Sae-wee had taken a few minutes to collect herself. Though Min-ho wanted her to rest a little longer, she insisted against it. No one knew if the Spectors would return, after all.
With that settled, they turned their Z-Eyes back on and headed out.
Helping her walk, Min-ho felt a knot coil in his stomach due to Sae-wee's condition. She had lost so much blood she could no longer walk without him. And to make matters worse, he could tell there was something more going on inside her.
Thinking back on the wound, it looked strange. The arteries around it had blackened, as though housing something evil within.
'Poison,' Min-ho thought, dread sinking further in.
He had checked his Shop menu for any potions that could mitigate poison, but he found no such vials.
As they continued to walk, he did his best to keep his mind off Sae-wee and onto their surroundings.
With Ji-su gone, they were walking blind.
For one, he had completely lost all sense of direction. They were supposed to be headed west, but after their frenzied and chaotic escape through several spiraling passageways, he realized he'd gotten them lost.
Every tunnel looked the same. The walls, the crystals, the smell of damp stone—they mocked his every step.
At this point, he didn't know if he was headed north or south. And without that chute they fell from, he couldn't even tell where they needed to go.
And then there was the matter of the Spectors. They could be lurking at any corner, while Min-ho and Sae-wee wouldn't have the slightest clue.
It was strange being without Ji-su. They had grown so reliant on him that Min-ho now felt like a limb had been severed.
In short, he felt exposed… naked.
He summoned his dagger into his free hand, readying himself for any encounter.
Staying put and waiting for Ji-su to find them might've been smarter. Surely, Ji-su and Im-hee couldn't have run more than a hundred meters. But Spectors could find them if they didn't move.
So the best choice was to keep going—slowly.
'Find us, Ji-su,' Min-ho thought, holding Sae-wee's arm firmly as they continued on.
***
Five minutes into their walk, Sae-wee fell to the ground, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
"Sae-wee," Min-ho called out, heart pounding as he bent over, holding her in place.
He went cold as he watched her cough up chunks of black blood. Its color so void, Min-ho felt like he was looking into death itself.
His fear for her well-being skyrocketed, panic taking root.
"We should try a Blood Burner," Min-ho said, his voice anxious and shaken.
She shook her head as her coughing subsided, then began to wheeze while holding her bloodied lips.
"It won't cure the poison," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "It'd just be a waste of Coins."
"We can at least try," Min-ho insisted, but she shook her head again.
"Let's keep going," Sae-wee said, forcing herself up.
Though Min-ho wanted to argue, he knew it would be a waste of time. So he listened, helping her onto her feet.
Slightly hesitant, he gripped her arm, then resumed walking.
They moved in silence, following a straight path as Min-ho's mind ran amok.
'What can I do?' he asked himself over and over again, as a million useless ideas came and went.
He began to scratch his thumb out of frustration.
Noticing this, Sae-wee gathered her strength, then spoke.
"I told them," she said, pausing as the pain ate into her.
Min-ho jolted out of his thoughts in a panic. Her words didn't register at first. But when they did, he calmed.
"I told them… that if they wanted to be truly free," she smiled again, "they'd join you."
Silence fell as Min-ho considered her words.
"That was it?" he asked, genuinely curious.
She forced a shrug.
"Of course, I did have to tell them a little about them… themselves, to get them… to… to believe me," she said, grinning and wincing.
Min-ho said nothing. He just stared at Sae-wee, especially at how different she looked when she smiled.
"I see," he said, then turned his gaze to the path ahead.
"You know…" Min-ho said after a little thought.
Sae-wee turned to face him, somewhat eager to hear what he had to say.
"You… you're really strange," he said, then glanced at her. "I've never seen you smile before. And yet, you do it in the most… strange circumstances."
She smiled again, then lowered her gaze.
"Perhaps it's the blood loss," she blinked a couple of times. "Or perhaps…"
Min-ho leaned in slightly, listening.
"I just wanted you to see my smile."
Min-ho paused, her words catching him by surprise.
They remained quiet. Neither of them willing to speak.
Just then, Min-ho felt her muscles tense.
She pulled away from his grasp and turned to the wall beside them, finding purchase as she began to cough again.
Once more, black blood escaped her lips, spilling on the wall and sliding down it.
She couldn't stay upright for more than a second before collapsing to her knees, still coughing.
Min-ho froze, his emotions tangling into a web of helplessness.
Eventually, her coughing ceased, and she panted heavily.
"You… you can see the future, right?" Min-ho asked, his question seemingly coming out of nowhere.
Sae-wee hesitated, then nodded.
"Will… will you survive this?" Min-ho asked.
Sae-wee said nothing. Did nothing.
She just leaned back against the wall.
Her silence said it all.