The group made camp in a structure that was long lost to time, with only four walls standing and an arch that seemed to function as the threshold of a door once.
While all the wounded sat against the walls, Im-hee was busy preparing the meat, while Ji-su sat beside her, wishing he could see now so he could help her.
Im-hee had used up a little of their drinking water to wash down a chunk of meat before slicing them open with Min-ho's dagger and seasoning them with ingredients she purchased from her System's Shop.
She was primarily the one who took it upon herself to purchase every item needed for cooking: the stove, a pot and pan or two, and six metal plates which came with spoons and forks.
After seasoning the slices of meat, Im-hee carefully placed them in the pan of olive oil which had been heating up above the stove—a magical stove that needed no fuel to create fire, but did have a limit and regenerative time intervals.
As the meat sizzled in the oil, the aroma wasted no time permeating the air. Amidst the pain and somewhat broken spirits, the group couldn't help their mouths from watering and their hunger growing ten times worse.
Unsettled by how the meal seemed to take all his worries away, Dok-su lashed out, breaking the silence that had blanketed them since the fight.
"This is fucking stupid! We almost died out there and now we're just acting like it never happened."
Everyone remained silent. Ji-su tensed up, feeling the brunt of his brother's anger even if it wasn't directed at him.
Dok-su pointed toward Min-ho.
"You're supposed to be our so-called leader. How the hell did you almost let us get killed out there?"
Min-ho couldn't find any words to say.
"It's very easy for you to point fingers," Sae-wee said, holding her left arm. "But I didn't see you stepping up to lead anyone."
Min-ho turned to face her. She was wincing from the evident pain in her left arm, and still defending him. He wished she wouldn't, because in a way, he felt Dok-su was right.
"I guess that's reason enough to get cocky," Dok-su bit back.
"Will you shut the fuck up?!" Jang-book shouted. Min-ho drew his eyes to him. "You're so eager to throw blame around, but I didn't see you pointing any fingers at your brother!"
Ji-su shriveled and Min-ho frowned.
"Jang-book," Im-hee called out.
"No, let's talk about that. He said there wouldn't be any Spectors within the next hundred meters. Thirty meters in and we were ambushed."
Dok-su got up.
"Apparently your brain is too small to comprehend that those Spectors could have come in by the time he lost his vision."
Jang-book got up.
"Oh, so that absolves him of all the blame?! It was his misdirection that caused us to get into that mess in the first place!" Jang-book drew closer to Dok-su.
Min-ho's mind started to run rampant, as he tried to think of a way to stop this.
"I guess blaming him for a circumstance that was beyond his control is the sensible thing to do!" Dok-su did not back down.
"Can you two please stop it?" Im-hee pleaded, her gaze switching between them and her pan. She wanted to turn off the stove, but doing so would reset its timer, leaving them without fire for who knows how long.
"But pointing fingers at Min-ho for an oversight is right? We all screwed up. I don't see why just one of us should be given the blame!"
"Fuck this! It's because of people like you and that bitch that the world is the way it is. Always groveling at the feet of the first person that tries to take command. Like fucking dogs wagging their tails at a bone!"
Jang-book frowned.
"What the fuck are you saying?!" he asked, genuinely confused.
"Dok-su—" Ji-su called out.
"Shut your fucking mouth, Ji-su!" Dok-su shouted, his voice becoming more and more unhinged.
"Listen, I think you need to calm down." Jang-book reached out a hand for Dok-su's shoulder.
"Don't touch me!" Dok-su knocked his hand away. "You think you can intimidate me because you're a Second Tier?" He summoned his claymore, leaving everyone on edge. "I'm not fucking afraid of you!"
Min-ho and Sae-wee got up, ready to break up a fight.
Distracted, Im-hee missed her grip and instead tumbled the pan onto her hand, spilling the boiling hot oil on her skin.
"Ahhh!" she cried out, scrambling backwards.
Ji-su felt his soul escape him, as he did not know what was going on. But he recognized the voice.
"Im-hee?" Ji-su and Jang-book's voice synced, the latter rushing to her side and holding her arm as she tried to stomach the pain.
"Dok-su!" Sae-wee yelled, summoning her dagger.
"Enough!" Min-ho shouted, getting in between Dok-su and Sae-wee. Just then, the shooting pain in his ribcage exploded, almost knocking him off his feet.
He held his rib and bent over, breathing hard.
Aware of what was at stake, Min-ho forced past the pain and erected himself. He took a second to look at the chaos that had unfolded within their circle.
Things were getting out of control.
He took in a deep breath, then spoke, his words unfiltered and unpremeditated.
"Listen, I know we're all scared right now. The way things are looking, it seems we won't go very far before reaching the end of the line." He paused. "But I can guarantee all of you that's not true. Our plan will work, we'll get stronger and make it to Heart fully ready."
He turned to Dok-su, the pain slowing his movement.
"What happened today, that was on me. I was careless. I just thought that we didn't have to worry because Ji-su said the path ahead was clear. There was so much on my mind I couldn't think straight. But that's not an excuse."
He slowly turned to everyone.
"I promise you all that such a thing won't happen again. Not if I could've done something to stop it."
Silence followed, the only sound audible being the churning of the magic stove and Im-hee's moans.
Dok-su dismissed his claymore, then he walked away.
"Don't make promises you can't keep," Dok-su said before exiting through the barely standing threshold.
"Im-hee?" Ji-su called out, trying to find her in his darkness.
"It's…" she paused, the pain burning on her hands. "I'm okay, Ji-su."
Im-hee informed, putting Ji-su at ease.
Unable to stand anymore, Min-ho came to his knees, breathing hard as he stared at Im-hee while guilt screamed into his ears.
"Can you heal yourself?" Jang-book asked, and she nodded.
"But… but it will take some time," she said through gritted teeth. Sweat beading on her brows.
Sae-wee dismissed her dagger and rushed to Im-hee's side.
"How bad is it?" Sae-wee asked, taking her scalded hands away from Jang-book.
Im-hee shook her head, then forced a smile.
"Not too bad," she said, then winced.
"Im-hee, I'm…"
"Don't," she cut Min-ho off. "None of this was your fault. It's just something that happens, okay?"
Min-ho lowered his gaze, his free fist balling. He wished he could accept what she said, but he couldn't help but feel otherwise.
"Now can… can everyone stop worrying about me." She exhaled sharply. "Please, someone take over the cooking. The… the stove will go out soon."
Everyone paused, a sudden admiration for Im-hee sparking in the hearts of those who hadn't really known her yet.
Sae-wee picked up the pan and replaced it on the stove.
"I'll take care of it," she said, as she poured olive oil into the pan.