Threads of Fate (Catnipz)

In Between Two Worlds

The sterile, cold air of the hospital room enveloped them as Minji stood beside Haerin's body, now lying motionless on a hospital bed. The beeping of the heart monitor was the only sound that filled the space, its rhythm steady but somehow hollow, as if it too was waiting for something that hadn't come yet. Haerin's body appeared as lifeless as the girl had once appeared on the street, pale and still, with tubes and wires attached to her like chains binding her to a world she no longer belonged to.

Minji stood in the shadows by the door, her black cloak billowing slightly as she turned to face the soul that had been torn from her body. Haerin was standing beside her, her gaze fixed on the lifeless form she had once occupied. The room felt suffocating, the reality of what was happening slowly settling in, and yet Haerin remained silent, her hands trembling as they clasped tightly in front of her.

Minji took a step forward, her gaze never leaving Haerin's. There was no anger in her, no force behind her words. But there was something unmistakably heavy in the air—something that made even Minji's immortal heart ache in a way it never had before.

"You see it now, don't you?" Minji's voice was soft, but it carried an undeniable weight. She gestured to the body on the bed, the faint rise and fall of Haerin's chest the only sign that she was still tethered to the physical world. "This is the body that was left behind when your soul left it. It's not dead, but it's not alive either."

Haerin turned her head sharply to Minji, her eyes wide with confusion, panic, and a touch of disbelief. "What do you mean? Why can't I just wake up?"

Minji's gaze softened for a brief moment. She had seen this countless times before, the unwillingness of souls to let go, the denial that they had truly crossed over. But Haerin's resistance was different. It was stronger, rooted in something deeper than mere fear of the unknown. And Minji couldn't help but feel a strange tug at her chest.

"You're in a coma," Minji explained, her voice steady despite the turmoil inside her. "Until you accept your fate, until you agree to come with me, your body will remain like this; trapped between life and death. Your soul cannot return until you make that decision."

Haerin's breath caught in her throat as she stepped closer to her body, her hand hovering just above the hospital bed, as if she could reach down and somehow awaken herself. The machines around her hummed, their incessant beeping mocking her helplessness. Her fingers twitched as she reached out, but she pulled back as if scared to touch what was left of her former self.

"I don't understand," Haerin whispered, her voice breaking. "How can you say this? Why can't I just go back? I'm not ready to leave yet. I don't want to be... gone."

Minji's expression softened, though her eyes remained heavy with the burden of her duty. She stepped closer, her presence both comforting and alien, like a shadow that loomed without ever touching the ground. "I know it's hard to understand. But your soul is not tied to this world anymore. The body you left behind... it's not yours to control. Until you make the choice, until you decide to come with me, your body will stay in this coma."

Haerin's voice was barely a whisper as she spoke again, her eyes filling with tears she hadn't realized she'd been holding back. "But I can't. There's so much I left undone. People who need me, things I never said. I'm not ready. Please... let me go back."

Minji's gaze softened even further, the edge of her stoic composure cracking just a little. She had heard these words from so many souls, all of them desperately clinging to unfinished business, to lives that had been cut short too soon. And while Minji understood, while she knew all too well what it felt like to leave things behind, she also knew that the balance had already been tipped for Haerin.