Season one, chapter fourteen

"Dark end"

THEA LET out a big sigh of nervousness, it would be the first time fighting a level three spirit after Cheol-jung's death and she couldn't help but feel a little tense at her grandiose imagination creating any kind of scenarios and ways in which everything can go wrong.

"So level three spirits have two voices?" Mun questioned putting the small device in his ear

Now everyone was inside the car heading towards Jungjin Department Store, where they would face that inhuman being.

"Yes, the evil spirit and the host can communicate. We can hear the evil spirit's voice, but ordinary people can't" Ms. Chu explained

"At level three, they can use psychokinesis and read minds. Some can bewitch people" Mo-tak added with his eyes glued on the road

"Bewitch people?"

"They make you lose your mind" He replied gently moving the steering wheel to the side

"They found one in France that could switch hosts" Ms. Chu added directing her eyes towards the ground

"I learned French as a second language" And as soon as he said that, everyone turned to look at him "I'm just nervous" Mun justified

"Hold yourself together like Hana and Thea. Like raindrops falling down quietly at a temple" Mo-tak expressed

"I think of pork belly. The sound of its fat on charcoal. Pop, crackle. It calms me down" Hana revealed imitating the sounds that the pork belly made when in the fire

"You picture pork belly?" Thea curiously questioned "I normally listen to music, it's like it takes me to a complete different world, that calms me down a bit" Thea explained as everyone listened attentively to each of her words

"We're scared, too, Mun. We get scared every single time. Our territory isn't here, is it?" Ms. Chu asked looking out the window

"No, it's gone" Hana responded letting out a sigh

"You don't have to catch her. Don't get hurt" Ms. Chu gently exclaimed worrying more about their well-being than about catching the evil spirit

"Pop. Crackle" Mun began to say closing his eyes, and suddenly everyone in the car began to imitate the same sound

[...]

Thea walked with her head up and attentive to her surroundings, any movement against her and she would spring into action. Although she hopes that none of that ever happens, because she doesn't know if she could fight a level three evil spirit on her own.

"I'll take the first floor" Mo-tak announced as everyone was now inside the mall

"I'll take the third and fourth floor. Be careful" Ms. Chu added

"I'll start on the fifth" Hana proceeded to say

"I'll take the seventh floor" Thea commented walking through the store full of people "Mun, can you really do this alone? I still feel uneasy"

"Did you already forget my fight against the 17 kids?" He reminded her with proudness in his voice

"Evil spirits aren't the same as people. I have a bad feeling about him" Mo-tak scolded

"Come on, don't worry. Anyway, she was a woman. Is it okay to hit her?" Mun questioned and Thea couldn't help but smile, he was a real gentleman

"She's not a woman. She's an evil spirit" Hana exclaimed with venom in her words

Thea began to wander through the department store she was in, from time to time her eyes fell on the young couples that passed by her or on the families that came to spend a good time together.

Although she stopped when she saw someone she knew among the racks of clothes, her heart began to beat fast and she felt her eyes tingle so the tears didn't take long to appear. Thea didn't hesitate to approach the black-haired boy who had his back towards her checking the clothes in front of him.

"Jun-Seo..." Thea said with a trembling voice, placing a hand on his shoulder, but when he turned around, disappointment and sadness overfilled her "I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else..." She apologized slightly bowing

She quickly walked away from the boy who was looking at her with both eyebrows raised, his eyes not leaving the female figure that was quickly moving away from his point of view.

Thea on the other hand couldn't help but feel so ashamed and pathetic, how could she believe that her brother was still alive when she herself saw him die with her own eyes? There was no way that he or her parents were alive.

"I found her" Mun announced after several minutes of silence

"What?"

"Which floor?" Hana asked as Thea began to run towards the elevator, completely forgetting about what had happened a few moments ago and focused on getting to Mun on time

"Mun, don't do anything" Ms. Chu warned him with concern

"I'm going down from the 12th floor by elevator. I'll cut off the camera" Mun said in a low voice

"I'm running to the elevator" Mo-tak commented

"She might go to the parking lot, so I'll be there. Lure her to a place where there are no people. Safety is our priority" Ms. Chu reminded the group

Thea stood in front of the elevator with her agitated breath, waiting for it to reach her floor. Although seconds later Hana came running thus positioning herself next to her. And when the doors of the elevator finally opened, the woman made eye contact with both girls for a few seconds before Hana pushed her back with a kick, so they both began to fight while Thea ran towards Mun's unconscious body on the floor though she held onto one of the handles when the elevator moved abruptly.

Thea took action when the woman grabbed Hana by the neck, she quickly used her psychokinesis sending the woman crash harshly against the wall thus falling on the floor as Hana gasped for air, the woman then got up once again and started throwing punches towards Thea who easily dodged them.

Thea positioned herself behind the woman with ease, taking her off guard and wrapped her arm around the woman's neck tightly.

The short-haired woman began to swing at her with her sharp nails, failing completely in every attempt. Thea then pushed her against the wall making the woman grunt in rage though she didn't expect her to hit her in the stomach with her elbow and then hit her in the face with her heel.

Thea grunted in pain freeing the woman from her grasp as she covered her face in pain, Thea covered herself with her elbows when the woman began to hit her with her shoe repeatedly until she was left lying on the ground grunting in pain.

The woman then grabbed her by the hair and took her by the neck before lifting her into the air laughing with satisfaction

Hana got up from the ground with difficulty and without thinking twice she launched herself towards the woman, although the woman was more skillful and ended up lifting her into the air just as she had done with Thea.

Now the woman had a girl in each hand, choking them without any mercy, Thea's face was turning red due to the lack of oxygen and she couldn't help but gasp for oxygen. Thea writhed in pain feeling as if her head was going to explode any second now.

"How does it feel to have survived all alone?" The woman suddenly asked tilting her head to the side, looking at both girls with mockery "Both of your moms died, both of your dads died and even your sister" She looked at Hana "Your brother" Then at Thea "They were about to die" The woman began to laugh hysterically

Thea felt anger and sadness invade her as she heard those words come out of the woman's mouth as if they didn't mean anything. Thea noticed how Hana raised one of her hands with difficulty to try to free herself from the woman's grip and she couldn't help but feel horrible because she couldn't do anything to help her.

Thea closed her eyes feeling as her body was starting to weakened with every second it passed, and that did not go unnoticed by Hana, who widened her eyes in concerned for the younger.

"Thea...!" Hana exclaimed with difficulty, bringing a hand towards Thea's

Though both of them gasped taking in all the possible oxygen they could as they fell to the cold floor.

"Wake up, Hana, Thea!" Mun exclaimed on top of the woman's back before the woman threw him against the wall while Hana pressed the emergency button

Now the three of them were on the floor after having been defeated by that woman and when the elevator's doors opened Mo-tak appeared with a serious expression throwing a punch towards the woman's face thus knocking her unconscious.

Thea leaned against the cold wall having difficulty breathing before moving her head to the side connecting gazes with the girl next to her who gently took her hand in her's, letting Thea know that everything was okay now.

"Jeez, what a hassle" Mo-tak commented holding the woman in between his arms as she has passed out

"Over there! In front of the elevator"

"Over here! Some help, please" Mo-tak exclaimed pressing the button for the 12th floor before pulling the woman out of the elevator

"Yes, this is Mr. Ji Hyeong-u's wife. Take her away" And before the doors could close the officers stopped them from doing so

"Sir, what's going on? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine"

"Sir, please come with us"

"I really should. I really hate leaving a scene like this. Do you know that feeling? You're at a restroom trying to do a number two, but you have to stop. How does that feel? How does it feel? Doesn't it feel incomplete? Incomplete" He then pushed them away before entering the elevator again "Keep up the good work" The elevator doors closed "Are you three all right? Young kids these days are way too weak. Can you stand on your feet?" Mun extended his hand towards him but Mo-tak smacked his hand away

Both men watched as Hana got up from the ground as she wiped the dirt off her black pants as if everything was fine, when everyone clearly knew that it was not. On the other hand Thea remained leaning against the wall without any expression in her face, feeling a wave of emotions wash over her.

Mun, noticing this, did not take long to approach her with concern.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly extending his hand to her, somehow transmitting that feeling of peace to her and although she didn't want to admit it, something about him made her feel a little more alive and far less lost

"I'm fine" She forced a smile onto her face and without thinking much, she took the hand that Mun offered her and got up from the ground

"Let's go then"

The four of them left the elevator, both teenagers still with their hands intertwined, was it weird to say that it was now becoming a habit for the two of them?

"Hurry up and get in" Ms. Chu said waiting in the car once she noticed the group running across the parking lot

"Darn it, I could've summoned it out" Mo-tak complained as everyone got inside the car

"If the kids are fine, that's good enough" Ms. Chu commented starting the car

"Can we really leave like this?" Mun questioned once the car began to move "We couldn't summon the evil spirit"

"We have no choice. There were too many people. Since she already got arrested, it won't get too dangerous" Ms. Chu responded

"This happens from time to time. Before we get a chance to summon them, the police arrest them or they get locked up in prison" Mo-tak added

"Don't worry. We know who she is, so we'll plan this out again"

Thea looked out the window with mixed emotions and her heart beating rapidly. Mun glanced at her, knowing now the reason as to why she didn't like to talk about her past and he just wanted to hug her and tell her that everything was going to be okay.

The girl's emotionless face made his heart ache, he wanted to see the typical smile that she always wore on her face, he wanted to make that smile appear on her face so he did not hesitate to squeeze her hand gently but she didn't even looked at him, she was so immersed in her thoughts that she didn't notice the concerned boy next to her.

Author's note;

Hello everyone! I've realized that short chapters are faster to edit than longer ones so perhaps I'll stay this way so I can update every day, what do y'all think?

Question of the day: Long chapters or short chapters? 🤍

Anyways, in the next chapter you'll all know the story behind Thea's past, did I say that right? Lol hope you liked this chapter, if so, don't forget to leave me your opinions in the comments, I will be reading them! 💗