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Chapter Text

“You're telling me the next group performing are my guys?” The man asked, as the waiter refilled his cup. 

“Yes sir, you'll be able to tell. They might not look like much at first but watch them closely.” He said with a smile before heading over to a table hollering at him to refill their drinks. 

The man took a sip watered down whiskey and laid his eyes on the stage where a current group was singing and playing some instruments, they were horrible at best, and honestly if his missing girl wasn’t so exotic he probably would have left by now and let her get lost and die in the Californian desert. Fucking brat, why did all the expensive ones always run? 

The group thankfully ended their lackluster performance and they left the stage. Followed in by a group of five girls calling themselves ‘Katseye’ and the man nearly choked on his drink. Was he being fucked with? These were his guys? They weren't even guys at all. Or white for that matter. He placed his glass down, preparing to leave this shitty saloon with its horrible entertainment and shit advice on catching his lost girl. 

And then Katseye started singing something they called “Gabriela” and it clicked. Not only did these girls have great stage presence, they were observant. Every few minutes one girl would eye him up and down before looking over at the others. Silently getting a feel for their client and communicating despite their dancing and singing. The man downed his whiskey, maybe this place wasn’t so much of a lost cause at all. Katseye sang a few more tunes that he didn’t register before exiting the stage with grace, the waiter from before nudged him. “They’re ready to see you now, sir.”

He’s lead to an office near the back of the building where the girls are huddled together, whispering too soft for him to hear, he knocks loudly on the side of the door to announce his presence, the room is instantly silent and the girl sitting closest to the desk, looks up before clearing her throat. “Mr. March, come on in.” She commanded more than invited.

“Last names are so formal, like a boss and his employee, please, just call me Jasper.” Jasper introduces as he sits on the other side of the table across from the girls. “Buisness partners is more of our relationship, so why don’t you girls introduce yourselves?” 

The girl that invited him in gave him a quick look for a second before holding out a hand. “Sophia Laforteza.” Jasper shook it with a grin. “Nice to meet you Miss. Lafoteza.”

Sophia raised her eyebrow. “I thought you said last names were too formal.” Jasper nodded, keeping his hand on hers for a second longer than usual before letting go. “That they are, but yours sounds too fancy for me not to. Too exotic, where are you from, miss?” 

Sophia stiffly returned her hand to the side, resisting the urge to wipe it off right in front of him. “The Philippines.” Jasper clapped his hands together like he just solved a mystery. “I knew you were exotic! It sounded Spanish but you certainly don’t look it.” Sophia had to restrain the recoil from the disgust she felt when Jasper used the word “Exotic”. She felt Manon take a step closer to her and instinctively leaned back a little until she felt her head gently hit Manon’s body. The smirk on Jasper’s face grew a little bit but he made no comment on it, instead, tilting his head at the Swiss-Ghanaian, waiting for her to speak. 

“Manon Bannerman.” She mumbled as her hand gripped the hem of Sophia's sleeve, playing with the fabric. Jasper gave her a once look over and leaned back. 

“Bannerman? That's a white sounding name.” He commented, Manon looked away saying nothing. And if Jasper was a better person, he would have backed off and continued the introductions. But he wasn’t, so instead he egged on. “You look ashamed, a black father then? Well then, I sure do hope your mother found justice. Crimes like that against women like her are just especially dreadful. It must be hard to be a product of such a tragedy.” 

Manon’s gaze snapped back to him, sharp and angry. Her hand itched for her gun hidden under her dress, but it stayed glued to Sophia’s sleeve. There were consequences to killing a rich white man, especially in America, and Manon wasn’t going to jeopardize the group just because another one had spewed another racist comment against her and her father. Sophia's brow furrowed and Jasper cleared his throat before looking over at Daniela. 

“Daniela Avanzini.” She said sharply, and Jasper tilted his head. “You white?” He asked bluntly. “Cuban Venezuelan.” Dani gritted out, itching to punch the man as he giggled. “Good god you had me worried for a second. But of course, no respectable woman of my kind would be doing what you did.” Dani sneered but before she could spew out curses at him a hand slammed onto the table. Sophia was leaning forward, her gaze sharp enough to kill.  

“I understand that you are a paying customer, so I am more than ready to tolerate your tasteless comments. But I will not tolerate the blatant hate you spew out towards my girls. So you better keep your comments to a minimum before you leave this room without a tongue.” She hissed. 

Both parties tensed, the air turning hostile. Jasper held up his hand to stop the two men behind him from reaching for their firearms, seeing as the five girls in front of him already had theirs in hand. 

“Pardon my rudeness, I get my humor from my daddy.” He said with a smile, more amused than anything, either too certain that it wouldn't end in a shoot out or too cocky. “Shall we continue?” 

Seven pairs of eyes landed on Sophia, who took her hand off her gun and leaned back against her chair. Manon’s hand settled on her shoulder and its calming effect seemed to work instantly on the girl. 

“Yes.” Manon said with a weary nod, already drained after interacting with Jasper for less than twenty minutes. “Let's continue.” In all honesty, she wanted to get up and leave especially after his comments towards her crew but Katseye needed money and Jasper had that. So instead, she nudged Lara with her foot. 

“Lara Raj.” The girl said stiffly, Jasper chuckled and Lara's jaw clenched.

“You're a weird looking negro.” He said and then quickly put his hands up when Sophia opened her mouth. “My one and only comment about her Miss. Lafoteza.” 

Lara only shrugged when Manon looked over at her, a resigned look in her face. At Jasper, at being mistaken as African American for the 100th time, at everything. The silence drew out for a few minutes before Dani realized Megan was zoning out and pinched her arm. The girl snapped her head up and spewed out a rushed “Megan Skiendiel.” Jasper tilted his head.

“That ain't your name.” 

“As far as you're concerned, it is.” Megan replied, rolling her eyes. 

“Well then, now that introductions are done, why don't you tell us about the job?” Sophia quickly butted in before the two could start arguing. 

Jasper nodded, about as done with Sophia’s girls as they were with him. 

“So, my business is one of pleasure. A reprieve for men after a hard day's work.” Jasper explained with an elegant tone. 

“You operate a whore house.” Sophia filled in. 

“Let me put a spin on my pride and joy Miss. Lafoteza. Sprinkle some magic onto it.” Jasper chuckled as he waved his hand. 

“Are you missing one of your girls?” Dani cut to the chase. 

“I'm missing my girl. This one wasn't for the public. A quite expensive treat from the kingdom of Joseon.” Jasper explained.

“How the hell did you nab a girl from Joseon?” Megan questioned, raising an eyebrow at the man in front of them. 

The man put on a flashing smile, which might have worked for any other group of bounty hunters, not for Katseye though, Sophia's eyes narrowed as they waited for his explanation.

“I have my ways, ladies. Let's just say I like my exotic women, the harder it is for me to obtain them, the more I want them.” He clapped his hands and waited for laughter. None came though, only blank stares that hardly hid their irritation with him. The man cleared his throat before continuing. “Anyways return what's mine and I will pay you.” 

“How much?” Megan asked. “This seems like a big job, and big jobs require bigger paychecks.” 

“I like the way you think, girl.” Jasper chuckled. “Let's see, there's five of you. A thousand dollars each right now as an advance and then another thousand when you return my girl.” 

Manon let out a whistle at the amount, two thousand dollars each was a lot, more than enough to keep them afloat for at least the year, but knowing their girls that money wasn’t about keeping themselves afloat. It was money towards Lara’s family to keep their medical office in business. It was not having to worry about rent and food for Megan’s family for a little while. For Manon herself, it was two thousand dollars closer to paying off her father’s debt.

“Ten thousand dollars is a lot of money. Are you sure you can afford that?” Lara questioned, eyes narrowing. 

Jasper motioned at his men, one pulled out an envelope and tossed it over to Sophia, who caught it without blinking and counted the bills inside. Five thousand exactly. 

“Your payment in advance, and another envelope just like that one when you bring my girl back to me.” Jasper assured them. 

Sophia looked over at her girls, who all nodded, before back at the man. “We got a deal. What's the target's name?” 

The man flashed his teeth again, like doing it a second time could change their opinion of him, make him seem more like a charming guy trying to find his easily lost girl than a man preying on a confused and terrified woman. Men.

“Yoonchae Jeung.”  

Chapter Text

“What's the plan?” Dani asked as she helped Megan onto their shared horse before mounting herself. 

Manon did the same for Lara and herself, before looking over at Sophia as if to silently say “you're the leader, you choose our first move. I will back you up.” 

“It's been a day since Yoonchae ran off, so one might think she's gained some distance. But she's a foreigner in a strange land, who understands little English and speaks even less. So I think she's going to try and find something familiar and cling onto it.” Sophia answered.

“And who's the only other person in the US that's from Joseon?” Manon continued, picking up on what Sophia was suggesting. “Nayoung Lee.” 

“Exactly.” Sophia nodded as she mounted. “So we'll go check her shop first. It's our best lead.” Leading the way, Sophia urged her horse onwards, Manon and Dani following close behind. 

Nayoung Lee was established near the edges of Los Angeles, the owner of a small convenience shop. Well known to minorities alike because she openly accepted any customer willing to pay. It was a popular setting for the girls because it was the only place that had Manon’s preferred cigarettes without upcharging her or flat out refusing to service her. It was also the only place in California that had its name both in English and Hangul. Perfect for a runaway girl searching for an ounce of familiarity.

The group enters the shop and is met with the smell of sweets and tobacco mixing together, nauseating to most, wonderful to Manon. 

Said woman walked up to the register where Hinari was working, and fished out the exact change needed for her pack of cigarettes. Being a regular, Hinari didn't need to ask what brand, she instead grabbed a pack and handed it to her, as well as a hard candy for Megan. 

“Where's Nayoung?” Manon asked as she handed the sweet to Megan, who pocketed it immediately, before lighting up a cigarette. 

“In the back with Ua, taking inventory. You want me to call her over or just go meet her there?” Hinari questions.

Another perk that Katseye had, while other special clients had to wait for Nayoung, they could barge in whenever.

“We'll go speak with her.” Manon answers, tilting her head towards Sophia, said Filipina then turned to Dani, Lara, and Megan ordering them to “make yourself busy.” Which meant cleaning and restocking to Lara and Dani. And talking with Hinari to Megan. 

Nayoung smells Manon’s cigarettes before she spots the two, she hands the paper and pen to Ua, telling her to go join Hinari in the front, before straightening up. “Manon, what did I say about smoking in my shop?” She muses as she turns around to face them. 

Manon, ever the gracious, stubs her cigarette out on her leather jacket. Something Sophia has told her multiple times not to do. But she's already ticked off one woman by doing something she knows she wasn't supposed to, why not keep the ball rolling? 

Sophia stares at Manon for a minute too long before lazily rolling her eyes and taking her attention back to Nayoung. 

“We're looking for a woman. Ran away from Jasper March’s whore house.” 

“How does that concern me?” Nayoung sighs, already done with the conversation. 

“She's from Joseon, like you.” Manon adds on. 

“And?” 

“And say I'm on the run in an unfamiliar land and happen to stumble upon a store with its title written in my language. Wouldn't I go there in an attempt to familiarize myself, and seek help from someone who could understand me?” Sophia pressed on, Nayoung’s lips twitched into a small frown for a split second. Enough for Sophia. “So she's here?” 

“Was here, took off this morning.” Nayoung answered, a little too easy for Sophia’s taste. “She was dead set on going home and didn’t like what I had to say about that so she left.” 

“Where’d she go?” Manon questioned stepping forward a bit, to which Nayoung raised a hand. 

“Manon, I love you, I do. But I love my personal space more.” 

Manon mumbled an apology before stepping back, accidentally bumping into Sophia in the cramped storage room. Sophia didn't seem to mind, wrapping her arms around Manon’s own. 

“You got a clue where she could have ran?” Sophia repeated the question.

Nayoung nodded and tilted her head in one direction. “Don’t know where she’s going to go now but she headed east bound.”

“You’re lying.” 

Nayoung turned her head towards Sophia, her smile now strained. “What?” 

“You’re lying Nayoung, she didn’t go east. Where did she go?” Sophia demanded. 

“What makes you think I’m lying, Laforteza?” 

“You wouldn’t be giving up this information so easily if you weren’t. I can see it in your face, you don’t want us to find her.” 

“Can you blame me? Look at where you’re trying to take her back to.”

“Nayoung, if we don’t find her, she’s going to die. She doesn’t know the language or the area. You and I both know that.” Sophia said, voice solemn. “Us finding her is this the best chance she has.” 

“So you can go and put her into a situation worse than death?”

“We will cross that bridge when we get there. Right now, as far as I know, we were only hired to find Yoonchae.” Manon adds on followed by a nod of agreement from Sophia, the three stand in a tense silence for a minute before Nayoung reluctantly caved in.

“She went north, I’m not sure where or how far but that is where she went.” 

“Thank you Nayoung.” The two turned around to leave when Nayoung's voice pierced their ears once more.

“I really hope you make the right decision when you make it to that bridge. And I hope my lie didn’t taint our relationship in any way.”

Unable to answer the first sentence, Sophia and Manon only looked at each other before back at Nayoung, a faint smirk on Sophia’s face. “What lie?” She asked in an innocent tone, before the two headed back out to the front of the store where their girls were waiting. 

“Come on girls, we got a lead.” Manon commanded as they all said their goodbyes to Hinari and Ua. 

“A solid one?” Dani asked skeptically, groaning when Sophia shrugged. 

“All we know is that she headed north. It's better than nothing.” 

“Are we not going to do performance gigs during our search for her?” Asked Lara.

Sophia shook her head, “This is time sensitive, the more time we spend searching for her the smaller her trail will be.” 

“This also gives us time to work on lyrics and modify a few of our songs.” Sophia looked over at Manon with a curious gaze. “What’s wrong with our songs?” 

“Nothing, Gabriela just feels like it’s missing something. I don’t know what though.” 

“We'll figure it out on the way, let's go.” Sophia ordered as she mounted her horse. 

The girls headed north until they had made it to a town made up of a small Hispanic community. The girls dismounted and entered the town, mostly following Daniela as she talked to the locals in fast paced Spanish. Sophia tried her hardest to keep her trembling to a minimum at the sound of the language. She never minded when Dani spoke Spanish, because that was Dani. And Dani wasn't the men who dragged her and her brothers away from her parents in the middle of the night while they screamed. Neither were the two men answering Dani’s questions. But it didn't stop the flinch that left Sophia when the men raised their voice in order to emphasize something. Both men looked over at Sophia before back at Dani, asking if their language bothered her in a slightly offended tone. 

“No, just bad memories. She’s from the Philippines, a Spanish colony.” Dani explained gently and though Sophia wouldn’t say it out loud, she greatly appreciated when they moved further away so that she couldn’t hear them. 

A hand slowly wrapped around hers, bringing her back to reality with a tight squeeze. Sophia turned to see Manon looking at her with a patient expression. 

“Are you back?” she asked gently, interlocking their fingers together to keep Sophia in the present, when she nodded Manon loosened her grip to pull away only for Sophia to tighten her hand so that she stayed. Manon smiled softly as if to assure her that she wouldn’t let go and tilted her head towards Dani. 

“The locals said they saw an asian girl wandering around this morning. The pastor and his wife brought her to their home for refuge. They agreed to meet with us at the church tomorrow morning.” She informed Sophia as Dani walked back to the group. 

Tomorrow seemed like a risk for the group, because it gave Yoonchae the opportunity to run off again, but what choice did they have? Sophia looked over at the darkening sky. “Sun’s setting low, let’s find a place to rest.” She said, turning back on her leader mode and shaking off the memories of her childhood. But never once letting go of Manon’s hand as they headed towards the nearest inn. 

They rented two bedrooms, one for Lara, Dani, and Megan to share and one for Manon and Sophia. Once they situated where their horses were staying and decided that Lara was getting her own bed while Dani and Megan had to share one by a coin flip, the group finally settled down. Sophia flopped onto the bed with a groan, happy to get a moment of rest. Manon followed in suit, wrapping her arms around the younger girl, a sight that might have been perplexing to a stranger, especially since their room had two beds. But Sophia only shifted so that her head rested on Manon’s chest and her own arms snaked around Manon’s waist. 

“You look far away. What are you thinking about Sophia?” The Swiss-Ghanian asked. 

“Our bounty. Are we really going to take this girl back to that man?” She asked, her leader composer fully gone now that it was just the two of them. “We need the money but is it really worth taking her back? Especially knowing our own situations in the past? I don’t know what to do.” Sophia admitted quietly.

Manon pursed her lips as she considered their options. On one hand, it wasn’t fair to Yoonchae to send her back to a man whose intentions for her were despicable . And on the other, that money could keep Megan’s family fed for a month and keep Lara’s family in business. It wasn’t fair, why did they always have to make such hard decisions.

“I don’t know what to do either.” Manon admitted back. “I don’t want to send her back, but I also don’t want to watch Megan try and skip a meal because she thinks her mother and brother need the money more. I don’t want to see Lara use boots too small for her because she didn’t have enough after covering her family’s rent. I don’t want Dani to have to not buy a book she sees at a shop because she needs to budget.” 

Sophia sighed and buried her face deeper into Manon’s chest, Manon brought a hand up to Sophia’s hair, twirling it in her fingers. 

“Why does everything have to be so complicated ?” Sophia whispered.

“I don’t know, love. Let’s get some rest though, we’ll need it when we go to the church tomorrow.” 

Sophia nodded and closed her eyes, focusing only on the sound of Manon’s breathing and the feeling of her chest rising and falling, using that to help lull her to sleep.

~~~

The church was huge, dimly lit, and smelled of candle wax, Sophia led the group as they headed towards where the pastor was standing. Sophia stopped a few feet away from the man and crossed her arms. 

“I was told you were housing a girl we’ve been hired to find.” She states. “Girl from Joseon, goes by Yoonchae.” 

The pastor nodded. “She says she's a long ways from home.” 

Sophia raised an eyebrow. “I was told she didn't understand English well.” 

“She picked up more than her captors thought she did. Is that what you're here to do young lady? Take her back to her to that sin ridden man?” 

Sophia hesitated a moment before rubbing her face. 

“We took a job. Returning her is a part of it.” She tried to explain.

“Then I'm afraid I can't help you.” The pastor frowned. “Leave this town.” 

Dani's eyes narrowed as she stepped forward, hands close to her hips where her gun was. “Where is she?” She demanded. 

“Daniela, don't threaten a pastor. I raised you better than this.” Manon muttered, Dani ignored her, glaring at the man. “She's here somewhere. I know it.” 

The two stared at each other for an uncomfortable moment before the pastor's eyes looked over at a hallway where his office lay. Without wasting another second Dani headed towards it. 

“Wait!” The pastor exclaimed, trying to follow Dani only to be stopped by Lara pointing her gun at his face. 

“Don't even try.” She warned him, earning a ‘not you too!’ From Manon as the group followed the Latina. 

Dani quickly shoved the door open, earning a gasp from the person inside of it. Yoonchae. Acting fast, Dani sprinted towards the girl, grabbing her shoulders.

“Gotcha.” She said triumphantly before her eyes widen upon closer look. “Holy shit you're just a kid.” 

Crack! 

Dani let out a barrage of Spanish curses as Yoonchae’s head made contact with her own, letting go of the girl and falling to the floor. Upon the sound of Dani yelling the rest of the girls rushed in, Lara making it to the office first.

Thunk!

Only for Lara to be hit in the face by a projectile Bible. Followed by Yoonchae running past the girls and out the church. 

“I told you threatening the pastor was a bad idea.” Manon scolded.

“You know my mother always said if you weren’t reading the word of the lord he would throw it in your face along with a lesson.” Megan snorted as Sophia helped a grumbling Dani up. The girl was rubbing her forehead, a red mark already beginning to form. 

“Shut up! She's getting away!” Lara shouted, grabbing Megan's arm and pulling her alongside to chase after Yoonchae. 

The two quickly exited out of the church chasing the girl throughout the town, at one point they lost sight of the girl, stopping to catch their breath while also letting Sophia, Manon, and Dani join them.

“We lost sight of her.” Lara explained as she wiped her nose, finally noticing the blood that trickled down from it. 

“Split up, this town is small and she couldn’t have gone far.” Manon commanded, not waiting for confirmation from the girls before running off towards a random direction. The girls followed in suit, separating and searching nearby buildings. 

Megan noticed that the door of a library was swaying back and forth like someone had rushed inside of it, pulling out her revolver as she entered it. The library was dark and uncomfortably quiet, Megan crouched down to lessen the volume of her footsteps and began searching between the rows of books. There was a thump as a book fell on the other side of the library and a gasp followed by the sounds of someone running. Megan quickly followed her, noticing that amidst her panic, Yoonchae had trapped herself between a shelf and the wall. No way out now. Megan quickly stood in front of her pointing her revolver at Yoonchae, only to find the girl crouched against the wall, terrified. 

Shame instantly flooded Megan, this girl was younger than her, and here she was pointing a firearm at her. Megan quickly holstered her gun and raised her hands up so that the girl could see she wasn’t threatening her anymore. 

“Yoonchae?” Megan asked, watching as Yoonchae’s eyes widened at the sound of her name. “I’m gonna come closer now.” Yoonchae held herself tighter but made no effort to try and run away. 

Once Megan was about a few feet away from Yoonchae she crouched down and slowly grabbed the piece of candy Hinari gave her, holding it up to Yoonchae as a peace offering. Yoonchae did nothing for a moment before slowly taking it out of Megan's hand. Megan tried to ignore how soft Yoonchae’s was compared to her own. She sat down in front of Yoonchae, watching as she unwrapped the candy before popping it into her mouth. 

“So, I’m Meiyok, but I go by Megan.” Megan introduced, Yoonchae said nothing but her eyes also never left Megan’s, so she took this as a sign to continue. 

Megan talked about little things, how her mother was from Singapore but she was born in a small island kingdom called Hawaii, how her parents had moved them here because they had hoped to find better work. How she was allergic to cinnamon and grass. Whatever popped up in her mind she spoke about and Yoonchae gave the girl her undivided attention, eventually Megan ran out of topics and just awkwardly let the conversation die.

“I like Meiyok better than Megan.” Yoonchae said softly after the silence sat for a little too long. 

Megan chuckled, “So does my mother.” she said with a mixture of fondness and annoyance. “You don’t want to go back to that Jasper, do you?” 

Yoonchae shook her head and Megan nodded in understanding, getting up and holding her hand out to Yoonchae. 

“Come on, we gotta be quick.” she instructed, Yoonchae nodded and took her hand, letting Megan lead her back out the library. 

“Do you remember the way back to Nayoung’s shop?” Megan asked as she peaked over the side of the building, running towards her horse once she saw the coast was clear. 

“Yes.” Yoonchae answered as they slowed to a speedwalk once close enough to Megan and Dani’s shared horse. 

“Good, go there ok? Sophia will probably have us come back when she realizes where you went with my horse but Nayoung won’t let her take you.” Megan said, about to help yoonchae mount the horse when, 

“Megan! You found her, good.” 

The two turned to see the others walking towards them, Yoonchae’s grip on Megan’s hand tightened and she looked back to see the fear plastered on Yoonchae’s face. Katseye had caught bounties before, but that had been escaped prisoners, serial killers on the run, not a scared girl trying to keep herself safe. Megan couldn’t send her back, so she squeezed Yoonchae’s hand before slipping out of it, grabbing her revolver and aiming it straight at Sophia’s face. “Stay back!” She warned. 

It was dead silent, nobody moved, nobody dared to. Sophia kept her hands up and away from her hoster, unnervingly calm though one eyebrow was raised, questioning Megan and her defiance. 

“She’s not going back, we’re not taking her back.” Megan hissed as her grip of her revolver tightened. 

“Megan what the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” Dani demanded, suddenly finding her voice, her hand itched for her gun, she wanted to lunge at Megan and disarm her right away. Get Sophia out of the line of danger but she couldn’t, Megan was the best shooter out of all of them, and her entire body language screamed that should shoot Sophia without a second thought.

“I’m keeping Yoonchae safe!’ Megan scowled.

“By threatening Sophia?!” 

“Enough you two!” Sophia ordered, stepping back. “Manon, stop that.” 

Megan turned her gaze towards Manon and saw what Sophia didn’t need to, Manon was slowly reaching for her pistol, her gaze murderous. She sighed through her nose at Sophia revealing her plan and brought her hands into the air as well. Sophia nodded onwards Megan, satisfied. 

“Go on.” She said, somehow still in control despite Megan’s newfound mutiny.

“Get on the horse Yoonchae.” Megan commanded, Yoonchae wasted no time, quickly mounting. Megan hit the horse on its backside without taking her eyes or her aim off of Sophia. “Go!” She yelled, turning a little to watch the horse take off. A mistake on her end because when she turned her head back it was met by manon’s elbow. 

“Fuck.” Megan gasped out as she fell to the ground, dropping her weapon. Manon quickly kicked it to the side. Then Dani grabbed Megan’s shirt, forcing her back on her feet before connecting her fist to Megan’s jaw. 

“What the fuck were you thinking?!” She yelled, throwing Megan to the ground again. Lara tried to pull Dani away from Megan but was unsuccessful as Dani pushed her away and pulled out her own revolver, aiming it at Megan. 

“Daniela Avanzini, you put that away right now!” Manon shouted getting in front of Megan, shielding her from Dani’s rage. 

“She threatened Sophia, she was going to shoot her Manon!” Dani argued, trembling from her own anger because how dare she! How dare Megan point her gun at Sophia, one of the only family members that Dani had in this world. How dare she betray the woman who accepted Megan and all her faults into this group when no one else would. 

“She didn’t though, Dani. It's ok.” Sophia reassured, placing her hand on the younger girl’s shoulder until Dani holstered her pistol. “Thank you.” Sophia said softly hugging the girl tightly before walking over to where Megan sat.

Sophia crouched down to her level, such an action felt strange because Megan was the tallest out of all of them. Her gaze stayed on the ground, ashamed. Sophia gently grabbed Megan’s cin, wiping blood off her lip where Dani had punched her. 

“Are you alright?” She asked, and what a strange question to ask someone who just held you at gunpoint. Megan nodded and tried to hold back her tears. “It’s ok, let it out.” Sophia reassured and Megan allowed them to silently slip out. 

“I didn’t want to bring her back to him. It wasn’t worth the money to me.” Megan explained as she wiped her tears away, wincing at the bruise forming on her cheek where Manon had elbowed her. 

“Where did she go?” Sophia questioned, Megan didn’t answer, but Sophia already knew the answer. She sighed and stood up, helping Megan up.  “Come on, we need to go buy another horse.”  She commanded, pulling out her share of what Jasper had paid. 

“I can pay for it.” Megan tried, reaching for where she stashed her own pay. “It’s only fair.”

“No Megan, that’s for your family.” Sophia interrupted, heading towards a stable. “Dani come with me.”

Dani gave Megan one last glare before following Sophia back into town. 

“Why’d you stop me?” Dani huffed. 

“You were attacking Megan.” Sophia explained calmly. 

“She held you at gunpoint!” 

“There was once a time that you held me at gunpoint too.” 

“That was different.” 

“Was it Dani? You thought I was going to bring Manon back to the man her father owes money too.” 

It was quiet for a moment before Dani spoke again. 

“He was hurting Manon.” Her voice was small, her gaze far away, and Sophia clasped her shoulder tightly to bring her back to the present. 

“What do you think our client is going to do to that girl? Am I mad that Megan aimed her gun at me, a little. But not for why she did it, more just because no one wants a gun in their face.” 

Dani didn't say anything in return, and Sophia briefly negotiated the price of a horse before the two returned to the group with their new steed. Lara was disinfecting Megan’s cut while Manon was rubbing circles on Megan's back, comforting the girl from what looked like a panic attack after Sophia and Dani left. 

“You ok, mahal?” Sophia said softly crouching down again, Megan snapped her head towards Sophia at the use of ‘Mahal’

“Poor thing worried herself sick.” Manon filled in. “She thinks you're gonna send her back to her mother.” 

“I always think about bringing you back to Mrs. Skiendiel.” Sophia chuckled, Megan’s eyes widened but before she could spew out more apologies Sophia stopped her. “Not because of what you did. But because you're so young, and you'd be so much safer back in your mother's arms.” 

Megan let out a wet laugh. “I'm sure my mom would agree with you.” 

Sophia patted her shoulder. “Come on, we got a girl to catch.” she ordered, pulling Megan up to her feet. “I’ll ride the new horse.” 

The girls dusted themselves off and started heading towards the rest of the horses, Manon and Lara mounted their shared one while Sophia mounted her own. Megan stood awkwardly, not too sure if Dani would even want to ride with her after what happened. She shifted a few times and then started walking towards Sophia. A sharp whistle stopped her in her tracks, she turned to see Dani watching her expectantly. 

“Where are you going?” She asked, raising her eyebrow. “You always ride with me.” 

“I thought-” 

“That’s your problem, you’re always thinking.” Dani interrupted, flicking her forehead. “Besides, I think I got you pretty good with that punch. No need to continue our fight.” She took the younger girl’s hand and led her to their horse.

“Please, that was no fight. Megan didn’t even hit you. You know who did though?” Lara teased, laughing at the scowl forming on Dani’s face.

“At least I didn’t get hit in the face with a bible!” Sputtered Dani, face red and the rest of the group laughed alongside Lara.

That is except for Sophia, who dwelled on both Dani and Megan’s words. Thinking back to seven years ago when Dani was just a skinny eleven year old girl pointing her gun at bounty hunter Sophia, knowing well she was in a losing fight but so desperate to protect Manon, the one woman who had shown her kindness in this harsh land. The same desperation she saw in Megan, who owed Yoonchae nothing, but still risked it all to help her because that’s just who Megan was, a kind soul. She sighed a bit too hard, catching the attention of Manon. The older woman gave her a knowing look, a silent conversation between the two happened before Manon nodded and turned her gaze back towards their path. 

“Never lose your kindness Megan.” Sophia mumbled to herself.

~~~

“Back already?” Nayoung called out from the front of her shop, her tone was carefree but her body was tense. Megan and Dani’s horse was tied to a post nearby, Yoonchae was nowhere to be seen.

“I just want to talk to her Nayoung.” Sophia said calmly.

“Do you?” Nayoung asked accusingly. 

Sophia nodded. 

“I do.”

Nayoung hummed before stepping inside her shop, there was muffled talking that Sophia couldn’t fully hear. Even if she could it wouldn’t have mattered since the two were talking in rapid Hangugeo. A language Sophia couldn’t understand. Nayoung then peaked back outside, motioning for Sophia to follow. Sophia did, they went upstairs and into Ua and Hinari’s bedroom where Yoonchae sat on one of the beds. Her hands in her lap, gripping the hem of her shirt tightly to stop them from shaking. 

“Try anything and I’ll kill you.” Nayoung warned before leaving to give the two privacy. 

“She won’t actually kill me.” Sophia said, winking at Yoonchae. 

Yoonchae gave her a small smile but didn’t say anything, instead she scooted closer towards the wall. 

“Nayoung says you’re from Hanseong?” Yoonchae nodded rapidly, a wave of hurt rinsing over the girl’s face at the mention of her home. 

“You are a long way from Hanseong.” Sophia muttered as she looked the girl up and down. “How old are you?”  

Yoonchae answered in her native language, watching as Sophia gave her a confused look, she tried thinking of the word for it in English before just opting to count with her fingers, landing on fourteen. 

“Fourteen. That’s young, half my age.” Sophia sighed, and two years younger than Megan and Lara. Yoonchae stayed quiet, her body still tense. 

“You know, I'm from the east too. I was kidnapped as well.” Sophia says, it's finally what gets Yoonchae to slightly relax. “I'm from the Philippines. Have you heard of it?” 

Yoonchae shakes her head after a few minutes of staring at Sophia. And Sophia finds herself wishing that she made Nayoung stay so that Yoonchae would have a better time understanding her. 

“It's a cluster of islands in south east Asia. It's ruled by Spain, but before I was taken I knew there was talk of revolution. My father was a part of that, and some officers discovered that. So my brothers and I were stolen as punishment.” Sophia sits down on the bed across from Yoonchae as she tries to shut out the screams of her and her brothers invading her ears. “I don't know what ever happened to them or my parents. I don’t know where they are or if they're alive. And they don't know the same about me.” Her voice is soft and shaky, finally admitting her sorrows out loud to a kid in the same boat as her. 

Said kid had inched closer and closer to the edge of the bed as Sophia recalled the injustice placed upon her and her brothers. And even though Yoonchae was around the same height as Dani and tall for her age, she looked small in this setting. 

“You know the African woman in our group? Manon?” Yoonchae nods her head. “She's not from the US either, she's from Switzerland. That's a country in Europe. Her father and her moved to Georgia when she was young. They were sharecroppers, and when her father couldn't afford to pay back his debt, their landlord took her as collateral. She's on the run right now.” Yoonchae’s eyes widened and Sophia couldn't help the giggle that left her because of how she looked. “What I'm trying to say is, we help each other. Keep each other safe. We can keep you safe too.” 

Yoonchae’s face furrowed as she thought about this, before clarity filled it. A serious expression plastered on her when she looked back at Sophia. 

“We're never going back home, are we?” She whispered, as if those words were too painful to say at a normal level.

And it hurts, oh god, how those words hurt Sophia. Yoonchae would never again be in Hanseong, enjoying walks by the Han river. Sophia would never again run around the streets of Manila with her brothers. Manon would never again watch the mountains near Zürich. No, they'd be stuck in the godforsaken country with its harsh landscape and harsher people. 

“No. No we're not. But we can make the best of our situation. Together.” Sophia answered. “Let us help you, Yoonchae.” 

Yoonchae stood up and sat next to Sophia leaning towards the woman. “Ok. Help me.” She said, Sophia grinned and wrapped her arm around the girl’s shoulder. “How good are your acting skills?” 

The two walked out the room, quickly explaining the plan to Nayoung, who gave them a skeptical look before relenting. Yoonchae followed Sophia outside where the other members of Katseye were waiting, they all gave various surprised faces at the sight of Yoonchae willingly walking with Sophia. 

“We’re going to Jasper now.” Sophia told them, helping Yoonchae onto her horse. 

Megan scrambled up and towards Yooncha, grabbing her arm.

“Yoonchae, if you don’t want to go you don’t have to! I don’t know what Sophia said to stop Nayoung from protecting you but-” Yoonchae patted her cheek reassuringly to stop Megan’s spiral. 

“It’s ok.” She said with a resigned tone, Megan shook her head. “It’s not ok.” 

Yoonchae shrugged. “Can’t keep running forever.” Megan stared in silence before nodding in defeat, letting Yoonchae’s arm go. 

The rest of the team silently got on their respective horses, trying to ignore the fact that this didn’t feel like a bounty gone well. In fact it felt like the opposite. 

“Alright, let’s go.” Sophia commanded.

Chapter Text

“You found my girl!” Jasper exclaimed, hands in the air as him and his paid bodyguards approached the girls. Yoonchae stood behind Sophia, clutching the Filipino woman’s vest tightly. 

“Yoonchae come here. I'm not mad.” Jasper tried to falsely reassure her, but she was no fool and stayed planted behind Sophia. “Ok, I lied, I’m furious. But to be honest, how could one not be furious when you knock him out with a shovel.”

“You knocked him out with a shovel?” Manon asked, leaning towards Yoonchae. She gave her a proud smile when Yoonchae nodded. “Nice.”

“Don’t praise her! Just bring her to me since she won’t fucking come on her own.” Jasper demanded, turning his gaze from Yoonchae to Sophia.

Sophia stayed where she stood, staring down the pathetic excuse of a man that demanded for things that weren’t his to take and shook her head. 

“No.” She said simply, like a mother telling off her child, everyone but Manon and Yoonchae looked at her in surprise. 

Jasper froze before putting on a false smile.

“Right, right. You probably want your pay.” He said digging out the envelope, walking towards her. “Here, we can just swap at the same time.” 

“I said no.” Sophia warned, pushing him away when he got too close, ignoring his comment of what a strong woman she was. “You never told us we were going after a child.” 

“I said you were going after my girl, didn’t I Miss. Laforteza?”

Sophia gritted her teeth, she fucking hated the way he said her last name, she felt someone gently pull Yoonchae from behind Sophia and move her further away from Jasper. 

“So deal’s off, you can even take your money back, I don’t care, I’m not giving her to you.” Sophia spat, 100% serious. Yes Jasper brought people to protect him, but combined with him it was four against five. 

Jasper’s smile became strained for a moment before he inhaled and exhaled in an attempt to compose himself. 

“Keep that money, you did find her after all.” He shrugged, a little too calm for Sophia’s liking, his eyes wandered over to Manon, Sophia slowly reached for her gun.

“How’s your husband, Meret?” Jasper asked causally.

The entire group paused, Manon’s face paled, her eyes wide and afraid. 

“I met quite a man back in Missouri a few weeks ago. Said he was looking for his runaway wife named Meret, and you fit his description perfectly. And both of your last names happen to be Bannerman.” Jasper teased, tilting his head. “The stupid bastard thinks you’re hiding away somewhere in the south.” 

“He's not my husband.” Manon mumbled, her voice small and Sophia stepped in front of her, trying to become a physical barrier between her and Jasper. 

“Now, I'm sure he wouldn't be too happy to see his darling ran away to go be the fuck toy of a Southeast Asian island skank in California.” Both girls tensed. “But I do know that he'd be willing to forgive it all if your father's debt was repaid. So how about we make a deal, give me back Yoonchae and I pay back your debt in full. Ten thousand dollars is a lot of money, money you don’t have. But I do.”

“And if we don’t?” Dani piped up, walking in front of Manon as well to shield the woman. 

“Then Mr. Bannerman gets a tip on where Meret has been hiding for the last seven years.” Jasper chuckled, his grin predatory. “So what do you say Manon? The girl ain’t worth that now is she?” 

Manon stepped forward, away from the protection Sophia and Dani tried to provide and glared at him.

“Rot in hell.” She snarled before pulling out her gun and shooting him in the foot.

The others instantly pulled out their own weapons without hesitation while Jasper screamed all kinds of curses. 

“Megan, Lara, get Yoonchae out of here! Now!” Sophia yelled as they all scrambled for cover. 

Megan and Lara wasted no time grabbing Yoonchae and running away from the fight, meanwhile Dani quickly gunned down one man who reacted too slowly before ducking down behind some large boulders alongside Sophia and Manon. 

“That was stupid.” Dani commented as she reloaded. 

“I know that.” Manon replied, still shaking from both anger and fear. 

“Nothing we can do about it now but end it.” Sophia muttered bitterly before peaking off the side of the boulder to find a target. 

Jasper was no longer in sight, a pool of blood where he once stood that trailed towards some cover on the other side of the field. Someone poked their arm out and Sophia shot at it, missing her intended shot but still grazing it. The man yelled in pain before firing wildly at Sophia, she quickly ducked back behind the boulder. 

“Sophia Laforteza when I fucking kill your girls, I’m going to keep you alive and make you my number one whore! And we can fucking watch that fucking coon get punished by her husband together!” Jasper yelled as he fired in a fit of rage.

“That guy is fucking crazy!” Dani yelled as she shot back at their assailants.

“I could have told you that when we first met him!”  Manon scoffed as she joined in. 

The two shot down another man at the same time while Sophia took out the last one. 

“Shit!” Jasper hissed to himself before something hard hit the back of his head. “What the fuck?!”

He turned to see Yoonchae standing not too far from him holding a few rocks, upon grabbing his attention she quickly ran towards the abandoned warehouse that both groups decided to meet up by.

“Yoonchae.” He growled, getting up and limping towards the building as well. 

Yoonchae quickly hid behind a few empty boxes as Jasper slowly searched the building.

“Yoonchae, good news, I’m not as mad at you anymore than I originally was.” He called out. “Tell you what, after I kill those bitches and we go home, you can make it up to me and then I’ll treat you to a nice dinner.” Yoonchae resisted the urge to gag and quickly ran to another box. Jasper saw her and slowly followed. “Come on Yoonchae, after all you’re still my girl.” He peaked over her hiding spot and grabbed her. 

“There you are.” He sneered, Yoonchae tried to squirm out of his grasp but was unsuccessful. 

But before Jasper could do anything else Lara jumped down right on top of him, grabbing his gun out of his hand and throwing it to the side. The two wrestle for a bit before Jasper throws her off him, only to be immediately tackled by Megan, who upon getting him onto the floor immediately starts clawing his face. 

“You fucking whore!” Jasper yells, whacking his fist to the side of Megan’s face as hard as he can, disorienting the girl and causing her to fall over and off him. Jasper immediately rises to his feet, stomping his good foot on Lara’s throat before she could get up as well. 

“Have fun in hell.” He grinned, pulling out his knife.

Bang! 

Jasper coughed up blood straight onto Lara as he stumbled off her and back onto the floor. His shirt turned a dark red on his side as blood pooled out of his wound. There stood Yoonchae, holding his gun, eyes wide and breath heavy. Lara helped Megan up while also clutching her already bruising neck. They were quickly joined by Dani, Manon, and Sophia who ominously walked over to Jasper, gun in hand. Jasper put up a hand as he pathetically begged for his life. 

“Now hold on! I have a family up north! We don’t talk much but they do check up on me every once and a while! My brother is a detective so he’ll figure out what happened to me sooner or later if you kill me!” He wheezed out between labored breaths. Sophia looked over at the girls one by one, all of them looking unbothered by that information. She turned back around towards Jasper and shrugged. 

“We’ll take our chances.” She said before shooting him. 

There was a moment of tense silence before Sophia and Manon instantly began checking up on Megan and Lara. 

“His boot was on my neck, his blood is on me.” Lara wailed, her voice a bit raspy. “I need multiple baths!”

Megan’s right eye was swollen and she stumbled a bit upon getting up but she gave the group a thumbs up as she looked over to Yoonchae, the girl still shaken from the events of today, especially shooting a man. Sophia slowly walked over to the girl, gently taking the gun out of her hand. 

“Yoonchae? Hey, it’s ok. Don’t look at him. Look at me.” She said gently, tilting Yoonchae’s head so she looked at Sophia. “It’s ok, he can’t hurt you anymore.” She reassured the trembling girl. Yoonchae nodded a few times before Sophia hugged the girl, Yoonchae tensed before accepting the hug, returning it even. “We can take you back to Nayoung now.” Manon offered, and it was most likely the best option for her. With Nayoung she’d be with someone who could understand her, keep her safe and constantly fed. But Yoonche shook her head. 

“I want to stay with you.” She declared, pulling away from Sophia’s hug. 

Manon and Sophia both looked at each other apprehensively, the last thing they needed was another mouth to feed, another child to keep safe, another member to love so dearly and be afraid to lose. But Yoonchae was already at Megan’s side, fussing over the girl’s black eye in soft Hangugeo. Megan tried to play it off but everyone could see that she was loving the attention. The two sighed in unison, silently agreeing that they’d give up meals, blankets, and sleep if needed to if it meant keeping all four of their girls safe. 

“Yeah, ok.” Sophia nodded, looking outside for a moment, watching the sky turn darker. “The sun’s setting low. Let’s go back to Nayoung’s to get patched up, then we have a safehouse further in Los Angeles. The mayor, Missy, she can be kind of a prick at times but she’s provided it for us.” 

Yoonchae nodded and followed the group, she looked over at Dani who glared back.

“Yes?” She asked, tone hardened. 

“Sorry, for hitting you earlier.”  Yoonchae mumbled, embarrassed. She turned towards Lara. “You too.”

“No hard feelings, right Dani?” Lara said. 

“All hard feelings, that fucking hurt.” Dani grumbled, nudging the girl with her shoulder. “But I’ll get you back.” 

Yoonchae let out a nervous giggle but the small smile that was on her face was genuine, the girl then sped up a bit so that she could walk alongside Megan. 

“You alright Dani?” Sophia asked once she saw the pensive look on the eighteen year old’s face. 

“I thought you were actually going to give her back, and I was going to let you.” Dani said, a conflicted expression etched on her face.

“Oh Dani, I appreciate your loyalty to me, but promise me one thing.”

“What?” 

“If I ever do bring a girl back to her abuser, do what Megan did. Ok? Protect them like how you protected Manon all those years ago.”

Dani hesitated before nodding, turning her gaze towards Manon who was inspecting Lara’s neck as they walked together. 

“She knew you weren’t going to, even though you didn’t tell her.”

“Well that’s just Manon, she reads me better than anyone I ever knew.” Sophia hummed, Dai nodded in agreement and the two fell into a comfortable silence.

“Oh Yoonchae, can you sing and dance?” Manon suddenly piped up.

“Seriously? Now? You’re asking her this now?” Sophia asked dryly, raising an eyebrow. 

“Well yes, someone’s got to lighten the mood after this shitty day.” Manon confirmed as she speedwalked towards Yoonchae until they were walking side by side. “We have this song called Gabriela, I think you’d like it.”