6 years earlier

Floating fireflies, she watches their dainty flight from the skies.

Was she flying?

What an odd thought she had always been afraid of heights.

Jisoo shut her eyes, when they fluttered open again, she witnessed that seemingly endless firmament going further and further away, the ground pulling her back.

      She hit it with such force that even from the deafening ringing of her ears she could hear some of her bones crack and break.

         Now she is in between the infliction and the pain. It’s almost bliss to be so numb, in this state she now remembers.
          Recollection flooding her system, she wasn’t flying with fireflies it was the burning bits of the building.

       She blew up her parents’ laboratory, her success is apparent, the inner pyromaniac celebrated, she could now die in peace. Their hard work would no longer be used for sinister purposes.
      Mom, Dad take me to where you are, I’m ready. 
        The beckoning bright light she sees from behind her closed eyes sputtered to darkness.

          What could have been the remains of a lifeless body was salvaged from the debris.
Did she come back from the dead? From behind burnt eyelashes she sees a silhouette of a man.
A redeemer or an adversary, she took the gamble when she reached for the outstretched hand.

          Drifting from wakefulness to unconsciousness she was tended back to health.  She doesn’t know why she still lives but she’ll find out soon.

_____________________________________

       Jisoo and Rosé spent the good half of the morning moving fast, careful not to leave any traces.

Neither a cracked twig, a misplaced leaf nor bits of their clothing was left. 

        They journeyed further but circled back to the East Fortress.
A lot of people meant a lot of noise interference, it would be harder to track them there. She’ll be able to get help from an old acquaintance. Seek refuge from the one who has helped her before.
            She casted a glance towards Rosé, she’s wearing that undersized pajamas still, her long legs poking out from underneath, barefoot she walks in long strides. There something wild in the way she looked and carries herself. Like a coiled spring on the ready, reminds her of the unstable bombs she used back then.

            She snapped from her loop of reveries they’ve got to get to Lisa soon, Jisoo just hopes she’s still in her apartment.
         She left her phone in a trash bin back in the shack, she had to hard reset it, all data erased so they will not be marked out.

      When they reached the Eastern Fortress she ran her hand along it, counting the coordinates that she has graphed the smooth wall with. Eight more yards to go and she’ll feel that slightest bump.
       That single loose marble slab they could use as an entrance. Jisoo took out a flat headed screw driver from her backpack and pried the uneven slab, trying to get it to budge but it won’t.

“Let me help.”

         Rosé offered, the first three words she had said from the time they escaped out of those dark tunnels. Jisoo handed her the tool and she watched as the redhead slipped the block out with ease, she’ll never stop being amazed with this girl. The displaced wedge showed a small doorway through the wall.

        One by one they crawled their way in, Jisoo’s backpack tied to her ankle made a cluttering sound every time she inches forward. Lisa never goes through this pathway, she likes climbing up and over the wall. Jisoo prefers this less conspicuous entry, at the end they enter a less peopled part of a market.

          They flit past the crowd to avoid suspicious eyes and darted to parts of the streets where the cameras would not catch them.

        Arriving at Lisa’s apartment they went in through the backdoor she used the key that Lisa always left for her under the eighth step, but to her despair the tenant had already left.

       Jisoo only hopes that knuckle-head haven’t gone to the woods. She rummaged through Lisa’s closet and found some light clothing for Rosé.

“Here put this on, we’re borrowing that for a little while.”  She told the girl motioning towards the bathroom.

It is an obstinate eyesore against the skyline but the blocky building provided a cool shadow from the sun. It became sweltering hot when they left Lisa’s apartment. Jisoo pulled Rosé along.

“What is this place? Why are we here?” Rosé asked her with scrunched up eyebrows, the question punctuated with an audible growl of her stomach. Lisa's food store had been disappointingly empty.

“I know someone here who could lend us some help in finding your sister.” Jisoo replied as they entered the building’s front door.

         She nodded at the security guard on duty who raised his hand in reply.

“Here to see the president?”
He asked looking down at his log book. “I always forget you don’t do appointments Ms. Kim, please go ahead he’s in his office, but the girl can stay here in the lobby.”

She smiled sweetly at him.

“She is coming with me.”

        Jisoo didn’t catch the reply because they made their way to the elevator in a hurry. To Mr. Yang’s office, he was the one who helped her after she blew up her parent’s laboratory. When she was newly orphaned and barely alive, he had been there to provide her shelter and restore her health.
          Now she comes again to ask for another favor from him. Her parents’ research is still being used in the most inhumane way, with Rosé a clear evidence of that. She knows the next step that she’ll take, but her talk with Yang Hyun Suk will confirm that.