Miyawaki Sakura. 20. Loneliness Is Always A Step Behind.

Lee Kaeun. 25. A Force Of Nature.

Lee Chaeyeon. Enforcer. Psychopath.

"If I had but one wish, it would be for you to never go where I can't follow."

___________________________________________________________________________
*Chapter contains scenes of violence and involuntary ual advances that might be uncomfortable to some.

It’s funny how life works sometimes.

Just last night, about 12 hours ago she had been riding in a limousine (the first she’s ever seen in Gwangju and definitely the first one she’s ever seen the inside of), filled with some of the most notorious names in the country, praying silently that none of them decided to give her a personal tour as to how they gained their respective levels of notoriety.

One of those girls actually DID point a gun towards her at one point in time. That very same girl was also the one that Sakura had risked her life to save just last night, an act that according to Kaeun (a mass murderer that Sakura had served coffee to, who had also stolen her coffee pot) had put her on the radar of one of the country’s most notorious crime families, the Black Dahlia.

Sakura ponders the significance of naming one’s crime family after a combination of a colour and a flower. Black Dahlia, Red Roses...she wonders if every crime family in Korea follows the same odd naming convention. Did they all just meet up one day and agree that that’s how their gangs will be named from now on? Was there one family that pioneered the movement, and the rest just followed along?

Just how many crime families were there in the country? Surely there had to be a lot. Within a month she’s managed to get involved with TWO! Sakura would like to think that the odds of that happening was higher than she would expect, just because she refuses to believe the possibility that she was just that unfortunate.

She let out a sigh. A combination of exhaustion and forced acceptance that her ordinary life has taken a weird turn as of late.

“You okay?”

Yuri’s voice was soft. Gentle like a raspy, passing breeze. A touch of comfort to her tumultuous thoughts. The pair of them were in a quiet corner of the campus library, waiting for Yena to finish her classes. Sakura was halfway through finishing an Economics assignment when she lost herself in her thoughts, not realising that Yuri had been quietly observing her all the while.

“You don’t seem very Sakura today.”

The statement draws a chuckle from the Japanese girl. “How is normal Sakura behaviour?”

Yuri simply shrugged. “I don’t know. Just...brighter than this I guess. You look like you’ve been lost in thought the whole day.”

Sakura closed her laptop, coming to terms with the fact that she was probably going nowhere with this assignment today. “Are you implying that I’m not usually lost in thought?”

“Not usually, no. You don’t seem like you give much thought to anything, actually.” Yuri replies with so much nonchalance that Sakura had to do a double-take to make sure she was conversing with the right friend. The jab was such a duck move.

“Wow. Ouch. Did Yena rub off on you or something? You’re supposed to be the charming one, Yuri.”

“Aren’t I charming?” Yuri asked, voice saccharine sweet as she bats her eyelashes. Such a display would probably have worked to melt Yena into a puddle of goo. Not Sakura. Nope. Sakura wasn’t moved one bit.

“It doesn’t work when you know you’re charming.” Sakura grumbled, and Yuri giggled lightly at the obvious distaste in the former’s voice.

In all honesty, if it had been a month ago Sakura probably would have cooed and melted along with Yuri’s charm. As much as she would like to say that she’s managed to burn off the little crush she has for the Law student, truth of the matter is some feelings still lingered somewhere deep inside her heart. That was the case a month ago, at least.

Now the feelings have ebbed away completely. Whenever she thinks of beauty, she sees grey eyes instead. She thinks of a playful smirk, and soft, silky shoulder-length hair. 

No, she didn’t have a crush on Kaeun. That much she was sure. But, she knew she could like Kaeun, given the time. The possibility that something could start is what keeps her up at night.

“What’s on your mind, Kkura?”

The question startles Sakura, knocking her out of her thoughts like she once did her uncle’s porcelain vase that one time when she was 13. She didn’t have an answer prepared, and she wasn’t even sure if the topic of Kaeun was something she wanted to approach out loud to her friends.

“....Is it something you can’t talk to me about?” Yuri asks, probably as a means of giving Sakura an out. To give the girl the option of not answering, but Sakura could hear the tinges of disappointment that Yuri failed to hide in the question.

Sakura hated it. Yuri was too nice to be sad.

“....I met someone.”

Yuri perks up at that, posture shifting so that she’s sitting up straight and giving her full undivided attention to Sakura. “Oh? Someone someone? How? What’s her name? Is she from around here?”

What an onslaught of questions. Yuri’s eagerness makes Sakura laugh as she weakly tries to fend her friend off.

“How are you so sure it’s a she? I could be straight, for all you know.” Sakura plays it coy, taking a sip from her can of Coke in an attempt to mess with Yuri.

“You used to have a crush on me, and last I checked I didn’t have any man-parts on me.”

Well that’s Coke sprayed all over her laptop. Sakura sputters and nearly drowns as remnants of the fizzy drink she had just spat out in shock dribble down her chin.

“H-HOW?!”

“Yena told me.” Yuri shrugs nonchalantly. 

“I....I’ll kill her....”

“That can wait. Tell me about this girl you met.”

“I can’t.” Sakura hesitates, not quite knowing how to phrase it without giving too much away. “More like, I don’t know much about her myself. I don’t have any means to contact her, and the only two times I’ve been able to talk to her was by chance encounters.”

“Oh.” Yuri looks slightly taken aback, probably curious as to when Sakura had time to go out bumping into people she didn’t know without her two best friends by her side. “What do you talk about with her then? Maybe there’s a clue there. What does she do for a living?”

“She...uh...” Sakura visibly panics, brain racing and working overtime to try and generate a Jimmy Neutron level brain blast. “She’s...an exterminator!”

Dammit! Couldn’t she come up with something that was a little further from the truth?!

“An exterminator?” Yuri repeats, head tilted and not sounding convinced one bit.

You did this to yourself, Miyawaki.

“Y-Yeah! She...uh...kills for a living. BUGS! She kills BUGS for a living!” It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure out that there was probably more to that story. Sakura even punctuated her crush’s work reveal with an awkward “heh heh”.

Yuri, on her part was a saint. A saint who doesn’t try to pursue the subject even when Sakura was being awfully dodgey about this whole “employment” thing. “Well, Gwangju really isn’t that big. Maybe you’ll bump into her again.”

Considering Kaeun’s background, and especially considering the circumstances in which their last two encounters took place, Sakura wonders if that would even be a good thing, bumping into Kaeun. Still, Sakura couldn’t deny that a very large part of her actively hopes to bump into the woman again. 

“Maybe.” Sakura says, and there’s a finality in the way she says it that makes clear the conversation is over.

Maybe she should definitely weigh the pros and cons to bumping into a mass murderer on the streets.

Maybe she’ll start wandering through more random alleys in the future.

*******************************

Yena joins up with them after classes, and Yuri must have informed the girl about Sakura not really feeling like herself because it became immediately apparent that her two best friends had developed a poorly concealed plan to cheer her up. Sakura was a pretty complicated book to read at times. It was hard to know what goes on in that quirky little brain of hers, but Yena and Yuri have developed a system of sorts.

If Sakura is looking a little sluggish or distracted, a choco-pie and a tall iced americano would do the trick. If Sakura is feeling angry at something, taking her outside the building and allowing her to take a few deep breaths outside would help. If Sakura was quietly upset and/or moping about dejectedly, you bring her to the arcade.

Which was how they found themselves in one of the larger Lotte Outlets that Gwangju had to offer, spending money (that Sakura forgot she did not have) on Street Fighter and Raiden in an attempt to cheer the Japanese girl up.

It worked like a charm.

Sakura was 20 years old, but there was something about arcades that always made her feel as if she was a young child again, impervious to the many trials and tribulations that came with adulting and growing up. Maybe her parents had taken her to an arcade when they were still around. Sakura was sure that Japan would have a much, much crazier selection of arcade cabinets to choose from. 

She hasn’t been back to Fukuoka even once since she was sent here to live with her uncle all those years ago. There really wasn’t anything there for her. She remembers almost nothing of her childhood, but maybe it wouldn’t be bad to go back from time to time. To connect with her roots. Thinking about it, there wasn’t really that much going on for her here in Korea either.

“They have an army of you in this machine Kkura!” Yena chirped excitedly, pointing to one of the many claw machines available in the gaming centre. 

Sakura and Yuri followed closely behind, the former slightly lagging behind by a beat due to all the winning tickets she has wrapped around her small body from all the games she’s played tonight. Sakura didn’t have much that she can brag about, but her skill with a joystick and a few plastic buttons weren’t anything to laugh at even if she does say so herself.

The claw machine that Yena was excitedly bouncing next to seemed to carry only one design of plushie, which was a blue penguin wearing a pink hoodie and a dumb smile on it’s face. 

...It was the ing cutest thing Sakura has ever seen in her life.

“Yena is kinda right. They really do resemble you. Especially with that goofy smile....” Yuri agrees, watching in amusement as Sakura presses her small face into the machine’s glass, smooshing her nose against the surface.

“I want it.”

“What?” Both girls chorused, turning to look at a very intense Sakura.

“I want it. I want one. I’ll get one.” Sakura declares with an air of certainty and finality that did not correlate with her complete lack of skill with claw machines.

Yuri shrugged, while Yena pulls out her phone to record the imminent failure. “Knock yourself out. These machines are rigged though.”

Sakura, armed with the combined forces of blind optimism, unrelenting perseverance, God and anime, steps up to the machine and inserts a token with the confidence of Oda Nobunaga conquering Inabayama Castle.

The first try ends in failure, as is expected. Nobody achieves victory immediately. No, there has to be a buildup. A slow burn to make the victory all the more glorious! Sakura was undaunted. This was par for the course. Another failure and she brushes it off. Another failure and she starts laughing at the challenge. Another failu—

“One more! ONE MORE TIME!” Sakura screams as Yena forcibly pulls her away from the machine, hands reaching through thin air for the claw machine’s flimsy controls. It’s only been half an hour! Why are her friends freaking out so much?!

“Miyawaki you’ve spent enough to buy 2 of them at full-priced retail! Let it go.” Yena shouts back, and Sakura pauses. Huh. No wonder her wallet was feeling a little bit lighter all of a sudden. She suddenly remembers the money that Kaeun had given her and—no! She WON’T use that money for something as trivial as this absurd claw machine!

Sakura looks to the machine that she willingly allowed to swallow her money. The stuffed dolls inside the machine stare back at her, almost mockingly. “B-But....But Jerry~!”

Yuri places a hand on Sakura’s shoulder, immediately calming the Japanese girl. “There’s a Jerry The Penguin store in Seoul. We can go there on a trip or something. I promise a train ticket will be cheaper than trying to win one from this machine.”

It’s hard to argue with logic. It’s harder to argue with Yuri.

Sakura sighs in defeat.

“....Fine.”

She takes one last glance at the claw machine and the adorable penguins inside it, before turning around with her friends to cash in her winning tickets for something mundane like an electric toothbrush or something.

************************

Yuri and Yena walked with her half of the way home before parting ways at an intersection. They wave goodbye, and Sakura watches them leave. Watches them reduce the distance between themselves when they think she’s no longer watching. Gets a brief glimpse of their fingers interlocking before they disappear around a corner.

Honestly she’s happy for them. Both Yena and Yuri are such good people that they deserve this bit of comfort and support that life has given them. She just felt a little bit lonely, is all.

She really only has two close friends. A few acquaintances here and there, a handful of kind neighbors and shopkeepers that know her by name, and that’s it. It’s enough, but at times it does feel like her entire life can be squeezed into a London phone booth.

And as she entertains that thought, the sound of screeching tires from frightfully close by brings her back to the present. Sakura looks up towards the sound only to feel her body being pulled away by several pairs of hands. She didn’t even have the time to panic or scream out in fright. 

A bag is placed over her head and the next thing she knew she was being tossed into what she assumes was a vehicle, crying out for help as she reaches up to pull the bag off but before she could do so a pair of much stronger arms pull them down and bind them with a rope or string or cable of some kind.

Her mind races a million miles a minute, panic wracking her body as she feels the vehicle drive off with her in it. Was she being kidnapped? Was this—was this really happening right now? She couldn’t see anything! She couldn’t—she was—

“Might want to get comfortable, Miyawaki Sakura. You’ll be stuck like that for quite a bit.”

Sakura freezes up. The voice was unfamiliar. It was definitely female, and unnaturally smooth, as if the texture did not suit the tone. Still she hoped. She prayed that it was somebody she knew.

“K-Kaeun-ssi?” 

Silence. The shuffling of movement, and then suddenly—

“Nope. Try again.”

It was whispered right into her ear, making Sakura jump in shock, bumping her head painfully against the vehicle’s ceiling and flopping back onto the seat unceremoniously. It wasn’t Kaeun. Was it someone else from the Red Roses? She didn’t even know if that was what she wanted but at least it was something familiar. At least it was something that she could hold onto.

“W-Who are you...?” Sakura asks, voice trembling like her hands.

A soft chuckle fills her ears, and it sounded cold. Like a dead animal. 

“Just some people that you pissed off yesterday. You take three of ours, we take something from you.”

It takes Sakura surprisingly fast to get it. Maybe she suspected it, deep in her gut. Maybe she was hoping it wasn’t true. “The B-Black Dahlia...?”

Another chuckle, before something is pressed to Sakura’s temple. Something cold and hard. By the weight of it, by the shape and the context, Sakura could tell what it was.

“Bingo.”

Sakura burst into tears, frightened beyond belief. Why was this person pointing a gun to her? Was she going to die? Was this how it would end? She had so many questions, but she couldn’t ask them through her tears. The bag over her head made it hard to breathe so she was gasping and suffocating for air.

“W-Where are you t-taking me?”

She manages to choke out the question, but she wasn’t even sure if this kidnapper was in the mood to answer anything.

“Oh somewhere nearby. Somewhere that we can spend some quality time getting to know one another.”

“Why—“

“NO MORE QUESTIONS!” A shout, and the gun is shoved into her temple, digging into the skin and making Sakura swallow all the questions she had. 

She was scared, she was being kidnapped, and the worst part was...

She didn’t even know if there would be anyone that would save her.

*****************************

Sakura wasn’t able to see much of anything with the bag over her head. She could only use her ears, and the sounds that she heard were either extremely exaggerated just to unnerve her or her mind was making them sound worse than they actually were. Violent, obscene clanging of metal objects and chains, shouting and every manner of loud noises ring out around her as she was forced to walk to a place she could not see.

She tried to remember every turning her body was forced to take. A left turn after walking 6 steps past a heavy door followed by a right turn and another 22 steps, only for her to give up because there was no way she was going to remember any of that. She wasn’t the star of an action movie. They always made it seem too easy on screen, remembering the steps you took. 

She was tossed onto a chair. Sturdy enough to not even budge as her full weight was hurled onto the piece of wooden furniture. Sakura feels her arms and legs get tied up and she instinctively tries to struggle, only to feel her head whip to the side from the force of something violently hitting her cheek. Sakura couldn’t see what it was that hit her, but she could see stars forming in the corners of her vision as the pain knocks her out for a split second. 

So that was how it felt like to be hit. Sakura has never been in any sort of physical altercation in her life, so this was a first for her. 

She didn’t like it.

It hurt so bad. Her cheek was probably/ definitely swollen now and she started crying from the pain. She hears somebody commanding her to stop crying, which only makes her panic even more and cry harder. She had reached the point of bawling before her head whips to the side a second time from another strike, and darkness claimed her consciousness.

*********************************

Lee Chaeyeon.

That was the name that was introduced to her with a toothy grin. The name of the woman who keeps Sakura on the edge of consciousness with the constant beatings. She does so with a demented smile on her face, reveling in Sakura’s broken spirit. Sakura didn’t know why she was here, or why they kidnapped her. All she knows is she’s been slapped and kicked and pinched and punched by this crazy woman for what felt like 3 hours now. 

The hood had been removed from her head about an hour ago, giving her the opportunity to look at her surroundings and her captor. She was in a well-lit albeit small room, with concrete grey walls and floors. The room had no windows, but it did have a single door and Sakura was strategically seated to face it, as if taunting her of the freedom she currently did not have. Her wrists and ankles were tied to the heavy wooden chair, restricting her movement.

Chaeyeon circled her like a shark, tugging at Sakura’s hair randomly while taunting the girl. It became clearly obvious to Sakura that whatever these people wanted, it was something that she alone could not give. They were waiting for someone. Using her to lure that someone in, which meant that there was nothing Sakura could do to rectify this situation herself. She was just made to wait and suffer this abuse.

Who would come for her though? She did not have any family members, and she doubts her friends are capable of rescuing her from these people. Sakura had nothing.

She was alone.

“You know...I don’t think you realise exactly how big of a blessing you are to all of us Sakura-chan.” Chaeyeon drawled, twirling a lock of Sakura’s hair around a pinky finger as she leaned in close.

Sakura could smell the acrid scent of tangerines coming from the woman. It was overwhelming. As Chaeyeon tugged at Sakura’s hair, the Japanese girl could only yelp and whine in pain. 

“I mean it. Really.” Chaeyeon continued, continuing her pacing around Sakura and momentarily disappearing from view. “The Reaper has never shown any attachment to anything before in her life. She would murder us all without even batting an eyelid but then...you showed up.”

Sakura was about to ponder how Kaeun fits into this picture but quicker than she could register it in her brain, a hand shoots out and grabs her by the face. Sharp nails dig into the skin of Sakura’s cheeks as Chaeyeon brings their faces closer. Deep hazel eyes boring into Sakura’s, and a shiver shoots down the latter’s spine as a manic smile rips across Chaeyeon’s face. 

“Oh she likes you doesn’t she? A delicate little play-thing. Such soft skin. I bet she has a lot of fun with you, doesn’t she? You bruise so, so easily though...” Chaeyeon cooed, before pinching Sakura’s cheek like you would a toddler. 

There has only ever been two times when Sakura feels as if she was staring death in the face. Yesterday was the first, when Kaeun coldly admonished Minju. When the grey steel in the Reaper’s eyes would hold an edge to it that froze Sakura right to her soul. This would be the second time, but it was different. The fear she felt was different. 

Kaeun’s eyes promised a cold threat. As if Sakura was standing too close to the edge of a tall building, with strong winds threatening to push her off. Like a thunderstorm in the distance. With Chaeyeon, it was....madness. Unadulterated chaos and fury, barely concealed behind the facade of a young woman’s composure. 

Chaeyeon was going to kill her.

Not because she wasn’t being cooperative, but maybe just because the mad woman simply felt like it at the time. Maybe it was because she was feeling bored. Maybe Chaeyeon didn’t have anything else going for her on that day and decided that taking the life of a 20-year old Japanese girl would be a fun thing to do. 

Chaeyeon was dangerous. Sakura trembled in her seat because she has never felt so much—so much overwhelming fear in her life.

“You see, I get it though! The Reaper is absolutely beautiful isn’t she? So graceful, so....strong. The way she stares at you like she holds your life in her hands....” 

Chaeyeon lets go of Sakura’s face, walking away and creating distance between them while she wore a dreamy, faraway expression.

“Why are you so special? Why are you her only weakness? You were so easy to take...I wonder if we were to kill you RIGHT NOW, what would happen? Would anyone even look for you...?” Chaeyeon trailed off, grin growing ever wider when she sees the panic and fear start to overtake Sakura’s features. “Would anyone even mourn for you...?”

Chaeyeon approaches Sakura again, obviously enjoying the little game of mental cat and mouse she was playing with the captive girl. This time however, Chaeyeon leans in closer than she had before. A little too close. Their noses were practically touching and Sakura’s entire body freezes stiff as a result of the close proximity.

“The Reaper’s little toy...I wonder just how fun you are? I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if I borrowed you for a little while, would she? Would she get angry if I took her toy for a joyride? She never did play well with others....” Chaeyeon whispers low, asking questions to nobody in particular.

What was with Chaeyeon’s obsession with Kaeun? It didn’t seem very peaceful in nature. The two of them must have some sort of history together, one that was hostile enough to spawn such resentment from this woman that was so dangerously close to Sakura.

There was a soft chuckle as a warning, and the next thing Sakura knew she was tasting Chaeyeon all over her lips. The taller, dominant woman was kissing Sakura with so much fervor and aggression that it took her by surprise. The entire act took her by surprise. Sakura futilely struggled against her restraints as Chaeyeon pressed their bodies closer together, trying to deepen the kiss but Sakura was not making it easy for her.

“No—“ Sakura began to protest, dodging Chaeyeon’s advances and it seemed to work for a brief moment until the latter grew visibly irritated. Sakura sees a hand being brought up in the corner of her vision but she was powerless to stop the violent slap that coloured her cheek crimson. So strong was the hit that if Chaeyeon hadn’t been straddling the chair Sakura was tied to, it would have toppled over on it’s side with her on it. 

“You would stop struggling, if you knew what was ing good for you. The only thing stopping me from killing you right now, is because I want to see the look on her face when I snap your neck right in front of her.” Chaeyeon spat, and through the dark spots in Sakura’s vision she could see the rage leaking out from the woman.

There was a metallic taste in . Blood, most probably. The slap must have cut her lip, but it stopped being much of a problem when Chaeyeon continued her earlier advances, and lapping the inside of Sakura’s mouth with considerably more ease, releasing vulgar moans of appreciation that left Sakura feeling sick to her stomach. Sakura had stopped resisting, resigning herself to this fate of being ually molested by this insane woman. Tears fell from her eyes, knowing that this was how she was going to die.

Alone, ravaged and disrespected. Not an ounce of pride or modesty to be seen. She would die without ever making anything of herself.

The door infront of her suddenly burst open with a loud bang, startling the both of them.  Chaeyeon tears herself away from Sakura to look over her shoulder, sending a death glare towards whoever it was that dared interrupt her “session”.

“She’s here!” The man by the door shouts, and suddenly all anger and irritation on Chaeyeon’s face disappears and melts into one of glee and jubilation.

“That was fast! Excellent! This thing must mean more to her than we thought! Looks like someone will be mourning you after all Little Toy!” Chaeyeon laughs, lightly tapping Sakura on her bruised and swollen cheek with an index finger.

“Scratch that. She’ll be dead after tonight, so nope. That still leaves the amount of people who will mourn you to be zero.”

“Dead...?” Sakura wonders aloud, not liking where this was going. Her feeling of dread only increased when she saw the smile on Chaeyeon’s face grow wider.

“Of course you ! This whole stage is a set up for her! We need her to bring us the harddrive they stole, but if we can kill her here tonight all that won’t even matter! The Black Dahlia will be glorified as the family that felled the Reaper!” Chaeyeon cackled madly, as full realisation of the situation slowly sunk in inside Sakura’s head.

This was all an elaborate plan to kill Kaeun. Kaeun was the one they were waiting to come save her. They were just using Sakura as bait....Why? Why did Kaeun come? For her? She’s only met the woman twice before, and both times hardly gave the woman known as a coldhearted Reaper enough reason to risk her life to save her. Was Kaeun really here? 

Was Kaeun going to die, because of her?

“You’re crazy! ALL OF YOU ARE CRAZY!” Sakura screams, frustration and anguish wracking her body at how powerless she currently was. The rope binding her wrists chafe and tear into the skin as Sakura struggles but it was no use. She couldn’t get herself free.

“Crazy?! US?! But SHE’S the one knowingly running into our base to save one little girl, so are WE the crazy ones?!” Chaeyeon challenges as sounds of gunshots echo out past the door in the distance, several floors below them.

There was a war outside that door. There were screams and shouts and explosions followed by the loud chorus of gunfire that seemed to go on forever. The sounds appeared to be getting closer, and Sakura imagined Kaeun fighting through the enemies outside the door to get to her. Why was she trying so hard? Sakura wished she could yell for Kaeun to turn back. To leave her here and not fall into the Black Dahlia’s trap.

The largest explosion yet echoed through the walls, shaking the building they were in to it’s very foundation. The walls reverberated from the force of the explosion, a brief moment of yelling in the distance and then...

Silence.

Absolute silence.

“Did...Did we get her?” A man asks uncertainly, gun cocked in his hand and pointed towards the door.

As a matter of fact everyone had their attention fixed towards the door, the only means in or out of the room for any sign of movement from the other side. The sheer silence was eerie, and Sakura took slight comfort in knowing that she wasn’t the only one in the room unsettled by it.

“No....” Chaeyeon said, breaking the silence. A look of amazement and what could be mistaken as jubilation creeping onto her features. “She’s still alive. It didn’t work.”

Panic swept over the room like a cold wave as a result of Chaeyeon’s bold declaration. The men and women standing around the room (Sakura counted 5 people, but there could be more standing behind her. Her vision was limited to what was infront of her after all) looked around in a state of distress, not knowing what to do while Chaeyeon has already been reduced to a fit of giddy giggles. It was quite obvious that this trap they had laid out was their only one, and they did not have a plan B.

“Chaeyeon! What do we do?!” A woman screams out from the side, trembling like a leaf in a typhoon.

“Pray to every single God you believe in and regret every decision you’ve made that lead you to this moment! Rejoice folks! The Reaper has come for you!” Chaeyeon cackled madly as the other gang members despaired.

In what was a haphazard last ditch effort to create some sort of last stand, the gang members stood in a row and trained their guns towards the door, waiting for it to swing open.

“You’re coming with me, little Toy.” Chaeyeon sniggered from close to Sakura and the latter felt something cold press against her temple. Her breath catches in when she spares a glance to the side and sees the business end of Chaeyeon’s gun waiting to meet her gaze.

The following moments of tense silence was something that Sakura would never forget for as long as she lived. Chaeyeon’s heavy breathing in her ear, the cold steel of the mad woman’s gun pressed against her skin, the whispered prayers of frightened men as they looked towards the door, awaiting their death.

The silence was broken by the sound of footsteps walking from outside of the room. More than one set, there were several people currently standing on the other side of the door. Sakura wanted to scream. To warn whoever was standing behind that door that there were people here waiting to shoot them, but her voice is caught in . Fear gripping her lungs stemming from the cold metal against her temple. Sakura prayed they knew. Sakura prayed that it wasn’t Kaeun outside the door. Hopefully it was the police or something.

Sakura gets her answer a moment later.

The door they had all been staring at bursts inwards violently, ripping it off it’s hinges. Panicked cries fill the room as the awaiting Black Dahlia members fire randomly into the doorway, hitting absolutely nothing. The moment one gun clicks, signalling an empty cartridge was the moment three women clad in black suits and red satin shirts flood into the room, accurately and effortlessly picking off the Black Dahlia.

“Reaper! So nice of you to join—“ 

A single, violent shot echoes throughout the room and cuts Chaeyeon off mid-sentence. Chaeyeon’s heavy breathing was suddenly no longer in Sakura’s ear, and her gun was no longer pressing into Sakura’s skin. It was almost impossible to tell through her tears, but she could recognise that woman anywhere. Those steely grey eyes and that calm demeanour...

Lee Kaeun stood in the doorway, clad in her Red Roses attire, smoke still billowing out of her gun’s muzzle from shooting Chaeyeon.

With a nod in her direction, two familiar faces run towards Sakura, cutting open her restraints and freeing her. It was madness. Were there only 3 of them? Did they really storm this building filled with people waiting to kill them, with only THREE people?

Kaeun kneels down in front of Sakura, and the latter looks up to see the cold grey eyes curve into warm crescents as Kaeun smiles warmly at her.

“Hello Sakura. I’m sorry I took so long.” 

Sakura completely loses it, collapsing forwards off her chair and into Kaeun’s awaiting arms, wrapping her arms around the taller girl’s neck as if afraid if she were to slacken her grip Kaeun would disappear. Violent sobs wrack Sakura’s body as she bawls into Kaeun’s chest, staining the red satin with her tears and spit and everything that was unbecoming of a woman but Sakura didn’t care. She was so relieved. So, so relieved. She had never been so frightened in her life.

“Shh. It’s okay. You’re safe. Nobody can hurt you now.” Kaeun soothes Sakura’s back, comforting the Japanese girl as the latter falls apart in her arms. Sakura was crying so hard she was practically hyperventilating. She was safe. Kaeun’s arms felt like home, shielding her from all the evil the world has to offer.

Sakura looks up at Kaeun, wanting to thank the woman for coming all this way—for risking her life just to save her—but all that came out of was a horrible wail. Kaeun’s expression shifts suddenly, and as the Reaper reaches a hand up to run a gentle thumb across Sakura’s swollen cheek and split lips, Sakura swears that she sees molten fire take over Kaeun’s eyes.

“Who did this to you?”

There was barely controlled anger in Kaeun’s voice. She has never seen the taller girl this uncomposed before. All the poise vanishing from Kaeun and in it’s stead was someone visibly shaking with fury. Gone was the gentle Lee Kaeun, and standing before her still locked partway in an embrace was the much feared Reaper. 

Sakura’s body unconsciously twitches in the direction of Chaeyeon, and that was all the invitation Kaeun needed to push past the shaken Japanese girl and approach the barely-breathing Black Dahlia crumpled on the floor.

“ you Lee Kaeun...” Chaeyeon spat upon seeing the figure approaching her. She reaches for her gun that lay on the floor several inches out of reach but Kaeun easily kicks it away. Chaeyeon screams in frustration, coughing out blood as she tried in vain to nurse the bullethole Kaeun left in her chest earlier. “You...don’t know what you’ve started...Tonight just PROVED IT! Finally...We finally have an edge over you! We finally know how to hurt the Reaper! All we have to do is KILL THE GIRL—“

Kaeun again cuts Chaeyeon off, this time by jamming the muzzle of her gun directly into the latter’s mouth, probably breaking a few teeth in the process but that didn’t seem to concern the Reaper one bit.

“For a dead person, you talk too much.”

Chaeyeon’s eyes grew as wide as saucers as she slowly catches onto what Kaeun was implying.

“N-NO WAIT—“

Two gunshots echo along the small room’s walls. Sakura managed to look away just in time to not catch sight of the gory spectacle. Although the woman had spent the better part of the last few hours making Sakura’s life a living hell, she couldn’t really stomach Kaeun’s actions.

“We should go, unnie.” Yunjin states, handing a handkerchief to Kaeun as the older girl passes by with flecks of blood on her face. Kaeun nods, gesturing to Sakura as she reloads her gun with deft fingers.

“Can you walk?” Minju asks Sakura with a tad more politeness than expected. Sakura nods, without really being sure of the answer. She did feel shaky, but she didn’t exactly want to trouble any of them by allowing herself to be carried out.

“Bring her to the car and wait for me. I won’t be long.” Kaeun instructs.

“Don’t overdo it unnie. Your leg isn’t fully healed.” Yunjin advises, and Minju nods in agreement.

“...Get her safe. I don’t want her to see this.” Kaeun instructs simply, before walking out the door without waiting for a reply. 

Sakura was about to ask where she was going, before the sounds of gunshots echo from around the corner, followed by panicked yells and screams. Yunjin nods and guides Sakura out of the room by the wrist, Minju covering their rear. 

They pass by so many bodies strewn about the floor on the way out of the surprisingly tall building. Uncountable in their number. There were blood and scorch marks from explosions decorating the walls, and Sakura tried her best to avert her eyes from some of the more grotesque death scenes.

“She went berserk after knowing you got kidnapped. Barely left any Dahlia members for Minju and I.” Yunjin informed Sakura, as if reading her mind.

“Kaeun-ssi did all of this....?”

“They don’t call her The Reaper for nothing, Sakura-san. After seeing what they did to your pretty face, I don’t think she’s going to stop with just this.” Yunjin said with a wink and Sakura felt sick to her stomach. How could they be so casual about murder? Kaeun killed all of these people for HER. She was the cause of all this!

They eventually exit the building to find a black Range Rover Evoque parked right by the entrance, no driver in sight. Minju unlocks the car and climbs into the driver’s seat, while Yunjin carefully helps Sakura clamber into the backseat before entering the passenger side herself.

“This is Kaeun-unnie’s personal car. We didn’t have time to get someone to drive us, she was so in a hurry to get here.” Minju helpfully answers Sakura’s unasked questions. Was she being that readable? 

They wait patiently, with Yunjin and Minju arguing over what song to play in the meantime. It didn’t feel as if they were waiting for Kaeun to finish eradicating every living being in the building behind them. It felt like a casual drive to the mall, how comfortable and relaxed they were that Kaeun would return unharmed.

The calmness was justified 15 minutes later as Kaeun gently knocks on the car’s window, sliding into the backseat next to Sakura as soon as Minju unlocks the door.

“Did you clear out all the rats?” Yunjin asks as casually as she would the weather. Kaeun lets out a weak laugh as she sinks into the plush leather of the seat.

“For now. Tomorrow will be another day.”

Kaeun looked exhausted, blood staining her hands and face. Maybe that was why the shirts they wore were red, to not make the blood as noticeable. Sakura couldn’t help but notice just how beautiful the older woman looked in the form-hugging suit.

“Is...any of that blood yours?” Sakura asks, and Kaeun turns her head and offers a soft smile. 

Sakura swears her heart just skipped a beat for some unknown reason.

“No. I’m unharmed.”

Sakura nods, not knowing where she was going with this. “That’s good.”

“So what now, unnie?” Minju asked from the driver’s seat.

What now. Sakura had just been kidnapped and assaulted, only for three women whom she barely knew to come and rescue her and brutally murdering about 30 people in the process. She doubts her life can simply return to normal after this. Her university life was the furthest thing from her mind currently. 

“We take Sakura back home. To our home. Until it’s safe for her to be out in the open again.” Kaeun says with an air of finality that even Sakura couldn’t say no to. 

Not that she wanted to. She couldn’t even keep her eyes open, she was so exhausted. Kaeun smelled like a mixture of roses and something metallic, a smell that Sakura would later associate with the stench of blood. It didn’t occur to her then, in the backseat of the car though. Not when she was that tired. Not when Kaeun was offering her shoulder for Sakura to rest her head on. Not when she suddenly felt so safe and protected from everything in the world.

Just like that, Sakura allows sleep to claim her as she rests her head on The Reaper’s blood-stained shoulder.

______________________________________________

Hello! 

A few peeps might get up in their feelings that I made Chaeyeon the villain. I can...sorta explain? I guess? I just figured that out of everyone in IZ*ONE, Chaeyeon would be the easiest to turn into a psychotic bad guy. It all started from the laughing compilation videos of her you see often, and I was like “yo, I bet it’ll be so easy to write her as a crazy person.”

The fighting scene was also supposed to be longer, but it got really messy because I had to write a Chaeyeon vs Kaeun scene told through Sakura’s perspective. Too many people involved. Too complicated. I also wanted to puff up the mystique of Lee Kaeun the Reaper. I figured the magic would disappear if I actually showed Kaeun fighting, because up until now it’s only been stories of how good she is.

Most of Kaeun’s fighting will be done offscreen just to maintain that mysterious air. 

This chapter might be the most important chapter in the entire fic, just because things start to pick up from here. 

The NEXT chapter though....is a long one. And it’s my favourite thus far. The next chapter will be through Kaeun’s perspective, and whew do I LOVE the Reaper character I created and the backstory I built.

Additional facts: Yes, Jerry the Penguin is a play on Perry the Platypus. Yuri is my bias in IZ*ONE, although I at writing her. Kaeun drives an Evoque here cause I drive an Evoque in real life and I wanted that connection lol 

Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment with feedback because it really helps! Some of y’all notice things even I don’t. As the author I need to address any discrepancies, so please let me know what you think of the fic!

(and maybe leave a cheeky lil upvote if you liked it? i thrive on positive reinforcement lol)

See y’all in the next chapter! (In a week? Maybe more...?)