DISGRACE ✴ kim rian

31 ─── ᵐᵃᵈᵉ ᶜʰᵒⁱᶜᵉˢ

ʰⁱᵉʳᵃʳᶜʰʸ
ʰⁱᵉʳᵃʳᶜʰʸ
ʰⁱᵉʳᵃʳᶜʰʸ

The rest of the day passed in a haze for Mi-hee. Each class, every interaction, felt surreal, as though she were walking through a world she didn’t belong to. She couldn’t shake the look in Rian’s eyes, that mixture of defiance and vulnerability, as if he were daring her to follow through while silently hoping she wouldn’t.

When the final bell rang, Mi-hee didn’t head home immediately. She found herself wandering the school grounds, the weight of her choices pressing heavily on her. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, snapping her out of her thoughts. It was a message from Kang Ha.

"We need to talk. Can’t do this alone anymore."

Mi-hee frowned. Kang Ha wasn’t one to admit he needed help. Whatever was on his mind had to be serious. She quickly typed back: "Meet me at the old music room in ten minutes."

The old music room was tucked away in a quiet corner of the school, rarely used anymore. Mi-hee arrived first, the faint smell of dust and wood filling the air. She sat on one of the stools by the piano, running her fingers absently over the keys as she waited.

Kang Ha entered a few minutes later, his usual confident demeanor slightly subdued. He closed the door behind him and leaned against the wall, arms crossed.

“You challenged Rian?,” he began, his tone neutral.

Mi-hee raised an eyebrow. “And?”

“And I think you’re making a mistake,” Kang Ha said bluntly.

Mi-hee scoffed, standing up. “This isn’t your call to make, Kang Ha. Rian needs to face the consequences of his actions.”

“And what about you?” he countered. “You think you can do this without getting your hands dirty? Without becoming just like him?”

His words struck a nerve, but Mi-hee refused to let it show. “I’m not like him,” she said firmly. “I’m not doing this for power or revenge. I’m doing this because it’s right.”

Kang Ha shook his head, frustration evident. “You’re lying to yourself, Mi-hee. If this was just about justice, you wouldn’t be so torn up about it. You wouldn’t be hesitating every step of the way.”

Mi-hee turned away, her fingers gripping the edge of the piano. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know enough,” he said. “And I know that if you keep going down this path, you’re going to destroy yourself along with him.”

The room fell into silence, tension hanging heavy in the air. Mi-hee’s mind raced, torn between her growing doubts and her unwavering determination. Finally, she turned back to Kang Ha, her expression unreadable.

“I don’t need you to understand,” she said quietly. “But I do need you to trust me.”

Kang Ha studied her for a long moment before sighing. “Fine. But just know, when this all blows up, I’m not cleaning up your mess.”

Mi-hee gave him a small, humorless smile. “You wouldn't be able to anyways.”

With that, Kang Ha left, leaving Mi-hee alone in the empty room. She sat back down at the piano, her fingers hovering over the keys. Slowly, she began to play a soft, melancholic melody, the notes echoing through the room like a reflection of her turbulent emotions.

That night, Mi-hee sat on her bed, her journal open in her lap. She stared at the page filled with notes about Rian, her pen hovering above it. For the first time, doubt crept into her mind.

She thought of Rian’s face again, the way his eyes softened when he looked at her, and the way he challenged her, not out of malice but out of something deeper. Something almost... hopeful.

Mi-hee closed the journal abruptly, shoving it aside. She couldn’t afford to second-guess herself now. She’d made her choice.

Or so she told herself as she turned off the light, the darkness of her room doing little to quiet the storm within her.

ʰⁱᵉʳᵃʳᶜʰʸ
ʰⁱᵉʳᵃʳᶜʰʸ
ʰⁱᵉʳᵃʳᶜʰʸ