"Alright, it looks like your injuries will be nothing more than a bad bruise. You kids should get going now," the school nurse says while pulling down the rolled up pants on my sore leg. "It's way after school hours."
"What about us?" Beomgyu asks while keeping a bag full of cold ice on his black eye. "Will this be just a bruise?"
"Just keep the ice on it. You'll be fine," she merely replies, causing him to scoff.
"Ice fixes everything," he mutters sarcastically beside me, making me restrain myself from letting out a snicker.
"We should get going, then." Soobin quips while standing up from the waiting bench he was sitting on. "Come on guys," he insists while holding out his hand for Beomgyu, who smacks it away. "It will be dark soon."
"Come on," Taehyun says while helping me up from the cot I was sitting on.
As I head for the bench where my backpack last was, I instead meet Kai who has a smile on his face. "I can carry this for you," he insists while throwing it over his shoulder.
"Thank you, Kai." I smile back as we head for the door, stepping out into the quiet school hallway.
"Aw, isn't Soobinie just the cutest?" Yeonjun coos while wrapping his arm around said boy. Head-locking him as he ruffles his hair aggressively.
"Stop it!" Soobin protests and pushes Yeonjun away, making everyone laugh. "You guys are hurt so, i'm just looking out for you."
"I still can't believe you two fought Sinchae's goons.. right in front of the principal's office." I sigh while shaking my head as I speed up my walking pace.
"Well we didn't see a better time to do it!" Yeonjun replies while jogging a bit to catch up with me. "And besides, no one else was going to do it, so Beomgyu and I had to put those assholes in their place."
"I appreciate it guys, but you don't have to injure yourself for me." I reply while glancing up at him, then sending a glance back at Beomgyu who trails behind us with his arms crossed over his chest. "Seriously, don't injure yourself."
"It was Beomgyu's idea!" Yeonjun blurts out while pointing an accusing finger at Beomgyu, who stares with his mouth agape.
"Oh you asshole!" Beomgyu shouts while rushing up to Yeonjun and jumping on his back, sending them both to the ground with an echoing thud. "It was my idea just as much as it was yours!"
As a laugh bubbles its way up my throat at their bickering, I dash down the hallway with a smile bright on my face, hearing their shouts from behind me.
-
"Wow, it got dark pretty fast." Kai points out as we walk the path to our neighborhoods.
"Well we did spend quite a lot of time in the nurse's office," Taehyun says in response to him, making me hum in agreement.
It's true, it did get dark really fast. I don't think I've been out this late at night since the time Jungwon and I were out together. When he was kind enough to walk me home from our day exploring together.
"Yeah," I mutter quietly, mostly to myself. I steal another glance back at the rest of my friends, who walk at a slower pace a bit behind us- just to make sure they're still actually there.
Soobin walks in between Yeonjun and Beomgyu. From the distance it seems like the two troublemakers keep teasing him, making me snort as I turn back to watch where I'm walking.
All of a sudden I feel the ground below me begin to rumble, making me immediately stop in my tracks.
"What is it?" Kai asks in confusion as he stops walking, once he's noticed I've stopped too.
"Do you guys feel it?" I ask with wide eyes as he stares at me in confusion, "the ground, it's rumbling." I point out just as the ground begins to rumble a little harder, making the three of us fall to the ground with a huff.
"What is it!" Taehyun asks in alarm, but i ignore him as I frantically scan the trees around me. I know what this means.
All of a sudden a bright light appears deep in the woods, but close enough for me to see it from the path. Without thinking I force myself onto my feet and take off towards the portal.
"Jungwon!" I shout as I dodge through trees, nearing the portal.
"Minji! Where are you going!" Taehyun shouts not too far from behind me. I look back at him and realize that the others have followed after me as well, all with fearful expressions written all over their faces.
"It's Jungwon, it has to be him!" I shout back as the group catches up to me. "It's got to be Jungwon's portal." I say as I restrain from smiling.
"Lee Minji.." an unfamiliar voice echoes out almost eerily, making me turn back around swiftly. Without wasting another moment I resume my actions and rush towards the portal and sudden voice with urgency.
As I finally reach the circle of light, I stand before it with a smile while catching my breath. I hear the rustling of leaves behind me, meaning that the others have caught up to me.
"Woah.." Soobin says in awe as he stares at the portal before him.
"Is it.. is it him?" Taehyun questions while stepping up beside me.
"It has to be him." I reply confidently while eyeing the portal, waiting for a sign that it's Jungwon. Or for him to step through the portal himself.
Over time my smile slowly falters as nothing else happens. No person in sight.
"What's wrong?" Yeonjun questions as he must notice my expression.
"He's not coming." I reply while gazing down, trying to hide my disappointment. "I don't know why he's not coming-"
"Minji.." the unfamiliar voice says again,
making me shoot my head up with a gasp. I realize that it's coming from inside the portal.
"Who are you?" I question with my eyebrows knit together in concentration. After a few seconds of silence the voice speaks again, but it's undistinguishable.
"Come with me.." It says again, this time clearly.
"Minji, wait," Taehyun says as he grabs a hold of my shoulder. "Are you sure this is safe?" he asks with a frown, making me frown back at him.
"I don't know for sure, but.. you know how much I want to go back there.." I drop my voice to a sad whisper on the last part of my sentence, causing him to nod understandingly.
With a sigh I step forward closer to the portal, bracing myself for the fall.
"Minji!" Soobin shouts, causing me to turn back around with a small smile. "Are you really going back?" he asks, all of them mirroring a frown.
"Tell my parents i've gone back to Hania, okay?" I reply instead.
I'm instantly pulled into a hug by Soobin, which then proceeds into a group hug. "Stay safe," Yeonjun whispers as we pull away, making me nod with a small smile on my face.
"I will," I reply while stepping back a few steps, noticing that Taehyun was standing a few feet away from the group, watching us hug. "And you too, don't get into any more fights." I add, making them all let out a wet chuckle.
"Here, don't forget this," Kai says while stepping closer and taking off my backpack from his back to hand to me.
"Thank you." I reply with a warm smile, watching as he recedes back to the others with a nod.
As I step up to the portal I let out a long breath, closing my eyes as I feel a hand wrap around my own. In surprise I open my eyes to see Taehyun, who has stepped up beside me.
"What are you doing?" I ask in confusion.
"I'm coming with you." he easily responds.
Before I have time to protest his actions, he pulls me along with him into the portal.
We fall almost like in slow-motion as I watch the portal close from behind us, watching as our friends' shocked figures slowly fade away into the dark. Instead of landing into the soft snow like the last time I arrived in Hania, we fall onto a dirt path with a thud.
I immediately push myself up from the ground and remove my hand from Taehyun's own harshly. "Why did you do that!" I question as I dust off the dirt from my legs.
"That was.. insane.." Taehyun trails off, almost as if he's in a daze. He immediately sits up after a few long seconds, frantically searching our surroundings. "Where are we?"
"I don't know. But if we can find a raven I can send a message to Jungwon-" I cut my sentence short when I turn to face Taehyun, who's no longer in sight. "Taehyun? Taehyun!" I shout frantically in distress.
"Taehyun where are-" my words get cut short when a bag gets forced over my head, and I feel a rope get tied around my wrists. "Hey, what the hell!" I protest as I thrash around frantically.
"Welcome to Sorian, earthlings." a deep raspy voice snarls into my ear, causing me to widen my eyes in fear.