Antifragile

“What do we do unnie? They’re going to see the food!” Yena whispered as the soldiers continued pounding on the door.

“I’ll deal with it. You go hide.” Chaewon instructed as she quickly moved the dishes away, trying to make as little noise as possible.

Eunbi took a deep breath before answering the door, putting on a fake smile.

“Can I help you?” She asked in Japanese.

“Move! Search every inch of the house!” One of the soldiers commanded as he shoved Eunbi aside roughly.

Chaewon threw the leftover food out the window, wincing at the thought of waste. However, she had no choice if she wanted to survive. Yena emerged from her hiding place, pretending to be finishing up her business in the bathroom.

“What’s the matter?” She asked Eunbi, pretending to be shocked.

Eunbi shrugged as the soldiers stormed through the house, flipping over tables and breaking vases. Eunbi protested as they smashed a flower pot, narrowly dodging the shards that pelted for her.

“Where is she? We know that you’re hiding the princess.” The commander of the soldiers demanded, grabbing Eunbi roughly.

“Unnie!” Yena and Chaewon cried, trying to help Eunbi. However, more soldiers arrived and restrained them.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Why would the princess be here? I’m merely a commoner trying my best to survive.” Eunbi replied calmly, staring straight into the commander’s eyes.

The commander glared at her for a few more seconds before he released her, signalling for the other soldiers to let Yena and Chaewon go. They were just about to leave when another soldier came into the house, glaring at them.

“They’re lying! The amount of food they dumped out back feeds way more than three people. Also, there’s no way that commoners can afford all that!” He shouted.

Rage filled the commander’s face as he whirled around and pulled out his gun. He aimed it at Eunbi, his finger resting on the trigger.

“Arrest them! The rest of you, look for the others! The princess can’t have gone far!” He yelled.

The commander then turned his gun away from Eunbi and towards Chaewon, and then to Yena. He grinned as he aimed the gun straight at Yena, right in the middle of her chest.

“No! Take me! I’ll tell you anything you want! Just let the two of them go. They don’t know anything.” Eunbi begged, practically throwing herself at the commander’s feet.

The commander sneered as he kicked her away roughly, ignoring Eunbi’s pleas as he repositioned his gun once more. He smiled as he pulled the trigger, the bullet hitting Yena just above her heart. Eunbi and Chaewon screamed as Yena fell to the floor, blood oozing out of the wound. More soldiers arrived to drag the two of them away, ignoring as they kicked and screamed and wailed.

The commander cast one last disdainful look at Yena’s body, giving it a swift and vicious kick before he slammed the door shut behind him. Eunbi and Chaewon were hysterical as they were being dragged away, their heartbroken screams echoing across the town.

Chaewon mustered up whatever strength was left to kick and scratch and bite with all her might, eventually causing enough damage for the soldier holding her to momentarily release her as he screamed in pain. The few seconds was all she needed to kick him in the groin, sending him onto his knees.

“Get her you idiots!” The commander yelled, whipping his gun out.

Chaewon shoved her way through the wave of soldiers, managing to push her way through them. Eunbi had calmed down enough to yell at her to run, and although Chaewon didn’t want to leave Eunbi behind, she knew that turning back was suicide.

“I’ll save you unnie, I promise!” Chaewon yelled as she ran for her life.

The commander fired a few shots at her, but by then she was too far away. Chaewon ran faster than she had ever run before, ignoring the yells of the soldiers that chased her. She didn’t know where she was going to, but she needed to get away.

Chaewon ran for what felt like hours, until the soldiers grew tired and retreated. She continued running for a while more before the adrenaline died down, and reality hit her. Yena was dead, and Eunbi had been arrested. She had to find the others before Eunbi was tortured to death. They didn’t have long.

Chaewon ignored the pain in her feet as she ran for the mountains, where she knew the others were hiding. At some point, her feet had begun to bleed, but she gritted her teeth and continued on. She didn’t have time to stop to look for shoes. She ran and she ran, until finally she heard a faint chatter in the distance. The others were close by.

“Chaewon unnie! What happened? Where’s Eunbi unnie and Yena? And what happened to your feet?” Wonyoung exclaimed when she noticed the exhausted girl approaching them.

Chaewon collapsed onto the rocky floor, ignoring the pain of her knees digging into the gravel. She broke down into tears as she recounted the events, explaining what had happened.

“If only I had been more careful in disposing the food….maybe…Yena wouldn’t have died. It should have been me that died instead. And now Eunbi unnie has been arrested and doesn’t have very long to live.” Chaewon sobbed.

Yuri was inconsolable, distraught over Yena’s death. She hadn’t even had the chance to tell Yena about her true feelings.

“I’ll turn myself in. That way, Eunbi will be free.” Sakura declared.

“We can’t let you do that! We promised to protect you. This is not what Yena would have wanted.” Yunjin argued.

“Is there any chance…even a small one…that Yena unnie could still be alive?” Wonyoung asked timidly.

“I…I don’t know. All I saw was the commander aiming his gun at her, then the next thing I knew she was on the floor with blood pouring out of her chest. I couldn’t tell if he had shot her heart or not.” Chaewon confessed.

“There’s a chance that she could still be alive. We need to go back now!” Yuri exclaimed.

“What if the soldiers are waiting for us there? It could be a trap!” Eunchae yelled.

“But…but Yena! We can’t just leave her there to die!” Yuri retorted.

“Stop arguing! This is getting us nowhere! Listen, there’s no way Chaewon unnie is going to be able to run all the way back with her feet like this. Some of us can stay here with her, and those who want to go back can go. The moment you see soldiers at the house, you are to turn back immediately. Even if Yena is in there. Do I make myself clear?” Yunjin ordered firmly.

Everybody nodded as Yuri, Yujin and Wonyoung took off in search of the house. They couldn’t bear to leave Yena alone. They had to save her. The three of them ventured down the mountains, relieved to find that the house was free of soldiers.

“Yena unnie!” Yujin shouted as she barged through the front door.

Wonyoung gasped the moment she noticed Yena laying on the floor, drenched in a pool of her own blood. Her eyes were dull and lifeless, but her chest still moved ever so slightly. She was still alive, but barely.

“I’ll get Kaeun unnie right now! Stay here with her!” Yujin screamed as she sped off.

Yuri crouched by Yena’s side, holding her limp and bloody hand in her own. Wonyoung was using whatever cloth she could find to stop the bleeding, but blood quickly soaked through the various cloths.

“Yena unnie…please live. You have to live. I haven’t even had the chance to tell you about how I feel. Please unnie, pull through. For me, for us. I’m begging you.” Yuri cried softly, holding Yena’s hand to her heart.

“You idiot…I’ve….been..waiting.” Yena groaned.

“Unnie! You have to stay awake! Please!”

“But I’m sleepy…I’m very…sleepy…”

“Yena unnie? Yena unnie!”