Chapter 300 - Storeroom

At this point, Jinhee had some difficulty comprehending what the old man had just said and voiced out, "W-What?"

All those aches she felt were not real; they were merely a dream. That was not something Jinhee could bring herself to believe. Everything was too realistic to be unreal; a dream would not be able to evoke such emotions within her.

"This can't be a dream. I felt all of that," Jinhee said, "How did they all turn out to be a mere dream?"

"Dear, the truth will be hard for you to accept; I am aware of that. But Dear, there is a lot more to come, and you need to be stronger," the Old Man vocalised.

"More?" Jinhee raised one of her eyebrows.

The Old Man nodded and expressed, "I will be telling you a story. Just listen to it silently, and all of your questions will be answered."

"A story? Of what kind?" she asked.

"It is a tragic story that did not have any kind of happy ending. It revolved around a girl and two boys," the Old Man vocalised, "This took place centuries ago."

"What is the meaning behind telling me this story all of a sudden? There must be a reason behind it," Jinhee spoke out.

"On second thought, showing is better than narrating the entire thing. Close your eyes. We are in for a bumpy ride," the Old Man voiced out before snapping his fingers together.

At the sound of that, Soohyun felt a sharp ache go through her forehead, and she let out a wince. Extending her hand upwards, she held her head in order to ease the pain that went through it.

"Ah!" she exclaimed before her consciousness faded away.

°°°

Darkness surrounded her from both her sides, and she could not guess where she was currently at. At that moment, the scene before her changed, and it seemed that she was in some kind of manor in some ancient setting.

Her eyes roamed around the place, and she could not guess the reason behind her being here. Roaming her eyes around the place, she took a step forward and tried to search for any signs of human presence.

That's when a sight of a girl fell in her eyes. Lee Jinhee's eyes widened at how that girl resembled her. Extending her hand, Jinhee touched her cheeks.

At that moment, Jinhee heard a loud sound, and her eyes narrowed at the scene before her. The girl, who seemed strangely like her, was slapped by someone, and when Jinhee's eyes fell on that person, they dilated further. 

'Jinkyung' stood before that girl and slapped her cheeks. She had no inkling on what was currently happening, but the scene before her was oddly familiar.

"Lee Jinhee, how dare you go an seduce Jaehyun? He belongs to me. Remember that clearly! Don't go around seducing him!" 'Jinkyung' yelled.

'Jinhee? That's my name. Is this some kind of dream I am having? But strangely enough it doesn't feel like a dream. Let's just silently observe the situation for now.'

"'Jinkyung', I did not seduce him. You are misunderstanding the situation," 'Jinhee' voiced out as she touched her cheek lightly.

She then added, "Jaehyun and I are just friends."

"Friends? Friends!? How the hell can you two be just friends!? You are obviously trying to steal him away from me," 'Jinkyung' yelled, "How can two friends casually hug?"

Tears formed at the corner of 'Jinhee's' eyes, and she voiced out, "I didn't mean to hug him, 'Jinkyung'. Please don't misunderstand. I just tripped, and Jaehyun happened to be there to catch me."

Extending her hand towards 'Jinhee', 'Jinkyung' held her arm, and her fingers dug into her arm, extracting blood out of it.

Seeing that scene, a gasp left Jinhee's mouth, and she tightened her hand to form a fist. She was desperate to make an attack on 'Jinkyung'. Nonetheless, she decided that it would be for the best at this moment if she did not interfere.

"Liar! Liar! Stop lying! You purposely pretended to trip in front of him because you were well aware of how he will be catching you! Stop putting on that front," 'Jinkyung' vocalised.

"I am not, 'Jinkyung'. I am not trying to do—"

Before 'Jinhee' could continue further, 'Jinkyung' pushed her across the ground harshly, and due to the contact, a painful cry left her mouth.

When 'Jinkyung' turned her head, her eyes fell on Jinhee— the real one— and Jinhee found herself being shocked. Instantly, she attempted to hide, and that was when she noticed something. It seemed as if 'Jinkyung' did not see her.

There was no sort of reaction on 'Jinkyung's' face, and taking a couple of steps closer, she looked at 'Jinkyung's' eyes. There was no reflection of Jinhee in her eyes.

"You will be locked in the storeroom for ten days, and food will be given to you every three days," 'Jinkyung' vocalised.

Lee Jinhee glanced at 'Jinhee' at that moment, and she found herself thinking of her as truly pitiful. For some unknown reason, Jinhee could vividly feel the emotions of the girl lying on the floor, and her heart clenched painfully.

'Jinhee' seemed to be malnourished, and her physique appeared to be really small compared to her age. Tears continuously fell down her eyes while dust covered her entire body. Her current state made Jinhee to wonder what type of life she was leading.

'Jinkyung' walked past Jinhee and exited the scene. Jinhee took her steps towards the girl, who was seated on the ground, and bent down to her height.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

However, there was no response from the girl. This confirmed one thing; no one here was able to see her.

Looking around at the interior of this mansion in the ancient time, Jinhee tried to think of the purpose for her being here. There was a sense of familiarity behind all of this, but she was not able to put a finger to what it was.