🏆 THE AMBY AWARDS 2023 TOP PICK - DIVERSE LIT 🏆
It's Rin and Hye-jin against the world. Or so it should have been.
Nagara Rin and Joon Hye-jin, college sweethearts and passionate gamers, have lived a fairytale marriage. Not even a decade after did...
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The hedges scratched against Hye-jin's hands as she scrambled through the maze. Her breaths came in hollow blows to her ears. Tears scorched her eyes dry. Her heart had lost its ability to calm itself down. Rin. She needed to find Rin. But...how?
Everywhere she looked, only the leafy walls closed in on her. There was no sign of Rin anywhere. She cursed. She shouldn't have insisted on entering this stupid maze. It had been one of the biopark's many attractions and every one of her friends, acquaintances, and every student in uni went. So, she had pestered Rin until he peeled himself off his desktop and went with her.
Then, she had the idea of playing hide-and-seek with him because what's a walk without a little competition. She even challenged him to beat her to the middle of the maze. With that, she ran off, determined to bring home the prize.
Several turns later, her brain lagged on which corner to take to get back to the last point she explored. Within a few minutes, her entire childhood fears were resurfacing. It shouldn't have bothered her this much. She was a grown woman, for God's sake! But it did.
Every turn she took after that flashed the vague memory of the rising department store aisles she saw as a kid. Every step reminded her of the little ones she took with her Justice League strap-on sandals. She kept wishing a face would pop up in the next bend just so she could ask them for the fastest way out. This was the worst. She shouldn't have separated from Rin.
A brand new ringing filled her ears. She patted her pockets for her phone, anything to signal someone where she was. Shit. She left her bag with Rin, claiming to herself it'd be a quick detour. Damn it. What's wrong with her today? It's not like her to be this negligent and arrogant.
Her chest tightened further, making her take a loud gasp just to get a lungful of air. She forced herself to take a step forward. One after the other. Towards the next bend. Sweat coated her temples, dripping down the sides of her face in cold trails. This was the worst. She hated being alone in an unfamiliar place. She hated being lost into the unknown.
She hated not knowing where she was going and where she was supposed to go.
How long has it been? How long until Rin noticed she had stopped playing and had gotten herself in trouble yet again? It's impossible. He must have reached the maze's end by now and gone home when he couldn't find her.
She gritted her teeth. Push through the fear. Take one step forward. Take one step. Forward.
A yelp bled out of her lips when her legs shook so much her knees knocked together. Her hands stretched out to catch her fall. A strong sting erupted in her palms. With pathetic gasps to catch her breath, she fixed her stance so her back was pressed against the trimmed walls of leaves. That's it. She's going to die here, forgotten and alone—the worst way to go.
She tucked her legs to her chest and rested her forehead on her knees. The wind picked up, sending shivers up her arms and down her spine when it kissed her skin. Shit. She shouldn't have worn short sleeves today. It's cold.
"Hye-jin," a small voice bled past the loud ringing in her ears. She lifted her head and through the haze forming in her eyes, she made out his face.
"Rin," she croaked. If she played out this moment in her head just a few hours down, she would have cringed to death, but right now, it was all she could do.
He dashed towards her when she refused to stand up, not when her legs still shook. "Hye-jin," he got to her and threw his arms around her, pressing her face against his chest. Her hair was probably a mess, especially when his fingers tangled with it with the way he grabbed her. "Don't scare me like that."
She buried her face deep into his shirt, her fingers clenching against the fabric, rumpling it beyond ironing. "I'm so scared," she blubbered.
Rin stroked her hair and muttered soothing words under his breath. "It's okay," he rubbed her back. Up and down. Up and down. Patterns. She had always loved when things were consistent. "You're okay."
Hye-jin took a few breaths, closing her eyes against Rin's chest. Just this. She's okay with this. She's okay. When she could breathe without her lungs rattling like a crumpled can, she pushed away from him and wiped her tears. Eugh. "How did you find me?" she asked, her voice thick.
A hand cupped her cheek, and she found herself leaning into its warmth. His warmth. His presence soothed something inside her, making her just want to keep hugging him and never let go. "I'll always find you, Hye-jin-ah," he said. "Even if you don't want me to."
Hye-jin felt her face crumple as more tears drowned the rest of his face in her vision. But she was happy. His words poured a ridiculous amount of hope in her gut. She'd keep believing them until she died. When had Rin lied to her? Never. So, these words, this promise, he'd keep that too.
But she should have stopped herself back then. She should have told herself that every person in the world would eventually lie to her, that their promises were always bound to be broken. Because when she needed him the most, when she needed him to find her the most, he didn't.
When she needed him to show up in the next bend and embrace her when she was too scared...
He wasn't there to find her.
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