( emptiness bears its fruit, and we are witnesses to it ) // @coeuciels
What was a girl to do when she is powerless and in pain?
Jieun imagined it to be their own hell, sitting on the floor like that with hopeless eyes. They were women with many possibilities, doors opened for them when they were closed for others. Yet here they were, standing at nonexistent closed doors and each time they found themselves with another opportunity, the door closed before they could enter. What were they to do when the world fought so hard to go against them? To make sure that every time they rose, something would push them to the ground once more.
“This is it.” Hanna spoke, her voice quivering and her swirling with the possibility of death. “This is where I’m going to die. That’s it. I’m done for.”
She listened to the words well, digested it well but not before tasting the bitterness that was indirectly toward her. There was no we in death, only her. It was as though Jieun was the enemy, a wolf pretending to be a sheep because she could not see the end when all the other girl saw was only that.
“We’ll figure it out.” She heard a scoff then, an agitated sneer that slivered off the other girl’s tongue.
“No, we won’t. There’s nothing left for us to do. There’s nothing you can do.”
The words hurt more than they should, but she was used to the bitterness that slipped off her tongue. They ran through her veins like poison, coloring her blood like the color of ink. The bruises on her skin were nothing more than a dull ache, nothing more than a reminder that she was a failure in everything. She couldn’t even protect Hanna, so what could she do?
Blood rushed to her head, and her lips quivered. She closed her eyes to shut away Hanna’s insults, and she can only picture the day they were in the museum. They worried about nothing then, yet everything all at once. Everything seemed so small now, and only the room that they were held prisoners in felt big.
“You won’t die, Hanna. You’re going to make it out.”
The gears in the locks stirred then, and she could see the fear so evident on Hanna’s face. The whimper was soft, but it was all Jieun could hear then. In the back of her head, the pounding grew louder and louder with anticipation as though everything she tried to hide was coursing through her body and out toward her surroundings.
She licked her lips. “Run when I tell you to.”
“Just listen to me this one time, and don’t look back.” There was a moment of silence before the knob slowly turned. “All right?”
With the nod of her head, the door revealed two men leering down at them. “Tch, what’s with the look on that bitch’s face?”
Jieun glowered and stood up, her shaky legs causing her to lose her footing for just a second. The other male hummed. “Well shit, she’s got a little fight in her.”
Fight until she can’t feel the pain anymore.
