SURVIVE

CHAPTER FOUR: THE CRIMINAL’S BROTHER

“So, would you get out of that hiding place, or should I rain bullets all over this little paradise you think you have?”

The words rang out inside the apartment as no one dared to move for a while—

Soojin moved forward and started to undo the locks of the barriers, but Song Jin and Minnie pulled her away from the door, the woman thrashing and trying to go closer, trying to go out, trying to risk her life again.

“You would not go out, Soojin, alright? Stay here.” Soyeon said, as she cocked her gun, getting ready to fire.

“Unnie… Do you mind putting a bullet on that arrogant man’s forehead?” Soyeon said, as Minnie chuckled and nodded, grabbing a sniper rifle, going to the window and getting ready to fire—

“No… I should be the one to kill him, not you.” Soojin said, as she had a deadly look on her face.

“So, let me go out there and kill him, Soyeon.” Soojin said, as she had a face of determination, bearing her gun.

“And risk you dying? Not happening, Soojin.” Soyeon said, as she shook her head sternly, nodding at Minnie as the woman took stance near the window, ready to fire—

“Not going out, huh? Have you become a scaredy cat in the time you spent away from us, huh, Soojin? Can’t you even greet your older brother out of respect?” Soo Jung said, as Soojin gritted her teeth, having a tight grip onto her gun, her eyes burning with anger.

“I said let me go out there, Soyeon. I promise it would be quick.” Soojin said, getting a knife from one of the tables and putting it in her back pocket, obscured by her sweater.

“And if you kill him, I know the people down there would kill you as well!” Soyeon reasoned out, as a slight ray of fear went to her eyes, which Soojin saw.

As if a tape on playback, something played inside his head, slowly uncovering memories, depicting a girl who smiled at her, a girl who always made everything alright—

“We don’t have time, Soyeon. If they try to kill me, I’ll hold them off, and all of you go out and flee.” Soojin said, as Soyeon gritted her teeth, shaking her head.

“No. We have to get out of here alive, and I am not leaving anyone!” Soyeon said, as Minnie smiled at Soojin —

Proceeding to hit her younger sister on her nape, sending her falling down unconscious, Miyeon catching her with wide, surprised eyes.

“What the hell did you do?” Miyeon asked, glaring at Minnie, as the woman sighed.

“I just made her unconscious, so send her upstairs. We’ll deal with this problem ourselves.” Minnie said, as she dragged Soojin and Song Jin near the window, and saw Yoon Song smirking.

“You’re running out of time, Soojin!” Soo Jung shouted, as Soojin pursed her lips, unsure of what to do.

“You have your submachine gun, don’t you?” Minnie said, no remorse in her voice, as she grabbed her baseball bat, grinning at the two of them.

“Why are you grinning like that? It’s creepy, Minnie.” Song Jin said with a chuckle in his tone, which made Soojin raise a brow at the two’s behavior.

“What, are you planning to storm down there with nothing but your baseball bat and get yourself killed by those bullets? You still have your sister to think of, Minnie.” Soojin said, as Minnie chuckled.

“That’s precisely why I sent Soyeon and Miyeon upstairs, Soojin. Ladies doesn’t need to see this, especially because I’ve been hiding this from Soyeon my entire life, even to Miyeon.” Minnie said, as Song Jin chuckled, gripping his gun relaxed.

“What are you hiding?” Soojin asked, as Song Jin began to undo the locks of the door, Minnie helping him as Soojin watched, curious and confused.

“Contrary to what Soyeon had said if she mentioned this before, but I really wasn’t ignoring her back in high school or college. I was busy making sure she was safe, which also meant sending a few guys to hospitals or forcing some girls to drop out, some things like that.” Minnie said, as Song Jin nodded, Soojin raised a brow.

“So, I get it, you’re physically proficient at beating people up. But how is that going to help when you’re going to face people with guns?” Soojin said, as Minnie looked back and smiled at her, finally unlocking the door.

“Part of the security that I installed here in Soyeon’s apartment was some technology I had successfully developed over the years, which I also encircled the whole apartment, and roughly ten to fifteen kilometers from here. The technology I installed renders guns useless, which means that you cannot fire it in this area. I turned it on while you and Soyeon were fighting and it takes a while to start up, so I let you two have some bickering while I fixed it up.” Minnie said, chuckling with a smug expression in her face, as Soojin widened her eyes, surprised.

“You mean… They wouldn’t be able to fire their guns to us, and we wouldn’t be able to fire our guns to them?” Soojin said, as Song Jin cocked his gun, a deadly smirk on his face.

“Yes, but we would be able to fire our guns on them, because I modified those earlier. Now, shall we go, Soojin -ssi? You must want to greet your brother out of respect, don’t you?” Minnie said, as she opened the door, going out, Song Jin doing the same, following Minnie, as Soojin chuckled and nodded, gripping her gun and going out, shutting the door before her.

She smiled as she saw her brother while moving closer, a mischievous smile on her lips.

“Ah, you haven’t changed, Soojin-ah, since the last time I saw you. Still someone who does not go to a fight alone, afraid to be beaten.” Soo Jung said, as the man kept a grip on his samurai and his gun on his other hand, chuckling at Soojin who kept a smug look on her face.

“I didn’t want them to miss the fun, Oppa, but of course, I’ll be the one to kill you, since you scarred me earlier.” Soojin said, as Soo Jung laughed, and Soojin could notice that her brother was slowly getting annoyed, as the man was gritting his teeth.

“Why don’t we play a game, huh?” Yoon Song said, as she brought out his gun, tossing it out to the ground and tossing his machete away.

“I don’t have time for your games.” Soojin said, with a strict tone, bringing out her gun and pointing it on her older brother’s forehead, the people he’s with suddenly whipping out their weapons and pointing it to Soojin, but Soo Jung signaled for them to put the weapons down as he chuckled, but now Soojin could hear the nervousness in his tone, something she had never heard before, making her smile.

“Getting confident, aren’t we, Soojin -ah?” Yoon Song said, as he chuckled, looking at his sister straight in the eye, waiting for a slight falter in his younger sister’s eyes, some hint of fear or mercy, but her eyes never gave up the strict and unyielding look—

Soo Jung’s eyes faltered when Soojin smiled confidently and moved closer, putting the gunpoint close to her brother’s forehead, the smug smile on her face still not erased, her finger poised over the finger, ready to fire.

Ready to take her brother’s life, to take someone of her own blood.

“When I blow this man’s head off, get ready to eliminate all the people, alright?” Soojin said, as Minnie and Song Jin nodded, getting ready with their weapons, as Soo Jung widened his eyes.

“What? So, you’re really going to kill me, huh?” Yoon Song said, as Soojin chuckled and nodded, her finger ready to pull the trigger, as Minnie and Song Jin took stance, getting ready as well.

“You aren’t really a great brother, so I guess I’m not going to miss you, Soo Jung Oppa.” Soojin said, as she smiled at Soo Jung, who already had a resigned expression on his face, as Soojin sighed and nodded.

She pulled the trigger and chaos struck all around her, as her brother’s blood splattered all over her clothes, the bravery inside her disappearing as her hands dropped the gun, just as how her brother’s body dropped down the ground, lifeless and unmoving.

She only watched as Minnie and Song Jin went through Yoon Song’s army like nothing, as she wiped away the blood on her face, staring at her brother who laid onto the ground, his eyes open, but Soojin could see contentment in his eyes, as if he had accepted the fact that he would die by his sister’s hands, that was why he had come here. She inspected her brother’s body as she raised his shirt, and widened her eyes at what she had seen.

A huge wound from a bite settled on his tummy, going up to his chest, the wound burned and cauterized, but Soojin knew that it had spread inside his body already.

“That’s why you didn’t even fight when I pointed the gun on you…” Soojin said, as she pulled the shirt down, and proceeded to close her brother’s eyes, tears threatening to fall—

“We were close, you know? Attended the same school, even liked the same girl, also attended the same military training… I wonder what made us drift apart?” a voice said, as Soojin widened her eyes and saw her brother speaking while his eyes were closed, the bullet wound on his forehead still present.

“Maybe because you were their favorite? Because you were successful, unlike me who always rejected what they had to offer? Because you were the pawn?” his brother said, as pain began to ravage her senses, a migraine settling onto her head as she gritted her teeth, falling to her knees, the intense pain making it hard for her to think straight.

“But you wouldn’t even play a game with me… Because I would have played fair, but now…” her brother said, as a ringing noise settled onto her ears, the pain blinding her senses—

“It’s no time to play fair.”

She didn’t see the katana passing through her body in one clean push, the blade going through her stomach through her back, as she immediately coughed up blood, looking up to see her brother chuckling at her, opening his eyes, the familiar confident smirk on his face, blood also flowing down the gunshot wound on his forehead.

“We should at least die together, right, Soojin -ah?” Yoon Song said, as Soojin gritted her teeth, the immense pain making her fall down to the ground, coughing up blood, the last thing she saw were Minnie and Song Jin rushing towards her before she closed her eyes, surrendering to the darkness.

Remember what you have to do, Soojin.

Remember your purpose. You can’t afford to die now.

You cannot die until we say so, Seo Soojin.

You must fulfill what you had promised to do—

Soojin gasped as she woke up, trying to breath as much air as she could, as she gritted her teeth, her stomach becoming very painful, bandaged and patched up.

“Oh my God, you’re awake!” Chan said, as he disappeared from the room and called onto Yuqi possibly, who immediately went inside and sighed, relieved, as she made the man lie down and conduct a small test to ensure she was alright.

“How are you feeling, Soojin unnie? Do you remember what had happened before you went unconscious?” Yuqi asked, as Soojin sighed, trying to think about what had happened before she went unconscious, but everything was a blank slate.

“No… did I do something weird, perhaps?” Soojin said, as Yuqi smiled and shook her head, Soojin sighing relieved.

“What you need is rest, alright? Sleep again, if you want to.” Yuqi said, as she smiled, Soojin nodded.

‘Oh, and you can get up to see your brother’s remains get cremated later, along with the other people that attacked here. Song Jin Oppa and Minnie are burning them for sake of respect to the dead.” Yuqi said, as Soojin tilted her head, confused.

“I… I have a brother?” Soojin said, as Yuqi smiled patiently and nodded.

“Yes, Soojin unnie. Sadly… he died last night, after the attack that happened.” Yuqi said, as Soojin nodded, laying down the bed and falling asleep again, while Yuqi went down the living room, a distressed look on her face, which made Soyeon worried, as Yuqi went to discuss her observations to the whole group.

“She seemed to forget everything that had happened, including the fact that she had a brother, or that she killed her own brother.” Yuqi said, as Soyeon nodded.

“But why did she stab herself with the katana that her brother used?” Minnie asked, as Yuqi shrugged.

“By your stories last night, it seems that she hallucinated into thinking that her brother was the one who stabbed her, while she had stabbed herself with the blade.” Shuhua said, as Soyeon nodded, worried about the man.

‘It’s best if we don’t mention it to her for now, alright? When she asks about it, Minnie unnie, you should tell it to her, and Shuhua, be present.” Soyeon said, as she sighed, curious, about what happened, staring at the clean katana blade that was placed with the weapons.

Curious about what had happened to Seo Soojin, and who she really is.