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hikaru and mashiro sat stewing in the silence of their apartment.

the tv had just died, along with the rest of their building's electricity. it was the quietest the duo had ever been. even as they slept, someone's phone notifications would've been ringing, or someone would've been sleeping talking. now, they just sat in silence.

the only light in their apartment was the dim flicker of mashiro's phone screen, a warning reminding mashiro to charge her phone.

"...remember to stay safe..." hikaru repeated the reporter's last words to herself, garnering a puzzled look from her roommate.

"you've been repeating the same thing for the past 5 minutes- are you okay?"

hikaru shook her head then paused and nodded.

she looked confused, thought to herself for a moment, then shook her head again. "yeah, I'm fine, just thinking about whether any of our neighbours might want to kill us."

mashiro laughed, a sound which never failed to reassure hikaru. "thought of anyone so far?"

as hikaru's face fell dead serious, mashiro could only brace herself for a quick mini-presentation.

"soo... on our right is ms tiffany, who I reckon is quite nice.

the only reason I think she might be upset at us is because you're often rehearsing for classes late at night - I don't think she appreciates your vocals very much-"

hikaru's speech was cut short by a pillow to her face. "hey, speak for yourself!"

'ahem, anyways... I don't think that's worth murdering someone for though." hikaru nodded, clearly quite proud of her analysis.

"on our left, ms sunmi.

she's quite busy and not usually home so I don't think she knows us that well. besides, doesn't she teach at the local uni as a vocal coach?" mashiro responded with a quick nod and hikaru continued. "teachers don't just kill students like that, so we should be safe."

hikaru paused, thinking for a moment before she continued again. "jingoo-oppa who lives downstairs is nice."

laughter from mashiro cut her off.

when hikaru turned to stare the older girl down, she was faced by mashiro grinning stupidly, making a kissing face.

"hey- stop it! you know I don't mean it like that!

he always helps us with groceries when we're busy and directions if he ever sees us lost. of course he's nice!"

all she got as a response was an unconvinced nod from mashiro. a moment of silence passed before mashiro scrunched up her nose, as if she'd suddenly remembered something. "hey, what about the lady in unit 9.9?"

hikaru froze in a moment of thought, letting out a soft groan. "oh, shen xiaoting? the one across the hallway?" a quick nod from mashiro confirmed. " how'd I forget about her...? yeah, she definitely looks like someone who'd kill us.

shana says she's probably from the chinese mafia. I don't know if she even speaks korean."

laughter again from mashiro forced an eye roll from the younger girl. "shana's a great friend and all, but that does not sound like a reliable claim. besides, she's been living here much longer than we have, it'd make no sense if she doesn't understand korean." though, stopping to think, mashiro couldn't recall any instance where the said girl had ever stopped to talk to them.

a cry of protest came from Hikaru, who seemed too eager to defend her hypothesis. "no, but yaning and ruiqi also reckon she could be the mafia, and those two are chinese too!"

"not all chinese people know each other, hikaru."

"hmph, I'm calling yurina and telling her you're bullying me again."

"hey! I'm just being logical!" mashiro chucked yet another pillow at the younger girl. "I would've just stayed in japan if I knew I'd be stuck with you."

"awh, stop trying to hide the fact you love me."

"ew!" with that, a third pillow was lobbed at hikaru's face.

even though Mashiro would never admit it, living with hikaru was probably the most interesting thing she'd experienced in her life. to mashiro, hikaru was basically her younger sister, the sibling she never had, nor needed. though the two lived in a one-room apartment, knee-deep in student debt, hikaru never failed to cheer her up in the worst situations. gone through a break-up? no problem, less commitment. overdue assignment? what assignment? never existed.

somehow, the two had managed to survive their first year in seoul without adult supervision, so surviving the purge would be no big problem... right?

ding dong!

"oh god," hikaru breathed. "I hope that isn't ms tiffany again - I swear I'm apologising to her every two days just for breathing..."

"stop talking and get the door."

the shorter girl got up and hurried to the door.

"hi, ms tiffany I-"

as hikaru whipped open the apartment door open, she came face to face a tall, wine-haired girl. she looked around mashiro's age, but a single glance at her eyes told hikaru she had was much more mature than her childish roommate.

hikaru stood stunned, observing the woman's outfit. despite the cold weather, the girl sported a white sleeveless top and a short denim suspender skirt. the simple outfit was accessorised with a black beret and pink woollen evening gloves. hikaru couldn't help but look down at her own pyjama-ed arms.

"who is it, hikaru?" mashiro shouted from the living room, across their small apartment.

met by only silence, mashiro hopped up and dashed over to the door where she stopped abruptly besides hikaru who too, stood there in shock.

"jesus, hikaru, why'd you invite the mafia lady over?"

with a squeak, hikaru smiled awkwardly at shen xiaoting who stood outside of her door, one eyebrow raised, waiting. "uh- ms xiaoting... " the short girl panicked for a moment, before stuttering in broken Chinese, "h-how we help... you?"

xiaoting gave a disguised eyeroll and an amused smile.

"I can speak korean." she replied with immaculate pronunciation.

mashiro quickly nudged her flustered roommate aside, her common sense returning much quicker than the later. "are you alright, xiaoting? may we be of any help?"

the tall girl nodded, pulling out a quick list from her skirt pocket. "yes, actually. I haven't gone shopping in a while and it's quite late - I was hoping I could borrow some fruit and bread?"

pausing to think for a moment, mashiro frowned. "sorry about that, we haven't gone shopping this week either. we were hoping to go after the purge, but now thinking, that probably wasn't a good idea..."

hearing that, hikaru gasped dramatically.

"are you serious?"

both xiaoting and mashiro turned to look at hikaru, mashiro glaring at the shorter girl hoping she wouldn't make a scene.

"I'm going to starve!"

"what do you mean by that? you ate the remaining ramyeon. I should be the one complaining!"

xiaoting let out an amused snicker before holding her hands out between the roommates, holding mashiro back from strangling hikaru. "calm down, you two, how about this?" hikaru turned towards the taller girl with a look of anticipation on her face. "I'll take you guys down to the supermarket and even cook something to eat provided you guys pay for the food?"

a sigh echoed through the small apartment as mashiro accepted with relief. she turned back towards her roommate to see her reaction, only to see a perplexed look on hikaru's face. "we pay? but I thought the mafia were rich- " mashiro hurriedly placed herself between xiaoting and hikaru, smiling sheepishly.

she rested one hand on the doorknob, grabbing her wallet and keys as she did so. "since it's still relatively peaceful, why don't we head out?"

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"a-are you sure this is a good idea?"

a nervous chaehyun trailed behind her friend, following her closely. ahead of her, dayeon stumbled around their shared dorm room, with both stubbornness and determination. every two steps, she'd stop and grab another item she deemed useful, shoving it in her small backpack. so far dayeon had packed a butterfly knife, an old revolver and some ammunition. "I've told you so many times already, you should just let it go." chaehyun paused a moment, her voice shaking.

"it's what she'd have wanted."

at the mention of her, chaehyun swore she saw dayeon hesitate for a moment, her hand pausing ever so slightly before she grabbed a small packet of bandages which sat by her bedside.

"dayeon, please stop... think of youngeun!"

luckily for chaehyun, the youngest of the three wasn't in the house to witness dayeon's storm. both of the older girls knew all too well that youngeun wasn't ready to lose another friend.

dayeon finally turned around to face chaehyun.

she was grateful for the conveniently timed black-out which could only do so much to hide the tears which streamed down her face. watching dayeon's every move, chaehyun caught a sparkle in the younger girl's eye, a tear reflected off the moonlight. dayeon didn't know what to feel anymore except for the numbness which slowly took over her tired body.

"go to bed, chae." dayeon's voice cracked quietly.

she tried her best to disguise the tears in her voice. "I just want suyeon to rest knowing she's been avenged."

slinging her bag over her shoulder in one smooth movement, dayeon tore out of the flat, just as rain broke, a streak of lightning painting the night sky grey. the door slammed shut behind her, leaving chaehyun alone in their bedroom, her shoulders shaking softly as she cried to herself. "dayeon..."

a few minutes trickled silently, the only signs of life in the dorm were the hollow ticks of the clock and streams of rain outside of tge window.

"chaehyun-unnie, I'm back from the cherry bullet students' dorm!"

a ray of torch light broke through the dark, illuminating youngeun's figure as she stumbled into the bedroom. the girl balanced two full plastic shopping bags from each arm, hopping from one side to the other as she kicked off her shoes. the fox-like girl shook off her wet hood, red locks falling out, onto her back. "unnie, where are you? bora-unnie said to give you these supplies."

silence followed by weary footsteps replied as chaehyun trudged out from their bedroom in the corner. youngeun gave the older girl an understanding smile before holding out her arms, catching chaehyun as she crumbled to her knees. the duo had known that this was bound to happen some year. since the purge of 2021, dayeon had been... different. vengeful. she was too eager for the night to come where she could finally put suyeon's death to peace.

youngeun remembered June 10th, 2021 all too well, despite her attempts to forget.

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june 9th, 2021 - seoul, south korea

though it was late, dayeon, suyeon, and youngeun found themselves still at their school's dance studio, music pounding through the corridors, all three of them exhausted. with all the fuss about their finals, they were determined to use all the time they had to practice their routine - their performance had to be perfect.

but amidst the chaos, they'd forgotten about the significance of that day, June 10th.

"ok, one last time, then we should probably head back." suyeon checked her watch which slowly approached midnight. "it's so late, should I call chaehyun to pick us up? "

dayeon, mid-way through her writing rap verse, shook her head. "nah, she's probably asleep by now, just let her rest." she paused, dropping her pencil and notepad and reached for her water bottle, taking a quick sip. "besides, we're old enough to take care of ourselves right?"

suyeon frowned, taking a quick glance at youngeun, who was already dozing off in the corner. "are you sure?" dayeon's only response was a tight nod as she mouthed her rap draft. suyeon sighed a soft 'okay' before turning back to the mirror which tiled one face of the studio wall.

"I'm pressing play, get into your starting positions."

dayeon threw her notebook aside and slid into her starting position, awaiting the music to start. youngeun, jolted awake, trod behind dayeon before holding her starting pose.

'you, you plus me, yeah~ oh yeah~'

the upbeat pop music started with a click, the trio moving along with the beat. they knew the moves like clockwork, only too determined to pass with full marks. finally, the song breathed its last breath and the three held their ending pose for a last minute, before dropping to the ground simultaneously with relief.

"we did it!" youngeun cried, raising her arms weakly in the air with victory.

dayeon laughed, patting the younger girl on the head. "yes, we did great! I'm sure we'll pass this time."

"we always did, didn't we?" suyeon smiled proudly as she began packing her bag, ready to leave. "I'm glad the teacher grouped us..." the cat-eyed girl stopped mid-sentence, her voice fading away as she stared at her phone screen which flickered softly in the dimly lit studio.

"what's wrong, unnie?" youngeun slid across the room, curiously staring over suyeon's shoulder. the phone screen continued to flicker, panicked notifications lighting up the screen every two minutes. suyeon's face clouded over with concern.

'12 missed calls from 'kim chaehyun' 1 minute ago'

'messenger: kim chaehyun said...'
'messenger: kim chaehyun said...'
'messenger: kim chaehyun said...'

suyeon turned back to her two friends who sat across from her, also looking at their phones worriedly. " ...I'm assuming chae also messaged you?" the eldest girl had opted to return home before the trio, majoring in music instead of dance.

"mhm," dayeon replied, wincing. "she keeps asking where we are. in capitals. chaehyun never texts in capitals."

youngeun was one step ahead of the two, her phone held out, displaying chaehyun's contact name across the screen. she'd gone ahead and called the worried girl, seeing the messages she'd spammed.

"hello?" youngeun's voice shook despite her efforts to keep calm.

'oh my god, where are you? why didn't you pick up? where are you this late? come home. now.' chaehyun's voice blasted through the speakerphone, filled with undisguised panic.

dayeon quickly grabbed the phone from a shaken youngeun, calmly replying to the girl on the other end. "what's up, love?"

'stop trying to flirt, dayeon. I'm being serious. you three come home now, try to avoid any houses or people you see, ok?'

"why are you so worried, chae?" dayeon asked.

'are you stupid? the purge begins at midnight and you guys aren't home, safe, why wouldn't I be worried?' with that, suyeon checked her watch once again.

"i-it's 11:58 already..." she barely let out a whisper.

"shit..." dayeon murmured.

she urged suyeon and youngeun to grab their bags and turn on their phone flashlights, before doing the same with suyeon's, which she still held, chaehyun still on the line. "we'll be home soon, bye!"

as soon as she hung up, dayeon grabbed her two friends and rushed them out of the door. "we need to get home now." she hissed, not giving the other two any chance to react. yet all three knew that by now, there wasn't far to get before the purge officially started.

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the trio rushed out of the school building, suyeon glancing at the time ticking on the face of her phone every now and then.

11:58:49... 11:58:59... 11:59:30... 11:59:59...

they had barely reached the school's gates, running like their lives depended on it, when the numbers on suyeon's phone bleeped and changed.

00:00:00.

midnight had finally hit, and with it, the crime began.

right on cue, in the school grounds behind then, someone fell with a 'thu'  from a window, and a bomb blew, mere seconds after the clock had hit twelve.

dayeon wrapped her arms around her friends, who, by now, were shivering in the gentle wind. behind them, a male voice cheered with triumph, several other voices joining in with laughter. the trio could only assume they were students who took the purge as their chance to vandalise their school. dayeon felt Youngeun pause for a moment, turning back, then hissing through her teeth, "shit, they have guns."

listening closely, dayeon could hear that youngeun hadn't been lying. a gunshot rang through the air as the gang behind them seemed to have caught sight of the trio. a herd of footsteps advanced towards them and dayeon picked up her pace.

both dayeon and youngeun had been on the school's track team for three years straight - the little chase was nothing but a slight jog for the two.

suyeon, however, was already getting tired.

"hey, you!" their pursuers called out. "stop!"

it wasn't a secret that three teenage girls would be the easiest target during the purge.

another shot rang out, flying just by dayeon's head, followed by another, which fell short of youngeun's heel.

unfortunately, whoever shot the third shot had a much better aim than the previous two.

kim suyeon collapsed on the dirt ground of wakeone academy, blood oozing out from the fresh bullet wound in her chest.

dead immediately.

letting out a cry of shock, dayeon turned back for her fallen friend. up ahead, youngeun continued, stifling a sob.

her voice shook as she called for the older girl behind her shoulder. "don't stop, unnie, they're still coming."

dayeon faltered.

again, youngeun wasn't wrong. gunshots continued to fire, several landing just inches away from her feet. suyeon, her dear friend, was dead and there was nothing she could do about it.

that night, the dormitory was silent with tears and unspoken farewells.

"it was bound to happen."