The girl didn't speak right away. She just stared at me — at the blood on my hands, the bodies cooling around us. I was breathing hard, my limbs shaking with exhaustion. I wasn't sure if it was from fear or the fight.
"Are you hurt?" I asked.
Her lips parted, but no sound came out at first. Then she shook her head. "No… you—" She cut off, her eyes flicking to my arm.
I followed her gaze. A deep cut ran along my forearm, blood dripping steadily onto the ground. I hadn't even felt it.
"It's nothing," I said. It would scar. Most things did.
I knelt and started going through the bandits' belongings. Food first. I found a small pouch of dried meat and rice cakes, and my heart leapt. It wouldn't last long — but my family wouldn't go hungry tonight.
Then I found the money.
A leather pouch, heavier than I'd ever held before. I opened it, and the glint of silver almost made my breath catch. I didn't know how much was there, but it didn't matter. It was enough.
"Thieves," the girl whispered behind me. I glanced back, and she was watching me with wide eyes.
"Dead thieves," I corrected. I pulled one of the swords from a fallen body — a real weapon, sharp and well-made — and tucked it through my belt. I wasn't going home empty-handed. Not this time.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"Seo Yoon-Hee," she said softly. "They… they took me from my village. I don't know what happened to my family." Her voice cracked on the last word.
I looked at her then — really looked. She was beautiful, yes, but more than that… she was afraid. Alone. I knew what that felt like.
"You can come with me," I said, surprising myself. "If you want."
She stared at me, like she didn't quite believe what she was hearing. But then she nodded.
I led her through the woods, back toward home. Neither of us spoke. There was too much to say — and none of it mattered right now. Survival came first.
But as we walked, the weight of the silver at my side felt heavier than the sword. And I realized something:
This was just the beginning.
I would kill for my family. I would steal, bleed, and fight for them.
And one day, I'd rise so high that no one would dare look down on us again.
One day, I'd have everything.
And the world would remember my name.