Eunju’s eye shot wide open when her phone started ringing. Her hands crept out of the sheets to grab it by the bedside table.

“Hello?” she croaked.

“Kwon Eunju! What did I tell you about having Keiko with you all the time?” says a deep and threatening voice.

“But dad… The boys need her at the house. Besides, Hermes is the one helping me out and this will just take a few days.”

“Why are you so stubborn sweetie? It gets you into so much trouble!” her dad scolded.

“I’m just like you dad.” she snickered.

“Aish! Just be careful, araseo?” he retreated.

“I will… Bye daddy! I love you!” and they both hang up.

She drags herself out of bed to prepare for a long hunting day and for the first time ever, she is now officially living alone. Making her way around a small space fixing her bed, preparing her meal, doing the dishes, cleaning the furniture will be a part of her daily routine. Eunju took her time to process the thought of being alone. That no one got her back this time. Having to eat by herself. Most of all, be independent. She sighed and slips into her hoodie and mask then ventures out.

The street is filthy as it is. Muddy and wet while smoke vaporizes out of the manholes. Some buildings have lights. Some are dimmed. Others are completely dark. Snakes marched on each side of the streets while occasional passersby scowl at them. Eunju walked with hands inside her jacket and keeping an eye out for signs of Kai. Iris and Hermes are sure that he is in the city since they both knew he is smart enough to stay close with the enemy.

‘If I’m the most wanted half breed in this country and desperately needs to eat, where would I stay?’ she thought.

She started looking for possible places like makeshift fruit stands where one can snatch something from, low class meat shops where you can wait by the door for some scraps, or in a dark alley where no one would even dare go near it… then a light bulb went off. Eunju turned to a corner and saw a group of kids swarming a dumpster. They are the same age as Eunmi but looks terribly skinny and dirty. As she approached them, they started to scramble except for a boy who did not bother to move an inch and continued looking for food. He could not care less if he gets arrested or hurt so long as he have food in his mouth.

“Hi!” from Eunju is all it took to make him realize that someone is watching. Then the boy took a step back holding on to a lump of stale bread. “Don’t worry I’m not gonna hurt you… Here, have some of these instead.” Eunju kneeled and took a full roll of kimbap handing it to him but he hesitated. Poisoning is one of the dirty tricks Snakes use in killing them and by now, the boy may have learned not to trust anyone. She took a bite from it before handing it again. “See? It’s safe.”

The boy gulped and snatched it away from her. As he was enjoying the heavenly meal, the kids who ran away showed up eyeing the food. One of them tried to snatch it away but the boy clutched it like a lifeline. “Hey, don’t fight. I have some more of that.” Eunju told them and gave them food. She watched them eat like a hungry pack of dogs ravaging their prey.

“Komawo noona.” said one of them.

“Do you like it?” she asked.

“Neh! This is the most decent food we had.” said another.

“Where are you parents?” she asked and they all became silent. No answers were needed for she knew why. “Do you stay here a lot?” she added.

“Neh! This is where we get food most of the time.” a girl pointed to the dumpster.

Eunju saw her younger sister in all of them. She felt a natural obligation to look after them as she does not want Eunmi to go through the same horrible situation.“How ‘bout this. I’ll meet you here every afternoon so you don’t have to eat dirty food anymore. Do you like that?”

“Eh? Jeungmal?” the boy with kimbap asked.

“Of course, why not?”

“It’s just that you’re the first person who did that. No one really cared about any of us here.”

“Well I do and that’s a promise. But you have to keep it a secret okay? You don’t wanna get caught right?” and they all agreed.

After they talked and ate, the kids scrambled out in the darkness. Eunju is not sure whether they have a place to stay but at least she was able to feed them. She was rewarded at the thought and started to skip out of the alley when a hand covered . It’s a good thing she has her mask on since he smelled awful. Her survival instincts suddenly kicked in so she grabbed the person’s arm and throws him over her shoulder. She placed a knee on her opponent’s chest pinning him to the ground.

 “You’re not supposed to help those kids. It’s against the law.”

“Really? Since when does this country have laws?” she smirked.

“Since when did you start to care?”

“Touché!”

“I don’t mean you no harm. I just wanted to talk to you.”

“Talk? How ‘bout this for talking?” Eunju swiftly pulled a dagger from her boots and pointed it at his neck.

“Woah! Hold up! I’m the good guy.” he said while trying to struggle but Eunju is stronger as she was still kneeling on his chest.

“Then talk…” she hissed.