CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: The Chimera

Taeyeon hadn’t been wearing her seat belt. When the car started flipping up, she was pressed into her seat by inertia. Once the car reached the peak of its trajectory and started falling, she’d continue upwards and smash her head into the car roof. As surprised as she was at the speed and strength of the enemy soldier, it only took her the first second of the car’s upward motion to get over her shock. She grabbed the door handle and yanked it just hard enough to release the door. Then, she reached the other way, one hand still on the K11, the other hand reaching out for Jiyong’s collar. He wasn’t wearing his seat belt either. She pulled him towards herself. The next second ticked past. 

On the third second, the car had flipped upside down in mid-air, still going up. With all her strength, Taeyeon crouched out of her seat and jumped out of the car. Her shoulder smashed into the released car door. It flung open and flew off its hinges. She had Jiyong and the K11 in tow. She pulled him towards her like a linebacker would draw in a football pass. They hit the tarmac with the back of her shoulders. Her head snapped back into the road, and she saw black and red. A normal person should have fainted, but she didn’t. She hadn’t lost enough blood.

The car pitched first into the ground, just a few meters from them, its underside exposed and vertical. Still standing at the manhole opening, the enemy soldier pumped bullets into the car. 

Her shoulders felt pulverized. Jiyong rolled off her. She peeled herself off the tarmac. Everything was still in black and red. The back of her head felt raw and cold liquid was trickling down her neck. He dragged her to her feet and she started running after him, away from the car.

The enemy soldier emptied his bullpup into the Forte, and the car exploded in a roar. Almost immediately after, there was a second, bigger explosion. Probably the rocket shell in the car. Taeyeon was lifted into the air, and in front of her, Jiyong was too. They were flung into the ground again.

Taeyeon stopped her fall with her hands. Jiyong wasn’t moving. She flipped onto her back so that she was facing the enemy. Miraculously, she still had the K11, although her palms and forearm were rubbed bloody by the road. There was a shard of metal lodged in her right thigh. She raised the K11 at the enemy, not caring about the pain. She’d heal.

The enemy soldier wasn’t a man, but a woman. She was bulky with flabby muscle and had a buzz cut. She was shocked to see Taeyeon still moving. Taeyeon fired. The woman dodged to the side, firing her own bullpup. Taeyeon’s bullets caught her in the shoulder, and she spun backwards. Dropped her gun. She scrambled behind an abandoned SUV, and Taeyeon fired at it until the K11 was empty. The spare magazines had been in the Forte.

Taeyeon put the K11 on the road and got to her feet, gritting her teeth. She yanked out the metal shard in her leg and chucked it aside. She pulled out the switchblade she’d gotten from YG. Flicked it open as she limped towards the SUV. The nanorobots in her bloodstream must be working overtime on her head, because she was seeing colors normally, and her head felt more stable.

When she got to the SUV, the woman would be expecting her to come from the right or left. She grabbed one side of the black bike rails lining the top of the SUV, and pulled herself up and over the roof. She slid off the top and fell onto the enemy. She slashed out on her way down.

The woman jumped back. The switchblade tore through her already bloody shoulder. She cried out, caught Taeyeon’s wrist and twisted it. Taeyeon dropped the switchblade, and blocked a punch. 

Taeyeon ducked under another punch and jabbed a one-two to the ribs. She heard the woman’s ribs crack. When she popped up again, the woman drove into her, and they grappled. They wrestled against the side of the car, then the woman kicked her right in the open wound on her thigh.

Her leg buckled under her even before she felt the pain. She fell on her front. The woman stamped hard on her leg. Taeyeon screamed. She saw the switchblade next to her, and reached for it, but the woman ground her boot in, and her hand retracted automatically as she cried out.

The woman’s eyes were alit with victory. They had fought and she had won. 

Taeyeon tried turning around. She had to remember that this pain was nothing. She’d heal. Her fingers scrabbled against the road as she forced them forward. They grabbed the switchblade, and she slashed sideways and upwards, stabbing the woman in the calf.

Both of them cried out. The woman fell on one knee and clawed Taeyeon’s open wound, desperate to immobilize this insanely resilient opponent. Taeyeon screamed and cut the woman’s arm. The woman jerked back and stood up.

Taeyeon saw a shadow move into view. Standing behind the woman, Jiyong raised his Glock and shot her in the back until she dropped to the ground, dead.

He pointed his gun downwards, but kept it loaded in one hand. There was a gash above his right eye, and his lip was cut. He made his way to Taeyeon, gun at the ready. A full minute passed and no other enemies showed up. He tapped the radio clipped to his belt. “I pinged Youngbae. His truck will be here soon. They went ahead when they saw our car explode because they have too many liabilities onboard. Since it’s all clear now, they can come back.”

Taeyeon nodded, clenching her jaw tight. She clutched her leg. He examined the open wound, took out an alcohol flask, uncapped it, and poured it over her thigh. The burn flared, white hot. 

He poured some alcohol over his forehead as well, and cursed. Took off his jacket and shirt, before zipping on his jacket. He tore out a strip of cloth to wrap his head wound, and then ripped another strip to bind her thigh tight. He noticed the back of her head and bandaged that too.

“Anywhere else?”

She showed him her scraped hands. He spent the last of his alcohol on that. After all that screaming, Taeyeon was too tired to be noisy about this.

Then Jiyong patted down the dead enemy soldier, taking her weapons and ammo. She had a thin security wallet in her pocket. He rifled through it before tossing it to Taeyeon, who caught it with both hands. There was an identity document and another folded piece of paper. The dead woman was named Choi Hyunmi, twenty-six this year, from Pyongyang. Taeyeon opened the folded paper. It was immediately familiar as a bounty document. But her reward figures had changed. Instead of DOA for ten thousand KPW, it was dead for ten thousand KPW and alive for fifteen thousand KPW now. Both would make a Northerner wealthy, but fifteen guaranteed extravagance. So, bring the Fireflies in if possible, but don’t ever let them get away. Looked like Sooyoung and Yoona were doing their jobs if they were gaining this attention.

Jiyong took back the documents, read the bounty, before putting them back into the wallet and slipping it into his back pocket. “No wonder she didn’t kill you immediately.”

“Yes, what luck,” Taeyeon said.

Jiyong straightened up and scanned the street over the SUV. “The truck’s here. Can you stand?”

Taeyeon tried, and grimaced. “No.”

Jiyong put her right arm over his shoulder, and they stood up and limped towards the oncoming truck.

Daesung hopped off shotgun and ran to the back of the truck to unlock it for them. “Are you guys okay? What happened, hyung?”

“One freak show of a Northerner appeared out of nowhere, but Taeyeon handled her, and... we got lucky.”

"Jiyong killed her pretty dead,” she said. He didn’t have to be modest.

"Well, at least both of you are fine,” Daesung said. He opened the truck doors to reveal eighteen people crammed inside. A single LED tube was taped to the ceiling and wired through the front. The air was stale with human musk. It was going to be a long three hours.

"Daesung," Jiyong said. "Check the car for salvageable weapons."

"Yes, hyung."

After Daesung ran off and came back empty handed, they helped her onto the truck. Jiyong climbed in after her. The refugees inside tried to make space for them, but it was still tight. Her leg throbbed when the truck started up and rumbled off. She swayed, shoulder to shoulder with Kwon Jiyong, who she didn't really like, who was wary of her.

"Does it hurt?" He asked, whispering so that the refugees wouldn't listen in. They were talking among themselves anyway, resuming conversations they'd been carrying before the truck admitted two new passengers, both of whom were supposed to them out of Seoul to safety. How reassuring.

"No, I was just screaming because I like to sing.” 

His face colored slightly, and he folded his arms. They stopped talking.

"Thank you," he said. "Back there, getting us off the car. That Northerner was insane, I was like what the , but you were like I got this."

"She's a *freak show*. Of course I’ll take her on. She was bigger, but other than that I’ve got everything she had.”

“I wasn’t saying that you’re a freak. That woman’s one because she’s a Northerner. It's good to have someone like you on our side."

“Whatever.” 

They stopped talking again.

Taeyeon broke the silence first. “I lost. It could've been real bad for me if you weren't there. So... thanks.”

She acknowledged him, thanked him, and that would have to be enough, so he nodded.

“I still can't believe that Northerner was Chimera-ed,” Taeyeon said, distracted from the gay talk by more pressing matters. “So, in the army, the serum that people like me took is called Chimera. Genetic enhancement stuff. It was developed by our side. The science is highly classified . There's no way the North could have replicated it on their own. They must have stolen it somehow. A week ago, I weeded out a mole they planted on base. Looks like I was too late."

"Last week? But you've been with us.”

“For sure, but I paid a visit to the old digs,” she said. She didn't elaborate further because he didn't need details. “The war won’t disappear just because I'm not in the army."

"...That's a good way to think."

"Not so different from you, is it," she said. “Well, I don't know if the army knows about these Chimera-ed North Korean soldiers yet. I think they would... but how many Chimeras have the enemy created? We need to get rid of them and shut down their production ASAP. One Chimera-ed soldier can take down ten to forty normal soldiers, easy."

“What do you think about that woman today? If the rest are like her, can you take them down?“

“Today was special. If we met on better terms, and my terms are usually better, I’d have kicked her . These North Korean heads have to be new. They can't have as much experience. It takes some getting used to, knowing that you can do this and take that without dying. I’ll win next time.”

“If this is going to get worse, all the more we have to get rid of them fast."

“Exactly.”

"It'll be our first priority when we get back to headquarters," Jiyong said. “You tell us how we can help you. You also teach us how to fight people like you.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

She hadn't expected him to get YG involved so quickly. She didn't expect to get any support. Taeyeon thought about it. The trip to Japan with Jessica would take a week. Seven days was way too long, and she knew that she would be forgiven easily if she broke her promise because Jessica was understanding, but Taeyeon didn't like giving false hope for nothing. *If we rush, I can make it there and back in five days.* Still too long, but she couldn't go back on her word. She'd have to make things work.

Two big, conflicting priorities... She didn't want to think about it anymore. She'd get around to it when they got back to Hongdae. Maybe getting in touch with Sooyoung and preparing YG would take a week. But then, even in that time, she'd be able to go out there and hunt these Northerner Chimeras. *Don't think about it. Go to Japan, get back, stop all of them.*

The truck swerved, and everyone swung to the side. Taeyeon gasped and clutched her right thigh. The cloth bandaging it was soaked through. She pressed down on it, hating Choi Hyunmi. She felt someone staring and looked up. 

Jiyong frowned at her leg. "Can anyone here spare some cloth? A shirt?"

“No need, it'll be good by the time we reach Nonsan," she said. "Worry about yourself.”

“I’m fine. You’re the one who-,” Jiyong started, but she rolled her eyes. “You better be jumping by Nonsan."

Like she predicted, her injuries were mostly sealed up by the time they reached Nonsan.

They saw every refugee passenger leave before taking a break by the trucks. Now that she was on good terms with Jiyong, the other three men treated her just as nicely as Daesung had been doing. Well, not as enthusiastically out there, but they were at least smiling and . So she smiled at them too and .

There was a Hyundai four-wheeler waiting for them, because Sunny had sent a bunch of YG subordinates to fetch the two trucks earlier on. While going back with the trucks would be more efficient, it was unnecessarily more risky than it already was. Better to have more expendable YG people set things up. It was kind of cavalier, in Taeyeon's opinion, but the army did this too. Majors sent out their corporals all the time.

They got into the four-wheeler. Seunghyun drove, and she got shotgun duty again because she had proven that she was the best choice for it. 

She fell asleep even before they crossed Daejeon, and stayed down the entire journey up to Seoul. When they reached Guro-gu, Daesung had to shake her for a whole minute before she woke up.

"I told you hyung could be a nice guy," Daesung said.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah! He usually doesn't let people slack off like that. Not unless they've done something awesome."

"Think I could ask for an unlimited kimbap fridge like yours?"

"It's not actually unlimited."

"It pretty much is."

"Okay, well, better ask him soon before his nice window closes. Then you'd have to do something awesome again. His nice window is extremely narrow, so act fast.”

"Thanks for the tip."

When they got back to Hongdae, they split up. Jiyong went to headquarters, the other four men went to wash up. Taeyeon also said she was going to take a shower. She went straight to the clinic and went to Jessica. "Could you come with me for a sec?"

They went to the kitchen area. Jessica hugged her before she could open . It sent tingles through Taeyeon’s stomach. She squeezed back and said, "Good to see you too, but we gotta go. Something's happened, and we have to get to Japan right now."

"What's happened?"

"More North bull. They've duplicated the serums. Made soldiers like the Fireflies."

Jessica's eyes widened. “What? That’s... Wait, we can't go."

"Yes, we can. I said we would, so we are," she said. She let go of Jessica. "We meet at the apartment in thirty. I need to wash up and tell the YG guys when I'll be back. Do what you have to, but don’t be late.“

“But-“

“We have time,” she lied. “I can spare five days.”

She ran out of the kitchen and towards the clinic.

"Taeyeon, hold up! We don't have to-"

She pretended not to hear Jessica and continued running. She could handle everything one at a time. Japan, then the Chimeras.

A/N: Finally watched SNSD on Running Man... The show put in so much effort for them! Sooyoung was cool, Gary made Yoona funny, Hyoyeon was boss enough, and Taetiseo wasn't great. No, Taeyeon was just amazing. RM guests who don't make it just don't get scenes, but she was so fail she got airtime. LOL.

Thanks for your comments! Really appreciate all of them  C( =^v^= )D wWZW Can't believe it's past twenty chapters... So much thanks to you that I still try to post the stuff I write online:)