“How are you feeling, Unnie?” Namjoo asked Eunji as they walked down the pristine palace halls.

“Shouldn’t you be asking Bomi that?” Eunji replied.

“I already know how Bomi-unnie is feeling. I visited her this morning. I want to know if you’re okay.”

Eunji smiled at Namjoo, the ever-energetic kid of the team. Namjoo always had this energy that would bring you up when you were down, and it was one of the many things that Eunji loved about her. She had been the same back in the academy, but now that Eunji had been working closely with her for the past few weeks, she had developed a newfound appreciation for Namjoo’s charismatic personality.

“Still shaken up, if I’m being honest with you,” Eunji admitted. “I haven’t stopped thinking about the possibility of Yookyung-ah being alive.”

“Neither have I,” Namjoo said. “But we’ll find out in a few minutes if it’s true or not.”

Eunji nodded and kept pace next to Namjoo. They were walking briskly to the laboratory of the palace. Under normal circumstances, Eunji would have thought that it would be weird to have a laboratory in a palace, but the lab had been built recently for the sole purpose of aiding the mission to defeat the Shadow Clan.

Not so long ago, Namjoo had received a message from Sungjae saying that he had successfully extracted the video from Seungri’s phone. Namjoo had immediately gone to find Eunji, who had been going over some files with Naeun. 

When they arrived at the laboratory, Eunji took a quick second to admire the spotless floors, clean stations, neat rows of expensive machinery. For something that had been built quite hastily, the laboratory was remarkable.

“Namjoo-ah!” Sungjae stood from his station the moment he saw them. “Eunji-ssi! You two came quickly.”

“The situation is pretty urgent,” Eunji said. She and Namjoo wove between the tables and chairs to reach the tall, handsome young man. Sungjae was dressed professionally in a fitted button-up and slacks, as he always was.

“I was able to extract the video from Seungri’s phone, along with some other bits of useful information,” Sungjae told them. “I still have to organize the information into a detailed report, but I figured that you’d like to see the video before anything.”

Eunji nodded. “Thank you.”

“We really appreciate you for doing this, Sungjae-ah,” Namjoo said. “Just tell me how I can repay you and I’ll do it.”

“I suppose a date is still off the table?”

Eunji lifted a brow and looked at Namjoo, but Namjoo didn’t even bristle. It was as though it was a running joke between them, because her reply was automatic and effortless, “You know very well that it is. Anything else is still on the table, though.”

Sungjae didn’t express any disappointment; he just grinned like he expected it and turned to his computer monitor. “I’ll think about it,” he said. “Anyways, regarding the video…”

Immediately, Eunji was at the edge of her feet. Thoughts of Yookyung filled her mind. “What about it?”

Sungjae looked almost apologetic, and Eunji instantly knew that she wouldn’t like what she was about to hear. She braced herself, unconsciously holding in her breath.

“My team and I were able to trace it back to its origin,” Sungjae said. “It was created two years ago on the eighth of June.”

Sungjae paused there and allowed the information to sink in. Namjoo and Eunji remained quiet for a moment, processing what he had just told them. 

“The eighth of June,” Namjoo repeated slowly. “That’s the day Bomi-unnie and her team were captured.”

Eunji knew that too; that date had been burned into her brain since the day she found out that Yookyung had been killed. Her thoughts were in disarray, and her feelings were even bigger of a mess.

“What does this mean?” Eunji asked. She knew the answer, but she needed someone to make her believe it. From the corner of her eye, Eunji saw Namjoo look at her worriedly.

Sungjae took a deep breath and said what Eunji hadn’t wanted to hear, “The file was most likely recorded two years ago, when Bomi-ssi and her team were captured. They must have somehow separated them and filmed this video knowing that they could use it later.” And that they had. Eunji still didn’t want to believe it.

“Does that mean they filmed similar videos like this for all of the other members?” Namjoo questioned.

Before Eunji could suppress it, a tiny spark of hope lit up in her heart. Maybe the video had been taken after Bomi had escaped. Maybe there was only a video of Yookyung because she had been the sole survivor. 

But Sungjae’s next words blew out that spark. “Yes. We found similar videos for all of the other members, including Bomi-ssi.”

A numbness spread throughout Eunji’s body as all hope of Yookyung being alive slipped away. “Can I see the video?” Eunji requested tightly.

Nodding, Sungjae turned his computer monitor towards them. Eunji and Namjoo leaned in close.

It was Yookyung. The woman on the screen was undeniably Eunji’s dear friend, but at the same time, it wasn’t. The Shadow Clan had edited her to look thinner and paler, and if Eunji just caught a glimpse of the video, she would be convinced that it was Yookyung in the video, just like Bomi had been. But as Eunji studied the video even further, she noticed that Yookyung was still wearing her normal mission attire. She was hunched up in the corner of the cell with her knees drawn up, but Eunji could tell that Yookyung was wearing her favorite black pants and black tank-top. The Shadow Clan hadn’t been able to edit those out.

It was still unsettling though, seeing this fabricated image of Yookyung. They had made her look so weak and hopeless, but Eunji knew Yookyung, and she knew that she would have been far from weak and hopeless in that cell.

“Would you like to see the other videos?” Sungjae asked.

Eunji leaned back, trying to distance herself from what was on the screen. 

She was really gone. Yookyung was really gone. 

Eunji had never really had a reason to doubt her death, yet this recent occurrence had triggered some hidden hope that Eunji hadn’t known that she had. But that hope had been destroyed, and now Eunji had lost Yookyung twice. A part of her had expected that the video was fake, but the truth still hurt.

“Bomi’s,” Eunji replied. “I would like to see Bomi’s video.”

Sungjae looked hesitant, but Namjoo was quicker to react. She grabbed Eunji’s arm and asked her with wide eyes, “Are you sure, Unnie?” 

In Namjoo’s large, worried eyes, Eunji saw her true answer. She turned away from the screen, unable to bear to see Yookyung like that. “No, I’m sorry. This video is enough.”

As if reading Eunji’s thoughts, Sungjae exited out of the video player, removing that tainted image from the screen. “I’m going to prepare the report now and have it ready by tonight. Is there anything else you would like me to find?”

Namjoo glanced at Eunji before answering, “No, that’s all. Thank you, Sungjae-ah. Seriously, anything you want, just tell me.” Sungjae lifted his brow, but Namjoo quickly added, “Except a date.”

Sungjae shrugged. “I figured as much. Don’t worry about having to pay me back, though. This is what friends are for.”

“It’s also your job,” Namjoo pointed out.

“I would have done it regardless,” he said with a grin.

“You’re the best.” Namjoo reached over and gave him a hug. “We’ll leave you to your work. Thanks again.”

Eunji thanked Sungjae as well, then left the laboratory with Namjoo. They walked in silence for a while. Eunji’s thoughts kept troubling her; she kept thinking about how Yookyung was truly gone and that Bomi would likely be devastated to hear the news. It also didn’t make sense why the Shadow Clan had tried to kill Bomi when they had claimed that they wanted her to trade Naeun for Yookyung. It seemed awfully counterintuitive; they had essentially tried to kill their key to capturing the princess. So what had they really wanted from Bomi? Things didn’t line up, and Eunji and the others would have to get to the bottom of it.

It was only after they had been walking for five minutes when Eunji realized that she hadn’t said a word to Namjoo. She had just been walking wordlessly, leaving Namjoo to awkwardly walk in silence next to her.

“So,” Eunji finally said, “what’s this about a date with Sungjae?”

“Oh, God,” Namjoo groaned. “Back in the academy, he had a crush on me. He would constantly try asking me out, but I rejected him every time. Eventually I told him why I wouldn’t go out with him, and since then, it’s been sort of an inside joke between us.”

“Does he still have feelings for you?”

“I don’t know,” Namjoo replied. “I hope not. I wouldn’t want to hurt him.”

“You’re that sure about your answer, huh?” Eunji said, and Namjoo nodded. “Why wouldn’t you go out with him?”

“I liked someone else.”

“And you still do?”

This time, Namjoo’s reply came slower. “Yeah, I do.”

“Well,” said Eunji, “I hope it works out for you.”

“I do too,” Namjoo chuckled lightly. “Anyways, how are you? I know you were pretty shaken up back there.”

Eunji chewed on her inner cheek. “I’m disappointed. That might be understating it, but what can I say? I really thought that I’d have a chance to see my best friend again.”

“I know and I’m sorry, Unnie. I really am.”

“You don’t have to apologize, Namjoo-ah. This was out of our control.” Eunji shook her head and forced a small smile. “Thank you for asking Sungjae to do this for me, though. It’s better that we found out now rather than later.”

“Of course.” Namjoo stopped in the middle of the hall and stood in front of Eunji. “I wasn’t as close to Yookyung-unnie as you were, so I can’t imagine what you’re feeling now. If there is anything I can do to help you, just tell me, Unnie.”

“Is a date off the table for me?”

Namjoo faltered, but quickly realized that Eunji was joking. “I’m going to have to veto that one.”

“I figured,” Eunji laughed. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t ask you for that.”

“Is that an insult?”

“No.” Eunji continued walking forward, and Namjoo turned to walk beside her. “There’s someone for me too.”

Namjoo was immediately interested. “Oh?”

Eunji looked down at her feet. Her heart grew happy yet sad just thinking about the person. “I doubt it’s going to work out for me, though.”

“Why’s that?”

Eunji closed her eyes briefly, and she could see the image of the person who held her heart. After years of knowing them, she could practically draw their face blindly―from their small lips to the shape of their nose. Eunji opened her eyes and let out a small sigh.

“I don’t think I’m the right one for her,” Eunji replied softly.

Namjoo said nothing after that, and Eunji appreciated it, because now, along with the thoughts of Yookyung, thoughts of this one person made her heart ache. Her heart had been aching for a while now, and she had tried her best to ignore it. But it had been hurting a lot more recently, and Eunji prayed that it wouldn’t get to the point that it would break her.

No. She wouldn’t let it.

Her chest felt heavy as they walked through the halls of the palace, but Eunji just continued to do what she did best: she kept walking forward, no matter how much it hurt.