"Why Do I Love This Feeling?" SNIPPET #10
HI I AM ALIVE I PROMISE LIFE GOT SUPER BUSY AFTER I RECOVERED FROM COVID HERE TAKE THIS AS AN APOLOGY
The sound was sharp, violent—like a hammer beating through the cozy hum of the movie. Mira and Zoey both jerked hard at the noise, Mira’s pulse spiking like she’d been jolted awake from a nightmare. Zoey’s startled gasp echoed Mira’s sharp inhale, their heads snapped toward the kitchen at the exact same moment, eyes wide, only to discover… absolutely nothing.
Just an empty space past the counter, still and quiet. No movement. No Rumi.
And that—more than the crash—was the most alarming part. The silence sent a chill in the air making the hairs on Mira’s arm rise.
“Rumi?” Zoey called out, her voice wavering with a blend of confusion and unease. She shifted forward on the couch, straightening up, her eyes straining over the countertop as though the few inches of height would help her see the other side. “Rumi, are you okay?”
Mira didn’t wait for a response. Her body moved on instinct, vaulting over the backrest of the couch with the precision of a leopard. The dancer landed hard on her feet, and hurried into the kitchen. Mira’s pulse roared in her ears as her heart rate began to spike. Behind her, she heard the shuffle of Zoey rising and following, but she didn’t turn back.
Mira rounded the kitchen counter and stopped dead.
The scene before her was utter chaos like the start of a crime scene. A yellow ceramic plate lay shattered across the tiles, its jagged shards glittering in the soft kitchen light like broken teeth. The once neat rows of Mira’s carefully rolled kimbap were scattered across the floor, rice spilling out, seaweed torn. A half-dozen brightly colored snack bags that Rumi had pulled from the cupboards earlier now lay scattered in complete disarray, some burst open and leaking their contents. Then Mira’s eyes tracked the slow, glistening spread of liquid crawling across the ground. A broken bottle of soju lay on its side, the glass split in several sharp edged shards, its sharp scent wafting upward as clear alcohol trickled in rivulets towards the fridge.
But there was no sign of Rumi. It was like she was never there to begin with.
Surely they would have heard Rumi run off, right?
Mira’s stomach dropped like a stone, heavy and jagged with anxiety and the hairs stood on the back of her neck with needle-like pricks.
Zoey reached Mira’s side, her eyes wide, lips pressed tight. They exchanged a single look—worry etched in every line of their faces—before the unspoken decision passed between them. They moved.
“Rumi!” Mira called, her voice sharper now, cutting through the apartment as she practically sprinted out of the kitchen. Her voice carried louder than she intended, echoing off the walls, the sound of her own panic thrown back at her. The silence that answered was deafening.
Is she hurt? If she is, why didn’t she say anything?
Did a demon—no, no, they were safe here. Weren’t they? They would have felt it in the Honmoon if a demon passed through. There’s no way that could have happened so soon after they had just sealed the damn thing.
[Small reminder, my snippets are posted before my beta reads through the fic, meaning there may be some alterations in them when the official chapter is posted]