Astronomy // Duty After School

Chapter Fourteen.

Before the Cell could even reach the glass of the safety booth Sun-yi, Bo-ra, and (Y/n) had taken cover in, shots rang out and killed the Cell, resulting in it bursting into ashes. The gunfire continued and the Cells were wiped out one by one. The girls whipped around to find their savior and were relieved to find Chun-ho.

"Platoon Leader!" the girls shouted. The remaining Cells crawled toward Chun-ho, who shot two of them. The third jumped at him and he held his gun up as a shield before flinging the Cell away with his whole body. He rolled and rose to one knee, taking out the Cell with a few shots. He panted for breath and there was a moment of silence as they calmed down from the adrenaline of nearly losing their lives. "Platoon Leader..." the girls sobbed. Chun-ho immediately snapped out of it and flew around the safety booth and to the door.

"Are you guys all right?" Chun-ho asked frantically. Sun-yi nodded for the group and Bo-ra spammed the green button that opened the doors. Chun-ho didn't even wait for the automatic doors to finish opening themselves and he merely pushed them open himself. The girls gazed tearfully up at him, looking so incredibly helpless after all they had gone through. Chun-ho grew a bit emotional and kneeled before the girls, choosing to speak to them rather than down at them. "Let's go now." The girls nodded rapidly, wanting nothing more than that.
Chun-ho held his hand out for the girls to take and as Sun-yi reached out to place her hand in his, a gunshot rang out. There was a burst of ashes above Chun-ho and the girls yelped with fright, covering their heads. They looked around, spotting Na-ra holding a gun and Yeong-shin bent nearly double over the railing, shocked out of his mind. He glanced at Na-ra before slumping in relief. Chun-ho lowered his head, looking back down at the girls as Yeong-shin and Na-ra ran over to the unmoving escalator and ran down the stairs.
"Let's move," Chun-ho said, offering a hand down to Sun-yi. (Y/n) also helped the girl to her feet as Sun-yi had injured her ankle when the girls had dragged her along with them so abruptly. Na-ra hurried to check on (Y/n) as Yeong-shin spared a brief checkup on Sun-yi and Bo-ra before also coming to (Y/n). (Y/n) rested her forehead on Na-ra's shoulder, merely taking a moment to bask in Na-ra's touch.

"I feared the worst," (Y/n) admitted.

"Your hand," Na-ra murmured. Chun-ho looked over.

"It's not that bad..."

"Do you care for your leggings?" Chun-ho asked. (Y/n)'s eyebrows furrowed a bit before she shook her head. "Take them off, I'll use them as dressing until you can get to the infirmary." (Y/n) stared at him before slipping off her shoes. She could have argued like she did with Bo-ra, but she didn't have the mental energy to put up a fight. Yeong-shin and Chun-ho awkwardly looked away as (Y/n) took off her leggings, careful to avoid flashing anyone. She sat down to get back on her shoes and Chun-ho took the leggings, tearing them at the seam before crouching down in front of (Y/n) and looking at the wound. Chun-ho used one side of the leggings to press down and soak up some blood. He once again patted the wound dry before using the other leg of the leggings to wrap around (Y/n)'s hand and securely tie it in place.

"Thank you," (Y/n) murmured, returning to her feet. Sun-yi held onto her and Bo-ra.

"Yu Ha-na is that way," Bo-ra said rather coldly after Chun-ho tried leading them in the opposite direction. Na-ra and Yeong-shin side-eyed one another. She and Chun-ho led the group back to the car Ha-na had locked herself in. Chun-ho was the one to knock on the glass, pulling a terrified scream from the girl.

"The Cells are gone," Chun-ho called. Ha-na's head shot up and she stared at their platoon leader as though trying to process whether or not she was hallucinating. She tried opening the door before realizing it was locked. She hastily unlocked the car and got out, cowering under Sun-yi and Bo-ra's distasteful looks. Chun-ho had caught sight of Ja-yun's corpse and swallowed, faltering slightly at the sight of a fallen comrade. (Y/n) didn't have the heart to be mad at Ha-na. While she was upset at the time, it perhaps was for the better that the Cell had been led away as they learned Cells were most certainly capable of breaking glass. There was also the added possibility of Ha-na not knowing the car was locked in the first place.