pulling on cosmic strings ꩜ pi hanwool, study group

5. opposing teams

Minju's eyebrows furrowed, "Go where?"

‧｡ ₊ ⭑˚ ꩜ ⋆ 𓂃 ₊ ⊹

At the lounge, Minju sat on the couch as Hanwool rummaged through the storage closet, looking for something. He returned with a first aid kit.

Hanwool kneeled with one knee on the floor in front of her, opening the kit and taking out what he needed. Wordlessly, he took the cotton swab with alcohol and reached for her cheek, his other hand steadying her face by holding her chin.

The cotton swab coming in contact with her cut stung, earning a hiss from Minju. She quickly pushed his hands away, "I can do it myself."

Hanwool didn't take no as an answer, he shooed her hands away and reached for her face once more. "Stay still."

Minju sighed and faced her cut towards him, giving him more access to apply the ointment, and later, a bandaid.

He then focused on her hands, effortlessly disinfecting and applying ointment before wrapping them in bandages. "What happened here?"

Minju's eyes flickered down to her hands, "Snapped a slab of wood in half."

"You were being reckless."

"I was angry," Minju replied nonchalantly.

At the sight of her bandages covering the wounds, he patted them for extra measure, his hands lingering, holding her hands. Hanwool placed his gaze on her, "You shouldn't have gotten involved in the fight. What were you doing there, anyway?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you questions right now?" Minju's tone started to shake with rage. "Why did you send them to attack Ms. Lee?"

Hanwool's eyes avoided her gaze as he turned to look away.

Minju's voice turned soft, "Were you trying to kill her?"

"So what if I was?"

Her breath hitched at the admission, her anger returning, evident in her voice, "What is wrong with you?"

Hearing her outburst, Hanwool ruffled his hair aggressively, "You never cared about this before. It's not like you haven't done far worse things, why do you care now?"

"This is different."

"How is it different?" Hanwool argued.

Because she used to be careless. She didn't give a shit about anything in high school back then, oblivious of the consequences of her actions.

Hanwool was right, Minju wasn't exactly an angel. While she wasn't as cruel or gruesome compared to the others, she still did bad things. Blackmail, theft, assault, kidnapping, torture, you name it. She never refused a single command, turning a blind eye to the justifications behind them.

She was a diligent daughter, Minju. Following her father's orders at every beck and call. He had conditioned her since she was a little girl, hoping that she would never realize the flaws in all her deeds.

To the moment she had died, she'd never killed anyone, no. But she might as well had with how many people's lives she ruined. With how many people she knowingly or unknowingly led to their death.