Fate of the Moon

Jungeun doesn't exactly remember the exact details of what happened 2 years ago. It wasn't a blur; more like a broken record that fails to play it's song smoothly. Her memories were all jumbled up, reduced to mere shutters of pictures that only served as a highlight for the unforgettable memories of that day. She wished it was the opposite but it seems her mind had chosen to bring her more pain.

But Jungeun would never forget the faces of the people that took lives mercilessly; she remembered how much fun they were having. It was almost as if it was a game to them, as if the lives of others were nothing but convenient souls that happen to walk on the same dirt they did. It was gruesome, heartbreaking and everything in between. 

So staring at these newspapers laying lifelessly on the table was confusing her. The crowds in these tabloids were raising their signs, screaming how they wished for the MOON to return. Jungeun felt anger and frustration surge through her body like electricity. Just two years ago over 5000 lives were lost, buildings were destroyed, families were left to cry for members that had perished - why do they want those monsters to come back? After everything they've done? 

We lost members - family because of them. Why do you want them back?!

Jungeun bit her tongue and scratched her nails painfully hard against the table; she didn't want to wake Haseul from her deep sleep. She took in a deep breath, closing her eyes as she tried to calm the nerves in her system; it was working, to some extent. 

"Jungeun. Hey, unnie." 

Jungeun snapped her head away from the table, feeling relief wash over her as she could finally find a distraction. She met a pair of dark pools, ones that expressed confusion and another emotion that Jungeun didn't want to explore. "Sup Hyejoo. Need something?" Jungeun whispered, pushing herself away from the files. She took careful steps towards the stairs, gesturing to Haseul when Hyejoo raised an eyebrow about her movement. 

"Chaewon and I ordered some food a few hours ago, want some? Lunch was like an hour ago but there's still left overs." Hyejoo said, her eyes wandering around the basement before settling back on Jungeun.

"Wow, I'm flattered." Jungeun chuckled lightly as she followed Hyejoo up the stairs, "You guys are so nice to leave me some food!" 

Jungeun hears Hyejoo scoff and she guessed that the younger girl rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah." Hyejoo hummed, "Chaewon's at Hyunjin's cafe by the way. Hyunjin said she needed help so Chaewon offered."

"Aren't you her sister?"Jungeun looked up from the food laid before her, raising an eyebrow, "Shouldn't you be the one helping Hyunjin out?" She quickly took a seat, already taking some fries and chicken for herself. Jungeun wasn't one to always eat fast food but given that she ate ice cream for breakfast and nothing else, she was starving for some - considerably - real food. 

She mentally thanks Yerim for making the effort to not eat her ice cream even after buying it at midnight.

Hyejoo nods, "I am. But Chaewon wanted to help out so she went." She takes a seat across from Jungeun, "Besides, Hyunjin's fine with it."

"How is Hyunjin?"

Silence met their conversation and Jungeun mentally curses herself for asking such a question when, really, she knows the answer. She doesn't look, afraid that she'll be greeted with a pair of disappointed irises and right now, as she's devouring her meal, she really doesn't want to squirm in her seat out of fear. Jungeun opens her mouth after swallowing her food, about to take back what she said when she was cut off.

"Fine." Hyejoo answers, but her tone was vexing.

Jungeun stops eating, "I- Sorry for asking that." 

Hyejoo doesn't seem to want to continue the topic anymore as she only waves her hand dismissively though it was a little aggressive - which Jungeun understands. The younger girl fixes herself in her seat, turning her eyes to Jungeun so suddenly it startled her. "Haseul told me about those rumors. Are they really back? The same people?"

Jungeun sighs, "Haseul doesn't know for sure, and neither do I." She chucks a small fry into her mouth and continues, "But I think they're slowly coming back. That's why we need to be careful considering we don't really know for sure if they're planning to make a move."

"Right." Hyejoo nods subtly. "If they are coming back, shouldn't we start inspecting things? Looking for any of their hideouts or interrogating any groups tied to them?"

Jungeun shook her head, "How can we do that if we don't know much? Jumping to conclusions won't do us any good so for now, we just need to watch and see what happens. MOON is a smart organization, that we know, but we also know that they're impatient. We just need to wait when they'll start putting in more effort." She took a bite out of her meal, glancing up at Hyejoo, "When they do, it'll be obvious." 

Hyejoo opened her mouth to protest but stopped herself from doing so. She knew better than to argue with Jungeun but it bothered her.

Just wait and see?

With all those rumors - accompanied by groups of people - circling around those people, Hyejoo found it difficult to believe that they were just going to wait. She didn't want to sit down and wait for some big event to just throw itself in. She wasn't willing to sit idly in her life, waiting for the same people that ruined and took lives to come back with the same intentions. It bothered her, frustrated her to no end. 

Those 2 years were nothing but a nightmare. Wallowing in guilt and the constant memory of having to scour the city ruins, hoping she'll find a familiar face only to be thrown back into reality was treacherous. The same sequence of events played relentlessly in her mind as if mocking her for being too weak, too slow, too ignorant. For not being the hero she was supposed to be. Hyejoo remembered every bit of that day. 

And to this day, it's the same thing over and over again. 

But what if they are back. What if those same monsters came back to do the same thing. Hyejoo didn't want to sit around, she wanted to fight back. This was her chance, wasn't it? It was her chance to carve their cold hearts and splatter it across the walls, her chance to rip their lives from their hands and play with it just like they did with theirs. 

And this was her chance to see Sooyoung and Yeojin again. Surely, they can't just sit arou-

"Ah, Jiwoo! Tell Yeji I say hi!" Jungeun's voice cut Hyejoo's thoughts, though most of her sentence was left to fade as only the first name caught Hyejoo off guard. 

"Of course! See you Jungeun," Jiwoo paused, "See you Hyejoo.." It was a weak farewell, one that was small and frail. 

Jungeun watched Hyejoo as the younger girl's eyes hardened, her fists clenching with her nails digging lightly into her palm. There was a dejected sigh that left Jiwoo's lips but after a few seconds of silence, the door shut close and echoed in Haseul's house. 

Hyejoo's shoulders softened after the door shut but her hands were still balled into fists and her eyes didn't leave the comfort of the table top. She refused to meet Jungeun's eyes.

"You ignored her." Jungeun muttered, pushing her food away. Her voice was light and barely a whisper; a part of her knew that raising her voice at Hyejoo would only lead to an argument.

Hyejoo hummed, looking up to meet Jungeun's eyes, "Is that new to you?" Hyejoo's voice edged on poison but Jungeun wasn't surprised, she expected it, if anything. "I need to go, the bakery probably needs-"

"Jiwoo's trying her best." Jungeun eyes hardened and for the first time she didn't feel any remorse for the way Hyejoo's expression contorted into one of frustration at her remark. Jungeun continued, "Talk to her. Nothing will come out of just ignoring Jiwoo."

"Maybe that's the whole point." Hyejoo grunted. 

Jungeun clicked her tongue, "What happened wasn't Jiwoo's fault." She growled through her gritted teeth, her appetite no longer something she wanted to entertain. "Stop blaming-"

"And how do you know it wasn't her fault? You weren't there, remember? We were in different sectors so you didn't see anything." Hyejoo snapped, her eyes narrowing as she met Jungeun's. "She was too scared to even move because she was stuck in her own thoughts that Sooyoung had to jump in and take the hit for her. If Jiwoo wasn't so afraid then maybe none of that would have happened." Hyejoo didn't scream but her voice was filled with anger and hatred it was surprising. 

Jungeun dug her nails across the table, clenching her fist as she stared at Hyejoo who looked certain with her argument. Jungeun understood why Hyejoo was angry, why she was filled with so much resentment but she knew, deep down, that Hyejoo was hurting. 

It reminded her of someone.

Jungeun took in a shallow breath, "I may not have been there but I know for a fact that Jiwoo wouldn't purposefully kill-"

Hyejoo's hand slammed down against the table making Jungeun jump at the thud that echoed against the walls of the compact home. Her eyes met Hyejoo's, "Sooyoung isn't dead." Hyejoo snarled, her jaw hardening as she narrowed her eyes.

"Hye-" Jungeun's words were cut off when a ring set off, the light bells chimed in the silence of their abrupt ending - it contrasted the tense atmosphere strangely well. She sighed, glancing up at Hyejoo who only looked away, arms crossed. "Let me take this, hang on."

Hyejoo didn't respond.

"Hey, you hungry?"

"Do you always think that when I'm calling you?" Jungeun could hear Yerim giggle on the line and it was almost tension releasing considering the small quarrel she just had with Hyejoo. "Anyways, I'm calling you to ask what time you're coming home. I need to ask you something." Yerim's cheery voice was deduced to one that was hushed and solemn.

"Can't you just text me the question or ask me right now?" Jungeun hummed, her eyes trained on Hyejoo as if wondering if the younger girl will bolt out of the door to avoid the continuation of their conversation. "I mean if it's just a question then-"

"It's really important and I need to talk to you in person about it." Yerim let out a sigh on the other side, "Just tell me when you're almost home. I don't wanna rush your visit at Haseul's."

Jungeun slipped one glance at Hyejoo and only a received a blank slate of an expression. Hyejoo's eyes seemed tired; however, nothing on her face begged for another conversation, if anything, it was the complete opposite. Jungeun took the memo and sighed, "I'll be right there in a few minutes. See you."

"Tell Haseul unnie I said hi." Jungeun could tell Yerim smiled but her voice was still soft and mellow. The call was over as soon as those words left Yerim, only to be met with a tense silence.

Jungeun organized the box of food, putting it to the side with robotic movement as she knew the silence will only continue to grow if she decided to stay. Looking at Hyejoo every once and a while was only to satisfy the little bit of hope that she can get somewhere with her but it was useless. Hyejoo was as hard headed as a boulder as she avoided eye contact, her jaw clenched subtly and her arms were crossed.

"Tell Haseul I went back home. See you around Hyejoo." Jungeun flashed a faint smile but got nothing back. She shrugged at the response, expecting it and grabbed the golden door knob.

"You didn't see what really happened. So don't act like you know." Hyejoo's last words served as an echo as Jungeun closed the door behind her. 

Jungeun figures Hyejoo was only muttering to herself considering it was barely audible but it strung the strings at her heart. She felt guilty for bringing it up. But seeing Jiwoo being effortlessly ignored by Hyejoo was something that started to weight on her shoulders and she was sure Haseul felt the same. Haseul was probably too worried that mentioning it would cause another shift in their team.

Though, their team had probably been left in shambles since then. 

****

It was cold and damp. The rotting smell of metal swam across the room, hugging every crevice, making it's pungent smell known to anyone who even dared to step foot into the room. Puddles of gray water hibernated on the cold, hard floor, seeping into it's cracks and spreading further than it's original area. 

There was the mocking echo of dripping water, slapping against the floor with a sinister rhythm; it sent nerves across any passerby. It was so dark, so isolating and the comfort of the freezing cold was anything but of help. 

"Look at you, so helplessly laying there. With someone like you at my feet.." A husk chuckle bellowed the barely lit hallway. The metal bars that laid in between was a mere wall but it felt like a crack between life and death. The silhouette bent back, hands wailing in the air as he continued to laugh, his boisterous laughter filled with sickening satisfaction. "Never mind that." 

He slammed his fist against the chipped metal bars, the rust on the metal shaving off as he did so. His tone was giddy, freakishly happy as he stared at the body behind the bars. He giggled, driving his knife excruciatingly slow down the bars, letting the painful screech linger - he took victory in the way the body flinched, whimpering. 

He flashed a dark smile, one that stretched to his ears.

"Just you wait, you'll serve your purpose soon."