“Hayoung, behind you!” Naeun shouted.

Hayoung whipped around just in time to block her attacker’s strike and stab her dagger straight into his chest. It didn’t take long for another Shadow Clan follower to launch another attack. Naeun yelped, but Hayoung successfully evaded their attack.

The image before Naeun was nothing short of a horror movie scene. Dead bodies, both of Shadow Clan followers and royal family agents, were strewn across her room, connected by pools and splatters of blood. Bullets dotted her walls and furniture, and the room reeked of the pungent odor of blood, sweat, and death. 

Naeun pressed her back deeper into the wall behind her, watching Hayoung single-handedly fight five men at once. The rest of the agents who had been stationed to guard Naeun had been killed. Naeun didn’t know how the others in the palace fared, and she feared greatly for her parents’ lives. She tried to convince herself that they were safe, since they had dozens of guards with them and even a secret escape passage from their room. Yet as she took in the stench of death around her, Naeun couldn’t help but feel that pit of despair in her chest.

“Princess!” Hayoung screamed, and Naeun jolted up. 

While Hayoung was grappling with one man, another had broken past her and was lunging towards Naeun. Naeun threw her hands up, pointed her gun right at the center of the man’s chest, and fired. The bullet penetrated his chest, and the man collapsed to the floor. Hayoung looked back quickly, and when he saw that Naeun had killed the man, she threw her offender off of her. Naeun shakily lowered her arms, trying to keep her grip on the gun as still as possible.

I’ll teach you when I get back. Eunji had promised Naeun to teach her how to use a gun when she returned, and Naeun had looked forward to it. She didn’t know that she would have needed the lesson sooner.

The Shadow Clan had come out of nowhere. About thirty minutes ago, Hayoung had received a report of a breach of the palace walls, and the next thing Naeun remembered was the doors of her room being flung open. Shadow Clan members had poured through her doors like a powerful tide, and Hayoung and the other guards had quickly assembled themselves around the princess. Naeun had watched members of both sides fall one by one, until it was just her, Hayoung, and the remaining Shadow Clan followers. 

During the midst of it all, Hayoung had pressed one of her handguns into Naeun’s hands and had told her to point it at anyone who came at her. Hayoung had long since run out of bullets, and Naeun had tried to give her the gun, but Hayoung had just shouted at Naeun to stay back. Some of the Shadow Clan members had guns, and Naeun didn’t know how it was possible, but it seemed like Hayoung was moving too fast for them to get a clear shot.

It was two against one now, and though that seemed like a disadvantage on Hayoung’s part, Naeun had seen the maknae spar before. She knew that Hayoung was more than capable of turning a disadvantage like this into an advantage.

And indeed she did. One of the men tried to tackle Hayoung’s legs, but Hayoung quickly sidestepped and pushed the man straight into his comrade. They tumbled together, and Hayoung was immediately upon them. She pulled one of the men up by his shirt and stabbed her knife into his belly. He dropped to the floor and did not come back up.

The last Shadow Clan follower regarded Hayoung fearfully. With one powerful roundhouse kick, Hayoung’s long leg collided with his jaw, and he quite literally flew to the side. Her attack didn’t stop there. Using the momentum from her kick, Hayoung swung her body around and landed a wheel-kick to the man’s face. He crumpled to the floor, and though Naeun was fairly sure that he wouldn’t have risen anyways, Hayoung stabbed the end of her dagger into his chest.

It was over. Hayoung had defeated all of them remaining Shadow Clan men. She was still bent over her last opponent, gasping heavily. Slowly, she rose and stood amidst the crowd of lifeless bodies. Blood was flecked across her face and hair, and her clothes were all torn up. Naeun thought that she looked solemnly beautiful―in a deadly kind of way. She saw none of the sweet, gentle maknae whom she had grown to adore.

It was only when Hayoung finally turned to Naeun and smiled when Naeun saw the gentle giant in her. Hayoung stepped over the arm of a fallen man and began walking towards Naeun, and Naeun lowered her gun to make her way towards Hayoung. 

But then Naeun saw a flash of black behind Hayoung, and she halted in place.

“Hayoung-ah!” Naeun screamed.

Hayoung whirled around, but it was too late. Her face twisted in pure pain, and she fell to her knees. A knife was jutting out of her lower back, and behind her stood one of the men she had struck down. Naeun had thought that Hayoung had killed all of them, but one of them must have crawled his way back up to deliver one last blow.

The last blow was the most fatal one. Hayoung collapsed to the floor, blood lining her lips. Naeun cried out and raised her gun one last time. The Shadow Clan follower made eye contact with Naeun just as she fired a bullet right into his chest, ending his life once and for all. His body hadn’t even dropped to the floor before Naeun cast aside her gun and sprinted towards Hayoung.

Naeun slid to Hayoung’s side, gently lifting her head onto her lap. Her hands hurriedly searched for Hayoung’s wound, and when they found it, they came away completely coated in warm blood. 

“Hayoung-ah, stay with me,” Naeun uttered desperately. “Hayoung-ah!”

Hayoung coughed. Her face was already so pale. “Naeun-unnie…”

“Shh,” Naeun hushed. “Don’t talk. You’ll just strain yourself.”

Hayoung ignored her and said again, “Unnie…”

“You’ll be okay. I’ll call for help.” Naeun tore Hayoung’s radio from her chest and pressed it to her lips. “Hello? Is anyone there?”

There was a faint buzz, but no one answered.

“Is anyone there? This is Princess Naeun!” Naeun tried again. “We have an injured agent. Please send help!”

Hayoung caught Naeun’s wrist and forced her to lower the radio. “Unnie, you…you have to get out of here. The Shadow Clan might still be out there.”

“No. No, I’m not going to leave you.”

“You have to.”

“No! I won’t!” Naeun cried.

“Please. You have to.” Hayoung enveloped Naeun’s hand in her own and smiled gently. Tears were lining her eyes. “I promised you that I would protect you, didn’t I?”

Naeun sniffed. “What?”

“That summer…I promised you, remember?”

Realization washed over Naeun like an icy wave. All this time… 

“It’s you,” Naeun breathed quietly. 

Hayoung nodded weakly. “It’s always been me.”

“How…How long have you known?”

“I’ve always known,” Hayoung replied.“I…never forgot you or our promise.”

Hayoung coughed again, and this time more blood gushed out. Her head lolled to the side, and her eyelids fluttered. Naeun cradled Hayoung’s head in her arms and sobbed, “Hayoung, stay awake. Keep your eyes open!”

Hayoung struggled to keep her eyes open, but she looked at Naeun in the eye. She smiled softly. “I love you, Unnie. I always have.”

When the final word left her lips, Hayoung’s eyes closed and didn’t open again. Her hand slipped from Naeun’s and fell limply to the side. Naeun let out a choked cry and hugged Hayoung’s body, rocking back and forth as her sobs tore from her chest. She sent out a desperate prayer to please, please let Hayoung open her eyes once again.

Yet as the seconds passed by and as Naeun continued to pray to all the gods out there, Hayoung still did not open her eyes.

This is just going to be a single update again (which is why I decided to post it a week after the last update instead of two weeks). There are only a few chapters left! I can't believe I made it this far into the story, considering how I usually start stories and never finish them. Thank you everyone for your continuous support. I hope you'll keep reading til the end!