disclosure | park woojin

08

While waiting outside, Hana pulls the ice cream sandwich out. She rips the packaging open, waddling with the bag between her legs over to the trash can a few feet from her to toss the wrapper away. Then, she hooks her wrist through the handles of the bag, sliding it down to her wrist, and places that hand in her pocket, happily munching on her ice cream.

From across the street, there's the faint sound of glass shattering, startling Hana. Squinting at the row of buildings across from the convenience store, she catches what looks like a black shadow running across the sidewalk. She chokes on the ice cream in her mouth and stumbles backwards. Was the store getting robbed?

She reaches into her pocket for her phone to call the police when she sees the black shadow move again in her peripheral, but this time, closer. It didn't look so much like a human then. In fact, it looked eerily similar to the demons that Donghyun had described in his horror story; it had long, gangly limbs, a hunched back with a large torso, and Hana swears she sees a flash of two red eyes.

Hana moves quickly to run into the store to wait for Woojin, her heart racing and her fingers shaking. As she turns her head to check behind her, her fingers clasped on door handle, she finds the monster is right behind her. With it so close, Hana can see its red eyes, mouth open as it exhales black smoke. She shrieks, dropping her ice cream as she turns to run in the other direction. Right before her, the door to the store swings open and a blinding, blue crystal is tossed up into the air. A shimmering wave descends from it, encasing the two and the monster in what looks like a glass dome.

She's yanked back and spun around, suddenly pressed against the back of a familiar sweatshirt she's seen so many times today. Short-lived relief washes over her, until she remembers what was standing before them. "Are you okay?" Woojin asks, eyes still on the thing- whatever the hell it was- in front of them.

"I'm okay," She confirms, hiding her face in Woojin's shoulder to calm down. She really would prefer if she didn't have to see that thing again, it was terrifying enough the first time she saw it. But Woojin shifts, a hand reaching back to slip between hers and squeezes it comfortingly. Somewhere inside her, she musters the courage to take another look at the... alien? She didn't know what to classify it as.  "What is that?" She whispers, afraid that talking too loudly may send it into a fury.

The monster roars, whipping its head back and forth, breathing in deep, heavy pants. Hana's fingers grip Woojin's tightly, scared to death of what it might do to them. If it were to attack, what could they do to stop it? It was twice their size, no doubt much stronger than any human could ever be.

Hana then peers into the window of the store. The cashier is leaning against the counter, scrolling through his phone, completely unaware of what was going on outside. The monster's roar was loud, and there was no way that someone even down a few blocks couldn't hear it. How was this even possible?

As she's trying to make sense of what's happening, Woojin begins stepping backward, his other hand resting on the small of her back to keep her steady as she stumbles from the sudden movement.

"You might want to close your eyes for this." He warns, but Hana is too caught up in the moment with adrenaline rushing through her body, in fear for both herself and Woojin. She doesn't process it in time, and before she can close her eyes, she sees waves of blue light emitting from Woojin's body.

Hana stares at him in horror, releasing her hold on him and staggering backward, falling onto her bottom. "What-" She chokes on her breath. Literally, what was even going on? If this was a dream, she wanted to wake up.

Woojin raises his outstretched hand, and almost immediately, the monster goes flying backwards, letting out a shrill cry as it's stretched beyond what it can handle, disintegrating into the air and leaving behind no trace but a small cloud of smoke. The glass-like dome retreats back into the crystal, and it clatters to the ground. Woojin runs toward it, bending to pick it up. He pushes it into his pocket and jogs back, bending to crouch in front of Hana. His expression is abnormally calm after coming out of situation as such, muscles lax, and breathing normal.

He grabs her hand, observing it under the poor lighting of the street lamps. "You have some scratches." He murmurs, wiping the dirt from her palm. Sighing, he glances around them before gently pulling her up.

"Park Woojin, you have so much explaining-"

"I know." He interrupts, giving her a once over to check for any more injuries. "For now, let's head back to the hotel."