No, you are not mistaken; I really did post three times in a row. I'm going to be a bit absent for a bit because I have exams coming up, so I decided to bust out three chapters for you guys before I disappeared. I'll be back soon!

Also, if anyone catches the quick reference to my other story "Precious Moments", pls comment down below eheh

“How about this chicken restaurant, Unnie?” Hayoung asked, pointing to a restaurant next to them.

“I’m not feeling chicken,” Bomi replied and walked past the restaurant.

“How could you not be feeling chicken?” Hayoung mumbled. She pointed to another restaurant. “Do you want beef instead?”

“I had a big breakfast. I can’t eat a big meal right now.”

“We left at eight in the morning and it’s past twelve now. How are you not hungry?” Hayoung nudged Bomi towards a quaint little dessert shop. “How about bingsoo?”

Bomi shuddered. “I have bad memories with bingsoo.”

“How in the world could you have bad memories with bingsoo?”

“Let’s just say it ruined a night that was supposed to be meant for celebrations,” Bomi replied. “Are you really that hungry?”

“We’ve been chasing lead after lead, but none of them turned out to be any good. We’re as close to finding the next Shadow Clan meeting as we were when we left...and that wasn’t very close. I think we should take a break.” Hayoung pouted a bit, and Bomi suddenly felt bad. The younger woman had seemed excited to go on this small mission with Bomi and had claimed that it would be her chance to get to know Bomi. She had already been well-acquainted with the other members, and she wanted to do the same with Bomi, but Bomi wasn’t being the most exciting companion.

Bomi sighed and shoved her hands in her pockets. It was a normal chilly winter day, and her hands were frozen from being out too long. Though she had taken caution and dressed warmly, the breeze still managed to sneak its way through the fabric of her clothes and send tremors down her body. Bomi looked around them, taking in their surroundings. They had stopped in the middle of a busy sidewalk in the heart of the city, and bustling traffic moved around them, the streets buzzing with life.

Off to the side, Bomi spotted a street vendor selling what looked like warm fishcakes. She nodded towards the small cart and said, “Do you want to get a snack for now? We have one more lead to follow up, then we can go get lunch.”

Hayoung’s eyes lit up like a child’s. For some reason, Bomi felt the odd urge to pat her hair. “Really?”

“Yeah. Both will be on me.”

“Wow, did you earn a lot of money while being AWOL?” Hayoung snickered.

Bomi just shrugged dismissively. “I had a few side jobs here and there.”

Hayoung looked uncertain. “Do I want to know about them?”

“Come on, Hayoung-ah. Just because I went AWOL doesn’t mean I became a dirty person,” Bomi said. Then she rubbed her nose and looked away. “Well, not that dirty.”

Hayoung looked uncertain for a second longer. “I’ll do you a favor and not tell Chorong-unnie you said that.”

Bomi laughed and playfully tapped Hayoung's shoulder. They walked towards the street vendor, and when they got close enough to see the soft steam rising from the cart and smell the delectable aroma, Bomi’s stomach growled. She was suddenly reminded that even though she had eaten a large breakfast, she was still exhausted and hungry.

“Two please,” Bomi told the vendor and handed her the money. Just as Bomi was going to take the fishcakes, someone slammed into her, knocking both her and the fishcakes to the ground.

“What the hell?” Bomi yelled at the same time as Hayoung yelled, “My fishcakes!”

Bomi threw Hayoung an incredulous look, and Hayoung quickly said, “Uh, I mean, Bomi-unnie!”

Hayoung helped Bomi up right as a middle-aged woman came running towards them, screaming, “Stop that man! He has my purse!”

Both Bomi and Hayoung whipped around to find a man sprinting down the sidewalk, pushing past crowds of people as he went. In his hand was a bright red purse. Bomi and Hayoung shared one wild glance before they both exploded into a wild sprint towards the thief.

Together they barrelled through the streets, dodging the traffic and screaming sorry to anyone they bumped into. High speed foot-chases like this had always given Bomi some sort of thrill, and she almost found herself smiling as she jumped over obstacles and slipped through tight spaces. Given Hayoung’s long legs, Bomi wasn’t surprised that the maknae could easily keep up with her.

Bomi was more surprised that the thief could keep up with them. As they chased after him, he leapt over obstacles and wove through the sidewalk traffic with surprising ease, and he showed no sign of slowing. Whoever he was, he was obviously trained in getaways. 

Eventually they reached a split in their path, where there was an intersection with moving cars. Bomi and Hayoung skidded to a stop, but the thief didn’t even hesitate as he fearlessly ran into traffic. The cars honked and swerved out of the way, but he simply jumped over them and continued forward.

“You go after him,” Hayoung panted. “I’ll go this way and cut him off.”

Hayoung sprinted off in the other direction before Bomi could reply. Cursing to herself, Bomi ran into the busy streets, leaping over and dodging cars just like the thief had.

“Stop him!” Bomi shouted as she ran. “Stop that man!”

People tried to stop him, but he easily evaded them like a slippery snake. Bomi cursed and continued the chase, staying closely at his heels. No matter how hard she ran, however, she couldn’t get close enough to stop him. He was impossibly fast, and the most Bomi could do was keep up with him so she wouldn’t lose him.

They were beginning to reach another intersection with moving cars. This time, there were more cars, and Bomi knew that if they ran straight into that traffic, only one would make it out alive. The thief picked up his pace, and Bomi, letting out another colorful curse, also picked up her pace.

Before either of them could reach the intersection, a flash of brown appeared from the side and rammed into the thief, knocking him into the alley next to them. With a sharp turn, Bomi rounded the corner into the deep alley and found Hayoung panting heavily and pinning the thief down on the ground. Bomi slowed to a stop and approached them, trying to catch her breath.

“Are you a track star?” Bomi asked, still breathing heavily. She snatched the red purse from the thief’s hands. “You’re too goddamn fast.”

Bomi squatted down in front of the thief, and he lifted his head with a scowl. Hayoung pressed more weight onto him. The thief grunted, but he still said nothing and simply glared at Bomi like he had some personal grudge against her. If he did, Bomi didn’t know what for, because she was sure that she had never seen this man before. He was young and probably in his late twenties. If Bomi swang that way, she would have said that he was arguably handsome.

“I hope you’re comfortable. We’re going to have to stay here until the police come,” Hayoung said to the man. Then she asked Bomi, “Could you call the police, Unnie?”

“On it,” said Bomi. She pulled out her phone, but before she could dial anything, the thief lunged forward. Hayoung toppled off of him, and the last thing Bomi saw before the thief threw himself onto her was Hayoung’s shocked face.

Bomi and the thief wrestled for a few seconds, but Bomi was eventually able to wrap her leg around the man and flip him over onto his back. He tried to fight back, but Bomi caught both of his wrists and forced him down. Hayoung trotted up next to them, and pulled out her handgun and pointed it at the thief. 

“Are you okay, Unnie?” Hayoung inquired. She blew away a tuft of hair from her face.

“I’m fine,” Bomi answered. She glared down at the thief, who didn’t seem guilty or scared at all. “What is your name?”

The man looked up at her and did what Bomi least expected: he laughed. It wasn’t any normal laugh like he had just been told a joke; if anything, his laugh was closer to the evil laugh of a malicious villain. It sent a chill down Bomi’s spine.

The man cackled for a bit longer, then he stopped and cleared his throat. He grinned up at her. “He found you, Yoon Bomi.”

Bomi felt her body go cold. “What did you just say?”

Hayoung clicked her gun. She looked like how Bomi felt: both confused and slightly frightened. “How do you know her?”

The thief ignored Hayoung. “There will be a message for you...soon.”

“What are you talking about?” Bomi demanded. “Who?”

He just laughed again. “Wait for his message.”

“Who?” Bomi shouted.

“We’ll take him back with us,” Hayoung said. “We’ll make him talk.”

“You’re right,” Bomi replied. “Help me get him up.”

Bomi just slightly released some pressure on the man’s wrists, but he lunged at the opportunity. Quickly, he broke away from Bomi, reached into his pocket, and popped something past his lips.

It all happened too fast. One moment he was pinned under Bomi, the next moment he was convulsing and foaming from his lips. His entire body shook and his eyes rolled back into his skull, like he was being exorcised. A second later, his body stopped seizing, and he went deadly still. 

“No,” Bomi murmured. “No!”

Bomi surged forward, trying to shake the man awake, but it was too late. He was already dead.

Hayoung set a gentle hand on Bomi’s shoulder and pulled her back. “Cyanide. He knew we were going to catch him.”

“He wanted us to catch him,” Bomi muttered. She rose from the ground shakily. “He wanted to give me that message.”

He found you, Yoon Bomi.

Bomi didn’t know who “he” was, but she knew one thing for sure. Whoever it was, they would cross paths soon, and only one of them would make it out alive. And Bomi didn’t know if she was ready.