AMOUR

Chapter Six

"STOP!" Hana shot up as she reached out to someone. But seconds later she couldn't remember what she had dreamt.

"What was I dreaming about?" she asked herself. She looked around the room and noticed it was hers. Hana couldn't remember how she got here. The last thing she remembered was walking out of the garden.

Everything went downhill as soon as she walked out of the garden. She started seeing random glitches in her mind, and there was a strange noise that was calling out to her.  Hana had consumed all energy trying to push the glitches away without even noticing it.

Hana got up from her bed, shaking the thoughts away, and walked out of the room. Her stomach instantly grumbled when she smelled the terrific aroma in the air.

Mentally thanking Mrs. Wang, Hana ran down the stairs where she almost bumped into someone.

"Woah! Hey, cubby," Taehyung said as he steadied Hana with his hands.

"OH MY GOD! TAE!" Hana shouted as she jumped into his arms happily. "I missed you, she said softly against his shoulder."

Taehyung smiled as he wrapped his arms around her tightly and spun her around. "I missed you too!"

"Put her down, you alien," Mrs. Wang scolded, "she just woke up."

Hana giggled as Taehyung placed her back on the ground. "Good to see you Tae," She patted his arm as she walked into the kitchen. Hana immediately walked towards Mrs. Wang and back hugged her.

Hana might come off as a cold person to someone new, but she was extremely lovable and clingy when it came to the people she held dear to her heart.

"Are you feeling better?" Mrs. Wang asked. She felt Hana nodding against her shoulder. "You must be hungry," she said softly.

"Very," Hana replied.

"Dinner is almost ready. Go sit down," Mrs. Wang told her. But Hana groaned and hugged her even harder. Mrs. Wang laughed but didn't protest and continued what she was doing.

"Am I invisible?" Taehyung mumbled to himself,  making both the women laugh. "This happens every single time," Taehyung groaned. They kept laughing but still didn't pay attention to him.

It was fun to tease TaeTae.

Taehyung was the adoptive son of Mrs. Wang and Hana's best friend. Ever since they were kids, Taehyung has been very protective of Hana and always treated her as a little sister since he didn't have any. Taehyung became even more protective after Sana's death. He knew how big of an impact it made on Hana's life, and he did not want Hana beating herself over it for the rest of her life.

Tahyung was one of the reasons why Hana managed to move on and start fresh. Sana's death was a shock for all of them.

Taehyung sat in the middle of the table in protest. But he was quickly disciplined by Mrs. Wang as she threw a spatula at him. Hana gasped when he caught the spatula even though Mrs. Wang had thrown it unexpectedly. He smiled innocently and licked the remains. "Mmm... delicious. "

"You little brat!" Mrs. Wang gritted, Come here! She said as she charged towards him.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Mom! It hurts!" Taehyung cried out, but there was a smile on his face.

Taehyung was always the trouble maker and never left a chance to get himself in trouble. He, including Hana and Insoo, were the troublesome trio. Anywhere they went, trouble walked beside them, and they used to enjoy every single second of it.

Taehyung finally got thrown off the table, and a variety of dishes replaced his position. Cooking and punishing Taehyung were two of her specialty.

"Come, dinners ready," Mrs. Wang said as she placed last of the endless side dishes on the table.

"OH, Soybean Jiggae," Hana exclaimed in an English accent as she sat down beside Taehyung.

Taehyung scoffed at the accent and mocked Hana, earning a slap on the shoulder in return. "Taehyung behave," scolded Mrs. Wang.

"I feel outnumbered," Taehyung whined as he took a spoonful of the stew and moaned in delight. "Anyways," he started, "What have you been up to these days? What's with the surprise visit?" He asked Hana.

"Nothing much, just wanted to clear my mind before starting the job." Hana answered

"So you'll leave again?" Hana could hear the disappointment and hurt in his voice, but she had no other choice. Being a vet was her dream job.

"Tae," Hana started in a soft voice, "I have to." She looked at him, pleading with her eyes that he might understand without her saying anything.

"Yeah, I know," Taehyung said harshly, "Just run away again."

Hana went silent after he said that. What else could have said? Deep down, she knew it, but he was adding salt to the wounds.

"Taehyung, you're crossing the line," Mrs. Wang finally spoke up. "She's already sick."

Taehyung passed a stern look towards the both of them, and the rest of dinner went by quietly. None of them spoke up or even tried. Hana leaving was a sore topic for Taehyung.

He wanted Hana to face the pain head-on rather than running away, but it was beyond what Hana could handle at that time. She wasn't as strong back then.

"I am going out for a second," Hana said suddenly. "I need fresh air," she looked at Taehyung and left the farmhouse without another word.

Hana took a deep breath as soon as she realized that she had walked far away from the farmhouse. The farmhouse was near the Ahopsan forest. It was Hana's moat favorite to run away to after the library. She knew it like the back of her hand.

Hana was lost in her thoughts when she heard some commotion in the woods. Wild animals were rare to come there, so she got alert. Suddenly she heard a loud whimper and a loud thump.

As if on instinct, she ran towards the place where she heard the whimper.

When Hana finally found the source of the noise, she was surprised to see this kind of animal here in a sea-level area.

Cautiously, she approached the animal and couldn't believe her eyes at the damage the poor animal had taken.