Till the End of Time [Bbangsaz & Daerin]

18 | The Truth?

| Minjis House |

Both Danielle and Hanni couldn't believe what had just happened. They both stood in front of the mirror, which had just been shining, with open mouths and widened eyes, and watched as Minji was simply pulled into it. Haerin didn't know how to react either, as this was only the second time she had done this: "That... that didn't happen to me last time... last time." Without wasting any more time and more in panic, she imitated the hand gestures again and tried to open the mirror again, but this time it didn't work. She tried again and again and again ... and again, but again and again it didn't work. Was she perhaps too hasty? Something she hadn't thought of? Her voice in her head didn't answer either, there was no communication. In the end, Haerin just knocked against the mirror, hoping that something would happen, but all she did was knock against the solid material and see herself in the reflection. The other two behind her could see nothing but themselves in it and were also unable to make contact with their former selves. "What's happening here?" The three women looked at each other, but none of them could answer this question because none of them had a clue. "Is she . . . coming back?" Hanni threw the question into the room and the women's eyes turned back to the mirror in the hope that she would come out of there again.

| The Mirror World |

The air around them was definitely tense. Several emotions were hiding behind their backs and at the moment none of them knew how to react. Well at least one was very obvious with her reaction, understandably. Albeit hesitantly because she couldn't quite realize it yet, Minji's attention drifted to the woman in her arms. Was this really real and not a dream? She was speechless, her voice failing her and she couldn't even answer her. Minji reached for Hanni's face and turned her gaze up to hers so that she could look her straight in the eye. Hanni's eyes shone with the wetness of her tears streaming down her face. Grief... Joy? Both were the case, Minji could feel it. She wiped the tears away with her thumb: "Please don't cry..." The taller girl was already struggling with the overflowing emotion herself and crying here right now didn't suit her ... at least not in the presence of the other two. Unfortunately, it was probably easier said than done, because Hanni wouldn't be able to stop so quickly. Nevertheless, she tried to get herself under control somehow, because there were actually other things that were still relatively important. She gave Minji a weak smile and before she could break away from her, which she was extremely reluctant to do, the taller girl pulled her into another hug and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Even though I hate to interrupt your moment..." the princess's voice filled the endless white room and she stepped closer to the two of them, "...there is a lot to discuss and we should do it quickly." Purely out of reflex, the cursed maiden reacted defensively to their approach and within seconds maneuvered herself and Hanni into a position where she stood protectively in front of the smaller girl and was practically ready for an attack. If looks could kill, then Princess Kang had probably just fallen at the hands of Minji again, and she certainly seemed to be affected. Haerin stopped moving and flinched slightly, as if about to flee again, but when she felt Danielle's warm hands on her back, she immediately felt less anxious. "We're not here to hurt you, Minji," the concubine's voice sounded reassuring even then and nothing seemed to have changed. Nevertheless, the immortal wasn't easy to reassure, but at least she hadn't taken the initiative so far: "What exactly is going on here? ...are we in the afterlife?" Minji's eyes wandered over the colorless surroundings, the only color here clung to the respective people within, but there was nothing else worth mentioning.

Hanni could literally feel how tense the taller girl in front of her was, and to be honest, she could completely understand it. All those years alone in the world, not knowing what the real problem of her past was and blinded by the loss of her lover. Hanni stepped out from behind Minji, took a few steps forward and before she could get too close to the princess, she was stopped by a grip on her wrist: "What are you doing?" She still couldn't believe it, was Hanni seriously going to side with the princess right now? The big question mark on her face was clear for the other three to see, just as the anger and hatred was reflected in her behavior. The Cursed Maiden pulled the smaller one back towards her, but Hanni stopped in front of her and turned to face her lover. "It may be confusing to you, but we're safe here," she gently grabbed Minji's grip with her free hand and released her hold, "...and believe it or not, I actually get along pretty well with the princess," Minji's hand plopped down lifelessly as her brain tried to process the statement. She did what? Was her brain washed? Her gaze drifted from Hanni over to Haerin, who was just standing there, probably waiting to speak again.