Hanbok || 2Shin (English version)

Ryujin

Ryujin stopped before entering the alley that allowed her to shorten the distance to her house. She really liked using that alley, even though it was somewhat lonely (as there was nothing of interest in it). There was a sign nailed to one of the two walls, which read: A SMALL SHORTCUT CAN BE TURNED INTO THE LONGEST HIGHWAY IN THE WORLD.

Ryujin frowned. Since when was that sign there? Well, it didn't matter.

She wandered into the alleyway, wondering if Yuna would like what she had just bought. The gift was inside a nice bag that....

Wait a second, where was the bag?

A hand covered her mouth and a second later a cold metal kissed her neck.

Ryujin tried to gasp, but the blood flooding her throat prevented her. She put her hands to her neck to try in vain to stem the bleeding. She fell to her knees and then collapsed, face up.

She tried to breathe, tried to get up, tried to speak, but nothing would take.

A figure rose before her, and though shadows scampered across his features, Ryujin knew who it was.

"I won't make the same mistake twice, Ryujinie," the thing said and crouched over her, the bloody knife coming closer and closer...

---

Perhaps it was the kick (so hard that it pushed Ryujin down a few inches) or the terrible pain shooting through her leg from the same kick that woke her up.

Ryujin sat up in bed, gritting her teeth. It had been a long time since that pain had visited her.

"I wish I'd never done it again," she thought, searching with her eyes for the aspirin. They were on the bedside table as usual, just like the water.

Ryujin reached over there but retracted her hand with a curse. No, she would endure the pain like the stubborn girl she was.

"You bastard," she muttered through her teeth. "You son of a bitch, I hope you rot in fucking prison."

Ryujin wished her words would come true. She had no idea how many years in prison the reporter had gotten, but she was sure it wasn't enough. Even three life sentences would not be enough to make up for what he had caused.

They would never be enough to make up for the two terrifying months ITZY spent during the scandal of Ryujin and Yuna's relationship. They wouldn't make up for the trauma that Ryujin now carried, one that caused her excruciating fear when she thought of the possibility that someone else was stalking her or her friends from the shadows. They wouldn't make up for Ryujin and Yuna's late nights when the former woke up in the middle of the night, prey to pains coming from her damaged nerve. They would not make up for the hell that Yuna had lived through while Ryujin was unconscious in the hospital.

They would not make up for this black hole in her life ever.

Ryujin dropped to the floor, hissing in pain. Yuna wasn't there that night. She had switched to staying alone on weekends at Ryujin's house, something she agreed to after much prodding from Ryujin.

Lucky for me, Ryujin thought. She never wanted Yuna to see her like this ever again. She crawled over to the curtains and pulled them back, opening the window afterwards. She leaned against the sill, wheezing from the pain. The frigid night wind greeted her. Her head ached from the rude awakening.

"You really came close to killing me because you had the balls to do it," Ryujin mumbled.

She remembered the conversation she had had in the hospital with her father, when they were both alone.