Home; I Found With You // Ryeji FF

people.

"... 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 tyre on their way back to the cabin or decided to make safe pit stops along the route. But deep down, she knew these assumptions were just desperate attempts to cling to false hope.

"There!" Yuna pointed ahead through the windscreen.

The short-haired woman 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 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.

"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 any more time so she sprinted down the street, turning into 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 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 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.

In her periphery, a swift movement caught her attention. Ryujin pivoted, her gaze locking onto a fleeting blur of black and blue. It was too swift for a corpse, prompting her to quickly regain her footing and pursue.

Bounding out of the alley, she scanned both directions, hunting for the elusive figure's path. A flicker of movement vanished into a nearby store. Without hesitation, she gave chase. Her boots crunched on the icy ground as she burst into the convenience store.

The store's interior appeared deserted as Ryujin cautiously stepped forward, her hand instinctively finding the grip of the gun at her waistband. Carefully, she made sure not to make any noise, sidestepping candy wrappers and trash on the floor.

A faint sound caught her attention— a subtle crunch of chip packets from the next aisle. Ryujin's heart quickened as she pulled out her gun, holding it steady as she approached the source of the noise.