Hana:

It has been 3 weeks since I spoke to my friends.

I go to school, go to class, do my work, eat alone, study alone, and go home alone.

Minho's empty chair in class grabs my attention every time I enter any class I had with him. It draws my attention like it's calling to me, reminding me of everything that happened and everything he did.

I went to court alone; I spoke to the police alone. My parents have been there for me, supporting me in all the decisions I make. Including going to court alone.

They quickly sentenced the remaining cult members, including Minho and the old man. They were charged with multiple counts of 1st-degree murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, and assault. There were talks of a lighter sentence when their lawyer pushed for the insanity plea, but that only worked in Minho's case. The remaining living cult members were all similar in age to the old man, with Minho being the exception. They had a history of unsolved missing persons reports surrounding them and a history of assault.

Minho was granted the insanity plea, on the bases of indoctrination. He got 10 years for his involvement.

In the courtroom, we locked eyes. He no longer had that warmth or kindness in his eyes. It was almost like reality had finally hit him that night. All of the cultists had the same shocked, dead look. Each of them had varying levels of injuries. A few of them were wheeled in on wheelchairs, some attended court via video call as they couldn't leave the hospital. All of them said the same thing: Xedysus attacked them.

Their lawyers, the jury, the media, and other people involved in the process all said the same thing: These people are crazy.

I agree. There is no way any of that is real. An actual god shooting out of Namjoon's body to kill all those people for me? No way.

Even when Yoongi, Jimin, and Namjoon attended court as witnesses, they also confirmed that none of it is real. So why did they lie to me?

This whole court process and everything with those 3 guys has been hectic and traumatic. I can't look at them, can't think about them. I don't want to think about anything. I'm just glad the court process is over.

My parents have recommended I go to therapy to deal with what happened. But how can I pretend it didn't happen if I go and sit in a room talking about it? So, I refused.

I can't deal with this. I'll run away from all my problems if I have to. Including my only friends.

. . . . . 

Namjoon:

Namjoon joins everyone at the lunch, trying to ignore the empty seat at the table. Seokjin is talking to Taehyung, joking and being silly to lighten his mood. Hoseok is teasing Jungkook, making him smile. Yoongi and Jimin are sitting in silence. Jimin occasionally looks at the empty seat, sighing deeply each time. Yoongi is looking across the food court at Hana as she purchases her lunch and leaves the food court without looking at them.

Namjoon decides to try to start a conversation.

"Hey, Jimin, how are you?" He asks happily. Jimin turns his eyes to him, glaring at his audacity to ask such a question.

"How do you think I am?" He snaps. The other 4 stop talking to listen to the exchange.

"I'm sorry... I'm just trying to help," Namjoon mutters.

"It's okay, Namjoon," Seokjin smiles, "It'll be fine,"

"Why aren't we hanging out with her?" Taehyung asks, looking at the doorway Hana left through, "She's been through a lot, right? Why aren't we helping her?"

"She needs time," Yoongi answers, not looking up from his food, "She has said she doesn't want to talk to us for the moment,"

"But why? You guys saved her!" Hoseok asks ludicrously.

"She's been through a lot, Hoseok," Jungkook says firmly, "Give her time,"

"What I don't understand is why she is specifically angry at you three," Hoseok continues.

Yoongi briefly glances at Namjoon before responding.

"It's complicated. Trauma is complicated. Are you seriously going to be angry at her because she's struggling with the trauma? Do you even know what happened?" Yoongi snaps.

"No, I don't know, because she refuses to talk to us!" Hoseok says, sounding more and more frustrated, "I sat next to her in class and tried talking to her. She ignored me for the entire hour!"

Suddenly, Jimin stands and slams his hands on the table, startling Hoseok.

"Have some compassion," Jimin says darkly, glaring down the table at Hoseok, "Not everything is about you,"

Before Hoseok can respond, Jimin collects his things and leaves, heading in the direction of his next class.

"What's his problem?" Hoseok mumbles, returning his attention to his food, continuing to mumble to himself. Seokjin eyes him and sighs before looking at Namjoon. He gives him a reassuring smile. Namjoon returns it, but he doesn't feel it.

How long will it take for her to be ready to accept the truth? He's fairly certain that the times they were called in as witnesses for the court and had to lie probably didn't help her mentality. Even the media has been calling the cultists crazy liars. Namjoon is not surprised she is in such intense denial.

It doesn't help that Z has been incredibly pushy about him going and talking to her. Namjoon has been ignoring him, but it has started getting pretty repetitive. At least once an hour, Z will ask Namjoon to check on Hana or force her to understand, or just simply speak to her. 3 full weeks of that. 21 days, 12 hours a day, Namjoon is so close to just telling Z to go away.

Will she ever speak to them again?

. . . . . 

Hana:

"I'm going to kill you, Hana..." The demented blob of dark, twisted human skin grins wickedly at me, menacingly moving closer and closer. The twisted dagger in its hand is covered in blood – my parent's blood. I look around. All my friends are dead, their lifeless eyes staring at me intensely.

"No... NO!" I scream, trying to pull away from the creature. But it is no use. I'm being held in place by some mysterious force.

It places the dagger against my skin, slowly slicing open the delicate skin of my arm. I scream, a loud guttural scream full of pain and fear.

"Hana! Hana!" I thrash around, opening my eyes as I scramble out of bed. I am panting heavily, looking at the person who is speaking to me.

"M-Mom?" I stutter. I fall to my knees as she rushes around my bed, cradling me in her arms on my bedroom floor.

"It was just a dream baby... it's okay," Mom whimpers, gently patting my head as I scream out in fear, sobbing into her shoulder.

I cling to her, taking in that calming scent of vanilla. I allow her to soothe me into the present, finally registering her silent sobs.

"I'm sorry, mom," I mutter, pulling away from her and climbing into bed, "I'm fine, I promise,"

"Hana... you need to go to the therapist," My dad mutters, moving into my room.

I lean against the headboard of my bed, sighing deeply. I look up at them both as they settle themselves down on the end of my bed, watching me warily.

"I don't want to talk about it..."

"Honey..." My mom starts, but my dad interrupts her.

"Hana, whether you want to talk about it or not, your brain isn't going to let you forget," My dad says firmly, "Even if you forget, even if you bottle it... it all comes back, I promise you,"

I pause to consider this. The possibility of having to face this head-on is making me feel nauseous. But what other choice do I have? Isolate myself for another month? Avoid everyone? Pretend the nightmares aren't happening? Pretend I don't get flashbacks? I am already doing that, and it obviously isn't helping anything. I look between my mom and dad. They have dark circles under their eyes. My mom looks like she is on the brink of crying all the time, and my dad looks defeated.

I feel my heart warm up as I look at them. Throughout all of this, they have been supporting me and caring for me, even when I get angry at them. I couldn't ask for better parents.

They might not be my parents...

I frown at this thought. I hadn't thought about that since Namjoon told me, and that creepy audio recording of that voice.

I look back at them, considering the possibility. I have always been told I look like my mother. My dad and I look nothing alike. I remember Jimin asking me if my mother cheated on my father when we were in elementary school. I laughed it off, but now... with all the information I know... what if it is true?

I don't like not knowing things, so would seeking the truth help me?

I haven't spoken to my friends in over a month now. It is Friday night, 30 days since Namjoon, Yoongi, and Jimin spoke to me in Namjoon's apartment. I don't want to consider the possibility of the other things being true, but I can find out if the information about my parents is true. My parents wouldn't lie to me, right?

"Hana? Are you okay?" My mother asks, waking me from my thoughts.

Should I ask them?

"Mom, Dad..." I whisper, filled with resolve, "You are my real parents... right?"

They freeze. My father goes immediately pale, staring at me with wide eyes. My mother looks away, her expression shocked.

That's all I need to know.

"So it's true..." I chuckle darkly, "They were telling the truth..."

"Who was telling the truth sweety?" My mom asks.

I explain to her exactly what happened with the cultists and what the old man said to me. The only thing they knew previously was that I was kidnapped by crazy religious people and one of them hurt me.

My dad nods along, maintaining firm eye contact with me.

"It is true," He smiles sadly, "You mother and I... I mean..." He glances at my mother, or my auntie? What do I call them?

"She was my sister... Jessica Bae," My mother says, "I couldn't carry a child... and we didn't know my sister was even pregnant until my parents – your grandparents – brought you to us,"

"We were told she was neglecting you and ran away," Dad continues, "Then we heard she was a famous model in America,"

"That's when I knew she wasn't coming back. So I stopped trying to contact her," Mom adds.

"Not long after, we were told she was a missing person's case in America," Dad says, "Then it started getting weird,"

I frown at them.

"Weird? What do you mean?"

"You remember how we had to teach you stranger danger at a young age because someone tried to take you from school?" Mom asks.

"Oh, I remember that..." I shuffle uncomfortably, "So these cultists have been looking for me for a while, huh?"

"Exactly," my dad nods, "That's when we found out that these people believed your mother sacrificed you to their god," My dad scoffs, "I don't know what Jessica had said to these people, but they believed it,"

I laugh half-heartedly, staring at the floor. So there is some truth in what the old man was saying, which Namjoon, Jimin and Yoongi also said as well. But how much of it is true? How much am I willing to accept?

"So... do you want to look for your mother?" Mom asks sadly.

"No, that old man said he killed her," I respond, shrugging slightly. Mom grimaces at my casualness but doesn't say anything.

"You... believe them?" Dad asks.

"Well, he was right about you guys, so maybe he did kill her,"

"I see," My parents nod, looking a little uncomfortable.

"Do you... are we still...?" My dad asks awkwardly.

I smile, realising exactly what they are worried about.

"You two are my real parents, whether I came out of you or not," My dad chuckles, patting me gently on the shoulder.

"That's good," My mom chokes, happy tears in her eyes.

They both hug me, thanking me for still loving them and apologising for not telling me. Eventually, they leave my room so I can sleep.

I roll over in my bed, facing the wall as I think about the cult. So, he was right about my parents, but my parents don't believe in the god. How much is true, and how much is a lie?

Suddenly, I remember when I heard that voice. The deep, darkness of it as it vibrated through my body. The way the dark figure moved towards the old man. The voice felt like it was coming from everywhere, yet nowhere. Is there an actual possibility that it was real? That it wasn't a trauma-induced, hysterical hallucination?

There is only one way to find out.

A wave of determination washes over me as I reach for my phone, clicking on Namjoon's name so I can message him. I don't care that it's 1 am, I need to know the truth. I'm not going to hide from reality anymore. My parents are right, I need to deal with this. I can do this.

And Namjoon has the key to it all. 

(A/N) 🫰🫰🫰 Seeking the truth! Damn this chapter took ages to write...