“Oh you have GOT to be kidding me.” Jessica was wide-eyed as she heard Taeyeon’s request. “Please tell me you are joking.”

“You heard me.”

Jessica didn’t know what to do. She was supposed to date Taeyeon? They just met, and now…this? “Yah…”

Taeyeon was laughing on the inside. On the outside, she tried to be as serious as she could be. “You can always just give up and let me win.”

“Never!” Now Jessica was competitive to say the least. She really would have enjoyed nothing more than making Taeyeon her maid for a week, but that would mean falling in love with her. Jessica wasn’t sure if she could actually pull it off, so she had to find a way out of the situation. “Hey…” Jessica said in a seductively gentle voice, “You know, Yoona was against you staying here in the first place, but she really turned around. I think she might like you…”

“Oh please.” Taeyeon already knew where this was going. She had seen all the TV shows and videos, and she knew Jessica was trying to sweet talk her way out of a date with Taeyeon. “If you really don’t want to date me…” It was Taeyeon’s turn to turn on the charm. “You could have just said so. I know…I know I’m no where near your league.”

Jessica just stared. She didn’t expect it, but Taeyeon was crying. “Tae, hey look it’s not like I don’t want to date you, it’s just that-“

“Save it!” Taeyeon’s cries could be heard throughout the house. “I don’t even know why I bothered to ask.” She stood and went to grab her bag from the shelf above. “I’ll just leave. Thanks for everything.”

“No, wait!” Jessica stood up, “I’m sorry. I was just surprised. You’re not out of my league, I just…I don’t know you that well and I’m not really one to just date someone I don’t know.” Jessica actually thought she was about to cry from guilt. “Please forgive me. We can go out on a date. What do you say?”

Taeyeon wiped the tears from her face. “Are you sure you aren’t mad at me?”

“Of course not. Just give me a little while to get used to the idea of dating you. Okay?”

And like magic, Taeyeon stopped crying and smiled. “Great!” Taeyeon grabbed Jessica’s hands. “Let’s go have lunch tomorrow at the new restaurant opening by the station. Sound good?"

“Uh…huh…?” Jessica was shocked again by Taeyeon’s sudden change in mood.

“Great! I’m going to ask Sooyoung if she can bring me to my house. Put your number in my phone so I can call you tomorrow.” Taeyeon shoved her phone into Jessica’s hands. “You better see me off before I leave!” Taeyeon skipped out the door.

Jessica was left in her room utterly dumbfounded. “What just happened…?”

~~~~

Taeyeon turned into the kitchen and found both Sooyoung and Yoona sitting at the table snacking on a bowl of food. “Hello!” Taeyeon was elated.

“Hi” The two replied. “So what was with the noise just now? Had a little bit of a cat fight?” Yoona pried.

“Well…” Taeyeon started. “We have a little bit of a bet. Long story short, if she falls in love with me, I have to be her maid for a week. If she doesn’t, she has to help me with something and…what?”

Both Sooyoung and Yoona froze. They stared at each other for a few seconds, then turned and stared down Taeyeon.

“What??” Taeyeon was confused. “Look, it was a bet. Jessica agreed to it and what’s done is done.”

Sooyoung stood. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to go find Jessica.” Sooyoung walked out of the kitchen in a daze. As Sooyoung walked out, Yuri walked in.

“What’s with her?” Yuri asked.

“Never mind it, Yuri. Feel free to chill out here.” Yoona got up and offered her chair to Yuri. “And you?” Yoona pointed at Taeyeon, “You follow me.” Yoona walked out the room. Before disappearing into the hall, she looked at Taeyeon over her shoulder. As their eyes met, Taeyeon felt herself fall into a trance and her legs began to follow Yoona.

The two walked towards Yoona’s room. It was tucked into the end of a hallway, but Taeyeon didn’t really notice until Yoona walked into her room. “You. Sit.” Taeyeon complied. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

“Uhh…” Taeyeon didn’t know where to start.

“Tell me what happened!” Yoona was clearly furious, yet her face didn’t quite lend itself to showing anger.

Taeyeon cowered like a child. “She started it!”

Yoona sighed in disbelief. “Taeyeon, calm down. Just please tell me – in detail, this time – what happened just now between you and Jessica. I need to know.”

Taeyeon relayed the past few hours of the day to Yoona.

“You guys what?!”

“Okay, short version: I woke up, we had a bit of an argument, she kissed me, then we made the bet.” Taeyeon wasn’t quite sure what was so wrong with what she did. She understood that Yoona had the right to be shocked, but at the same time she didn’t think Yoona needed to be as distressed as she seemed.

~~~~

At the same time in Jessica’s room…

“Are you kidding me?!”

“What?! It was a bet! I can’t back out of a-”

“Yes, Jessica. Yes, you can back out of a bet.”

“Well I don’t want to.”

“Jessica, you can’t do this. You know that.”

“I’m not going to get close to her.”

“You’re dating this girl!”

“Gah…STRESS!!! Just leave me alone, Sooyoung!”

“Fine!” Sooyoung grabbed Taeyeon’s bag and stormed out of the room. “Just please think about what you’re doing. Things haven’t been the same since that day.”

Jessica sat on her bed. What is Sooyoung talking about? Since what day?

As she sat on her bed, a fly buzzed by. It landed on a photo that was crammed into a corner. Jessica watched as the fly stopped as if it was stuck to the face of the girl in the picture. It wasn’t a picture of Jessica. It was actually of a tall girl with hair halfway down her back.

Jessica walked over and picked up the old picture. “I wonder what happened to her…it’s been a while since she left the company.” After looking at the picture for a few more seconds, Jessica laid down on her bed as the events of the day sank in.

~~~~

“Sooyoung, thank God you are here.” Yoona walked over and began to explain the situation to Sooyoung.

“Yeah, Jessica told me.” Sooyoung handed Taeyeon her bag before sitting on Yoona’s table. She turned to a still very confused Taeyeon. “Listen…Taeyeon, we can’t let you date Jessica.”

“It’s just a bet. No harm, right?” Taeyeon was lying. If she won the bet, she knew she would make Jessica “help” her by dying. “We agreed to it. We’re both grown women, so I don’t think you guys have the right to tell us what we can or cannot do.”

“Grown women don’t make stupid bets.” Yoona barked.

“Why you…” Taeyeon was about to get in Yoona’s face, but Sooyoung came between them.

“Listen to me.” Sooyoung grabbed Taeyeon by the arms. “You cannot date Jessica. It’s hard to explain, but you have to trust us. Do not date Jessica right now.”

Is this girl crazy? “I know you are all protective of each other, but I think Jessica can handle some of her own life.” Taeyeon tried to push Sooyoung off of her.

Yoona interrupted. “That’s the thing. She can handle some parts of her life. Other parts? Not so much.”

“What do you mean?” Taeyeon stopped wrestling with Sooyoung. “Its not like she can’t control herself, right?”

Sooyoung and Yoona looked at each other. They had a moment of unspoken communication. Taeyeon didn’t know what was happening; yet she felt her body tighten with anticipation and fear. She felt the anticipation rising into and out . “What’s going on?”

The two singers sighed. They didn’t want to explain; yet they knew they had to.

“It happened over a year ago…”

~~~~

It was a normal day. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just a stage performance for a TV broadcast. Followed by an interview, of course.

Jessica and the girls were doing their thing. No big, but at the same time being ZoNE was a big deal in itself.

“Jessica, I’m tired! Can we go home yet?” Yoona whined. She tried to make a cute face, but Jessica already grew resistant to Yoona’s girlish charms.

“Trust me, I want to go home and sleep. But we have to do the fan meet in an hour, and be there for the big prize. Remember? Three fans get to hang out with us next Saturday.”

“Fine…” Yoona sighed. She walked behind her friends and dragged her feet as the morning’s events started to take their toll on her. “It’s been like 5 years and I’m still not used to all this."

The girls reached their car. A tall man opened the door and allowed the girls to enter. “Thank you~!” The girls said in a cheery song.

“Of course, ladies.” The man shut the door and walked to the driver’s seat. “To the park, girls?”

Sooyoung gave their driver instruction. “We need to get here…”she pointed to a map in the general area of where the park was located, “But can we make a stop at this coffee shop first? We all need a little energy kick.”

“No problem. Buckle up and sit tight!” The driver pulled out of the lot and sped down the road. The dust on the back roads was thrown into the air and left a trail of powder where the car drove through. “We’ll be there in no time.”

The girls sat back and let their driver do his stuff – he was the driver, after all.

“Hey Sooyoung, where are we going exactly?” Jessica asked.

Sooyoung grabbed the map. “Here. This place.” Sooyoung pointed at a small café on the way to the park. Jessica and Yoona both leaned in. “It’s a new café I went to yesterday during the break. They have really good drinks.”

“Yay!” Yoona almost jumped for joy. “Do they have Vita501?”

“I think so. I can’t remember, because I got a lollipop and a coffee. It was sooo good!” Sooyoung handed the map back to the driver. “Jessica, don’t get the juices. They put cucumber in all of them.”

“What?! Who does that?” Jessica pouted. “I really wanted some juice, too.”

“No worries, you should be fine with the other stuff. I just saw the cucumbers on their back shelf and asked.”

The car suddenly pulled to a sharp stop. “We’re here, ladies.” The driver stepped out of the gar and once again opened the door for the ZoNE ladies. He gave them all a hand out of the car. “We should be back on the road in about 10 minutes. I’ll wait here.”

“Yessir!” Yoona playfully saluted the driver before skipping into the café. It was small and dimly lit, only housing three other female customers and a handful of workers. The atmosphere was calm and quiet and-

“OHMAIGAWD ZoNE!!”

The three girls rushed to Jessica, Sooyoung and Yoona. There were ample amounts of spazzing and picture taking. It didn’t take long, but the three fans felt like eternity was upon their unworthy souls.

Yoona interrupted the impromptu photo shoot. “Sorry, but we’re in a bit of a rush. We have to get to the park in a few minutes. Do you guys mind if we order?”

The girls quickly complied, and even apologized for taking up so much time. Yoona felt a tad embarrassed that the girls went so far as to say sorry. “Oh jeez…”

“Don’t worry girls. Thank you for the support, though!” Jessica took one last picture before walking up to the counter.

“I’ll have…a Vita2k5.” Jessica said. “Uh, wait. That doesn’t have any cucumber in it, right?”

The cashier giggled. “Oh no, it’s just the juices that have cucumber. Don’t worry.” Jessica sighed and stepped to the right to let Yoona and Sooyoung order.

After a few moments of confusion, (let’s just say that Sooyoung doesn’t have the best French…) followed by laughter all around, the girls skipped back to the car with a few minutes to spare.

The car ride to the park was short. Their driver liked to speed. A lot. When the girls arrived, their driver once again let them out. They walked up to an open area that was filled with lighting and sound equipment. A makeshift stage was made at the base of a hill that led to a grand fountain. It was the perfect spot for a fan meeting.

“Girls!” From behind the stage came a male voice. “Get over here, we want to run through the plan one more time now that were all here.”

“Yes Mr. Lee Hwi Jae.” The girls scurried down the hill to the stage to meet their manager and the stage workers.

As the girls practiced, the hill was slowly flooded by fans, and the whispers and growing hushes of ecstasy made their way to every nook and cranny, bringing life to nature around them.

In the distance, the faint sound of a bell could be heard. Ding…Ding…Ding… It was finally 3 o’clock.

The curtain on the stage opened just enough to allow a person to pass through without disturbing the flowing fabric. “Good afternoon~!” ZoNE yelled. The crowd screamed back in response, eager to meet the members in person.

Stage crew and security worked the crowd into something that looked like a line. Zealous fans rushed to the front and squealed at the idea of being so close to their idols. And then it happened. The enormous crowed moved as members greeted, signed, and posed for their lovely fans.

There was one girl towards the end of the line who caught the attention of ZoNE. She had long black hair. It was a little wavy, but not quite curly. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, but she had beautiful skin that didn’t need much of it. But that wasn’t all.

She looked an awful lot like Jessica.

She stepped by the table, and stood in front of Jessica. “Hi, I’m Krystal. My sister is a big fan and absolutely loves you, but she couldn’t make it today. Could you sign this for her?” Krystal pulled out a photo of herself posing with another girl. The girl looked a little older than Krystal, but they didn’t look like real sisters. That much Jessica could see.

“Sure, I wouldn’t mind. What’s her name?” Jessica picked up a pen and waited for something to write down.

“Oh, just you can just call her your biggest fan. I don’t want to take up more of your time…” Krystal turned towards the rest of the fans who wanted their turn. “I know my sister will appreciate knowing she got one of your last signatures.”

Jessica wrote a short message and signed her name. She looked up as Krystal said something about “last signatures” and handed the picture to her. “Last…?” Jessica questioned.

“Ah, I should move on. Thank you very much!” Krystal skipped off stage to a security member who gave her a slip of paper – a raffle ticket and a chance to spend a day with a ZoNE member.

The line finally ended. As the girls got up and went backstage to take a break, their manager Lee Hwi Jae came out. “Thank you everyone for coming to support our girls. It’s time for what everyone has been waiting for. The big raffle winners are going to be announced!”

Cheers from the crowd echoed for miles. “Alright then! Girls, if you could all come back out for your adoring fans.” The girls promptly stepped back on stage. “First we have…Yoona!” Yoona took a step forward and bowed. She then walked over to a large contraption that held tickets corresponding to the raffle numbers that were given out moments before. The little door opened and Yoona carefully reached in to select the first winner.

“The lucky person who gets to hang out with me has the ticked number 392479! Whoever you are, come up to the stage!” A young man ran through the crowd and made his way to the stage. “Alright, Sooyoung, it’s your turn.”

Sooyoung followed suit. “Number 394194, come on up!” A young girl slowly made her way through the crowd. She shyly approached the idols as Jessica made her way to center stage.

For the third and final time, the little door opened and allowed Jessica’s hand to pass through. However, the machine suddenly malfunctioned and dumped all the papers onto the stage. “Um…sorry, everyone. This will take one second.” Stage crew jumped out from everywhere and started to clean up. In the mix, one crewmember stood and handed Jessica a ticket. Before Jessica could thank her, the crewmember resumed cleaning.

“Okay, everyone, take a good look at your ticket! The final winner has ticket number 3…9…1…"

Many people in the crowed groaned. “…0…” The groans grew louder, “…2…”, there were now only ten people who could have the ticket.

“4.” Jessica called the final number out and waited for someone to come up to the stage. “Don’t be shy!” She called out. The groans from the disappointed audience turned to confusion and curiosity. Where did the final winner go?

Then it happened. “I’m here.” It was Krystal. Jessica stared at Krystal. Was this really just a coincidence? Or was the world trying to tell Jessica something?

The event came to a close and the winners talked with Lee Hwi Jae to get the Saturday hangout date organized. Jessica had an odd feeling about Krystal, but she shrugged it off and blamed it on their facial similarities.

The week went by quickly. ZoNE planned out ideas for what to do on Saturday. They would all go to the same places, but do different things separately.

Finally Saturday came around. Jessica was up first, but Yoona and Sooyoung didn’t sleep in long. Jessica had sprayed both of them in the past when they refused to wake up, and neither wanted to have that experience again. It did make for good entertainment, though.

Like normal, the girls changed and grabbed something to eat from the fridge. After, they walked out the door and were greeted by the sunny weather and a light breeze. Outside their driver waited to take them to the designated meeting place.

The ride to the place was equally normal – a little traffic but a fairly quick ride despite it all. No detours or anything.

Even meeting the three winners was normal. There was excitement and all that fun stuff. No one would have thought anything was going to turn for the worse.

As the group traveled to various hangout places, the ZoNE members got to know the raffle winners more and more. Jessica was very curious about Krystal. She was young but acted fairly mature for her age. It threw Jessica off for a while, but she got used to it.

Then it happened.

As the group arrived at a local zoo, they decided to stick close together and enjoy the scenery in each other’s company. They all were enjoying themselves, but Jessica could tell that Krystal was keeping to herself a little bit. Jessica tried to reach out to her by offering her some cotton candy, but Krystal turned down the offer.

“Oh yay~!” Jessica said. It was the dolphin exhibit. Sooyoung and Yoona looked at each other before breaking out in laughter. Even their guests understood and joined in on the laughing. “What? What’s so funny?” Jessica asked.

Sooyoung tried to catch her breath. “Haha, you…get it…really don’t?”

“Yah! Just tell me!” The Ice Princess in Jessica was about to come out.

Sooyoung finally calmed down enough to speak coherently. She put her arm around Jessica’s shoulders before saying, “You have found your people. Go and scream to your hearts content.”

Jessica responded with a gentle push and walked ahead. “You guys .” Everyone finally calmed down enough to be able to walk straight and not look overly insane. Except for Krystal.

“You guys go ahead, I’m not feeling well.” Krystal turned to find a bench or something to sit on.

“I’ll wait with you.” Jessica said, “It would be bad if something happened to you and none of us were around to help.”

The entire group considered staying, but Jessica insisted they go and enjoy themselves. Krystal was the one Jessica picked at the raffle, after all, so she felt responsible for the young girl. “Do you want to go to a wait area? It’s not far.”

“Okay…” Krystal allowed Jessica to take the lead. “Sorry…”

“No worries.” The wait area was fairly empty, so Jessica sat at an empty table. Krystal sat across from Jessica. “I’m going to call Yoona and Sooyoung so they know where we went. I’ll be right back.” Jessica hoped to her feet and pulled out her phone. The conversation was quick, so Jessica was able to promptly return to her guest. “Do you need to go home? Or need any medicine?”

“Ah, no, my stomach just hurts. Maybe I ate too much at lunch? Ehhe…” Krystal said as she fiddled with her hands.

“Well, tae your time. The others can meet us here if you want.”

The girls talked casually to pass the time. Krystal and Jessica shared stories and grabbed a small snack to sate their hunger. It was getting close to the zoo’s closing time and the wait area was empty, save for the two girls.

Jessica finally asked the question. “So, I’m curious. That girl in the picture you had me sign…is she really your sister?”

Krystal paused before answering. “We’re close. Almost like sisters, but not really.”

“I see. Did she like the gift?”

“No, I haven’t given it to her yet. I didn’t see her all week. I haven’t seen her in a while, actually. I’ve been busy.”

“What a shame. Tell her I’d like to meet her some day.”

“Yeah. I don’t think you’ll be able to do that, though.”

“Huh? You say the strangest things, Krystal.”

“Maybe,” Krystal stood up. “Or maybe you just don’t understand.”

Jessica felt something in her gut. Something told her to get away. Something told her the Krystal was dangerous. “Um…I’ll be right back. I need to um…” Jessica stood and backed away carefully. “I need to use the bathroom.”

“No you don’t. Now when I’m done with you, you wont.” Krystal slowly walked around the table and reached into her jacket and rested her hand on an inside pocket. “When I’m done with you, no one will ever see you again!” Krystal whipped out a knife and pointed the tip at Jessica.

Jessica screamed. She screamed and ran for her life. But no one was around to save her. The zoo was almost empty. Why? It wasn’t closed yet, but not a single person was near. Not even a worker or security guard was around to save her.

Krystal was relentless. She chased Jessica through every building and down every step. She was like a shadow that stuck to its master no matter where she went.

There was almost nowhere to hide. The zoo was very open, and the animals reacted to Jessica’s every movement. Jessica ran into a building. She didn’t know what was in it, but she had to fine a place to hide. She was running out of breath and needed a moment to think of what to do.

Jessica ducked under a set of stairs. Krystal didn’t notice and ran past Jessica. Jessica finally shook the shadow. Her first instinct was to call Sooyoung and Yoona. They could be in trouble, too.

The phone rang. Jessica never felt so confused in her life. The ringing seemed to go on forever before Yoona answered. “Yes?”

“Help me! Krystal is trying to kill me!”

“Oh, you’re being over dramatic. She’s probably just playing. The shove the cucumbers in her face.”

“She has a knife! And the knife is real! Help me! Please!”

Yoona didn’t know what to say. A knife was not something kids play with. She told Sooyoung what Jessica said put Sooyoung on the line. “Okay, run to the entrance. We’ll meet you there, okay?”

“Thank you! Call the police, too!”

“Yeah, be careful, okay?”

“Thanks, I’ll-Ah!” Jessica hung up. Krystal found Jessica hiding, and charged for her. Jessica ran back up the steps.

Krystal refused to give up. “Get back here!”

Jessica didn’t bother replying. She just ran as fast as her shiny legs could carry her. The entrance wasn’t too far, but Jessica wasn’t sure if she could get before getting caught.

Right. Left. Left. Right. Jessica ran past the cages. The animals screeched and roared as if they could smell the blood thirst that Krystal had for Jessica. Jessica concentrated on the signs. They were her only hope in getting back to the entrance without getting lost.

Finally, she was there. But there was no Yoona or Sooyoung. Jessica frantically looked for somewhere to hide, but it was too open of an area.

“Hold still!” Krystal emerged from the bushes. “Hold still and die!” Krystal walked towards Jessica with the knife in both hands.

Jessica turned to run. The path she took was hilly and covered in grass and rocks. She stepped on something and fell to the ground. She stood up frantically and tried to run away. She made it to the bottom of the incline and looked around for somewhere to go. Krystal was inching closer and closer. Jessica finally picked a path to follow, but her right ankle gave out. The fall from before sprained her ankle, and running down hill had only worsened it.

“Why?! Why are you doing this?!” Jessica screamed. She tried to stand again, but her ankle hurt too much.

Krystal didn’t answer. She just approached Jessica.

Something had to be done. Jessica saw something behind her and crawled towards it.  “Leave me alone!” Jessica said.

Krystal suddenly let out a scream. Jessica had thrown a rock and hit Krystal on the arm. Krystal dropped the knife as she cradled her arm. She swore under her breath.

Jessica used the time to stumble to her feet and find another way back to the entrance.

“Jessica! Where are you?” Sooyoung and Yoona finally made it to the entrance.

Without hesitating, Jessica called for her friends. “I’m at the bottom of the hill!” Jessica found a set of stairs and tried to reach them. “Hurry!”

Sooyoung and Yoona ran to the hill. Their guests waited at the entrance for the police. Neither girl knew what to do though. How do you handle someone with a knife and trying to kill you?

Jessica kept running. Krystal had picked the knife up again and ran towards Jessica. Sooyoung and Yoona saw Krystal closing in on Jessica and tried to beat her. But they were too far and too late. Krystal tackled Jessica to the ground.

The girls wrestled each other. Krystal found herself on top of Jessica, but her knife had flown out of her hands as Jessica fought for her life. It was only a few feet away, but Jessica was safe from the danger of cold steel.

“Why do you want me dead?!” Jessica asked. It was almost pointless, but Jessica wanted to know why she was about to die.

“If it weren’t for you…if it weren’t for you, she would be mine!”

“She? She who?!” Jessica continued to struggle for her life. She saw an opening and kicked Krystal off her.

Krystal coughed as the air escaped her lungs. “She wouldn’t be just my sister. She’d be mine!"

Jessica stumbled to her feet once more, but she was exhausted. Her legs gave out and pain shot through her ankle.

Sooyoung and Yoona almost caught up to Krystal and Jessica. Krystal didn’t skip a beat. She lunged for her knife and found her way to Jessica in one swift movement.

Jessica tried to inch away from an impending doom. Krystal stood over Jessica. It was over. Krystal won.

Krystal and Jessica locked eyes. The cold emptiness in Krystal’s eyes overwhelmed Jessica. “Now die.”

Jessica pulled her body into a ball and closed her eyes as Krystal swung her arm down at her body.

Sooyoung and Yoona sprinted to save their friend. “No!”

BANG

~~~~

“We didn’t realize it right away, but the police had arrived. One pulled out his gun and shot at Krystal’s hand.” Sooyoung was near tears as she recounted the horrid event of that day. “She dropped the knife as blood splattered everywhere.”

“Jessica was safe, but the knife still got her. It sliced into her leg.” Yoona winced as she remembered Jessica’s pain. “She was rushed to a hospital. She was patched up nicely, and the scar is even gone. In the papers, it was said that she was cooking but the knife fell. That was a cover up the company published. They didn’t want to create a problem for the fans and there were legal issues that would come up if we had the true story publicized.”

Sooyoung nodded. “Krystal was arrested. Well, at least we were told she’d be questioned. She was so young at the time, so we weren’t sure how the police would be able to deal with her.”

“And after the surgery, Jessica didn’t wake up for two or three days. Even after that, she hardly spoke or did anything until a whole week had passed.” Yoona carefully recalled Jessica’s state. “She got better and started to act normal. But…”

“She doesn’t remember anything from that day.” Sooyoung said. Both she and Yoona were tearing up at the pain their friend had to go through. “But every now and then, she has nightmares and we can hear her talking in her sleep.”

Taeyeon was utterly paralyzed. She was in shock. She could feel her heart pounding in every part of her body. The sound of her heart pounding resonated throughout the room.

“Ever since that day, she panics when she gets really close to new people. This is why we can’t let you get close to her.” Sooyoung said. “If you really care about her, then please just leave her alone.”

Taeyeon didn’t know what to do. Were they lying? No, it’s impossible. But then, was what they said…is it really true? Taeyeon clenched her hands as she started to cry. “I…I can’t…I can’t just leave her alone.”

“What’s wrong with you?!” Yoona felt like she could smack Taeyeon across the face. That was how mad she felt. “Are you really that selfish?” She said.

Confused. That was how Taeyeon felt. Nothing made sense anymore. Why did those people want Taeyeon to kill Jessica if Krystal seemed perfectly fine doing it?

Even thought she didn’t want to confess it, Taeyeon had to. “No…but I have to fix this. I’m Krystal’s sister. I should fix what she did.”

Both Yoona and Sooyoung were shocked. The world had a funny way of telling people something, but neither Sooyoung nor Yoona had any idea what the world was trying to say. “Save her?” Sooyoung said, “You’re that girl’s sister! How can we trust you?”

“Because…” Taeyeon opened her bag. “I was told Krystal was kidnapped. I saw her tied up and everything.” Taeyeon kept rummaging through her bag. “I was told I could have her back if I did something.” She pulled a white cloth from her bag. It was wrapped around something. Taeyeon slowly undid the cloth. “If I killed Jessica I was told I could save Krystal.”

Yoona gasped. Taeyeon showed them the gun. “You…you want to kill Jessica…?”

“No! I don’t! I didn’t even know I was going to have to kill her until the day I was at SM Park. Please, believe me.”

“Why should we?”

“Because.”

“That’s a great reason. “Because”. Yeah, right. Why shouldn’t we just call the cops on you right now?” Sooyoung tried to hold back Yoona. Yoona never got mad, but the thought of Jessica being put in danger again pushed her over the edge.

“Just trust me!”

“No!”

“Please! I can fix this! I can save Jessica! They’ll send someone else after her. If I don’t do it, someone else will.”

“So turn them into the cops!”

“I can’t! They’ll kill Krystal.”

“She deserves to die! She tried to kill Jessica!”

“Don’t say that!” Taeyeon was screaming through her tears. “She must have been put up to it like I was!”

“You’re delusional. Get out of here! Leave Jessica alone!” Yoona shrieked.

“Just let me protect her! I know that this looks bad, and that I sort of unintentionally came because I had to kill Jessica to get Krystal back, but I’m so confused and…and…I don’t understand!” Taeyeon fell to her knees.

Sooyoung dragged Yoona away from Taeyeon and forced her into a seat. Sooyoung then walked up to Taeyeon. She didn’t know how to approach Taeyeon. She felt both pity and distrust. “Prove it. Prove we can trust you.”

Taeyeon thought for a minute. Then she grabbed the gun. Both Sooyoung and Yoona were about to tackle Taeyeon. However, Taeyeon unloaded the gun. “See this?” she said, “There’s only one bullet.” Taeyeon reloaded the gun and pointed it at her leg. “Cover your ears. It’s loud.”

Sooyoung and Yoona both reacted. “No, wait!"

BANG!