HERSHE || BBANGSAZ ||

25. Free

It has been an hour now since Haerin left and the room is still lifeless. Minji is on the bed, not moving from the spot where Haerin left her, still contemplating what just happened. She knew it was real this time because she felt like Haerin had taken a part of her body when she stepped out the door.

Suddenly her phone rang. Minji grabbed the phone only to see Wonyoung's name flashing on the screen.

But before she can answer, she saw a familiar key on the table, the duplicate key to her apartment. She picked it up and answered the call.

"Yo, Wonyoung."

"Dude. How are you?"

"Uh... not good? How about you?"

"I'm fine. I'm driving back to Seoul. Is Haerin still there?"

Minji clenched her hand with the key in it. "Nope. She left an hour ago."

"Oh. So, what happened?"

Minji sighed. "It's over. She returned the key to me."

"Oh. Is she going away again?"

"It could be something like that. She said we should stay away from each other for now."

"Hmm. I was afraid that she'd do that. But I think you guys did the right thing."

"You do?" Minji felt at ease hearing that.

"Yeah. It might not be that obvious but I can see how both of you are having a hard time around each other. At least after this, she can focus on Jungwon without thinking of your unofficial past."

"I'm sorry, dude. I'm sorry that our friendship was badly affected because of what happened between Haerin and me."

"Pssh. Don't worry," said Wonyoung. "I believe time can heal both of you. It might not be today or tomorrow, but it will happen soon. You two will get back together as friends and our trio will be completed in no time, okay?"

"I hope so."

"It will happen soon. Believe me. Let her focus on Jungwon and you should focus on Hanni too."

Minji was jolted back to her senses after hearing that name. Hanni's sweet smile suddenly crossed her mind. Minji may not have realized it right away but Hanni is the person who made her feel whole again after Haerin.

"And speaking of that, I'm calling to check on Hanni too. Is she there yet?" asked Wonyoung.

Minji's eyes automatically searched the room, as if double-checking if she's alone or not. "She's not here. In fact, I haven't seen her since I woke up this morning."

"Hmmm... I don't know if my intuition is right. But I have a feeling Hanni likes you."

Minji doesn't know how to take it.

"It's a gut feeling, but yeah, I think she's jealous of Haerin the way Haerin is jealous of her," continued Wonyoung.

"But Haerin told me Hanni left early this morning to give us time to talk."

"It may seem like that but I think it's not what she really wants to happen. I don't mean to keep your hopes up, but I think she's afraid of losing you to Haerin."

Minji rose from the bed. "What should I do when she gets back here?"

"Observe her first. I don't think confessing is the right thing yet."

"Weren't you the one who's telling me yesterday to confess?"

"Well, it's a different case this time. You just came from a breakup, right? You wouldn't want Hanni to feel that she's a rebound."