Hancheng: There is a door between me and the future

Chapter 317 Human Barbie Goo Hara [Part 2] (7K views, please subscribe and vote)

In the rain.

Three black umbrellas were clearly not enough to completely withstand the raging typhoon.

The curved umbrella was violently deformed by the howling wind, making a "whooshing" sound as if it would be overturned at any moment.

The dense raindrops slanted down like bullets, most of them blocked by the umbrella and bursting into finer mist, but some stubborn rain streaks still managed to penetrate the defenses and wet their trouser legs and shoulders.

Lin Xiuyuan stood slightly forward, his posture upright, one hand firmly gripping the umbrella handle, wrestling with the fierce wind that was trying to snatch the umbrella away.

He wore a dark windproof jacket, zipped up to the collar, and rainwater slid down his hair and jawline.

A calm expression and gaze pierced through the layers of rain, landing precisely on Goo Hara, who had just stepped out the door. Her deep eyes were like the only calm eye in the eye of the storm.

Half a step to his left and behind was Ham Eun-jung.

On the right is Park Ji-yeon.

Both of them were trying hard to steady their umbrellas, but the wind was too strong, and their bangs were already soaked by the rain and stuck to their smooth foreheads.

The background is a blurry, distorted cityscape and wildly dancing tree branches, as if the whole world is in turmoil.

As Goo Hara witnessed this extraordinary scene, the ease and nonchalance she had felt vanished instantly, replaced by an indescribable tremor and a vague unease.

He instinctively gripped Shirley's hand tightly.

Shirley seemed to sense her nervousness, so she squeezed her hand back firmly, then took her hand and, holding the umbrella, slowly walked towards the three people in the rain.

Upon arriving in front of the group, Goo Hara, seeing their appearance, instinctively glanced around as if searching for hidden cameras.

Then, with a mix of amusement and exasperation, he spoke, his voice barely audible in the wind and rain.

"No, Xiuyuan, Zhiyan, the way you two are making a scene makes me think we're filming a gangster movie. What are you doing? It's raining so hard, why aren't you finding shelter? What are you doing standing here like an idiot?"

Lin Xiuyuan simply smiled and did not answer directly, but instead pointed to the rather large RV parked next to him.

Those were props he had just rented temporarily, and they looked particularly dignified in the rain.

"I'm waiting for you all to get on the bus together," he said succinctly.

Upon hearing this, Goo Hara immediately said, "Then what are you standing there for? Get in the car! Aren't you uncomfortable getting soaked in the rain?"

As she said this, she even subconsciously reached out and pushed Lin Xiuyuan's back, quickly walking towards the RV, seemingly eager to escape the terrible weather.

During the brief walk to the RV, the wind and rain were so intense that Goo Hara unconsciously stepped over Sulli, who was originally sharing an umbrella with her, and almost instinctively shrank under Lin Xiuyuan's relatively more stable black umbrella.

Upon seeing this, Sulli did not immediately follow, but slowed down and strolled over to Ham Eun-jung and Park Ji-yeon, who were also lagging behind.

Watching Lin Xiuyuan and Goo Hara walk side by side towards the RV, a slight smile appeared on her face, and she called out to the two beside her, "Unnie~"

"Ah."

Ham Eun-jung responded and looked ahead, her tone tinged with emotion, "Finally, I've encountered this situation. I couldn't witness yours in person, Sulli."

Hearing this, Shirley's smile remained faint. She tilted her head slightly and said in a very calm tone, "It's nothing, unnie. It's just a matter of taking a look at myself."

As she spoke, her gaze became somewhat distant. "Speaking of which, when I have time, I'd like to go and pay my respects to myself on the anniversary of her death, and have a good chat with her."

"Next month?" Park Jiyeon exclaimed in a low voice, somewhat surprised.

"decide as things go."

Sulli's gaze refocused on Goo Hara's back in the distance, her voice soft as if she were sighing, "I've just been feeling a bit sentimental lately, and I want to have a good, quiet talk with myself."

After speaking, she quickly composed herself and called to Ham Eun-jung and Park Ji-yeon, "Let's go, unnie, let's get in the car quickly."

Ham Eun-jung and Park Ji-yeon, who were a couple of steps behind, exchanged a glance and saw complex emotions in each other's eyes.

Finally, Ham Eun-jung watched Sulli walk towards the RV first and couldn't help but whisper to Park Ji-yeon, "Where did this kind of growth come from? The changes in her personality and mindset are so great that sometimes it makes my heart ache."

Park Jiyeon remained silent and did not answer immediately.

She knew that Ham Eun-jung also understood that behind this almost transformative change was nothing more than that tombstone.

So he just sighed softly and tugged at Ham Eun-jung's arm, "Let's go, unnie."

"Ah."

Two minutes later, everyone gathered inside the RV.

Goo Hara, who had arrived at the car a few steps earlier, warmly brought several dry towels and handed them to Park Jiyeon, Ham Eunjung, and Sulli, so that they could wipe their hair and cheeks that were wet from the rain.

"Quickly wipe it off, don't catch a cold."

Lin Xiuyuan was already seated in the driver's seat and had started the engine.

Without lingering, I maneuvered the mobile home and smoothly drove away from the dormitory building, heading towards a clear destination.

Coastside.

However, Goo Hara was completely unaware of this destination at the moment.

After quickly wiping away the rainwater, she finally had time to look out the window at the road.

Watching the rain relentlessly pound against the car window, blurring and distorting the outside world, I realized how it was.

So, somewhat uneasy, she leaned forward and asked Lin Xiuyuan in the driver's seat, "Xiuyuan, where are we going? This weather doesn't seem like a good time to go out."

Lin Xiuyuan glanced at her through the rearview mirror. "Don't worry, you'll find out in a bit."

Upon hearing this, Goo Hara had no choice but to suppress her growing unease and sit back down, trying to distract herself by chatting.

Perhaps due to the typhoon, there were very few vehicles on the road.

Although Lin Xiuyuan kept his speed relatively low, the journey was smooth and he did not encounter any traffic jams.

So it wasn't long before the RV drove through the rain and arrived at a deserted coastline.

As the vehicle slowly came to a stop, Goo Hara looked out through the rain-blurred window at the view outside.

He gasped, his eyes widening in disbelief, and exclaimed, "Xiuyuan!!! Are you crazy?! What are you doing at the beach during a typhoon?!"

In the distance outside the car window, all that could be seen was an incredibly violent scene.

The once calm and azure sea was now like a boiling inkwell, with turbid waves rising higher and higher under the force of the gale, roaring deafeningly as they crashed against the distant embankment and reefs, splashing up a sky full of pale white spray.

The sky was completely covered by thick, leaden-gray clouds that seemed to be pressing down, and visibility was frighteningly low.

The whole world seemed to consist only of the howling of the wind and rain and the raging of the sea.

Only then did Lin Xiuyuan turn around, beckon to the horrified Goo Hara, and gesture for her to come over, pointing to the passenger seat.

Confused, Goo Hara's heart was still pounding from the sight before her and the unknown fear, but she still got up as instructed, staggered over the seat, and sat in the passenger seat.

Behind the two, Park Jiyeon, Sulli, and Ham Eunjung, who had been chatting, also stopped talking at the right time.

The entire carriage instantly fell into an almost frozen silence, with only the roar of the wind, rain, and waves outside becoming increasingly clear. The atmosphere inexplicably became incredibly heavy and oppressive, like the deathly stillness before a storm.

Immediately afterwards, Lin Xiuyuan turned his head and looked calmly at Goo Hara, whose face was a little pale, and asked her a question that caught her off guard.

"Hora, do you think you're afraid of that ocean right in front of you?"

Goo Hara never expected Lin Xiuyuan to suddenly ask this question.

So, subconsciously, I turned my gaze again to the sea outside the car, which was churning like the end of the world, and looked at the sky filled with dark clouds and raging winds.

Almost instinctively, without any hesitation, she nodded, her voice trembling slightly. "Of course I'm scared! How could I not be scared? Anyone would be scared seeing something like this!"

The next second, Lin Xiuyuan's question came like a cold arrow, piercing the deeper parts of her heart.

Are you afraid of death?

"!!!"

In the back seat, Shirley shuddered upon hearing the question and unconsciously gripped Ham Eun-jung's arm tightly beside her.

The force was so great that even Ham Eun-jung frowned slightly.

However, sensing Shirley's tense emotions, she didn't say anything, but silently patted the back of her hand gently, comforting her without a sound.

The moment Goo Hara, the protagonist of the story, heard the word "death," her eyebrows furrowed deeply, and a sense of unease surged through her like a tidal wave, almost overwhelming her.

My throat started to feel dry, but I forced myself to answer in a tone that was both confused and somewhat resistant.

"No, Xiuyuan, why are you suddenly bringing this up? I'm a little unsure how to put it, but generally speaking, it's definitely fear. Who isn't afraid of death?"

This answer reflects the most genuine and common reaction of an ordinary person when faced with such an ultimate question.

"Ah."

So Lin Xiuyuan got the answer, and simply responded with a faint sound, his face expressionless.

Then he did something that made Goo Hara's pupils shrink.

He smiled, a smile that appeared particularly eerie and unpredictable against the backdrop of the raging scene outside the car.

Then, reaching for the black umbrella that had been battered and deformed by the wind and rain, he actually opened the car door...

I got out of the car and went to the passenger side!
"Let's go."

As the passenger door opened again, a gust of wind rushed into the car, tousling Goo Hara's hair, but Lin Xiuyuan's voice was exceptionally clear in the wind and rain, "Let's get out and take a closer look at this sea."

Goo Hara was completely stunned. Her eyes widened as she stared in disbelief at the figure standing straight in the raging storm outside the car.

"Are you crazy? It's so dangerous outside!!" she almost screamed.

But Lin Xiuyuan just stood outside the car and looked at her calmly, his eyes seemed to have an undeniable magic.

Under the silent, complex gazes of Sulli, Ham Eunjung, and Park Jiyeon inside the car, Goo Hara's heart pounded and her mind went blank.

But some inexplicable force, or rather, the bewilderment at Lin Xiuyuan's incomprehensible actions and a surge of newly awakened courage, drove her...

Even though she gritted her teeth, she ultimately followed him out of the car with a resolute determination.

In an instant, the raging wind and rain and the deafening roar of the waves completely enveloped her.

Almost subconsciously, Goo Hara followed Lin Xiuyuan's footsteps, walking unsteadily towards the edge of the coast not far away.

Braving the fierce winds that could make a person sway, the two walked closer to the churning seawater.

Here, the power of nature becomes even more direct and terrifying.

A huge wave exploded not far away, making a thunderous roar.

Rain, seawater whipped up by the gale, and cold water vapor and droplets formed after the waves broke off, rained down on the two of them like a barrage of bullets, hitting their bodies and faces.

Almost in the blink of an eye, Goo Hara felt completely soaked, and the icy feeling instantly penetrated her clothes, making her shiver involuntarily.

My hair clung to my cheeks, rain blurred my vision, and my ears were filled with a chaotic and loud noise.

Standing beside Lin Xiuyuan, she looked at the raging scene before her, which seemed like the end of the world, and felt the helplessness and fear of tiny humans facing the power of nature. Her unease and confusion reached their peak.

"Xiuyuan, what exactly are you trying to do?"

After watching for a few seconds, Goo Hara shouted at Lin Xiuyuan beside her with all her might in the wind and rain, her voice distorted by the wind and rain.

Lin Xiuyuan turned his head to the side, raindrops dripping down his sharply defined jawline. His gaze pierced through the rain and locked onto Goo Hara's face, which was filled with fear and confusion. He asked her a question.

The voice wasn't loud, but it was strangely clear: "Hora, do you think you would willingly choose to die?"

"I won't! Why would I commit suicide?!"

When asked, Goo Hara almost immediately retorted loudly, her tone filled with offended agitation and an instinctive desperate need for survival, "Stop it, Xiuyuan. This is too dangerous, let's go back to the car!!!"

Seeing her excited and resolute reaction, Lin Xiuyuan's expression softened slightly. He nodded, "Okay, just remember this answer. Let's go back."

So the whole process, from getting off the bus to getting back on, only took a few minutes.

But in those brief few minutes, surrounded by the raging power of nature that seemed capable of devouring everything, Goo Hara's mind and body suffered a tremendous impact. So when she stepped back into the relatively quiet, sheltered carriage, her tense nerves suddenly relaxed.

What followed was an uncontrollable wave of fear and physical reaction, which made her unable to control her body and she began to tremble, even her teeth chattering slightly.

Just as Ham Eun-jung was about to thoughtfully hand over a dry, thick bath towel, and Goo Hara was about to reach out to take it, Lin Xiuyuan's calm, even strangely gentle words drifted into her ears.

"No need to wear it anymore, let's go, Hera, I'll take you to get some sun."

Sunbathing?

Goo Hara thought she had misheard him; outside, it was clearly a typhoon and torrential rain that could blow the roof off!

Startled, she looked up and saw Lin Xiuyuan giving Shirley a look.

Sulli immediately understood and walked to Goo Hara's side, took her cold arm, and gave her a reassuring smile, saying softly, "Unnie, listen to oppa, close your eyes first, we have a big surprise for you."

"Surprised...surprised?"

Goo Hara's mind was a complete mess. She felt cold and uncomfortable all over, and her only thought was to take a hot shower and change into dry clothes.

So it's really hard to understand what kind of surprises could come from under these circumstances.

But under Shirley's expectant and undeniably clear gaze, she finally closed her eyes, filled with helplessness and doubt.

"It's a promise, unnie, no peeking," Shirley reminded her again.

“I know…” Goo Hara responded softly, not even knowing why she had to participate in this somewhat absurd game.

Perhaps it's because of Sulli.

At the same time, Ham Eun-jung turned her gaze to Lim Soo-won.

He was already standing in the middle of the carriage, facing the ordinary bedroom door, and gently pushed it open. The scene behind the door was no longer the cramped carriage, but the spacious and bright living room of the villa.

That's it.

Lin Xiuyuan spoke using lip reading.

Then Sulli and Park Jiyeon immediately took turns supporting Goo Hara, whose eyelids were tightly closed, and guided her to step through the seemingly ordinary car door.

With the first step she took, Goo Hara immediately sensed the difference.

Although she could still hear the muffled sound of wind and rain blocked by the door, the environment around her seemed to instantly become much drier and warmer.

The tactile sensation underfoot also changed.

This is where?

Goo Hara's heart skipped a beat; the intense sense of unease almost made her open her eyes.

However, Shirley noticed her wavering in time and quickly reminded her in her ear, "Unnie, hang in there, it's not over yet, don't open your eyes, just one minute."

The words in her ear made Goo Hara forcefully suppress the urge to open her eyes, but her heart began to beat faster uncontrollably.

Immediately afterwards, she sensed that Lin Xiuyuan had followed her in, and then she heard a soft sound of the door closing.

Click.

The moment Lin Xiuyuan closed that time portal from the inside.

The world is quiet!

The agonizing sound of the wind and rain that had been lingering in my ears seemed to be instantly cut off by an invisible hand, disappearing without a trace.

Instead, there was an almost absolute silence, with only her own rapid breathing and heartbeat clearly audible.

At the same time, the warmth enveloping her became even more pronounced, dispelling the chill that seeped from her very bones.

This sudden, eerie silence and warmth brought Goo Hara's unease to its peak.

However, before she could think it through, Lin Xiuyuan acted again.

The time portal reopened, leading naturally to the apartment from 13.

Sulli and Park Jiyeon continued to support the somewhat stiff Goo Hara as they stepped through another door.

Finally, when Lin Xiuyuan opened the door of the real RV leading to the 25-year-old Island Mountain Park cemetery, the scenery behind him came to an end.

"arrive."

As Lin Xiuyuan spoke, the group emerged from the time portal one after another, finally stepping onto this sun-drenched land 25 years in the past.

After closing the door, Lin Xiuyuan got out of the car first, passing the people standing in front.

At the same time, she immediately spotted Lee Qri, Daeyongjae, and Kim Tae-yeon talking quietly under the shade of a tree not far away.

When they saw Lin Xiuyuan finally appear, smiles appeared on their faces, and they quickly walked back.

Meanwhile, behind Lin Xiuyuan, Goo Hara, still being supported by Sulli and Park Jiyeon on either side, had her eyes closed.

And they were cautiously and tentatively taking the final step out of the RV.

It was this final step that caused her heart, which was already pounding wildly due to the bizarre changes in her surroundings, to completely break down.

Because she could clearly feel... the sunlight!
The scorching, bright, and unobstructed sunlight shone directly through the air onto her wet hair, cheeks, and still-cold body.

The warmth was so real, even scorching, creating a stark contrast to the icy rain she had endured just minutes before—a world of heaven and hell.

What terrified her even more was that even with her eyelids tightly closed, the dazzling light stubbornly penetrated her thin eyelids.

In her field of vision, a chilling, pulsating mixture of blood red and bright white appeared.

This is impossible! ! !

Goo Hara's mind was screaming wildly.

I was just in Tokyo a moment ago, and I got soaked to the bone by the typhoon's torrential rain.

The whole world was gray, violent, and cold.

How could it happen in the blink of an eye...?

Thinking of this, Goo Hara could no longer suppress the fear and thirst for knowledge that almost burst through her chest, and she suddenly and forcefully opened her eyes.

So the first thing you see is that infinitely magnified, overly bright sunlight.

The intense light caused Goo Hara to be momentarily blinded, and the whole world seemed to consist only of boundless, blinding white light.

This made her unconsciously squint her eyes again, and physiological tears flowed out.

A few seconds later, as her vision began to adjust, this new world gradually and clearly entered Goo Hara's eyes, like a faded photograph.

Warm, bright, radiant, and clean.

The sky was a clear, deep blue without a single cloud, and the blazing sun hung high overhead, bathing everything in a dazzling golden light.

The air was fresh, carrying the scent of grass and earth warmed by the sun.

All of this is in stark contrast to the raging winds, torrential rain, and gloomy, oppressive atmosphere that had enveloped the Tokyo coast just minutes before.

This created a completely opposite and utterly impossible situation that could not possibly coexist.

However, Goo Hara at the moment did not feel any joy or relaxation that this beautiful weather should have brought.

Instead, a chill even colder and more bone-chilling than the one she had felt in the storm came rushing up her spine like a venomous snake, making the hairs on her body stand on end.

What on earth is going on?! Where am I right now?!
Extreme panic gripped her, leaving her mind blank and almost unable to process this illogical reality, almost shutting down.

After a long while, Goo Hara suddenly looked up at Lin Xiuyuan, who was standing in front of her with a frighteningly calm expression.

Then, as if grasping at a straw, she quickly turned to look at Sulli and Park Jiyeon beside her, her voice trembling violently with extreme fear.

"What...what's going on??? Where am I??? Jinri, Jiyeon, tell me!!!"

As she spoke, Goo Hara gripped Sulli's arm tightly, her nails almost digging into Sulli's flesh.

But before Lin Xiuyuan or Shirley could explain all this incomprehensible...

Another, even greater shock, like a long-planned second tsunami, suddenly descended.

Lee Qri, Kim Tae-yeon, and Daeyongzai walked around from the other side of the RV.

As Li Juli stepped out from behind the car, the first thing she saw was Lin Xiuyuan, so she smiled with a relaxed expression and began to speak.

"Xiuyuan, where did you go just now? What happened..."

But before she could finish speaking, her gaze inadvertently drifted past Lin Xiuyuan's shoulder and landed on two incredibly familiar figures not far behind him.

One is Goo Hara, who has just opened her eyes after they were tightly closed, with an extremely terrified and bewildered expression.

The other is Sulli, who is supporting Goo Hara and has a complicated expression on her face.

boom! ! ! !

Lee Juri's mind seemed to have been struck by lightning!

Goo Hara?
And Sulli? ???
Wait, why is Jiyeon here too?

She's right next to me!!!

Lee Juri's gaze snapped as if burned, abruptly turning to the dragon cub standing beside her.

Two "Park Jiyeons".

A person dressed in dark clothes stands in the sunlight with a clear face.

A person dressed in casual clothes stood beside me, smiling slightly.

This absolutely impossible scene, which defied all physical laws and common sense, was like the most terrifying nightmare, instantly shattering Lee Ju-ri's psychological defenses.

I felt an indescribable chill and dizziness rush to my head, my legs went weak, and my body was about to collapse to the ground uncontrollably.

"Unnie!"

"Juri!"

Fortunately, Kim Tae-yeon and Dae-ryong reacted quickly, supporting Lee Qri who almost fell to the ground.

The other side, directly opposite.

Goo Hara, who was already on the verge of a cognitive breakdown, clearly saw the trio of Lee Qri and her companions emerging from behind the car, and her gaze instantly locked onto the two almost identical dragon cubs.

A person stood beside him, dressed rather thinly, with slightly damp hair.

A person standing next to Li Juli, dressed in solemn dark clothing, was supporting her.

Two...Jiyeons??

This reality, far beyond comprehension and resembling a scene from a horror movie, became the final straw that broke Goo Hara's sanity.

And the taut string in her mind snapped completely at that moment.

The extreme fear and chaos robbed her of all ability to think, leaving only the most primal instincts...

He abruptly released his grip on Sherry, clutched his head with both hands, his pupils contracted to their maximum, and let out a heart-wrenching scream filled with incomprehension and extreme terror.

"what!!!!!!!!!!!"

The scream shattered the tranquil yet eerily clear sky near the Island Hill Park cemetery, a place that had remained quiet for 25 years.

(Please take a look at the author's words~)

　As you all know, I have a regular job, so I took on a last-minute business trip today. I'm currently in Shenzhen, and I have to go to Hong Kong in the next day or two.
　　So that's all I can write for tonight. I only got to go on a business trip this evening, so I've been writing mostly on the road and in the hotel.
　　The above may be a bit shorter in the next day or two, but there's nothing I can do about it. I'll try to write as much as possible and finish this story as soon as possible.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)