“Grab his arm – no his other arm.” Seungyoon orders Jiyong. 

Why was it is so damn hard to stop one person. Fighting off the four, Seunghoon tries his best to release himself. The others kept their grips through gritted teeth, ignoring the scratches that Seunghoon left on their arms. 

“If I can just –“ Seungyoon grabs Seunghoon’s face and forces him to meet his eyes. Flashing his red eyes, he attempts to erase the order. “Seunghoon, ignore the order that Jeeun gave you and listen to me.”

“Hurry up, Seungyoon.” Taehyun urges. 

“Listen to me, dammit! Ignore the order.” He commands forcefully. 

All at once, Seunghoon’s limbs fall limply upon the floor and the others hesitantly reduce their strengths in their restraints. 

“Finally, Seungyoon.”

The sudden voice brings along with it a chorus of sighs. All four fall back onto the floor while Seunghoon picks himself up with a relieved expression on his face. Seungyoon has pulled through and so has he. 

“Did we come too late?” 

Turning their attention to the side, they see Mr. Yang and his crew finally arriving with the kids. 

Peeking out from behind Hanbin, Junhoe observes Seunghoon with narrowed eyes. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he steps out of his hiding spot. “You’re back.”

“Thanks for the help, guys.” Jiyong remarks. 

***

“Give it a rest.” Jeeun mutters with a sigh while staring back at a tattered Mino. Cuts cover his face and chest that peeked through his ripped shirt. “You were never a match for me.” She’s humored him long enough. 

Panting, he stares back at her before dropping his eyes down to the small combat knife she held in her hands. The same knife covered in his blood. 

He may not be a match for her but she never did play fair. 

Even now, why was it so hard to reach her? What does she want? What is her motivation?

“What is driving you, Mino?” She questions while he offers her no answer. That lack of response causes her to snort with laughter. “She doesn’t love you.” She knew what this was about. Why did she even need to ask?

Again, he had no intention of having this conversation with her.

“Has she ever hurt you?” She peers at him and he notices that she was searching for a specific answer. “And I’m not talking about emotionally…because I mean, hypothetically, do you even have feelings?”

“Why would she hurt me?”

His response appeared simple to him but Jeeun froze before laughter sent her doubling over, grasping her stomach.

“Because of you, she has only hurt herself.” He reveals.

“Oh my.” She straightens up, her smile faltering. “I don’t know what to be more ticked about – getting confirmation about her feelings for you or she chose to hurt herself instead.”

“What are you saying, Jeeun?”

“You still haven’t figured out my orders for her? My favorite was the third one. But, well, is there a reason for secrets now that we’re here?” She asks before kindly explaining. “…If she allowed any affection, if she ever opened her heart up to you, I wanted her to either physically lash out at herself or you.”

“Jeeun.” But, was he really surprised that she reached such a low point? 

“I was never going to let you two be together.” A distant look appears in her eyes. 

Footsteps coming down the hall causes the two to look. Mino snaps his head around over his shoulder – this scent. She managed to find them before the others had. 

Haneul appears and her eyes land on both Jeeun and Mino. Though they focus more on the injuries that Mino sustained in such little time. Jeeun should be weakened – and she was still able to inflict that much damage on him?

“…Why are you here?” Mino’s voice interrupts. 

“You’re trying to do things alone.” Haneul points out. “The others will soon be here.”

“You shouldn’t have come.”

“You can’t make me leave.”

“You fearlessly showed up in front of me?” Jeeun cuts in between the two. “You think just because you figured something out, you can overpower me?”

How delusional. 

Remaining in her spot, Haneul answers, “it’s because of that that I know you won’t win.” She has confidence that Jeeun won’t get what she wants this time around. Whether it be them that stop her or her own power becoming more of an obstacle. 

“What do you know?” Jeeun growled. 

“You’re an outlier, Jeeun – but that doesn’t make you special. You weren’t meant for the power.” That’s why she is in the shape she is in. 

“Why do you all utter the same thing?” She was getting tired of hearing the same thing. 

“What you want, Jeeun…they’re fantasies, it’s not real.”

“You have no idea, girl.” Jeeun retorts. “Do you know what I’ve accomplished? What I did as the Society’s leader and – “

“Aren’t you left with nothing though, Jeeun?” 

The question leaves Jeeun stunned before a small smile appears on her face. Turning around, she smashes her fist through the window’s glass. “Girl, have you forgotten? I can still bind you.”

Mino rushes forward. “Jeeun!“

Jeeun backs away and avoids Mino’s every attempt to grab ahold of her. Catching a chance, Jeeun diverts her attention over Mino’s shoulder and sends her knife flying. Quick on her feet, Haneul dodges as she stumbles to the ground. Regaining her balance, Haneul shifts to make sure Mino is in between her and Jeeun. 

Mino launches forward once more and manages to shove Jeeun back this time. 

Sliding across the floor, she looks up with a grin. “Jump, girl.”

Startled, Mino looked behind him to find Haneul had unknowingly stood in front of the broken window. Stepping back until there was no more space left – Haneul tilts backwards out of floor’s reach. The sight of her disappearing out of th