Antifragile

“Chaewon-ah, we need to go.” Eunbi instructed, her face pale.

Chaewon understood the severity of the situation, wordlessly grabbing her coat and slipping her shoes on. She hadn’t even changed into a more formal hanbok, too worried to bother with such trivial things. She looked like she was on the verge of tears as she raced out of the door alongside Eunbi, following Yuri and Yunjin.

“It must’ve been bad.” Yena muttered, her usual playful demeanour gone.

Yujin and Wonyoung looked on anxiously, and even Eunchae looked upset. Kazuha and Sakura didn’t understand what had just happened, but understood that it was a serious matter.

“I’m going to follow after them. Wonyoung, let’s go.” Yujin insisted, grabbing her own coat.

“Stay safe you two. I’ll stay here and look after the base. Don’t get arrested by the soldiers.” Yena ordered sternly.

“I’m going too. I don’t exactly know what’s going on, but I want to help.” Sakura piped up.

“Unnie…no offence but this is a serious matter. I’m not sure if you can handle it.” Yujin refuted politely.

“I’ve seen enough bloodshed by now. Palace life isn’t peaceful, there’s murder almost everyday. I’m going, whether you want me there or not.” Sakura insisted.

“If you’re sure that you can handle it, why not?” Wonyoung conceded, tossing Sakura a spare coat.

“Princess, do you want me to come with you?” Kazuha offered.

“I’ll be fine. You should stay here and rest. You’re still injured.”

Kazuha could only sigh and watch as Sakura followed Yujin and Wonyoung out of the house, chasing after Eunbi’s group. She couldn’t help but worry for the princess, it was her job to worry about her, but deep down she knew that Sakura was strong enough to face 1000 soldiers alone if she had to.

Sakura, Yujin and Wonyoung were able to catch up to Eunbi and the others. It was only then that Sakura noticed the blood that stained Yunjin’s hands, as well as the faint stains on Yuri’s shoes. Eunbi had a determined look on her face, whilst Chaewon looked like she was going to collapse at any moment.

“You okay?” Sakura asked gently.

“Fine, just worried. They’re my close friends.” Chaewon answered curtly, refusing to give away any emotion.

Sakura slipped her hand into Chaewon’s, feeling the younger girl stiffen beside her. Sakura’s other hand rested on top of Chaewon’s hand, tightly engulfing it between her own two hands.

“It’ll be alright, don’t worry. I don’t know who your friends are, but I’m sure that they’ll pull through. I know this may sound like empty words, but if they’re anything like you, they’re gonna make it. Have some faith.” Sakura reassured her.

Chaewon relaxed slightly, though her face was still pale. She wasn’t used to such close physical affection, and honestly neither was Sakura, but at that moment it just felt right. Chaewon appreciated the warmth Sakura provided her, and Sakura appreciated that Chaewon accepted her help.

“Thank you, I needed that.” Chaewon whispered softly.

“Anytime. Now let’s save your friends.” Sakura promised as they turned into a large estate.

The estate in question was a traditional Korean house, though it had obviously been taken by Japanese citizens. Japanese words hung on the front gate, as well as a picture of the Japanese emperor. Sakura had chills seeing her grandfather like that, wondering why they were entering enemy territory. However, she trusted the group enough to know that they wouldn’t sell her out.

”We’re here. They’re inside.” Yunjin muttered as she opened the door.

Eunbi and Chaewon sprinted inside whilst Sakura entered slowly. The smell of blood and alcohol hit her like a truck, overwhelming her. She could hear sobs mixed with groans of pain, along with anxious muttering and people cursing. She could hear someone moving around frantically, most likely the medic.

She followed Eunbi and Chaewon into the living room, horrified by the sight that greeted her. Two people lay sprawled on the floor, blood gushing from various wounds on their bodies. One of them was conscious, groaning in pain as she held a blood soaked cloth over her eye. The other lay oddly still, her face twisted in pain.

“No…please no…” She heard Eunbi whisper.

Chaewon fell to her knees and sobbed in a corner, unable to see her friends in such a state. There were around 4 other girls with them, excluding the group Sakura had come with. Two of them were crying as they tended to their friends, whilst the other two did the best they could go bandage the wounds.

One of the girls briefly looked up, glancing at Sakura for a moment. Recognition and surprise flashed in her eyes before she turned back to her friend, focusing on her task once more. Sakura recognised her as well. Takahashi Juri, the daughter of a well known Japanese politician. Last she had heard of Juri, she had run away from her home in Japan. Turns out she ended up on the streets of Korea.

“What happened?” She heard Eunbi ask.

“We…we were on our way back after talking to some buyers on the black market. Someone must have tipped off the police because soldiers appeared out of nowhere. We ran but they started firing at us. Then…Suyun and Sohee unnie sacrificed themselves to let us escape. Once the coast had been cleared, we returned to find them like this. The police had shot them and beaten them up. They only let them go because they believed they were dead.” One of the girls explained.

“We couldn’t go to a doctor, so we had to come back here. This is one of the houses Juri’s family abandoned. It had some medical supplies so Yeonhee unnie used them to try and patch up the wounds, but they’ve both lost a lot of blood.” Another girl explained.

“You must be so scared. Come here Dahyun.” Eunbi beckoned, embracing the younger girl quietly as she sobbed.

Yeonhee, their seeming medic, along with Juri worked tirelessly to attend to Suyun and Sohee. Eunbi had passed Dahyun and the other girl, Yunkyoung, off to Chaewon for them to grieve before stepping in to help. Sakura was at a lost, and all she could do was stand back and watch with Yuri and Yunjin.

“Eunbi unnie…you came.” The girl who had been conscious earlier croaked upon seeing her old friend.

“Suyun-ah, I’m so sorry. I should’ve come earlier. Come, let me patch up your eye for you.” Eunbi apologised.

“There’s no use unnie. I’ve already lost my sight in it, I can’t see out of it anymore. One of those bastard soldiers scratched it with their bayonet. Help Sohee first, she’s in worse shape than me.” Suyun managed to say, her voice hoarse.

“Sohee is fine, don’t worry. She’s already asleep, but she’s alive.” Eunbi promised her, holding Suyun’s hand.

“Good…good” Suyun mumbled, drifting off to sleep.

“No! No! Suyun, stay awake! Please!” Eunbi yelled, shaking Suyun violently.

“Unnie, don’t aggravate her wounds even more. I gave her some medicine to put her to sleep, don’t worry. She kept worrying about Sohee and wouldn’t let me treat her. This was the only way.” Yeonhee reassured her.

“Are you sure that she won’t die?” Eunbi demanded.

“Suyun is out of critical condition. I’ve managed to staunch all the bleeding. Luckily most of her wounds are shallow, so they’ll heal quickly. Excluding her eye, everything will be just fine. Sohee is the one I’m worried about.”

Eunbi turned her attention to her other friend, who lay unconscious on the floor. Her breathing was irregular and laboured, worrying Yeonhee. Chaewon was holding her hand, trying her best not to cry. Juri was firmly pressing onto a stab wound near her abdomen, while Yeonhee attended to a gunshot wound on her leg.

Eventually, the two of them were able to stop the bleeding. Sohee’s breathing sounded less shaky, but it still worried Yeonhee.

“Without proper medical treatment, Sohee might not make it. I’ve done everything I can but it might not be enough.” Yeonhee mumbled, sounding tired and defeated.

“I think I know someone who can help.” Eunbi replied quietly, calling Yujin and Wonyoung over.

“I need you two to do me a favour. If you turn right after exiting the house, you’ll see a hill. On top of the hill, there is a small estate. Ignore the signs on the front gate of the estate and go inside. Ask for Kaeun and say I sent you, and tell her what happened. She’ll be able to help us.” Eunbi instructed.

“We got it unnie, don’t worry.” Yujin reassured her, taking off alongside Wonyoung.

“Yujin and Wonyoung went to go get help, don’t worry. Sohee will be alright.” Eunbi assured Yeonhee.

“How? No doctor would want to treat bandits. It could cost them their lives.” Yeonhee cried.

“My friend can help us. She worked as a nurse for 6 years before she retired and she now helps to treat people that can’t afford a doctor. She sees people like us everyday, I’m sure that she’ll come.” Eunbi promised.

“You should get some rest Yeonhee. I can take over.” Juri suggested, seeing that Yeonhee was about to faint.

Yeonhee wordlessly moved to a corner of the room, falling asleep almost immediately. The others looked on with pity, they could only imagine how tired she must’ve been.

“Here, let me help. I’m sure you must be tired too Juri.” Sakura offered.

Juri turned her attention back to Sakura, alarm flashing in her eyes. Her face grew pale as she slowly backed away, unsure of whether the princess was a friend or a foe.

“You can trust her. She’s one of us now.” Chaewon remarked.

Sakura could feel heat rising between her cheeks, trying desperately to stop herself from blushing. Eunbi noticed this, but pretended not to see it. It wasn’t her business.

Juri warily let Sakura take over, watching intently to make sure that Sakura was truly an ally. Sakura couldn’t blame her for reacting in such a way, she would’ve done the same.

“We’re back.” Yujin’s loud announcement broke up the awkward tension that had settled in the room.

Wonyoung and Yujin entered, followed by an older looking girl. She briefly assessed the situation before getting to work, swiftly finding what she needed. She worked deftly and silently, easily attending to Sohee. After about an hour, she was able to patch Sohee up nicely. Sohee’s breathing had become steady again, and she was no longer in critical condition.

“She may get an infection from the wounds, so I’ll leave some new dressings for the wounds and some herbs to help fight the infection. The moment she becomes feverish, change the dressing and give her the herbs. You have to fight the infection before it hits too hard.” Kaeun instructed sternly.

Kaeun then turned to Suyun, who was still sound asleep. Suyun was easier to treat, given that Yeonhee had done a good job at patching her up. Her eye however, was a different story.

“She won’t be able to see out of it ever again. I’m afraid that the damage is too serious. This is the first time I’ve encountered such a bad wound. The only thing I can do now is to dress her eye and prevent an infection. I’m sorry.”

“Thank you for all your help unnie. There was no one else who would help us. I’ll pay you extra for disrupting your schedule, I know you’re busy and you have other clients.” Eunbi said gratefully.

“Nonsense, this is a life or death situation. My schedule isn’t as important as lives. Don’t worry about the money, I do all my work for free anyway. Besides, I depend on illegal methods myself to obtain my supplies.” Kaeun replied graciously, waving Eunbi’s offer away.

“We can’t thank you enough. We’ll be sure to pay you back somehow.” Yunkyoung promised, speaking up for the first time.

Dahyun and Juri chimed in their agreement as the entire group heaved a collective sigh of relief. Kaeun took her leave once she was done treating Suyun, earning her another round of grateful and tearful thanks. Now that the two of them were in the clear, the group was able to relax.

“Thank you for everything unnie. Without you, they probably would have died. I’m afraid that we’ll be out of business for a few days though…while we all try and recover from this incident. I know Yeonhee unnie was worried about how much revenue we’d lose though, even if she didn’t say it. The fee we charge is what feeds us.” Dahyun murmured.

Eunbi produced a small stack of coins from her pocket, passing it to Juri.

“This should be enough to last. Let me know if you need anything else.”

Chaewon had to stop herself from protesting. She knew that her friends were in a dire situation, but their own situation was equally as bad. Now they wouldn’t be able to sell their jewellery until business was resumed, which left them with whatever money they had left. And while they still had a bit of money left, they also had many mouths to feed.

“We should go now. Come guys, let’s give them some space. Contact me when they wake up?”

Juri nodded silently, now busy caring for an exhausted Yeonhee. Dahyun and Yunkyoung showed the group to the door, thanking them for their help.

“Eunbi unnie, will we be alright? Do we have enough money?” Wonyoung asked quietly.

Yuri and Yunjin stiffened, while Chaewon chose to stare at the floor. Yujin smacked Wonyoung lightly for her careless choice of words, but even she looked unsure.

“They’ll only be out of business for a while. By the end of the week, things should be up and running. Until then, we just need to be a bit more resourceful. I’ll harvest some of the lettuce we’ve been growing in our garden, as well as a few potatoes. Don’t worry, we’ll always have food to eat at least.” Eunbi promised them.

“We trust you unnie.” Chaewon replied.

“I think I might know someone who could help.” Sakura suddenly suggested.

“What do you think about taking an adventure?”