Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
siwoo held her phone to her ear, sohees number plastered on the screen with the ringing sound, hoping her best friend would answer. the girl picked up her phone to see a dozen missed calls and messages from sohee, finally getting the chance to call back but she hadn't answered at all.
she sucked her teeth to herself when she heard the other end of the line go to voicemail for a third time, moving her phone from her ear in defeat. about to ring her number again, she heard mark call her name. "siwoo, you should see this."
her body twisted from the kitchen to the living room area, where mark and her aunt sat still watching the news for anything of importance—besides the obvious. she could hear the faint sound of screaming and shouting coming from the tv, only further eating at her curiosity as she moved her feet closer.
the sight made her entire body freeze within itself, her lips parting in both shock and fear at the creature displayed over the screen. "what the hell is that...?"
"i don't know," the boy breathed, as if he was stomped by not knowing, "i should've known i wouldn't be the only thing to get through the portal."
his eyes glanced over to her aunt, worry prominent in her face knowing her niece would be risking her life trying to defeat the unusual beings in their world. he felt guilty, not wanting her to hear what he was about to say so he gently grabbed onto siwoos wrist and pulled her just around the corner into the hallway.
his dark eyes stare into hers, scanning every part of her face when she showed nothing but confusion. "are you okay?" her voice came out quiet and light, even startling herself at the way she sounded.
mark nodded, not looking away when his hand fell into hers. he squeezed oh so delicately and inhaled a short breath as if he was afraid about what he was about to say. "i just... i just wanted to let you know that, i can't promise you we're gonna be okay after this."
"mark—"
"i'm not gonna lie, i'm kind of second guessing everything right now. we're not just dealing with mrs. yoon now, i have no idea what else is out there. this isn't like the comic books you read, you know?"
"i know that, i do, i know what i'm getting myself into."
"i care about you a lot, siwoo," his voice became quieter, "i've already lost too many people i care about and i feel like i'm responsible if anything happens to you, and your aunt... you guys have already been through so much."
he stopped himself, shaking his head while his eyes fell to the ground. she couldn't tell what he was trying to say. was he backing out of everything? was he going to try to do it all on his own?
"i don't know where you're going with this... but don't tell me i shouldn't go out there and fix everything. this is who i am, mark, you said it yourself and i'll never go back to the way i was before. i'm not letting you do this alone."
