The golden-orange light of dusk stretched across Sukhumvit Road, painting long shadows upon the concrete. Three figures—Noona, Airin, and Mintra—walked quietly side by side. Though the traffic still roared around them, every step they took seemed wrapped in an unnatural silence.
The imagined aroma of green curry lingering around Noona was not real, yet it wrapped her heart like a warm veil, giving her the strength to stand tall—even as the gunfire and blood from earlier still haunted her mind.
"Noona…" Mintra reached out and touched her friend's shoulder, her voice trembling. "That… what just happened… it wasn't normal, was it?"
Noona did not answer immediately. Her eyes caught the last rays of sunlight before she spoke softly.
"No. None of it was an accident. And this… this won't end so easily."
A night wind swept through the street. The streetlamps flickered on one by one. Across the road, something dark seemed to move along with them. But when they turned to look—there was nothing there.
Airin, still weak from the bullet wound earlier, clenched her fists tightly. Her voice was filled with determination. "Then we'll fight through this together."
Noona stopped walking. She turned to face her two friends, her eyes carrying both tenderness and unshakable strength.
"Yes… If they want our lives, then I'll make them realize—my friend's life is worth more than their entire bloodline."
Her words echoed like a vow, just as the final light of day was swallowed by the towering shadows of the city.