OVER ME [ZEROBASEONE]

XVI.

Anger is blinding. In some cases, it's irrational, even unnecessary, but in others, it is entirely justified.

Gunwook's fury was the latter—justifiable, even understandable.

In truth, he was raging.

Moments earlier, they had discovered an abandoned house, with Yujin clinging to life just outside the entrance, his breath faltering as he held onto the gaping wound in his chest.

"Jesus fucking Christ," Gyuvin cursed, rushing to the boy's side as the light slowly faded from Yujin's eyes.

The rest of the group quickly gathered around, the sight of the plastic shard embedded in Yujin's chest chilling them to the core. Gyuvin placed his hand flat against the wound, trying to stem the flow of blood, though the futility of his actions was apparent to all.

Despite their worry, the group soon regained their composure and hurriedly carried Yujin inside to Matthew's makeshift clinic. Matthew, with a calm born of experience, began to mend the boy's wounds, working swiftly and silently to stabilize him.

While Matthew fought to keep Yujin alive, the rest of the team convened in a dimly lit room to discuss the pressing issue at hand.

"She should fuck off to wherever," Gyuvin spat, his words laced with venom.

"That's what she wanted—let her have it," Taerae agreed, bitterness dripping from his tone.

Hanbin cast a worried glance at Zhang Hao, their leader, as more voices joined in agreement to leave the girl behind. "We don't have much time," he reminded Hao, his voice tense. "We need to be gone by 4 a.m."

Zhang Hao buried his face in his hands, torn between two impossible choices: leave the girl to her fate, likely to be captured and subjected to unimaginable horrors, or risk everything to rescue her and then attempt to flee the country.

Half the group was resolute in their decision to abandon her, but Hao couldn't bring himself to agree. He wasn't a killer, at least not when it came to her. She had caused them some trouble, but she had been thrust into this life, dragged into a world she had never chosen.

"We can't leave her alone," Hao murmured, and he was met with groans and glares from the others.

"Do you not understand?" Gunwook's voice was thick with frustration, disbelief etched into every word. "You can't keep playing hero. You did your part in trying to keep her safe, but look at where that got us! She fucking left, after everything you did for her! She left, and now Yujin's hurt because of her!"

Gunwook's anger was palpable, his rage barely contained as he stared down his leader. He couldn't fathom how Hao could still want to protect the girl after all the problems she had caused.

Hao, however, was resolute. "Gunwook, Jiwoong, and Ricky—you three will search for her. Hanbin, go through the cameras and figure out where she might be. The rest of you, prepare to leave. We don't have much time."

The finality in Hao's tone left no room for argument. Gunwook stormed out of the room, his expression dark, with Jiwoong and Ricky following close behind.

The three of them headed down to the ground floor, where a vehicle awaited them, and without a word, they drove off into the night. Hanbin's voice crackled over the radio, asking if they could hear him. Jiwoong confirmed, and Hanbin began scanning the footage, taking on the task that usually fell to Yujin.

Not long after, Hanbin's voice came through again, this time tinged with urgency. "She went into the woods. You'll have to drive west, deep into the forest, and see if you can find any trace of her."