The Sound of Magic (Ri Eul x Reader)

A Tempting Proposal

He glances at you before answering quietly.

"That high-school girl--the one everyone thought was missing--was found dead. Her body was floating in the lake." 

Apparently Min-hyuk doesn't feel the need to elaborate. He probably assumes that you'll understand what he's implying with that sentence: Ayi's boss had killed that young girl, just like he had planned to get rid of you and Min-hyuk as well. 

The fact that her body was found at the lake is news to you. You remember Ayi telling you that she had been found dead, but you didn't hear all the details. But now that you know, everything seems to be coming together. It would make sense that Ayi's boss had killed that young girl since he also brought you to the same place he had disposed of her body. If anything, this just affirms his guilt. You shudder as thoughts of the evil man chasing after you and nearly choking you to death resurface in your mind. 

Min-hyuk seems to pick up on the subtle movement and squeezes your hand tighter. A heavy silence falls as you continue trudging along again. 

You steal a glance at Min-hyuk once more. His face, handsome as ever, is lined with worry. You can tell he's bothered about what to do now, and to be honest, you are too. He escaped police custody--granted, for a good reason--but the chances of him getting out of him getting an easier sentence are beyond slim now. And that's not taking into consideration his magical disappearance when the police had tried to apprehend him again. If he turned himself in again, and let them continue the investigation, chances are that investigation would continue in prison or a mental institution--somewhere they could keep an eye on him. 

Not to mention, if Min-hyuk appeared again after disappearing in the most impossible way, it would take away the magic of it all. Those police officers got to witness something truly extraordinary. If he came back, any seeds of belief planted that may have been sown by the disappearing act--regardless of how small--would be uprooted immediately. Those officers would make an excuse for the strange thing they saw that day, explaining it away just like Ayi's boss had done.... just like you had done not so long ago. 

So, though you still don't know what to do, you at least know what you can't do. You can't let Min-hyuk turn himself in. If he even tries, you'll be there to stop him. You're not about to watch as he gets imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. 

You're overwhelmed at the sudden thought of losing him, and you're forced to stop walking. He stops too, looking back at you with a question glistening in his brown eyes.

"What are we going to do?..." your voice comes out barely louder than a whisper. You can feel the worried crease in your forehead as you look at him. 

For a moment, you see the same worry mirrored in his own eyes. Then Min-hyuk's jaw clenches ever so slightly in determination. He pulls you close, wrapping you in a loose but comforting embrace. 

"I don't know..." he says in a low voice. "But we'll figure something out... together."

"But what can we do?" you say, feeling more hopeless as each second drags by. A growing sense of anxiety sends you into mindless rambling, "You can't turn yourself in. I won't let you. But we also can't go back to the amusement park. I'm sure they'll be looking for you still... I just.... no matter what I think, I can't think of a way out of this..."

More tears threaten to spill, much to your annoyance. You're sure you've done more crying in the past 2 days than you have your whole life and it bugs you--especially because you hate crying in the first place. Min-hyuk is just silently holding you, as if he's deep in thought. 

Suddenly an idea--a small glimmer of hope--lights in your mind. What if you could prove that it was Ayi's boss? That would fix everything, right? You had Min-hyuk's cloak that he stole, and you yourself were almost one of his victims, taken to almost the same place he discarded the high-schooler's body. 

You take a small step back so you can look into Min-hyuk's face. 

"What if we can prove it was him?" you say, unable to keep the excited tremor from your voice. "What if we can bring the real culprit to light? Then you'd be safe. We have evidence. I don't know if it'll be enough, but..."

Min-hyuk's small, sad smile makes you falter. 

"What?" you ask quietly, dreading his answer.

His eyes glisten forlornly as he says, "Do you really think they'll believe us?"

His words send a small flicker of doubt through you. You don't answer for a moment, so he continues.

"They've already decided I'm insane. I don't think they'd believe a word I say," he says. "And I'm worried... that they might think the same about you, just because you're associated with me."

You think this over silently. He's right. Even with that plan, there's still a good chance that he would still get locked up. And even if they didn't end up arresting him for murder, they would probably still send him to another psychiatric hospital after all this is done--a different kind of prison. You find yourself nodding slowly in agreement to what he's saying. 

"Then... what are we going to do?" you repeat weakly. 

Min-hyuk stares into your eyes for a few moments. He looks desperately like he wants to say something, but he remains silent. He looks away briefly, as if trying to find the right words and then finally he takes your hands in his own, studying them carefully as he opens his mouth to speak. 

"There is... one thing I thought of. If you're willing."

You can't bring yourself to say anything, so you just wait for him to continue. He gives your hands a gentle squeeze and then looks brazenly back into your eyes again. His brown eyes are filled with determination and maybe even a flicker of their usual mystery, which only serves to let you know that he means every syllable of the words he says next.

"Run away with me?"

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A/N: I know this is really super short, but I just wanted to give ya'll SOMETHING at least, since I haven't posted for a while. The next update will be coming soon, I promise! Btw, we are nearing the end here. Expect about 2 more chapters! :O

Love you all!!! Again, thanks so so so soooooo much for the love and support. And as always, be sure to VOTE!! See you next time! <3