The Last Call | An Iz*One Journey

Chapter 16: You.Call.Me.Monster.

Sakura's POV

I lunged for the knife, drawing it closer to myself.

"Ow!"

Minju had hurled her entire body at me, making me fall supine to the ground as she laid on top of me. As I pushed Minju off me, that was when I saw the streaks of fresh red blood dripping onto my fingers, rolling down to the wooden floors, staining the peanut-coloured planks with violent jets of crimson red. Then I realised - the scream of pain did not belong to me.

The knife was found between our two bodies. Thankfully, the blunt end poked against my torso as Minju fell on me - but that was not the case for her. Its sharp edge grazed against her flesh as she dropped to the ground. Blood was gushing out of the brachial artery in her left arm, easily like water spurting out of a garden hose, uncontrollably. Vibrant red blood instantly turned into the pinkness of fruit punch as it cascaded on the floor.

"Urgh..." The injured girl curled up on her side, bringing her knees closer to her chest as she used her other hand to clutch her wound. Hands finding the ground, I pushed myself up, seeing a painful grimace painted across Minju's face. Behind gritted teeth, the agony of her bloodied arm seemed to paralyze her on the ground.

"Minju!" Chaeyeon immediately dropped to her knees, holding up the girl's arm as she inspected the wound. Meanwhile, Yujin caught herself, dashing up to the bedroom - most likely in search of one of the two caregivers in the group.

With the knife sitting on the floor at my feet, I slid it away from our bodies in a panic. Bringing my hands near to my face, I regarded them with a scrutinising terror. The trembling of my hands, combined with the queasy feeling in my tummy - these made my head swirl in the moment of frenzy.

What have I done?

Minju doesn't deserve this!

I'm a terrible unnie!

Amidst my distracted rumination, Yujin scurried down the stairs, trailed by Chaewon and Hitomi. They gathered around Minju, using a cloth to stem her wound, cleaning it with antisceptics, and more. I couldn't pick out exactly what they were doing. My mind was just a pure mess. I stared emptily from the distance I've created, slowly inching myself further away from them - losing all conscience to face them. My eyes were staring far beyond Minju, entering a trance far from the present.

Yujin stomped over to me, screaming something that I could not catch. I held my hands over my mouth, not caring about the blood of Minju on my hands. A high pitched sound filled my ears with its disturbing shriek, a noise so penetrating that I felt my eardrums were soon to burst.

"....you done? This is all your fault!"

"I... I..." As I stuttered, I could feel countless eyes suddenly turning to me. They all cast the same look at me - disbelief, disappointment, disturbed. My heart sank to the ground, wanting to bury my face beneath the earth at that very moment. It was mentally stressful. I could feel my shoulders tightening and my eyelids quivering, while facing Minju and seeing her in this plight.

I can't take it anymore. I got up. Putting my hands over my ears, I fled out of the hut, sitting down by the porch. How badly I had wanted to apologise to Minju - but I just couldn't do it. Was it my ego? Was it my pride? Why had I been too hesitant to help her? Why did I even do such a foolish thing in the first place?!

An hour of thinking felt like years of imprisonment, alone, then the sense of a presence emerged from beside me - it was Yena. I hadn't even notice her coming from the inside of the hut when the door opened, having been too preoccupied with my internal dilemma. I opened my eyes, sat up against the wooden wall of the exterior and looked at her. She held a cup in her hands, extending it out to me. I received it, feeling the warmth that emanated from the ceramic. Nodding my head in thanks, I brought the cup closer to my face, seeing the yellow-tinged liquid held inside the azure blue cup - which I presumed was a wild flowered tea Nako had picked earlier.