Shadows: The Black Star

Chapter Seventeen

Naturally, when someone would hear a gunshot, they would run the other way, but to people who are from the fallen agency, they would get their guns and fire back.

Yerim gritted her teeth as she forced herself to see the enemies through the fog, but the fog was too heavy to even see ten meters in.

"J-Joy, I can't see them. What if Seulgi and Yerin and Sinb eonnie are in danger?" Yeri panicked, Joy sighing as she continued to fire at the enemies she could see.

"We have to be quick with this and rescue Sojung eonnie and Eunha. Should we go inside and regroup with them, Yeri?" Joy asked, as she was uncertain of what they will do as they fired at the enemies surrounding the house.

"Let's go inside, but cautiously. The enemies do not know that we are here, and we must not let Jihyo eonnie and the others be forced to go inside as well." Yerim said, as Joy nodded and grabbed an extra stash of ammunition.

The duo charged their way towards the fog, trying to find their way towards the house as they heard Seulgi's voice louder--

"ANDWAE!"

Seulgi hurriedly opened the door to let Joy and Yeri in, the younger nursing a bullet wound on her shoulder.

Yerin immediately went to work, grabbing a first aid kit and without warning, poured alcohol onto the wound, making Yeri bite into a towel that she grabbed close by.

Yerin quickly but surely tied up the wound, and bandaged it as Yerim groaned multiple times, her nails digging into Joy's forearm, leaving red marks that Joy didn't mind to have.

"We have to go outside. Joy, Yeri, does the girls out know about the situation?" Seulgi said, as Joy shook her head.

"We didn't inform them, as it would be too risky to let the enemies know that we are rounding up the team again. We have to go fast though. We gave them just thirty minutes before they act up." Joy said, as Seulgi nodded.

"How much time do we still have?" Seulgi asked, as Joy checked her watch.

"Ten minutes, give or take. We have to move fast--"

BOOM!

A huge explosion sent them flying away, Yerin shielding Sinb from the fragments of the explosion.

It took a full minute before Yerin could process everything, as she struggled to stand up despite the ringing on her ears and the pain all over her body, and shook Sinb awake.

"W-what... E-eonnie..." Sinb mumbled, as she stood up despite her wounds from the chaos she caused earlier that reopened and was bleeding badly on her foot, Yerin hoisting her up on her back.

"Seulgi? Seulgi-yah, where are you...?" Yerin said, searching wildly for the other girls inside the now burning house.

"Yerin? Yerin, get out of there--"

The walls and ceiling behind her caved in, falling towards her direction in a speed she couldn't fathom, as Yerin started to run despite Sinb carried upon her back.

"Eonnie, I'm... Eonnie I'm scared--"

"Close your eyes, Sinb."

And everything fell apart.

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Sinb opened her eyes to see the ceiling of a car, a blanket wrapped on her as she frantically stood up, breathing heavily as she looked around the car--

"Sinb? What's wrong?" Yerin asked, a bandage wrapped on her forehead and some cuts on her face, but Sinb still thought she was beautiful.

"Eonnie... Eonnie I thought you were gone..." Sinb said, crying wildly as she hugged the older, the other girls chuckling as they watched the two.

"Aigoo, so cheesy." Joy said, Yerim still sleeping while leaning on her shoulder.

"Reminds me of me and Seungwan eonnie before all this mess." Jihyo commented, as Seungwan smiled at them.

Seulgi drove the van, unable to look at them as she sighed, just listening to the couples that she had brought together, all the while longing for the love of her life who was leading a whole syndicate against them.

["I can see you being so sad and thinking about Joohyun eonnie from where I am, and it is at least a mile away."] Umji's voice broke through her thoughts as the hacker spoke in an earpiece attached on Seulgi's ear, the bear forgetting that she had it on.

"And how do you know that?"

["Judging by your breathing and the commotion of the couples that you rounded up in the back, I can sense that you're having the saddest part of the trip, since no one is beside you on the shotgun seat."] Umji delivered with the utmost straightforwardness, hitting Seulgi right in the spot that hurt as she laughed sadly.

"You're being too smart ever since four years ago, Yewon-ah. Is it because you've been spending time with a weird singer?" Seulgi said, and it was Umji's turn to laugh at the remark.

["I've studied in my free time, Seulgi-ssi. I needed it since you practically forced me to hack into the syndicate without my counterpart, Chaeyoung, who we still don't know where she is--"]

"Do you really think I don't know where MiChaeng is, Yewon?"

["What the heck is MiChaeng?"] Yewon said, making Seulgi laugh as she made a right turn towards a secluded part of the forest, miles away from Seoul.

"Mina and Chaeyoung, duh. A nerd like you can't understand ship names?" Seulgi said, as Yewon sighed, the sigh that she gives out when she's disappointed, as Seulgi laughed at her.

["Six people coming in your left. ID'ed as the old members of Firelight, Heejin's team."] Yewon said, suddenly becoming serious as Seulgi pulled over, staring at the six girls who looked like they needed some help.

"Jeon Soyeon?" Seulgi asked, having met the girl while training with Sinb and the others in the years before the agency's fall.

"Ah, Seulgi sunbaenim! How nice that you're here!" Soyeon said, asking the six girls to bow as respect.

"No need for formalities, Soyeonie. Get in, we'll take you to our temporary base." Seulgi said, Soyeon smiling to her and ordering the six girls to get inside the van.

"Now explain to me, Soyeonie." Seulgi said, bringing out her gun, making the others mimic her and point it to the six girls.

"Why are you here, when I saw you die six years ago?"