All for One, One for All

Chapter 4

Min Ha just finished washing herself up when she remembered something. She looked outside the class and tried to search for that three idiots but it was too dark for her to see. "Banjang, I'm going outside. I need to, Uhm, clear my mind." Yoo Jung hesitated at first, she was scared that the soldiers might find her walking around at night and might punish them but still nodded her head. She thought that maybe it was good for Min Ha as she noticed that Min Ha was not like her usual self. It seems like something bothered her.

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Min Ha walked around the school, searching for Chi Yeol, Young Hoon, and Il Ha. She finally found someone whose figure looks exactly like Kim Chi Yeol. "Chi Yeol!" Chi Yeol turned his head toward Min Ha as she jogged to him. "What's wrong, Min Ha?" Min Ha then looked around her, searching for the other idiots, Young Hoon, and Il Ha. "Nothing. Why are you here?" Before Chi Yeol could answer her question, they heard a commotion near them. They both ran toward the commotion scene where Il Ha and Young Hoon could be seen fighting each other to death, again.

Min Ha shoved Il Ha away from Young Hoon, trying to stop the fight. "Yah, can you just for one minute not kill each other? What are both of you? Kids? Gosh!" Chi Yeol tried to calm Young Hoon while Min Ha glared at this two doofus. Then, she looked at the sky, watching the purple sphere falling toward them. Damn it! She grabbed all of them and tried to run as far away from that sphere but was too late as the sphere fell near them. All of them were thrown aside because of the impact. Min Ha groaned as she could feel her body ache. "I should be paid for all of this shit," she mumbled to herself.

Min Ha looked at the trio. All of them were shocked at what just happened. But then, Il Ha was excited as he could see the sphere up close and complained about how he could take a video if only Lieutenant Lee didn't take his phone. Young Hoon, who couldn't take a hint to stop fighting, just made an unnecessary comment about Il Ha, which again, ended up with both of them fighting each other. Min Ha tried to stop them again but only ended up being pushed aside by Il Ha and now ladies and gentlemen, she was the one that sat up against the freaking sphere. Nice, just great for her. What great luck Min Ha had.

She heard the sphere slowly open up. She tried to stand up as fast as she could to run away from that alien but somehow that alien was faster than her. She could feel her legs being grabbed by wet, slimy tentacles. A few seconds later, congrats to Min Ha, she officially was upside down. At that time, she completely gave up on breaking free from that alien. If she was going to die, then so be it. She could be back in her own universe and be free from that purple alien. "Min Ha!" All three of the boys shouted her name and ran toward her, trying to help. Chi Yeol grabbed her hand and tried to pull her down while the others threw stones and sticks at that big alien.

A miracle suddenly happened when Min Ha could hear Lieutenant Lee and a few other soldiers running toward them and starting to shoot at the alien. She could feel the grasp on her legs slowly loosen and she fell into Chi Yeol's arms. The sphere then started to close up. Min Ha let a relieved sigh and she could feel Chi Yeol hug her tighter, maybe feeling grateful that she was safe. Or maybe grateful that he didn't have to feel guilty for the rest of his life for not being able to save one of his friends. Who knew? But at that time, Min Ha realized one thing during that chaos. She had successfully saved Young Hoon's life.

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Four of them were all sitting down in their class feeling traumatized by the event that just happened to them. Even when Min Ha knew what was going to happen, she still felt traumatized as she was the one that almost die. Wait, she was the one who almost die? Was this some butterfly effect? To save someone's life, she would need to replace their place. That's just some crazy shit right there. She really needs to be rewarded after all of this shit. She was too busy thinking about the situation that happened just now that she didn't notice Ms. Park was already there with them.

"Are you all right? Any injuries?" Ms. Park asked all four of them in that class. She looked at each one of them, the worry clearly visible in her eyes. No one answered her question, still a little bit shocked at the chaos. She went to Min Ha and rubbed her back softly, trying to calm Min Ha down. Min Ha looked up at Ms. Park and without her knowing, tears slowly fell down her cheeks. Even if she acted tough and care less about this whole universe but deep down she knew that she still felt haunted by her fear. Who didn't scare of death, right? She never could deny the scary fact that she was in a dystopian universe where there was no guarantee that she would be alive to the end and would always need to face death every day. Ms. Park who saw how vulnerable Min Ha was hugged her, crying together with her.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you." Chi Yeol, Young Hoon, and Il Ha stared at Ms. Park and Min Ha, trying to hold in their tears. They almost lose one of their friends right in front of them, and that really scared them. What if they were too late to save her? It was too scary to think about. Ms. Park let Min Ha go and stood in front of them. Min Ha kept her head down, trying to quiet down her sob. "I know this is hard, but we have to keep this between us for now." Min Ha turned around to look at Ms. Park. She totally disagreed with that idea. This idea was the one that leads Ms. Park to her death. No, Min Ha totally would not agree with that. "Ms. Park, I don't think that's a great idea. What if something like that happens again and the others don't know what harm can it cause? It will be dangerous for them. We should tell them, Ms. Park." Everyone's attention now was on Min Ha.

"I know, Min Ha. But we all agree that keeping it a secret, for now, is for the best. I'll tell them later when the time comes, okay? Now, I want all of you to rest. It's already late." Ms. Park looked at us one last time before she left the class. Min Ha wanted to shout to everyone at that moment, telling everyone that it would never be okay and that everything would go down from there. She wiped her tears and left the class as she needed her sleep. She needed to stop thinking about everything, even just for a few hours. She was just tired of all that happen to her.

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"Oh, Min Ha. I was going to search for you just now. You worry me. Are you okay? Your shirt is a bit dirty there. Did you fall somewhere?" Yoo Jung bombarded Min Ha with questions. Min Ha looked around and noticed that everyone was asleep. Maybe a little too tired from the training. Min Ha looked up at her class president's face. Her face was adorned with concern. She felt touched by Yoo Jung's concern. She suddenly remembered her best friend, Ye Rim, and it made her teared up again. She slowly walked toward Yoo Jung and hugged her.

If Yoo Jung thought that she was weird then so be it. She just needed a hug from a friend. Yoo Jung, who was shocked by her actions gradually hugged her back, knowing that something wrong had happened to her these past few days which made her a little bit different from her usual self. Yoo Jung patted Min Ha's head softly. They stayed like that for a few more minutes before both of them returned to their bed, trying to sleep their worries away.

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Letter to myself

Dear me,
I know it is hard for you as you are the only one that knows the future but please hang in there. I know deep down in your heart, you want everyone to live and be happy. I know it's tiring but you are their only hope. You are the only one that can change everything. Please, don't give up just yet.

Sincerely,
Cho Min Ha

P.S. It's okay to cry. You are human after all. Nothing you do will be perfect but trust me, you can do this. Fighting, Cho Min Ha!