Antifragile

“Shit, please be alright. Please be alright.” Eunbi mumbled to herself as she raced down the mountain.

The rest of the group were right behind, running as fast as possible. They had been so caught up with the soldiers and Yujin’s death that they had totally forgotten about their allies. They had to be protected before Purple Kiss could locate them.

“Hang on tight unnie.” Eunchae advised, carrying Yena on her back.

Yuri had initially insisted on carrying Yena down, but her tiny physique proved to be no use when it came to not only having to carry Yena but also having to run down the mountain at the same time. In the end, she had no choice but to let Eunchae take over to ensure Yena’s safety.

“Is anyone home?” Eunbi demanded, pounding on Yeonhee’s door.

The silence was deafening, and Eunbi kicked the entire door down in her desperation. The door was replaceable, her friends were not.

“Oh no.” Chaewon muttered, a choked sob escaping her throat.

Yeonhee’s motionless body lay inches away, covered in multiple stab wounds. She also had bruises all over her arms and legs, and even a couple of scratches on her arms.

“Yeonhee-ah, please wake up. You can’t be dead!” Eunbi wailed, caressing Yeonhee’s body.

As Eunbi cried over Yeonhee, the others slowly spread out to look for their remaining friends. A loud scream erupted from the kitchen as Yunjin emerged, carrying Sohee’s mangled body. It was mutilated beyond recognition, some of her limbs still lying on the kitchen floor.

“No…Suyun!” Chaewon yelled, seeing her friend’s battered arm in the corner of the room.

Suyun had been sliced cleanly in half, the bottom half of her torso lying a few inches away from Chaewon. Blood was still gushing out of her abdomen, it couldn’t have been long since she was killed.

Kazuha turned Sakura away from all of the death, not wanting the princess to witness the gruesome scene. They still had to yet to find the other 3 members.

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry.” Sakura reassured her, batting Kazuha’s hand away.

Sakura regretted her words immediately, her face pale as she turned to her side and hurled.

“Your highness, what’s wrong? Are you sick?” Kazuha immediately asked anxiously.

Sakura could barely form her words as she struggled to stand up straight, closing her eyes and turning her head away. Kazuha’s curiosity got the best of her as she turned to look, coming face to face with Juri’s severed head. Whoever had killed her had placed her head on a pile of clutter, almost like a pedestal of sorts. Her body had been cast aside, lying forgotten amongst the clutter.

“Help.” A faint voiced gargled.

Everyone whirled around, someone was still alive. They desperately tried to locate the source of the voice, finally finding Yunkyoung on the bathroom floor. Blood was bubbling around her throat, and her back had been sliced open entirely. It was a miracle that she was still alive.

“Go and find Kaeun, quickly!” Yena screamed.

“No, stop. It’s no use. She’ll choke and suffocate on her own blood before you can even get to the door.” Yuri ordered calmly.

“We can’t just leave her like this!” Eunchae protested, looking like she was about to faint.

“Kill me….please.” Yunkyoung managed to cough out, more blood welling up in her throat.

“Don’t talk, you’ll make it worse. We’ll help you.” Yena promised.

Suddenly, a shot was heard and Yunkyoung went still in Yena’s arms. Blood began to ooze from the new bullet wound in her head, coating Yena’s hands with Yunkyoung’s blood.

Yuri and Yena glared at the murderer, who let out a giggle. It was Goeun.

“I was just putting her out of her misery.” Goeun said with in wide eyed, innocent manner. The grin growing on her face proved otherwise.

“What have you done? They were innocent, they didn’t do anything wrong! How far are you going to go?”

“This is a war, they were your allies which makes them our enemy. Simple.” Goeun replied with a shrug.

Almost as if on cue, Dosie and Swan emerged from another room with satisfied smiles. Both of them were covered in blood, though it was clearly not their own.

“That’s the last of them.”

Eunbi felt her blood boil, her vision red. They hadn’t even spared Dahyun. She was still a child, barely even a teenager. She was even younger than Yujin, and they had killed her in cold blood.

“You…murdered a child?” Eunbi asked, her voice trembling as she struggled to stand.

Dosie and Swan glanced at each other, grinning as they nodded.

“How could you? You’ve gone too far. Do you really think Jieun would have wanted you to kill a child?” Chaewon exclaimed.

“This is a war, people die. And don’t ever say Jieun’s name again. You don’t deserve to say it, not after you all caused her death.” Goeun snarled, raising her sword in preparation to attack.

Eunbi and Chaewon were ready to attack, but Sakura pulled them back. Aside from Eunbi, none of them carried any weapons. Although they outnumbered the Purple Kiss members, they were less experienced and definitely not as well trained as them. It would be a losing battle.

“Yuri, take Yena and run right now. Leave. If they killed Dahyun, they would have no qualms killing Yena.” Eunbi instructed.

“I can fight!” Yena insisted.

“No, you can’t. Your heart needs time to heal, and fighting may cause you to die. Leave, we’ll be fine. I’ve already called for backup.”

Yuri reluctantly carried Yena on her back, running out of the door as fast as she could. The Purple Kiss members watched, but nobody made any attempt to stop them.

“We’re here.” Jurina declared in Japanese as she and her yakuza poured through the door.

Eunbi smiled when she saw Yuki’s face turn white, taking a step back as more men rushed in.

“They’re the most dangerous yakuza in all of Japan. We have to go now, we can’t fight them.” Yuki warned.

“You’ll have to if you want any chance of escaping.” Jurina laughed, sending her men charging forward.

“Go, now that they’re distracted. We can handle them.” Jurina ordered, sending them out the door.

The Purple Kiss members fought remarkably well against the many yakuza members, holding their own well enough.

“Cover for me, I need to settle something. Meet me back at our base at 5.” Goeun whispered to her members.

They nodded in understanding, refocusing all their energy into the fights. Goeun was holding off two men at once, deftly manoeuvring her sword between the two of them. Slowly but steadily, she moved herself closer and closer to the door. The men, too engrossed in the fight, failed to notice her plan. When they raised their swords to strike her down together, she bolted out of the door.

“Don’t give chase. Our job is here.” Jurina called after them, sending them back into the fray.

Goeun spotted the staggered footprints in the dirt, following them. She had a score to settle.

“Is everyone alright?” Eunbi checked as they all caught their breath.

Everyone nodded, panting. They had run for their lives until they were sure that it was far enough that they couldn’t be followed.

“Where are Yena and Yuri?” Sakura realised.

“Here.” Yuri replied, still a small distance away.

Yuri was still carrying Yena on her back while the older girl complained, insisting that she could walk. Yuri simply pretended not to hear anything.

“You’re not going anywhere.”

Goeun appeared from behind a house, her sword drawn to Yuri’s neck.

“Unnie!” Eunchae screamed, trying to run to them.

“Move and both of them die.” Goeun threatened.

Yunjin pulled Eunchae back, not wanting to risk anything. They had all seen what Goeun was capable of.

“Goeun please, let Yena go. She just escaped death, please don’t make it worthless. Kill me instead.” Yuri begged.

“What are you saying you idiot? You’re not giving yourself up for me.” Yena protested angrily.

“Please Goeun, just let Yena go. We used to be friends, so please do this for me. You can take my life, just not hers.”

“Friends? We stopped being friends when you got Jieun killed. Why did you and your friends have to come and meddle in our business? If you hadn’t come to us, Jieun would still be alive. Yes she’d have been locked up, but at least she would’ve lived. We would’ve gotten her out somehow. In the end, the only ones who benefitted were you. Your leader got to live, while Jieun died.” Goeun yelled angrily, the bitterness in her voice evident.

“I know nothing we can say will ever make it up to you, which is why I’m giving you my life. Just let Yena live. After that, you won’t see us ever again. They’ll leave Hanyang.” Yuri promised.

“Stop it you idiot!” Yena roared.

“I’m saving your life!” Yuri fired back.

Goeun stared into Yuri’s eyes for a few moments, before she sighed and dropped her sword.

“Go, now. This isn’t over, but I’m giving you a head-start. Hanyang or not, we’ll track you down and find you. Even if we have to go to the very depths of the earth, we will have our revenge. I hope I never have to see you again. This will be the one and only time I show you mercy, for old time’s sake. I do not want to be the one to kill my friend.” Goeun muttered coldly.

Yuri weakly returned to the rest of the group, passing Yena over to Eunchae. Yena was refusing to look at Yuri, while Yuri was crying into Sakura’s shoulder. Eunbi didn’t look back at Goeun, leading the group back towards the mountain. They had to leave Hanyang before the rest of Purple Kiss caught up to Goeun.

Goeun watched them leave, wiping away the tears in her eyes.

“Goodbye, Yuri.”