***

Tao smiled at his noona, pleased that he found her and that the dolls, despite of having turned him into one of their own, were right as well. They pointed him towards Jae-noona. So, why would he doubt her? The fact that she was behaving so strangely and felt cold to the touch, and didn’t smell like she usually does, meant nothing. Who knows how long she has spent dancing with all of these ghosts?

He held her hand firmly with both his doll hands and nodded. “Let’s go, noona. No time to waste.”

Jae smiled, though the smile never quite reached her dull eyes. She walked out of the ballroom with ease, the ghost dancers not even paying attention to them, as if they were used to her presence. When she had left the ballroom, Tao took a moment to look behind her, wanting to catch a last glimpse of its majesty before being forced to look at the dank and darkness of the mansion. However, the moment she stepped out, the warm light faded, and the music ceased. The ballroom was probably as horrid as the rest of the house now.

“We must hurry,” Jae said as Tao nodded, sitting comfortably on her hand.

“Yes, noona. We don’t want to stay here longer than necessary,” he added.

“Yes. Hurry,” Jae repeated, though she appeared to be muttering to herself more than actually speaking to him. “Tea will get cold.”

Tao froze, watching where she was walking to, so decisively, with certain steps as if she knew exactly which way to go. “Noona?” he gulped when he saw Jae’s skin wilting, her hair turning blonde, her eyes becoming a pallid blue. Before he knew what had happened, Jae had turned into a little, blonde girl.

Gasping, he attempted to jump from the ghost child’s hand, but she only held onto him firmer. “Don’t be a naughty puppet. We don’t want to be late for tea time, now do we?” she cackled loudly.

The next thing he knew, Tao was tied to a chair, sitting at a table with other dolls, Chanyeol looking at him with fear. His brother was gagged and his hands were chopped off.

“Chanyeol-hyung…!” Tao’s voice was raspy and shaky as the ghost girl returned, serving them tea from a bottle labeled “arsenic”.

“Your tea will be cold, little Taozi! Now drink!” she demanded in a shrill voice, practically shoving the cup into his throat. All Tao could do was comply, before he turned into a real doll...

Forever.

=== BAD ENDING: CHILD'S PLAY ===

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