“My God, Bbom-ah,” Chorong gasped as she fell to her knees and immediately began undoing the ropes around Bomi’s wrists and ankles. When the ropes fell free from Bomi, Chorong cupped Bomi’s face in her hands. “Are you okay?”

Bomi had imagined what her reunion with her team would be like. She had played out all the different scenarios in her head many times and had imagined the joy that she would feel to once again be in the arms of those that she loved. Yet as Chorong desperately searched Bomi’s body for any serious injuries, Bomi felt nothing.

She stared listlessly ahead at the woman in front of her. Her chest felt empty. Her mind was blank. The One-Eyed Man had said that her entire team had been killed, so how was it that Chorong was kneeling right in front of her, sobbing tears of relief? She must have been imagining it. Her brain must have been playing a cruel trick on her, trying to fool her with her deepest, most desperate desires.

Her team was dead. They weren’t coming for her. Chorong wasn’t there.

Bomi closed her eyes and tried to force the wickedly beautiful dream away.

But when she opened her eyes again, Chorong was still there. The leader brushed aside Bomi’s hair. “Bbom-ah, can you hear me?”

Bomi murmured, “You’re not real.”

“Yes, I am. I am real, and we have to go now.”

“You’re not real,” Bomi said again. “This is a trick.”

“No. No, Bbom-ah, it’s not a trick.” Chorong grasped Bomi’s face in her hands again. She was trembling―or was it Bomi who was trembling? “It’s me, Chorong. I’m here. I came for you.”

“Of all the ways you have tortured me…” Hot tears slid down Bomi’s cheeks, searing her skin and dripping onto Chorong’s hands. “This is the worst.”

Chorong slowly looked down at Bomi’s body and took in all of her wounds, both old and new. Her hand gently traced the bruise on Bomi’s abdomen, the long scratch across her arm, and the small nick on her belly. “My God, what did they do to you?”

“Nothing as bad as this,” Bomi mumbled.

Chorong ped her black jacket and wrapped it around Bomi’s bare torso. “No one’s going to hurt you anymore. I won’t let them.”

“Stop it,” Bomi said. She was quivering. “Please. You’re not her.”

“It really is me. Do you remember before you left, you said that you would come back to me and I said that if you didn’t, I would come for you?” Chorong wiped a tear from Bomi’s cheek with her thumb. “Well, I did. I came for you.”

Bomi blinked. The vision of Chorong still didn’t go away. “How…?”

“Listen to my voice, Bbom-ah,” Chorong said softly. Bomi had missed that gentle, melodic voice. “It’s me. Do you hear me?” Bomi tried pulling away, but Chorong held onto her tightly. “Look at me. Look into my eyes.”

So Bomi did―and she saw those beautiful pools of melted chocolate. And she knew.

“Chorong-unnie?” she whispered.

Chorong’s face broke into a smile, and a tear rolled down her cheek. “Yes. Yes, it’s me.”

Then Chorong leaned forward and pressed her lips against Bomi’s into a kiss that felt relieved, happy, and desperate all at once. The cloudiness in Bomi’s mind seemed to dissipate in that moment, and she leaned into Chorong’s touch. She was here. She was really here. Bomi closed her eyes, but this time she knew that Chorong wouldn’t disappear when she opened them. 

When Chorong pulled away, she was smiling. Bomi just gaped and muttered, “You came.”

“Of course I did. I said I would, didn’t I?” Chorong Bomi’s cheek sweetly. “We came as soon as we got the signal.”

“The signal…” Bomi looked down at her palm and found the faint white scar near her thumb, where a small tracker had been embedded into her skin before she had left.

Bomi had let herself get captured; it was all a part of their plan. Before the mission, they had decided that the team would safely rescue Naeun from the Shadow Clan, but they would allow Bomi to get captured so she could lead them to the leader. The leader had come to the alleged trade-off with Naeun, but they had wanted a way into the heart of the Shadow Clan operation. Bomi’s capture had given them that.

They had known that placing an easily removable tracker on Bomi would have been too dangerous, so they had to perform a small surgery to hide one just underneath the skin of her palm. It also would have been too risky to have the tracker constantly sending signals from Bomi’s location, so they had installed it in such a way that it had to be activated with a very specific squeeze of her fist. Bomi only activated the tracker when she had confirmed that the leader was in the same facility as she was. When she had activated the tracker, she knew that it was only a matter of time before her teammates would come to rescue her.

It had been their plan to let Bomi get captured. They had all known that it would happen, but Chorong’s and Eunji’s screams when it had happened―Bomi knew that they couldn’t have truly been acting. And the despair and hopelessness that Bomi had felt when she thought her team had been killed…that had also been real.

Looking into Chorong’s eyes now, Bomi felt a huge surge of relief that her despair had been for naught. She slipped her arms into Chorong’s jacket and zipped it up to her chin. “We have to go.”

Chorong held onto Bomi’s arms. “Can you stand?”

“I’m going to need some help,” Bomi replied. She hated how weak she felt.

Without another word, Chorong rushed to Bomi’s side and secured Bomi’s arm over her back. Chorong wrapped her own arm around Bomi’s waist and hefted her up. “Let’s go. We have to hurry.”

“Where are the others?” Bomi asked.

As if on cue, Bomi heard familiar voices shouting outside, and Eunji and Namjoo burst through the door. The instant Eunji’s eyes met Bomi’s, Eunji let out a strangled cry. Namjoo’s eyes widened and she emitted her characteristic gasp. They both ran to Bomi and threw their arms around her.

When they released her, Eunji cupped Bomi’s face in her hands. There were tears in her eyes. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

“I’ll be fine,” Bomi replied.

Eunji’s eyes searched Bomi’s body up and down, then settled on Chorong’s jacket. Slowly, Eunji reached for the zipper, but Bomi caught her hand. “Eunji…You don’t want to see it right now.”

Eunji closed her hands into a fist. “I’ll kill them,” she murmured lowly.

“You killed quite a few of them on the way here already,” Namjoo said.

“I’ll kill some more of them.”

“Good. I’ll join you.” Namjoo smiled sadly at Bomi. “I’m sorry we came so late.”

Bomi reached over and brushed Namjoo’s cheek. “I’m just glad you came.” She looked behind them. “Where’s Hayoungie?”

“She stayed back to guard the princess,” Namjoo explained. “We didn’t want to take any risks.”

“Smart. How many of you guys are there?”

“Forty agents came in with us,” Chorong answered. “They’re clearing out the building right now and finding the leader. Twenty are outside on surveillance and perimeter. They’re on standby right now in case we need to escape or need backup.” 

“The leader just left this room. He couldn’t have gotten far,” Bomi said.

“He’s not our priority right now. Our priority is getting you out of here,” replied Eunji.

“I’m fine.”

“You are most definitely not fine,” Namjoo said. 

“Namjoo-ah is right,” agreed Chorong. “You can’t even stand on your own.”

Bomi scowled. They were right; her whole body felt unbelievably weak, and her vision was still very blurry. “No, I have to get the leader. Eunji-ah, the leader…He’s―”

“The One-Eyed Man?” Eunji finished for her. “I know.”

“How?”

“Chorong-unnie figured it out. It’s a long story, but we figured out that his name is Choi Jonghoon. I didn’t know who he was until I saw a picture of him, and I recognized his face immediately.” Bomi looked at Eunji with confusion, and Eunji sighed and elaborated, “Two years ago, when you were in infirmary for your injuries from your mission, you would not stop talking about the One-Eyed Man. I relayed those details to a sketch artist, who was able to draw up a picture of the man that you described. I was going to give it to you so we could find him together, but when I returned to the infirmary, you had already disappeared. That’s how I recognized Choi Jonghoon’s face. The sketch artist had captured his details perfectly.”

“You…”

“But we can’t dwell on that now,” Eunji cut in. “We have to go.”

“Yes, we can continue this later.” Chorong helped Bomi move forward. “We have to get you out of here.”

“I have to get the leader,” Bomi said. “He killed my team.”

“You’re not in the condition for that,” Namjoo said. “The others will get him.”

“No, it has to be me!” Bomi cried. “I promised them.”

“And we promised that we would get you back safely!” Chorong shouted back.

Bomi looked at Eunji. “Eunji-ah…He killed Yookyung.”

Eunji gripped her fists by her side. “I know, Bbom-ah. I’m sorry.” She forced herself to look away, pulled out her gun, and stepped back into the doorway. “Let’s go.”

Bomi choked back a sob, but she didn’t argue. There was no use. 

With Eunji in front of her, Chorong by her side, and Namjoo behind her, Bomi and the others hurried out of the room and into the corridor. Bomi had never seen the rest of the building, but she wasn’t too shocked to see that it was as dull and gloomy as the room that she had been tied up in. The walls were persistently gray and old. From the crumbling paintings, banners, and flyers that adorned the walls, Bomi guessed that this was an abandoned military base.

They had to jump over fallen bodies as they rushed through the corridor, and Bomi could hear shouting and gunshots in the distance. Wherever they were in the building, it seemed like they were far from the violence.

“We came this way.” Eunji pointed ahead. “There should be a door leading outside around the corner.”

“I’ll contact our driver that we’re coming,” Namjoo said.

“Where do you think you’re going?” a voice behind them growled.

They all whirled around to face the leader of the Shadow Clan.

He was breathing heavily and was pointing a gun towards them. Blood was splattered all over his clothes and skin. His mask was hanging off of his neck, broken in two jagged pieces, and he was glaring at them with his one eye and hideous scar. Chorong tightened her grip around Bomi’s waist, and Eunji ran around them to position herself between Bomi and the One-Eyed Man.

“Choi Jonghoon,” Eunji said. 

“You must be Jeong Eunji.” He analyzed the rest of them. “And this must be Park Chorong and Kim Namjoo.”

“You’re outnumbered,” Namjoo said. “Drop your weapon.”

The One-Eyed Man gestured to Bomi. “You have something that belongs to me.”

“She does not belong to you,” Chorong growled.

“She must pay for what she did to me.” He clicked his gun, and Chorong immediately pushed Bomi around the corner. Namjoo and Eunji quickly joined them just as the One-Eyed Man’s bullet flew past them,

Eunji pressed her back against the wall and checked her gun. “I only have one bullet left.”

Namjoo also checked her ammo. “I only have one too. Chorong-unnie?”

“I’m all out,” Chorong replied.

Eunji cursed and quickly peered around the corner. She nodded towards Namjoo. “Hey, sharp-shooter. Do you think you can get him in one shot?”

“I can try,” Namjoo said. “Cover me.”

In a split second, Eunji leaned over the corner and shot her last bullet. Bomi couldn’t see where it landed, but she heard no shouts, so she knew that it hadn’t hit the One-Eyed Man. As soon as Eunji returned to her spot against the wall, Namjoo jumped out from her position and fired her bullet. This time, Bomi heard a grunt and the sound of a gun clattering to the floor.

Namjoo came back around the corner, cursing. “He moved at the last second, so I missed the vital spots.” She slid her empty gun into its holster and pulled out her dagger. “But the good thing is his gun is useless now.”

“Good.” Eunji unsheathed her two swords. “Let’s get him.”

Bomi grabbed Eunji’s wrist worriedly. “Be careful. He’s a monster.”

Eunji eyed Bomi up and down, most likely noting all of her wounds. She muttered, “I know he’s a monster.”

Chorong unsheathed her own sword and stepped forward. “Monsters can die too.”

Can they? Bomi recalled how the leader had followed her and Yookyung during their escape with blood practically coating his entire body. She had driven a knife down his eye and had stabbed him in the belly, yet he had still been able to walk away from it. 

Chorong handed Bomi one of her daggers and said, “Stay back.” Then she, Namjoo, and Eunji ran around the corner into battle.

Gripping the dagger, Bomi followed her teammates around the corner and watched as they engaged in a battle with the One-Eyed Man, who had also drawn his sword. Even though it was one on three, it was still unlike any battle Bomi had ever watched before. The leader was facing three incredibly skilled fighters, yet he fought back like they were evenly matched.

Chorong, Eunji, and Namjoo fought in perfect harmony, but it was like the One-Eyed Man could read their every move. Eunji ducked and cleared the way for Chorong to jump over her, but the leader had already taken a step back to avoid her attack. Namjoo and Eunji swung their swords at both of his sides at the same time, but he easily blocked both of their attacks.

Bomi hated not being able to help them. She was standing back, clenching onto her dagger and watching in fear as her comrades fought the leader of the Shadow Clan. Whenever the leader swung his blade, Bomi would grip her dagger tighter and only relax when her comrades had successfully avoided the attack. She couldn’t make out the finer details through her blurry vision, but she was able to get the gist of the battle from the moving blurs of their bodies.

So when one of the One-Eyed Man’s attacks finally landed and one of the blurred bodies fell back, Bomi knew immediately who it was. She tried to take a step forward and cried, “Eunji-ah!”

Eunji staggered up, clutching her side, and threw a hand up. “Stay back!”

Bomi ached so badly to join the battle, but she did as she was told. It was unsettling how powerful the leader was. He fought with the power of ten men, despite being crippled. Bomi watched in terror as he landed another attack, this time to Namjoo. 

It was difficult to believe that they were now fighting the man that their entire country had been trying to find for years. This was the man who had sworn his life to killing Naeun and taking the throne. This was the man responsible for terrorizing the nation and its innocent citizens. Those that came before them had labored for so long, trying to find the heart of the Shadow Clan, and here they were, clashing swords with him. The fate of this battle would very well determine the fate of the nation. And Bomi couldn’t do anything but stay back and watch.

As the battle wore on and the leader dealt more damage to her team than they did to him, Bomi grappled with the growing fear that she would have to watch her teammates die in front of her. There was a terrifying possibility that she would have to watch her precious friends get killed by the same man who had killed her team two years ago, and she couldn’t bear it. 

She had to do something, but what could she do? She could barely stand on her own, and her vision was hardly sharp enough to join the battle. Her hands trembled around her dagger as she searched for the answer.

Bomi froze. She didn’t need her eyes to land a knife in its target. 

Her fingers tightened around the hilt of her dagger, and she watched as the blurs in front of her danced around. Her vision didn’t need to be clear to land her attack. She just needed an opening.

Namjoo threw a low kick to the One-Eyed Man’s knees, but it did no damage to him; he just kicked his leg out and pushed Namjoo against the wall. Eunji surged forward to help Namjoo, and in that moment, the leader noticed her very brief vulnerability. He raised his sword, and from the side, Bomi saw Chorong preparing to throw her body onto Eunji to take the attack for her.

Now.

Bomi didn’t wait to get a better look at her target; she seldom did. She just saw the opening, understood where her dagger had to go, and flung it all in one breath.

The dagger struck right in the leader’s shoulder―right where Bomi wanted it.

The One-Eyed Man staggered back, but he didn’t drop his sword. Given his prowess, Bomi didn’t expect him to. Still, it provided the hesitation that Chorong needed to escape his potentially fatal blow.

The throw took more out of Bomi than she had expected, and she sagged against the wall. Her breaths were shallow and she couldn’t hold herself up. Chorong threw a glance back at her, then returned her attention to the One-Eyed Man. 

His one second of hesitation seemed to be the turning point of the battle. Chorong reached up and yanked the dagger from his shoulder, but before she could jam it somewhere else, he pushed her back. Namjoo caught the dagger as Chorong fell, and stabbed it into the One-Eyed Man’s belly. 

This time, he did release his sword, and he stumbled back with a hand pressed to his wound. Blood was quickly soaking the area around the dagger. Chorong, Eunji, and Namjoo all lunged at their newly found opportunity. Together, they all took turns landing their attacks and pushing the leader back. When Chorong struck, Eunji was already ready to take advantage of the new openings, and when Eunji struck, Namjoo was ready to repeat the process. With one last kick, Eunji finally brought the leader down to his knees. From afar, Bomi could tell that his face was bloodied and he was having difficulty standing up.

Bomi pushed against the wall and tried to get closer. Was it truly over? Would the years of battling with the Shadow Clan finally be over?

Eunji lifted her sword above her head, but as she was bringing it down to deliver the final blow, her arm froze mid-air. She lowered her sword and turned to look at Bomi. Chorong and Namjoo also looked at Bomi, like they knew exactly what Eunji was thinking. Eunji lifted her sword towards Bomi, and suddenly Bomi understood.

Bomi traveled along the wall until she reached her teammates. The One-Eyed Man was still slumped on the floor, unable to get up. Eunji flipped her sword around and handed its hilt to Bomi. “He’s yours.”

Gratefully, Bomi accepted Eunji’s sword and limped towards the leader of the Shadow Clan. Her teammates cleared the way for her and watched her as she stopped right in front of him.

The leader raised his head and locked eyes with Bomi. He made no move to attack; instead, he grinned and wheezed, “So it has come to this.”

“The world twists and turns and diverges into different paths,” Bomi murmured, “but it always comes full circle.”

Bomi lifted Eunji’s sword, and suddenly it felt lighter in her hand. She knew why. In front of her was the man who had killed her teammates, and behind her were the teammates that she had sworn to avenge. Yookyung, Seulgi, Yonsun, and Seulgi were all behind Bomi, helping her lift the sword to deliver their justice. For two years, their untimely deaths had haunted Bomi, and she would see them and the One-Eyed Man every night in her nightmares. Finally, it would all come to an end. Finally, she would be able to sleep peacefully.

With the spirits of her deceased teammates holding the sword with her, Bomi stabbed the blade straight through the chest of the One-Eyed Man.

But she didn’t stop there. She knelt down, grabbed his shoulder, and looked at him straight in the eye as she dug the blade deeper into his chest. The color quickly drained from his face, and blood spurted from his lips, but he showed no fear the entire time. Bomi wanted to see the fear in his eye. She wanted to hear him cry out and to see his pain, and yet he expressed none of that. Bomi released the sword and staggered back.

No. Something was wrong.

He was laughing. Bomi had just stabbed a sword straight through his chest, but the One-Eyed Man was laughing. With his blood-stained teeth and his distorted laugh from the blood at the back of his throat, he sounded demonic.

“Why are you laughing?” Bomi demanded shakily.

The One-Eyed Man rolled his head and flashed her a blood-stained smile. “I hope you left someone strong to protect your precious princess.”

Bomi felt a chill sweep her body. Eunji rushed forward and scooped him up by the collar of his shirt. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’ve won,” The leader of the Shadow Clan continued to laugh. “In the end, I get the last laugh.”

“What are you saying?” Eunji yelled. Out of all of them, she looked the most frightened. “What did you do to the princess?”

The One-Eyed Man said nothing else. He gave one last smile, then his head rolled to the side and never came back around. His body went limp in Eunji’s hands.

And yet he was still smiling. Even in death, he was still smiling, his blood-stained teeth permanently flashing their horrible, violent triumph.

This chapter will be the only update for the week; I've been really busy with work, but I still wanted to put something out for you all (sorry for the cliffhanger aha). As always, thanks for reading!