Timeless | rorasa

Chapter 27: The Truth and The Lies

Rora's breath caught in her throat as she stared at the phone in her trembling hand. Julie's voice echoed endlessly in her mind-"Rora... Eisa is dead." The words weren't just spoken; they were carved into her heart, each syllable cutting deeper than the last. For a moment, the world around her blurred, the weight of the news pulling her into a void of disbelief. Her hand shook as she hovered over the call button, her body paralyzed by the enormity of the truth she now carried.

With a deep breath, she finally pressed it, dialing Minju's number. Her thoughts were a whirlwind, fragmented by grief, but there was a singular urgency beneath the sorrow: Minju needed to know.

The line rang once, then twice, before Minju's voice crackled through. It was low, weary, and laden with an unspoken heaviness that mirrored Rora's own.

"Rora?" Minju's voice was soft, cautious, as though bracing for the storm she somehow already sensed.

Rora swallowed hard, her throat dry, words catching in her throat. "Minju... Eisa's dead."

A thick, suffocating silence enveloped them. Rora could almost hear the weight of the news crash down on Minju, feel the devastation in the air between them. It was as if the world had paused, holding its breath in mourning.

"I know," Minju whispered after what felt like an eternity. Her voice was tight, strained, as if the words physically pained her. "Julie called me too."

Rora's stomach dropped, her voice cracking as she spoke. "How could this happen? Why now?" She wanted to scream, to rage against the unfairness of it all, but her voice faltered, barely above a whisper.

Minju exhaled slowly, the sound shaky through the phone. "There's more to this, Rora. More than we ever imagined." Her words were cryptic, yet there was an undercurrent of dread in her tone that made Rora's heart race faster.

Rora wiped at the tears stinging her eyes, her emotions fraying at the edges. "What do you mean? What's going on?" Her mind raced with a thousand unanswered questions, all spiraling around Eisa's sudden death.

"I'll explain everything," Minju said, her voice tinged with urgency. "But not over the phone. Can you come to my house? Please."

Rora hesitated, the emotions threatening to overwhelm her. But she steeled herself, nodding even though Minju couldn't see her. "I'll be there after my performance."

---

The performance passed in a haze, though Rora was physically present, her mind was consumed by a fog of sorrow and confusion. She moved through the motions, her body carrying out the choreography she had practiced countless times, but the applause and cheers from the audience sounded hollow, distant. The vibrant energy of the stage felt foreign to her, a stark contrast to the turmoil raging inside her.

By the time the show ended, she barely remembered how she had made it through. The drive to Minju's house was a blur, the city lights flashing by in streaks of color as her thoughts swirled in endless loops. Each minute that passed only deepened her dread.

When she finally arrived, she hurried up the stairs and knocked on Minju's door, her heartbeat echoing in her ears. The door opened almost immediately, revealing Minju-pale, drawn, and visibly shaken. Her usually bright eyes were dulled with exhaustion, shadows of worry clinging to her features.

Without speaking, Minju ushered Rora inside, leading her to the couch. The silence between them was thick with unspoken tension, the weight of everything they had lost hanging in the air. As they sat, Rora could feel the undercurrent of something darker brewing, something that went beyond the devastation of Eisa's death.