𝐑𝐔𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐃𝐄 ▪︎ [𝘋𝘜𝘛𝘠 𝘈𝘍𝘛𝘌𝘙 𝘚𝘊𝘏𝘖𝘖𝘓]

ᴛᴡᴇʟᴠᴇ

"Why?" she choked out, her voice a broken whisper. "Why did it have to come to this?" Her words were swallowed by the emptiness of the night, absorbed by the walls that witnessed her descent into darkness. She had once believed that her cause was noble, that her actions were justified, but now she questioned everything.

Memories flooded her mind, faces of loved ones lost to the chaos of the world, and the faces of those who had suffered at the hands of the spheres. Each death she had witnessed, each life extinguished, had fueled her determination to make a difference. But she had become what she once despised, a harbinger of death and destruction. Chae-Yeong's body shook with the torment of her guilt, her tears staining the pavement beneath her. She felt the weight of the lives she had taken bearing down on her, an unbearable burden she couldn't escape. The darkness threatened to consume her, to swallow her whole, but somewhere within the depths of her despair, a flicker of determination ignited.

With a deep breath, Chae-Yeong pushed herself up from the ground, wiping away her tears with the back of her blood-stained hand. The pain and guilt remained, a constant reminder of the choices she had made, but she knew that giving up was not an option. She had to find a way to make amends, to find redemption amidst the chaos she had contributed to. She did what she had to do, she did what anyone would have done. But, unfortunately, that didn't make her feel any better. The reminder was still there, the little trickle of blood still in the back of her mind. Maybe the realization came too late, but with all that has happened between the kids and Chun-Ho, she didn't have the chance to let it sink in until now. 

A few minutes later, she was in the kitchen, talking with Ha-Yun as she came to check up on her. She agreed to let her sleep in her room, but she didn't believe her when she told her she was alright. And Chae-Yeong didn't believe it either. Even her voice sounded wrong when she told everyone that she wasn't hungry and she just wanted to go to sleep, as it was a long day and exhaustion clung to her body. When she put her head on the pillow, she immediately fell asleep. And maybe it was the exhaustion, but that night she had no dreams.

❃❃❃

"What happened between the two of you?" Ha-Yun asked as she was getting dressed. 
"What does it seem like? We fought," Chae-Yeong responded, heart throbbing.
"Obviously. This is not the first time that you're disagreeing, but it never got as bad. You usually made up pretty quick."
"Not this time."
"And?"
"And what?" Chae-Yeong asked as she put her hair up in a ponytail and turned to look at the other girl.
"And are you going to talk with him?" She took a few seconds to respond to that.
"I'm not sure if I am the one who is supposed to take initiative. I'm almost always the one that does that. We fight, we stop talking and then I go to him and try making things work again. This time, I'm not going to do that. Not when it is his fault that we are like this."
"What did he do? I mean, you don't have to tell me, if you don't want. It's none of my business."
"Nothing you should be worried about." She liked the way Ha-Yun was there for her now, they had a rough start, but this was on her, she had to deal with it herself.
"Ok. But, just so you know, every time you two fight, it's affecting everyone's mood. So please, figure it out quickly, I want to enjoy my meals."

They went downstairs to find Da-Mi and Han already there, putting plates on the table. Seong-Jin was on the sofa, talking to Ji-Eun as he nodded to the both of them, his eyes lingering on Ha-Yun's face a little bit more. No sign of Chun-ho as she searched the room for the familiar face. She didn't know if she was relieved or worried. Probably both.

"Where is Chun-Ho?" Da-Mi asked and Ha-Yun was not so discreet when she shot her a glance that told her to shut up. "How did you sleep?" Again, that look from Ha-Yun. "What is going on? I can't ask her how she slept now?"
"Da-Mi, if you don't shut your mouth this moment -"
"Careful," Han said.
"It's fine, Ha-Yun," Chae-Yeong said, interrupting the future argument. "I slept like a baby, thank you for asking me."
"At least one of you is nice, I guess. Ji-Eun, Seong-Jin, come eat."