It's that day again.

 

Cold stale air that's almost suffocating to breathe.

 

Place too bare, too gray to call as a home.

 

Curtains and blinds shut tight, unforgiving even to a ray of light. 

 

A clang of metal can be heard echoing from the room in the farthest corner of her apartment

 

The smell of gunpowder, her usual perfume, gave her a sense of calmness.

 

After making sure everything is in order, she stands up in front of a mirror wondering who's looking back.

 

"Just a few more lives Olivia and soon, I'll be free" 

 

She snaps out of her trance when she felt something buzz in her pocket

 

It's time.

 

 

 

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Walking outside always felt nice, always made her feel normal, like she's just a passerby living her normal life with a decent job barely making it every month.

 

That's why it's dangerous.

 

Because she's far from normal, not when she has countless lives under her belt, not when she has this bloodstained hands. 

 

But she needs to do this, for herself, for her freedom.

 

So she walks just like everyone except she has someone locked in her view, watching every move, every breath, every step.

 

She gathered enough information this past few weeks. Today, the fall of the night is the fall of another soul.

 

 

 

----------------

 

 

 

She walks. Slowly. 

 

Savoring the cold air while her gloved right hand tightly clutching her bag.

 

She's ready.

 

Another notch would be added under her belt.

 

Another night of deception

 

Another night of watching them beg in despair

 

Another bullet

 

Another night of dirtying her hands

 

And so, she walks.

 

 

 

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She reached her destination, one of the hunting grounds.

 

She knows their schedule like the back of her hand.

 

A serial . Soon dead.

 

And tonight, she's a student. She's the bait. 

 

It's here.

 

 

She proceeds to walk slowly, seemingly unaware of her surroundings, she even wore her earphones for the added effect.

 

She walks towards the darkest part of the streets.

 

It took the bait.

 

A little closer, a little more.

 

She felt the presence behind her closing in. She acts unaware, fighting her instincts to face behind.

 

She clenches her fist.

 

Then...

 

 

 

She almost punches the girl behind her, making the girl shriek which made her flinch.

 

She exhales a deep sigh.

 

"I'm sorry, are you alright?"

 

"Uh..y-yeah, I think so just a little shocked I guess" said the girl while still trying to recover from shock

 

The girl scans her and slowly, a warm cheerful smile formed in her face

 

"But hey that's scary, I thought you're really going to punch me" she tries to lighten the mood

 

"Yeah, I'm just cautious I guess" she scratches the back of her head.

 

"It's pretty dangerous out here you know, you should be careful" she added

 

"Yeah, I normally avoid this kind of areas but I saw you walking here alone so I followed to make sure you're safe" she smiles brightly which seemingly lightens the place and the air for a little bit.

 

She breathes a little easier.

 

She lost her words, captivated.

 

 

Focus, you're on a mission.

 

 

She snapped out of her trance and reminded herself about the goal for tonight.

 

"I have some business this way so I need to get going but don't worry, I'll be careful and..." she tries to excuse herself 

 

"You too, be careful on your way" she reluctantly added

 

Her smile got brighter when she heard it.

 

"You're cute, I'll get going too. I hope we meet again in the future, be careful!" she says while smiling warmly then proceeded to walk to the main street but not before waving one last goodbye

 

She smiles a little, feeling the warmth in her chest.

 

I hope we never meet again.

 

She stands up and gets back to her character, she needs to do this.

 

She walks and walks and walks and...

 

 

 

Finally.

 

 

 

She felt someone forcefully drag her away to a dark alley, she fake struggles which made the disgusting person smile

 

"Don't struggle little lady, it'll be over before you know it" 

 

She smirked. 

 

"Yeah, it'll be over before you know it" she repeats before elbowing him in the stomach which let his hold loose

 

She grabbed her knife from her waist and proceeded to stab his leg which made him howl in pain.

 

He tried to fight back by pathetically swinging his knife at her, she slashed his wrist which made his weapon fall.

 

She stabbed his other leg which made him kneel but not before putting a cotton in his mouth to prevent another scream.

 

She looked at him coldly in the eyes.

 

"You deserve this"

 

She brought her gun out equipped with a silencer and aimed it at the man.

 

As a last struggle, the man reached for the discarded knife and slashed her thigh

 

She missed her shot from the unexpected wound he inflicted, the shot rang in the air as the bullet hit a metal somewhere in the alley

 

She reacted fast and quickly shot both of his arm and his hands, which made him scream futilely through the cotton

 

"Phleash shpae mh, hll hansj phomish phesh (Please spare me, I'll change promise please)" the man cried and begged for his life, trying hard to move his bleeding arm but to no avail

 

She crouched and looked him in the eye

 

"Beg for forgiveness in the after life"

 

Then she shot.

 

 

 

--------

 

 

 

She slowly walked out of the alleyway after cleaning her traces in the crime scene.

 

She saw a trembling shadow in the corner not that far away from the alleyway she just walked out of.

 

She walked like nothing happened just a few minutes ago and carefully approached the shadow she spotted

 

It's her

 

Did she see me? Did she saw what happened? Should I kill her? Can I bear to kill her?

 

Despite her thoughts raging, she crouched in front of her to get her attention

 

"Are you okay?" She slowly asked

 

She slowly lifted her head then lunged at her, hugging her tightly while sobbing furiously

 

She almost lost her balance, but regained it immediately, she let the girl hug her like her life depended on it

 

After a few minutes, the girl began to calm down

 

"I-i-i h-hear-d a gu-gunshot" she said while still trembling

 

She took a deep breath

 

"I-i-i cou-ldnt g-get clo-s-ser to s-ee b-ut I " 

 

"Shhh, calm down first, take a deep breath" she tried to comfort the girl

 

"I rushed h-here, I th-thought som-something ha-happened to y-you" she said in a small voice

 

"Silly girl" she thought while smiling finally hugging the girl back

 

"I'm okay, don't worry" she said which made the girl relax and lean more into her which made her suddenly flinch

 

She forgot that she has a wound in her thigh

 

The girl noticed and looked down at her pants which is now soaked in blood

 

"OH MY GOSH! YOU'RE BLEEDING" she said panicking

 

"It's just a small scratch, don't worry" she tried to reassure the girl

 

"BUT THERE'S A LOT OF BLOOD" she replied still panicking

 

Not knowing how to calm the girl down, she did the first thing that came to her mind

 

"It's okay, it's okay, I'm okay, calm down it's just a small shallow scratch, I didn't see the metal sticking out of a wall that's all it is, calm down now" she said in her most soothing voice while hugging her

 

This made the girl calm down a little bit which made her remember why she entered this area despite her fear in the first place.

 

"Okay, I believe you but uh.. uhm" she said fidgeting

 

She broke the hug and looked at the girl

 

"What is it?"

 

The girl open and closed a few times before clearing

 

"Uhm... Iforgottoaskyourname" she said in one breath

 

She looks at her amused

 

"Repeat that for me, but this time slowly" she said now smiling a little at her

 

"Uhm... I said I for-forgot to uhm... ask your name" she shyly said deliberately not making eye contact 

 

She just stared at her for a few seconds, smile creeping up her lips

 

She took a deep breath and decided to stop being on her guard just for once, maybe this is what she needs, maybe this warmth will be her salvation.

 

"Hyejoo. It's hyejoo" she said, smile not leaving her face

 

"Oh hi uh uhm I'm Chaewon, nice to meet you" she replied with a smile finally looking up at her  

 

After a long time, Olivia...no, Hyejoo finally saw the ray of light seeping through the cracks of her sturdy walls.