Enchanted (Bbangsaz)

46

Minji's phone buzzed again, shaking on the nightstand, pulling her out of a deep sleep. Her head throbbed from the alcohol still coursing through her veins from the night before, and her mouth was dry. She had never felt more drained in her life. The guilt, the mess of everything—especially her relationship with Hanni—it all felt too overwhelming. She hadn't wanted to face any of it, but the buzzing of her phone felt like a cruel reminder.

She rolled over with a sigh, grabbing her phone. The screen lit up, showing Hanni calling. Her stomach dropped at the sight, a knot forming in her chest. Part of her wanted to hit decline, but she knew she couldn't avoid her forever. She wasn't ready for this conversation, not by a long shot, but she needed to face it. She pressed accept, bringing the phone to her ear.

"Yeah?" Minji rasped, her voice thick and hoarse, a remnant of last night's drunken stupor.

"Minji?" Hanni's voice cracked from the other side, soft and full of concern. "Are you okay? I've been trying to reach you... you didn't answer last night, and I thought maybe you were... I don't know, mad at me? Or... just not feeling well?"

Minji clenched her jaw, her heart pounding. She could hear the worry in Hanni's voice, and it made something inside her twist uncomfortably. She didn't know how to answer without snapping, but she forced herself to keep it cool. She couldn't let Hanni know how much she was breaking on the inside.

"I'm fine," Minji muttered, the words coming out a bit more harsh than she meant. "I just... wasn't in the mood for texting, okay? Stop freaking out."

There was a beat of silence before Hanni spoke again, quieter this time, more hesitant. "But Minji, you always respond. You always pick up. I didn't know what happened last night, and then... Jake took my phone during soundcheck. I didn't even know where it went, and... I swear, I didn't know what was going on. I didn't mean to make things worse."

Minji's blood boiled at the mention of Jake. She hadn't even known about the phone mix-up last night, but hearing Hanni speak about it in that calm, apologetic tone made everything feel even more suffocating. Jake? The same guy who always hovered around Hanni, always there, always pulling her attention away from Minji? She could feel the bitterness welling up inside her.

"Yeah," Minji replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Jake taking your phone. Great. Super convenient, huh? Makes everything so much easier, doesn't it? I'm sure it was just an accident." The words slipped out before she could stop herself, the edge of her tone sharp and biting.

"Minji, don't..." Hanni started, her voice cracking, clearly trying to make sense of Minji's sudden coldness.

"No, Hanni," Minji interrupted, her words like ice. "You don't get it. You don't get what's been going on. I've been trying to hold everything together, trying to pretend like I'm fine, trying to play along with all this, but it's too much. You're too much."

Hanni was taken aback by the sudden shift in Minji's tone. The words hurt, and she felt herself faltering, but she wasn't going to back down now. Not after everything.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, Minji," Hanni whispered, almost pleading. "I didn't know that it was this serious. I never meant to push you away. I—I didn't know what was going on in your head. If I had known—"

"If you had known?" Minji scoffed, the sarcasm evident in every syllable. "Where the hell were you, Hanni? Where were you when I needed you? You're always so busy with everyone else but me. I don't know why I thought you'd be different. You say you care, but where the hell were you when I was trying to deal with this mess of a relationship? Where were you when I was falling apart last night?"

Minji's voice cracked at the last sentence, but she quickly composed herself, refusing to let Hanni see the cracks in her armor. She couldn't let Hanni think she was weak, not now.