The walls are as blank and white as her favorite bunny. She misses her bunny. She followed the bunny to the end of the world. Where was he now?

His fingers were always her favorite thing to play with. So pure, so innocent, she'd pet the bunny wondering how it was so soft. Her eyes stare at the man in blue. His brows are furrowed together, and she isn't sure if he notices the blood that drips from his cut. Oops.

"Twenty-three used to be so kind."

003: I didn't kill him, sir. He was too pretty to die. I loved him. I wouldn't know how to kill him. He was so handsome. He made others swoon. He knew that others loved him. There was no way this could be a suicide of any case. It's impossible. He knew everyone. Even if everyone thought he was a little different.

It was simple. Nam Woong is (was, at this point he is dead) the prettiest boy she ever met in her life. It is wasn't as though his pretty black hair wasn't supposed to be taken. His skin was so pretty and porcelain. He had this thing with his voice though. It was always so crippled. His mark was the scar on his neck. He was her favorite. He was always her favorite. Someone always told her that it was a bit insane to play with cotton candy. His smile was too blinding and she knew he had an interest in owls, wise old owls.

"You know, maybe you shouldn't be here," her friend would say when they sat on the tree branches. It always felt a little gruesome to sit in those branches. Her eyes were still so focused on the mark on his neck. The pretty boy always had such a pretty scar. It was what she was infatuated with at times. Woong never liked it though. He wanted it removed. He wanted it to go away. "He might kill you." The voices from the tree started to say incoherent words into her ears.

She giggled, put her binoculars down, and stared at the boy who sat by her side. The tree couldn’t sway her like they wanted her to.  "But Minnie, we both know we're more capable of that," she whispered. The smiles they exchanged on that tree was much more grotesque than others believed it to be. There were rumors that the two of them were eccentric. They were too weird to be around at times. Anyone who got close would understand that it was impossible to understand what went through their brains.

"Min, let's not," he reasoned. The girl nodded her head gleefully. She entangled her arms with his. They exchanged a look of compassion. There was a reason why they hid away from the world. Their fingers complimented each other. Their abilities enhanced their success. His dirty blond hair covered his glass eye. He picked up a cigarette, and she lit his cigarettes. They were complements, two halves to one whole. The smile still lingered as they jumped off the tree. Some kids played with toys. They played with lighters. It was simple. No one wanted to be friends with them. They only had each other and it was lonely. It was incredibly lonely to play with just one other person. Lighters were sad excuses for companions.

023: We took him in. He was in our safe haven. It wasn't as though we wanted him to tell the world that we were the weirdest kids on the streets. They all stared at us weird. Called us names because we never let anyone into our own world. We had. Plenty of times. We aren't the killers. You have got to be joking me. You have the wrong people here.

001: You and your significant other’s fingerprints were on everything we dusted for.

023: You're telling me, you found my fingerprints in my own residence? You're ing kidding me. Did you really have to take me all the way into an interrogation room just for an answer dumb as that? And , she's not even my girlfriend. You idiots have the wrong people!

"Do you want to have tea with us?" the girl asked when the boy of their interest approached them. It was strange. She was sure no one of his regality would want to sit with them. He was defying all the limits by joining them. Nam Woong had the prettiest eyes she ever laid on. They were so empty and so beautiful. But there was always something hiding behind them. His eyes moved back and forth as though he was caught in a lie.  

"If that's okay with you," he whispered. His voice still crippled by the insecurity of the scar on his neck. It was stitched with fine strings. They always heard from the grapevines that someone had to stitch it with cow leather because that was all the people had with them when he got hurt. Minnie told her it was rude to ask such questions, and so she didn't.

"Of course! Minnie, can you imagine that someone joining us for cupcakes? Wow! I'm so happy!" she exclaimed, running off into her backpack to place another plate for him. Pink and pale yellow color schemes. Minnie rolled his eyes, patting the seat next to him for Woong to join. Min was always the excitable type. There wasn't a thing she didn't get excited about. Her short burst of happiness was always somewhat infectious.

"Please excuse Min, she's a bit mad," he explained. He only shook his head without much thought. He had something that they missed in their little duo.

"I like mad people."

(His voice quivered a bit. Ha Min picked it up but didn’t comment about the fear in his voice.)

"Well, you've come to the right place then. We've gone mad. It's a bit contagious. We hope you don't mind."

Woong entering their house gave the two another ghost to be around. Perhaps, the boy found his home and Minnie wasn't going to have to race after Min with her incredulous ideas of adventures. They all could be friends. Friends that sipped tea with their pinkies up. Oh, Minnie really hoped so.

003: Honestly, it was probably  #17 and #26. They were hanging out with him right before his death. I mean, they were always so strange. I heard this rumor that they were both patients at a local sanatorium. Like can you believe that? Ew. How can they be accepted to our society? They called each other mad. I swear when I chatted with him, it was as if they brainwashed him. He was so different then. I had to force him not to hang out with them because they were so crazy.

001: Miss, please refrain from slander.

003: I'm just saying. Did you see the crime scene? Obviously, they're hiding something.

Blue is his favorite color. The person in blue stares back at him and asks questions. He knows the answers to his questions. It is simple. Sometimes, he wonders if the person looks at his glass eyes and is memorized. It isn’t his fault that he has a translucent looking eye. Though it’s no big deal now because the person's voice is haunting. He is memorized and there is nothing he would like to do but wipe the man's eyes blind and carefully wake him up from his own dream. The blood is dried up just like his river of knowledge.

"Number three is telling you lies."

People gaze through the looking glass for truth, but all he could see are lies.

Accepting Woong to the group was easy. The girl spent too much time asking him questions about his dreams, the stars, and if he was going to jump off a bridge with them if they asked. It was strange how they interacted. He wondered if this was some kind of joke. He wondered if the cigarettes they shared were the same or if their lighters were okay for him. Minnie had to make sure that Woong felt comfortable with them. It was his job. Her job was to make sure they were all okay. She was the medic. However, they were just as reckless as the others.

They stole money from other people. They smiled when they shared secrets, alcohol and dangerous adventures. It wasn't their world that they relished in. The others stared blankly at their new target. The one with the crippled voice, they knew of him. They heard of the stories. He only wanted to know what they knew. It was hard in this world. This world had too many masks that scared others into wearing their own. His sharp eyes only gazed at those who stared back with those empty masks.  

Minnie’s goal was to keep them safe. With Woong by his side, it was much harder. Woong joined a circle that meant no returns. If he wanted to stay, he had to accept the consequences. Woong didn't know that. But they knew. They all knew.

"Ha Min, you freak, just because you're gay doesn't mean you can have him!" one of the girls screeched when Ha Min held Woong's hand for comfort. It wasn't because he was afraid of what they said about him, but because Woong would never understand the torment that they went through. He wouldn't know what these souls said about them behind their backs. "Give him back!" she yelled. It wasn't too long before Woong was separated from his fingertips. When were humans things that could be taken away? He'd never know.

"How could you hang out with such filth, Woong?" she questioned, dusting off any of Ha Min's particle off his shoulders. There was no strand of blond left on his shoulders. Monsters shed hair as quickly as they appeared on their head. He would have to cut it soon, but if he did then they would all cower because of his blindness.

Their eyes met. There was sadness in those empty black eyes of his, but Ha Min only smiled, waved his goodbye, and headed towards his own class with plans of murder in the back of his thoughts. It rumbled through his mind and there was a moment when he put on a new mask. He hid away the good-natured smiles with the hideous nature that everyone was waiting for. A beast of his kind waited for the full moon. Selfishly with a dab of wrath, only the insane would find his sweetness.

"We can't kill them, silly," the girl hummed as she heard his plans. They were tainted with red and black. There was something else to be thinking about in that school. She put her books close to her chest. She knew of the evils that haunted both of their minds. It was only because his was much more brilliant than hers. His razor eyes only left knives into their souls. "Why would we?" she asked.

Her question was answered when someone spilled their frappucino onto her head. It was dripping with whipped cream and green. It made her nauseous as she stood against the wall. It was strange. Their eyes bore evil. There were snickering and eyes  stared blankly back at her. She didn't say a word to them. She only smiled when he glanced at her. Were they the strange ones or were the others the strange one? Her fists shook as she stared at the person with the empty cup.

He was beautiful. He was so handsome. His smirk only made her want to rip it off. Those diamond like eyes were going to be stolen and sold off in the market. His mask was still so white and pure. Girls in this state were bound to be embarrassed. They were embarrassed by the fact that their love would think of such things. It was all a lie. Their heart would beat like crazy. Their cheeks would be red. She was lucky. She had a heart disease.

"What's wrong, Su Min? Did you really think Jae Hyun really liked you?" one of the watchers mocked. The laughter screeched in her ears. There were giggles. Pick on the strange one. Let her rot alone. In this mundane world, there were only those who were black and then there were those who knew of color. Crush their skulls against the walls. Leave no hint of death in the air. They would all be scared of her.

The girl ripped off her own mask. It unveiled her inner secrets. The color red plagued her face. The liquids were still cold on her body.

She jumped onto him. She pulled out his pretty brown hair. Her nails digged deep into his neck. It was only tiny bits of blood, she promised. The onlookers watched in terror. There was no lacquer that could disguise the fear. Jae Hyun's eyes were going to be clawed out if anyone didn't do anything. The anger pooled in the pit of her stomach. The frappucino was spilling onto his face. There was no humor. There was no more mocking words.

"Get off him!" someone screamed.

Su Min flung him off. She grabbed him by the leg, took him down the stairs, her eyes wild with wrath. She was going to pay him back. It was strange. It was instinct to pain his pretty little face. It was obvious that she was going to go to jail of some sort. High school was no kiddy place for anyone of her kind. She life out of their veins. She kept them fearing for their lives. Mermaids were not creatures to be scared of, except, she was a horror. And mermaids tempted humans to their death.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he wailed. He laid on the concrete. His pretty face had marks of gravel, blood, cuts, and a bruise appeared. He was still oh so pretty. It was impossible to be that pretty. If she was still alive, she'd want his bones a necklace.

"Who are you to apologize? In your world, there are only those who fit in and those who are different," she stated gravely. Her bright eyes stole his beauty. What was left was just a shell. She consumed his whole livelihood. She gathered herself onto the ground, fixing her hair, taking off her ruined jacket and smiled at him. "Why are we like this?" she asked with a giggle. Her insanity was starting to swallow her compulsiveness. It was starting to scare him.

"W-wha-what do you mean?" he struggled to ask. She sighed, picking him up, taking out her first aid kit from her backpack. She hummed the songs that Woong taught her. She dabbed the injuries, smiled quietly as Jae Hyun tried to recover from the terror. She was a kind girl. She knew how to be sweet and angelic. Others took it for their advantage. They laughed. They giggled. She was never one of them. It was a shame. 

"Why are we the monsters when we've done nothing to you all?" she asked. Her eyes wide with interest as she put a bandage on his nose. There was still something left in his eyes. There was some kind of pity for her. She would have spat in his left eye if she ever saw that emotion again. She didn't deserve his pity. She deserved his death on a silver platter. Neverland would have one more soul to play with if she had it her way.

She wasn't sure what happened next. But she remembered feeling something fall on her face. She remembered feeling the rain and carefully being pulled in by some boy who had no idea why he was teasing her the next. He hushed her even when she was crying. He held her hand. She quietly followed him in the dark.

"Aren't you the monsters?"

015: I saw her destroy him. Park Jae Hyun, she pounced on him after a silly joke or something. She's always been weird. But her eyes were red. I swear, they were red. She wanted to kill him. I saw it. Everyone there was too scared to call the police because we thought she'd kill us next. We watched her drag him outside and I saw him the next day, bandaged up and everything.

031: Oh, yeah. I could have been angry, really. I mean, there was just something I saw in her that the others didn't though. I forgave her. The girl healed me up right after that. She started crying after she saw what she did to me. I aggravated her. I was just following with whatever anyone else told me. I don't know. It was strange. I just saw past through the fog, I guess. She's too sweet to kill anyone, hurt someone, maybe. But there's a reason I never pressed charges.

015: I don't know why you guys are interrogating us. I mean, it wasn't us. Just because it was at twenty-three's house, doesn't mean it was us. We aren't the murderers, they are.

"You did what?!" he shouted. If any of them were going to hurt someone first, it was bound to be him then Woong then her. Woong stared in disbelief as well. There was no way her little smile could have hurt anyone. "Min, you can't do that!" he exclaimed. He cradled her into his arms and hushed her tears.

"I won't let you get in trouble, I promise," he whispered. The brother inside him was trying to come out, but it was blinded by his anger like always. Woong watched the scene without though. He rose, found some tissues, and put it in front of them.

These people were animals in someone else's eyes. They were animals that knew not of human emotion, but instead were ridiculed and put down. He never understood the world quite like this. He was an outsider, but he saw the humanity in them both. Never once did they glare at him like the others did. Never once did they ask him about his voice. Never once did they question his sanity. They only smiled. Offered him a seat at their table and laughed at his jokes. Unlike the people he hung out with before, they never tried to find fun in other people’s miseries. It felt as though the others were the artificial ones. The ones in front of them knew what it was like to be prey. They knew what it was like to be shunned. Would they ever shun him? he doubted it.

"You can't let your anger get the best of you again, Min," the other male whispered. He stared at them both. It was comforting. But at the same time, he had to wonder what others saw in them that made them monsters. Why did their hands look skeletal to others? Why did the world want their blood for a few pennies? Woong was no stranger to oddities, but the two of them had too many secrets hidden beneath the glamour they presented. The kids in the school, they saw what they wanted to believe in. Ha Min and Su Min were the demons in the closet. They crawled onto the bed and killed them in any way they wanted.

The girl looked away from Ha Min and stared at Woong. “Of course, if things got too out of hand, we’d scare away our only friend,” she blinked. Woong watched the fear in Su Min’s eyes. He watched how she trembled as her words bit away at her soul. It was so obvious that she feared that she would lose a ghost to someone else. She feared that he would disappear like the others and tell their secrets from one person to another. But it disappeared the moment Ha Min asked if Su Min wanted to brew some more tea for the lot of them. The girl laughed out loud, clapped her hands together once again, and disappeared into the kitchen.

Ha Min watched as she disappeared and looked at Woong. It was a look of knowledge. It was strange to know that someone knew everything he ever wanted with one glance. “I’ll tell you everything,” he stated.

“How did you know?”

Ha Min laughed bitterly. He threw his head back and laughed at nothing. The laughter Woong heard was only of misery and anguish. Woong only knew of those when he sat somewhere else during lunch. It was the one he grew accustomed to. But Ha Min pushed back his hair as though this was only normal to him, and forgot the misery in the back of his mind. (Woong saw for the first time, the haziness in his eye that the others talked about. The grey covering was exposed.)

“Because they always want it.”

001: It appears you’ve been accused of another crime. This murder isn’t your first one, is it?

017: That’s right, officer. #026 won’t be able to recall them. She repressed most of those memories. Jung Minhee’s murder was not on purpose.
001: Can you explain to me why you were accused of the tragedy?
017: #026 thinks she killed her.

023: She obviously killed her. Why would anyone else argue with that logic? Look, we were the weird ones. Just because that duo says they’re in it together, doesn’t mean you should be on their side. It’s a slippery slope!
023: Just arrest them now!

“I’m sure you heard about Jung Minhee. She was the epitome of perfection. She had the perfect grades, the perfect smile, the perfect reputation, perfect everything and anything. But what she hid was only something that could only be confided with her closest friends. We were the ‘Min trio,’ we kept her secrets. And we knew her as the imperfect beauty that she was.”

“But I heard that Su Min caused Minhee to go insane.”

“Those rumors started because of me, and I can never forgive myself for what I’ve done to Su Min because of it.”

Su Min didn’t remember why her friend Minhee was in her treehouse, but she was. Minhee was the queen at school. She said hello to anyone she met. She laughed at all the right times. She had a penchant for fairy tales, ballet, and Peter Pan.

Her deep red hair was flowing about as she paced about in her treehouse, trying to explain something to Ha Min. It looked like fire if someone asked Su Min.

“You’re kidding, Minhee,” he said, eyes widening when he heard her talk. There was something about the way her eyes twinkled when they chatted about this that only puzzled Ha Min. Her smile only grew brighter and brighter as she tried to explain this plan that was bound to work.

“It’ll work, I promise,” she hummed excitedly. Minhee was always going on and on about fairytales and Neverland. She always wanted to fly, she always wanted to meet Tinkerbell. The only thing she wanted in all of her life was to see them. It didn’t take long before her innocent belief turned into an obsession. Ha Min watched rationally as she tried to persuade him.

“Oh, Min, you’re here,” Ha Min greeted as Su Min dropped a few apples onto the floor for them to eat. He patted the seat next to him and Su Min smiled politely as an answer. She laid her head on his shoulder, wondering what Minhee would think about today. “This one is interesting,” he lethargically tickled into her ear.

“When is it not?” she giggled. But what was to happen next was not interesting. Minhee, a free spirit spun her ballet-like feet again, her smile only getting brighter and brighter as she spun joyfully. But there was something that didn’t make sense to Su Min as she took a bite out of her apple. “Minnie, did you get here first?” she asked. Her heart started to act up. The strange beating caused concern in Ha Min.

“No, why?” he asked. Su Min took another bite out of her apple. Swallowing felt painful at the moment, but she knew there was something out of the ordinary.

“She has a gun,” she mumbled, nudging the boy in the right direction. There, right behind the tea leaves, the paintings, and junk that Su Min planned to clean up, was the gun.

“The only way I’m getting to Neverland is if I kill one of you, maybe both,” Minhee exclaimed excitedly after finishing her monologue of ideas. “And if I bathe in your blood, I will get to see what only the Neverlandians do,” she giggled. Her laughter started to bubble into extremes. She spun again, her bound feet were bound to feel the pain of their spins. “I’ll get to see Tinkerbell. I’ll get to meet the Mermaids!” she squealed.

The girl took the hidden gun and pointed it towards Su Min first. “Who told you that?!” Su Min screamed. She grasped onto Ha Min’s jacket, her figure shaking in fear. This girl wanted to kill her friend. She wanted to kill her. She wanted her dead.

“The shadows,” Minhee clearly answered. “They’re from Neverland, y’know?” she continued. Minhee said it all in a coherent and clear way that no one would think it was out of the ordinary. She was so calm about what was going to happen.

Ha Min trembled as well. Minhee was going to kill Su Min, but Su Min was too scared to let go of him. Ha Min had to stop this from happening. He was paralyzed with fear. He couldn’t stop anything. His fight-or-flight responses were choosing flight. The girl beside him engaged in fight.

“I have to stop this. I’m sorry, Ha Min,” Su Min said without looking back at him. Minhee was laughing this time, laughing so loud that Ha Min was afraid that she was going to wake up the neighbors. But Su Min tackled her. She tried to force the girl to let go of the gun, but it was her favorite toy. Minhee wouldn’t let anyone touch it, she gripped onto that thing as though her life depended on it. She needed it. She had to have it. It was her gateway to Neverland. It was her only way.

“I will bathe in your blood and it’ll open my eyes to everything around me!” Minhee cackled. Her feet felt like daggers in Su Min’s back, but she tossed and turned, trying to loosen her grip on it.

“No one can stop me!” she screeched, but with that proclamation, Su Min snatched the gun out of her grasps. But Minhee was possessed by her illusion. She came towards her, closer and closer, her feet looked as though they were bleeding. Before Su Min could shoot, Minhee took the gun. Everything that happened next was a blur.

The gunshot woke everyone up. Ha Min shut his eyes as he heard the noise. It was loud and piercing and no one, no one knew what really happened. Su Min screamed when he opened his eyes again. Su Min was shivering, crying, and there was blood everywhere. It stained her pretty white dresses, her apples, and it stained her whole soul.

“Ha Min, Ha Min, Ha Min…” she cried again and again in her fetal position. She sobbed when Ha Min covered her from the body that almost killed her. “Please tell me I didn’t kill her,” she cried again. Su Min wouldn’t stop crying.

Ha Min was scared less when the police appeared and saw them covered in blood. The whole treehouse was covered in blood. They asked so many things and Su Min was separated from him. Separated from her friend from birth. She screamed in refusal, but no one listened to the cries of the monster. No one would answer her whims. She was guilty until proven innocent. They called her evil. They wanted her to repent. No one would think that Jung Minhee was mad enough to kill someone like Su Min. No one believed in the truth. And so Su Min let them believe whatever they wanted. It was too tiring to force the truth. Tainted, she was tainted.

001: I really need you to cooperate with me.
026: This has nothing to do with this case. #17’s viral video was shut down and was in violation of the terms of service.
001: Listen I-
026: If you want me to badmouth my friend then ask someone else. But in no situation should a stupid video of his mistake to trust teenagers be used against him.
001: He betrayed you once. He’s capable of doing it again.
026: Wouldn’t be more realistic for me to do that to him then? Revenge in theory is sweet. Who wouldn’t want to try?
001: You  never sounded this eloquent before.
026: I have someone to live with. I will not allow you to take him away from me. This won't happen again.

“If you want to know my tale, you’ll have to ask Su Min,” Ha Min answered before he could ask why Ha Min was a creature to everyone else. It was the last thing Woong heard from him that day. But Su Min didn't seem like the type to give him any clear cut answers. Her words were often sprinkled with an innocent insanity. There was no plausible reason why she would be able to answer the question he searched for. But when he approached her, her eyes became clear.

“Ha Min betrayed me before. He can tell his own story,” she growled. Her hands turned into fists. Afraid that she would punch him, he took a step back. He was at a loss, and Su Min was traumatized. “I guess I can tell you,” she added. Motioning to the boy to sit down at the table, she gazed at him. He was an angel. What was he doing in hell? She put a cup of tea in front of him and one in front of her. She was never going to know.

Yu Ha Min was not a loyal boy. When the others decided to blame Su Min for Minhee’s death, he distanced himself from her. A boy she knew since she was five decided to take many steps away from her. He knew she didn’t do it, but he didn’t want the rumors going around with him as well.

It would be only for a little while, he promised. But Su Min was alone, and her sole protector decided to disappear because he wanted more superficial popularity. With Minhee’s death, he could possibly become king. Greed was his favorite sin. And at first, it was exhilarating, others wanted to know how it felt to be in the same place as the murderer. They wondered about how scared he must have been when she shot Minhee, and how he would be the next target. He laughed at those accusations, but he didn’t do anything to stop them. He was infatuated with the popularity. It wasn’t grating to his ears. The popularity came from their pity, but popularity was popularity and he enjoyed every bit of it. It was addicting. He was never going to have enough.

Su Min didn’t show up to classes for weeks. Ha Min was anything and everything out of Su Min. What the others thought the truth only benefited him. And he didn’t look back. When she did come back to class, things were different with Su Min. Everything seemed cold. Her imagination may have ingested any of Minhee’s death. It was a coping mechanism, she would learn afterwards. Her thought process became incredibly strange. He noticed when he saw her in the corner of his eyes. He noticed her little habits. She had an obsession with tea. He poured  tea on her head, burned her scalp and showed no remorse. She didn’t care. He had power and she had nothing. There was nothing to care for. Using Su Min was his way to the top.

It was like this for another three weeks. Ha Min took any opportunity to destroy her, to bully her, to milk her for all what she was worth. He knew the truth, but he didn’t want it to ruin him. He didn’t. And he would know that his greed would be his greatest downfall.

To fit in with the others, he took a strange drink that screamed to drink him. What happened was Wonderland in his head, but a catastrophe to watch in anyone else’s. He took a drink at a house party. He laughed at all the wrong times, drank too many shots, and became a laughingstock.

His misadventures in the poison went viral. He made out with a few men. At some point, they followed him into the dark and wanted Ha Min to do their own bidding. He was entranced in the tipsiness to fall for whatever anyone wanted. They filmed his ual encounters when drunk and didn’t help. They tied him to a bedpost and roasted him. They chanted and screamed for the hilarity he would become. It was horrific for him. His crown was stolen. He was no longer the king. His friends devised his death anyways.

He woke up duct-taped to a tree, gagged with socks, and stripped of everything except for the pair of boxers. They burnt his eye. They laughed and helped him lose sight in what was real and what was fake.

It was supposed to be clean fun and games. But his acquaintances thought otherwise. They wanted what he had. He didn’t deserve the punishment they gave him. It gave him a reputation that was just as bad as Su Min’s. Duct-taped, ridiculed, bullied, and objectified, he had everything thrown back at him.

Ha Min was thrown to the bottom of the food chain. He was too ashamed to even ask for Su Min’s forgiveness. There would be times that they passed by in the halls, but he looked down in shame whenever they passed. It was as though he was a leper, and she never wanted to be in contact with him. He didn’t have anyone. School became a trap. The people around him were as superficial as he once was. And with one eye he could clearly see it all, but with the other, there was nothing. He could never see anything with that other eye of his.

“How did you two get back together?” Woong asked after he finished his cup of tea. Being a good host, she filled his cup first with jasmine tea. The aroma relaxed him. But Su Min’s eyes darkened again. It wasn’t a question she was anticipating. The harder questions were often directed towards Ha Min because he could rationally think. Woong had thrown a puzzle towards the girl and even her destructive mind couldn’t find a way to kill it.

“Demons come together because they have the same purpose. We came together because we had the same attitude in life,” Su Min answered. Her voice dripped with rationality, huskier than her usual fairy twinkle and innocence. The girl pointed to his neck, the ugly scar that others used to comment on. It was a scar from a hiking trip. They dared him to do something drastic and he was dumb enough to do it. It was worse than he predicted. But whenever he looked in the mirror, he felt disgusted with himself. He was a subject to anyone’s games. He followed. Nowadays, he looked at the mirror and stare at the mark with kindness. It was a remainder of his past, but it wasn’t who he was now.

She smiled and pointed towards her heart. “We came together because we knew it was better to be friends than be strangers with memories strung together,” she finished. Woong was never sure why she pointed to her heart. He never completely understood why she had a penchant for his grotesqueness. But he somehow felt connected with her in that moment. It was quiet in the kitchen for the rest of the night. The rain cried. The sounds left them in contentment.

“Hey Min, I can’t pretend that this doesn’t bother me anymore.”

“What do you mean? You’re the one who left me.”

“I’m sorr-”

“You’ve been forgiven a long time ago, Minnie.”

It was one of those nights when they stole some spray paint and erased a wall of its paint. It was in a random alley way. The night was high, and the downtown was lit with bars, loud music, and emptiness. The metallic smell haunted the air, the kids laughed at some silly joke that Su Min came up with, and there were no worries. Their eyes sparkled in the moonlight.

Woong tried to rack his brain to remember the reasons why he was always afraid to approach them.

But he couldn’t remember. The empty nights roamed throughout his mind. He tried to recall why. And Ha Min stared at him when he tried to get his gears to work, to function, to do something. He only remembered the names and nightmares that he dreamt of when he wanted to ask about the kids in the corner. The kids laughed freely, and yet he became attached to them. Ha Min’s foggy eyes startled Woong. He was concerned with his trance.

Su Min turned away from the brick wall after she finished her masterpiece.

“Is something wrong?” Su Min asked, glancing from Ha Min to Woong.

“I wanted to know if you two wanted to come to this party,” Woong said with a smile. The two stared at each other, the glow of the moon sparked something between the two. Their concerned looks turned into questioning ones. They asked questions through their own eyes and Su Min turned into a child. She turned to Woong with a look of pure curiosity.

“They wanted me to invite you two,” he answered.

The scar on his neck interested her once again. It healed. Su Min turned to Ha Min again. They mouthed words and he shook his head from time to time. The taller turned to Woong and nodded.

“Anything for you, Woong.”

001: Why would they want him dead?

026: We’re dumb kids.
017: We’re teenagers.
026: We want the world.
017: We will do anything it takes to get what we want.
017 & 026: Jinx.

“! He’s bleeding!”

“I ing know, Ha Min!”

“He’s ing bleeding!”

“Shut up for five minutes and call the damn hospital!”

“We can’t lose him like Minhee…”

“Oh dear God, Woong. Come back!”

“We cannot let this-”

“Ha Min! Please shut up and dial the number.”

“How the did we lose him so quickly?!” Ha Min shouted over the loud music at the house party. Some boy’s house was too loud for his liking. It reminded him of a different time when he enjoyed to drink until he was completely wasted. It was as though he was reverting to his old self by opening the door. Su Min evaded the others who didn’t recognize her without her flats. She ignored Ha Min’s shouts. They entered the house together, but Woong was forced into the crowd. And the heat of the masses were starting to cause her some worry.

This was bad news. The kids around them all looked the same, the same devilish smiles, the same ghastly souls, and yet they all thought they were meant for greatness. It was a purge. One after the other.

Ha Min watched as warm bodies grinded against each other while speakers made everyone bounce. The memories started to flood his mind. It was one red cup after another. Another cup filled with some alcoholic concoction. Trying to weave through the crowd didn’t help. They all bumped into him in the strobe-light filled room. It was a celebration, a celebration of surviving. It was an annual event. One would fall. They would fall and everyone would hide behind their delicate hands, laughing at the person’s demise.

“We have to get out,” he tried to whisper into Su Min’s ears. She was amazed by the brilliance. She ignored his warnings, she only wanted to know what was so interesting about these gatherings, these rituals, and why everyone lit up like fireworks.

“Su Min!” someone shouted. Turning on her boots, she saw the boy she beat up two weeks ago. His wounds were healing quite nicely. Sweat was lightly on his forehead, but there was no indication of heat of alcohol.

“Jae Hyun. What’s wrong?” she asked. Her heart pounded out of her chest.

“Woong is…”

Her eyes widened and it felt as though her heart was going to break her ribs. Jae Hyun took her hand, led her into the dark while Ha Min trailed slowly behind. She was going to enter the beast’s belly once again. She gripped his hand hard, stared at Ha Min. It was a warning howl. What was going to happen in dark, they had to be prepared.

013: I knew. I knew this was going to happen. I told the kid not to come, but he had to show off those two. And I swear if only I met her again it wouldn’t have been like this. They knew something was wrong. He knew something was going to happen, how couldn’t he? But he still went anyways? Those kids…
001: What happened?
013: They were like a pack of animals.

Jae Hyun took them to the garage. The doors opened. The heat disappeared and in replacement, the cold swallowed the two. In front of them was something they weren’t sure was possible. It was already starting.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

They were on the sidelines. They were watching a circle of people surrounding one person. Laughing and giggling, sounding like hyenas trying to choose who would get their prey. Terrified, Ha Min took a step back. This couldn’t be happening. They were delusional.

“You shouldn’t have chosen those Alice in Wonderland freaks, you idiot!”

“They turn you crazy!”

“Just hear them talk about Minhee!”

A few of them held bats. There were screams coming from the middle. Shouts of pain, groveling, and laughter, so much laughter played out in such a tiny place. There were twenty of them at least.

“Don’t make any sudden movements,” Ha Min warned, staring at Su Min’s back. Another scream. She could have sworn she heard someone breaking another person’s bones. It broke her eardrums. She couldn’t even see above the heads, she only heard the tortured screams.

This couldn’t be happening.

Su Min ran into the hyenas. Pushing one after another away from the circle, they were all so amused. They were so delighted that they would see the blood of a peer. Savages.

“Kill him!”

It sounded like they were chanting for some god to take them away and give them everlasting life. It was like they were sacrificing him to keep their own sanity. Kill them, they thought. Kill them. He was going to die. But there it was. The growls of bloodthirsty beings. It was the purge. This was what she was missing from these celebrations.

“Kill him!”

They were waiting for rain in a drought. They were becoming addicted to the blood that was dripping from his body. Hurry, do something, she warned herself. Were they truly human? Or were they something worse?

Stealing a bat from one of the kids, she got closer to the middle. They were beating him like he was a pinata. He was already spilling so much blood. Red, there was so much red.

“Kill him!” they shouted in glee. Their laughter the loudest it has ever been. Delivering volts of electricity down her spine. This wasn’t Milgram’s experiment. This was real life.

“Get the out of here!” Su Min screamed recklessly. They all turned to her and stared at her with those murderous eyes of theirs. They changed their target. They were going to kill her. If they bathed in her blood, they would go to Neverland like Minhee wanted to do. That place was tainted with criminals.

She swung her bat in defence, watching them all back off as she swung a warning. Jae Hyun and Ha Min started to lead the herd out of the garage. This was dangerous.

Getting to the ground, she kneeled towards her friend. Tears ran down her cheek. No, she promised she would have protected him. No, he could not be dying because of this. He was bleeding so much. He was on the ground, stomach down, and head facing towards the west. He couldn’t go to Neverland. He couldn’t.

“Call 911, now,” Su Min cried, shivering all over. Her heart palpitated. This couldn’t be happening. This was not what she wanted for him. There were so many bruises. They didn’t use just bats but knives too. How could they be so heartless? What did Nam Woong ever do to them?

“Su Min…” someone started, she couldn’t tell who it was. Her eyes were too blurry from her tears. Minhee died only two years ago. She couldn’t lose him too. No, no, no. This was how they treated the ones who turned strange. They killed the weakest link.

“Su Min!”

She couldn’t hear them as she felt her own chest heave. Who was going to be next? Why did they play these games? Why were their games like those in movies? Who was going to be next? Why did they have to snatch anyone and everyone from her?

“Are we the ing monsters now, Jae Hyun!?” she screamed in between her sobs, looking back at him through her blurred vision.

“Are we?!”

Ha Min started to shout at Su Min, who was trying see past all the tears, the red, and misery to stop the bleeding from happening. In Park Jae Hyun's life, he had never seen kids try to save someone before. The way the two tried to stitch him up, the way they spoke, it all made sense. Theese two teenagers were the tortured, and they knew how to tend to their wounds. But for once, Jae Hyun knew why Su Min asked him the question. He had never been more disgusted and revolted with himself until now. Jae Hyun stared at her tears. He finally understood the question she asked in the past. 

001: Woong has a video addressed to the two of you.

(The video comes to life with Woong playing with the zoom features and wondering if it’s on. The smile on his face is so bright and big that it makes one of the watchers want to cry. But the first one doesn’t.

He takes a few steps back and sits in a chair. His inky eyes stare blankly into the screen, but it’s translucent for once, this once.

“Hi guys. I know you two were really worried about me inviting you guys to this party, but I promise, I had a reason. If it turns out what I think is going to happen, happens, I know you guys will make the best efforts to save me. And I know I can rely on you two to getting me to the nearest hospital as fast as you two can. But, if I don’t make it…”

He pauses, his eyes look away from the camera for a moment, and he stops smiling. He turns back to the camera, and smiles again. His voice doesn’t sound crippled. It sounds strangely healed and adequate. The female viewer furrows her brow and looks at the male viewer with a confused look.  

“The whole point of the invitation was for you two to fall into their trap. After Minhee’s death, they wanted to get rid of you two. They thought you two were scum of the Earth. And I thought you two were like that too, but I had to know before I went with someone’s assumptions. So I asked to sit down with you two, and you all agreed. What I didn’t expect were two incredibly mad human beings with big hearts.”

He stops, picks up a cup of tea and salutes the television. It’s a toast to their friendship.

“So, instead of me playing damsel in distress, I’ll fall for it. You two have already been hurt enough. I don’t want it to happen again. And if I don’t make it out alive, these past few months have been some of my favorites. And you two always made me feel at home. Please don’t cry at my funeral.” He laughs. The words he speaks comfort the viewers. The male one smiles and the female lays her head upon his shoulder.  

“And you will always be my home. Nothing will ever change that. You two are not demons but angels. And for that I thank you. I love you very much. I hope you get to see me in the stars. ”

He fiddles with the camera again and waves goodbye. The viewers smile quietly. They stare at the ceiling, wondering if he’s haunting them, and if he is, they wouldn’t mind. )

“You know, I’ve always liked that Woong guy.”

“He has a pretty name.”

“Do you think he’d ever hang out with us?”

“It would be awfully nice to meet someone new.”

“I doubt he’d come.”

“He’s absolutely stunning, I bet he’ll turn into a star when he dies.”

“I’m sure he would.”

“He is really beautiful.”