Antifragile

“My head…” Sakura mumbled as she sat up, her head throbbing and her view blurry.

“Drink this, it’ll help.” Eunbi offered, handing Sakura a bowl of water and some herbal medicine to cure her hangover.

“What happened last night? I don’t remember anything after the drinking contest. I was really out of it.”

“Uh…about that…”

As Sakura’s vision started to clear, she noticed the amused stares of everyone except Chaewon and Kazuha. Kazuha had a slightly disapproving look, while Chaewon was avoiding Sakura by turning her back to her, face flushed red.

“Congrats on your first kiss unnie!” Eunchae cheered while Yujin and Wonyoung joined in.

“First kiss? You mean….NO WAY! I DID THAT?” Sakura exclaimed, scrambling to her feet as her memory slowly came back.

“It was marvellous.” Yunjin gloated.

“Oh my god, Chaewon I’m so sorry it was an accident. I had way too much to drink and I wasn’t thinking straight.” Sakura quickly apologised.

Chaewon couldn’t pretend to be angry any longer. Truth be told, she had rather enjoyed the kiss. While it had taken her by surprise, she couldn’t complain.

“Chaewon is melting.” Yena teased.

“Choi Yena I’ll kill you I swear!” Chaewon exclaimed, raising her fist playfully.

“Don’t hit my girlfriend.” Yuri whined with a pout.

A few heads were turned. They all knew Yena and Yuri had feelings for each other, but none of them had known they were officially dating yet.

“Then I guess more congratulations are in order!” Eunchae cheered once more.

While the others were busy celebrating, Sakura quietly pulled Kazuha aside to talk. She knew that her friend was unhappy about her feelings for Chaewon.

“Princess, you’re treading in dangerous territory here. If word gets out, Chaewon will have an even bigger target on her back. I’m saying this for both of your sakes. You’re both my friends, and I don’t want either of you to get hurt. The two of you dating will only bring more complications and make both of you bigger liabilities. What happens if you eventually do get caught? You know how cruel your father is, what would he do to Chaewon if he knew? Or even Purple Kiss. If they know you two like each other, then they can use your love for each other against you. Please princess, be careful.” Kazuha pleaded.

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry so much. It’s not like anyone is going to go around announcing my love life to the whole world.” Sakura reassured her.

“Your mannerisms and actions give a lot away as well. Everybody can see how you two look at each other.”

“Are we that obvious?” Sakura asked sheepishly.

“Painfully.”

“We’ll keep it under wraps from now on, I promise. Thanks Zuha, I know you’re just looking out for us.”

“It’s my pleasure princess. After all, you need to stay alive in order to one day inherit the throne and undo the terror brought on by your father’s reign.”

Sakura smiled, that had been the promise she had made to every single member of the staff in the palace from the moment she had learned how cruel of a ruler her father was. She had stuck to that vow every day for the rest of her life, never once forgetting her goal of becoming a queen who could reverse the horrors that plagued the kingdom. It felt nice to know that her vow had at least touched Kazuha.

“We have company.” Eunbi suddenly said in a hushed whisper, peering through a crack in the house.

“Unnie, are you strong enough to walk?” Yuri asked Yena anxiously.

“I could lift a bull if I had to. Those soldiers are no match for me.” Yena replied confidently, though it was evident that she was bluffing.

“Yuri and Yunjin, be ready to take Yena and run if things get too ugly. Everyone else, grab whatever is closest to you that can be used as a weapon.” Eunbi ordered.

They all scrambled to grab something that could do at least a little bit of damage. The sound of the approaching soldiers was growing louder and louder, until the banging and yelling was literally right outside their door.

“Stay strong everyone, I love you.” Eunbi encouraged them.

The moment the door fell down, Eunbi charged in and whacked the first soldier over the head with her large wooden stick. The others followed suit, racing out of the cramped house and into the streets as they charged at the soldiers while waving their weapons wildly. Even Yena was getting in on the action, having fun knocking the soldiers on their heads with a metal pipe she had dug out from a corner.

“Chaewon, help!” Sakura yelled as a group of ten soldiers surrounded her.

Chaewon charged in without hesitation, easily shoving the soldiers aside to clear a path for Sakura to flee. Together, they beat down the large group of men with ease and precision.

“Nice job!” Chaewon celebrated as they headed back into the fray to help their friends.

The bandits were forcing the soldiers back with relative ease, though the soldiers were putting up a good fight. However, Eunbi felt like something was amiss. It was almost like the soldiers were letting them win on purpose.

“Unnie! They’re setting the house on fire!” Yunjin exclaimed.

A small group of soldiers were gleefully lighting the house on fire, laughing and mocking the bandits as they watched their beloved house go up in flames. All they could do was watch as their hideout, their base, their home, was set on fire. Now they had nowhere to go.

“No…” Sakura gasped as she watched the roof crumble in, the entire house now a mere pile of blazing wood.

They were so distracted that they failed to notice more soldiers sneaking up on them, using batons and sticks to club their backs and heads. Sakura felt something hard and heavy slam into her head with so much force that she felt like her skull had been cracked open. Blood dripped into her eyes as she fell to the floor, her head numb from the impact.

“Stay away from her you bastard!” Kazuha spat as she ran to help Sakura, shoving the soldier away.

“Sakura is hurt!” Kazuha exclaimed.

That was enough to break the others out of their stupor, bringing them back to their senses in time to avoid the attacks of the soldiers. Kazuha and Eunbi quickly grabbed Sakura’s limp body, shielding her from any further attacks.

On the other side, Yujin and Wonyoung were being cornered by a couple of sword wielding soldiers. They put on brave faces, but their eyes never left the menacing blades that threatened their lives.

“If you two come nicely and quietly, we won’t have to hurt you.” One of the men cooed, leering at the two in a perverted way.

“Never.” Yujin answered defiantly, though her voice quivered.

“Suit yourself, you asked for it.” He shrugged, signalling for the others to attack.

Yujin and Wonyoung fought them off admirably, deftly and nimbly avoiding attacks while delivering fierce blows of their own. They moved with precise timing and accurate attacks, whereas the soldiers were callous and clumsy. Still, they were not to be underestimated. They still held the far more dangerous weapons, compared to two light and feeble sticks.

“Wonyoung watch out!” Yujin warned as a wild blade swung towards Wonyoung.

Yujin jumped in front of the blade right before it struck Wonyoung, taking the hit instead as the blade impaled her abdomen.

“Yujin unnie!” Wonyoung shrieked, loud enough to draw the attention of the others.

Yujin simply smiled at Wonyoung the sword was ripped from her body and she fell to the ground, face first into the dirt. Blood quickly pooled around her lifeless body as Wonyoung dropped to her knees beside Yujin’s body, wailing and screaming.

The others rushed to their aid, fighting off the soldiers before spotting Yujin’s lifeless body. Tears silently fell as they continued fighting, while Eunchae ran to drag Wonyoung away from the body.

“We have to go now! If not we’ll die!” Eunchae yelled as the older girls began to flee. Eunbi had ordered them to retreat to the mountains.

“I can’t just leave her here!” Wonyoung argued, flinging herself onto Yujin’s body.

Yunjin ran over to help Eunchae, and together they peeled Wonyoung off Yujin’s body and dragged her, kicking and screaming, off into the mountains. The soldiers did not give chase, they had accomplished their mission. One member was dead.