A Sacrifice

“It’s not going to happen right away. Please, Heesoo... if you notice anything, you can run then. I’ll let you know when it’s time, okay?”

Heesoo couldn’t hear her words.

They didn’t register in her mind.

Time felt frozen.

Trapped in an invisible cage, Heesoo lost all sense of the world moving forward.

* * *

Minjoo descended from a towering tree, her hands full of green fruits.

“Heesoo, Heesoo! These fruits are safe to eat. I tried one already. They’re a bit tangy, but not bad.”

Heesoo stared blankly at the round green fruit held out in front of her.

Seeing this, Minjoo quickly went to wash the fruit and brought it back, holding it right up to Heesoo’s face.

“Eat it quickly. It looks like the forest is about to end, and once it does, there’ll be no more food to find.”

Despite Minjoo’s gentle encouragement, Heesoo had no appetite.

But her empty stomach ignored her resistance entirely.

In the end, Heesoo accepted the fruit and began to eat.