The short-haired girl closed her eyes as she sat on the couch, ram-rod straight. This was the beginning of hell. Each second that ticked by increased the feeling of dread in her gut. Visions of Sojung moping around the house flashed by her closed eyelids and she clenched her hands into fists. Words couldn’t express how guilt-ridden and apologetic she felt towards the entire crew. Especially Sojung, who is probably at a loss after reading the note she left on the bed. She had given Sojung a kiss goodnight just 8 hours ago and here she is now she, sitting in her parent’s mansion not knowing when is the next time she’ll get to see her friends again.

She was finally back in the hellhole she had tried so hard to escape from.

“Eunbi.” A voice said but Eunha ignored it. She willed herself to shut out her surroundings but the footsteps of the older girl seemed to echo around the living room. “A penny for your thoughts?”

“I’m just thinking how much I detest being here,” Eunha replied. She hated being called Eunbi. Sure, it was her real name but the fact that she had a strong distaste for her outlaw parents meant that she despised anything that had to do with them. The only person she didn’t mind calling her Eunbi was Sojung and the crew. There was something about the way they would call her that made her entire existence feel pure and innocent. Changing her name made her feel like she was reborn and she vowed to wipe the past from her memory and start on a fresh page but it seems like fate just loves to toy with her.

“C’mon…” Sally knelt in front of Eunha and placed her hands over the latter’s smaller ones that were still tightly fisted. “I’m sorry that you have to be here.”

“You could have tried to stop them,” Eunha said acerbically under her breath. Her voice was soft but the impact her words left on Sally were immense. So powerful that the latter fought the urge to shrink away slightly.

“I’m powerless. You know that. My words will have no weight.” Sally said and Eunha sighed.

“Eunbi dear.” A lady’s voice said from behind and Eunha groaned. She felt like they were taking turns to test her patience. She turned around slowly to meet her mother’s gaze. It didn’t change one bit. That same cold and unfeeling eyes that seemed to bore straight into her head. A gentle smile graced her lips but it didn’t reach her eyes; it never did.

“Mother.” She said through clenched teeth. Sally released Eunha’s hands and stood up, bowing politely to the lady before taking her leave.

“How formal. Is that how you’d greet your mother after not seeing her for almost 3 years?” Mrs Jung said but Eunha remained mum. She didn’t trust herself enough to retaliate without snapping and committing bloody murder. “Anyways, you should go greet your father. He would appreciate some help in the shooting range.”

Eunha simply nodded and dipped her head slightly before walking off. She was still a person with morals and values after all. She strongly believed that was what made her different from her parents who seemed to behave more like robots rather than humans. Her legs moved on their own, muscle memory kicking in as they took her through the sprawling mansion to get to the shooting range.

The refreshing spring breeze engulfed her as soon as she stepped out of the back door. She took a deep breath in as an incredulous laugh slipped through her lips. The whole situation still felt absurd. The cool breeze and great weather seemed to contrast the dampened mood and horrible atmosphere of the mansion.

She heard the resounding bang of a shotgun. Specifically, a SPAS-12. Yes, she was conditioned to identify the make and model of a gun since she was a kid. Eunha was genuinely surprised at how her hearing was still intact after listening to a whole collection of different gunshots. She walked through the heavy double doors and rested her index finger on the fingerprint reader. It flashed green and produced a beep before the metal shutters rolled up. She felt disgusted knowing that her prints were still saved.

Another reminder of the mess that I got involuntarily dragged into. Great, she thought as she walked through. She automatically reached to the wall on the left and grabbed a pair of noise-cancelling earmuffs and slipped them on before approaching the lone figure that was aiming at a wooden target board. She stood at a distance behind him and watched as he squeezed the trigger. A muffled bang was heard and a spray of bullet holes appeared on the target’s chest. She watched as the red plastic shell fell from the gun when the man pulled the bolt to fire the next round. He aimed once again and fired, peppering the wooden target with more holes. He set the shotgun down on its toe and leaned it against a wooden crate before pulling his earmuffs off, giving Eunha the cue to do the same.

“Princess! I’m glad you’re here. I haven’t seen you in ages.” The man said. Eunha barely reacted to his enthusiastic greeting. He spread his arms as if waiting for his daughter to run into them for a hug but Eunha remained in her spot. The man didn’t seem to mind and simply chuckled before approaching the shorter girl.

“Father,” Eunha said shortly with a slight bow.

“I’m glad you came back. It was lonely around the house without you.” The man said.

“You have the guards and your wife for company. Sally too.” Eunha said and the man chuckled. His laughter only increased the girl’s irritation. She didn’t think any of this was a laughing matter.

“But I missed your bubbly laughter around the house. And of course, what parent wouldn’t miss their child?”

“You only need me around for your business.”