HOP (WARPED Spin-Off Story feat. NewJeans)

Eight

(Seungwon's POV)

"Minji-yah?! What are you doing here? Why don't you have the bodyguards with you?" I asked after seeing Minji standing in front of my house, her eyes swollen.

"S-Seungwon-ah..." Minji replied, hugging me while crying her eyes out. "Hyein is...Our Hyein is—!"

"Tell me. What happened?" I calmly asked, trying to comfort her as much as possible.

While crying, she told me the events that unfolded that evening, starting when they were about to go home when a monster suddenly appeared and took some of the students' souls, including Hyein's.

"I...I don't know what language the monster is speaking, but there's only one thing I can think of whenever I look at his appearance. T-That is Death," Minji explained. "The heroes came to save us, but one of them told us that, in three days, t-those who had their souls taken...w-will become undead," she added before crying again.

"That's—" I commented, stopping myself from swearing.

"W-What's more is that the government wants to take Hyein's body away. I-I don't know...but something tells me that if we let them take her, w-we won't be able to see her again," Minji said. "H-How will I be able to face her parents?! T-They entrusted Hyein's care to me," she added before crying again.

"Don't worry. I assure you that Hyein will be fine. I promise you that," I replied, secretly casting Sleep on her. "Just take some rest now. After all, you're gonna need every ounce of your energy once Hyein wakes up," I added.

"E-Eung..." Minji replied, feeling drowsy before falling asleep.

"Logos, contact our critters inside the military. Tell them to find the location of Death's victims, take the bodies, and bring them to our hideout," I commanded. "I'm pretty sure that those Adepts told the government to decapitate the victims once they show signs of becoming undead, and I won't allow that to happen," I added.

"I surmised as much, Young Master. That's why I already instructed them to find the victims' location. I'm pretty sure they'll find it soon enough," Logos answered. "So...what are you gonna do with her?"

"I'm gonna bring her home first. After all, I wanted her to think of this as her dream," I replied. "And we'll go get Hyein's body after that."

"Would you like me to locate Death as well? I can do multitasking, you know," Logos suggested.

"There's no need for that. After all, there's only one place in this country where Death can do his rituals without getting seen easily," I answered. "He had the audacity to hurt the ones I hold dear, so he better prepare himself," I added before teleporting to NewJeans' house.

***

(Haerin's POV)

"Haerin-ah, Danielle and I can take turns watching over Hyein. I think you should go home and take some rest since you've been awake for more than a day now," Hanni Unnie said to me, worried.

"As much as I'd like to, I cannot sleep, Unnie," I answered. "I...It's my fault that Hyein became like this so—"

"That's not true, Haerin-ah, so don't blame yourself for the things you cannot control," Danielle said.

"B-But, Unnie—!" I said when suddenly, a group of soldiers entered the room.

"Wait a minute. What's the meaning of this?" Hanni Unnie asked after seeing Hyein's attending physician along with them.

"According to the protocol given to us, it is imperative that the military will take custody of the bodies of Death's victims," the government representative commented. "Since this situation is both urgent and dangerous at the same time, Lee Hyein's parents, as well as ADOR, will receive the result of our investigation later," he added.