The fourth incident.

No one saw it coming – Haneul didn’t see it coming. 

After all, there was no one around to trigger her this time but nonetheless, it has happened for the fourth time.

Before it all occurred, it was only her and her thoughts.

Her thoughts that revealed a dangerous truth. A truth that consisted merely of Mino at its center. 

Mino.

The one who has been trying so hard to protect her.

The one who understands what she’s going through.

The one making sure she wasn’t going through it alone.

Mino.

The one who had been an important person to her.

The one who made sure to keep his promise to her no matter what. 

The one who has become truly irreplaceable. 

The dangerous truth that is causing her chest to burst into flames even though to find relief is easy. So easy. Yet her mind forces her to continue to endure. To allow herself to writhe in pain while begging for it to end. Her body violently shook underneath the water and her hands tightly gripped the bathtub’s rim but no strength could lift her above the water’s surface. 

Her thrashing soon diminishes and the clearness of her mind turns into a muddle mess – 

Her unsteady eyes focus in on Mino’s panicked expression as he reaches for her, bringing the cold air to suddenly attack her exposed skin – 

Mino wraps the towel around her bare body and holds her tightly in his arms. A loud gasp, followed by coughs hits the air and he moves her quickly into the bedroom. Sitting her up on the bed, he helped her with gentle smacks on her back. Little by little, her grimace was slowly fading from her features. Her lung swelled with the much-desired relief of air.

“Darling, breathe.” He uses his hand to move the wet strands of her hair away from her face. 

Oh, the clarity. 

The moment of lucidity she waited for. The moment of lucidity she didn’t think she would have so soon.

Her hand reaches out from underneath the towel and holds onto the same arm that was holding her in place. Startled by her action, Mino waited for the recoil.

“Mino, listen to me – this moment of clarity isn’t going to last – “ She wheezed, “ – this isn’t me, this isn’t who I am.”

“I know that, darling.” He didn’t know what this was – was the binding broken?

“It’s not safe around me because of the third order – “

“What?” 

“Before –“ her words are beginning to get stuck in and she was stumbling over her thoughts, the binding was starting to recover “ – you have to stay away from me – “

“Haneul, I can’t understand you.”

“Please.” She resorted to begging, she desperately needed him to know. “Please – “

***

Standing in the doorway, Jinwoo hung onto the plastic bag that held breakfast. A task he made sure to finish after figuring it would brighten up Haneul’s day but now, wished he had just hurried here instead.

“A fourth incident?” He uttered in shock. “What happened? Was it you again?”

He shook his head before looking towards the closed bedroom door. Inside was Haneul who had out from the surreal event. “She was by herself in the bath.” He was looking for Old man Yang when he decided to only visit the apartment – he wasn’t even planning to step inside…well, not until he sensed her slipping away.

“…Is she okay?”

“Yeah.” Mino sighs before getting up from the couch. “Keep a close eye on her.” Security needed to be tightened with her unexpected antics. “She really can’t be left alone.”

Heading towards the door, Mino suddenly remembers something and turns back.

“Haneul told me something – she said it’s not safe being around her due to the third order.”

Jinwoo merely stared at Mino. “How does that fit in anywhere?” These past few days, it seemed like they were getting close to their answer but what she says doesn’t add up.

With a sigh, Mino shrugged. “Just think about it and update the others.”

“Hey, Mino…if Haneul was in the bath –“

Mino’s body stiffened.

“I have to do her a favor and take those memories.”

“Let me keep them.”

“Don’t be a jerk and get over here.”

***

“Gather around, kids.” Mino sighed and motioned them to take their seats. “What do you have?”

“So – “ Hanbin pulls out a little notebook and the sight intrigued the rest in the room. “I have some ideas that we can talk about.”

“This is going to be amusing.” Jiyong comments underneath his breath but it doesn’t seem to bother anyone in the office. Like Mino’s group, the Paranormal Club was getting used to his cynical remarks. 

“I was thinking…how sensitive are your senses?”

“Like during loud noises.” Bobby adds along with Hanbin’s question.

“Accommodating loud sounds come naturally but even we can’t anticipate sudden ones.” Seungyoon explains. “But, it isn’t an issue.”

“Why?” Now it was Mino’s turn to ask.

“We all have five senses – if we render them useless, wouldn’t the strongest still be unable to fight back?” Hanbin reasons. “We have the hawthorn that you said cover up smells and prevents touch but we still have sight and hearing left.”

“You forgot taste – she’s going to drink you guys dry if you don’t come up with a better plan.” Jiyong retorts. 

“Actually, I don’t think that’s a bad idea.” Seunghoon subtly complimented the little humans. 

“Oh! And we have this.” Junhoe pulls a small bottle out of his pocket. “A perfume spray.”

Mino leans forward to look closer. “…Hawthorn spray?”

“Yeah, it’s unbelievable to me too. You can find anything on the internet.” If anyone would be the happiest with the discovery, it would be Junhoe. “Let’s try it out – “

Mino was quick to grip the boy’s hand before he could spray the contents onto himself. “Not so fast, I don’t want to be the guinea pig – Jiyong you do it.”

The mentioned man shoots him a look.

“Well, we do have to make sure it works.” Seungyoon comments off to the side.

Sensing Jiyong’s defeated attitude, Mino releases Junhoe’s hand and welcomes the idea. Junhoe sprays some and waits for Jiyong to touch him.

Fortunately, the group saw Jiyong jerk his hand backwards. Unfortunately, he found numerous small cuts all over