Minji's Voice - Bbangsaz

Chapter 8

Hanni's POV

I woke up gasping. Before I could sit down, I was catapulted straight into the mother of all flashbacks. She had the strength and vividness of what she had had immediately after my father's murder, with my father lying in a pool of blood, his lifeless eyes staring up at the ceiling. I grabbed the bed sheets and stepped out, that same loud screeching sound filling my brain until reality finally took hold and the world around me became clear.

A few minutes later, I leaned over the toilet, tears in my eyes. "Why?" I groaned, full of self-pity, full of the pain and sorrow that the memories brought.

I got up and shakily got into the shower, refusing to spend the rest of the day in bed as I wanted to before I had the nightmare, as I had for months after that night.

The flashback had surely killed the happy buzz I had last night.

I took a quick shower and changed into my swimsuit, shorts, and tank top. For some reason, spending time at the small lake beach on Briar Road filled me with a particular sense of satisfaction. Yes, I had had that nightmare about my dad there, but despite the sadness of missing him and the dream that brought it up, I woke up with a feeling of hope. I liked it there.

I headed out on my bike, Milly riding in the basket in front. The morning was bright and already hot. It was at the end of August; I had no idea when the weather started changing in Maine, but for now, it still felt like summer.

I turned onto Briar Road, letting my bike slide as I stuck both legs out to the side. I took my hands off the handlebars for a few brief seconds and let my bike steer itself, jumping over the small stones on the dirt road and laughing out loud. Milly barked several times as if to say, "Be careful, daredevil."

"I know, precious cargo. I won't tear us apart, Milly."

When I got to the lake, I put my towel and cooler in their usual spot and stepped into the cool water, Milly watching me from the shore. The water felt delicious, gently lapping at my thighs as I went deeper. Finally, I submerged completely and began to swim, the water flowing against my body like a cool caress.

As I turned around and headed back, I heard an animal, probably a large dog, I thought, howling as if in great distress. Milly began barking excitedly, running up and down the beach. I pulled my body completely out of the water and stopped to listen, the howling continued to my left, in the direction of Kim Minji's property.

I wondered if its surface possibly extended to this small beach. I figured It very well could. I walked to the edge of the forest and when I pushed aside some brambles and squinted through the trees, I couldn't make out anything but more trees. But about a hundred feet in, I saw a bunch of blackberry bushes. I took a deep breath, excitement filling me. I headed towards the bush harvest, but when a branch touched my bare belly, I hissed and backed away, I wasn't dressed to pick blackberries, that would have to be for another day.

I went back to my towel, dried myself off, and then sat back down. I spent several hours there, reading and lying in the sun before Milly and I headed home. As usual, I paused briefly in front of Minji's door, wondering again what those faded dots on her fence had once said.

"Are you a stalker, Hanni?" I whispered to myself. As I walked away, I heard the same distressed dog howl. I hoped that whatever it was, Minji would control it.

I went home and changed and then drove downtown to stop at the Pelion Public Library. I spent an hour there choosing several new books. Unfortunately, I had left my laptop in Cincinnati and returned to paperbacks. I didn't realize how much I had missed the smell and feel of an old book in my hands.

I left the stack of books in my passenger seat and then headed to the grocery store to stock up for the week.

I spent a good amount of time walking through each and every aisle, reading labels and filling my cart. When I was ready to pay, the large windows in front of the cash register told me that it was getting dark outside.

"Hello," I smiled at the young woman behind the register.

"Hey," she said, eating her gum. "Any coupons?"

"Oh, no," I said, shaking my head. "I never could understand that. Every time I tried, I always ended up with twelve boxes of something I wouldn't even eat and laundry soap that left big clumps of..." I stopped when I noticed the girl in front of me, she was ringing up my order with one hand and texting on her phone that was on the register with the other. She wasn't listening to a word I was saying. "Good".

"Sixty-two," she said, popping her gum again.

I took the money out of my wallet. Sixty dollars, shit.

"Oh my God," I said, my cheeks burning, "I'm so sorry, I thought I had the money. I only have sixty, I have to return something back."

She sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. "What do you want to return?"

"Uh," I started searching through my already packed bags, "how about this? I don't really need this." I handed her the new sponge I had bought, just to replace the old one in my cabin.

"That's only sixty and four cents," she said.

I blinked and someone in line behind me complained. "Oh, um, well, let's see..." I searched some more. "Oh! How about these? I don't really need them." I handed her the new pack of knives I had bought. She reached for them, and I pulled them away. "Wait, actually, I need this." I laughed nervously. The receptionist didn't laugh. "Um..." I stuck my head into my bags, noticing more complaints behind me.

"Uh, thanks," I heard the cashier say and when I looked at her confused face, she said slowly, "That girl is offering to pay for you," motioning her head to the right. Confused, I leaned forward and looked past the sour-faced old man standing next to me to see Kim Minji standing behind him, her eyes locked on me. She was wearing a sweatshirt with the hood up even though it was barely cold.

I smiled, tilting my head slightly. The cashier cleared her throat, catching my attention. I took my receipt from her hand and moved forward to stand at the end of the counter.

"Thank you very much, Minji," I said.

Minji kept her eyes focused on me. The cashier and the old man looked at me to Minji, twin expressions of confusion on their faces.

"I'll give it back to you, of course." I smiled again, but she didn't. I shook my head slightly looking around, noticing that the people at the registers to my right and left were looking at us now.

The old man paid for his pair of items and walked past me after a minute, and Minji placed a large bag of dog food on the conveyor belt.

"Oh!" I said, "I was at the lake today and I thought I heard a dog howling from your property. It sounded like he was in pain." She looked at me, handing some bills to the cashier. I looked around again, noticing that all eyes were still on us. Kim Minji didn't seem to be aware of them at all.

I let out a snort and motioned to Minji: These people sure are nosy, aren't they?

I saw how her lips raised slightly.

She took her bags and walked past me. I turned around and rolled my stroller behind her, feeling silly and self-conscious again. I shook my head and headed towards my car. I took one last glance in Minji's direction, and I saw that she was looking at me as well.

My jaw dropped open when she raised her hand and said, Good night, Hanni. She turned around and seconds later, she was gone. I leaned against my car and smiled like a fool.

Dialogue through sign language will be distinguished by this font.

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Why do you think Minji helped Hanni? Will she change her attitude towards her?

Please vote and comment if you want me to continue the story, considering it takes me a long time to translate. Thank You for reading and don't hesitate to tell me if there are any mistakes :)