Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Mina stood against the railing of her 5-star hotel suite's balcony, Seoul sprawled out in front of her as if it was on a silver platter. Mina never really liked Seoul, never really liked coming here for business like right now. 'Well except if I'm visiting her'. A tiny hint of a smirk could be seen to form on her lips, while she slowly brought one of the cheap cigarettes she bought a few hours ago up to them. Lighting it and slowly inhaling the toxins, she for once felt the uneasiness and the stress slowly yet steadily escape her mind

Tonight was important, and the operation must go perfectly if she wants her message to go across. Her mind started re evaluating the parameters they had taken into consideration, going through it once again to make sure that it will for sure run smoothly. Leaning against the railing, she focused on Seoul's extravagant skyline and its now fairly peaceful roads since most people are probably sleeping; it is 3:57 am after all. Suddenly she hears footsteps slowly coming closer towards her. She didn't  have to turn around to know who it was, or pull out her knife or gun in order to protect herself.

"Momo and Sana are ready Mina. They're at the location as we speak waiting for your call"

A sharp yet tentative voice said that could only belong to the one and only Park Jihyo. Mina smiled, bringing to her mind the pictures of two of the most important people in her life. She grew up with them; all three of them. Watched them grow from a bunch of cheerful yet clever kids to stealthy and ruthless assassins (in Sana's and Momo's case) and one of the most effective and bright strategists (in Jihyo's case). Mina felt blessed to have her two cousins, Sana and Jihyo, along with her best friend since diaper days, Momo, right by her side ever since she took over her father's 'business'. This job required anyone to have trustworthy and loyal people around them; and who better for the job than the people you consider family right?

"Perfect"

She stared at the bright inscription of her phone turning from '3:59 am' to '4:00 am'. Turning around, while inhaling the last of the toxins her cigarette had to offer, she gave Jihyo her typical little smirk. Jihyo responded to it with one of her own, inclining her head a bit, waiting for her leader's orders. When the last part of smoke was out of Mina's mouth, she threw the bud out and said quietly.

"Tell them mission Cronos is allowed to begin"

"Roger that."

Jihyo turned around, heading towards the communications system they had set up in the living room of the suite, leaving Mina once again alone on the balcony. The Japanese leader headed towards the railing, bringing out her phone; she opened up a very familiar contact and pondered over it. 'Not yet Mina, don't jeopardize the operation'

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Momo could feel her heartbeat throughout various places of her body. It isn't something new to her; every time they had a very important mission to carry out, she always got anxious like this. Fiddling with one of the many knives she carries with her she tried to take her mind off of what they were called to carry out in a couple of minutes. Her, Sana, and their team are outside of the warehouse, waiting for Mina's orders. '3:55 am' the clock on the computer screen said.

Sana was right next to her, where she always would be, preparing her arrows and checking on the blades that had been recently installed on either part of her bow's ends. Momo just looked at her, trying to memorize once again every curve, every beauty mark, every little detail of Sana. Sana. Her Sana. The person who knows her best in the entire universe. The person who would stand by her side even if she messed up on the most important mission. The person whom she would love until the ends of the earth itself.

The slightly younger girl looked up and caught Momo looking at her. The neutral expression that had adorned her face, had now lit up at the sight of Momo looking at her the way she always did; like she held all the stars, galaxies and any sort of celestial body in her eyes. Like she was the only thing that ever mattered to her. Sana just smiled at her and slightly turned around so that she could fully face the older girl. Momo. Her Momoring. The person for whom she would burn the entire world to the ground. The person whose absence made her feel lost and worthless. The person who was her entire world.

"3:58 am" someone said

Sana just cupped Momo's cheeks, with Momo responding immediately with cupping the younger girl's cheeks as well, slowly bringing their foreheads together. Everyone else quieted down, knowing that this moment was a very special and sacred one to their two chiefs. The girls had tuned everything out, only focusing on each other. They both slowly closed their eyes, listening to each other's soft yet sharp breaths, feeling each other's heart beats. It was almost time, and in amazing synchronicity they both started whispering the chant of the prophesy. The prophesy that showed them and the world, that they were meant to be there for each other: in every lifetime and in every single universe that could exist in the multiverse. It would always be Momo and Sana. Sana and Momo.

"Two halves of one whole
They shall always be together, the preacher foretold
Constantly being by each other's side
I shall always be your shining light

Support you when things in battle become a haze
Stick by you even when everything around us is ablaze
Comfort you in all ways
And love you even on your darkest of days"

They stayed in their places, taking in each other's energy which they desperately needed; and when they pulled away...all of their crew mates were shocked by the fierce and determined looks on their faces. The energy and the aura they exuded was one that could kill someone on the spot; they looked so powerful and unstoppable that you couldn't look at them for too long. That's why they'd chant before any sort of mission; they drew courage, strength, and determination from each other. Them being together is what made them so ruthless and precise when it came to killing and running an operation. They were each other's secret weapon.

'4:00 am'

"Persephone, Artemis can you hear me? Over." Jihyo's voice could be heard through the communications systen, perched up in a small table. Momo walked up and took one of the wireless receivers, Sana following closely behind her.

"Persephone here. We can hear you Athena, loud and clear. Over" Momo said, Sana perching her head over Momo's shoulder

"Hecate is giving you the green light. Operation Cronos is allowed to begin now, inform me when you are forced to change versions." Momo just let a little hint of a smirk appear on her features, while Sana smiled wickedly.

"Copy that, me and Artemis are on our way"

"Okay" the slight hint of a 'be careful' hangs in the air, Jihyo clearly wanting to say it

"We'll be in touch soon. Over and out for now." Momo's 'don't worry, we'll be okay' hangs around in the air as well.

Momo puts down the receiver and immediately starts checking out whether all 29 of her knives are in place. Sana quickly grabs her bow, and the tight sack of her arrow heads slinging them over her shoulders, the leather braces already adorning the fingers of her drawing hand. She then turns around and addresses the rest of the crew in the truck, also picking up the receiver so the rest of the teams can hear her too.

"Alright you all know the drill. Me and Persephone walk in and do our thing, in the meantime some of you stay alert in case we need back up while the rest of you in Team A get teams B and C here with their trucks. Team D is on standby for now. Team E make sure we have an open road ahead of us when we are done and cut all the footage. Let's have a nice night people."

The crew of her truck sharply nodded, while the leaders of the other teams simply replied with a "Copy that" over the communications. Sana then turned around and took Momo's hand in her own. Opening the door, the both of them got out of the truck and looked at the warehouse down the road. Security guards clearly guarding it on the outside and the inside just like Jihyo had told them.
Walking stealthily in the shadows, Momo and Sana got ready for their attack. Momo was ready, Sana was ready too; they looked at each other one last time, taking each other in, preparing themselves for what's about to happen.

"Let's get this party started." Sana said and chuckled while slightly drawing an arrow on her bow, aiming at the security guard standing right outside of the metal door. Momo slides out the knives underneath her wrists and just breathes. 'This is gonna be a fun night' she thought to herself as a faint smile appeared on her lips.

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Mina unlocked her phone again, the large numbers of '4:35 am' glowing back towards her in the total darkness of the balcony. Jihyo then walked out again; Mina could hear the certain spring to her step, and she could feel herself smile already.

"Sana and Momo just called; operation Cronos has been a success. Teams A-E are heading to the safe house, and the both of them are gonna be here in a couple of minutes."

"Excellent."

Mina turns around and gives Jihyo her gummy smile, one she only reserves for 4 people in total. Jihyo seems quite relieved too, happy even. Mina just walks over to her and brings her into a bone crushing hug. Jihyo has always been there for her; has always been her anchor. The person she'd call when things would go wrong. The person who was by her side every time she failed to impress her parents or when she would mess up. Her second in command. Her sister, because that's what Jihyo was to Mina; the older sister she never had. And they had finally done it. They had finally hit the Kim family right in the heart of their domain; right where it hurts.

"We did it Ji. We did it."

"We did, we truly did."

They sat there for a while, Sana and Momo finding them on the balcony like that, smiling when Jihyo beckoned them to join in on the hug. After all these years, after the multiple failed attempts of their parents, they had done the impossible. And they were damn proud about it; the Kims deserved every bad thing that happened to them.

'Well' Mina thought 'except one.'

After everyone had gone inside, Mina found herself staring at the very few stars that adorned the night sky of Seoul. Her mind was now relatively at peace; her thoughts now concerning only one person. She picked up her phone and opened it to that same contact she had opened the minute she called for the operation to begin. Her fingers lingered over the new message bar; her brain repeating the name over and over as if it was a chant or a prayer.

Im Nayeon. Im Nayeon. Im Nayeon.

'I'm sorry' she typed and her slender fingers were now over the 'send' button. Mina took a deep breath and pressed it. She locked the phone and placed it back on the little table, her eyes travelling once again to the stars above. Her eyes empty from the happiness and cheerful mood she had around 30 minutes ago; they were now filled with nothing but sadness and remorse.

She could hear her soft voice in her head, the scene of them laying in bed together with the balcony door being open allowing them to have a clear look at the stars, vividly playing in her mind.

'They say that when you look at the stars and think about someone strong enough, you can pass a message to them. Isn't that poetic Mina-ya?'

"Please forgive me Nayeon" she whispered, hoping the stars would pass on the message to the one who never seems to leave her thoughts no matter what and who was also the Kims' strategist and second in command.

Chapter Text

Before Dahyun took over her father’s ‘business’ 8 months ago, she never considered a full 8-10 hour sleep a luxury; but now…she couldn’t seem to get a day during which she would be up and about with that much sleep in her system. And just like clockwork, at 4:45 am, she had been woken up by Yoo Jeongyeon’s, her second in command, phone call. She could hear someone shouting in the background, people clearly running up and down and a faint shaky inhale which she was sure it came from Jeongyeon.

“Jeongyeon? What happened?”

Nothing but silence. The only thing she could hear was Jeongyeon’s shaky breathing, now accompanied with light and quiet sobs. Dahyun didn’t know what to do; what to say. She had never witnessed her best friend being this quiet let alone cry quietly on her own; it was something that Dahyun never wanted to experience again in her life.

“Unnie, listen to me. I don’t know what’s going on but can you tell me where you are, so I can come over?”

She heard what sounded like a gulp, and the shaky breaths coming out of the older girl started to even out a bit.

“Ware-Warehouse 9. Dahyun it’s- They- It’s gone.” Dahyun’s eyes widened at that.

“What do you mean gone?”

“I mean as in looted. It’s empty.”

Dahyun thought someone was pulling a prank on her. This couldn’t be real. It just couldn’t. That warehouse is their most protected one AND it exists right in the heart of their domain, who managed to break in? And not only that, who managed to break in and clear the entire place without getting caught by the 40 security guards she had appointed? Until it hit her. ‘The Myouis…’ She could feel her blood starting to boil, her hands turning themselves into fists ready to lash out on someone. Gritting her teeth, and trying as much as she can to keep her cool for Jeongyeon’s sake, she told the older girl that she was on her way.

Quickly getting dressed, she rushed out of her house and told her driver to take her to warehouse 9 as soon as he can. The man just nodded sharply and immediately started driving as fast as he could. Dahyun brought up the partition, and pressed one of the buttons on the top of the car. Her miniature desk appeared immediately, filled with the papers she had left on it yesterday. She brought up the warehouse plans alongside with a special black file which she only had access to; her tablet being perched up and ready for her to use. Honestly this was one of the worst-case scenarios that could have ever happened; and it just did.

‘This is pure bullshit. How did those bitches manage to pull an operation like that, RIGHT under our noses?’

For the entire ride, which wasn’t that long, Dahyun was trying to understand where her entire plan was flawed. Where the Myoui team spotted even the slightest weakness and decided to strike. Nothing could come to mind, leaving her to become even more frustrated and outraged. Right before she reached the warehouse, the younger Kim pulled out her phone and called Nayeon, her strategist and sort of second in command.

“Dahyunnie? What’s up?”

From her voice, Dahyun could tell that she had been finally getting some proper sleep; she was glad for her cousin, but it also made her feel a bit guilty since she had to wake her up.

“Nayeon….they’ve hit us. Hard.”

“They?” a moment of silence “Wait….you don’t mean the Myouis do you?”

She could hear covers being removed, and the creaks from the bed indicating that her older cousin was fully awake now, standing up.

“I do. I need you to get to warehouse 9 as soon as possible. Jeongyeon is waiting for us there; and please bring Chaeyoung and Tzuyu with you. Maybe they’ve left some tracks or anything behind for either of them to track.”

“I’m on it, I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

“Okay.” Dahyun hanged up, and got out of the car.

The sun wasn’t even up yet. Sky was filled with a beautiful mixture of very dark blue, light blue and purple; one of her favorite combinations. Dawns always made her feel calm and safe. Always made her forget what kind of life she was forced to live because of her family’s business. They made her feel….normal. Like she was a simple 23-year-old girl, waking up early and preparing for an average, peaceful day.

She rushed down the gate, and immediately spotted Jeongyeon sitting on the ground, with their men being sprawled all around her. She could hear her older cousin sobbing, like she had never done before. That set off all kinds of sirens in Dahyun’s head. Getting closer to her, she noticed a body laying in front of her. A young man, not over 30 for sure. Then it hit.

Jeongyeon was crying because her older brother was dead. Dahyun’s oldest cousin was dead. The boy who stuck by her like a brother while growing up, even when she was forced to take over this whole nightmare. He never left her side, becoming head of their security, vowing to always protect all of them; his sister Jeongyeon, his cousins Nayeon, Dahyun and Chaeyoung, even Tzuyu who might not be immediately related to them.

‘She is family Dahyun, and I will get to the ends of the Earth itself for my family if I have to. I promise you; I won’t allow anything to happen to ANY of you. Not over my dead body.’

His words were echoing in her head, while her step got slower as she got ever closer to Jeongyeon. When she finally laid her eyes on the young man, all her worst nightmares came to life. She placed her right hand on Jeongyeon’s back, gently patting it, to let her know that she was there. Dahyun could feel her eyes well up; but she had to hold it back for a bit. For Jeongyeon’s sake.

“Jeongie, I am here.”

She gently whispered, and motioned for her cousin to get into her arms. Jeongyeon immediately complied, clinging onto her younger cousin for dear life while her cries didn’t die down. Dahyun gently started to stroke her hair, knowing that it was something that usually calmed her down. They both held onto each other tightly, Jeongyeon’s cries being heard throughout the precinct, while Dahyun silently allowed her tears to stain her porcelain skin. They didn’t know how long they had stayed like that, until they heard a high-pitched scream, and a horrifying gasp.

Dahyun looked up, and found Nayeon slowly crouching down next to her cousin’s body screaming like she never has before, while Chaeyoung was absolutely horrified a few meters away. The youngest Kim’s knees buckled and fell to the ground, on her knees; her muffles sobs starting to fill the warehouse. While Tzuyu was shocked; she didn’t move for a while, she couldn’t. And for an assassin like her to feel like that, it truly shows how important he was to all of them.

An hour must have passed but for Dahyun it felt like a century. A painful century. She set her eyes around her, witnessing her family’s grief; and then she set outside towards the sky. Dawns. She lost a person whom she considered an older brother, she had her entire family grieving for his loss, felt her heart being torn into little pieces, and she lost the only time when she actually felt at peace. But trust her, she wouldn’t leave this be.

‘I will make you suffer Myoui. You mark my words.’

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Once Nayeon managed to get off the ground, she felt the entire world spin. This all happened so quickly. One moment she was sleeping peacefully, and the next she was in warehouse 9 with her older cousin dead and the rest of her family grieving all around his body. She told them she needed a moment to get some air, and Dahyun nodded her head affirmatively. Seeing her like that broke Nayeon’s heart; bloodshot eyes filled with so much pain yet anger, her hands filled with their cousin’s blood (must’ve happened cause of Jeongyeon), her voice raspy and low as if she hadn’t spoken in years. She was a fighter and a very non emotional person, her parents made her like that. She could never express herself properly, let alone cry; so, for Nayeon to see her like this….it tore her to shreds.

She walked outside of the precinct slowly, towards the part of it that faced the Han River where no one would disturb her. How peaceful the city looked at this time of day? How empty? Nayeon would’ve admired the whole scene with a very different pair of eyes, had the circumstances been different. Taking out her phone, she stared carefully at her message.

‘I’m sorry’ it read. Nayeon chuckled, while tears were streaming down her face. She viciously cleared them, and took a deep breath while she typed in a new message.

“Well, I am sorry too Mrs. Myoui.”

She pressed send and muted her phone. 6:15 am, it said it was. The irony was too much for her to handle. Staring at the last stars that existed now in the sky, she hoped Mina would get to feel her pain. And how even though she loved her, she would make her family pay for this. Even if it would be the last thing she would do.

Chapter Text

1 week later

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Osaka, Japan

It had been a week since her family had accomplished a big win against the Kim family in Seoul. Jihyo still couldn’t believe it; they had gotten their revenge. After so many years and multiple operations under Mina as their leader, her family had finally completed their overall mission of avenging her parents’ and Mina’s parents’ deaths.

She felt like she could finally breathe a bit easier, that the air around her was lighter than it had been for the past 8 years. Sitting at a park a bit further outside the city center, her parents’ favorite, she tried to make herself feel something. Because as relieved as she might have felt for a couple minutes after she sat down and actually realize what they did, the feeling of hopelessness was still creeping inside of her.

All these years she had assumed that after taking out some older aged Kims (parents, uncles, and aunts) and then fully hitting their family economically where it would hurt the most, she would’ve felt much better about everything. But she wasn’t; because no matter what she would do nothing could bring back her parents. Nothing could bring her sweet mother back, with her gentle words and outstanding intelligence, which she passed down to her when she taught her everything about strategy. Nothing could bring back her proud father, who would always assure her of her capabilities and train her in most of the martial arts.

Nothing could bring back two of the most important pillars she had in her life; and that devastated her even more. She shook her head lightly as she brought it into her hands. Crying was never something she would do, she wasn’t a sentimental person, that was more Sana’s thing than hers. But now, at 2 am in this empty park while looking at the water in front of her and the city’s lights’ reflections shining on it, she found herself breaking down.

“I’ve been such an idiot…thinking that you will come back to me; driving myself to plan more missions, every time tainting my soul red with all that blood, in case one of them will substitute the feeling of you still being alive. But it never will, will it?”

Muttering those words for just the world to listen yet it not listening at the same time made her break in louder sobs. No one ever listened, did they? No one would ever be able to understand what her soul has been going through since that grim day on her 17^th birthday, right?

Just as she was thinking those particular thoughts, she felt a presence behind her. All of her muscles tensed up immediately for that a fraction of a second when she thought that she should get a hand on her gun. But then she realized who it was and immediately felt herself relax again.

Mina came up to her bench and stood to her right side. Jihyo refused to lift her head, too embarrassed to let anyone see her in the state that she was, even if that person was like a sister to her.

“May I sit Ji?”

Jihyo could hear nothing but softness and some sort of understanding in the slightly younger’s voice. She just hummed as a reply, not knowing how she would sound if she put in the effort to speak. Mina sat down to her right, leaving a little space between them since she knew that Jihyo would want a little space. They sat there for a while in silence, Mina looking straight ahead and at times peeking a glance to her left to check on her cousin while Jihyo was sobering herself up from all that crying. She lifted her face out of her hands and simply rested her head at the back of the bench, looking around at her surroundings in order to ground herself even more. Then while they sat there a bit more in silence, Mina whispered something so low that if it wasn’t almost 3 am and if they weren’t alone Jihyo wouldn’t have picked it up.

“I miss them too you know…more than I can allow myself to believe.”

Jihyo immediately led her eyes to her cousin while Mina was still looking at the, now reduced, city lights from the opposite bank. She could tell that her cousin was now tearing up even the slightest bit. Mina and her might have had very different dynamics with their parents, but at the end of the day their absence left a huge hole in both of their hearts. One that would probably never be filled up completely. Jihyo reached her hand out and held one of Mina’s gently. Mina squeezed it, trying to tell her cousin that she was okay and that it was Jihyo who needed her now, not the other way around.

“I know you do Mina. No matter how complicated things were back when we were growing up, I know that you miss them and that you’re the only person who can fully understand this kind of pain.”

Mina turned her head slightly and looked at her cousin, a gentle smile on her lips.

“I am, and you are the only person who can understand my pain as well. But I hate that you force yourself in a way to go through it on your own. I know it’s your thing, that you need space when you’re like this, and I respect that but never let yourself go through all of it alone. I’m right by your side, always; so are Sana and Momo. Don’t let yourself suffer Ji; they wouldn’t want that either.”

Jihyo knew she was right, she always was, but on days like this she couldn’t help herself from isolating and releasing all of her emotions at once. ‘I have to try at least, right? For them.’ She just nodded her head and let out a deep breath, reaching out for Mina and hugging her tightly. Mina always hugged her this tight, always made her feel loved and safe and for once she wanted to repay her; wanted to make sure that her little sister knew how much she cherished her. Because she was her sister, they were born approximately a month and a half apart and spent every living moment together. They were sisters, all of them. And she would always thank whatever or whoever might be out there for blessing her with such incredible girls as her family. When they pulled apart, Mina was still holding her hands and gave them a light squeeze. Jihyo nodded and started getting up, Mina following her immediately after. They stared out to the water a bit more, gathering in the calm before some possible storm that may come their way.

“Oh, and Ji?”

“Yea Mina?”

“Happy 25^th Birthday sweetie”

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Seoul, Korea

The day they put their cousin to rest was a damp one. Dark clouds had started gathering since early dawn and the sun could be barely seen in the horizon. Nayeon felt as if the world was mourning with them, for her cousin’s loss was a grave one at least. It had been a week since he passed, and ever since that awful morning all of their lives change drastically once again.

Dahyun had been restless; she wanted to find any minor information about the Myoui family’s whereabouts. Whether they were still lurking around

(Flashback)

“They wouldn’t be so stupid Hyun.” Nayeon told her

“I know Nayeon but I am trying to think every possible scenario through. If they left some of their minions behind, we have to find them.”

“And you are SO sure that they’ll talk? Hyun those people have sworn oaths, they have been trained for whatever sort of torture you may ask Chae or Tzu to perform; they won’t crack.”

Dahyun slammed her hand on the table

“I DON’T CARE NAY. THEY KILLED MARK AND I WILL MAKE EVERY SINGLE ON OF THEM PAY FOR IT…WHETHER THEY TALK OR NOT.”

Or whether they were back in Japan

(Flashback)

“They have multiple hide outs in Japan where would we even start? Tokyo? Osaka? Kyoto? Kobe? Sendai? Or any of their island hide outs? And those are the only ones that we are aware about, they might have hundreds more.”

Silence fell in the room

“You’re right…and none of our spies have come back with any details. Tzu and Chae are still out trying to find out more information for days but…”

“But what Hyun?

“They haven’t found anything Nay. No security tapes from across Seoul, no tracks, no witnesses. Nothing. It’s like they were never here...and I don’t know what to do”

Her eyes started tearing up for a second, and Nayeon could hear her heart break a little more just by the sight. She came up to her younger cousin but Dahyun raised her palm to stop her. ‘Always the strong martyr’ Nayeon thought ‘never allowing anyone to help just like her parents taught her…’

“Hyun, I know this is a lot, and that you feel like you are handling this on your own but we are all here. We are all trying to come up with something, anything, that may help us.”

Dahyun looked up to her with a harsh expression, and Nayeon had a feeling that she was about to call her out for not constructing a revenge plan already. But with a stern look on her face as well and tilt to the head, Dahyun got the message that since they don’t even know where the Myouis are she can’t make one. Nayeon shook her head a bit and sighed

“I’m gonna go check on Jeongyeon, if you need or hear anything call me.”

She turned around and left, still feeling a slight tension haning around in the air

Nayeon hadn’t seen the younger ones of the family for the past 6-7 days. She had only been seeing Jeongyeon, trying her very best to comfort her in any way she possibly could. At the funeral Dahyun barely looked at her, even though they were barely two meters away; both sitting next to Jeongyeon providing any sort of support. The two younger ones showed up just in time for the funeral. They looked awful, she noticed; dark circles had lurked beneath their eyes, both were a bit slimmer than they had been and their faces were much more deadly looking than ever before. She had never seen any of them like this, so un-attached, so cold, so…. less human.

Each of them had certain emotions that prevailed inside of them. Jeongyeon was filled with absolute grief and sadness. Dahyun was filled with utter hopelessness yet suspicion about everything and everyone around her. Tzuyu and Chaeyoung were filled with raw, untamed rage both ready to unleash it unto someone. And Nayeon…. she felt lost; she not only lost someone she considered a brother but with him she lost a person she loved. A person she wasn’t supposed to love as her family would put it.

Before this event she never wished to believe that Mina was behind any of the other killings of her family members. Her aunts and uncles, even certain of her great uncles and other not so known relatives of hers. But after that night…God she couldn’t understand how stupid and blind she must have been. She was one of the smartest mafia strategists in Asia, had worked with some of the best of the best in their field of work and yet the tiniest of smiles from Myoui Mina made her as dumb and blind as a rock.

‘How could this happen?’ she thought

But she already knew the answer. She had met someone else, not the notorious mafia leader Myoui Mina. She had met simple, charming, kind and sweet Mina; someone she could see herself being with for the rest of her life, even though it may not be long. Someone who had made her smile more in a few moments than others had done in her entire life. Someone who was sweet and affectionate when she knew that Nayeon needed that. Someone who saw her as more than Im Nayeon, the daughter of some mafia boss’ right hand or the notorious plan strategist whose plans had killed so many people. She saw her as Nayeon, Mina’s Nayeon, and that’s what made her fall for the Japanese beauty more and more with every second of the day.

And now… she felt betrayed. She didn’t know how she would handle this situation, but the only thing she really was sure of is that at some point either one of them would have to order something that would end up with the other dead…and she didn’t know whether she wished to be the one ordering that order or being the victim of it.

As they laid the casket in the cold ground, as she picked up a bit of dirt and threw it in the deep hole followed by a bunch of white roses, she felt herself promising that she would bring her family justice; just not in the way they might think.

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Kyoto, Japan

Sana and Momo were sitting in their apartment, getting ready to drive down to Osaka to be with Jihyo and Mina for Jihyo’s birthday. Sana had been feeling a weird sort of knot in her stomach all morning, as if she had a very bad feeling about today. She hadn’t told Momo yet though, since she knew that her girlfriend wanted nothing more than to see the rest of their family. But the more they got ready the more intense the feeling got.

She suddenly stopped packing and decided to sit down on their bed, waiting for Momo to finish her shower so they can talk. Taking a minute to herself she studied their room for what felt like the thousandth time yet also like the first. She looked at all the pictures they had with each other alone, with Mina and Jihyo, with her parents, and with her uncles and aunts who had passed away exactly 8 years ago. Her family had always been tainted with so much pain ever since she could remember herself. They always mourned for someone’s loss; whether that would be a grandparent, a parent, a child, a cousin, a nephew or a niece, an aunt or an uncle. This mafia war had been going on for generations, had always felt like a vendetta. A vendetta that at its stem was about who would have more money and more influence than the others. A wheel of a game that never seemed to stop.

When she was a child, she always dreamt that her generation would be the one to stop all of this nonsense. That they would be the ones who would end a generations long conflict by signing off a peace or something. But unfortunately, dreams are only for little girls; the moment her uncles and aunts were killed when she was 19 at the time, Jihyo and Mina being two years younger than her and Momo, that dream shattered. It shattered alongside her cousins’ hearts. So, Sana did what any Myoui-Minatozaki would; she stepped up, trained harder than anyone else and vowed on their graves that she would protect their family the best she could. That no one on this planet would ever lay a finger on the 3 people she loved most; and that’s exactly what she did.

She never enjoined the killing part; she may look like she does but she truly never got used to it. The front of her enjoying it was only there so people would be a bit more scared of her, so that they wouldn’t come her way and force her in a way to do the thing she hated just because she had to. At times she did wish they were all living different lives; peaceful even lives. But that seemed like a highly unlikely scenario after everything that has happened

Momo finally got out of the bathroom; hair high in a messy bun already half dressed. Sana looked up at her and instantly felt a bit lighter after those thoughts she was having. Momo always had that effect on her, ever since they were children; she would always make Sana see the slightly brighter side of what life had to offer. The black-haired girl gave her one of those soft smiles that were solely reserved for her and she could feel herself melt. She stood up and went over to her, lacing her arms around the other's neck as she felt a pair of hands snake up her waist. Smiling a bit brighter Sana placed a soft kiss on Momo’s lips, and the slightly older girl reciprocated immediately.

Her worries left her for however long those kisses with Momo lasted, only to come back booming the moment they’d separate. She looked up at Momo, and could tell by how Momo’s eyes darkened with worry that she had been caught; that she knew that Sana was having some sort of bad feeling

“You have a bad feeling, don’t you?”

Warm dark eyes stared right through her soul, radiating nothing but worry yet understanding at the same time. Sana nodded her head lightly and automatically hugged Momo for dear life, while a soft hand stroke her back gently in a way to comfort her. A light kiss was placed on her head, and she couldn’t help but squeeze the older girl.

“How bad is it?”

Sana sighed heavily before replying

“Pretty bad. I feel like driving to Osaka might be fatal for us; like there’s someone who knows we are here and will follow us.”

Momo broke the hug, settling her arms on Sana’s cheeks to have a good look at her.

“Okay…but you know we have no choice; they both need us today. More than ever.”

“I know trust me I do…maybe we can switch up our route at least? And have more weapons accessible in the car next to us?”

She smiled a bit, hoping Momo will understand where she is coming from. And of course she did, because Momo simply smiled and kissed her on the forehead.

“Consider it done. Now come on, pack the rest of your things while I get that ready.”

Sana continued packing her things while Momo fully equipped their car with extra knives, guns and arrows. After a half hour they were all packed and ready to go, planning their new route. They started their one-hour trip, being fully aware of their surroundings, ready to retaliate anything that may come their way. Sana felt relieved after she saw that no car was actively following them, until they reached Osaka. It was around 6pm when they did, and she swore that for a couple of minutes her eye caught a short haired blonde and a dark brunette in a car a few lanes away eyeing them suspiciously.

She knew what that meant and immediately made Momo aware with a light slap to the hand and glances since she didn’t know whether they were able to hear them or understand them. Momo nodded her head slightly, while making several detours to Mina’s apartment to make sure those girls were following them. Turns out they sure were. But eventually Momo lost them, and lucky for them no guns were pulled at any moment. Driving a bit faster now, Momo raised the car windows while Sana was double checking if their systems in the car could detect any bugs. When all was clear Momo turned to Sana and squeezed her hand a bit.

“You were right once more love”

“I know.” Sana said with a little smirk on her lips while Momo chuckled and shook her head

“We should tell Mina that the Kims are probably trying to find us.”

“We will, but first let’s make sure we really lost them…otherwise we are gonna be having a bit of trouble tonight. You ready to retaliate in case we haven’t?”

Sana sighed, and nodded her head. She was always ready, whether she liked it or not. ‘No one messes with MY family and comes out of it alive. No one.’ She got her guns ready, out of sight to anyone else but Momo and felt the little dreamful girl deep inside of her die a little more once again.