Chapter Text
In the very first time Bora met MinJi, they fought. Fiercely, mercilessly, with the result was neither of them was able to gain the final victory against each other.
Ok, Bora admitted, she would have been killed, if that woman, for some reasons only God knew what, hadn’t decided to missed Bora’s head with the last bullet. Yeah, she couldn’t be wrong. That woman missed. Purposely. Even though she was the one who fucked up her whole territory and businesses all on her own. Even though she was the one who was brave enough to declare a war against her. Even though she was the one who challenged her into a fight first.
Bora had no reason to run away from such a fight. Before achieving her only goal, she wouldn’t allow anyone to challenge her power in an insolent manner. So, she fought against her. As that bitch wished.
Katana vs gun. Steel vs steel. And that woman missed. Purposely-missed.
Bora was angry. But she couldn’t hold that anger for long.
She didn’t think anyone could, especially when facing such a scene. Where the surrounding faded, with MinJi’s face was the only focal point. Her smooth and soft purple hair flipped in the air. Her beautiful face unrealistically shined in the dark. Straight nose, curved lips. With a pair of brown eyes sparkled, thanks to a curtain of mist and tears.
And suddenly, Bora realised that while her arm was swinging her blade, her brain was busy analysing whatever emotions hidden deep down in those eyes. Just for one second. One second was all she needed. There was something in them…
What was that?
Anger? Definitely not. Misery? Probably.
…
Pain?
…
Yes.
…
How about… Familiar?
…
…
A lot.
But Bora couldn’t remember her. She didn’t know who this woman was. The only thing she knew was that when they first met, this stupid thing pumping in her chest, the thing supposed to be dead from a long time ago suddenly throbbed. Stung even. Strongly enough to make her restrain the pain, so her hand could wield Shibien, her beloved pitch-black Katana, and fought. A quiet slash echoed through her brains, and her eyes caught it. A familiar redness altogether with the metallic smell, and the white chemise covering that woman slim body became a mere background glorifying the beauty of blood.
Crimson. Sickly sweet. Arousing. Or supposedly arousing, as it should be, under normal circumstances.
But it wasn’t.
Bora’s heart stung. Again. Her lips tightened, quivered from restrainedness.
MinJi was dodging her skillful blade magnificently. Volted while shooting at an amazing speed, with an astonishing precision. Those ricocheting bullets surprised Bora, who was rarely surprised at anything after years of fighting experience, at how much she was struggling just to identify those bullets’ trajectory.
So of course, it wasn’t easy to approach MinJi without being shot through her head.
Yeah. It wasn’t easy. But it wasn’t impossible, either.
Among the rain of bullets, Bora successfully advanced toward her. Wasn’t close enough to slice her body into two, but would definitely leave an ugly scar on that beautiful, smooth as porcelain skin partly exposed in front of her eyes while wielding the blade.
Another ‘slash’, Shibien in her hand sliced through MinJi’s shoulder. Mercilessly. Even though MinJi was able to step back. Again.
Bora’s stomach twisted. Again.
And that wasn’t the only pain she was holding. There were some times MinJi’s bullets hit her, too. After not just two or three times, but five times bouncing off all kinds of surfaces, with similar strength, if she had to compare, to a straight shot.
There was no specific trajectory. It was near impossible to recognise the bullet direction.
And she was pissed off. Every single time MinJi missed. Not because she was able to dodge the bullet. Not because she didn’t know where the bullet was gonna hit, no. She was angry, solely because she knew that MinJi could predict exactly where her bullets were gonna hit.
MinJi didn’t fight to her fullest. MinJi could kill her, easily, but she didn’t.
And…
Deep down inside, Bora wanted to take those bullets. The physical pain, at least, could help her forgot these stupid feelings. Her twisted stomach. Her throbbing chest. And her aching heart. She wouldn’t be able to continue fighting with all the sore on her muscles, all the tension pressured her lungs, and these unexplainable emotions playing with her mind and determination.
But every time she got hit, MinJi’s eyes were… what was that? Regret?
Bora clenched her teeth. Regret my ass, you son of a bitch.
She hated hypocrites like that. Shibien in her hand continued tackling. Horizontally, vertically, diagonally. Her reckless steps. Her heavy breathing. All contributed to her over powerful, but lack of precision attacks.
And despite all that, MinJi was hit by her blade countless times. Accidentally? Purposely? Bora couldn’t tell. It wasn’t easy to tell especially when her vision had become blood red. A familiar scene when she got overwhelmed by her rage, which was too often that she had stopped thinking about it for a very long time.
Bora’s body was covered in bullet holes. MinJi’s body was not better than hers. Not too much.
Bora’s leather jacket hid her sweat and blood stain pretty well. MinJi’s white chemise was drowned in her sweat and blood.
She looked deeply into her eyes, and she knew.
Their stamina had reached its limit. The next attack would be the final attack.
Bora had to use her most powerful Iai.
MinJi had to shoot her final bullet.
Calmly sheathed her Shibien, Bora inhaled deeply, tried to focus. Her surrounding started to fade. Her heart was pounding, strongly, rapidly, as if it wanted her to stop. Lactic acid in her muscles rose against her will. Nothing supported her decision of wielding the last attack. But Bora didn’t care.
She opened her eyes right at the time MinJi charged forward.
And she was ready.
The blade whetted against the sheath, increased both her strength and her speed. Perfect angle. Perfect force. Screwed the physical wounds. Fuck the pain had been tearing her chest apart. Shibien in Bora’s hand had sliced into MinJi’s body, straight from the right hip to her left shoulder.
And MinJi, with a light curve in the corner of her lips, which painted out a miserable smile, missed.
The bullet hit her left shoulder. Bora wasn’t even left-handed, for God’s sake. It was just enough to knock her down, not even close to put her life under threat.
Damn it.
Bora and MinJi fell at the same time.
While Bora was looking at her, eyes blood-red, MinJi just kept that fucking smile on her beautiful face. Such a familiar smile, which made Bora wanted to swear again.
Because of that smile? Or because of her own feeling when seeing it?
That… Bora couldn’t be sure. She couldn’t get it. She didn’t understand MinJi. She didn’t even understand her very own emotions.
“So… what exactly do you want, Bora?”
MinJi weakly asked, pressed an arm against her wound to stop the bleeding.
She didn’t understand what MinJi wanted to ask. She wasn’t even sure if it was intended or unintended, but her question still hit her. Hard. Like a bell in her head sudden rang after a long time being broken. Forced her to look back. Woke her up from her worst nightmare.
There was something she wanted to find. There was something she wanted so badly, that made her run away from her childhood house full of laughers and happiness. There was something she desired, burnt her inside out with needs, threw her into the underworld with never-ending drug trafficking, sins, fights, but also, a gold mines of information to obtain what she’d been wishing for.
But then… What was it? Why did she have to find it? Why did she want it so badly? What did she need it for?
And why… Why couldn’t she remember any of it?
Even the faces of five other people she used to dream of every night?
“To be at the top like this… How empty is it? How lonely can you be?”
Bora didn’t say anything. Her cauldron of anger started to boil once again. Empty? Lonely? Who the fuck is she to ask her that question? And why the hell did she bring that up now? To stop her from falling deeply into the mud? To wash her hand from the blood she had spared? To show her another way to come back?
Too late.
Inhaled deeply, Bora chuckled, arm swinged to check how bad her wound might be. Broken bones, torn muscles, and that fucking bullet head might still be somewhere in her body. Not suitable to wield Shibien, of course, but still movable. And to be honest, Bora didn’t give a fuck.
Shibien needed blood. She needed to see some more blood of the bitch kneeling in front of her right now. Screwed the fact of how familiar she was to her. Screwed the fact of how her scent, although mixed up with blood and sweat, still embraced her, assured her, softly, and addictively. Screwed the fact that all those words, shitty but fucking correct, that scared the hell out of her, drowned her into a pool of fear, panic, lost, and loneliness.
She would kill Kim MinJi. She swore to God. Today, she would definitely send this arrogant bitch back to the arm of Mother Earth, back to where she came from.
But… Her teary eyes stopped her.
“You… You don’t remember, do you?”
Her sweet voice was full of bitterness and sorrows. Her elegant eyebrows frowned, and a single tear rolled on her blood-stained cheek.
So beautiful. And so hurtful. Literally, when the back of Bora’s head just painfully throbbed.
Remember? It was true, she didn’t remember, but…
What must she remember?
And Bora let her guard down.
With a surprisingly fast movements, MinJi got up to her feet, loaded bullets into her gun, and pulled the trigger. In only two seconds, no more. A loud ‘crank’ echoed, the bullet had hit where it should be hitting: Shibien’s guard, with a strong enough force to made it flew out of Bora’s weakened grip.
“I can’t let you kill me now, Bora.”
Her shivering voice quivered her chest. But why?
“I’ll see you next time.” MinJi showed her killing eye-smile. “When it comes, let’s fight again, shall we?”
Bora was dumbfounded. That smile… So familiar.
“I’m MinJi. Kim MinJi.”
She left. With her disheveled purple hair slightly flew, and her graceful scent easily swept away the sickly smell of blood. Leaving nothing but a reminder that quickly and deeply absorbed into her long-droughted heart.
“And please, forget me not, Bora…”
MinJi’s slim back was the last thing Bora’s eyes caught before passing out.