be in hypovolemic shock in a matter of minutes but we’ve been keeping her on bolus IVs to keep her stable. I hope she doesn’t arrest on the OR table. By the way, here’s the room number-” She took a post-it paper and scribbled something. “- you can wait there until she’s out of the RR. I have to leave now.”

“She’s not doing good, is she?”

“Don’t tell her.” Yerin said before walking toward our leader’s room.

“Not so fast, princess.” I pulled her hand to the room the doctor said. I knew both of them raised an eyebrow to what I said.

“Eeeew…”

“Oh, cut it off Umji, if you don’t want me-”

“OH MY GOD! ARE YOU OKAY??”

Like reflex I let go of Yerin’s hand when I heard Yuju’s voice. I don’t know why on earth I did that and when I realized that I did, Yerin was already walking into the room.

“Oh, eonnie, I’m-” I didn’t get to finish because she threw herself at me and hugged me like I was the one who got shot. We were in front of Umji who was waiting to greet Yuju but after what happened, she immediately went to where Sowon was.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there. Thank God, you’re okay. Are you sure you didn’t get shot?” She released me and hurriedly inspected me from head down, removing my hood, lifting my sweatshirt, turning me around and squeezing my limbs like she was airport security looking for a concealed weapon.

“Eonnie… Please stop it, I’m okay...” I said replacing my hood. And as I did I saw Yerin stare at the floor while the nurse cut through her left sleeve to expose the cut that was almost three inches in length. She was right, but despite the bullet just grazing her skin, the wound looked terrible. I don’t know how she was able to endure the pain that she did not complain a single bit.

“Where’s Eunha? Sowon-eonnie?”

“Eunha-eonnie was taken to the operating room. Sowon-eonnie is in there, she fainted.” I pointed to the other room where less medical staff were now staying. “You can go and check her.”

As soon as she walked toward the curtains, I went to Yerin and immediately took her hand. She shook her head and pulled away but I was determined not to let go even if Yuju comes back and sees it. “No.” And I leaned closer in spite of her giving me the dismayed look.

“Uhrrghhmm… Should I keep Yuju-eonnie in the other room?” Umji suddenly appeared.

“No.”

“YES.”

“I’ll follow SinB since she said it louder. Bye.” Umji disappeared.

“Eonnie… Why didn’t you tell me you got shot?”

“It’s just a-”

“Still, a bullet hit you, that qualifies as getting shot.” I insisted making the nurse look at me and nod. “See? Even she agrees. And she’s a nurse. And you, you’re still an illegal practitioner.”

“Tell me, do you want to get shot too?”

“Eonnie, we’re holding hands… The only shots I’ll expect from you will be Tequila shots.”

“That’s Eunha’s job…” She didn’t flinch even once while the needle punctured her repeatedly but she couldn’t hide anymore the worry and sadness she felt about Eunha’s state.

“So… just tetanus shots then…?” I answered but even I couldn’t fully deliver my joke. I saw her face started turning red. But it was the kind of red that signaled a downpour of grief. I hugged her carefully not to touch the wound that was just covered with a gauze. It was funny because earlier she was comforting me and now, she was the one needing it.

The nurse left after she cleaned up but even when we weren’t alone, I kept Yerin in my arms until I felt her body relax and she let me.

After what happened in the parking lot of the paintball arena, a heightened fear of losing her arose. Life can change in a second and the last thing I would want to regret in my deathbed is an unspoken love. And I know she realized that too, probably even more after hearing everything Sowon had to say in that blood-drenched backseat of my car.

“YAH! EUNHA! DAMMIT! DON’T LEAVE ME! EUNHA! GOD! PLEASE! I LOVE YOU! WAKE UP! Don’t go, be strong. Don’t be like this! I’m sorry I push you away but that’s not what I want. I just wanted to wait for things to be better. God! Please wake up. Don’t leave like this. I shouldn’t have waited. You always ask me if my love has gone away, NO! I STILL LOVE YOU AND IT HAS NEVER CHANGED! Our dreams together… they never changed.  Forgive me, I love you, EUNHA!! WAKE UP!”

No one will remember what else she said exactly. I recall there were more curse words than I could count, and her asking Yerin to save Eunha like she was a god who could do so with a flick of a finger. But I’m sure she kept calling her name, begging, apologizing and confessing the love she regrets not showing.

I don’t want that to happen to us. I may not know exactly how relationships work, let alone with someone as unpredictable as Yerin, but I am sure I want this and I want it with her. Wait, I’m not even in a relationship with her yet.

“Eonnie…” I whispered as I rested my chin on her shoulder. “Thank you. For liking me too. You’re not going to take that back, right?”

“It’s not something I did voluntarily so, don’t thank me.” She replied. It was straightforward but not cold, something in her tone told me she wanted to say it sweetly but she just couldn’t.

“I’m not thanking you for that. I’m thanking you for telling me.” It wasn’t the most suitable circumstance to think about it and I probably should maintain a decorous space between us, but I couldn’t help thinking about kissing her. She was so near that I could have reached her lips without effort and just drown in the overwhelming emotions I felt for her. But there was a lingering discord inside me and I knew at that moment that the warmth of each other’s comfort was what we both needed.

“I actually ha-”

“OH!” Was Yuju’s first word when she returned to the room.

I felt Yerin’s body stiffen again but there was no way in hell I was letting her go. “Ah, eonnie-”

“Is Yerin-eonnie cold? It’s too cold in this hospital, right?? Maybe I should help you keep her warm. Poor eonnie…” Yuju started walking toward Yerin’s back and hugged her. At that point, I didn’t know if I should have released Yerin and prevented a more awkward situation from emerging, but before I could do anything,

“Eon-” Umji entered seconds after, more confused as she realized Yuju was back-hugging my future girlfriend. Yeah, I’m not striking through it anymore, I’m claiming it. “What happened here?

“Oh! We’re keeping eonnie warm. Come here, you should help us.”

Umji was wide-eyed looking at Yuju when she invited her to join the uncomfortable circle of misunderstanding. I threw her a meaningful look as she just froze in front of us trying to make sense of the unconventional cuddling situation.

“AH… Oh… O--kay…” Umji approached leisurely shifting her gaze at Yerin who just grimaced to a scene of utmost misinterpretation. She went the opposite side and slowly slithered her arm around Yerin and Yuju.

“I’m not cold… anymore.”

“Great.” Umji immediately stood straight and I did the same. “Sowon-eonnie is ready to be transferred to the room. And you two need to wash up and take off your Halloween costumes.” Umji met my eyes and I understood I needed walk ahead and follow her out. “SinB and I will tag along eonnie’s gurney, we’ll meet you in the room.”

---

“We don’t have clothes.” I told her quietly after we exited.

“Eunseo drove me here. She took your car for obvious reasons, and left hers. And she found the hair specimen. But then we also unearthed this abomination in your trunk.”

I took the backpack that she just ped in front of me. “Why are you giving me that look like I made the biggest mistake of the century?”

“Couple sweatshirts? Seriously?” She answered as if it was the most anticlimactic expression of love.

“How did you know?”

“Aside from the fact that one is red, the other is yellow? How about the S and Y written on them?”

“Tsss… But you think she’ll be okay with it? I mean couple stuff?”

“Why not? It’s just a sweatshirt with a letter on it.”

“Whew! I tho-” Damn. I didn’t even get to the part where I actually felt relief.

“But once she discovers your name doesn’t exactly start with S, she might get a tad disappointment at you. Perhaps break up with you and finally shoot you.” She cut me off with her judgmental, heart-stabbing presumption.

“Why do you always have to be the prophet of doom?? She just told me we can start dating and here you are pouring boiling water on me.”

“No, I’m pouring cold water on you, SinB-yah. Not in a million years would Yerin-eonnie open up to someone again, I don’t want it to culminate as tragic.” Suddenly her tone was grave and I felt the burden of my identity once more.

“I know… I’ll work on it after this, okay? By the way, did you already find out what happened?”

“I work well with computers. I don’t remember ever telling you that I am a computer.”

“Wait, what?? You’re a computer?? Like a robot?”

She looked at me like the world crashed and burned on her. “Your wit, or lack thereof, is making me feel that you’re a better match for Yuju-eonnie.”

“Tssss... I’m not gonna steal her from you. Can you just stop the smart talk for once so I don’t get confused? We almost died there, you know.”

“Fine. I mean I can’t work that fast, and get here, converse with everyone, and at the same time do my research. In short, I still don’t know. Earlier, Yuju-eonnie went to the paintball arena and hacked into the CCTV feed outside.”

“Ah that’s why she came after you.”

“Exactly. And by the way, I gave in to enlisting Eunseo-yah to help us as she insisted to do so. She will be reviewing the footage outside and locate the car through the tracer Yerin-eonnie planted.”

“Yeah, she’ll be of great help. See, saying things in humanly fashion is easier. You almost gave me a heart attack there. I thought you were AI or something.”

“Well, I could pass for someone with Artificial Intelligence, but yeah, just human.” Umji sneered.

“Excuse me, my GPA is higher than yours.” Sowon suddenly spoke. Her voice was still hushed and fatigued, but she was definitely awake. And delusional.

“Eonnie! You’re awake!”

“Umji’s right. You like stating the obvious. How’s Eunha?”

I remember what Yerin told us earlier and so I know Umji and I answered carefully. “She was taken to the operating room just a few moments after you fainted. The doc said they had to stitch up a blood vessel and they needed to do it there.”

“Is she out of danger?” She asked as the nurses started wheeling her out of the ER.

“She lost some blood as you saw earlier. But she’ll be out of the OR soon.”

“Rest for now, eonnie. We’ll get updates soon.”

“Yeah, you rest, eonnie. We don’t want that GPA to go down.” I jested before we entered the elevator.

“Eonnie actually has the highest GPA among us.” Umji remarked.

“What?? Are you kidding me??”

“Tell me why wasn’t this rascal the one who got shot? Why did it have to be Eunha?”

We knew that Sowon was just joking but the next few seconds was a standstill for Umji and I. We have been thinking that the incident earlier might be related to me. But we never asked why Eunha was shot in the back while she was walking toward Yerin. If Eunha was the target all along, she would have been shot while she was inside the car. And if I was the target, they should have aimed at me.

We looked at each other, both with eyes apprehensive. I looked at the digital floor indicator and we were not even halfway to 10^th.

“1024.” I told Umji as I took out my phone.

“What’s 1024?” Sowon interrupted our silent communication.

“Your room number.”

When I saw my phone’s screen, there were already a few messages from Eunseo that just came not even a few minutes ago.

ES: I’m looking at the footage now. The shooter came from the arena.

ES: He was in the car waiting for the two of you to come out.

ES: Judging from his movement, he’s the guy who Yerin shot in the chest a few times.

ES: I think he was aiming at Yerin.

ES: But Eunha suddenly just got out of the car.

SB: Was it just revenge?

I looked at the indicator again and there were three more floors because the door kept opening. Umji could sense the panic in my face as my eyes darted back to my phone. There was no text but my phone was ringing.

“Eunseo.” I tried to talk calmly.

“SinB-yah, please tell me you’re with Yerin.”

“No. Why?”

“Eunha was facing Yerin when she was shot. She was hit on the right side of her back just above the scapula. If my calculation is right, considering their height difference, the shooter was originally aiming at Yerin’s left chest.”

“.” I looked at Umji and she started feeling for the gun she kept behind her.

“I can’t be sure if it’s revenge or something more.”

“Why? It’s clear from your explanation.”

“I followed the tracer location. SinB-yah, the shooter went to the Academy’s premises. I’m sending security there now. Be safe.”

The elevator door opened to a wall with metal plates that indicated where the rooms’ locations were. As soon as I saw the direction to 1024, I ran to it like I was running for my life. I know Sowon yelled asking what was happening but neither of us answered. I could hear Umji’s footsteps as she trailed behind and we didn’t need words to know we had to hurry to the room.

1024 was almost at the end of the floor that we had to turn a few corners, avoid some flustered patients in wheelchairs and ignore several hospital personnel asking us to slow down and be quiet. But there was no way I’m slowing down. I have never really paid attention to where Eunha was shot. I don’t know why I never thought about that glaring fact. And with the thought that Yerin was literally chasing her own death earlier made me want to cry and teleport beside her.

When I reached the room, I turned the door knob vigorously but it didn’t move.

It was locked.

"SinB-yah..." Umji pointed at the tile I was standing on. 

There was blood smeared with my shoeprint.

A/N: Again, thank you for reading the story. Thank you most especially for the sincere comments. I am always excited seeing that globe thing at the top turn red, kinda makes my heart jump sometimes. Haha! But sadly, I am expecting some delays in the writing of the next chapters, but only because the girls are coming back, and I anticipate that I won't be in the proper mind to write. And you wouldn't be sane enough to read anyway. Haha!