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44. More feelings?

『 Jini’s POV 』

When the ground split beneath us, I expected to wake up surrounded by my friends — maybe bruised, definitely annoyed, but not alone.

But I was alone.

The moment I opened my eyes, I knew something was wrong. The air was damp and stale, and the floor beneath me was hard and uneven. Darkness stretched ahead in both directions. I was in a tunnel — a long, winding stretch of jagged rock with no light and no sound except the echo of my own breathing.

"Hello?" My voice bounced off the walls and disappeared into the dark.

No response.

Panic started to creep in at the edges of my mind. I stood and took a shaky breath. "Okay, Jini. Don’t freak out. Just… keep moving."

I picked a direction and started walking.

The tunnel was narrow, the ground beneath my feet uneven. My stone glowed faintly beneath my skin, casting a soft, reddish light ahead of me. It wasn’t enough to see clearly, but it gave me a general sense of the path.

It felt like I’d been walking for hours. My legs ached. My head hurt. My throat was dry.

And then —

A hand shot out of the wall.

I screamed and jumped back, flames flickering at my fingertips.

Jungwon stepped through the stone wall as if it wasn’t even there, brushing dust from his jacket.

"You scared me!" I snapped.

"More like, ‘Yay, you found me!’" Jungwon said, grinning.

I pressed a hand to my chest, my heart still racing. "Don’t do that."

Jungwon’s grin widened. "Phasing through walls is kind of my thing."

"Yeah, well, a little warning next time would be nice."

He leaned against the wall. "I was trying to find my way out. Hit a dead end and figured I’d try phasing through to see what was on the other side. Guess I got lucky."

"Depends on your definition of ‘lucky,’" I muttered.

Jungwon’s gaze softened. "You okay?"

"I’m fine," I said automatically.

His eyes narrowed. "You sure?"

I sighed. "Let’s just keep moving."

Jungwon straightened. "Okay. Let’s see if we can find an exit."

We walked side by side through the tunnel. Jungwon’s presence was steady, grounding. He didn’t say much, but he kept close enough that our shoulders brushed occasionally.

After a few minutes, the tunnel ended in a flat wall of stone.

Jungwon sighed. "Great."

"Shit," I muttered.

Jungwon tilted his head, studying the wall. "I could phase through it and check what’s on the other side."

"Yeah, but that’s pointless since I can’t go with you," I pointed out.

"True," Jungwon said. "I could try breaking it."

"And bring the entire tunnel down on our heads?"

"Also true."