Jiyong was tired. Very tired. Jin Ae has been clinging to him since earlier that morning. He couldn't concentrate in class. He couldn't concentrate on anything. The little girl stuck to him like a parasite to her victim. Parasite, huh, Jiyong could just snicker bitterly for the perfect connotation.

She was out his strength. He didn't exactly know how or why but he knew all the same. Seunghyun and Youngbae automatically appeared in front of his seat as soon as the bell rang. Jin Ae sat on his desk, watching.

"Hey bro," Seunghyun greeted.

"Hey," Jiyong greeted back, masking the anxiousness he felt.

"You're hiding something from us." Youngbae was straight to the point. He couldn't see Jiyong break into a cold sweat.

"Hehehe~ Aigoo, why don't you tell them? Tell them, oppa~" Jin Ae giggled.

"Nothing. It's nothing," Jiyong blurted out immediately. They'll think I'm crazy weird if they knew.

"It's not nothing," says Seunghyun. "But since I'm a nice person, I'll let it slide for now."

"But hyung--" Youngbae was cut off.

"We'll talk about it when Jiyong wants to. For now, let's just head out to the clubroom."

Jiyong sighed in relief. He picked up his bag and followed his friends. Jin Ae also stood up and followed them. Two guys entered his classroom but he didn't spare a glance.

"What are those two doing here?" wondered Youngbae out loud.

"Don't know, don't care. Those snobby brats and their damn club," said Seunghyun monotonously.

The three boys left the classroom. They belong to the Music Composition Club, a club the five of them formed just last year. It was a good thing the private school would approve of just any club as long as the goals were noble. As a result, more than fifty clubs formed at the school, some nonsensical and others just plain crazy, approved under the pretense of being normal clubs.

Seungri and Daesung were already inside their clubroom when the three arrived. One furiously doing his homework and the other writing up some lyrics.

"Oh, hyungs. You're here," chirped Seungri. The three nodded as they take their seats.

"Kyaaah!" Jin Ae squealed as she ran around the room. "Waaah~ Does this work?" she stopped by the grand piano and pressed some keys.

Four heads darted to the direction, eyes wide as goosebumps formed on their skin. Jiyong was at loss on what to do. The five boys exchanged looks, words seemed to have ran away from their brains.

"W-w-what was that?" Daesung broke the silence.

"HEAR JIN AE PLAY!" the little girl shouted and pressed some more keys. She was delighted.

Wordlessly, the four scrambled out of the room and ran off as fast as they could leaving Jiyong behind. Jin Ae was still pressing random keys and her laughter blended in with the sound.

"J-Jin Ae, stop that," he stuttered.

"But I'm playing so well~" she whined but nevertheless stopped.

"You might break it. You're not playing it the right way," he says as his fear lessened. He thought it was already safe talking to her.

"You're annoying."

He thought too soon.

Jin Ae's brows furrowed. A frown painted her face. Then she screeched, a high pitched ear-splitting screech. Jiyong covered his ears. He thought they would break. His eyes automatically closed.

When he opened them, he wasn't in the clubroom anymore. In fact, he wasn't anywhere at all. A bright shade of red surrounded him, stretched out as far as he could see. He was there, wherever there is, alone.

Then there was a weird smell. Blood? He thought. He looked at his hands. Red gooey liquid dripped from them. Jiyong shook inadvertently. He looked at his clothes. It was smeared with red, too. Panic. His mind screamed panic.

Just as he was about to run, gigantic musical notes and pieces appeared out of nowhere and started dancing above him.

'All round the mulberry bush…'

The song began.

Children's giggles and laughter echoed around, mixing the sound with the music.

Jiyong ducked as a G-clef swung it's tail near him. Unfortunately, his arm got caught. It bled.

'The monkey chased the weasel…'

The song continued. The giggles and laughter sounded much closer now. The musical notes and pieces were going crazy. He did his best to dodge them, running away in the process.

'The monkey thought t' was all in good fun…'

By then Jiyong was already bloody. Small bodies without faces waved at him. Some of them even chased after him. His vision blurred and he felt very dizzy. Everything, even the background, was dancing.

Jiyong fell, the noise was too much. He cradled his arm. The cut was too deep. His breath hitched, his skin felt icy cold. He couldn't think straight anymore.

When he opened his eyes, Jin Ae stood in front of him. She smiled then opened .

"Pop goes the weasel."

Everything went black.

Everything was cold.

Time went by. 

Then there was warmth.

All the club rooms were located in the building behind the main school building. Really, this school is too much, she thought. Dara dashed and checked every room she could find, muttering apologies here and there for the ones already occupied.

When she noticed the number of ghosts thinning out as she headed to the second floor, she knew she was headed at the right direction. When she arrived at the hallway, she saw four pale boys frantically running way.

One of them stopped on his tracks in front of her abruptly and automatically envelope her in a hug. A couple of students stopped on their tracks and openly stared at the two. The three other boys didn’t even notice and continued their descent.

"Noon-a… noona," he sobbed.

Dara stood in shock. The guy strengthened his hold when she didn't hug him back. He was shaking. With trembling hands, Dara caressed his back soothingly in an attempt to calm him down. She sighed in resignation.

"What's wrong, Seungri-ah?" she gently asked.

"I'm.. I'm scared," he said.

"What are you scared of?" she asked, although she already had an idea what.

Then, as if on cue, a loud screech resounded through the hallway. An ear splitting screech only Dara could hear amidst the few people present. She quickly broke free from Seungri's hug when it ended and hurried towards where it came from.

"Noona! Don't go there!" he yelled after her when he realized where she was headed.

Hesitantly, he followed her. They stopped outside the club room door. Dara was pounding it mercilessly while turning the knob.

"Somebody's in there. Do you have a key?" she turned to Seungri.

"Jiyong hyung's still there," he stammered. He cupped his pockets and found his copy.

Dara took it and quickly inserted it to the keyhole. It took a long time and a lot of tries before it finally opened up.

In the middle of the room lay that guy Jiyong, covered in cuts and bruises. Seungri stood petrified by the door, looking at his hyung roll and grunt in pain.

Jin Ae stood in front of Jiyong, an evil smile played on her lips. "Pop goes the weasel," Dara heard her say. The little girl looked up at the pair by the door and smirked before disappearing.

Recovering, Dara briskly headed towards the crumpled guy on the floor. She sat by him and placed his head on her lap. Gently, she caressed his hair. Seungri followed and stood by her.

"Is this boy your friend?" Dara asked.

"Yes," Seungri replied.

"He's changed a lot, hasn't he?"

"He has."

"Do you want him back?"

Seungri crouched beside Dara and held Jiyong's hand with his trembling ones. Dara smiled a little and patted the younger boy's head affectionately.

"He's not dead, is he?" Seungri swallowed the forming lump in his throat.

"He's not. Help me clean him up and dress his wounds," she replies.

"Something did this to him. We should move somewhere else," Seungri nervously said.

"No, it's already safe here. Just get me a first aid kit. He'll be fine."

For now, she wanted to add.