" i'll catch up on sleep later. "
"there won't be time later," she replies, curt and coarse. sae-byeok still wakes startled sometimes, dreaming of flashing strobe lights and meaty hands that threaten to squeeze the life from her thin frame, of blood and the dull sound of metal beating against bodies. and the screaming and the dying and the madness of it all — she's not eager for another fight, but the fork sits heavy in her jacket pocket where sae-byeok's fingers curl carefully around the handle. it's only a matter of time before the growing tensions boil over into something gruesome.
she won't think about the fact that the other girl's piercings catch the fluorescent lights the same way ji-yeong's did. she won't think about the fact that she probably won't be able to save this girl either. the muscles of her jaw work slowly as sae-byeok grinds her teeth together. "i'm keeping watch with the old man. you should rest while you can."