Starlit Bonds

XVII

Chapter 17: Step On Me
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"You don't get to dictate how I cope with that pain."

Haerin's voice, resonant and laced with a predatory allure, cut through the charged air. "I'm sorry that things happened the way they did," she admitted, her gaze unyielding. "But I've learned something."

Minji's eyes met Haerin's, a swirl of emotions dancing in the depths. Haerin tilted her head slightly, a predatory glint in her crimson eyes. "When you want something, never let it go," she declared, her words carrying the weight of centuries.

A shiver crawled down Minji's spine as Haerin's words hung in the air. "I don't mind how much you resent me," Haerin continued, her voice a velvet caress, "you can't escape me."

Minji's jaw clenched, the defiance in her eyes battling with the undeniable pull Haerin had on her. "Because we're bound," she asserted, a mixture of resignation and defiance in her tone.

Haerin nodded, a knowing smirk playing on her lips. "Finally, she's learning," she quipped, a hint of satisfaction in her voice.

"Don't push it," Minji shot back, her voice a blend of frustration and vulnerability. The room pulsed with the intensity of their unspoken connection, a magnetic force that defied logic.

Haerin took a step closer, the air crackling with the tension of their shared history. "You can't deny what we are,"

Haerin's voice, a symphony of ancient echoes and dark promises, cut through the charged air. "I'm gonna kill the cat," she declared, her words dripping with a lethal certainty.

Minji's eyes flashed with defiance. "No," she said firmly, a line drawn in the sand.

"You don't have a say this time."

Haerin's gaze, crimson and unyielding, bore into Minji. "What's so special about it anyway?" she muttered, stepping away with the graceful glide of a nocturnal predator.

Minji hesitated, the weight of her emotions tangling with the unspoken bond they shared. "I liked its company," she confessed, her voice a fragile melody in the tense silence. "And it paid attention to me."

Haerin turned to face her, the dim light casting shadows that danced on her predatory features. "And I can't do the same?" she questioned, her voice a seductive purr that stirred the air.

Minji's breath caught, torn between the familiarity of the cat's comforting presence and the magnetic pull of Haerin's dark allure. "It's not the same," she whispered, her eyes locked with Haerin's.

Haerin took a step closer, the air thickening with an undercurrent of tension. "Why settle for a mere companion when you could have a partner in eternity?" she murmured, her words echoing with a promise that sent shivers down Minji's spine.

Minji squared her shoulders, a defiant spark in her eyes. "You left," she reminded Haerin, the pain of abandonment simmering beneath the surface. "Why should I trust you now?"

Haerin's eyes gleamed with an ancient sorrow. "I made a mistake," she admitted, her voice a haunting lament. "But I've come back, Minji, for you."

Minji's jaw clenched, the conflicting emotions waging war within her. "You can't just expect everything to be the same," she retorted, a tremor in her voice.

Haerin's lips curved into a dark smile. "I don't expect it to be the same," she confessed, a predatory gleam in her eyes. "I expect it to be better, stronger."

Minji's heart pounded, caught in the gravitational pull of Haerin's magnetic presence. "I won't let you control me," she declared, a flame of resistance burning bright within her.