The rest of that trip was a blur. She knew they’d walked miles. There’d been a meeting up with another member of the team before she was carried to a small dilapidated house just outside the edge of town. She had no idea who lived there, if anyone, and couldn’t work up the energy to care. 

There was a bathroom. A real one with a toilet and a bathtub. The men had also somehow, from somewhere, rummaged up food. She had a real meal. She felt almost normal now. Supposedly she was going to be picked up by a group tomorrow morning. Soon this nightmare would be over. She could sleep for days if she wanted to then. Mission accomplished. 

That worked for her. 

Now if only she could get to that bath, then bed part of this mess. 

“Eat.” Suho stared down at her half empty plate. “You need your strength.” 

Strength. Right. Eat even if you don’t want to. It’s food. It’s energy. Her father’s words rattled through her skull. She picked up her fork again and forced another bite down. She did need food. And a bath. 

She brightened. If she finished eating, she could squeeze a bath in before she collapsed. Then again, she had to make it to the bath first. Just then, Suho nudged her elbow. She lifted her tired gaze to him. 

“Come on. Bedtime.” 

She shook her head. “Bath first.” 

He nodded. “Let’s go.” He stood up and picked her up. 

“Whoa,” she cried. “I can walk.” 

He snorted. “If that was the case then you’d have made your way up there before now.” 

She groaned. “I was working up the energy for the trip.” 

He carried her up the stairs and into the small quaint bathroom. Putting her on the counter, he swiveled and quickly the water to fill a bath for her. She smiled. Had anything ever looked so good? 

They both stared as the tub filled halfway. He reached down and switched off the water. Rummaging around in the cupboard, he quickly found her an old towel. Then turned to face her. 

She snickered. “Yes, I’m fine. Yes, I can get in on my own. Yes, I will call you if I run into trouble.” 

His laughter rang through the bathroom. 

“See, I’m learning.” She grinned impishly. Nothing could knock her mood right now. She was inside, safe with a bathtub full of hot water waiting for her. Life was good. 

Besides, there was the iest man she’d ever met standing beside her. And he appeared to care about her wellbeing. Might be just because of the job… but… 

He dropped a kiss on her forehead and walked out, leaving her alone, her fingers reaching up to touch the spot he’d kissed. Why had he done that? Again? Surely he hadn’t meant it. Or rather he saw her as Min-seok’s little sister and therefore was going to treat her the same way. 

She slid off the counter, wincing as her damaged feet hit the cold linoleum floor. Getting into the water was going to hurt, yet they were in desperate need of a hot soak and cleaning. As was the rest of her. She stripped off her ruined clothes, wondering if there was anything left behind in the house she could wear. She couldn’t imagine putting on her destroyed bloodstained clothing again. There were more holes than material left. 

Perched on the side of the bath, she gently slipped her feet in the warm water. Tears came to her eyes at the stinging. It felt good but that sting quickly became a scorching burn. She closed her eyes and tried to breathe through it. After a couple of long moments, she slid the rest of the way into the water, this time gasping in joy as her aching muscles were enveloped in the comforting heat. 

She had no idea how much time she had but took several minutes to lie submerged, letting the heat wash over her hair and face. Then she went about the painful business of wetting down her hair and trying to clean it with the bar of soap. She was dusty and bloody and damn it, every inch hurt. 

By the time she was done, she was exhausted. She managed to hitch herself up to the side of the bathtub again to snag up the towel on the floor. The dry rough textured material made short work of the moisture still clinging to her skin. She redressed in her underclothes and wrapped the towel around her while contemplating her options. She could walk out to the bedroom in a towel and hope to make it into her room sight unseen. Or she could call out for help and get carried into her room, thus letting her feet stay clean. If there was more medicated ointment, her fee