"Sungkyu!" CL called out, dashing down the street and simultaneously peering into darkened alleyways, her boots loud amongst the muffled silence. "Sungkyu!"
 
"Where did you leave him?" Min asked, trailing a little behind her. Jepp was slower still, strolling along at an almost leisurely pace, no urgency in his steps whatsoever. "You really could look a little worried," she turned and said to him quietly. “Aren’t you worried?”
 
"He's not as weak as he looks, you know," he replied breezily, head swivelling all the same. "He can take care of himself. And you know he hates us worrying."
 
Min was about to reply when she realized that CL had gone silent. They exchanged quick glances and sped around the corner to find her standing with her back to them in the middle of an abandoned construction site, the steel skeleton of the building shrouded in shadows and reeking with the metallic smell of blood. Oh no, Min thought. Please don't let this be what I think it is...
 
"This is all my fault," CL was muttering, hugging herself tightly, her fingers clawing into her skin. "I shouldn't have left him. I knew I shouldn't have." Jepp reached her first, staring down at the large patch of dark blood by their feet. He swallowed and tried not to think of the worst, but it was hard not to when there was about a third of an average human's blood capacity strewn on the ground in front of them.
 
"We haven't found him yet, we can't assume anything," he said quickly as Min joined them, her eyes wide and horrified. "Let's just keep looking." he glanced at CL and paused before touching her on the shoulder. It was the first time he had touched her since attacking her, and where he usually would have been bold and confident, he was hesitant. He swallowed. He knew CL wouldn’t harm a hair on his head, that she was no longer a Hunter, but it still didn’t keep him from doubting her. He pushed the thought aside. We’re family now. "Hey, don't worry. He's a tough guy. I bet he's been through worse."
 
"You didn't see her," CL shivered, her teeth clenched tight together to stop them from rattling. "She was ruthless. The... the look in her eyes..."
 
"You're a Hunter too," Jepp said firmly. "Ex-Hunter maybe, but you made it. And you wanted to become Head Hunter, remember? You're supposed to be just as ruthless, and you are CL. You are."
 
"A trail!" Min called out warily a little way away, crouched on the ground. The hem of her skirt trailed on the ground but she didn't seem to care. "It goes out," she pointed east as the other two hurried to her.  "And then it disappears.”

“Looks like someone managed to escape,” Jepp observed, crouching down beside her. “But badly injured; there's quite a lot of blood here."
 
"Let's go," CL cried out, dashing away. Min and Jepp silently followed.
 

 
"He can't have gone far," Min mused as they walked along. "Not with that much blood loss. I think we should knock on people's doors. He might have hidden."
 
"Getting more street smart by the day," Jepp ruffled her hair with a lopsided grin.
 
"I have to," she told him seriously. "If I want to survive."
 
He shut up then.
 
"Onee-chan!" a small voice called out, and a little boy ran out towards CL, a happy smile on his face and his arms outstretched.
 
"Jonghyun!" she returned, crouching down and squeezing him tightly, pinching his cheek affectionately. "How are you? How's Jongdae? And your mum?"
 
"They're really good and I am too," the little boy - Jonghyun - smiled up into her face. Jepp grinned slightly as Min watched impassively; who knew CL had such a way with kids?
 
"No one tried to Snatch you again?" CL asked him.
 
"Nope," he shook his head eagerly, soft dark hair flying around.
 
"Well, if they do just call me and I'll come beat them up for you," CL puffed out her chest and pointed her thumb at herself in a dramatic gesture, making the little boy giggle. "Listen Jonghyun, I have to go now but I'll see you again soon, okay? Take care of your mother and brother!" She ruffled his hair and got to her feet.
 
"Wait!" he tugged on her jacket. "Can I tell you a secret?" CL glanced briefly at Jepp and Min, and they shrugged. "Umm, sure, okay..." she bent over. Jonghyun covered the side of his mouth so the others wouldn't see. "We found onii-chan," he whispered confidingly into her ear. "He was hurt so we took him to Auntie. Are you looking for him, onee-chan?"
 
CL pulled away staring at the little boy. "Sungkyu?" she asked, just to be sure. He nodded. "Don't tell anyone!" he placed a finger to his lips. CL laughed, her face relieved as she picked him up and swung him around happily. "Can you take us there?" she asked. He nodded. "Thank you, Jonghyun," she set him down and took his hand.
 
"No,” he replied, looking up into her face with a sudden serious expression. “Thank you, onee-chan.”
 

 
Auntie turned out to be a lady with fiery red hair floating around her head like a halo and kind eyes that carried a hardened look within them. She also turned out to be named Narsha and was the local Healer.
 
"It was no problem," she told Jepp when Jonghyun had told her who they were. "He was badly injured and he'd saved lots of our kids before, so it was the least we could do for him." She shrugged. “He’s almost like our local hero.”
 
The corner of Min’s lips twitched and CL managed her usual bright smile through her brand new lollipop stick at the sound of Sungkyu being a hero; it was exactly what he didn't want to be.
 
"How bad were his injuries?" Jepp asked as Narsha led them through a small corridor.
 
"A bullet in his left leg and an extremely deep slice through his right arm," she answered. "Not to mention lacerations everywhere, but we cleaned those up quickly. The nerves in his arm were severed but luckily we managed to reattach them. His leg however..." CL held her breath, her face pale. "... took a little longer. But don't worry, we got the bullet out and patched him up. He's resting now." CL breathed a small sigh of relief. Narsha smiled at her. "He's in here," she opened a door. "I have to go check on someone else, but call me or IU if you need anything." Jepp nodded.
 
"You go," CL pushed Min towards the door. "You're the one he never gets mad at."
 
"Excuse me?" Min asked innocently, wide eyed.
 
"It has more impact if you say that with a little more attitude," Jepp told her. "Like if you sound a little pissed instead of surprised. I see I still have much to teach you, little one."
 
"Jepp, you go."
 
"Why the hell do I have to go in first? You were the one who was so desperate to see him in the first place." Jepp leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "You abandoned him, you go in first."
 
"He might shoot me," CL winced. “And I didn’t abandon him,” she added.
 
"Well, you'll heal right back up anyway. Get in there, you rabbit eared idiot."
 
CL scowled at him but put her hand on the doorknob, glancing back beseechingly at him. He flicked his hand at her. She narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening the door and disappearing through it. Min looked back and forth between it and Jepp.
 
“It’s a hare.”

“What?” he furrowed his eyebrows at her.

“Her ears. They’re not rabbit’s. They’re hare’s. Her Neox is a hare.”

“Doesn’t hare eared idiot sound weird to you?” Jepp’s laugh echoed down the corridor, but Min didn’t show any sign of reaction, instead leaning against the wall beside him.

“Everything about the Facility is weird anyway,” she said quietly.

Jepp looked away. “Do you think I’m weird?” he mumbled.

“You’re not weird,” Min replied calmly. “You’re Jepp and I’m me and CL is CL and Sungkyu is Sungkyu. We are what we are now. Our pasts shouldn’t change what we think of each other.” Except I’m not the real me and I don’t know how to tell you that. I’m scared that you won’t treat me like this when you found out what I am, what I can do.

Jepp was silent for a few seconds. “Yeah,” he finally said. “I guess our pasts change nothing.”

“Even if I killed a lot of people in my past, even if I have blood on my hands, it shouldn’t change what you think of me now, right?” She wanted to open up to Jepp. She wanted to spill her secrets, but she was afraid of how he might react, afraid that he may not see her as the innocent young girl he had first picked up from the snow that day.

She was afraid of losing everything she had worked so hard to get. Friends, family, a home. Love. She couldn’t let that slip through her fingers so fast.

Jepp’s eyes on her were wary. “Min,” he said decisively, his hands on her shoulders as he pressed her back against the wall. “What are you trying to tell me?”

Min raised her eyes to his, careful to keep her face blank.

“Just figuratively speaking,” she told him. “That’s all.”

She didn’t want to betray the concern in his eyes.

 
 
Meanwhile, CL squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for the blow that she knew was about to befall her. Instead, none came. She dared herself to open one eye.
 
She was standing in a tiny room, not much bigger than their kitchen back in the church, with nothing but a bed and a small table beside it. The windows were boarded up, gray light filtering through the cracks.
 
Sungkyu lay in the bed, eyes closed and slightly propped up. She watched his chest rise and fall with every breath, and summoned up the courage to walk up to him. Her boots clacked on the worn floorboards and she stopped by the side of the bed, looking down at him. His face was paler than usual, and she felt herself clenching her fists tightly by her sides as she looked down at the bandages adorning his face and upper part of his body.

“And here I was thinking that you’d shoot me,” she said softly. She sighed. "I shouldn't have -.”
 
He opened one eye and looked back at her. "If I had my gun here right now I'd shoot you, you foolish rodent," he said, very distinctly. She jumped out of her skin.
 
"WHAT THE HELL YOU FREAK, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE INJURED AND SLEEPING NOT SNEAKING UP ON PEOPLE LIKE THAT!"
 
"I’m sneaking? You’re the one standing over my bed staring at me while I’m supposedly being injured and sleeping, thank you very much,” Sungkyu retorted.

“I don’t even know why I’m surprised, I can hardly tell when you’re awake and when you’re asleep anyway,” CL remarked, stretching the corners of her eyes in an imitation of his and wagging her tongue at him.

“Shut up,” Sungkyu growled, then winced.

It was the wince that made CL stop.

“I… I’m sorry I left you,” she muttered, averting his gaze. “I shouldn’t have. I just got so scared and terrified of her that I didn’t think properly. If I hadn’t left you…” she swept her arm vaguely at him. “You probably wouldn’t…”

“I told you to go,” Sungkyu said firmly. CL looked at him and found him looking straight at her. “It’s not your fault. I told you to let me handle her. Anyway, you came back, didn’t you?”

CL stared at him wordlessly for a few seconds before a grin appeared on her face. “Yeah,” she smiled at him. “I did.” He nodded at her without smiling, then closed his eyes again. “Skyu, I –.”

“Shut up,” he said, without opening his eyes. “Didn’t they tell you not to disturb me?”

“No,” she smirked. “How the hell are we supposed to get you home now, with your busted leg and everything? Can you even walk?”

“Go home, CL.”

“I wish you’d stop worrying Min like that. She hates it when you leave, you know.”

Sungkyu was silent.

“They’re outside now. Do you want to see them?”

He inhaled deeply before letting the air out in a long sigh. “Yeah. Okay.”

“Yup,” CL nodded. “Don’t worry, Jepp… they… I didn’t tell them about what you did to Jiyoon,” she said quietly. “I didn’t think you wanted them to know.”

Sungkyu opened his eyes and looked at her. “It’s none of your business anyway,” he said shortly.

“Skyu,” she said crossly, hands on her hips as she looked down at him. “When are you going to realize that you are my business. You, Jepp, Min… we’re each other’s business and we’ve always been each other’s business. And don’t think that acting like the ing cool guy who doesn’t care will make it seem like you don’t because we know you do. I know you care, even if you don’t like to show it. It’s okay to say you care, you know. It doesn’t make you any less cooler.”

There was a moment’s silence, and then Sungkyu flashed her a small, barely perceptible smirk that took her completely aback. “Thanks CL.”

“Whatever,” she turned away, ignoring the shiver that ran up her spine and the way her cheeks heated up slightly. “Oh, and by the way,” she paused with her hand on the doorknob. “Narsha called you their hero. So I guess you weren’t lying when you told me that you stayed to protect everyone, huh?”

“I don’t lie to you,” he said from the bed, his tone listless and disinterested as per usual. “I might not tell you things, but I’ve never lied. Not to you.”

CL lingered in the room for a while longer pondering his words, then silently turned the handle and let herself out.

-

It was another month before Sungkyu could clench and unclench his fist.

“Let your hand rest,” Narsha told him sternly when she entered one day to find him trying to pick up his gun only to have it crashing to the floor. “Nerves take a long time to heal; it’s only natural that they haven’t yet after a month. You’ll need two or three more before you can hold on to that – or anything – properly.”

“I don’t have two or three months,” Sungkyu hissed through gritted teeth, flexing and unflexing his fingers. “I need to get out of here as fast as I can.”

“Not with that attitude you won’t,” she frowned. “Come on, sit down, and let me check your leg.” Sungkyu sighed and did as she ordered and she unwound the bandage from around his calf, her fingers light and cool against his skin. “It’s healing well,” she said to herself softly. “I think we’ll leave it on for another week or so before checking again.”

“No,” Sungkyu said, and she looked up at him with consternation. “I won’t be coming back next week,” he said in a softer tone, looking apologetic. “I’m going back to the church. I don’t need to stay here anymore, it’s fine.”

“You can’t leave without me giving you permission to go,” Narsha produced a fresh bandage and rewrapped his leg. “And I’m not giving you permission to go.” She pulled the end tight and he winced slightly. “Just because you can walk normally again – and I still don’t know how – doesn’t mean you’re ready to go.”

“You need the room,” Sungkyu said quietly. “I don’t.”

Narsha paused, then shook her head, getting to her feet. “You’re just as important as everyone else in this place. Another week. And stop overexerting that hand, it’ll take you longer to heal.”

“Thank you Narsha,” he called out as she headed to the door. “I would have been dead without you.”

She shook her head again. “You saved us,” she said quietly. “It’s only natural we try to save you.”

Sungkyu stared at his hands as she closed the door behind her.
 

The next day he left. As she watched him sneak out of the door and look furtively down the street before walking slowly away, Narsha sighed to herself. “You’re far too hard on yourself, Sungkyu. Far too hard.” She shook her head and drew the blinds. There were other patients to heal.

-

“Oi.” Sungkyu looked up as a figure’s shoes appeared in his line of vision, the boots frayed and worn from constant wear. Jepp bent over him, blonde hair messy and waving around his head in the light wind. “I don’t think this is what the doctor ordered, ya know.”

Sungkyu set down his spanner and swiped at a line of grease on his cheek. “What’s up?” he stretched his back as Jepp sprawled himself on the ground beside him and his bike, looking up at the plate above their heads.

“You got CL into a foul mood again, so if she burns dinner I’m blaming you,” Jepp replied easily without looking at him. “Why are you guys always at loggerheads, you’ve known each other for so long now.”

Sungkyu smirked slightly. “You know how CL is.”

“Well yeah,” Jepp grinned. “She’s stubborn as hell and so are you. But you don’t have to keep pushing her away.” He paused, and his grin wavered. “You don’t have to keep pushing all of us away.” Sungkyu said nothing and they sat in silence for a few minutes.

“Well here I am trying to give advice,” Jepp broke the silence with a sheepish grin as he messed up the back of his hair. “You probably wouldn’t listen to me anyway, knowing you.”

Sungkyu let a small smile grace his lips. He always found that it was easier to smile in front of Jepp than anyone else. Perhaps it was the easygoing aura the man exuded with every step, with every grin. It was always easy with Jepp.

“Anyway,” Jepp slapped his knees and got to his feet. “It’s nearly time for the Taking, wanna come along with me? I’d take Min but she’s trying to calm CL down. It’d be good practice for your hand,” he nodded his head in direction of Sungkyu’s arm. “Though we’d have to work together. I know you like working alone but hey, you can’t do everything by yourself.” He cracked a grin. “We haven’t done a Taking together in ages.” He held a hand out and raised an eyebrow.

“Oh,” Sungkyu blinked. “Yeah. Okay. That’ll be great.” He wiped his hand on a rag and took his hand. Jepp hauled him to his feet and slung an arm roughly around his shoulders, pulling the shorter man in.

“Think of it as male bonding time!” he laughed wildly and ruffled Sungkyu’s hair as the latter tried to conceal the grin from emerging on his face.

Life would be incredibly boring without Jepp around.

Sungkyu hoped he’d be alive the next time to hang out with him again.