Haunted | Bbangsaz

Clarity

"Danielle, come here." Wonyoung called the younger, who's holding a sword, a regular one.

"What is it?" She asked, curiosity is evident in her eyes.

"I need you to bring this to Haerin." Wonyoung said, passing a piece of paper to Danielle. "This contains the information she wants to know."

Curious, Danielle examined the paper. "Excuse me, what is this?" Danielle asked.

"You're not Haerin."

As Wonyoung pointed it out, Danielle offered a slightly awkward smile. "Okay, I understand." She responded.

Danielle went on, walking to the spacious hallway inside the academy. This is the sole building that remained resilient against the sudden attacks of other villages.

After walking for a lot of minutes, she finally arrived at the entrance of the training ground for the students.

She slowly opened the door, and there her eyes laid on Haerin, who's too focused on enhancing her own skills.

Danielle could hear her heartbeat resonate like a wolf's roar under the moonlight.

"Have she always looked this pretty?"

Danielle thought to herself while her eyes fixed on Haerin. Every Haerin's swift movements, Danielle's eyes were in awe.

She's too engrossed in Haerin's training that she momentarily forgot about the task assigned by Wonyoung. The piece of paper contains information Haerin's seeking to know.

"Maybe I'll just come back later." Danielle whispered before stepping away from the training ground.

Yet, as she walked away, Haerin's voice reached her ears, calling her out, "Danielle? Is that you?"

In that moment, Danielle's heart skipped a beat, realizing that Haerin noticed her presence.

Danielle turned back and calmly walked towards the door, opening it to find Haerin still busy with her training.

"Did you call me out?"

"No, why would I do that?"

It was then that Danielle realized that Hyein might have been watching her. "Lee Hyein, you bra-" Danielle began, but she was interrupted with Haerin's voice.

"Come inside, I have something to give you."

"I'm sorry, Lee Hyein is making fun of me." Danielle apologized as she walked towards Haerin.

"Making fun of you because you're watching me?" Haerin's words stopped Danielle's track.

As Danielle stood before Haerin, her hand trembled. Locked in Haerin's gaze, her eyes showed a mix of emotions, and her heart beats faster with each passing second.

"You look really pretty. Is this what admiration looked like?"

Danielle thought to herself while being sunked in depth of Haerin's abyss.

"Anyways, I want to give this to you." Haerin said as she handed Danielle a sword.

"This is..."

"The Phoenix sword. This version is crafted to match your strength and endurance in battle. Take good care of it, okay?"

"Thank you, Haerin. I'll take care of this." Danielle replied, a wide smile showing on her face.

As Danielle gazed at Haerin, her eyes filled with gratitude, the younger woman returned the smile.

Their shared moment could be felt through the air, but only the sound of their rhythmic heartbeat could be heard.
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