Hanni's decision

253 40 3
                                    

The news Hyein brought was a crushing blow to Danielle and Hanni.

Hanni struggled to grasp that the person she had spent so much time with could be responsible for killing their comrade, their friend. She never expected that Minji could kill her last remaining relative.

"Did... did Minji really do that?" Hanni asked, her face a mixture of worry and disbelief.

"The Village Chief, Song Heeseung, was the one who witnessed it," Hyein replied.

Hearing that name, Hanni sprang up from the bed.

"Han, where are you going?" Danielle asked, alarmed.

"To Minji. She needs someone right now." Hanni responded, what she wanted was heard loud and clear by two people in the room.

Danielle's frustration boiled over. "Are you going to that bastard who killed her sister for what? She killed MINJOO. She killed her!"

"What if she didn't?" Hanni countered.

"And what if she did? C'mon, someone saw her! Wake up, Hanni!" Danielle snapped. In this moment, Danielle managed to raise her voice towards Hanni.

"What's happening?" Clueless Haerin asked, rubbing her eyes as she appeared from behind the curtains. She's sleeping peacefully next to Hanni's bed, but she has been awakened by the commotion. "I woke up with all that noise."

"Kim Minjoo is dead." Danielle repeated.

"Did Minji do that?" Haerin asked, looking to Danielle for confirmation. Danielle nodded in response.

"I want to talk to her." Hanni said, catching everyone's attention. "I just need a moment." She added.

"Come on, Han! She might kill you!" Danielle's voice rose, her voice filled with frustration as she couldn't comprehend Hanni's request.

Hanni closed her eyes, exhaling deeply before responding. "She won't kill me."

"How can you be so sure?" Danielle demanded.

"Because it's Minji," Hanni replied with quiet certainty.

She knew that Minji, who had always saved her, protected her, and healed her wounds would never harm her. Minji was her steadfast protector, and Hanni trusted her despite all her wrongdoings.

"Whatever. Do whatever you want, just come back alive." Danielle said.

"I will."

Hanni left the recovery room to look for Minji's whereabouts.

"Goddammit."

___________________________________________

Hanni searched for Minji with no break. She looked for her at the forest and the area around the cabin, but Minji isn't there or any places near that area. She had been looking for Minji since the sun set, but now, with dawn approaching, she still had no idea where Minji might be.

But suddenly, Hanni remembered a special place.

"Hanni, I've heard that this tree grants your wishes." Minji said while looking at a tree.

Clinging to this hope, Hanni made her way to that special place, the tree that held so many memories. But when she arrived, Minji was nowhere to be found.

She tried harder, searching for any signs of Minji near the garden with the wish-granting tree, but Hanni found nothing. Frustrated and exhausted, she hadn't discovered a single trace of Minji at any of those places.

"Think, Hanni, think." She said to herself, forcing her brain to think for another clue, another place. Suddenly, she remembered a special place for both of them. Hanni didn't think twice as she headed there, hoping this time she would find Minji.

          

"You're the one I long for, the one who fills my heart with warmth and joy."

"I don't want anybody else unless that anybody is you." Minji confessed her feelings for Hanni.

The lake where Minji had once confessed her love to her best friend, Pham Hanni.

Hanni ran until she finally reached the serene spot, noticing that the scenery remained unchanged. But, the emotions she now felt were different from before. This lake once brought her joy now held only sadness and pain.

She wandered around, searching desperately for Minji. Suddenly, a swarm of fireflies appeared, lighting a path for her. Without hesitation, Hanni followed them to the lakeside, where she saw a familiar figure.

The one she'd been looking for.

"Kim Minji!" she called out, running towards the girl. Minji turned her head as she saw Hanni running towards her.

Hanni saw how dead Minji's eyes were, how tired she was.

"Perhaps you're here because you wanted to witness me succumbing to the darkness." Minji muttered weakly, her voice barely audible.

"I went here because I want to talk to you."

"Why would you do that when, in fact, I've done nothing but give you pain?"

"I love you, Minji. And that's enough reason to come here." Hanni said, slowly closing the distance between them. Minji chuckled bitterly at her response.

"You shouldn't have come here." Minji said with a sigh. "Did you do it?"

"If I did, what would you do?"

Hanni couldn't believe in Minji's words. "I came here for nothing, then." She said with disappointment on her face.

"Why would you come here when there's a possibility I killed my own sister and could possibly kill you right now?" Minji's voice was weak and dead.

Hanni gazed into Minji's eyes, searching for the emotions she used to see in Minji's eyes when they're together, but no, she found nothing at all. Minji's eyes that used to reveal the latter's depth and emotions now only reveal nothing but the feeling of emptiness.

"I want to save you."

"I'll die either way, whether you choose to save me or not. I don't need that, and I will die anyway, I just want to make every one of you miserable."

As soon as those words left Minji's mouth, she received a slap from Hanni. "You have someone you wanted kill. Why do you keep hiding it from me?" She asked. Minji's eyes widened with Hanni's response.

"Tell me, Minji. I was awake that night, the night you held my hand and told me to kill you, and those tears fell from your eyes. I was aware, Minji. So, why... w-why don't you tell me what's wrong?"

"Kim Dabeom, he is Song Heeseung." Minji revealed. "He killed Minjoo."

Hanni falls down on her knees upon hearing the truth.

"He caused me all this misfortune. I eliminated the whole family so they could rest without being used again. So Dabeom wouldn't be able to use anyone to do the ritual, so he wouldn't have any other successor than me," Minji explained, tears streaming down her face. "He connected the villagers' lifelines to himself, which is why people in our village die at the age of 30 to 35. All those lifelines he connected, he used them as a source of his strength. When he wanted a perfect successor, the family performed the ritual, and then I was born. Dabeom went to see my mother and passed down half of the lifelines to me." She added, her voice trembling as she reached her breaking point.

Minji paused, taking a deep breath before continuing, "Ever since then, I didn't know, I never noticed, that I would accidentally connect lifelines to myself because of him. And now that I'm waging a war against him, since he's the village chief, I'll be waging war against the village."

"I'm tired, Hanni.... I-I'm so t-tired."

Hanni hugged Minji. This is not the first time Hanni saw Minji reaching her breaking point, but this time, it was different, it was like all the hopes she had, all the dreams she had, everything just crumble down.

"Was the only way to free everyone is kill Kim Dabeom and yourself?" Hanni asked, her voice choked with emotion. Minji nodded with a sad smile.

"I need someone stronger to kill me once I manage to kill him. No matter what I'll do to myself, it will never kill me." Minji mumbled.

"If you need to lose your life to free everyone. Then, I don't want that freedom. We can just run away from this, I don't care if we die at age 30 or 35. We can enjoy our life." Hanni said, tears streaming down her face. The thought of losing Minji was unbearable. It was killing her.

"I don't... I don't want.. y-you to leave me like this."

"No, Hanni. If we run away, you will die, I wouldn't. I would spend eternity living."

"And I don't want to live eternity if you're not with me, Hanni."

Those words broke Hanni's heart, and she cried uncontrollably while hugging Minji, lightly punching her in frustration. She couldn't accept losing Minji because of this. She wanted to grow old with Minji, loving each other until their last breath.

Minji cupped Hanni's face with a gentle smile.

"Please, H-Hanni. Can.... can you save me?"

The fireflies that once fluttered Hanni's heart surrounded them again, not celebrating a confession this time but mourning with her. The fireflies were cying all the pain and all the heavy feelings inside Hanni's chest.

Hanni held Minji's cheeks, her voice's breaking, "Let me... let me s-save you, M-Minji."

In that moment, fireflies started to vanish on the air, slowly becoming ashes, saying that today may be the last.

And this is their goodbye before they enter the battlefield with their lives on the line.

___________________________________________

No one hurt me, I was in a good mood when writing this:))

Haunted | BbangsazWhere stories live. Discover now