Sitting side by side on the floor at the foot of the bed with two boxes of pizza, cans of soda, chips, cakes, and some pasta that they called for delivery, the twins chattered animatedly, suddenly feeling excited for the first time in their teenage life to be spending time together without the parents.

After they checked in at the available Suite earlier that day, they went out to do some shopping and bought everything they needed for the night. They even changed their clothing to matching outfits, making the people gawk at them as they pass by while eating their ice cream. They also decided to watch a horror movie since Sandie didn’t agree to a romantic comedy and Darie didn’t agree to an action movie with blood and gore on them.

They found a lot of missed calls from their mom and their dad on their way back to the hotel. Riding the taxi—since they ditched their own cars—Sandie had called their mom and she was beyond hysterical now thinking something had already happened to both of them.

Why didn’t either of you called? I was worried sick! What are you girls thinking?! Do you know how you got your father worried too? He already sent his men to find you! I’m conferencing him.

Sandie put the phone on speaker and their father sounded calm but his words are stinging. Sandie and Darie both cringed as they listened to their father knowing it takes a lot for their dad to be really angry.

Mom, dad, we’re sorry. Grandpa’s lawyer called us to give us the last inheritance—

And you didn’t even called us to let us know about it?

The video was only for us and we understand grandpa now.

They started to tell their parents exactly what their grandfather had said in the video and how they felt that their grandfather is right. Their mom was sniffling at the end and their dad told them to be careful.

Spending time was fun and it was already 10:30 in the evening when they returned to their hotel to freshen up and get ready for bed. But after showering and changing to their newly bought pajamas, they ordered delivery and sat on the floor to talk about random things.

“So…,” Darie said after a series of subjects which they had randomly talked about. “What’re we gonna do about school tomorrow?” The question was already there, hovering between them which neither wanted to touch earlier. But Darie felt like they needed to address it now.

Sandie munched the pizza slowly before answering, “I guess we’re gonna go back now, huh?” She let out a little chuckle. “Well, I can’t say it hadn’t been fun.”

Darie let ou a chuckle too. “Considering how completely careless you were, I can say that it had been fun too.”

Sandie sat up straight to face her sister. “Let’s wing it again.”

“Huh?” Darie’s eyebrows creased.

“Like what we did before the switch. Let’s wing it again. Don’t tell me what happened to you and I won’t tell you what happened to me. I think it’s what makes the fun.” She grinned.

Darie made a face at her. “Do you really want to go winging it? Yes, it was fun but we didn’t talk to each other for three weeks because of it.”

“Well, this time it’s going to be different. I mean, I could tell you what happened to me when I was you but I’d rather not know what happened to you when you were me.”

“Why?” She narrowed her eyes.

Sandie shrugged as she leaned her back on the bed. “I just didn’t want to know.” It’s going to be a lot easier for her to be overwhelmed with what has happened to keep her from missing… someone. “You have really great friends, by the way.”

Darie smiled at that. “Minzy and Hyuna? Yeah, I could never ask for better friends.” She really missed them. “You have great friends too. I mean, you have a really big circle of friends or maybe that’s your followers or something but… CL and Bom were the only girls I felt really comfortable with.”

Sandie smiled recalling CL and Bom. “Well, they were the craziest among the Tigers.”

Darie also rested her back on the bed. “I guess I don’t want to know what happened to me either,” she said after a minute.

“Why?” It was Sandie’s turn to ask.

“I like surprises,” Darie just answered.

Sandie rolled her eyes. “There’s nothing for you to be surprised about because your life is so lame.” She gasped at a thought. “What if I started becoming lame too? In YG high? Aish! What if being lame is contagious?”

Darie shoved her shoulder. “I am not lame!” Sandie laughed and Darie made a face at her. “Let’s just promise that… neither of us should get mad for whatever… that has already been done.”

Sandie fixed her with narrowed eyes. “What did you do?”

Darie scowled. “I thought you said you don’t want to know?”

Sandie was about to grill her but decided against it after a second. “Pshhh. Forget it. I don’t really want to know.”

“It’s not like… I did something wrong. I mean… it’s probably wrong by your standards.” Like falling inlove with that jerk GD Kwon. Well, it was wrong to her now. Her shoulders dropped. “Well, you could beat me right now.”

Sandie turned to her. “It was that bad?”

Darie nodded.

Sandie studied her before sighing out loud. “If you had admitted it was that bad, then it was really that bad. Aish.”

“I just didn’t realize that—“

“Don’t tell me.” Sandie held up her hand in front of Darie. “I’ll figure it out on my own.”

Darie sighed.

Sandie threw her a sideways glance. “You did something bad in my place and there I was doing a good deed for you.” She let out a breath. “Darie Park is now dating Donghae Lee.”

Darie was frozen for a second as she stared at her twin. She blinked several times before asking, “What did you say?”

“Aish. You are now dating the love of your life, Donghae.” It kinda pricked her chest for saying that. “I’ve worked on getting him for you because… because I was sorry for over reacting.” Damn, now she’s lying.

“Really?” Darie stared in front of the TV which was showing a game show that they weren’t really watching.

Sandie was watching her reaction. Which wasn’t much. She looked non-plussed and not jumping for joy out of excitement. “Yeah well… apparently he thought you hated him because you weren’t talking to him and you were too formal with him. I already set the record straight and told him that Darie Park really likes him. I mean aside from the video I sent you, I confessed to him in private.” It made her remember that night he was playing basket ball and she felt move downwards. “I don’t see why you find it hard to talk to him.”

Darie recalled her numerous attempts of failed conversations with Donghae and she smiled. “Donghae was my first love, I guess.” She doesn’t know if she was telling her sister or herself.

So is mine¸ Sandie silently responded then looked at her sister. “Why aren’t you getting all jumpy and excited or something?”

“Huh? Oh. I guess I’m just… shocked or surprised. I mean… yeah I’m happy?” Her statement came out like a question then repeated it with a livelier voice. “Yeah, I’m happy. I… you accomplished something I haven’t in… I dunno… 5-6 years? It’s just…. Hah. Oh my god.” She’s really happy. She is. So why does she suddenly feel empty? Her sister had done so much for her when she did nothing but do everything her sister doesn’t want her to do. And Donghae? Donghae is really her first true love. What she’s feeling for GD Kwon is probably just a replacement for missing Donghae. Yes. That’s probably it. GD Kwon doesn’t deserve her attention. Even the tiniest bit. “Do you know how many times I tried to send him confession letters?” She looked at her sister expecting her to scoff but Sandie was just watching her with an unfathomable expression on her face. “And I joined the student council because he’s there. It gave me an excuse to talk to him and spend time with him. Everytime he talks to me my brain freezes.” She chuckled remembering those days.

Sandie didn’t respond and turned her attention to looking at her nails as she brought her knees up to her chest.

“Do you think I deserve him?” Darie asked.

Sandie rolled her tongue inside her cheek as she answered, “He would be a fool to think you aren’t.” It was true. At least she wasn’t lying with that. Her sister is too good for anybody. Too kind. Too innocent. Too nice.

Darie’s eyes smiled at her sister. “Thank you. I didn’t know you have it in you to be sweet.”

Sandie looked at her sister with a scowl. “My sweet disposition only had a limited time so you better take the most of it.”

Darie laughed at that then pouted. “Now it makes me feel really bad. I didn’t do anything as you in YG High that would be at par with what you did for me.”

Okay, now that made Sandie feel guilty. I did it for me. She suppressed a sigh as she responded snottily to her sister. “I’d rather you didn’t. I don’t want to go back with everyone looking at me like a know-it-all.”

“Ya,” Darie protested.

Sandie grinned. “As long as you didn’t made me lose my title, then I’m good with that.”

Darie pursed her lips with that as she immediately faced forward which Sandie quickly caught.

“Oh my god,” Sandie said sounding ominous. “Tell me you didn’t.”

Darie bit her lip.

“Darie!”

Darie laughed. “I was just kidding! Of course you’re still the bad Sandie Park.” Aside from one little thing. Dating GD Kwon. “I thought you said you didn’t want to know?” She’s dreading her reaction for this news.

Sandie scowled at her. “I didn’t.” She didn’t add anything more.

“Well, I just want to let you know… I’m gonna turn my phone off tomorrow.”

“Why?” Sandie’s forehead creased in puzzlement.

“So you wouldn’t be able to call me if you got mad.”

Sandie threaded her fingers to her hair as she fixed her sister with a deadly look “I suddenly wanted to strangle you in advance.”

“Heeey I thought you said you are in a sweet disposition?”

“It has already expired.”

Darie grinned knowing full well that Sandie would really strangle her come tomorrow. It couldn’t be helped anyway. She deserved it. She took Sandie’s phone and tossed her hers. “I guess it’s time for our phones to be back to their owners.”

“That is a new phone, idiot. Yours is in mom’s house.”

“You can have that. I’ll take this instead.” She whistled soundlessly and Sandie just shook her head. They both allowed silence to envelop them, trapped in their own thoughts.

“Sandie,” Darie called softly after a minute.

“Mmm?”

“When you get back tomorrow in YG….”

Sandie turned her head towards Darie’s direction who was flipping her phone around in her hands.

“…kick GD’s for me.”

Sandie’s brows furrowed as she stared at her sister as it is unusual for her to say something that is close to depicting violence or hitting someone. “Did he do something to you?” Oh he’s really gonna get it.

Darie took a second before looking at her sister wondering if she should tell her but she felt really embarassed to admit her naivete. That Sandie had been right all along. She forced a smile. “I just think he’s the biggest liar I have ever met.” She was really close into telling Sandie but her courage failed her as she looked into her sister’s eyes that is already starting to brim with danger. “I mean… when he took a photo of me when I tripped on the first day of the switch? I really looked for him and… I had gone to their lair and he told me deleted it but it turns out he already posted it in social media…. Ugh! He was the root cause of our rift.”

Sandie scoffed seemingly believing her reasons. “Pfft. I told you he was a pain in the neck. Don’t worry. I always kick his even if no one is asking.”

Sorry Sandie, Darie silently apologized as Sandie took a gulp off her water bottle. I am too coward to tell you. I’d rather you find that your sister had made a fool of herself with your nemesis rather than me telling you. I’d end up bawling here and you’d probably kill me for dating GD and for crying over him.

“I’m beat,” Sandie announced getting up from the floor and crawling on the bed.

“Heey, aren’t you even gonna clean this?” Darie said looking at the mess.

“Umm… lemme think about it for eight hours,” Sandie answered.

“Ugh,” Darie said making a face then decided not to clean this too. She already washed her hands! She also climbed on the bed and plumped up her pillows next to Sandie before reaching for the remote for the lights.

“Don’t turn off the lights,” Sandie said.

“I can’t sleep with a light on,” Darie said her finger already on the button.

“I’m scared of the dark,” Sandie immediately said looking at the ceiling.

It was the way Sandie’s voice sounded that made Darie stopped her finger from pressing the button. She glanced down at her sister who was staring at the ceiling.

“You’re… scared of the dark?” Something tells Darie not to make fun of Sandie over that.

Sandie nodded her head once. Darie watched her for a minute before deciding to just sleep with the blanket over her face. She slid down on the bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. “Not even a nightlight?”

Sandie didn’t answer for a second considering it. “I guess….” She doesn’t want to mention that nightmares visited her too even with a nightlight but it wasn’t as scary as when there isn’t any.

Darie turned to her side to face her. “You mind telling me what this being afraid of the dark is all about? I mean… you’re not really the type to get scared easily at something.”

“I was kidnapped at night,” Sandie said sounding nonchalant, the memory still fresh in her mind but this time, it feels like it was some kind of a film that she had been retelling. “I was sleeping in my room when they came and they tossed me in a sack or a bag… I’m not really sure.. And then… I was left alone in a dark cell. No lights. Not even a window to let me know if it’s morning or night. I didn’t remember much of anything except that it was really really dark and I was really really scared. I didn’t know how many days I was held. I can only remember crying and someone laughing. And then just… one day… there were some loud sounds and… I guess those were gunshots and someone took me as a hostage. He was really planning to kill me because he knows he’s already gonna die either way when dad and his men already cornered him. He already had his knife in my throat but I didn’t feel anything when he slid the knife in my skin.” Sandie turned to her sister who looked shell-shocked. She tugged the collar of her shirt to show her the scar. “He tried to slit me here.”

“How old were you when that happened?” Darie asked looking so aghast.

“I was nine.”

“Oh my god,” Darie only said.

“When I opened my eyes I was already in the hospital. And after that, I get panic attacks everytime I find myself in the dark. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t move, I keep shaking…. I didn’t know what’s happening to me and I didn’t know that I was supposed to tell someone about it. The nanny taking care of me that time always turns off the light in my room as soon as I fell asleep but I always wake up in the middle of the night and….” She let out a breath. “I think I suffered silently for 4 months until dad found me huddled in a corner when he came to check up on me one night. He brought me to the hospital again and then, a psychiatrist. I have Nyctophobia.”

Darie seems speechless at her sister’s revelation. She had no inkling what happened to Sandie right after their parent’s divorce.

“Didn’t it get better with the psychiatrist?” Darie managed to ask.

“No,” Sandie said. “They just keep asking the same questions over and over again and I had gotten so tired that I pretended I was already fine.”

“Sandie!”

“Try sitting in a room lying in a some kind of reclined chair with the doctor sitting on the side with a clipboard asking you about the kidnapping and everything that has happened to you for about 20 times a day and see if you would be able to endure it. Ugh. I had really hated those sessions.”

“Did you tell dad you’re still… afraid or something?”

“Do you think I’m an idiot? He would probably get me another psychiatrist thinking it was helping me but it wasn’t. It just made me relive the nightmare over and over again until it started haunting me.”

“That is just….” She was a loss for words.

“The only weakness I would probably have,” Sandie finished for her.

“This is not funny. Does mom know?”

“I think dad told her but I’m not really sure how much of it he told mom. And mom had a lot on her plate too at that time. I think you had gotten so close to being paralyzed for the rest of your life?”

Darie sighed heavily. “Oh that. Will you believe if I told you that I really couldn’t remember much on what happened? It was a total mess in my head that I couldn’t tell if it’s real or my imagination of what happened. I only remembered the pain and then nothing. It was just a blur to me. And the most vivid memory I have was sitting in a wheelchair and using my fingers for the control and also going to therapy, which I really hate, because… it made feel those prickling pains in my limbs. I don’t even remember when I started getting better or when I begun to move. It’s like just… a vague dream for me. Does that make me weird?”

“Very,” Sandie said. “I can’t believe you can’t remember that.”

“Well, maybe I have a talent for blotting out unpleasant memories in my brain.”

“I should have that talent too,” Sandie said quietly.

Darie scooted closer to her sister. “I’m sorry.”

Sandie gave her a wry look. “For me being nyctophobic?”

“No. I should’ve been there for you.”

“Oh please. Stop being mushy on me.” Sandie made a face at her. “We weren’t there for each other because we were only nine, duh.”

Darie sighed still imagining a little Sandie being scared all by herself. “Who else knows about your fear?”