It had been a while since she had been in bed alone. JinE’s body felt heavy as she lay on the white bed alone in the dark, staring at the high ceiling.  There was a small window above her which allowed a bit of moonlight to creep in, helping her eyes view her empty surroundings. Her mind wandered around to several places but in the end, she shook them all away from her head indifferently. Somewhere inside JinE was the truth but she did not want to open up to it. If anything, she settled for living her ambiguous life with no true motivation to do whatever she did. JinE would have times where her internal conflict would rise up aggressively which she responded to by getting physical aka going on destructive rampages. JinE couldn’t do that in here and so she was becoming restless. The silence was disturbed by the sound of soft footsteps drawing closer. JinE barely flinched when the curtain around her bed opened with a quiet rustle.

"JinE? What are you doing here?" Arin asked, fumbling slightly with her words.

"I fought off some baddies," JinE smiled, closing her eyes. "I'm here to recuperate quietly."

It was only a quiet Arin so JinE felt relieved. At the same time, she felt even more restless.

"Were you hurt badly?" Arin asked, moving closer.

As JinE felt her draw near, she carefully inched away by just a bit. It should not have been very obvious but Arin noticed it. Arin hesitated for a moment before taking one more step nearer.

"Are you okay?" Arin asked, her tone even.

"As I said I fou-"

"No, not like that," Arin cut off, slightly mumbling.

JinE's eyes fluttered open a little at Arin's little defiance towards her. She allowed her eyes to wander to where Arin was standing. There was a small frown on her face and her eyebrows were slightly furrowed.

"I meant, are we okay?” Arin asked, pressing on unsteadily.

JinE let out a soft laugh. It seems like her thoughts would not be allowed to rest tonight.

“I don’t hate you, kid. You don’t need to worry about that,” JinE chuckled.

“Y-You… How can I accept that?” Arin asked, voice growing tinier.

JinE’s smile faltered.

“Why is she being so persistent and perceptive about this?” JinE wondered.

“You seem to like Hyojung and Binnie a lot. You can talk freely with Jiho and Seunghee. I’ve even seen you smile a bit when you talk with YooA and Mimi.”

Arin took a deep breath.

"I don't want you to not hate me. I want you to like me."

JinE sat up a bit in bed. She looked tiredly into the eyes of the younger girl who seemed to eyes seemed to brim with silent determination. She stood there, mouth shut tight and hands curled into tiny fists. She seemed to be shaking a bit as well. JinE saw all of these and wanted to turn her away. It should have been easy but she just didn’t have it in her tonight.

“So what? You want to lie in bed with me or something?” JinE said, half-smiling and gesturing at the bed she lay on.

Arin looked at her uncertainly. JinE watched her with a mysterious half smile. Unclenching her fists a bit, Arin stepped forward and climbed onto the bed. It sank as she put her weight on it and JinE, rolled over a bit to even it out. Arin tucked her legs in and hugged them tightly. She hid half her face behind her knees, revealing just enough to let her look at JinE.

“I’ll be honest; I didn’t think you’d actually want to lie in bed with me,” JinE laughed sheepishly, sitting up more.

“Is there something wrong with me?” Arin asked shakily, voice a little muffled.

“Yeah, actually,” JinE said frankly.

Arin felt JinE’s words pierce her heart.

“Oh.”

That was the only sound that came out of Arin’s mouth. JinE lowered her eyes and breathed in quietly, trying to figure out what to say.

“I don’t know how to treat you. I don’t know who you are to me,” JinE continued.

She sounded a bit confused but didn’t say anything more.

“Maybe because you haven't even tried to think about it,” Arin said dully.

"Are you trying to say I don't think?" JinE asked, clicking her tongue dissaprovingly.

"N-No," Arin hurriedly denied. "I just think you're trying to avoid the answer you're looking for."

"I've got answers," JinE shrugged.

"Your answers? Or did someone give them to you?" Arin asked.

JinE didn't answer.

"You-"

JinE shook her head.

“Look, we’re all more than just teammates. I suppose the rest are victims. except for us. We’re different.”

“W-We are?” Arin asked, lifting her head fully to try to discern the look on JinE’s face.

“I don’t have to tell you why though,” JinE shrugged. “If I don’t then, I will set you free.”

JinE smirked at the younger girl whose eyes were full of awe. Shaking her head the younger girl asked:

“What does that mean?”

“There are some things that shackle you once you become aware of it,” JinE said.

Arin stayed quiet for a bit.

“I want to know it,” Arin said, heart beating hard in her chest.

“No,” JinE replied firmly.

“But-“ Arin tried to insist.

JinE’s facial expression hardened and the rest of Arin’s resolve disappeared in a short hiccup. JinE sighed and lay down her side, facing away from Arin. The younger girl did not pry any further and stayed silent. JinE then pretended to fall asleep for a long time but the other side of the bed remained heavy, as the other girl did not move to leave. Curiosity soon got the better of JinE so she slowly, carefully, rolled on her other side and opened her eyes a little to glimpse at what Arin was doing. To her surprise, the other girl was sleeping, her face resting between her knees. Her arms were still hugging her legs, fingers loosely intertwined. JinE’s eyes softened as she looked at the younger girl’s soft features which were illuminated only by the moonlight.

 

“How would you feel if I had a baby?” her sister asked, smiling down at her mischievously. “Would you take care of it?”

JinE pushed away her sister’s face playfully and her sister laughed.

“Well, it’d be my niece, wouldn’t it?” JinE asked, raising an eyebrow. “Of course, I’d have to.”

“That’s good to hear,” her sister nodded. “Now come over here.”

JinE’s playful mood changed suddenly and she walked over to where her sister was going to, dragging her feet slowly. Only a few steps behind, she could already see the small creature in the glass container, waving its tiny limbs in the air. She saw its tiny facial features that were illuminated by the soft moonlight. She felt like walking away but stood in place, as if she had become a tree rooted to its spot.

“What’s that supposed to be?” JinE asked, disgust threatening to creep into her voice.

“Don’t scare my baby,” her sister laughed softly.

“I’ve never seen you get pregnant,” JinE said carefully, trying to lower her voice as well.

“I didn’t want to, didn’t have to,” her sister smiled proudly. “She’s still my baby though. She has my genes so I’m her mom, aren’t I? She’s also got a father but both of them won’t know that.”

JinE stared at her sister with widened eyes, horrified at what she had just done. JinE tried to stop images running through her head. The images of rejected ones, all mutilated and grotesque. JinE knew this one was saved simply because it was the best. She wanted to throw up. She didn’t want to accept this creature, this experiment, as something that would have feelings for, which she would have to care for with actual feelings.

“It didn’t take too many tries to get her done right,” her sister continued. “Plus, I made her special like you. She’s got a special ability of her own,” her sister smiled mysteriously.

JinE looked down at the floor.

“It was painful,” she whispered to herself.

“What was that?”

“You’re too busy to take care of a baby right now,” JinE said, looking up at her sister. “Who-“

“You said you would.”

JinE’s heart sank. It felt as if it fell right through the floor.

“You won’t have to take care of her for too long. She’ll grow up quick enough to not need supervision. From then on it’ll be smooth sailing~” her sister laughed, waving her hand.

JinE didn’t say anything. She felt as if she lost the ability to speak. It was as if the growing hold in her stomach was eating up her words.

“You can watch over her starting tonight,” her sister said turning to her.

JinE tried to avoid looking into her sister’s eyes. Her sister walked over to her and laid a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it.

“I trust you, my only sister.”

JinE looked up into her sister’s eyes and found it difficult to return her intense gaze. Her sister seemed to be satisfied and soon left JinE alone with the little creature. JinE reluctantly moved forward to get a closer look at the thing. JinE pressed her head on the glass wall that separated them. It cooled her forehead and relaxed her a bit. JinE hated it. She had found the creature to be quite cute.

 

JinE looked away from the sleeping Arin and swung her legs off the bed.

“I need to get out of here,” she thought, scratching the back of her head.

Getting up, she noticed the bed rise up with her. In a second, she was at the other side of the bed, holding up the girl who had almost fallen off the bed without waking. JinE felt the girl’s soft skin under her hands and sighed.

 

 

JinE walked alone in the wide empty corridors, listening to the echo of her footsteps bounce along the walls. She had not walked far from the infirmary when she saw a figure sitting down on the floor, leaning against the wall.

“Seunghee, what are you doing here?” JinE asked.

The girl sitting down was sleeping soundly but the sound of JinE’s voice slowly roused her.

“Arin?” Seunghee asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

“Do you always wait out here for Arin?” JinE asked, amused.

“Yeah, I guess,” Seunghee yawned, realizing it was just JinE. “If she needs something, I’ll just be here.”

“You could wait for her inside,” JinE pointed out. “Or somewhere near the door?”

Seunghee shook her head.

“Arin said she likes to rest in the infirmary alone. She’s a little shy about her condition, despite how she seems so carefree about it,” Seunghee sighed. “I only get here after asking the doctors if they’re done checking her. Only then can I go here but if I go too close to the door she might wake up. I’m not the best at being quiet,” Seunghee grinned, knocking her head with her knuckles playfully.

JinE studied Seunghee with an amused expression.

“Say, Seunghee,” JinE asked lightly. “Do you take care of Arin because you genuinely care for her or because she reminds me of a kid you used to know?”

Seunghee laughed gruffly.

“I can’t say I’m surprised you know about the “kid I used to know”,” Seunghee said, smiling tightly. “Maybe I used to. Even now, there are times she’ll remind me of that kid. But don’t you think it’s a bit cruel to care for someone only because you think of them as someone else?”

JinE smile curled upwards, her muscles involuntarily tightening.

“I care for Arin because she’s worth caring about,” Seunghee said. “She’s quiet and soft spoken but she’s incredibly thoughtful and sensitive to other people. She can be very determined about something but she knows when to stand down to take care of other people’s feelings. And the most surprising thing for me is that she has a rebellious side in her!” Seunghee said fondly, grinning widely.

“Really?” JinE asked, eyebrows raised.

“Most of those things probably aren’t noticeable since she’s not in the spotlight that much but if you spend time with her and take an interest in her, she’s bound to show you who she truly is.”

“Take an interest..?” JinE echoed.

“She’s a little sensitive about being called small or being young, probably because of that ability of hers but she doesn’t call anyone out about she thinks they’re right anyways. She’s younger than us and still has room to grow but she also shouldn’t be taken lightly. Remember when she ran off on our first mission? I think that was her rebellious side belting out. I think she wanted to prove herself as a competent member without having to be constantly looked after.”

“It didn’t work out, in that case,” JinE pointed out.

“Yeah, it didn’t,” Seunghee agreed. “But at least she learned from it. Experience is a great teacher. If you don’t allow children to experience things then you’re also not allowing them to learn.”

JinE stopped smiling and looked at the ceiling, breathing in deeply.

“I guess so,” she said finally.

JinE began walking again, passing by Seunghee.

“Take care of her.”

Seunghee was surprised but didn’t say anything as JinE walked away. As soon as she felt that she was no longer in Seunghee’s sight, she began walking faster. She didn’t want to admit it but she knew Seunghee was right. And if she was, JinE had done everything wrong from the start.

 

“I want to go outside!” the little girl said.

“No,” JinE said firmly, arms crossed.

It had been three months and the little creature now looked like a regular 3 year old. JinE was growing extremely restless as her days went by taking care of a creature she didn’t want to care for. She was uncomfortable with the child who seemed to watch her every move and actually understand it all. JinE knew it was impossible for a child to actually understand what she did but the look in the smaller girl’s eyes made JinE’s confidence waver. What JinE did not want was for the girl to call her out about her own flaws but JinE could sense she could already tell.

The girl grew up inside a spacious and comfortable with JinE as her only companion. Sometimes her sister would check on the girl’s growth and the girl would greet her warmly. JinE would watch as the little girl would smile so happily whenever she saw her “mother”. JinE thought it was incredibly surreal.

Whether she liked it or not, JinE became the little girl’s role model. And what the little girl wanted to do most was to go outside like JinE did but of course, JinE never allowed it.

“It’s dangerous,” she’d say as she left the girl locked in her room.

And that was how the little girl grew up. JinE woke up next to her smiling face and fell asleep next to her sleepy face. This went on for many years. Despite the helpless condition the little girl was in, she grew up cheerful and smart. Before they knew it, she was turning11. By this time she had the body of a 17 year old.

“Hyejin, look what I drew!” she said happily, showing the drawing she had made.

JinE had then frowned at the colorful crayon drawing of two stick figures with party hats and a birthday cake.

“And that’s supposed to be?” JinE asked, haughtily.

JinE was packing her things so she wasn’t especially happy to be disturbed.

“It’s us celebrating my birthday this week,” she smiled softly. “You said we could make a cake together this year.”

“Right, right,” JinE waved, getting pack to fixing her things.

“You’re going out again?” Arin asked, sounding a little sad.

“Are you going to stop me?” JinE asked.

“No, I’ll wait here for you,” Arin said, giving a little smile.

JinE nodded and left the room, locking it behind her. When JinE returned, it was to an empty room. The room had remained locked but there was a hole in the corner of the room that only a 5 year old could fit in. JinE peeked through the whole which led directly to the outside world. JinE saw a dried up droplet of blood and a strand of hair. Panicking, she broke through the wall and ran off in search of the other girl but to no avail. What JinE feared more though was telling her sister.

“She’s going to come back someday,” her sister said calmly.

“How sure are you?” JinE asked, still lightheaded with fear.

“You always come back,” her sister grinned.

JinE clenched her fists tightly in her lap.

“It’s too bad she’s gone now though,” her sister said. “This year, I actually had time to spend her birthday with her.”

JinE’s eyes widened. Excusing herself, she went back into the room and began tearing it apart, searching for something. Finally, she found it. With trembling hands, she held the paper with a crayon drawing of two stick figures wearing party hats and a cake. On the top of the paper it said: “Hyejin and me celebrating my 11^th birthday”. JinE crumpled the paper in her hands. She was so stupid. Wshe didn’t come back on time, the girl must have gone outside to try and find her in order to celebrate her 11^th birthday together. Throwing the paper away, she flopped down on the bed and, for the first time in years, cried herself to sleep.

 

“You’re done resting?” a deep voice asked.

JinE snapped back to the present and looked up to see Archer.

“Yeah,” she said, indifferently.

“Alright then,” he said, walking past JinE.

“Where are you going?” JinE asked, not moving.

“I’m going to check on something,” Archer said, pausing.

“Seunghee already looks after Arin,” JinE said.

“It doesn’t hurt to check on them both,” Archer said simply, moving on.

JinE waited for the sound of his footsteps to disappear before walking on again.

 

“You’ve been going out a lot nowadays,” her sister said, sipping her tea. “Are you looking for her? You don’t have to do that.”

“It’s nothing,” JinE answered stubbornly.

With that, JinE stood up and left. It was true that she was searching for the girl but she didn’t have an exact reason as to why she was doing do. She couldn’t sort out her own thoughts of feelings about the girl. She didn’t bother with it. All she wanted to do was find her.

One day, she finally saw her. She was perched at the top of a building when she saw the familiar sight. Her heart skipped a beat and she finally felt herself smile. She had finally, finally found her. The girl was looking extremely thin and tired as she tried to cross the road. JinE’s attention was drawn elsewhere as she heard a loud sound of a car. It had zoomed by, obviously trying to cross before the light was red. At this point, the girl was already crossing and then there was a loud screeching of tires. JinE hurried over to the scene of the crime at an alarming pace. There weren’t a lot of people crowding around yet. The guy had hurried out of his car but as soon as he saw the body he climbed back in and attempted to speed off again but his car wouldn’t budge. Gripping on tightly to the car’s bumper, JinE hurled the car at a brick wall. She ran up to the mutilated car and ripped off one of the bent doors and pulled the seriously injured guy out. She was about to break his neck when she heard a voice.

“Are you alright?” a deep voice asked.

JinE turned around sharply to see a man dressed in a suit holding the unconscious bloody girl in his arms. JinE’s blood turned cold when she saw the state the girl was in. She dropped the guy and took a step towards the two but another person appeared.

“Archer, we’re taking her with us,” the woman said.

JinE jumped back and hid a bit, peering at them secretly. She knew that woman. Her sister told her to stay away from the woman at all times because she was dangerous. There was no one who was dangerous to her sister except for that woman and JinE had promised to always stay away. She should turn tail and flee but she couldn’t leave the girl, not this time.

“Go ahead and get her fixed up,” the woman said. “I’ll clear this up with the rest of the boys.”

The man nodded and carefully got up and carried the girl away. JinE resisted the urge to get up. She had to be careful.

“What are you doing here?”

Much to JinE’s dismay, the woman was standing in front of her. JinE had a fight or flight struggle in her for a few seconds but decided to calm down.

“I sped the car up because my boyfriend wouldn’t shut up,” JinE smiled.

The woman looked at her and then the bloodied guy on the ground. She smiled and in a flash, JinE found her hands handcuffed. She could break out of them easily but just let it be.

“I guess you’re coming with me,” the woman said, leading her away.

“What about him?”

JinE didn’t care about the guy but if this woman was on the good side she should care.

“What about him?” the woman asked. “He looks like an . Let someone else help him.”

In that moment, JinE knew this woman was definitely what her sister said she was. Dangerous.

 

“I’m not used to seeing you so out of it.”

JinE groaned as she knew she had just bumped into the woman who she was just thinking about.

“It’s not against the law to be alone with my thoughts once in a while,” JinE muttered, holding the back of her neck.

“As long as you don’t do it later while we’re having our meeting,” the boss said.

“So, it’s already morning, huh?” JinE asked herself.

“It is,” the boss replied. “Get some sleep. I can’t hold off the meeting for even a second. Binnie is just dying to discuss the events with me.”

“I’m sure she is,” JinE sighed.

The boss studied JinE’s tired eyes thoughtfully.

“Well then, good night,” the boss smiled.

JinE didn’t wait any longer before moving on. She no longer wanted to take any more trips down memory lane. She had finally reached her shared cell with Hyojung and lay down next to her.

“Oh, you’re here,” Hyojung smiled, sleepily.

“You haven’t slept yet?” JinE asked.

“I couldn’t. I’m not used to sleeping alone anymore, I guess,” Hyojung smiled.

JinE smiled back at her.

“Yeah, sleeping alone is too lonely.”

JinE was surprised as Hyojung cuddled close to her.

“I thought you were going to hate me forever,” Hyojung confessed, voice muffled.

“I can’t even hate you for a second,” JinE joked.

“Tell me how you really feel,” Hyojung said.

“I’m not mad at you. I’m…” JinE said. “I’m s-sor…ry.”

Hyojung smiled and hugged JinE tighter.

“Me too,” Hyojung whispered. “Now, let’s sleep~”

JinE let out a breath of relief. She had never apologized before. Now she felt like she would have to many more times. But strange enough, she didn’t feel like it was a bad thing.

 

“Arin, how are you and JinE getting along?” the boss smiled.

“I’m not sure,” Arin answered, still sitting on the metal table. “Why do you ask?”

The doctors had begun taking off their gloves and removing their face masks.

“We’re done for today, Arin,” the head doctor smiled. “Thank you for always cooperating so well. It must be tiring.”

“It’s alright,” Arin said with a small smile.

“Also ,boss, the DNA results you wanted are here,” an assistant doctor said, passing a brown envelope to her.

She took a look inside the envelope and nodded.

“Thank you. I’d like to be alone with Arin now,” she said.

With a short bow, everybody left the two alone.

“Do you know what these are?” the boss asking, holding up the envelope.

“DNA results,” Arin replied, without missing a beat.

The boss laughed.

“Yes. But more than that, these results tell me that you and JinE are related,” the boss said.

“In what way?” Arin asked, frowning.

“You really don’t remember anything from before?” the boss asked.

“No. I only remember waking up in this place,” Arin said.

“Then why did you try to escape as soon as you were able to?” the boss challenged.

“A gut feeling,” Arin said. “This place doesn’t look very cozy.”

“I doubt the place that you came from looked cozy,” the boss frowned.

“You know where I came from?” Arin asked, sounding a little hopeful.

“I have an idea. You and JinE are related and I’ve narrowed it down to two options. You’re JinE’s younger sister or her niece.”

“How did you arrive at those two options?” Arin asked, confused.

“I know another person you two are related to. I won’t tell you who that person is though.”

“Why not?” Arin asked, frowning a little.

“People say that the truth will set you free but some truths can shackle you, imprisoned in its truth.”

Arin stayed quiet, letting the thought settle in her mind.

“Can I at least know how I am related to JinE?” Arin asked, feeling a bit down.

“Do you need to know?” the boss laughed.

“You tell me all this and expect me to be fine without knowing answers?” Arin asked, baffled.

“I told you this to give you a little push. I think you and JinE should try being closer,” the boss said cheerfully.

“Oh,” Arin said. “It’s kind of an intimidating task after telling me we’re related.”

“You’d only try getting closer to her because you’re related?” the boss challenged.

“N-No,” Arin replied truthfully. “I’ve always wanted to be closer to her but I never knew how. She seems so hard to approach and very intimidating but ever since we worked together on that first mission, I began wanting to know her more. She held me gently and it was as if she was used to working with children, something I didn’t expect from her.”

“I see,” the boss said, thinking.

Arin continued to think about JinE. She thought of how they worked well together yet never really interacted outside of a mission. She remembered the way JinE looked away when she had accidentally turned into a 5 year old after Mimi and YooA came back.

“That’s good then,” the boss said firmly. “Don’t let yourself be controlled by family. It’s difficult, I know, but sometimes family is not always right. That’s something not a lot of people believe in.”

The look in the boss’ eyes hardened and Arin sensed there was something more to her words.

“It seems strong and convincing because it’s a tie that can’t be broken,” Arin said. “Not really, at least.”

“That blood is thicker than water is complete nonsense,” the boss said, clicking her tongue. “If your sister is trying to erase you from the face of the earth, how could you still believe that person is your sister?”

“That sounds incredibly crazy,” Arin said, stunned.

“What’s even crazier is that there are many people who would answer yes,” the boss said emotionlessly.

“Family is a tie that can’t be broken,” Arin repeated, sounding hollow.

The boss shrugged and then smiled.

“Right now, JinE’s alone in the infirmary,” the boss said, changing into a lighter tone. “You should go visit her.”

 

Arin woke up in the middle of the bed with a start. It was weird to dream of something that had happened just beforehand. Arin looked around her but JinE was no longer in bed next to her. She felt sad again and snuggled underneath the blanket.

“Was this blanket always here?” Arin thought.

She already knew the answer. Drifting back to sleep, Arin smiled. The blanket felt a little warmer.

 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hello, everyone!

I know this is a SUPER long chapter and I don't think ANY OF YOU saw this coming (but I guess that's bad writing on my part).

Well, I guess this is one secret out of the way so... okay.

 

Author, out ;)