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When Hana was young she had never liked running. For her it was the worst form of exercise, preferring to play volleyball with her friends or jump rope with her little sister. But, after her coma, she had taken a liking to it. At first it was a way to cope with everything she was going through, a way to escape from her thoughts and to reassure herself that she could move and that she wasn't still trapped in that hospital bed. But as time went by, she started to enjoy the simple act of going outside and letting her legs take her wherever they wanted. It brought her peace, and with the job and life she led, that peace was necessary sometimes.
As much as Hana loved her new family and helping people, it could be exhausting to be trapped with the rest of the Counters all the time. She wasn’t the most social person, so being accompanied 24/7 wasn’t ideal. That’s were running came in. Running for her was like taking a break from everything and everyone, a way to have a little “vacation” from all her responsibilities and just focus on the moment.
That day had been just like any other: wake up, have breakfast with the others and go for a run before their daily training. It was still early, so there were not many people on the streets of Jungjin. After an hour Hana left the city, the countryside and various crops being all that was around her. The place was probably near the reeds where she and Jeok Bong fought against Gelly a while back, but, the girl quickly shook off that thought. She didn't want to think about anything but the tranquility that surrounded her.
But, unfortunately, that tranquility would have to wait, as all of a sudden, the young woman heard a loud scream followed by a maniacal laugh. As she looked around and tried to detect from which direction had the sounds come from, another cry sounded, this one being nearer than the last and helping her finally pinpoint which way she needed to go.
Picking up the pace, she started running towards the fight, something inside of her telling her that this wasn’t the doing of a normal human but the one of an evil spirit. But even if it was an evil spirit, there was no way she could contact the rest of the Counters, as she had left both her phone and her earpiece back at the headquarters. There was no time to go to a phone and warn them and she had no intention of leaving a victim at the hands of an evil spirit.
After about thirty seconds, Hana arrived at the scene of the fight where a young man with a sickle was about to slice the stomach of an elderly man. Aiming a kick at the hand of the spirit that held the weapon, she managed to hit her target before he killed his.
"Go! Leave!" she exclaimed as she looked at the elderly man, him taking the opportunity and running away after giving her a thankful nod.
Turning towards the young man and inspecting him with her eyes, she quickly realised her hunch was right: It was an evil spirit, a level 3 one. His piercing blue eyes and western factions were easy to recognize, the person the spirit had possessed was an ex-banker that was currently wanted for killing and dismembering his neighbors. As, almost, always, the host was just as bad as the spirit that was inside them.
"I guess if I can't kill that old man, I'll have to kill you, bitch.” The spirit said, a menacing smile on his face as he advanced towards her, adjusting his sickle so it was easier to attack her with it.
"I'd love to see you try."
The two ran towards each other at the same time, the man aiming his weapon at Hana’s neck but being blocked with slight difficulty by her with the aid of a wood plank that was nearby. Acting quickly, she used the plank to hit him on the side of the head, using his slight disorientation to kick him in the left knee to try and send him to the ground. He saw it coming though, as as soon as she hit his leg, he grabbed hers, throwing her to the ground.
"Is that all you have? I thought I was gonna have more fun."
After the man's mocking words, he placed himself on top of the girl, raising his sickle and trying to thrust it into her face. Hana quickly dodged the attack, moving her head at the last moment and causing the weapon to produce only a small cut on her neck. The counter grabbed the hilt of the sickle, both of them struggling to take control of the weapon, the blade causing several cuts on the girl's hands during the fight.
Suddenly, a rock struck the man's head, causing him and Hana to turn their heads towards the source of the rock. A young girl, who had probably accidentally seen the fight, had thrown it and was preparing to throw another.
“Leave her alone, asshole!” the stranger said, aiming and throwing the rock she was wielding towards his head again.
Taking advantage of the fact that the spirit was distracted, Hana kicked him in the stomach with force, taking him off her and reversing their positions, being now the one on top.
"Are you okay, lady? We need to run, quick!" the teenager, which seemed to be around 16 years old, exclaimed.
"I appreciate your help, but you must leave, okay? Go before you get hurt!"
"No! I’m not leaving you to die!" she complained, taking one step closer.
"Call the number 1011 5278, they’ll know how to hel-SHIT!" The counter screamed, the evil spirit having taken advantage of her distraction to make a huge gash in her stomach and to pull her off him “Go, now!”
The teenager finally listened to her, running away from the place and probably going to look for a phone to call the number of the counters' warehouse. The ex-banker laughed loudly at this, getting up from the floor and saying:
"No one on the other side of that number can help you.”
Miraculously, it was at that very moment when, suddenly, the Yung territory randomly appeared where she was, giving her enough strength to stand up. Now she only had to hang on until the others came to find her. She could do that, she definitely could.
"On-On the contrary, the people at the other side will-will be your demise."
"Well, they might be, but I´ll make fucking sure that I kill you before they even get here!"
The spirit ran at Hana with the sickle in the air, who dodged as the man tried to cut her left arm clean off and kicked him in the back. The girl ran towards the wooden plank she had used earlier, but was stopped by the spirit who grabbed her and began to choke her from behind, bringing his weapon to her throat. The counter used her elbow to repeatedly strike her attacker's stomach, causing him to stop bringing his sickle towards her throat and direct it towards her arm instead, making a large gash in it and stopping her attack. Hana screamed in pain as she grabbed her arm, the spirit punching her in the face and throwing her back to the ground.
"You shouldn't have stopped me from killing that man. Now you are the one who needs saving. But I won’t fail twice, it’s time for you to finally die!" he said, raising his sickle as she desperately tried to raise her weak arms to stop him.
But, in the end, that was not necessary, as the weapon flew off and impaled itself on a tree out in the distance, the evil spirit following suit.
Confused, Hana sat up with difficulty and looked around to try to find out what had happened, feeling an immense pain throughout her body as she did so. There, in front of her, stood So Mun with his right arm in the air, sporting a determined look on his face. The boy ran to her, crouching down beside her and asking worriedly:
"Hana, are you okay?"
"Ye-Yes, I’m fine..." she answered in a whisper, her vision getting more blurry by the second "Focus... Focus on summoning the evil spirit."
"Wait, is that blood?!" he exclaimed as he looked at her stomach, immediatly pressing his earpiece and saying "She’s hurt! Hurry, please."
"I’m not... I’m not that hurt. It’s just a scratch-" she started, but, she was interrupted by the evil spirit running towards them, screaming in rage as he did so.
"Hang on Hana, the rest are almost here" Mun said to her with a soft voice, laying her down on the ground and running off to defeat and summon the evil spirit.
The girl's vision gradually blurred, as she used some of her remaining strength to put both hands on her stomach wound to try to stop the bleeding. The counter, however, had never been one to give up easily, so when she heard So Mun shouting in the distance she slowly but steadily stood up, walking as fast as she could in her condition towards where the fight was happening.
As she approached, the evil spirit hit So Mun in the face again, lifting his fist to hit him one more time. But, that punch never arrived, as when the spirit started to lower his arm, Hana grabbed it, pushing him away from the other Counter.
"Hana, what are you doing here? You should go lie down, I can do it.” The boy asked, surprised and worried to see her standing up.
"I'm not going to leave you alone to fight this evil spirit. I told you, I'm not that hurt.”
“Don't be stubborn and force yourself, you'll hurt yourse-.”
"Shut up, both of you." The spirit ordered, pulling a small knife from his pocket and advancing towards them again "It doesn't matter what either of you do because you're both going to die here. So the least you can do is to not annoy me in the meantime.”
Looking at each other, the two counters prepared themselves for the spirit’s imminent attack, Hana thinking about protecting the other and So Mun about not letting his noona get even more hurt. In one swift move, the younger sent their attacker flying back into the same tree as before, using his psychokinesis to keep him there as he turned towards Hana.
"See? I’ll be okay on my own, sit down, okay? Don’t make Ms. Chu’s work harder."
Taking advantage of his distraction the ex-banker broke out of So Mun's control, running towards him with intentions of punching him in the stomach, but, being stopped by a kick to the face from Hana.
"First, don't get distracted. Second, you see you needed my help? And third, if I can kick, I'm not that hurt, I'm just a little dizzy and it's nothing that can't be ignored.” She said as both counters continued fighting against the evil spirit, simply ignoring the death threats that he was throwing at them.
“If you don’t die, I swear I will kill you. Stop being so stubborn, you are just gonna make yourself suffer more.”
“If you don’t want me to get hurt, then stop complaining and help me summon this spirit. I’m getting sick of his stupid voice.”
Just as Hana finished uttering those words, the attacker took them both by surprise, grabbing a sharp-pointed rock from the ground and jabbing it into the girl's eye. The counter screamed in pain, bringing both hands to the spirit's hand that held the weapon in an attempt to get him away from her. Almost as if she were underwater, Hana heard So Mun shout her name before the ex-banker was finally flung away from her by an invisible force. What little strength she had remaining in her exited her body, sending her crashing to the ground, everything around her fading away until the only thing that she was really conscious about was the pool of blood that was starting to form under her.
She didn't know if it had been seconds, minutes or hours that had passed with her laying on the ground, but eventually a pair of hands touched her, a voice she didn't quite recognize calling her name. Hana didn't have the strength to respond so she simply kept quiet, trying to move her head to see who it was, but failing in the attempt. That didn't make the voice give up, their hands now being directed to her face - pressing the wound in her eye to stop the bleeding, her mind whispered to her faintly - their words never stopping at any point, but changing from her name to words that seemed to be trying to calm her down.
Still wanting to know who the person who was helping her was, Hana tried to open her eyes, being able to do so with her left but not with her right, a force not allowing her to do it.
“It’s okay, it’s going to be okay Hana, don’t open your eye.” The voice whispered, the force on her eye growing slightly as she tried once again to open the remaining one.
Even with her now open eyes - when had she even closed them? - the figure was not recognisable to her, everything being too blurred for her to be able to identify them.
Normally having a stranger so close to her would make her very nervous, but, she didn't know why, this time it wasn't the case. Maybe it was her deep faintness, perhaps it was because of how her eyes were fighting with her to close or because that voice made her feel safe and protected, but she wasn't afraid to be vulnerable in front of them.
“It-It hurts” she whispered, gasping as a sudden stab of pain registered in her brain.
“I know Hana, I know. Ms. Chu will cure you, okay? Just hang on a little longer, the rest will be here soon.” The stranger replied, his voice sounding a bit stronger than before.
As her consciousness slowly came back, the Counter started to try to look around, confused about her surroundings and how she had even gotten to that position. Although her vision was still blurry and her mind was still fuzzy, the girl could finally see that the figure helping her was So Mun, the memory of them fighting an evil spirit moments ago just barely entering her mind.
“Did you-u beat him? Did-Did you summon the-e evil spirit?” Hana asked, her voice coming out as little more than a whisper.
“I did, Hana. Don't worry, that spirit is already in hell regretting having the nerve to fight against you." He answered, making her chuckle and consequently wince in pain as she felt a sharp jab of pain coming from the gash in her stomach “Put your hands over your stomach to stop the bleeding, alright? The rest should arrive any minute now.”
Just as he finished saying that, Motak’s voice resounded in So Mun’s earpiece:
“Hey, is Hana too hurt? Jeok-bong just smelled an evil spirit so we had to head over there. Can you guys wait a little longer?”
The boy sighed, about to bring his hands to his hair to pull it (a nervous habit he had picked up shortly after returning from his trip around the world), but, stopping at the last moment as he remembered that his hands were now stopping the blood that wanted to flow out of his friend's eye. He was frustrated, but, he knew that what they had to do couldn't wait and he didn't want to freak out either Hana or the rest of the counters so he took a deep breath and answered the earpiece:
“She’s… She’s very hurt, but we can wait a bit. Just… Hurry okay?” He said on a low voice as he applied a little more pressure to the girl’s right eye, trying not to let Hana hear him.
“Ok, we’ll be as quick as we can. See you guys soon.”
“Are the-the rest coming?” Hana asked in a whisper, looking at what she thought were So Mun’s eyes as she did this.
"Yes, they're coming, alright? You just have to wait a little bit longer."
The girl nodded at those words, her eye closing and her body relaxing. She knew she had to stay awake, but she was so tired... With the others coming, it wouldn't hurt to take a little nap, would it? That was her last thought before she slipped into unconsciousness, So Mun's cries for her to stay awake being the last thing she heard.
(…)
The feeling of someone strong arms carrying her was the first thing she felt when she regained her consciousness. Still with her eyes closed, she could sense that she, and consequently the person that was carrying her, we’re moving somewhere she didn’t know. She could hear voices around her talking in soft whispers, their voices unrecognizable.
It wasn’t long before she was placed carefully on a surface she couldn’t identify, gentle hands touching her face with care. The combination of the comfort of the place where she was lying, the gentleness of the hands touching her, and the sheer tiredness she was feeling made Hana fall asleep again.
(…)
When Do Hana woke up, the first thing she noticed was that all the pain she had felt before was gone, replaced by the typical tiredness that Ms Chu's powers left behind. Opening her eyes, she was relieved to find that her right eye was totally cure too, her vision as perfect as it had been before the fight against the evil spirit. She couldn’t be more glad to have Ms. Chu, and really everyone, on her team. She would have to thank them later.
Suddenly hungry, the young woman stood up carefully, leaving her room and walking towards the main room of the warehouse. As she reached the door to enter, she peeked through the little window it had, seeing how all the Counters were there. Apparently Ms Chu had prepared her famous noodles and some fried eggs and they were all about to sit down at the table for breakfast (or whatever meal was due to be served now). Just then Jeok-bong looked up at her, a giant grin spreading across his face at the sight of her.
"Hana is awake!" He exclaimed, his happiness (and relief) obvious in his tone of voice.
Opening the door, the young woman entered the room, the others immediately hugging her as she came in, careful not to overwhelm her with their hugs as they knew she didn't like physical contact that much.
"How are you feeling honey?" Ms.Chu asked, looking exhausted herself, a hand still on her shoulder.
"I am feeling good. Ms Chu, thank you very much for healing me."
"Don't even thank me, Hana. I would do it a hundred times more without thinking." The woman said, giving the girl an extra smile before taking her hand off her shoulder and continuing "Let's get back to eating breakfast! Hana, we made fried eggs just for you, so sit down and eat before they get cold.”
"Thank you, really. To all of you. I dont know what I would have done without you." she thanked as she sat down at the table, leaving everyone surprised by her sudden and not really common sign of affection towards them.
Perhaps she had been more hurt than what they thought.