GASLIGHTER // BBANGSAZ

3. Her necessity 🚬

Want.
They were simply desires of an average lackluster.
Need.
They were necessary, without them...
Life almost seemed incomplete.
Eg. (A lung)
Minji seemed to be my need now.

_
H

anni gazes down at the words inscribed in her journal, a small smile gracing her lips. She knows it's not mentally healthy, but she'd rather cling to this last shred of joy than prioritize her mental well-being. After all, what's mental health without joy? In her quest for stability, Minji stands as an indispensable cornerstone.

"Pham, could you tear yourself away from your book for just a minute?" Hanni is drawn out of her reverie by Minji's soothing voice. She closes her book, rises to her feet, and crosses over to her best friend.

Her necessity.

As her face comes into Minji's view, Hanni grins slightly and gestures her over with her hand.

Hanni smiles at the girl on her bed, knowing precisely what comes next.

Cuddles and movies.

She dives onto her bed, giggling as a sudden surge of joy courses through her body. She's excited to finally bask in some warmth after such a long midterm break.

Of course, Minji visits, but it never lasts as long as Hanni yearns for.

Sometimes it's only for 30 minutes or so.

She needs this more than she can comprehend.

Minji is slowly becoming an addiction, one that Hanni is not aware of.

She crawls over to Minji and rests her head on the older one's chest.

Minji smiles slightly as she wraps her arms around Hanni's waist.

Hanni snuggles closer into Minji's warm embrace, a content sigh escaping her lips.

She needs this.

"What movie are we going to watch?" Minji inquires.

Hanni looks up at Minji. "Erm... 'Manipulated'?" Hanni asks, unsure of her own suggestion.

Of course, the movie is entertaining, but something about it seems uncomfortably relatable.

It's like a movie specifically made to highlight the flaws in her and Minji's friendship.

And it scares her that their friendship might end up exactly like the one in the movie...

Two lovers...

One desperately clinging to the other, going out of her way to sabotage the other's relationships with loved ones and manipulating him into believing she's the only one who cares.

She makes him question his sanity...

He knows what she's doing isn't right... it's toxic.

He knows he's now a victim of this toxicity, but that isn't the worst part.

The worst part is the fact that he craves the messed-up relationship he's gotten himself into.

Minji furrows her brows.

The film comes to an end with both lovers getting arrested for a brutal murder they committed.

Hanni shifts uncomfortably, staring up at Minji.

She places her hand in Minji's and intertwines them.

She wants Minji to know that this isn't anything like their friendship.

Minji is keeping people away for her safety and not for her selfish desires.

Like she said, people are nothing but selfish monsters ready to suck the life out of you and then dump you.