XII

If you ever ask Dahyun what she thought of Mina, she would answer Mysterious in a heartbeat. She and Sana arrived at the HQ just a month before the Japanese beauty was found by Jeongyeon and Jihyo after a patrol. It was over a year ago yet none of the members still fully know their strongest member. Even Momo who had been mostly her partner whenever the need to venture outside the base arise is still clueless. The woman was just too shrouded in secrets from the tip of her toe to the top of her head. It’s was not that no one had bothered to ask before, it was just that Mina was always tight-lipped about her past. Well, practically on everything that concerns her life.

Nonetheless, the pale girl could not and would never disregard Mina’s contributions to their little rag-tag group. The first time she saw the capabilities of the woman and how she can deal with the monsters with ease and finesse was still embedded in her mind like it just happened the other day ago. She also could not even count how many times the Japanese had saved her life and the other members proved her worth. All of them were indebted to her and had learned to trust her in their own little ways. It was probably one of the reasons why they had respected the Japanese’s silence and choice to not reveal anything about her past. The woman had given them no reason to doubt her loyalty to them and to their cause.

One thing she could complain about the older woman’s personality though, was sometimes the woman was just too quiet. It never hurt to speak and talk about anything random. And as a grown woman with an active mind and imagination, not talking for a long period of time is a kind of torture. Just like at the present, she was stationed outside to be somewhat of a lookout for anything that got past the scouting party and Mina had volunteered to accompany her. It was not surprising anymore. Anything related to their safety, best believe the woman would be usually present. It was just one of the commendable traits of the woman. But still, Dahyun couldn’t stop fidgeting around, she long for a decent conversation. There were supposed to not fall asleep and yet as the moon continue its descent, she felt her eyes grow heavier and heavier. The stillness of everything around her was just making it harder for her to fight the sleepiness.

It was also a mystery how Mina remained silent since they started the guarding duties. Well, the Japanese were usually quiet but it was different that night. And it was not due to the lack of attempt from Dahyun though, she had tried really hard to come up with a topic. She had blurted out everything her mind had supplied, just straying away from anything personal.

“Mina-unnie heard you got into a little scuffle with Nayeon-unnie. What happened?”

“Mina-unnie, you like chocolates too right? What if you know, could ask for Jihyo’s permission to plant a cocoa tree in our garden?”

“Mina-unnie, what do you prefer guns or swords?”

“Mina-unnie, do you know anything about constellations? The night sky is clear tonight. Do you like stargazing?”

“Mina-unnie, do you pee?”

It was all a nice attempt, desperate but nice attempts. However, Mina who seemed to be too engrossed in her own thoughts just merely shrugged her shoulders as a reply. And Dahyun, who had drastically lost the will to even try anymore just sighed in frustration and slumped in defeat. Then, proceeding to mimic her companion by staring into the dark woods in agonizing silence.

“How I wish Sana could be here?”

Unbeknownst to the pale girl, Mina was just too worried for Chaeyoung to even function normally. Ever since she overheard Sana talking to Dahyun about the little cub being appointed to do the patrolling duties, she couldn’t shake off the feeling that something bad was about to happen. And despite her awareness that Jeongyeon accompanied the new recruit as a mentor, her heart and mind couldn’t be at ease. She didn’t know why she was feeling that way but there was only one way to find out. It was why she