HUNTERS || ENHA/LSFM || - A K-pop Ghost Hunting Story

56. Hopeless

He stepped away from Jay, and pointed at Sakura's body.

Only, it wasn't Sakura.
Jay had only ever seen her face once, but it was unforgettable.

It was Eunchae.
The person lying on the ground was Eunchae.

...

It was a shock to all of them.
A horror-struck silence filled the room. Everyone seemed to have been frozen in place, petrified by the news. Sunoo too, stopped what he was doing, or even, the shock made his hands feel completely limp, struck by the un-perceived terror. Kazuha went silent, and her hands fell to her sides, as she kneeled helplessly upon the ground.

Jay stopped struggling against Jungwon, and fell back, edging away from Eunchae, his hands quivering in fear.
He couldn't believe it.

Nobody could.

His eyes were glued to Eunchae's face, and he let out rattled breaths.
It wasn't her.

It wasn't Sakura.
It was that monster.
"That's- that's not Sakura... that's-"

But he was broken off, as there then came a sudden action.
Yet it was far from a mistake.
But, it was the action that sent everything spiralling down.

Down for the worst.

Heesung interrupted him, not letting him finish his sentence.

Heesung had his shoulders poised up, staring down at Eunchae with blazing eyes.
As if he were about to strike.

"It's Eunchae..." he breathed.

Jay looked up at him.
And on his face, he could see the intentions.
It was as if Heesung had made up his mind long ago.
An intention to kill.

Heesung took out his blade in his hand.
His hand clenched the hilt tightly, and Jay watched in horror, and he could see the muscles in Heesung's arm tensing up with every ounce of strength he had.

"...and she needs to die."

He raised his weapon up in the air, rearing up his arm, the tip pointed straight for Eunchae's heart.
It was the exact thing Jay had feared.

But what had he to fear?
Eunchae was here, in front of them. They could end it all, put a stop to all of their hardships. This is what they had been working towards , what they had come here for in the first place. They had been ready to sacrifice themselves for this moment, and it had just presented itself on death's platter.
What had they to lose?

But it had been his gut feeling.
Something was always off.

But this time, he was adamant that something was wrong.
Something was lingering in the air. The weighing, tight, pulling, suffocating heaviness that had come around with the monster.
It felt eerily similar.

Maybe it was because it was the exact same thing, stronger than previously, even.
It felt like a drape of impending darkness, or a veil of forthcoming fate. It anchored into them like thorns.

But Jay could note one thing, being to close to Eunchae.
The heaviness was beyond a concentration they had ever witnessed before.
But it wasn't coming from Eunchae.

He had never expected to ever admit it, but, she felt...

Mortal.

And Heesung was about to bring a dagger down into her heart.
Jungwon wasn't able to turn around in time.
Heesung, with a strained yell, began to bring down the blade.

To kill her.

...

It had happened in the blink of an eye.