Bomi had thought that fighting with a team would be less tiring than fighting alone, but she had been horribly wrong. When the battle was over, she found herself wanting no more than to collapse into her bed and sleep for three days.

At least her teammates seemed as tired as her; they were all collapsed on the floor, surrounded by dead members of the Shadow Clan and gasping for air. Chorong was sitting next to the only living Shadow Clan member, whom they had kept alive for questioning. He had been knocked out cold and tied up.

“Is everyone alright?” Chorong asked once she had caught her breath.

Everyone tiredly nodded their heads. There was still a stinging pain in Bomi’s left arm, but she ignored it and hid it with her jacket. She would look at it later; they had more important things to worry about.

Chorong looked around the store. “Are all bodies accounted for?”

“Yes,” Namjoo answered. “I counted nineteen in here.”

“Good. Great work everyone.” Chorong took out her phone and punched in a number. “I’m going to call for a team to help move the bodies. We’re going to have to wait for them to come before we can leave.”

“We should bring in the body outside,” Bomi said. “It doesn’t sit well with me, just leaving it out there while we wait.”

“She’s right,” Eunji agreed. “We should bring it in here. It would make it easier to clean the place up too.”

“Help is coming,” Chorong said, slipping her phone back into her pocket. “Bomi-ah and I will go retrieve the body. I want the rest of you to gather the rest of the bodies. Keep an eye on our hostage.”

“Will you need help carrying the body?” Eunji asked and stood up. “I can help.”

“That won’t be necessary,” replied Chorong. “Bomi and I can manage.” She nodded at Bomi. “Let’s go.”

Together, Bomi and Chorong left through the door that they had entered through. The hallway was still dark, but since they were no longer hiding from enemies, Chorong was able to use the highest setting of her flashlight.

“You and Eunji fight really well together,” Chorong commented as they travelled down the hallway.

“We grew up and trained together,” Bomi simply said.

“I was afraid that you would have lost some of your touch during your time being AWOL. I’m glad that wasn’t the case.”

“I was still fighting during that time. Just not with a team.”

They reached the door at the end of the hall, and Chorong opened it, allowing Bomi to enter first. “Eunji seemed really happy to have you fighting by her side again.”

“You seem to be very concerned with Eunji,” Bomi noted, stepping over an empty box.

“I care about her,” Chorong said. “She’s a good friend and for the time that we have worked together, she has always been there for me.”

“That’s Eunji for you. The sweetest bada*s you’ll ever meet.”

“Yes, I’ve worked with her for four years, and I can attest to that.” They reached the door at the opposite side of the room, and before Chorong opened it, she turned and looked Bomi in the eye. “I’ve worked with her for four years, and I have never seen her as devastated as she was when she lost both you and Yookyung.”

Bomi went still.

“Do you know how many nights she spent trying to find you? How many hours she spent crying over you?”

“I…,” Bomi began, but she bit back her words. “No, I don’t.”

“You weren’t the only one who lost Yookyung,” Chorong said. “Eunji did too, and more. She lost two of her closest friends.”

“I didn’t know she felt that way,” Bomi said quietly. Her heart ached.

“Of course you didn’t. Eunji wouldn’t have told you that. She’s the type to hold in her pain because she doesn’t want to burden anyone with her troubles.”

Bomi knew that. She’d been too busy dealing with her own grief that she hadn’t stopped to think about Eunji’s grief. Still, that was no excuse for how she abandoned her best friend

“I care a lot about Eunji. I don’t want to see her hurt again.” Chorong’s eyes bore into Bomi’s. Her words hadn’t prompted for a reply, but Bomi knew that she was looking for one.

“I care a lot about Eunji too,” Bomi said. “And I won’t hurt her again. Not intentionally, anyway.”

Chorong stared at Bomi for a moment longer, then seemed to accept her reply. She turned around and opened the door. The cold night air sifted in immediately, chilling Bomi to the bone. She shivered. It had been hot in the store when they were fighting, so she had forgotten how cold it was outside. The body was still where they left it, laying on the ground in a pool of its own blood.

“You take his legs and I’ll take his arms,” Chorong said. She walked past Bomi, accidentally brushing against her left arm. A stinging pain shot up her arm, and Bomi’s face inadvertently twisted into a wince. Chorong must have felt Bomi stiffen against her touch, because she turned and faced her. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Bomi lied, pain still burning in her arm like fire. “It’s just colder than I remember.”

“Then let’s hurry up and bring him in.” Chorong bent down and grabbed the man by his armpits.

Bomi took a breath, braced herself, and did as she was told. The man was already pretty heavy, and her injured arm made the task of moving him even more difficult. By the time they had brought him inside, carried him through the hall, and laid his body next to the other bodies, Bomi had worked up a sweat.

Eunji came up to Bomi after she and Chorong had put down the body. “Are you alright, Bbom-ah? You look a little pale.” 

“I’m feeling fine,” Bomi lied again. “Maybe it’s the lighting in here. How’s your arm?”

Eunji lifted her arm. Her bandage was still intact, but her blood had seeped through it again. “I’m not going to lie to you, it hurts like hell. I couldn’t fight to the best of my ability, but I managed. Don’t worry, I’ll head to the infirmary right after we get back.”

“Good.” Eunji was about to walk away, but Bomi stopped her. Her conversation with Chorong had left an unsettling feeling in her stomach. She wanted to do something about it, but what could she do other than apologize? Now was hardly the best time to have that kind of talk with Eunji. So she just let go of Eunji’s hand and said, “Take care of yourself, Eunji-ah.”

Eunji just smiled and patted Bomi’s cheek. “You too, Bbom-ah.”

After they finished pulling all of the bodies in a neat row, they sat down and waited for the other team to arrive. When the front entrance of the store opened and dozens of agents with cameras, body bags, and cleaning materials poured into the store, Bomi nearly gave a sigh of relief.

Chorong briefly spoke to the leader of the other team, then came back to where they were sitting. “We’re going to be taking the hostage back with us. I’m not sure how long it’s going to take them to clean up the story, but I don’t want to leave him here with them.” She glimpsed at Bomi, and Bomi thought that she was going to ask her to help carry him, but instead she turned to Hayoung and asked her to help.

“Careful,” Namjoo warned. “He’s been out for a long time and could wake up at any moment.”

Namjoo had been right, because shortly after they loaded him into the van, he began to stir.

“Unnie, he’s waking up,” Hayoung announced. Chorong, who had already taken her place in the driver’s seat, immediately unclicked her seatbelt and moved to the back of the van. It was already crowded in the back, but Bomi still moved to make room for Chorong.

The man’s nose scrunched and his eyebrows furrowed. Slowly, his eyelids fluttered open. His dark eyes sluggishly studied his surroundings. When his vision seemed to clear and he saw the five women staring at him, he jerked back.

“Who are you?” he growled and tried to lunge at them, but the ropes around his wrists and legs stopped him. “What do you want with me?”

“I think the answers to your questions are a bit obvious,” Chorong replied coolly.

The man clenched his jaw. “You work for the royal family, don’t you?”

“Right. And you work for the Shadow Clan. Do you know the answer to your second question now?” Bomi hadn’t seen this side of Chorong before, and she had to admit, it suited her well and even made her look somewhat more attractive.

“I’m not going to tell you anything,” the man said through clenched teeth.

“That’s unfortunate.” Chorong moved back and began moving to the door. “I’m sure you’ll change your mind later.”

The man looked like he was about to say something else, but his eyes fell on Bomi and something changed in his expression. The corner of his lip lifted into a malicious, crooked grin. “Yoon Bomi.”

Bomi tensed. Chorong also stiffened and moved away from the door. Eunji came protectively closer to Bomi.

“I remember you,” the man said. “I brought you and your team in as hostages about two years ago.”

There was a heavy feeling in her chest as Bomi said, “I remember every single face that I saw that day. I don’t remember yours.”

“That’s because you never saw me. You had a sack over your head when we brought you in. You may not remember me, but I remember you as clear as day.”

Bomi said nothing. She only glared at the man, keeping her fists behind her back to hide their shakiness. 

“I remember your teammates even more clearly,” the man continued. “Moon Byulyi. Kang Seulgi. Kim Yongsun.”

“Stop,” Bomi said tersely.

“Hong Yookyung.”

Bomi wanted to scream at the mention of her loved ones’ names from the man’s disgusting tongue. “What are you trying to achieve with this?”

“I think I’ve already achieved what I wanted.” The man laughed―a low, greasy laugh that sent a tremor down Bomi’s spine. “Would you like to know why I remember your friends so well?”

“That’s enough,” Eunji snarled. 

“Hayoung-ah, give me the duct tape back there,” Chorong said.

Hayoung rummaged in the back of the van, but came back empty-handed. “There is none.”

“We can knock him out again,” Namjoo offered, moving forward with her fists held up.

Bomi held her hand up. “Stop. I want to hear what he has to say.” She leaned forward towards the man. “Why do you remember them so well?”

The man smiled. Up close, Bomi could see the yellow stains on his teeth. “Because I watched them burn.”

Bomi clamped down on the scream that was begging to be let out. “What?” she said in a low whisper.

“I watched them burn. I dragged their bodies into a flaming fire and watched them crumble away into nothing but ash. And when I was done, I let the wind carry their ashes away, while I walked away with a smile on my face and treated myself to a nice, juicy steak after.” The man leaned back with a satisfied smirk. “Who knows? If you go back there, you might find a speck that was once a part of one of your friends. Maybe then you’ll have something to bury.”

“You bastard,” Eunji gnarled and surged forward to strike him, but Bomi caught her hand. She lowered Eunji’s hand, then let go and punched the man herself.

“I’m going to watch you burn,” Bomi growled. “After we’re done with you, I’m going to make sure you burn and rot in hell.”

The man leaned his face so close to hers that she could smell his foul breath. “Well, then I have something to look forward to.” 

Then he sprang at her so abruptly that she stumbled back and hit her head on the side of the van. The ropes that had once bound him fell free from his wrists, and in his hand was a knife. Where he had hidden the knife was beyond Bomi, but that wasn’t her main concern at the moment.

The man drove his knife down toward Bomi’s neck, and she just barely caught his wrist with her left hand. The wound in her arm screamed with pain, and her arm gave in to the pressure. She turned her head just as the tip of the blade slammed down into the cushion of the seat. The blade nicked the side of her cheek, but it was better that than her neck. Quickly, the man pulled his knife out of the cushion and raised it up again. Bomi’s life flashed before her eyes.

Just as he was about to bring the knife down on Bomi, his eyes suddenly widened in shock and he dropped the knife from his hand. It clanked uselessly to the floor. The man fell to his knees and collapsed face-first, a knife jutting out from the back of his neck. Bomi’s teammates were staring wide-eyed at his lifeless body.

Eunji was by Bomi’s side in a second. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Bomi replied breathlessly.

Chorong blew a strand of hair away from her eyes and pulled the knife out from the man’s neck.

Namjoo bent over the severed ropes. “How the hell did he get out of his restraints without us noticing?” 

“He made sure that we were too distracted to notice,” Eunji murmured. “He knew how to hurt us and he used it to his advantage.”

“He said it himself. When Bomi-unnie asked what he was trying to achieve, he said that he had already achieved it.” Hayoung took the ropes from Namjoo’s hands. “This is what he achieved.”

Bomi looked up at Chorong, who was wiping the blood off of her knife on the man’s shirt. “You killed our source of intel.”

“We can always get another,” she said bluntly. “You, on the other hand, aren’t as easily replaceable. Now help me get his body out of the van.”

Eunji, Namjoo, and Hayoung all moved to help Chorong, but Bomi stayed where she was. Her hands were still shaking. She tried to grip them tightly together, but she couldn’t control them.

The man’s knife had missed her, but Bomi felt as though it had still struck her. He had known how to hurt Bomi in a way more damaging than any knife-wound would be. She shut her eyes to try to force out the thoughts of her teammates burning to ashes, but whenever she closed her eyes, all she could see were their faces.

She took a shaky breath and got up to help the others with the man’s body, the shadows of her past following her like a trail of misfortune.