BANG.

BANG.

BANG.

Kara woke with a start, shaking Gabs slightly.

Gabs groaned and woke up, rubbing her eyes.

"Whattttt?" She whined loudly.

Kara covered her mouth, and held Gabs close to her in a protective manner.

"There's people outside our tent with guns. Keep quiet." Kara mumbled, reaching for her own gun from her bag.

It hadn't been used in years, but it still had one bullet.

If she had to use it, she would.

"Kara, it's dangerous.. don't..."

"They're just gonna get closer. I have to protect you."

Gabs pulled at her friends wrist to bring her back, but she just shook it off.

She stepped outside of the tent.

BANG.

A bullet shot past Kara and into the ally wall.

It wasn't aimed for her though.

In the dim light she saw a man crawling across the floor, two males walking closer to him with every step.

They both had a gun in hand.
Kara hid behind a dumpster in the alley, breathing hitched.

Two versus one can never end well.

"Ah, Jung-Hoon hyung, you know the price for not paying your debts. Running away to Australia won't help you know." One male voice rung out.

"Chris, Bang Chan, please, I'll get you the money, just please. I have a daughter." The man on the ground pleaded.

"Cut the crap Jung-Hoon, we know you don't have it. Nor do you have a daughter." A different voice called out, his Korean a bit off, his Australian accent thick in his voice.

Kara sat there confused. They were all foreigners from Korea.
The two with guns had an Australian accent though.
What was this 'not paying debt'?
Wait...
Are they a part of a mafia too?

Did they.. kill her parents???
No.. she doubted that..
They seem around the same age as her and Gabs, so that was impossible.

Gabs sat scared inside the tent. She heard the conversation ring through the valley, understanding parts of the Korean well enough to know exactly what was going on.

"Well, might as well get this mission over with. Felix, exterminate him." The first voice, Bang Chan, called out.

The second armed man, Felix, nodded in response.

BANG!

The man crawling on the floor croaked, blood bubbling from his mouth and dripping onto the pavement.
His body went limp, falling onto the ground with a thud.
His eyes shone glassily in the pale moonlight, as the blood continued to seep out of his body, staining the hard pavement red.

"Bang Chan-hyung, there's someone else in the alley." Felix whispered to his friend.

Bang Chan searched around, and noticed Kara's glistening eyes in the dark.

Kara gulped nervously.
Shit!

Gabs heard the comment, her heart pounding out of her chest.
She didn't leave the tent.
If she left, it could end up worse.

The male, Bang Chan, moved closer to the dumpster.
Kara held her breath and clutched the gun harder in her hands.

"Who's there. I don't mean you any harm." Bang Chan spoke, his voice so close now.

Kara's heart felt as thought it was about to pound out of her chest.
Cold sweat beaded on her forehead in anxiety as he took another step forward.

Bang Chan placed his gun on the floor.
If he had to kill this person, Felix would do it for him.
"Hey, come out-" he realised he was talking in Korean, and instantly translated himself, "Sorry.. look, it's okay, come out, I won't hurt you."

Kara began to calm down.
He seemed rational.

She got ready to step out from behind the dumpster, when a rustling came from behind her.
She turned and saw movement from the tent.

Gabs came crawling out.

Bang Chan frowned. There were two of them.

In the dim light he couldn't make out their features, and they looked masculine.
Were they a threat?

Bang Chan signalled for Felix to come closer.
He did.

Bang Chan moved up towards the tent and picked Gabs up by her wrists, trying to make her out in the dim light.

Kara stared in anger at the harsh movement towards her friend, and raised her gun at Bang Chan.
Before she could load it, another pair of strong hands wrapped themselves around her wrist and pulled her upwards.

She dropped the gun with a gasp, and struggled in his grip.

Shit!

"Bang Chan-hyung, we need some light." Felix spoke.

Bang Chan nodded, and held onto Gabs' wrists with one hand, pulling his phone out with the other. He turned on his flashlight, and aimed it towards the two girls.

Gabs had tears streaming down her face, while Kara's face was filled with fear and terror.

"You two.. how old are you?" Bang Chan asked, moving his flashlight from Kara to Gabs, and back again.

"We- We're-" Kara cut herself off, realising she had changed to Korean. "We're s-seventeen.." She stuttered.
If she was trying to look threatening, it wasn't working.

Felix pulled Kara's body closer to his. "Bang Chan, she's kinda cute don't you think? Plus, she had a gun. She may not be completely useless." He spoke, his deep voice right next to Kara's ear.
This sent shivers down her spine.

Bang Chan turned to the girl wriggling weakly in his grip. "You. Who are you?"

"I- I'm Gabs.. please don't hurt us.. we won't tell anyone.. please just let us go.." Gabs pleaded.

Bang Chan looked back over to Kara. She had stopped wriggling in Felix's grip.

"And who are you?"

"I'm Kara. You guys are a part of a mafia, aren't you?" Kara asked, looking up to look Bang Chan in the eyes.

She attempted to stay calm. It was the only way she could save her friend.

"So you DO know Korean. That's handy. Does your friend here speak it too?" He asked, ignoring the last question Kara had asked.

"Yes. But answer my question. You are a part of a mafia, correct?" Kara responded.

Felix gripped his hands around Kara's wrists tighter, a warning to tell her to shut up.

Kara winced slightly but ignored him.

"There's no point in lying. Yeah, we are."

"Then I believe we can make a deal. My parents were murdered by people like you. People of the mafia here in Sydney though." Kara started, looking at Bang Chan, then turning to glance at Felix.

His gaze betrayed his figure.
He looked nervous despite his confident posture.

"Go on." Bang Chan egged on.

"I know what you guys do. Murder. I've done it before, so's she. We're not going to tell anyone. So just let us go. Simple as that." Kara finished.

Felix's grasp had begun to hurt her wrists, yet Kara stayed motionless in his arms.

Felix noticed the purple black bruises forming on her wrist, and let her down back on the floor.

Bang Chan gave Felix a cold stare as Kara stood upright, rubbing her wrists.

"Still, you know our names and faces. That can cause us problems you know." Bang Chan spoke, looking down at Kara. He dropped Gabs to the floor.
She lay on the alleyway pavement, rubbing her wrists painfully.

"I'm not going to tell anyone. If you don't want this to end painfully, you'll let us go." Kara growled.

Bang Chan looked Kara over for a second, then laughed.

"You, causing us, pain? I fucking doubt it. You look like you couldn't even hurt a fly." Bang Chan laughed.

Kara stood there expressionless.

"Felix, was it?" She turned and looked at the boy.

"Sorry, you seem nice." Kara said, before turning around and punching Felix in the gut, flipping him over her shoulder onto the pavement.

He gasped in shock, coughing as his back whacked against the pavement floor.

CLICK.

Bang Chan had picked up his gun, and held it behind Kara's head.
"Woah there Baby girl, a bit feisty aren't we??" Bang Chan mused, keeping his cold gun against the back of Kara's head.

Gabs watched in fear. She looked around and saw Kara's gun along the floor. She crawled over quietly and picked it up.

"Hey, Bang Chan. Put the gun down." Gabs said, as confident as she'd ever been.

Bang Chan turned and glanced at the gun in Gabs' hands.

"You aren't going to shoot." Bang Chan exclaimed, but still kept his eyes facing Gabs.

Felix crawled out away from Bang Chan and Kara, his own gun in hand.

He pointed it towards Gabs.

"Hey hey, what's taking you guys so long!" a voice whined from the end of the alleyway.

Two other males began walking down towards the four.

"Kara? Gabs?" Jisung asked confused.

The other male looked at Jisung in confusion. "You know these girls??"

"I met them at the cafe the other day, Hyunjin!"

Jisung exclaimed, before turning back to the other boys. "Oi Bang Chan, Felix, why're you attacking them?"

Bang Chan turned and looked at his friends.

"Well, they saw us kill Jung-Hoon there.. then they tried to bargain with us... then Kara here," he pointed to Kara with his gun. "Attacked Felix.. and it kinda spun downhill from there.."

"Ah.." Jisung sighed.

Sirens began to blare from the distance.

"Shit. Let's be honest, it won't look good if any of us are here. Boss, let's bring the girls with us." Hyunjin sighed.

Bang Chan nodded, and scooped Gabs up in a flash. Gabs just let him pick her up, too shocked to do anything.
He wasn't wrong earlier, she couldn't shoot him.

Felix helped Kara up from the floor, picking her up bridal style. Hyunjin lit a match and threw it onto Jung-Hoon's body, as well as onto Kara and Gabs' tent.

Jisung walked calmly to the his van, unlocking it and opening the door for Felix and Bang Chan to enter.

Bang Chan placed Gabs down before moving into the passenger seat.

Felix sat Kara down lightly into one of the seats, before moving to sit behind her.

Kara quickly turned and looked at the freckled boy. "I'm so sorry about earlier, I was trying to protect my friend." Kara whispered.

Felix responded with a nod. "It's okay, I understand!" He smiled.

Kara's heart melted. He was so kind, despite the fact they were at each others throats a mere minute ago.

Hyunjin sat next to Kara, eyeing her suspiciously.
Gabs sat down on a seat by herself, looking out the window as the city of Sydney rolled by.

Jisung drove away from the scene fast.

"You know, you two could've been a bit nicer, they're girls after all." Jisung commented, glancing at the girls bruised wrists.

"Well, in all fairness, I did kind of throw Felix over my shoulder." Kara added sheepishly.

"In all fairness though, Bang Chan, right? Anyway, he was going to get Felix to shoot us as soon as we came out of hiding anyway." Gabs added.

Bang Chan translated for Hyunjin and Jisung.

"Well, I mean, you're not wrong. That was my initial plan anyway." Bang Chan spoke awkwardly. "Great observation skills. We could use someone like you." Bang Chan said, looking at Gabs in the rear view mirror.

"Plus, Kara's strong. That seriously hurt you know!" Felix exclaimed dramatically.

"I said I'm sorry!" Kara whined out, turning to face the Australian boy.
Admittedly, he was cute.

Hyunjin placed his arm around Kara.

"Boss, can we keep these two? Having females can be helpful, they can blend in easily." Hyunjin said.

Bang Chan thought it over for a second.

"We should ask the others first." Bang Chan responded.

The rest of the drive was spent talking back and forth.

The boys tried their best to speak in English so Gabs understood. If they didn't, Bang Chan or Kara would translate.

A couple hours later, they arrived outside a house.

Jisung and Bang Chan got out the van first, opening the door for everyone.

Kara hopped out, not without tripping over.

"Shit." She stammered, hitting her head onto the pavement.
She groaned and rolled over.

"Kara! Jesus! You're so fucking clumsy! You okay?" Gabs asked, running over to her friend.
Before she could get there, Hyunjin swooped Kara up into his own arms, and looked down at her forehead.

"It's just a small bump. Jisung, go inside and tell the others we have guests. Felix, get some ice." Hyunjin instructed, before placing Kara back on her own two feet. He put her arm over his own shoulder and helped her walk, despite it only being a head injury.

"I'm fine! I don't need help." Kara whined, not wanting to be a nuisance.

"Your pupils are dialating and shrinking, and you're shaking. I don't need you to faint on me." Hyunjin answered calmly.

As they got inside, four other boys turned and looked at Kara and Gabs with curious expressions.

"Who are these lovely ladies Bang Chan?" One of them mused.

"Don't act weird, Minho. They saw us kill, and they have rather marginal abilities so we brought them back here." Bang Chan explained, sitting down on the couch where another boy was sitting.

Minho just glanced at the two girls, before moving to sit down again.

"Kara! Gabs! Why are you here??" Jeongin and Seungmin asked, nevertheless excited to see their new friends again.

Hyunjin let go of Kara, and stepped away as the boys awkwardly wrapped her and Gabs in an embrace.

"Long story short we saw your friends commit murder." Kara briefly explained, the throbbing in her head getting worse by the second.

Gabs went and stood beside her friend, linking arms and helping her stand upright.

"Hey, where's Changbin?" Hyunjin asked, looking around for his friend.

"He went out to get something. Who knows when he'll be back." Minho shrugged.

Felix came from around the corner with an ice pack, handing it over to Kara as soon as he spotted her.

She smiled her thank you's, and placed it against her forehead.

Gabs looked at her friend worriedly, before looking over at the seven males in the room.

They all had guns.

And from her small knowledge about the group, they all know how to kill.

"Well, I'm not waiting for Changbin, let's get down to business. Kara, Gabs, you can sit down y'know." Bang Chan spoke, breaking the awkward silence that lay thick in the air.

They nodded and went to move onto the couch.

"These two saw us kill Jung-Hoon, which spiralled into a fight. Kara," he pointed towards the blonde girl, "has rather great fighting skills. She'd be a great asset. Of course we still need to test her, but I reckon having females in our gang will be helpful. As well as that, Gabs," he pointed towards the green eyed brunette, "has rather intelligible thoughts. She's decisive and can plan quickly. She also is quite observant. Also, from what we were talking about back in the van, she knows simple hacking techniques. Hyunjin could help her to become better." Bang Chan spoke, glancing around the room.

"Any objections?"

"Are you sure having these two random girls is going to end well for us?" Minho asked, eyeing his leader suspiciously.

"I'm certain good things will come. Plus, they are part Korean, so they won't stand out in a crowd." He answered, leaning back into the couch.

"Is it because you think we're weak you're doubting Bang Chans words?" Gabs spoke up, eyeing this Minho guy suspiciously. She could tell he didn't like the fact girls were going to join this all male gang.

"If that's the case, let's fight." Kara finished, staring Minho down.

Minho stood up. "Fine then. Then I'll make up my mind."

Hyunjin scowled and placed a hand in front of Kara. "You just hit your head, dumbass. Plus, it's late. You should get some rest." He said, his voice trailing from anger to concern.

Kara grumbled an 'I'm fine', but Hyunjin didn't move.

"You two can battle in the morning. Hyunjin is right. We all need rest, especially these two." Bang Chan stated, getting up and walking off.

Minho scowled and followed after him, presumably heading towards where the bedrooms were.
"I'll help show you guys around our house." Jisung smiled, holding a hand out for Gabs to take.
She took it hesitantly as he helped her stand up.
Hyunjin walked off, Felix close behind him.

The two youngest, Seungmin and Jeongin, also headed off to their rooms.

Jisung walked down the hall and pointed out each of the boys' bedrooms, reaching the end of the hall and making a left. "This is a spare room, you two can sleep here. There's a bathroom too," he pointed out, before walking to the closet. "I'll grab you some of my clothes for you to change into, one second-" he dashed off, coming back with two oversized tees and two pairs of loose shorts.

"Thank you." Kara nodded gratefully at the boy.

He smiled. "I hope you can stay with us. Already you feel like part of the family."

And with that Jisung walked off.

The girls showered and fell asleep.

The next morning Gabs woke with a groan.
The sun was beaming in.
"Five more minutesssss" she whined, rolling over and pulling Kara close.

"Gabs.. that Minho boy doesn't want us here.. what happens if I lose... will they kill us?" Kara asked, her voice thick with sadness.

Gabs heart felt pained at the weakness in Kara's tone. She was always so strong. "That won't happen, you're the best!" Gabs smiled.

"Girls! Breakfast!" A voice echoed from outside the door, a sharp knock pounding against the door.
Gabs looked down at the loose clothing. "Hey uhh.. I feel kinda exposed.. can you ask for a hoodie or something??" Gabs asked, slightly embarrassed.

"Sure!" Kara smiled, sitting up.

"Umm, can we have hoodies? I feel kind of exposed.." Kara asked timidly.
Jeongin opened the door.
"Oh, um- SEUNGMIN!!!" He yelled out, turning around.

"What!" Seungmin whined.
"They want hoodies! Said they feel.. exposed? I don't think mine are big enough.. like to make them comfy!" Jeongin stressed.

"Okay, okay, give me a second!" Seungmin complained, walking off down the hall.
He came back with two hoodies in hand. He placed them inside the girls door and walked off.

Kara passed a hoodie over to Gabs, sliding the second on her own body.
They walked down towards the kitchen, where all eight boys were sitting.

An unknown face turned in the girls direction. "Are those Gabs and Kara?" He asked, staring them up and down.

"I'm Kara, this is Gabs." Kara responded.
Jisung patted the seat next to him smiling, while Felix patted the seat on the other side of him. Kara sat next to Felix, while Gabs moved to sit next to Jisung.

"How'd you two sleep?" Bang Chan asked politely.

"Great, thank you." Gabs responded.

Hyunjin placed a plate in front of Gabs and Kara first, before moving onto the other boys.

They all ate and talked happily.

Except Kara.

And Minho.

Kara pushed her plate forward, her pancake half eaten.

"You alright?" Felix whispered.

"Yeah, just worried about the fight with Minho..." Kara responded honestly.

"Don't be. He's mainly all talk." Felix smiled.

Kara smiled back.

Minho slammed his fists on the table and stood up.

"Enough pointless chit chat. Kara, let's go." He growled, staring Kara down.
Kara looked back blankly.

"Fine, let's go.