Home; I Found With You // Ryeji FF

wow, okay.

[AF special]

"... I'm just another person you're going to lose someday."

She didn't expect it to be so soon. Ryujin looked down at her calloused fingertips resting on her lap. In the front seats of the Humvee, she could hear Yuna and Seulgi discussing all the possibilities that might have caused the other girls to be out for too long.

"Were they attacked?"

"They can't be, they're smart."

"What if they were taken–"

Ryujin couldn't bear to think about it. She didn't want to imagine what might have happened to them, especially Yeji. Praying silently, she held onto hope that maybe the girls had just encountered a flat tire on their way back to the cabin or decided to make safe pit stops along the route. But deep down, she knew these thoughts were just desperate attempts to cling to false hope.

Fragmented memories of the previous night haunted Ryujin. The last time she spoke to Yeji... she wished she could've done things differently. Wished she could turn back time, act differently—to reassure herself that no matter how much Yeji risked, she would always come home. Even if it meant Ryujin had to ensure it.

"There!" Yuna pointed ahead through the windscreen.

Ryujin leaned over to see the black SUV that she recognized as theirs. Seulgi pulled the Humvee over in front of the car, and Ryujin wasted no time in jumping out, disregarding the fact that the vehicle was still moving to a stop. She didn't care that she almost lost her balance or that her ankle protested the sudden impact on the asphalt. She needed to find them.

She pounded her fists on the window, quickly peering inside the car. They weren't there. Her heart began to pound in the confines of her chest.

"Yeji!" Ryujin yelled out, running into the nearby store. "Where are you?!"

With no signs of her, she ran back out onto the street, Yuna and Seulgi had just left the car. Ryujin couldn't afford to waste anymore time so she sprinted down the street, turning onto alleyways and screaming out Yeji's name.

Sweat dripped down her skin, evidence of her recent illness still lingering in her weakened body. The sensitivity of her muscles was the least of her concerns as she continued to run, desperation fueling each step. She hoped against hope that there would be some sign, something to reassure her aching heart that Yeji was okay, that they would be okay.

Yet with every store, every alleyway she stormed into, there was nothing. No hints, no clues. Just the echoing emptiness of her search.

She collapsed to her knees, the icy pavement seeping into her cargo pants. Exhaustion weighed heavily on her, not just from the burning ache in her lungs or the pounding headache from her relentless screams. It was the weariness of the voices in her head, reminding her that she was supposed to protect Yeji.

Deep down, Ryujin knew she couldn't always shield Yeji from harm. Yeji was her own person, capable and strong. Still, the guilt and worry gnawed at her, relentless. She couldn't shake the feeling that she had failed in her duty to keep Yeji safe.

"God, where are you?" Ryujin mumbled, sinking back onto her legs, fingers clenching the fabric of her thighs as she fought back tears.

Behind her, she heard footsteps. They didn't sound like Yuna or Seulgi's. Reacting on instinct, she reached into her back waistband and turned, aiming her gun at the figure.

"Whoa," he raised his hands, "I thought you were my partner."

"Who are you?" Ryujin sharply glared, a tear betraying her as it trailed down her cheek.