6^th February 2017, 10.45AM

Standing right in front of the building of Seoul Mental Hospital, Im Yoona took in a deep breath. She stared at the building for a moment. She hesitated for a moment. She did not know whether she should just enter the hospital or run away. She remembered what Sungmin had said to her last night.

“Yoona-ah, you see, I notice that you’ve been doing a great job being a nurse here,” those were Sungmin’s words.

To say that Yoona had been surprised by his sudden statement was an understatement. When Sungmin had said that, she had immediately cast the guy a suspicious glare as if telling him to further explain what he was talking about.

“Well, lately, there are more nurses who want to work in this hospital. Seeing that you have been doing a splendid job, the person in charge of this hospital wants to transfer you to work at Seoul Mental Hospital where you’ll gain more salary there,” Sungmin had continued cautiously.

“But I’m more comfortable here,” she had stated quietly.

“I know. Why don’t you give it a try? You’ll work there for a few weeks and if you like it, you’ll stay there but if you don’t, you can always come back here,” the doctor had suggested.

And that was how she found herself standing right in front of Seoul Mental Hospital, hesitating whether she should go in or not.

She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. At last, she entered the mental hospital. She immediately reported herself at the reception area. The receptionist told her to change her clothes into the nurse’s uniform and a person named Lay would teach her the ropes. Nodding her head, she immediately did as she was told.

After changing her clothes, she quickly searched for Lay’s office. The receptionist had told her that it was somewhere near the psychologist’s office which was on the third floor. Going up to the third floor, she noticed that the patients in the hospital were able to move around. Some even went to the garden to enjoy the scenery. Some were watching the television at a room while others were either eating in the cafeteria or were having individual or group session.

The hospital was not that creepy as she had thought. Sure, it was a hospital full of humans with mental problems but the patients were trying their best to live like normal people.

After some time of searching for Lay’s office, she finally found it. Knocking on the door twice, she entered. In the office, she saw a man with bronze-colored hair standing right in front of a shelf filled with books. He was flipping through the pages of the book that he was holding.

“Lay-ah, is that you?” the man asked. “I need you to set up another session for me and Park Sunyoung-sshi as soon as possible. She needs a lot of help, really.”

Yoona stayed still for a moment. She stared at the man with the bronze hair. Even though his back was facing her, she immediately recognized him. As always, the sight of him took her breath away. She could feel the feelings she had for him stirring up inside her heart even though she could have sworn she had buried those feelings a long time ago.

The man, who was curious why ‘Lay’ did not answer him, turned around. “Oh,” he said, surprised. “Yoona-sshi,” he acknowledged.

“Hey,” the young nurse said weakly. She felt faint. Never in a million years had she thought that she would meet the man again. Yes, she did meet him at Seoul Amusement Park a few days ago but there were other people at the place, too, and she had managed to control her feelings just fine even though there were times her heart had skipped a beat or two.

It did not help that her heart was pounding against her chest so loudly that she could have sworn the whole world would be able to hear it when her name was uttered by the man. She liked his voice although to be honest, she liked everything about him.

“What are you doing here?” the man asked curiously.

“I’m the new nurse here who is supposed to work here for a few weeks to see if I like it here. If I do, then I would transfer here and work here until I retire or quit. Or get fired, maybe,” Yoona responded. She knew that she was babbling nonsense but she could not think straight with the man right in front of her. Oh God, how she missed those deer eyes and those luscious lips on hers…

An amused smile made its way to his lips. “Do you think you’ll like it here?” he asked, raising his eyebrow slightly.

“I think I will like it here,” she replied. A lot, she added inside her head.

Just as the man was about to open his mouth to say something, the person that Yoona assumed she was looking for entered.

“Well, isn’t this interesting?” the person asked with a smile on his lips.

“What do you mean by that?” Yoona and the man asked at the same time.

The person shrugged nonchalantly. “Luhan-ge, I mean, Luhan-sshi, do you need me to do anything for you?” he asked.

“You may drop the formality in front of Yoona-sshi, Lay-ah,” Luhan replied. “I’m sure she doesn’t mind. Do you, Yoona-sshi?”

“I don’t,” the nurse replied.

“See?” the psychologist pointed out. “Anyway, I need you to set up a new session for me and Park Sunyoung-sshi as soon as possible.”

“Consider it done,” Lay replied. “I’ll tell you when the session will be after I’ve checked your schedule.”

Luhan smiled and nodded. “Thank you.” Then, he turned towards Yoona and flashed the nurse a sincere smile. “It’s nice meeting you again, Yoona-sshi,” he said. With that, he left Lay’s office without giving Yoona a chance to reply.

After Luhan’s departure, Lay turned to Yoona and smiled brightly. “You must be the new nurse, right?”

“Yes, I am the new nurse,” the young woman replied. “I was told that you would teach me the ropes around here.”

“I will,” the secretary assured. “But before we begin, may I ask something?”

“What is it?” Yoona asked, raising her eyebrow.

“What is your relationship with Luhan-sshi? Is he like, your ex-boyfriend or something? You two were totally awkward just now,” Lay inquired. Yoona could see that he was really curious about her relationship with Luhan. But she did not want anyone else to know about it. It was her precious secret to keep it to herself. Only she could know.

“Oh, we’re just acquaintances,” she answered casually. “That’s why we were awkward as hell just now.” She put on her usual smile on her lips. “Why do you ask, though? Are you interested in him or something?”

Lay just chortled in amusement instead of getting offended by her careless remark. “I’m as straight as a ruler, Yoona-sshi,” he replied.

“Just call me Yoona noona. Or Yoona-jie, if you want to,” the young nurse responded. She added when Lay looked at her with his eyebrow raised, “I assume you’re younger than me because my age is the same as Luhan’s.”

“I thought women always refuse to tell others their real age?” the guy teased. “I’ve read somewhere that we should never ask a woman her age or her weight. That’s like a taboo topic.”

“I’m unique,” Yoona replied, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly which earned her a laugh from Lay.

“Okay, let’s just start our day and begin our work before we get fired,” Lay said, ending their playful banter.

Just when Yoona was about to agree, her phone beeped. She smiled sheepishly and checked that she had gotten a message from an unlisted number. She opened the text message and almost dropped her phone. Two photos had been sent to her. One was Kim Hyoyeon’s body. Correction: Kim Hyoyeon’s dead body. She was sprawled out at the ground near the playground, her neck twisted at an angle that could not mean she was still alive. Right at where her arm was, there was a scar. Someone had carved an X on it. The second photo was of Kim Jonghyun’s dead body. Just like Kim Hyoyeon, he was sprawled out at the ground with his neck twisted. However, there was a gaping cavity right at where his heart was supposed to be and just like Kim Hyoyeon, someone had carved an X on his arm.

Yoona wanted to shriek. Her hands were shaking as she scrolled down to see what the sender had to say. As soon as she read the words, a chill went down her spine.

To: Yoona
From: Anonymous

Get back together with Xi Luhan, either you or he will end up just like them. –Mirror

“There would be a price to pay when you activate this curse, dear students. Are you sure you want to pay that price?” Mirror had asked ten years ago.

“Of course,” the students had stupidly replied.

And now, she had to pay the price.

She just knew it.

If only I knew back then…

There’s no use regretting it, Im Yoona.

6^th February 2017, 7.00PM

Krystal Jung groaned slightly as soon as she saw the house right in front of her. The house was a normal bungalow that had two floors. It was quite big but that did not mean she liked the house. In fact, she hated living in it. She had wanted to sleep at the orphanage that day but her mother had insisted that she would be sleeping at home tonight to welcome her sister that had just come back from America. Her sister had been there to pursue her studies.

Krystal trudged to the bungalow grumpily. She really hated to come back here. The house reminded her of so many bad memories that she refused to remember.

Her mother welcomed her back home at the front door after she had pressed the doorbell. Her mother immediately brought her to the dining room after she had taken off her shoes.

“Krystal-ah, I’ve missed you!” Jessica, her sister, exclaimed excitedly as soon as Krystal entered.

Krystal inwardly rolled her eyes. Do I even mean anything to you, unnie? She badly wanted to say. “I know,” she replied drily. She never did say that she missed her sister too.

“I’ve bought souvenirs for you! But let’s just get to that later, shall we? We have to eat dinner first before Mum nags again,” her sister chirped happily. “Oh, it’s been such a long time since I’d last heard you nag, Mum.”

“Hey,” her mother said, acting offended. “I don’t nag. I was just giving you girls some advice.”

Jessica laughed, her head tilted backwards slightly, revealing the hidden parts of her neck. Krystal, with her sharp eye, noticed that her sister had gotten herself a tattoo. The tattoo was an X shape that was placed near Jessica’s right shoulder.

“Did you get yourself a tattoo?” Krystal asked shrilly. Her nose scrunched up in disgust.

Her older sister just chuckled at her reaction when she saw the tattoo. “Well, everybody there has one so I figure, why not?” she replied, shrugging nonchalantly. “Besides, it’s kind of cool.”

“It’s not cool,” the younger Jung replied in disdain. “It makes you look like a delinquent or a gangster.”

Their mother just shook her head at her two daughters. “Now, now, that is just a small tattoo. It won’t harm anyone,” she said, trying to stop a fight from breaking out. “It won’t make you look like a delinquent, Jessica dear.”

“Oh, I know,” Jessica replied, smiling at her mother. “Krystal is just being as ridiculous as always. You know how she always is, right Mum? She’s just shocked by the fact that her precious sister has gone to the ‘dark side’.”

Her mother just laughed at Jessica’s remark.

This was why Krystal hated it when she entered this house. Her mother would always take Jessica’s side. Sometimes she wondered if she was just an adopted child. Besides, getting a tattoo was so not cool. Tattoos were lame, anyway.

“Am I here to eat dinner with my family or what?” she snapped. She regretted it immediately. A look of hurt crossed her mother’s and sister’s face. But she could not control herself. Sorry, she wanted to say but she kept shut due to her pride.

At last, the Jung family settled themselves in the dining room. Krystal kept quiet throughout the dinner – a clear sign that she did not want to be here. She only talked when her family asked her any questions but her answers were brusque and short.

After dinner, she immediately locked herself in her room. She refused to talk to her sister. It was not as if she had anything to say to her. In fact, she wanted to avoid her sister, if possible. But of course she knew that she was bound to meet her soon.

But right now, all she wanted was to talk to her guy best friend.

She took out her phone and dialed Baekhyun’s number. After the third ring, he answered at last. Krystal could hear the kids’ voice at the background.

“Krystal-ah, aren’t you supposed to be bonding with your sister, right now?” Baekhyun asked as soon as he answered her call.

“Don’t talk about her,” the young woman groaned. “I hate her so much and you know that.”

The young man just laughed heartily. His laughter made her heart jump. “I know that you hate her but you’ve never told me why you hate her,” he said, his tone teasing.

Krystal plopped herself onto her bed and lay down. She stared at the ceiling for a moment before sighing. “She has never played her role as my sister before,” she said softly, at last. “She always acts like she cares but she has never done anything for me as a sister.”

Baekhyun was quiet for a moment. “But still, she’s your sister. You should love her,” he pointed out gently.

The young woman rolled on her bed before groaning. She always hated the fact that Baekhyun had this ability to make her want to give in whenever they were bickering. “Fine, I get your point,” she said almost bitterly.

The young man on the other line just laughed when he heard the tone that she used. “Don’t be so moody, all right? You can get wrinkles faster that way,” he replied lightly.

A smile made its way to her lips. “What are you doing, right now?” she asked, changing the topic.

“I was playing with Hyeri before you call but right now, I’m just looking at the kids as they play,” he responded.

“Why are you guys still playing after dusk?” the young woman demanded. “You do know that it’s dangerous, right?”

A laughter of amusement entered Krystal’s ears. “Krystal-ah, it is MinJee’s birthday party, right now. Don’t you remember?”

A gasp escaped her lips as soon as she heard Baekhyun’s explanation. “Oh my God!” she broke out in English. “I forgot!”

Again, laughter of amusement filled her ears. “No worries, I bought a present for MinJee, saying that it’s from both of us,” he assured her.

“Thank you so much!” the young woman exclaimed, expressing her gratitude. She truly did forget that it was MinJee’s birthday. She did not mean to forget about it, though. After the phone call from her mother, telling her that she must go home as Jessica had just come back from America, MinJee’s birthday slipped her mind.

“No problem,” Baekhyun said. Silence enveloped them for a moment before he broke it. “Krystal-ah,” he called out.

“What is it?” she asked curiously.

“I love you.”

As soon as she heard those words, she sat up on her bed. “What did you say?” she asked, shocked at his sudden confession.

“I love you, Krystal-ah,” he repeated firmly. “As a best friend,” he added.

“Oh,” she replied lamely. After that, silence enveloped them again. Krystal looked around for a distraction so that she would be able to end the conversation quickly. Luckily for her, a knock came on her door.

“Baekhyun oppa, I’ve got to go now! Talk to you later!” she chirped, trying to make herself sound happy. Without waiting for a response, she immediately hung up. She opened the door quickly, grateful for the excuse to get off the phone.

Her gratitude vanished as soon as she saw who had knocked on her door, though.

“Unnie, is there something you want to tell me?” she asked, sounding almost like a petulant brat.

Jessica stared at Krystal for a moment. “I just came back home after four years, you know,” she said, obviously offended. “It wouldn’t hurt for you to drop your freaking attitude and welcome me back home happily.”

Krystal looked at her sister. She was taken aback by her sister’s words. She did not expect that her sister would show that she was offended. “I’d rather you be in America than here,” she replied coldly. “It’s better for both of us that way.”

“What have I ever done to you to make you act this way towards me, Krystal-ah?” Jessica asked, her voice cracked just a little. Krystal could see the tears formed in her sister’s eyes.

“Maybe if you ask yourself that question a lot of times, you would realize the answer,” Krystal shot back. “But maybe you wouldn’t because you’re selfish like that.”

“I truly did miss you,” the older Jung said quietly.

“But I don’t,” the younger one replied stiffly.

“I didn’t knock on your door to fight with you. I came to give you this,” Jessica said, blinking her tears away. She handed Krystal a blood red envelope. “One of the servants just found it in our mailbox.”

Krystal took the envelope from her sister’s hands. “Well, you may go now,” she dismissed, knowing that it would hurt her sister’s feelings. With that, she slammed the door right in front of Jessica’s face.

She did feel a little bit bad but honestly, she felt that her sister kind of deserved it anyway.

Krystal immediately tore open the envelope. Inside the envelope, there were two photos. She took the photos out of the envelope and immediately gasped. She dropped the photos on the floor due to the shock that she felt.

One of the photos contained Kim Hyoyeon’s dead body. She was sprawled out on the ground. Her neck was twisted and someone had carved the letter X on her arm. The second photo consisted of Kim Jonghyun’s dead body and he was in the exact same position as Kim Hyoyeon except for the fact that there was a hole right at where his heart was supposed to be.

Krystal covered with her hand to prevent herself from screaming out loud. She picked up the photos and flipped them. Someone had written a note to her.

Date Byun Baekhyun and either you or he will suffer the same fate as them. –Mirror

This time, Krystal Jung was not able to stop herself from screaming like crazy.

6^th February 2017, 11.30PM

Just like last time, Choi Sulli entered Da Vinci Café late at night when it was about to close. This time, though, she did not bother to go upstairs to meet Victoria. Victoria was already waiting for her downstairs. She sat across the older woman and smiled at her.

She noticed that Kai and his co-worker, just like last time, were cleaning the place.

“Why don’t we go upstairs?” Sulli asked, casting the two workers a suspicious glance.

Victoria noticed her action and laughed loudly. “Don’t worry, Kai and Sehun don’t believe in these things,” she assured her customer.

Sulli just nodded doubtfully. “Well, I’m beginning to put pieces together in my mind,” she told the older woman. “There were twelve people that night and I was one of them. I was wearing the white cloak and I’m pretty sure that Lee Taemin was one of the twelve people, too.”

“What made you think so?” Victoria asked, raising her eyebrow.

“You know about Kim Hyoyeon’s case, don’t you? Well, Kim Jonghyun was also found dead last night and he was Taemin’s group mate. I think that it’s a way to warn all of us somehow,” Sulli explained.

“This sounds interesting. Explain more,” Victoria commanded.

“Well, I don’t know if the police has figured it out or not but Hyoyeon and Jonghyun were graduates of Seoul Boarding School, too,” Sulli told  the owner of the café. “I think that whoever that did this wanted to let the twelve people know that their doom is coming.”

“Other than Taemin and you, have you figured out the remaining ten identities of the twelve people?” the older woman inquired.

“I think so,” the younger woman replied. “You see, there were ten people that were invited to go to Seoul Amusement Park, last Saturday. There was a hostess named Seohyun who had warned us that there is someone who wants to destroy all of our lives and so I suspect that other than Taemin and me, the other eight were the people in cloaks too.”

“What about the remaining two people?”

“I have no idea,” Sulli confessed. “At first, I thought that it might be Jonghyun and Hyoyeon but then, the person who’s doing all of this would probably want us to suffer.”

“That’s a good point but that doesn’t mean you can list out their names,” Victoria said almost sternly.

“I know,” the younger woman replied quietly. She let out a sigh. “I just hope that I’ll be able to solve this mystery before anyone else gets killed.”

As soon as she said that, a plate dropped to the floor and shattered into pieces. All of them turned to Kai in shock. Kai was the one that held the plate before it dropped whether intentionally or not, no one knew.

The young man strode towards Victoria and Sulli. His eyes were blazing. He glared at Sulli menacingly. “Whatever happened ten years ago shall not be brought up ever again,” he snarled. “Drop it. The past is the past and the twelve of us did some horrible things that we regret but that doesn’t mean that whatever is happening right now in Seoul has anything to do with what happened ten years ago.”

Sulli held his gaze rebelliously. “You know that deep inside your heart, whatever is happening in Seoul right now has something to do with what happened ten years ago,” she rebutted. “And does this mean that you admit you’re one of the twelve people in cloaks?”

“Yes, I do admit that,” Kai affirmed. “But hear this: whatever happened ten years ago shall not be brought up ever again.”

Oh dear, it will certainly be brought up, Kim Jongin.

“You’ll change your mind,” Sulli said firmly. Then, she turned to Victoria. “I shall take my leave first, Victoria-sshi.”

With that, the young woman left the café with her head held high.

Author's Note:

At last, my exams are over! And yeah, it's the first LuYoon moment here in this story. Things have just gotten more interesting, don't you think? What's up with LuYoon that seem to have something going on between them? And what's with the Jung sisters' feud? Not to mention that Kai had admitted that he was one of the twelve people in cloaks. It seems like he still remembers what happened.

First of all, I'd like to thank all of you who wished me good luck for my exams(even though I had committed a lot of careless mistakes) and gave me support about my friendship problems. Even though it's kind of awkward between me and my friends, at least I still have someone who still accepts me for who I am.

Secondly, I think I'll be able to update weekly from now on. Latest, fortnightly. Unless I have other things to do.

Thirdly, thank you to all of you who have been waiting patiently for my update.

Lastly, thank you for subscribing, reading, commenting and upvoting! Enjoy reading the next chapter! :)