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A knife flew through the air and only the sound of it carving into the trunk of a tree could be heard in the darkness while two sets of boots crunched against the snow-covered ground. Hyuna’s breathing was steadier now than earlier, having roughly guessed how far away the woman pursuing her was. This wasn’t the first time someone was sent after her and it probably wasn’t the last either. They were all hired by the same bosses, but each of them were different.This one in particular wasn’t a stranger though. Erin was once Hyuna’s ally from their days of being members of the Nine Muses, a group of less than a dozen women formed for some twisted purpose. While the group was active, they were likened to assassins, hiding in the shadows and waiting for a moment to strike down targets chosen by their bosses. To say they were killers however would be doing a disservice to the handful who obeyed orders only because they had to. Of the two former allies, Hyuna was the one who never willingly fulfilled her duties while Erin thoroughly enjoyed the job. But despite the polarizing mindsets they had, all of the Muses protected each other during their time together.When Hyuna had managed to escape from the building where they lived with their masters, she knew she would have to be on the run constantly unless she wanted to suffer the same fate she had been so accustomed to giving. She’s been free of that damned place for several weeks and because the ones before Erin had little experience, it took little effort for her to outrun or kill them.Erin was on an entirely different level. Hyuna had seen many times what she could do and how smart she was. She wasn’t like most trained killers either, there was no justification for her love of killing. No desire for justice, no straying off the beaten road, and no victim of abuse nor desperation for survival card. Nothing. And although that alone was enough for most to classify her as a psychopath, Hyuna had believed there was a shred of good deep down inside her somewhere.That was the thing with Hyuna. She believed everyone had some nicer side to them. With Erin however, that hadn't ever seemed to apply. And now that she was the hunted, Hyuna was locked in an internal battle with herself on deciding how to handle the situation. This is the worst, she thought.Erin’s footsteps were closing in on her again, and Hyuna's chest shook as the cold air hugged her tightly while she contemplated her best course of action. Cautiously peering out from behind the tree she had propped herself against, she scanned the area to make sure she had enough time before covering part of her tracks and scaling one of the trees.“You won't get away, you know," came Erin’s voice, echoing from around where Hyuna had started climbing. Erin hadn't figured it out yet, but she knew one misstep was all it would take for her to get caught. Being higher up had about as many disadvantages as it did advantages. Erin would probably miss if she tried to attack Hyuna from so far below, but if Hyuna put too much weight on a branch and it snapped, that would be the end of her.She pulled her mask up to cover her mouth. This was it. She could be in the closest town or even further in a heartbeat once she got away from Erin. Hyuna tossed a broken branch she'd found nearby into the darkness that surrounded her and heard it thud against a tree. Not the most ideal distraction but it would have to do.Something seemed to be wrong though. Hyuna couldn't hear any sign of Erin. No snow beneath her boots, not even muffled sounds of being irritated or frustrated. Just a breeze stirring, throwing bits of snow into the air aimlessly.But the quiet, almost peacefully so, atmosphere was interrupted by a dagger plunging into Hyuna's leg. One of the worst outcomes she could have asked for.“I thought you were smarter than that, Moon,” Erin said, relishing the fact that she outsmarted the older woman.Fuck. The injury sent a wave of pain through Hyuna’s leg, making her lose her footing. She slid out of the branches, her arms moving to brace her head and body. She hit the ground with a this and sent piles of snow flying into the air. Luckily, she had managed to soften the impact by rolling from the second she'd made contact with the ground. It was harder than usual to pull off though, since she couldn’t move one of her legs much.Hyuna laid there with her chest rising and falling for what seemed like several minutes. When she heard Erin approach her, she leaned on her side and put as much energy as her body could manage into getting up.Easier said than done though…, she groaned, her injury draining her strength every time it burned from the pain.Erin stood over her, pointing a small blade between Hyuna's eyes. "It would feel so good to watch those eyes of yours dim, you useless old bitch.”Hyuna stood there, limping with most of her weight on one leg, her gaze moving from the edge of the knife to Erin’s cold expression. To her mild surprise, Erin began taking off a glove, holding the knife lower but still too close for comfort.Erin looked at her glove before smacking Hyuna across the face with it. Hyuna nearly stumbled over backwards from how much force Erin put into it, but she still managed to raise her hand to shield any further attempts.“That good you saw in me… I've no idea where you got that bullshit from. And I think I'll make you beg me to kill you to prove it.” She shoved Hyuna off-balance into the snow and dug the heel of one of her boots into the wound from earlier.Hyuna could only cry out in pain, blood erupting from her leg.“Beg.”Hyuna closed her eyes, her teeth sinking into her lip. She knew she could only get herself through so much pain and that, at some point, it would be too much. But there wasn't anything else she could do. Erin had only given her a choice between suffering and dying. She had to think of something.Erin grabbed Hyuna by the collar of her coat, keeping her upright before pushing the knife into her side. She paused briefly before letting the older girl collapse helplessly at her feet.Tears rolled down from Hyuna's eyes, her body refusing to cooperate with her mind. She'd lost her ability to fight back. Even with Erin walking away with her back to her, she couldn't do anything but lay there. Her spirit was crushed, worsened still by the cold air biting into her wounds.A gunshot resounded through the woods while her eyes closed. It was all Hyuna remembered before she blacked out, a familiar hand grasping hers.
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Erin fell to her knees moments after Hyuna passed out. Someone had shot her in the stomach and as much as she wanted to make them pay, she knew that single bullet was all they needed. She knelt there with her hands pressed tightly against the wound to buy her some time.A woman with a gentle face had stepped out of the darkness and stood beside Hyuna, and Erin recognized her immediately. Sera.“Surprised to see me?” she asked, taunting Erin.Those four words made Erin’s blood boil. What the fuck was this bitch doing here? She was supposed to be dead.Sera deftly slid her arms under Hyuna’s body and looked at Erin, “You didn't hesitate when you had the chance to kill me, so now we’re even.”“Consider yourselves lucky, the others will find you two and kill both of you.”“Only if they can find us. Say hi to the devil for me.” Sera replied, her tone more cold and distant than before. She carried Hyuna towards town, leaving only Erin to slowly die.---“I love you, Sera,” Hyuna said, lowering her voice while the two of them walked amongst a crowd. She and Sera had been dating for awhile, and she had never been without her for more than a few hours.Both girls had been excellent students who gave up traditional educations to live and breathe the world of singing. Neither knew each other before that day when the two crossed paths with each other during break hour.Nobody knew exactly what happened, but by the end of the month, there were already rumors amongst their peers that the two most attractive girls there had gotten very much involved with each other. Some said Sera had been seen breaking up with her girlfriend, and others said the two had even found an unused room and could be heard taking part in sexual activities almost every day around noon.Other students would lurk in the halls, often sneaking out of class to try to peer into the room. Their desperation to see the girls undressed proved to be something shared by many of their schoolmates.Ryu Sera was both shorter and younger but her singing and accompanying guitar playing were unmatched. She grew up the daughter of a wealthy couple, surprisingly kind and sometimes joined by her younger brother, with whom she covered songs during break periods. The two were incredibly popular, easily grabbing crowds every time they felt like performing for their fellow students.Moon Hyuna, the taller and older one, was more of a well-balanced person. She could sing, dance, and play the guitar all quite well. There were even rumors that she’d done some modeling work as well. But her skills were kept behind the doors of the practice rooms and her home as she didn’t particularly care about having that kind of attention on her.Regardless of what any of the rumors said though, it was Hyuna who made the move. One day during lunch hour, she had decided to sit in one of the seats in the same area as the Ryu siblings. It was right at the sweet spot between being too far and not being able to hear them, and being too close for her own comfort.Sera and her brother had always started off by taking requests from their audience, but what Hyuna didn't expect was the sweetest and most gentle voice she had ever heard asking her if she had a request. Hyuna looked up at the younger girl and her heart immediately started beating like it was going to burst. Sera was like an angel walking amongst humans. The older girl decided that this was who she wanted to wake up to every morning.Hyuna had hesitantly declined to give a request, instead telling them to play whatever slower song they liked. And from the moment they began, she knew she would never be satisfied with listening to anyone else’s singing ever again.Sera’s voice took her to other worlds. Worlds where time slowed and all other sounds were just drowned out. All hell could've broken loose and Hyuna wouldn't have noticed anything besides the siren’s song calling to her.The song ended with everyone cheering loudly while Sera nodded in Hyuna’s direction, her brother smiling before doing the same. The two walked over to Hyuna, hands reaching to shake hers.Again, everything about Sera seemed to call out to her. But Hyuna couldn't daydream this time, at least not before Sera spoke.“Hey, we didn't get your name before. I'm Sera and this is my little brother Jiung. A lot of people just call us the Ryu siblings though,” she laughed softly.Her brother bowed to Hyuna following the introduction. “You can just call me J if you want.”Hyuna returned the gesture, bowing to both of them before speaking up. ”I'm Hyuna. Moon Hyuna.”“I take it you're in the same year as me? An 87-liner?”Hyuna nodded with a smile. “January. With the oldest of the line.”“Almost a year older than me, but you look like you're younger,” Sera’s eyes brightened and became thin crescents while she smiled.The way she smiled conveyed the most sincere feelings, like nothing in the world could take it away. It took every bit of Hyuna’s body to stop herself from kissing her.---Sera sat at a counter, empty glasses in front of her. She was all by herself so she didn’t care how pathetic she looked with her forehead pressed against the marble and eyes sparkling from her tears. What the hell was the point of dating when everyone treated her like shit?“Sera?” Hyuna recognized her friend from the entrance although she could only see part of her face. She walked closer before continuing, “What happened?”“My girlfriend fucking cheated on me with some random guy she barely even knew,” Sera reached to pour herself more alcohol, but Hyuna took the bottle and put it out of her reach.“Stop. I'm taking you home.”“How did you even find me? I didn't tell anyone I was here.”“I come here a lot, but this is the first time I've seen you,” Hyuna replied, grabbing Sera’s stuff before helping her.She held onto Sera tightly, in case she fell over without the support. The poor girl could barely even stay upright, much less walk. Yet there was something oddly satisfying about having Sera’s head on her shoulder. Maybe it was her long, soft hair, brushing against Hyuna’s neck. If only they were her lips. Hyuna shook her head to clear it of that thought. All that mattered right now was getting Sera home.She kept her pace slow, the other girl seemed to be about to fall asleep any second. Hyuna unlocked the doors to her SUV and managed to carefully get Sera to sit upright long enough for her to get her seatbelt in. Sera almost immediately slumped to one side, against Hyuna’s arm. Hyuna stood still, thinking about whether she really wanted to move from that spot so she could take Sera home or just stay there with Sera against her until the former woke up.She looked at the younger girl’s face, the way it seemed like she was sleeping peacefully, but at the same time, it was also the same person who had just had her heart broken.She’s already had a shitty day. The last thing she needs is to wake up to me staring at her like a dumbass, Hyuna sighed. She gently slid her arm out from under Sera, and closed the passenger-side door. Hyuna kept glancing at Sera throughout the drive. Despite her disheveled hair and puffy eyes, Sera still looked as beautiful as ever.Any moment she could spare was spent either checking her phone for the directions or to see if Sera was still far off from reality. The urge to hold her was almost unbearable. Almost there. Then you can just rest as long as you want.She cleared her throat before she tapped her phone a few times to call Jiung.“Hyuna? What’s up?”“I found Sera at the bar and decided to take her home. Luckily I hadn’t drunk anything before I found her. She was a mess when I ran into her.”“She’s alright though?”“Yeah. I’ll see you in a bit. Open the gates,” she replied, hanging up.The Ryu siblings lived in a rather large home, left to them by their late parents shortly after they were accepted to the academy. Although it was known by most of their peers, the estate was so grand that Hyuna almost had to make sure she’d gotten the address right, if it weren’t for Jiung walking towards her.Hyuna got out, going over to the other side to help Sera out. She shook her briefly to try to wake her up, to no avail.“I can just carry her if you want,” J suggested, noticing how weary she seemed.Hyuna thought about her options. She wanted to carry Sera, but had no idea if she could in her current state. She decided against it and moved aside for him. She followed him inside, where Jiung gave her a short tour after he had set Sera down on a sofa in the main living room.“The top and bottom floors are pretty much shared by us. The second floor is mostly suites split with half being mine and the other half being hers. Whenever we have people over, the place is basically like a hotel,” he paused, handing her a keycard.“Everyone who comes over gets one of these. They work on any room that doesn't already have a card registered to them during someone’s stay. And when someone is done using a room, we just wipe the data from the key and door to unpair them. Sera’s room is the one at the top of the stairs near where we came in through and mine is at the top of the stairs close to the other main door. The middle of the second floor is where we have the home theater, pool is on the top floor, and the kitchen and dining room are both on this floor, near the living room.” “Want anything to drink? You can stay in one of the rooms for the night, if you want.”Hyuna shook her head. “No thanks, I think I’m fine. Just tired, that’s all.”Jiung looked at her and set down his cup of coffee. “You know, I’ve seen the way you look at her. It’s none of my business, but the offer stands. Sera won’t be asleep through the night and I have work to do so you staying the night is welcomed.”“What do you mean by that?”“I think you’re smart enough to know what I mean.”Hyuna raised an eyebrow at him, her thoughts all over the place, scrambling to find a proper answer.“All I'm saying is tonight could be your first chance,” he raised an eyebrow back at her. He took a sip of coffee before leaving her alone with Sera. “Goodnight, have a safe drive if I don't see you in the morning.”Hyuna watched him leave and go down the hall before her gaze was drawn back to Sera. She knew she couldn't make herself go back home at this point.Jiung had left a few drinks on the granite counter, probably in anticipation of Hyuna changing her mind about not wanting a drink. While most were random kinds of tea or coffee, he'd also left a few bottles of liquor as well. Hyuna hadn't planned to spend tonight sober and after seeing how Sera was so hung up over her ex, she wanted to drink the heartache away. She grabbed the bottle and thought about it for a moment.
Fuck it, might as well.
She ended the night passed out on a sofa close to Sera. Or at least she thought she did. Hyuna woke up at the faint touch of someone grabbing her and trying to pull her upright. It was Sera, still in some kind of stupor and with her body on top of Hyuna. She gave her no warning before the she brought her lips close to Hyuna’s and exhaled. Her hot breath lingered on Hyuna’s lips. The latter was caught off guard by how quickly things had taken a turn.Her lips parted unconsciously, the alcohol flushing away her nerves. It was all Sera seemed to have paused for, that what she had been about to do was permitted. She pressed her lips against Hyuna’s, fanning the flames that burned away the thoughts of her ex. Hyuna woke up sprawled out on the sofa, her hair a mess and Sera asleep on the floor near her. She'd only had time to put on her pants before Jiung walked past without looking at either of them, tapping away at his tablet as he headed towards the kitchen.“So you decided to stay after all,” he said. The way he said it seemed too smug to Hyuna. She picked up her shirt off the coffee table and slipped it on before going to the kitchen as well.“How did you know?”“Know what?” he replied as he made himself a bowl of cereal. He took his eyes off his work to look at her as he said it.“That that would happen.”“Sera’s had girlfriends and random girls over more than I could ever bother counting. People are drawn to her and she's not the type to turn down sleeping with a hot girl, ” he laughed, taking a seat at the banquet table that spanned the length of the dining room.Hyuna was mildly surprised by the revelation. She had guessed Sera would’ve been endlessly pursued by other women, but Jiung had made it sound like her best guesses paled in comparison to reality. She thought about Sera awhile longer before she found some bread and made herself a few slices of toast smeared with jam. “You’re not going to classes today?” Hyuna had been staying with Sera ever since that night weeks ago, but this was the first time Jiung had continued doing work on his tablet past when Sera and Hyuna were getting ready to leave for their first class.“I'll make up the work, honestly,” he started walking back to his room, “I have an interview today. Way more important than class.”“Interview?”“Yeah, I might be teaching vocal and guitar lessons after classes.”“Oh, good luck then. Not that you'll need it though,” Hyuna commented, smiling before she went out to her car where Sera was waiting. “Is this Ryu Jiung?”“Yes? Who is this?”“It's Mrs. Park from the attendance office. This is just a call to check in on you since it appears you haven't come in today. You aren't attending classes?”“That's right, I had an interview scheduled for today during class hours and decided I'll just make up all the work later this week.”“Very well then, and what about your sister?”“She left hours ago with our friend Moon Hyuna. She hasn't been in class?” Jiung suddenly grew concerned. Sera never missed class, not even when she’d had volunteer work scheduled right after them.A short pause went by as Mrs. Park double-checked the attendance for the day. “No, it seems that neither of them have arrived today. Could you try to contact them?”J told her to hold while he took out his work phone and called Sera. No answer. He then called Hyuna. Also no answer. Damn it.He got back to his personal phone and said, “I think something might've happened to them. I'm gonna call the cops and see if I can help look for them.”Jiung hung up and rushed to grab his keys and headed to his car. Hyuna woke up, her head aching from being knocked out after the car accident earlier. She and Sera were alone in a dark room, the only bits of light were what creeped in from under the door. Both her and Sera had been in her car on the way to the academy when someone intentionally drove straight at them. That was all she remembered.Hyuna was pretty sure she wasn't injured or anything, she didn't feel any stinging from possible cuts or anything. She wasn't sure about Sera though, there wasn't even enough light to see her.“Sera?” she whispered, feeling the floor with her hands so she could locate and wake up her girlfriend.She lightly tapped Sera’s shoulder, “Babe? Wake up.”Her attempts got a little more desperate before her girlfriend finally woke up. Sera whined as she rubbed her temple with one hand. Hyuna hadn't been the only one whose head ached like hell from the accident. “Where are we?”As if to answer her question, the door slowly opened. A man entered the room with his footsteps echoing loudly as he approached the pair. He wasn't particularly well-built or tall, but the way he carried himself suggested he could be very intimidating regardless.He had his hands behind his back even as he prepared to speak, “You two are currently at the heart of the S.E. complex. We've chosen you to join seven other girls to be the Nine Muses. None of you have any choice but to listen to and follow our orders if you value your lives. You are to serve us as assassins.”“But why us?” Hyuna tried to not let her anxiety show.“I suppose that's a fair question to ask,” he began to walk in a circle around the two, “you were chosen because we wanted women who looked like models, women who would easily be able to lure people into a false sense of security before killing them.”He continued, “We’ve been sending teams out to look for anyone who might fit but unfortunately some tried to escape.” The way his words contorted at the end of his response suggested that they had killed the ones who fled.The man turned his back to them and walked towards the opened door. “You two will stay with the other girls we have chosen. I will be sending people to escort you there later.”The two guards on either side of the door bowed as he walked past them.“We suggest not trying to escape,” the guard closest to Hyuna and Sera said, before directing the other three guards to follow the man. Sera woke up in the middle of the night covered in sweat. She and Hyuna had been here for a few weeks but lately, she started having nightmares about the people they'd already been tasked to kill with the other girls. It tore her apart inside, knowing that most of the people probably had families who would never know what happened to them.Tears laced her eyelashes when she thought about how Jiung had probably given up hope on ever finding her. I was supposed to always make sure you're okay, and now we've been missing for so long you must think I've joined mom and dad on the other side already. I'm sorry.Sera shifted her body to lay on her side before she reached over to Hyuna with her hand. Hyuna always looked so beautiful, even when she'd been torn up inside too. And holding her hand always reassured Sera that she had at least someone she could count on. The other seven women she wasn't too sure about. Kyungri and Hyemi were the ones she felt safer around, while Erin, Sungah, Sojin, Keumjo, and Minha scared her.She knew she had to get out of there, but the question was how. The Muses all shared a single large room with their beds just far apart enough to move around with little space to spare. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but it certainly was far from ideal. The main problem was their day-to-day life here in the complex.A problem that anyone like Sera would dread. The nine of them were not only forced to kill, but also to train with the numerous guards. On the surface, it seemed like it would be a way for her and Hyuna to learn how they fought so they could focus on countering specific things to prepare for a possible escape, but nearly all of them improvised their fighting style with a mix of martial arts and the use of weapons.That style was also what the Nine Muses were taught as well, though with more focus placed on firearms and daggers. They were trained to be quick with incapacitating their marks and doing it efficiently. It was never anyone's concern that someone might attempt to escape using what they learned because the guards and higher-ups all wore basic body armor and had the advantage with raw numbers and experience. One night a guard had run late to taking over the post from the one before him, and it was then that Sera decided was a good time to set things into motion. But when she got up and went to wake up Hyuna, Erin had covered Sera’s mouth and quickly carried her off down a massive hallway. She only put her down once the two of them were at a door that led to the stairs to the woods just nearby.“You want your freedom, right? Beat me in a fight. Your girlfriend might get her chance another day,” Erin’s words sounded more like a demand than an actual deal.Sera refused. “I want to leave with Hyuna. Leaving by myself is out of the question --”Erin pulled out a switchblade and cleanly traced a short line along Sera’s cheek with the very tip. It was nothing serious as the cut was only enough to draw out trickles of blood, but she had gotten her point across. Her offer definitely wasn't a deal, but there was no way of backing out of it now. Erin brought her weapon close to her lips and stared at Sera while she licked the droplets of blood off of it.“You’re disgusting,” Sera muttered, breaking eye contact and drawing her own knife from inside one of her sleeves. She held it out in front of her with the tip of the knife pointed towards Erin’s face.“Maybe, but at least I won’t be dead,” Erin stepped to the side to evade any of the reflexive knife movements Sera could make, and motioned to slash into Sera’s side. The latter jerked her body to the side as Erin expected, and was met with her knocking her to the floor.Erin knelt beside her, her free hand gripping Sera’s knife hand and putting it in a lock to stop Sera from attempting anything. She pocketed her own weapon before wrenching Sera’s out of her hand. The younger girl stood up and tossed it aside and began to drag Sera to one of the windows.“Too bad you don’t put up much of a fight, Sungah wanted to be the one to kick your ass. We made a deal that I get to kill your girlfriend if you couldn’t beat me,” Erin loosened her grip on Sera’s wrist before picking her up and throwing her through the glass. The window shattered and sent bits flying and bouncing around her. At least this way it looks like you tried to escape so no one comes after me for it.It was a long way down. The part of the complex that housed the Muses was near the top of a steep hill and if that wasn’t enough, there were patrollers along the edges of the woods specifically hired as a second line of security in case anyone managed to escape the building. Or at least that’s what Erin had relied on. A weakened Sera wouldn’t last more than a few hours at best. But she underestimated how smart Sera was. Sera may not have been a proficient fighter, but she was a smart one. The second she had smashed through the window, she had glimpsed at the surrounding area and focused on trying to alter the path she was rolling down to be caught by as many of the bushes as possible. She hoped that they could at least slow her down enough for her to regain control of her body and minimize any major injuries.Then she could just bide her time and sneak around through the woods until she was in the clear. In the end, Sera made it to town alive. Tired, but alive.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Sera stood up from her chair to stretch. Her eyes were weary but she refused to sleep more than a few hours at a time. She'd been keeping watch over Hyuna ever since she carried her to the hospital.The room was quite small, but it came with a lot more privacy than the larger ones. The only times someone came in were when they had to do a daily check-up on Hyuna. It was something that comforted and worried Sera. She could spend the better part of every day alone with Hyuna, but Hyuna was still in terrible condition.Sera ran her fingers through her girlfriend’s hair. Wake up soon. Please.This had been how she spent the past several days. Watching Hyuna. Hoping. It certainly wasn't ideal, but it was all she could do at this point. The feeling of being so helpless made her only cry more when she held Hyuna’s hand. If she knew this would happen to her, she would’ve pushed herself to go back and kill her way through to get to Hyuna and leave with her.The wounds Hyuna sustained were severe, but her odds of succumbing to them had been greatly reduced thanks in part to Sera having been able to get her to the hospital so quickly.She's lucky to have had someone like you, the emergency staff had told her, not very many people ever survive multiple wounds of this magnitude. Sera was woken up by someone stroking her hand. She instinctively withdrew her arm and rubbed the remnants of sleep from her eyes before looking back up.It was a sight she had been so desperate to see. Hyuna had returned to her.“Hyuna,” Sera reached forward to touch the older girl’s cheek while tears trickled down her own.Hyuna winced as she tried to turn her body to fully face Sera. Her girlfriend’s touch had always helped ease things whether it was pain or her mind, and this moment was no different. “H.. hey,” she managed a faint smile despite the pitiful state her body was in.Sera got up and bent over to kiss Hyuna lightly. “I'm so sorry for not coming back for you sooner. I wanted to go back and get you out of there, but I needed more time.”“Sera.. you saved me. That's all that matters to me. I would've died out there alone,” Hyuna kept gazing into her eyes even after she finished talking. She was beyond grateful, but it seemed to have no effect on Sera. I wish you weren’t so hard on yourself.Sera silently broke eye contact and lowered her eyes to look at the tiled floor. She could feel Hyuna was looking at her by how the latter warmly wrapped her hands around Sera's despite the weakness her injuries had cursed her with.“Sera, look at me,” Hyuna whispered, squeezing her girlfriend’s hand ever so slightly.The younger woman was hesitant to comply but looked back up, her eyes locking with Hyuna's. She had the look that told Sera she was just happy to see her. That nothing else mattered. That this was what Hyuna cared about the most. The fact that we're together again, Sera thought to herself, each word echoing through her head.