Kai sat in silence, staring down at Hana’s lifeless body, his mind numb with shock. The weight of the Ledger pressed against his chest, as if the cursed object was mocking him. His fingers, still trembling, gripped the leather-bound book tightly, but for the first time, he felt its true burden—one that no amount of power could justify.

He wanted to say something, to express the storm of guilt, anger, and confusion swirling inside him, but no words came. His thoughts were a tangled mess, a suffocating web of regret and fear. He hadn’t meant for any of this. He had wanted to stop her, not to take her life.

Minseo knelt beside him, her hand still resting gently on his shoulder. Her eyes were filled with tears, but they weren’t just for Hana—they were for him too. She had seen everything unfold, and now they both had to live with the consequences of a choice neither of them fully understood.

“Kai,” Minseo said softly, her voice breaking the suffocating silence. “What are we going to do? We can’t just leave her here.”

Kai didn’t respond immediately. His eyes were locked on Hana, her once fierce and determined face now pale and still. The fight had left her, and so had the rage and drive that had defined her for so long. He couldn’t believe this was happening.

“We should... we should call someone,” Minseo continued, her voice shaky. “The police... or an ambulance.”

“No,” Kai muttered, his voice barely a whisper.

Minseo blinked, confused. “What? Kai, we can’t just—”

“No police,” Kai repeated, his voice firmer this time. His eyes finally left Hana’s body and met Minseo’s. “If they come, they’ll ask questions. They’ll find out about the Ledger. They’ll... they’ll know what we did.”

Minseo’s brow furrowed, her expression filled with a mix of fear and understanding. She knew Kai was right. The moment anyone found out what the Ledger could do, everything would spiral out of control. But that didn’t make the situation any easier.

“But... Kai, we can’t just cover this up. Hana—”

“Hana was dangerous,” Kai interrupted, his voice harder than before. “She was going to use the Ledger to kill. To get revenge. I didn’t want this to happen, but she was out of control.”

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Minseo swallowed hard, her eyes darting to Hana’s still form. She looked conflicted, as if part of her wanted to argue, to find another way. But deep down, she knew the truth. Hana had been on a dark path, and Kai had tried to stop her.

“But this isn’t right,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “We can’t just... pretend it didn’t happen.”

“I know,” Kai said, his voice barely audible. “But if anyone finds out about the Ledger, it won’t stop with Hana. They’ll want it. And they’ll do whatever it takes to get it.”

Minseo looked away, her shoulders sagging under the weight of Kai’s words. She understood the risk, but it didn’t make the situation any less horrifying. They were standing on the edge of something far bigger than either of them had ever imagined, and now there was no going back.

“What do we do?” she asked quietly, her eyes returning to Kai’s. “We can’t just leave her here.”

Kai stood up slowly, his legs shaking beneath him. He glanced around the gym, his mind racing. There were too many people who could walk in and find Hana. Too many witnesses who could ask the wrong questions.

“We’ll move her,” he said after a long pause, his voice flat. “We can take her out of the school. Somewhere no one will find her... for a while, at least.”

Minseo’s eyes widened in shock. “Move her? Kai, that’s... that’s insane. People will notice she’s missing.”

“They’ll notice,” Kai agreed, his expression grim. “But it’ll buy us time. Time to figure out what to do next. Time to think about how to handle this... and the Ledger.”

Minseo looked like she wanted to protest, but she hesitated, her eyes filled with doubt and fear. She glanced back at Hana, her face filled with sorrow. “Kai... are you sure about this? We’re not killers.”

Kai’s hands clenched into fists at his sides, his mind a swirling storm of regret and determination. “We’re not killers,” he repeated quietly, more to convince himself than her. “But we have to survive. The Ledger... it changes things.”

Minseo bit her lip, tears streaming silently down her cheeks. “I don’t like this. I don’t like any of this.”

“Neither do I,” Kai said, his voice barely a whisper. “But we don’t have a choice.”

They stood there in silence, the reality of what they were about to do settling heavily over them. Kai’s mind raced, trying to block out the overwhelming guilt, the feeling of losing control over everything that had once been clear. Hana’s death wasn’t just a momentary lapse in judgment—it was the beginning of something far darker.

“We’ll take her to the woods,” Kai said finally, his voice distant. “There’s a place near the edge of town, not far from the old quarry. No one goes there anymore. We’ll leave her there... and then we’ll decide what to do next.”

Minseo looked at him, her face pale and stricken, but she didn’t argue. She simply nodded, her body shaking with the weight of their decision. Together, they moved toward Hana’s body, their steps slow and heavy with dread.

As Kai knelt down beside her, he paused, staring at her face one last time. She had been so full of life, of ambition, of power. But now she was just... gone.

His hand brushed against her cold skin, and his breath hitched in his throat. "I’m sorry," he whispered, the words feeling hollow in the face of everything that had happened.

Minseo watched silently, her heart breaking as she realized there was no turning back from this.