GASLIGHTER // BBANGSAZ

33| Run 🚭❗

It was early in the morning when Hanni’s phone buzzed on the nightstand, the sound cutting through the stillness of the room. She stirred groggily, squinting at the screen. A number she didn’t recognize flashed across it. Frowning, she hesitated for a moment before picking up.

“Hello?” Her voice was raspy with sleep, confusion lacing her tone. She never received calls from unknown numbers.

“Hanni? Is that really you?” The voice on the other end was trembling, almost disbelieving, and unmistakably familiar.

Hanni’s breath caught in her throat. It had been so long, but she would recognize that voice anywhere. “M-Mom?”

The word felt foreign on her tongue, like speaking a language she hadn’t used in years. Her heart pounded in her chest, a storm of emotions swirling inside her—shock, disbelief, a glimmer of hope. She hadn’t spoken to her parents since that night she disappeared. She had convinced herself that they had given up on her, that they believed she was dead.

“Oh my God, Hanni, it’s really you.” Her mother’s voice broke, the relief palpable even through the phone. “I can’t believe it. We thought—we thought you were gone forever.”

Hanni felt tears welling up in her eyes. She sat up in bed, her hand shaking as she clutched the phone to her ear. “How—how did you find me?”

There was a pause, then a deep, shuddering breath. “It took a long time. We hired a private investigator a few years ago. They’ve been looking for you, following any lead they could find. And recently, we managed to track down your number through—through someone who hacked into some records. I don’t know the details, but we needed to find you.”

Hanni’s mind was racing. The thought of someone actively searching for her, digging into her life, sent a shiver down her spine. She glanced over at Minji, who was still asleep beside her, oblivious to the phone call that was turning Hanni’s world upside down.

“Why?” Hanni whispered, her voice trembling. “Why now?”

“We’ve always been looking, Hanni,” her mother said, her voice thick with emotion. “We never stopped. We’ve missed you so much. And now that we know you’re alive, we need to make sure you’re safe.”

“Safe?” Hanni repeated, a bitter laugh escaping her lips. “I’m fine, Mom. I’m… I’m okay.”

“No, you’re not,” her mother insisted, her tone urgent. “There’s a private investigator on your trail, Hanni. They know you’re alive, and they’re getting close. I don’t know who hired them, but they’re looking for you. You need to leave, to get as far away as possible. You’re not safe there.”

Hanni felt like the ground was shifting beneath her feet. The fear in her mother’s voice was palpable, and it was starting to seep into her own bones. “Who—who’s looking for me?”

“We don’t know,” her mother admitted, her voice cracking. “But they’re determined. Please, Hanni, you have to listen to me. We’re trying to figure out who they are, but in the meantime, you need to run. Go somewhere they can’t find you. Please.”

Hanni’s vision blurred as tears filled her eyes. It had been so long since she had heard her mother’s voice, since she had felt this connection to her old life. A part of her had wanted to believe that her parents had moved on, that they were better off without her. But now, hearing her mother’s desperate pleas, she felt the weight of everything she had left behind crashing down on her.

“I can’t,” Hanni choked out, her voice barely a whisper. “I can’t leave.”

“You have to!” her mother insisted, her voice rising in panic. “Hanni, please, listen to me. They’re going to find you. Whoever they are, they know you’re alive. They might already know where you are. You need to run. You need to—”