HERSHE || BBANGSAZ ||

8. Visitor

Hanni woke up seeing the beam of morning light from the window. She stretched her arms out and looked around. the moment the unfamiliarity of the bedroom hit her, she got up.

She brought a hand up to her head after a terrible headache surged. The last thing she remembered is feeling her legs get numb, then Minji and Heeseung are carrying her back to the parking lot. She's not sure what happened after that.

She scanned the room. She saw a table alarm clock on the bedside table and realised it's already 10am.

She found her purse nearby and fished for her mobile phone. She frowned because her battery is dead. Her mum would definitely kill her for not even calling.

She stood up from the bed and wandered around the room, waiting to find out who's house she's in right now. There's a picture frame on the table near the window. It's Minji's graduation picture with an older man beside her, probably her dad.

Hanni's eyes widened.

She panicked. She can't contain the idea that Minji saw her in that kind of situation. She's more embarrassed that Minji will see her now in her haggard appearance. And what's worse is she can't remember a thing from last night. What if she'd done something that she shouldn't.

She slapped herself for having a dirty mind. Then she scanned herself, still wearing her clothes from yesterday. And Minji is nowhere to be found.

She found Minji outside the room, sleeping on the couch. Finding the scene cute, Hanni bent a little to inspect Minji's face.

She touched Minji's nose with a fingertip. Minji didn't move. Hanni smiled. She stopped when she realised what she's doing is silly.

—

Minji is standing near an abyss.

She looked around to check if anyone was with her. There's no one.

The she saw Haerin standing on the edge of another cliff in front of her. She wanted to go there but there's no bridge anywhere. The cliff is too high, and she will die if she falls into the river below.

"Haerin!" she called out.

Haerin didn't turn.

"HAERIN!"

Haerin didn't seem to hear her.

She took a few steps back and strode forward, running fast. Upon reaching the edge of the cliff, Minji jumped as high as she could. She thought she will make it—she was sure she could—but due to unknown elements, while in the air, she saw the gaps of the cliffs became wider, making her land on both hands holding onto the edge of the other cliff.

"Haerin! Help me!"

She tried to rest her right foot on a stone bump but it cracked and fell immediately. She looked up and saw Haerin staring down at her.

"Haerin, help me! I don't wanna fall!"

"Minji."

She heard a voice. She was sure it wasn't Haerin's. She didn't even see Haerin's lips move. She looked around and there's no one else but them. She looked up again.

"Haerin, please! Don't let me down again..."

"Minji!"

The voice was louder this time. She felt her world shaking and everything is falling into the abyss. Her left hand grip slipped from the stone. She's now hanging with one hand.

The quake's intensity increased. Little by little, the cliff's edge cracked. She fell, having the last glimpse of Haerin looking down at her.

—