The Devil's Pact | BBANGSAZ

T W E N T Y O N E

After a while, Hanni saw a small light shine into her room as someone placed a tray on the nightstand beside her. Her nose was stopped up, but she was sure it was food. She rolled over and nodded off to sleep again.

Later that night, Hanni woke up gasping for air. She felt like she couldn't breathe. Her whole body was shaking. She tried to get up from the bed but knocked over the lamp and tray that sat on the nightstand. They hit the floor with a loud crash, spilling food everywhere. Damn it! I'm more trouble than I'm worth, Hanni thought, trying to clean up the mess.

A few seconds later, she heard footsteps coming down the hall. Shit. As soon as Jaemin entered, she tried to apologize. "I'm so sorry, I was—" Hanni began, but Jaemin shushed her.

"I have my doctor coming over to examine you," he said, helping her up from the floor and back into the bed. "I've been checking on you while you were asleep, and your breathing is really labored, and you're running a temperature."

Hanni could barely listen to what he was saying. Her head was pounding. She lay back down, and he pulled the covers around her. After a few more minutes, Jungwon escorted another man into the room. He was an older man with a bag. He took her temperature and held the cold part of the stethoscope to her chest. Hanni started fading in and out as Jaemin and the other man talked. That was the last thing she remembered before falling back into a deep sleep.

Minji was furious and...hurt.

"Turn down here," she said to Seokmin. It was now three in the goddamn morning, and they were still searching for Hanni. She was still soaking wet, but the cold was nothing compared to the heat of her anger. Minji cursed herself. She should have just followed Hanni. It was freezing outside, and she only had a flimsy jacket on since Hanni had refused to take any of the clothing she had bought for her. She got desperate and went to Hanni's parent's house.

Minji had knocked on the door several times. She could see them pacing back and forth through the light in the peephole and hear them frantically discussing something. No doubt, they were debating whether or not to open the door for her. Finally, Hanni's father had answered.

"Yes?" he said.

"I'm looking for Hanni. Is she here?" Minji asked.

"No."

"Do you know where she is?"

"No."

Minji narrowed her eyes at Daniel. Her next question was going to be, "Do you care where she is?" but Minji didn't have time to argue with him.

"If you see her, tell her to call me. She has the number."

Daniel just stared at her, then tried to close the door. Minji couldn't resist any longer. She stopped the door with her hand and leaned close to him. "You will tell her to call me, or..." she threatened.

Daniel nodded slightly. "I'll tell her to call if I see her."

"Thank you," Minji said, and removed her hand from the door.

But now, she and Seokmin were still driving around in the rain, looking for her. Kazuha had gotten in her truck to look as well, but she hadn't called to give Minji any good news. Damn it.

By four-thirty in the morning, they pulled back up to Minji's house. She needed to get into some dry clothes and get her head straight. She quickly went to her bedroom and changed into a pair of jeans and a red sweater. She didn't want to waste any time and get back to searching again as soon as possible. When she came downstairs, she saw Jake standing there with a worried look on his face.

Minji's heart dropped. "What?" she asked.

Jake hesitated, then said, "Hey Minji, look, don't hate me, okay? But...I know where she got the money from, and I know where she probably is right now."