𝙻𝚄𝚅 𝙻𝟶𝟶𝙺𝚂 𝙿𝚁𝟹𝚃𝚃𝚈 𝟶𝙽 𝚄

𝟸𝟼.𝚎𝚛𝚛𝟶𝚛.𝟸𝟼 (𝙼)

The four of them sat in their individual stalls in silence. On the floors, against the walls, too nervous to speak because they awaited for their leader to come back. Ryujin was waiting for her lover to return.

After hours of silence, Chaeryeong broke it daringly.

"I read in an article once that the tech these days can heal a lot of basic injuries in one single surgery. As if it never happened. But it's a long process. If what you saw is right, Ryujin. She'll be back perfectly healthy. We just have to wait a little longer."

"What if she doesn't come back? What if we just... never see her again?" Yuna blurted, the thoughts she had in the deafening silence finally came into fruition.

"Yuna..." Lia sighed, Ryujin looked at the redhead with a hopeless look.

"She is going to come back. They said they can't kill us or leave any injuries on us. It makes me think they will let us go once they get what they want." Ryujin pitched optimistically.

"Right, they did say that. And one of us is carrying. They can't do anything to us." Chaeryeong joined.

"Why would they just let us out? They took us against our will, we can do so much to them." Yuna questioned again.

"I think they're just fighting against time." Lia answered, "Most of them are wanted by the authorities, once this place is found they are all doomed. We just have to wait until that moment comes... I'm starving."

Ryujin laid on the floor, her face flat with despair. She laid on her side, looking at Yeji's empty room, awaiting her return.

"Return to me, my love. Please come back to me, without you, I'm as lifeless as I was before. I feel nothing, the world is nothing but numbers and blueprints. There's no color, no noise, no beauty." She whispered to herself. She's trying to convince herself that Chaeryeong is right, and Yeji will return healthy. But all she had was a broken nose, why would the surgery take all day to complete?

Just then, they heard approaching footsteps from the hall outside of their rooms. They all got up to look, hopeful feelings growing in their gut.

"Unnie!" Yuna called first.

"Yeji..." Ryujin whispered, touching the wall closest to Yeji's room as they put her back into her room.

"Ryujin-ah! Did they hurt you? Are you okay?" Yeji asked her through the glass. She looked as if she had never been hit in the first place.

"I'm okay, Unnie." Ryujin answered.

Yeji nodded in relief and then looked at the others, they all nodded, silently telling her that they were also okay and unharmed.

The guards closed and locked her cell door and just then Ryujin shouted through the glass walls towards them.

"Please let me be with her! Please... just five minutes. Enough for a hug, please..." She begged them, glad that they stopped to at least listen to her.

One of them scoffed and nodded away, "Let's go." He told his partner. However, his partner disobeyed and pulled him back.

"It's just five minutes, man. We're not bad guys, this is just a study. There's no need to be so goddamn bitter."

They both looked at the black haired women through the glass before they were both persuaded to allow the couple five minutes together.

They unlocked both cells and Ryujin was let into Yeji's room. Even if they didn't want to hug, they were magnetically attached to one another. Coming together was automatic for them.