Hope ~After Dystopia~ - Chapter 5

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**Handong's Mind,** known better on Korean and Japanese as **Clear Mind of Fourth** (의 맑은 마음 네번째, *Ui Malg-eum Ma-eum Nebeonjjae* | ダイヨン・ノ・メイカクナ・ コ コロ, *Daiyon no Meikakuna Kokoro*) is the fifth chapter of Yuhun's Wattpad fan-fiction, *Hope ~After Dystopia~*. It was first released on April 12th, 2021, and and is the fourth of seven chapters to be named after a Spirit of the Tree of Language- this chapter is named in honor of Handong, the Fourth Spirit of the Tree of Language and Dreamcatcher's sub-vocalist and dancer.

It is preceeded by chapter 4, and succeeded by chapter 6.

## Major Events

* While hiding out at the small castle they're staying at, the Spirits are attacked by a Masked patrol- Handong and JiU easily defeat it, and Handong reveals that if one calms their mind during a battle, there's less to worry about.
* Not long after, another larger patrol strikes, and much to the Spirits' surprise and shock, Gahyeon defeats the entire patrol herself, though she receives what JiU believes to be a serious injury down her arm.
* While the Spirits go to get the necessary resources to patch up her wound, as the chapter ends, Gahyeon hears a voice telling her she'll help her get to them, and to remember that she'll always be on the Spirits' side. This leads Gahyeon to realise that the girl in the drawing sent to the Spirits is the girl in Dami's vision, and that they're actually trying to reach out to the Spirits.

## Characters

* JiU
* SuA
* Siyeon
* Handong
* Yoohyeon (mentioned only)
* Dami
* Gahyeon
* The Girl on the Tree-Swing (voice only)
* Masked Goons

## Chapter

The Seven Spirits had found a place to rest, sleep and stay after what Yoohyeon called 'almost a week of tireless, painful searching'. It was a castle-old and not very big, but it would do for a while before the Masked tracked them down. Oddly enough, during that period of time, they'd had enough to eat and drink- SuA thought there wouldn't be- and they hadn't been attacked or seen by any patrols of the Masked.

"We still need to listen to Siyeon's idea and find the girl," JiU said. "Start training with each other. Handong, you need to stay outside the castle just in case the Masked find us-"

Footsteps sounded outside. Handong whispered in a panicked voice, "I think they have!" She grabbed her weapon- a long, sharp, gleaming scimitar attached to a silver wristband, with a thick glove around the rim. She put the glove on her right hand, clenched it into a fist, and stared into JiU's eyes and smiled. "I can handle them," she promised. "But you should still come with me so you can jump in should I need any help in taking them down. Get your staff and be prepared."

"That scimitar looks perfect for rollin' through a Masked patrol in a few minutes," JiU remarked.

Handong ran outside, where a large patrol of the Masked were outside- much bigger than the one SuA fought. Handong smiled. "I'm gonna have fun with you guys. You won't make us despair!" Handong lunged at a goon, plunging the scimitar deep into the goon's chest, and then stepping back as her target's body disappeared and the mask dropped to the ground.

"Come on, you mindless masked minions!" Handong roasted the Masked patrol. "Come get a piece of me if you can!" In under a minute, Handong sent another five masks falling to the ground. She saw a goon's weapon in time to duck under it, sending her scimitar into the goon's chest. Another mask dropped to the ground.

JiU gasped in surprise. Handong seemed calm. *As if she's in her comfort zone! She doesn't look scared at all!* She continued to watch in awe as Handong started finishing off the Masked patrol.

Suddenly, one of the goons swung the flat of their blade at Handong's chest. The Spirit was sent rolling across the ground. The remains of the Masked patrol advanced on her.

"Handong!" JiU gasped. "No!" The situation seemed to worsen when JiU saw another large Masked patrol coming their way. They were far away, but they would get here soon.

*Handong won't stand a chance against them **all**, even with my help!* JiU thought. She was starting to worry for Handong.

Handong rose to her feet and started taking deep swipes at the patrol. JiU drew her staff and joined in. In a few moments, it was all over. Handong was gasping for breath, slightly wounded.

But the Masked patrol was no more than a pile of masks stacked on top of one another.

"How, Dongie?" JiU asked.

Handong smiled at JiU. "It's better to keep your mind clear of any worries during battle. That way, you won't be worried about any injuries."

SuA and Siyeon picked the masks up, grabbed some rope and started tying them to the trees. "Pretty good for letting the Masked know it's no longer a very good idea to mess with us," SuA replied when JiU asked what they were doing.

"Better be quick," JiU warned. "There's *another* large Masked patrol coming our way, and they'll be here soon." Yoohyeon came out from the castle to help SuA and Siyeon. She got Handong to go back inside.

The other Masked patrol were nearing the Spirits.

Suddenly, JiU heard and saw something she didn't expect and was almost frozen in fear and surprise from seeing and hearing it.

"Bye, Dami," Gahyeon whispered. "I'll make it back to you, I promise."

The Masked patrol had just reached the Seven Spirits when all of a sudden, Gahyeon appeared. "Gahyeon! Don't fight them by yourself!" JiU screamed.

But Gahyeon didn't listen. Despite being weaponless, the youngest of the Spirits dodged the attacks sent her way, and began overpowering the Masked with brute strength.

"Don't underestimate this young Spirit, *pabos!* " Gahyeon yelled, screaming into a goon's ear. It deafened them long enough for Gahyeon to grab their weapon and plunge it into their chest. Gahyeon leapt away as the goon's body disappeared and their mask dropped to the ground.

JiU's eyes widened. *She's decimating them, and she has no weapon! Gahyeon was nuts for rushing into a fight...but look at her!*

Gahyeon showed no signs of tiring out or showing mercy as she began snapping the Masked patrol's necks, sending more masks falling to the ground. A sword gave her a scratch on her arm, but Gahyeon ignored the pain as she continued decimating the patrol effortlessly.

"Come on!" Gahyeon taunted, killing off five goons with their own weapons. "Come get a piece of me! Come for me all you want, but you won't bring me down!" She kept overpowering the Masked patrol, who stood no chance of defeating her.

In a desperate move, one of the Masked goons slashed at Gahyeon's wound with a knife, opening it up more. Gahyeon gritted her teeth against the agony, and plunged the goon's weapon into their own chest, sending their mask falling to the ground. Picking up the knife, she glared at the last goon, who tried to run away, only to turn around when Gahyeon taunted them again.

She tucked the hand with the knife behind her back and said, "Come on, hater. You're so weak, you can't beat me when I've got a hand tied behind my back? What a shame..."

Enraged, the goon charged at Gahyeon, only to disappear when Gahyeon flung the knife into their chest. The weapons disappeared too. The only ones that didn't was the knife Gahyeon held, and a few swords.

The other Spirits that were outside stiffened and gazed at Gahyeon, clearly shocked by how well their youngest handled the Masked patrol.

Exhausted and in pain, Gahyeon sank to her knees, clutching her wounded right arm.

Handong rushed out of the castle to her side. "Gahyeon! Are you all right?"

Gahyeon looked up at Handong, and smiled. "I'm fine, Dongie," Gahyeon insisted. "What about you?"

"I'm a bit bruised, but I'm all right," Handong answered. "I can't believe you took them all out yourself!"

"I have to admit, you did well," JiU complimented. "I thought you'd get seriously hurt. But you only got one injury." She stared at Gahyeon's wounded arm. "But it's a serious-looking injury."

SuA and Siyeon had returned. "We wound up not being bothered to tie *all* the masks to trees, so we'll just hide these ones. Their eyes widened upon seeing Gahyeon. "Dang, Gahyeon, that's one heck of a bad injury you've got there," Siyeon fretted.

"Don't worry, Siyeon. I'll live." Gahyeon looked at the wound. "As long as I get water to clean this wound and a bandage roll to dress it," she added. "I thought that I'd be dead in a couple swings of a weapon, but goodness me! I made it!"

JiU immediately called for Gahyeon's wound to be tended to. "SuA, look for herbs that could help with the healing and keeping infection out, but don't go too far. Siyeon, look for water so that we can clean the wound. And Gahyeon, for your sake, get back inside so you can tell Dami all about what happened. "

SuA and Siyeon headed out to look for supplies needed to tend to Gahyeon's wound.

Gahyeon walked back to the castle, and as she did, she thought she heard a voice whisper to her on the wind.

*The wind blows, doesn't it, Gahyeon? I will wait for you, however long it will take. I must keep trying to reach out to you so that I can help you try to get to me...I hope I can be of use to you and the other Spirits in trying to defeat the Masked and driving back hatred and eternal despair for good. Remember what I wrote on the drawing- I'll always be on your side.*

Gahyeon's eyes widened. What she had heard on the blowing winds meant only one thing:

The girl in the drawing of Gahyeon and someone else and the girl in Dami's vision were the same person, and they were trying to reach out to her and the other Spirits.

## Trivia

* This chapter received two updates: one on April 22nd, 2021, and one on December 1st, 2021.
* It is 1,421 words long.
* This chapter is the first in a long line to not have all the Seven Spirits present: Yoohyeon is visibly absent in the chapter, though it is mentioned that when the Spirits find their hideout, Yoohyeon thought it took a long, tireless and painful search to find it.
* The second name of this chapter, *Clear Mind of Fourth,* is a nod to Sakuzyo's song, Clock of fifth.