The heavy air inside Lotus clung to Seo-jin's skin as he leaned back against the wall, arms crossed tightly.
Ko stood in front of the cracked map of the Lower City, his finger stabbing down at a jagged red circle.
"Sector Nine," he said, voice flat.
Min-ji, sitting cross-legged on a battered table, blew a slow bubble of gum before popping it with a sharp snap.
"Again? Thought we left that dump behind," she said.
Ko shot her a look that could've flattened concrete.
"This isn't a scavenging run," he said. "It's politics."
Seo-jin frowned.
"Politics?" he asked cautiously.
Ko nodded once.
"One of the mid-tier factions — the Iron Dogs — claim to have secured a new fragment core. Something powerful. Problem is, they don't trust Lotus."
Min-ji grinned lazily.
"Smart of them."
Ko ignored her.
"They agreed to meet. Exchange a sample fragment for protection under Lotus's banner."
Seo-jin felt the tension simmering beneath Ko's words.
"This sounds like a trap," he said.
"It might be," Ko admitted. "That's why you're going."
Min-ji perked up.
"Ooh. Special assignment?"
"Babysit the deal," Ko growled. "If it goes bad—"
He tapped the map hard.
"—you end it. Fast."
Seo-jin nodded.
Min-ji spun off the table with a little hop.
"Sounds fun," she said brightly.
Ko tossed a folded paper toward Seo-jin.
Coordinates.
Instructions.
A single name written in sharp, angry ink:
Iron Dogs — Captain Ma Dong-wook.
**
Later, as they geared up, Seo-jin fastened the last strap of his armor and glanced sideways at Min-ji.
"You really think this'll be simple?"
Min-ji shrugged, tying her hair into a messy tail.
"Nothing's simple with dogs. Especially the ones that think they can bargain."
Seo-jin smiled slightly.
"You don't like them?"
"I don't like anyone who thinks strength is all about barking loud," she said.
Her eyes gleamed.
Ferocious.
Alive.
Seo-jin shook his head, half in amusement.
Maybe this was a terrible idea.
Maybe it was the best one they had.
**
Sector Nine smelled like rot and desperation.
The streets were narrower here.
Crumbling apartments leaned drunkenly into each other.
The air shimmered strangely in the heat, fragment scars warping light at odd angles.
Seo-jin walked beside Min-ji, boots crunching broken glass.
"Place makes your skin crawl, huh?" she said.
He nodded.
"Stay sharp."
"Always," she said, flashing him a grin.
**
The meeting point was an old train yard, the skeletons of rusted locomotives littered across cracked tracks.
A dozen figures waited there.
Seo-jin immediately noticed the weapons — too many for a "friendly" negotiation.
At their center stood a man broader than most, arms folded, a cruel smile splitting his face.
Captain Ma Dong-wook.
Seo-jin and Min-ji approached slowly, hands visible, weapons sheathed but ready.
Ma spat into the dirt as they stopped ten meters away.
"So. Lotus sends kids now?"
Seo-jin said nothing.
Min-ji smiled sweetly.
"Kids who survived where your men pissed themselves and ran."
A low growl rippled through the Iron Dogs.
Ma's smile widened, showing yellow teeth.
"I like her," he said. "Might keep her after we're done here."
Seo-jin's jaw tightened.
Min-ji rolled her shoulders lazily.
"You can try," she said.
Ma threw something through the air.
Seo-jin caught it instinctively.
A core.
Small.
Rough.
Humming with unstable energy.
Seo-jin's fragment recoiled at the contact, a deep ache radiating up his arm.
"This is it?" he asked, voice flat.
"You want more," Ma said, "you earn it."
The threat was obvious.
Min-ji cocked her head.
"You sure you want to do this?"
Ma sneered.
"You think you two can take all of us?"
Seo-jin felt his fragment pulse once.
Hungry.
Ready.
"We won't need to," he said.
**
The first shot rang out.
Seo-jin moved instantly, dragging Min-ji down behind a broken train car as gunfire tore the air apart.
"They brought guns," Min-ji muttered, checking her gear.
Seo-jin smiled grimly.
"They won't matter."
He closed his eyes for a second.
Centered himself.
Then he rose, fragment power blooming from his core.
Space cracked around him.
Bullets veered off-course.
Min-ji leapt over the car, her body twisting midair, a lance of compressed air blasting outward.
Three Iron Dogs went down hard.
Seo-jin followed, fracture lines spidering out from his steps.
The ground buckled, tripping another cluster of enemies.
Gunfire roared.
Screams.
Shouts.
But Seo-jin only heard his heartbeat.
Slow.
Steady.
Focused.
**
Min-ji moved like wildfire, dancing through the chaos, laughing breathlessly as she tore through the mercenaries.
Seo-jin covered her without thinking, their movements syncing more naturally now.
A rifle barrel swung toward him.
Seo-jin fractured the air between them — the weapon twisted in its wielder's hands, snapping like a twig.
He surged forward, a brutal elbow to the man's face, dropping him instantly.
Min-ji slammed another down with a crackling burst of air.
They fought like they had trained together for years, not days.
And the Iron Dogs had no chance.
**
When the dust cleared, the yard was littered with groaning bodies.
Ma Dong-wook was on his knees, blood pouring from a broken nose, glaring up at them with pure hate.
Min-ji strolled up, crouching in front of him.
She plucked the core from Seo-jin's hand and dangled it in front of Ma's face.
"Thanks for the donation," she said sweetly.
Then she smashed the core against the ground.
The explosion of fragment energy sent Ma sprawling backward.
Seo-jin caught Min-ji's arm, dragging her back from the worst of the blast.
When the light faded, nothing was left of Ma but a smear of blood and shattered earth.
**
Silence fell.
Seo-jin turned to Min-ji.
"You didn't have to kill him."
Min-ji shrugged.
"He made his choice."
Seo-jin studied her.
The wildness in her eyes.
The absolute certainty.
And he realized—
She wasn't just strong.
She was dangerous.
Like him.
Like something this world hadn't been meant to survive.
**
They left Sector Nine without a word.
Side by side.
The world bleeding behind them.
**
Later, on the rooftop of Lotus, Min-ji sat beside Seo-jin, arms wrapped around her knees.
"I don't regret it," she said quietly.
"I know," Seo-jin said.
He looked out at the broken city.
At the stars trying to fight through the polluted sky.
"I don't either."
Their shoulders brushed, warm and solid in the cold air.
Seo-jin closed his eyes.
Not for rest.
Not for peace.
But for something closer to belonging.
Min-ji's hand found his.
Rough.
Calloused.
Real.
She didn't squeeze.
Didn't pull away.
Just stayed.