As the familiar ding rings in his mind, Zhao Hui allows himself to fall on the floor, drowning in guilt. He couldn't stop the tears from bubbling in his eyes as his own accusation ate him up. At first, he thought that being in his favorite comic book would be fun, but he never thought his actions would have such consequences. It was, in fact, all Zhao Hui's fault, and he was the sole person to blame for putting Min Boquin's life in danger.
"Ah I think I left something-" Xun YuYang walks into the room and stops mid-sentence as she sees Zhao Hui hugging his knees shaking on the floor, "H-Hey, are you okay?"
"It's my fault. It's all my fault, I shouldn't be here." Zhao Hui mumbles, sobbing silently, holding his head. At that moment Zhao Hui was thankful he had long hair as it shadowed his entire face from view.
"Wait a second, let me bring Min Guiying-" Zun YuYang grabs her dagger from the floor and leaves the room before Zhao Hui can protest.
"No, no, no, having him here is worst. If he finds out it's my fault he'll kill me, I'm done for!" Zhao Hui's voice echoes emptily in the room as he watches Xun YuYang's Hanfu flutter in the air.
A few seconds later, Zhao Hui hears a pair of footsteps heading to the room and his anxiety begins to peak.
"Zhao Hui, can I come inside?" Min Guiying whispers, peeking from the side of the doorway. If Zhao Hui wasn't having a hot second being depressed, he would've thought it was the cutest thing he'd ever seen.
"Y-Yeah."
"..." Without saying a word, Min Guiying silently enters and takes a seat next to Zhao Hui. Silence drowns the room for a few minutes till Min Guiying speaks, "So I hear she took a pill and fell?"
"Uh-huh. All we found out was she has a second motive for her doing- uh. You know what. And then she took the pill and JuiceWorld outta there."
"JuiceWorld? Uh, sorry, it doesn't matter. YuYang Jie also told me you said this was your fault. How come?"
"I should've watched Min Boquin, I should've made sure he was safe." Zhao Hui chokes on his words, not wanting to expose he wasn't supposed to be in that world.
"Well if that's your reason, then I am as much responsible for it as you are." Min Guiying scoots closer to Zhao Hui and sets Zhao Hui's head on his shoulder carefully, "Someone once told me that it's okay to cry, you don't have to be strong all the time."
"That was me, wasn't it?" Contrary to what he was feeling at the moment, Zhao Hui takes a small moment to chuckle.
"Yeah, I remember when you told me that, I- I really liked hearing it. I guess I just want you to know that even though I hold many problems and the only brain cells of our group on my shoulders, I'll always make a special place for you to rest your head."
"Wow, that sounded kind of cheesy, huh?" Min Guiying blushes out of embarrassment, "But I like them cheesy."
"Normally I would hate you for saying that, but I'll allow it, just this once." Min Guiying leans his head on top of Zhao Hui's, smiling.
"How's Min Boquin doing?"
"Surprisingly very well. He might be a bit down now, but he said he won't let the girl put down his esteem."
"I'm so happy to hear that, I was worrying that he was doing worse. These few days we've been getting closer, huh?"
"We've gone through traumatizing events, it's no surprise. Let's just hope there's nothing else traumatizing in our way."
Min Guiying is about to get clowned. With the way my actions are going, the original storyline won't exist anymore. If I only knew a way to escape this comic book I could help everything go back on track again...
…
"Okay, so if you don't mind me asking, what were you two up to while you thought I was asleep?" Min Boquin had gone past the stage of having a breakdown and was starting to behave as normal again.
"Oh, Xun YuYang invited me to drink, so I joined her," Liu Jia gasps, remembering something, "We forgot to pay the bill before leaving!"
"Don't worry, I handled it before we ran." Xun YuYang pats Liu Jia on the back as she exhales in relief.
"I thought you said not to trust anyone?" Min Boquin raises an eyebrow, looking back and forth at the two women.
"Ah, so, um, I don't know why I trusted her but, it might've been because she didn't do anything to take advantage of me. And she did also help us out so it turns out I made the right decision." The two women make eye contact and smile at each other.
"Hmm, well. If you trust her, then I do because you usually take a long time to trust others." Min Boquin couldn't fight out the intrusive thought at how the two people in front of him seemed like a newlywed couple, showing each other off to the parents.
"I suggest we don't stay here anymore, we should continue moving. Maybe Min Guiying knows where we have to go. I'll be back after asking."
…
"I'm surprised that the manager hasn't come yet, I don't think we were that quiet, you think?" Zhao Hui speaks quietly, nearly mumbling.
"Good point, but it's a good thing they didn't come, they would've just gotten hurt." Min Guiying answered, his voice drowsy. Truth was, that both boys were on the verge of sleeping as it was very late at night.
"Agreed." Zhao Hui yawns.
"Min Guiying, Ah-Hui come on, we're leaving. It's not safe to be here anymore, do you know where we have to go to retrieve the item the Nuh clan needs?" Liu Jia stands at the doorway, asking Min Guiying, to which he shakes his head.
"I don't."
"Oh! I do! We have to go to the Cave of Desideratum, it's right next to the Nuh clan, so it'll be pretty dangerous. To get there we can stowaway in a ship, I saw one docked, but we'll have to walk a bit."
Huh? How does he know where to go? Mom didn't even tell her own SON, so how does a stranger know?! Min Guiying thinks, looking at Zhao Hui in confusion.
"Then we better head out now, come on, let's leave." Liu Jia motioned the two to follow her.
"Hold on! I don't know if the ship's still there!"
"It doesn't matter, worst case scenario, we can steal the ship."
"Don't we have-"
"Hush, Min Guiying, more moving, less talking please."
Ignoring Min Guiying's words, Liu Jia leaves the room to fetch Min Boquin and Xun YuYang. Min Guiying sighs, shaking his head in disappointment, and helps Zhao Hui stand.
"Okay, is everybody here?" Xun YuYang looks around the group and takes a head count, "We have five people in total, including me, so we aren't missing anyone."
"The ship's down this road, it might take us… a few minutes at most."
Unlike the previous trip the group took, this one was relatively warm and lively, Xun YuYang seemed to make sure of it. Min Boquin was also smiling, cracking jokes and laughing his pain away while Min Guiying and Zhao Hui listened eagerly as Xun YuYang told them stories of her childhood adventures. When they reached the dock, the group was welcomed by the sight of a deserted lake and an empty ship.
They didn't know it yet, but if the group chose to take over the ship, they would be castaways.