Home; I Found With You // Ryeji FF

big bad dog.

The elevator dinged, a sound far too soft for the terror twisting in all their chests.

No one moved. No one breathed. They had no idea what waited on the other side—only that they were outnumbered, outgunned, and running on the last fumes of adrenaline. Fingers tightened around weapons, knuckles whitening, metal trembling against trembling hands.

The doors slid open.

Silence.

An echoing silence that felt wrong.

Empty hallway. No voices. No footsteps. No guns raised in their direction.

It was... deserted.

Or it looked that way.

"Where's everyone?" Chaeryeong whispered as if anyone could hear her.

The lieutenant lifted a finger to her lips, wordlessly signalling to stay quiet before sinking into a low crouch and slipping out of the elevator. The others mirrored her movements, boots silent against the concrete floor.

Ryujin tried to steady her breathing, but her body betrayed her. Every nerve trembling, vision swimming at the edges. She felt lightheaded, like her legs might give out at any second.

Then... Warmth.

Fingers threaded through hers from behind.

She stiffened, glancing back just enough to see Yeji's eyes fixed on her.

That was all she needed.

Cautiously making their way back to the Humvee, it was eerily quiet.

A pair of voices drifted around the corner.

"Did you hear they are making pasta for dinner?"

"God, I've been craving!"

The girls froze.

Instantly, they ducked, flattening themselves against the side of the military truck. Metal cold against their sweat-soaked backs as they held their breath, bodies locked still.

Footsteps, two soldiers headed somewhere, like the world was under their control.

Ryujin pressed her shoulder harder into the truck's frame, Yeji beside her, close enough to have their arms brushed. Meanwhile, Seulgi peered past the wheel, watching the shadows wandering.

The men kept walking, their conversation scattering throughout the corridor. Another complaint about rations. A joke about someone burning the meat.

Then nothing. Stillness.

No one dared to move.

It was suffocating.

"Okay, we can go now. But take it slowly." Seulgi finally ordered, barely audible under the building's high ceilings.

They slipped out from behind the truck like ghosts, their footsteps muted and their focus fixed on one object.

Get to the Humvee, then make out of it.

Alive.

Gravel crunched under their boots. No alarm. No shouting. No gunfire.

By some miracle, they reached the car. Yanking the driver's door open, Seulgi climbed in, her hands already moving across the controls. Chaeryeong dove into the passenger seat, slamming the door shut as quietly as she could.

The back door flung open, and the rest of the girls practically threw themselves inside. Yuna squeezed in first, pulling Lia beside her. Ryujin shoved Yeji in ahead of her, then climbed in last, shutting the door behind them.