The woman grabbed Eunchae by the shoulder, and pushed her through the door.
"Go on, after you."

There was a stone stairwell in front of her.

Eunchae let a breath out.
And she began her ascend.

...

"That was quick..."
Yunjin smiled, watching them from the sofa, kicked back and relaxed.

Kazuha went up to her, smiling. She sat next to Yunjin, happy to see her again.
"You won't believe how cool we all were. We thrashed them like superheroes!"

"I mean, we technically can already call ourselves superheroes, but please don't... it sounds bad." Jungwon said, hanging up his blade.

Jay chuckled.
"We have powers that we use for good, yes, but hunters just sound better, don't you think?"

Kazuha shrugged.
"Well... but we still looked really cool, nonetheless."

Yunjin let out a small laugh.
"I'm sure you did..."

Jay let out a small puff, rubbing his stomach. He went to the table and opened a pack of crisps, munching on it.
"Boy, am I feeling hungry... Should I see what I can cook? I'm sure you're all feeling a little bit peckish, no?" He said, eating in between words.

Jake nodded.
"Yeah. I'm hungry too."

Heesung pulled off his cap.
"Maybe it's best if I cook today, Jay. I'm feeling creative."

He grabbed an apron that was being hung up, and placed it on.

Jay, still eating the chips, nodded.
"Sure. Just be careful... Don't burn down the kitchen."

Heesung laughed.
"I never will. Don't worry about that."
And he disappeared through the kitchen doors.

Jake, Jay and Jungwon all left to go to the dorms, leaving Niki and Sunoo in the room with the others.
Sunoo went over to Yunjin, crouching down next to her.

"Hey... How is the wound feeling now? Does it still hurt?" he asked.

He took a small blue flower from his bag, holding it in his hand just in case he needed to use it.

Yunjin nodded her head.
"It's feeling okay now, honestly. It should be fine by the end of the day." she said, giving him a thumbs up.

Sunoo breathed a little sigh of relief.
"That's good... really good."

He placed the flower away, and stood up.
"If anything feels off, just let me know."

Sunoo glanced at Sakura.
"...or her, if you're more comfortable with that."

Sakura patted the small pack that he had given her. She was grateful for it. It made her feel much more like herself, and more reassured as well.

Sakura stood up.
"Really, thank you so much, Sunoo. It really means a lot to us. I mean it." she said, holding a hand to her heart.

Sunoo chuckled softly.
"Sounds just like something K said..." he mumbled to himself, his face falling slightly.

"Sorry?"

"No, it's nothing. I was just... thinking of a high school friend of mine..."
Sunoo gave them a reassuring smile.

"Okay... Thanks a lot though, anyways." Sakura replied.

And Sunoo took off his cap, bidding them a small polite goodbye before retreating back into the dorms.

But someone else wasn't ready to leave yet.

Niki.

He and Sunghoon were standing near the side of the table, facing each other. None of them were speaking a word, it was like they had some sort of telepathy going on between themselves. Niki was staring at Sunghoon with a stone cold look, and Sunghoon was grinning, almost a sort of look of mockery in return.

Niki was gripping a stool very tightly, his knuckles going white, and his whole arm shaking. Sunghoon was relaxed, almost chuckling at him.

"Sunghoon... don't you dare." Sakura warned, grasping ahold of the situation.

Sunghoon looked behind him, and let out a small puff at her. He held his arms up, pretending to surrender at Niki, and leisurely took steps back, a smile of victory on his face.
"Yeah, yeah. Okay... I'm backing away now, don't you see, Sakura?" He chuckled.

Sakura stood up, and tried pulling Sunghoon back, but he refused to budge any further, stopping just a metre away from Niki. He shrugged her off, not taking his eyes off of Niki.

"What? Is the crybaby going to cry again?" He jeered.

Niki tried keeping his composure, letting out deep breaths.
"I want an apology from you." he said.

Sunghoon raised his eyebrows.
Then he bursted into laughter.
"Me? Apologise to you?"

"That's enough, Sunghoon." Sakura commanded.

But Sunghoon ignored her.
"No- no, you want an apology, Niki? I'll give you one."

He edged closer to Niki, so that he was just in front.
"Here you go, I am so sorry, okay. Yeah, you got it? I'm sorry that you're a freaking crybaby who can't control their temper for the life of it, or even protect someone properly. I'm sorry that you nearly killed one of my team members out there, when all you needed to do was shop for food, and somehow failed at it."

Niki stared at him, his eyes ablaze.
But Sunghoon kept ranting on, his voice raising.

"I'm sorry that you're a lonely kid who can't seem to get themselves right, and refuses to accept the truth. I'm sorry that you're a freaking useless bastard, who talks lies and can't seem to learn how to genuinely apologise. I'm sorry that you have anger issues. You-"

"SHUT UP, YOU BASTARD!"
Niki hauled the chair over his head, and brought it down on Sunghoon. Sunghoon caught it mid air, and they held the chair up, and it shook, as both of them pushed it down on one another.

"Stop!" Sakura shouted, trying to pull Sunghoon away, but he screamed at her.

"BUG OFF!"
He kicked her backwards, and she toppled back onto the floor. Sakura slammed her head, and her vision was in a haze for a moment. She felt a throbbing, piercing pain, like she'd been hit by a truck.
Kazuha ran to her side, helping her up.
"Sakura-"

The dormitory room bursted open, and the four boys ran out.
"NIKI- STOP!" Jungwon demanded, pulling Niki out the way.
The chair clashed to the ground, landing at their feet.

Heesung stormed out the kitchen, throwing the apron to the ground.
"WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?!?" he shouted.

Jake and Jay held Sunghoon back, kicking and screaming.
"WAIT 'TILL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, NIKI-"

"STOP ARGUING! YOU'VE ALREADY CAUSED ENOUGH CHAOS!"
Kazuha screeched at them, her eyes scanning across the two.

"YOU'RE NOT HELPING ANYONE! AND, SUNGHOON, HOW DARE YOU?!? HOW DARE YOU TREAT HER LIKE THAT?" She screamed, helping Sakura up from the ground.

Sunghoon stopped fighting back. He just gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. Niki did the same.

"I can't believe you two, I wasn't even gone for a minute, and you wreak havoc like this. You've been doing this every single day, aren't you tired of it already?" Jungwon said sternly, looking between them both.

He glared at Niki with blazing eyes.
"And you. We're going to have a talk, alright? I don't know what the deal going on between you two is, but it comes to a stop here. No more. We absolutely cannot have you fighting like this, left right and centre. Come with me."

He pulled Niki into the dorm by the arm, and slammed the door shut behind him.
Heesung let out a puff, throwing his apron back over his shoulders.
"Unbelievable..." he muttered.
He went back into the kitchen, shaking his head.

Someone grabbed Sunghoon firmly by the arm.
"Freaking let go of me..." he snarled, facing them. But his eyes suddenly widened as Chaewon stood in front of him, who was practically shaking in anger.
Her grip tightened around his wrist. It felt painful, and she pulled him down to whisper in his ear.
It came out it a breathless, almost forced voice.
"You're lucky, hm? Do you know how much we, as a team, have sacrificed for you? Especially..."

She gripped more harshly on his hand.

"Especially Sakura... And, it's not just you she's been helping. It's been all of us. And you think it's okay to just shunt her aside like she's a nuisance? That- that was the last straw for me. You can make mistakes, which you do a lot, but always, always maintain your respect. You- you never know if- when you'll lose one of us some day..."

Chaewon batted his arm away, giving him one last glare before storming off to Kazuha, who had finally been able to get Sakura off the ground.

Jay went up to Sunghoon, bringing him over to the corner of the room, a firm grip on his shoulder.
He pursed his lips, and he too, was shaking.
"Leave the kid alone, you hear me? If you even just whisper another insult at him, I'll make sure I make your life hell, got it?"

Sunghoon nodded slowly, diverting his eyes away from Jay's menacing ones.

"Good."
Jay walked away, casting one last glance, mouthing I'm watching at him.

Sunghoon let out an exasperated puff, rolling his eyes.

He, himself, could see a major change in his demeanour. It was ever since Niki had come into his presence, with their first encounter and everything. Sunghoon had brought himself to loathe Niki, despise him. Nobody had been able to talk him out of it, and Niki's attitude has just built up the angry flame inside him. It was like every single move, every single sentence felt infuriating to him in a way. He couldn't even stand the sound of Niki's breath anymore.
Perhaps it was all just in his mind, maybe he just needed time to recollect himself, think about his actions. Or maybe he was driven by stress from the past events, with Eunchae, and the whole situation with her. She was still missing, as such.
And, when he did decide on snapping, mostly taking it out on Niki, the 'encouraging' words from the others spurred him on, almost. Every lecture added and added to the flame.

Sunghoon could see that the flame was taking over him, reaching out to him, almost changing his entire personality.

He could only hope that it wouldn't burn him up.
Not before he'd be able to diminish it.

...

It was a desolate place. Trees hung overhead, blocking the sunlight like a giant wing.
It made it hard for Eunchae to see, and she had to take a second to let her eyes adjust. At least it wasn't as dark as the train tunnel.

"Fresh air... I wish there was some human scent in it, though." The woman spirit said, climbing out of the tunnel behind Eunchae.
She set foot on the ground, which was broken pavement with grass strands sprouting through the cracks.

The man came up just after her, and adjusted his cap so that it wasn't in his eyes.
"That would just make us more hungry. The little buggers run for their lives the moment they realise our intentions, really."

He stretched his neck side to side, like he was warming up before an exercise. 

"We're all just in it for the hearts. The moment you take a bite, it's an addiction. It leaves a mark on you." he said, looking at the lady with his red eyes, a sliver of a smile appearing on his face.

The woman smirked back at him, her bloodstained teeth glinting in the low visibility.

Her breath was rancid.
Eunchae could smell rotting meat and blood, like rusted iron and a sour aroma, which made her feel queazy inside.

She could remember the smell. After she had killed the spirit, the one in the back alleyway, the spirit had already disposed something that she remembered having an overwhelming craving for.
Eunchae had opened the dumpster.
The dumpster where the dead body was. It was the exact same smell as the woman's breath.

The spirit inside her had made her do it: Eunchae remembered the blood spilling everywhere, and the poor body's flesh being torn under her fingers, as she had ripped into its torso and pulled out the person's heart.

She shivered.
Eunchae didn't want to recall anything of the time.

She wanted to make herself forget what she had done.

It was a temptation. The urge had taken over her, spurring her on like a rush that coursed through her veins. It was tantalising, and unimaginably excruciating.

Before she had known it, the blood had already started spilling down her chin, as she went and ate the heart.

Eunchae wanted to erase the memory. And everything about it. It would be something she'd never forgive herself for doing.
Even if it wasn't in her control.
The spirit made her do it.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go, then. I'm freaking starving now." The lady said.
She went through an opening between the trees, swatting the branches out the way.

"Alright... How many humans are we talking? One? Or two?" said the man, jumping up and down as a warm up before following her.

The lady scoffed.
"We may as well make it three. For the girl." she replied, beckoning to Eunchae.

Eunchae followed them closely through the trees. It wasn't all that difficult; the sun was up, and the branches were thin, and could easily be bent out the way.

Not long later, they made their way out of the thick hedges, and into a more urban, building-occupied area.

They were behind an old, worn down chain of buildings, like ones that seemed to no longer be in use.
Probably because they were in the outskirts of the city, and less people thought about residing in this area.

Eunchae had to cover her eyes as she exited the canopy of the trees, the sunlight hitting her in the face like a strong wave.
The man also pulled the hat lower on his face, whether to block the glare of the sun or keep his face more concealed, she didn't know.

The woman took them through a small brick underpass, where was ranked with a lovely array of discarded mounds of gum, alcoholic beverage bottles and the occasional cigarette. The smell shot up Eunchae's nose more potently than the woman's breath had.

"Let me tell you what's going to happen, Eunchae. It's insanely simple. You're going to kill a person and take their heart. Then, you're going to discard the body like nothing happened, easy." The woman told her, not even bothering to look back, as if it were an everyday thing.
It probably was.

Eunchae was taken aback.
"No- I'm not laying a finger on anyone..." she hissed.

The woman stopped, and slowly turned to look back at her, her eyes glinting a murderous red.
"Fine, then I'll just kill you, right here."

She backed Eunchae into a wall, clutching her by the neck.
Her nails threatened to pierce into her skin, and Eunchae quickly changed her answer.

"Stop- stop- Okay, I'll do it..." she mumbled, holding her hands up in surrender.

The woman rolled her eyes, and pursed her lips, letting Eunchae go.
The man nudged her with his foot, as if she were some piece of garbage.
"Hey, bugger. Just listen to us, for gods sake. Do you have a death wish?"

Eunchae shook her head.

"Good. I want some human heart, and I'm going to get it, one way or another, mhm? I'm not letting some brat like you slow me down. Come on." he said.

The man yanked Eunchae by the hand, and stormed on, making their way to an open street. They were all still far off from the centre of town, so the place was still partially empty.

Apart from a single store.
It seemed to be a small food store, taking up just a tiny cube-shaped block in the corner of the street.

They made their way towards it.
Eunchae could read the letters, shaped from a wooden plate cutout, which spelt 'Grandmas' Kitchen'.
The woman glanced through the window.

She nodded her head to the man, and he quickly entered inside.

The woman waited outside, holding Eunchae beside her. She dragger her to the side of the store, just out of view from the door. Eunchae could hear their conversation inside, between the man and the shopkeeper.

"Nice to meet you, young man. Not a lot of people stop by at this place."

"What a kind lady you are. I just came in here to tell you something."

"Of course, dear, what is it?"

"There's something leaking off behind your store. It's very loud, do you think the pipework is okay? Maybe something is broken?"

"Oh? Really? Maybe this place is wearing down with age... It's been nearly thirty years, perhaps I should go and check..."

"Yes... perhaps you should..."

"Thank you, dear boy. Please excuse me a moment..."

The door to the store opened, and the shopkeeper, an old lady, exited, going through the back way behind the store, passing through a small alleyway to the side.

Something triggered in Eunchae's body. Like a reflex.
She could feel strong adrenaline pumping through her veins. An uncontrollable flow. Eunchae could feel herself losing control again, the spirit inside her aroused by the human's presence.

"No... stop..." she mumbled to herself, cursing under her breath.

She started feeling lightheaded, and her arms started shaking, her hands started twitching and transforming. Eunchae had to lean back on the wall for support, as her vision started reddening.

Eunchae could feel her conscious being pushed away, and losing control of her body. Her senses were distorted, and all she could hear was the heartbeat of the woman, all the way from behind the store.

Her ears started ringing, and, not soon after, it was no longer Eunchae, but a spirit in her body.
It had successfully taken over.

The lady could feel a burning sensation next to her.
Eunchae.

Her eyes were a burning red, and black veins shot up her neck and arms. Eunchae's face was twisted, the once innocent, powerless looking child into a bloodshot, ruthless monster.

"What the..."
She backed away from Eunchae, taking slow and careful steps.

Just then, the man exited the store, and stopped the moment he saw Eunchae, nearly frozen in place like the other spirit.

"Such a shame... your ego overpowers your real ability..." Eunchae hissed.

Without warning, she dashed up to the lady spirit, and stuck a hand straight into her heart. She materialised into soot in her hands.

The man gasped in fear and shock.
He booked it, running for the trees. But Eunchae caught up to him, holding him by the neck and lifting him up from the floor.

"Her emotions make me stronger... pathetic... you've just done all the dirty work for me, tormenting her. I should say thank you. So I'll make your death quick."

The man squirmed in Eunchae's arms, begging for his life.
"No- no- please..."

And with that, Eunchae snapped his neck.

He turned to soot, leaving another cloud black orb (a spirit's heart) in Eunchae's hand.
She quickly infused it into her body, holding it up to her chest.

The energy seeped into her blood stream, making her veins bulge with power. It prickled like pins, and it made her temples feel like they were going to burst in the side of her head.

But it was all worth it.
She had gained all of the spirit's powers.

And she felt inevitable.

The spirit had finally done it.
It had finally come back to its former glory.

The hunters had no idea what they'd be dealing with.