“Did you know I was a trainee for JYPE when I was alive?” Sana demanded, standing over Jihyo, who was passed out in her bed. Despite whacking the young shaman with a dog stuffed animal that was conveniently nearby, Sana didn’t appear intimidating in the slightest.

“Ow!” Jihyo murmured half-heartedly, groaning and hiding under her covers.

“Hey, listen to me, Park Jihyo! This is serious! I found out how I died!”

After another groan, Jihyo lifted up the blanket so she could see Sana’s face. She sighed and sat up. “I’m sorry,” she said. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes and stretched her arms.

“So you did know?” Sana replied, sitting down on the bed and slouching forward. She looked very tired for a ghost who was already dead.

“When you first appeared, I did some digging. I thought I recognized your face, and that was because you were all over the news then. I thought you’d be better off not knowing,” Jihyo confessed. “I’m sorry, Sana,” she repeated.

Sana nodded. She couldn’t be mad—after all, since she’d figured out how she died, it was practically all Sana could think about. “Well, Eunha doesn’t think I killed myself. I spoke with her earlier today and she thinks I was murdered.”

That made Jihyo’s eyes light up. “You...spoke with her?”

“She nearly died, so I spoke with her spirit while she was in the inbetween. She’s okay now though, thank god. It’s been a long day,” Sana sighed. “I think because she was investigating my death, someone involved found out and tried to silence her. That’s why she got attacked in the first place. It’s my fault.”

“Hey, it’s not your fault,” Jihyo assured, leaning forward so she could pat Sana gently on the back. “But this is serious, if it is true you were murdered. It could change everything. Those who are murdered are trapped in the inbetween as ghosts...so that could mean your unfinished isn’t to sleep with someone with positive energy after all...”

Sana was glad she was sitting down to hear that. “You mean...I might not have to sleep with Nayeon to pass on to the other side?”

At the sound of her best friend’s name, Jihyo mouth twitched slightly. “If you really were murdered...maybe not.”

Sana expected to feel relief—but instead she felt slightly disappointed. After all, she still died a and wanted to experience that at least once. She shook her head, trying to focus on the bigger question at hand. “Why would someone kill me? I think that’s the first question I need to consider. And how did they make my death look like a suicide?”

“Time to put on our detective hats and get to the bottom of this! You don’t have much time!” Jihyo quickly got out of bed, looking determined.

“I’m Sherlock and you’re Watson!” Sana chirped, standing up and looking pleased at the new challenge. Jihyo just rolled her eyes. “Let’s list out everything we already know…”

Jihyo got out a pad of notepaper and began to scribble out all facts they knew about Sana’s death, at least according to all the articles they could find online. The two girls sat at Jihyo’s kitchen table, hard at work.

1. Sana’s cause of death was water inhalation—she had drowned.

2. Her body was found near the Banghwa Bridge in the Han river.

3. She left Eunha a text message stating: “I’m sorry,” before she supposedly jumped from the Banghwa Bridge.

4. Eunha was investigating into Sana’s death when she was attacked—her attacker told her to “stop looking into it.”

5. Eunha’s attacker was a man wearing a black hoodie. He had a tall and lean build.

“Well, that’s a start,” Jihyo replied, looking down at their notes which were spread out across the kitchen table. “If someone did kill you, they would’ve had to drown you. Either in the river itself, or maybe they just dumped your body there afterward?”

Sana winced slightly at the word body. Jihyo noticed the girl’s discomfort. She reached out and took Sana’s hand across the table. “I’m sorry,” she said. “This is you we’re talking about, I should be more sensitive.”

“No, that’s alright,” Sana assured. “This is reality, you’re just telling it like it is. Besides, we can’t tiptoe around the truth since we need to solve this case.”

“Maybe going back to this bridge will help you remember something?” Jihyo suggested. “I can go with you there, if you want.”

Sana shook her head, but smiled at Jihyo warmly. “That’s alright, I think this is something I have to do on my own.”

After thanking Jihyo for her help, Sana headed out for the Banghwa Bridge. She walked a bit to clear her head, enjoying the fall breeze, before she teleported the rest of the way there.

She arrived near one end of the bridge, walking along a path adjacent to the river. Something stirred in her immediately—perhaps from anxiousness or nostalgia. Taking a breath, she continued forward determinedly. The bridge wasn’t too far from JYPE, she noticed, so perhaps she came to this spot when she was alive. It was certainly beautiful, though there was a good amount of traffic at this time of day.

An image flickered across Sana’s vision—a memory resurfacing. It was of a girl walking outside. It was dark out, most likely a few hours after the sun had set, but Sana could clearly see the girl’s face. The girl crossed a street perpendicular to the street Sana was walking on when the “cross” sign displayed. It was quiet.

Sana stopped in her tracks, squeezing her eyes shut and rubbing them, willing what she assumed to be her memory to come back. She stomped her feet and whined to herself. “C’mon! Think, Sana!”

She kept walking again, getting closer to the bridge.

As the mysterious girl from her memory crossed the street, there was suddenly the loud whir of an engine. The girl looked up like a deer in headlights, taken off guard. A car was headed right toward her—not showing signs of stopping. Sana, watching from across the street, cried out.

The car tried to stop, but couldn’t in time. There was a thud, and Sana cringed—the sound reverberated inside her head like nails scraping a chalkboard.

Frozen in terror, Sana could only watch as the driver behind the wheel calmly stepped out of his car, looked down at the woman on the ground, and shook his head. He got back into the car after the woman didn’t move, driving it forward so that he ran over both of the woman’s leg’s with the car’s tires. The car sped off and Sana stared with an open mouth, catching the driver’s license plate and mentally storing it in her memory. She ran over to the woman, kneeling down and shaking her. When she got close enough to the girl, she realized it was a familiar face—another trainee from JYPE.

“Chaeyoung!” she cried, as tears streamed down her face. While she wasn’t close with Chaeyoung because the girl was a few years younger, she still knew a little bit about the girl. Chaeyoung was quite talented—an up and coming rapper. She had this fierce charisma when she performed that Sana truly admired.

“Oh god!” She pulled out her cell phone and immediately called 911—giving the 911 operator on the phone her location. Staying at Chaeyoung’s side, she didn’t notice the sound of a car approaching. The driver pulled over and stepped outside. Sana looked up at the sound of the car door closing—seeing a man dressed in a black hoodie and wearing a black baseball cap approach her.

“There was a hit and run!” Sana explained. Her voice was slightly hysterical. “I already called 911, they should be on their way. I saw the license plate of the man who hit her and drove off. What kind of heartless person could—” Sana’s words got caught in as her gaze shifted from the man’s face to the car he had stepped out of. It had the same make as the car that had just hit and ran over Chaeyoung...and the same license number.

Sana slowly stood up—looking at the man getting closer to her in pure terror. He had a strange, emotionless look on his face, and the light from the street lamp above them shrouded his face in sinister shadows. Sana spun around and made a break for it, sprinting as fast as she could for the nearest open building—looking for anyone who could help. “Somebody!” she screamed as she pumped her arms and willed herself forward. She tried to dial 911 again but her hands were shaking too badly to correctly dial the number. “Somebody—”

A weight crashed against her body, sending her falling to the ground. The man had tackled her, sending her phone skidding against the pavement. She tried to scream but the wind had been knocked out of her lungs. She felt a thud against the back of her head and her vision faded to black.

Coming out of the memory, Sana nearly stumbled to the ground. She began to breathe heavily—taking in what she had seen three years ago. She had been a witness to Chaeyoung’s accident. She’d seen the criminal too. That’s what had gotten her killed.

But the worst thing was that the face the man had worn had been a familiar one. Someone she’d just met recently, actually. Sana took off toward the direction of the JYPE building, teleporting in a flash.

She entered EDEN’s apartment to find Mina was laying on her bed, looking at something on her phone. “Mina!” Sana cried out, passing out onto the bed beside the girl. Mina looked up from her phone in fright, but her face quickly softened as she realized it was Sana beside her. “I know who hit Chaeyoung!”

Mina looked confused, so Sana quickly continued: “I witnessed Chaeyoung’s accident 3 years ago, and the man who hit her killed me to keep me quiet! I’ll bet it was the same guy who stabbed Eunha too!”

Mina leaned forward in anticipation. Sana took a breath, preparing herself to deliver the news. “It was...Dowoon.”

Mina blinked a few times, letting that sink in. “That doesn’t make any sense,” Mina finally stated. Momo, who was sitting on her bed, looked over and stared at Mina curiously. Mina quickly cleared , got up, and headed into the bathroom. Sana followed right behind her.

“That doesn't make any sense,” Mina repeated. “Chaeyoung and Dowoon are dating. They have been for almost three years. They love each other.”

“They started dating after the accident, right?” Sana guessed. Mina nodded slowly. “He probably just started dating her to make sure the truth never got out! Staying close to the victim was a good way to keep an eye on her, don’t you think?”

“Sana, this is a serious allegation. Where is it coming from?”

“I went to the Banghwa bridge to try to remember what happened to me. While I was walking, my memories started to come back. I remembered seeing a hit and run take place. It was Chaeyoung’s! I called the cops but as I was waiting the man who hit her came back. He must’ve seen me run over to her body in his rearview mirror. He knew I was a witness, so he chased me down and knocked me out. That was the last memory that came to me.”

Mina knew from the look on Sana’s face that she was telling the truth, it was just hard to process.

“Dowoon he’s...just so nice,” Mina replied in disbelief.

“He appears that way, yeah, but the guy is seriously messed up.” Sana shook her head. “How could he do something like that to Chaeyoung and then...and then...?” Sana was nearly shaking in anger as bits and pieces of new memories flashed before her again. She’d woken up in an unfamiliar apartment with tape across after being knocked out by Dowoon. He was sitting down in a chair beside her, staring at her with a bored expression on his face.

“All you had to do was walk away and mind your own business,” he replied. “Now I have to dispose of you.”

Before Sana knew it, Mina was hugging her tightly, yanking her out of the painful memory. “What can we do?” Mina asked with her head nestled against Sana’s neck. “We need to bring him down for this, but we need proof.”

“I need to talk to Eunha again, once she wakes up. She might know more about it. In the meantime, I have a few ideas. He might be hiding something, either at the police station or at his apartment. Does he live with Chaeyoung?”

Mina nodded. “Yeah, they moved in together a few years ago.”

“I’ll try to investigate both and see what I find. Oh, by the way, Nayeon seemed pretty cozy with you earlier today.”

Mina’s ears began to turn red. She released Sana from the hug and looked down at the tile floor. “You can say things...progressed rather quickly.”

Sana practically jumped up and down. “I need details!” she squealed. “I need something to cheer me up. Today has been rough.”

Mina leaned against the bathroom counter. “We kissed on the ride home. A lot.”

Sana grabbed Mina’s shoulders and began to shake the girl around excitedly. “Ohhhmyyygodd! That’s great! I’m so proud of you!”

“It’s only because of you and your confidence, nothing would’ve happened otherwise.” After Nayeon had dropped her off back at the apartment, Mina’s thoughts had been tearing her apart. It felt like she’d just come out of a wonderful dream. But what if the girl Nayeon liked wasn’t actually her at all? What if after Sana was gone, Nayeon would grow bored of Mina because she wasn’t actually the girl she’d started to like?

Sana frowned and stared at Mina with worry. She lightly tucked a strand of Mina’s dark brown hair behind the girl’s (very cute) ear. “Mina, listen to me. Nayeon likes you. I might’ve moved things along, but it wouldn’t have been possible unless she liked you in the first place.”

“You really think so?” Mina asked quietly. Sana wanted to hug the girl again, but held back.

“I know so,” Sana assured. Mina didn’t look convinced but didn’t press anymore. “Alright, I’m gonna head over to the police station now. I’ll come back later tonight, okay?” Mina nodded, and Sana gave her a reassuring smile before she disappeared, leaving Mina alone.

Sana revisited the police station she had been taken to days ago after Eunha was stabbed. She walked through the front door, stepping inside and getting a good look around. She found Dowoon sitting at his desk immediately. “Aha,” she muttered to herself. Walking over to him, she looked over his shoulder at what he was doing. He seemed to be doing normal police work—nothing out of the ordinary. It was crazy that a murderer could carry on his life after committing such atrocities as if nothing had happened.

Sana began to peer at his desk, taking note of anything she could find that appeared out of the ordinary, but there was nothing. She walked around all sides of it, being thorough. Feeling eyes on her, she looked up slowly. Sitting behind his desk, Dowoon was staring at her. Not in her general direction, but directly at her. Sana quickly looked behind her, but saw that no one else was around.

That could only mean one thing. Dowoon could see her. Is it possible he had the Gift of Sight, just like Mina did?

Slowly turning her head back to look at Dowoon, Sana gulped. The corner of his mouth twitched up into a slight smirk. He was no longer the kind and handsome cop that Sana had admired only days ago—but something much more sinister. Sana nearly let out a fearful cry, backing up a few steps before she booked it out of the station.

She teleported back to Jihyo’s place, making the shaman jump. Jihyo was in the middle of cooking food, and had not expected Sana to return to her place so quickly.

“I know who killed me, Jihyo,” Sana replied, standing anxiously beside the other girl as she stirred some soup boiling on the stove. “It was Dowoon. He’s the one who hit Chaeyoung with his car, too! I saw the accident and the license plate of the car that hit her, but he found out and finished me off to keep me quiet.”

Jihyo was silent for a moment, thinking. “You’re sure?” she asked.

Sana nodded fiercely. “Just like you guessed, my memories returned when I began to walk near the bridge. I saw his face as clear as day. He kidnapped me and…” Sana didn’t finish the sentence, suddenly feeling the agonizing pain of water filling her lungs as Dowoon held her head under the water in his bathtub.

“He has to pay for what he’s done,” Jihyo replied. “We need to find proof that he did it to turn over to the police.”

“I checked the police station already and I didn’t find anything. But Jihyo, he saw me. He looked right at me! He must have The Sight like you and Mina!”

Jihyo scratched her chin, thinking hard. “You know, I was so happy for Chaeyoung when she found someone, but something never sat right with me about Dowoon. I just got this bad feeling whenever I was close to him. I could sense something dark. If he could see you, there’s a chance that he might be possessed by an evil spirit. Spirits can see other spirits, so it could make sense that he saw you earlier. It would also explain the evil things he’s done…”

“My god,” Sana muttered. “Someone can really be possessed by an evil spirit for that long?”

Jihyo nodded solemnly. “And it happens more often than you’d think, too. The evil spirits prey on people who are vulnerable and angry. They take them over and begin to merge with their host over time. After awhile, the evil spirit and the host become one and the same.”

Sana thought back to her nightmare the other night—how she had forgotten who she truly was for a moment, and even caught a glimpse of some of Mina’s memories. It was like her and Mina were the same person briefly. Was that what Jihyo was talking about?

“We need to get Dowoon away from Chaeyoung. He might have something hidden in his apartment. Something incriminating we can use against him…”

“I can sneak in when he’s at work,” Sana suggested.

Jihyo held up a finger. “Nope! It’s too dangerous. Now that he knows you’re snooping he might set a trap for a ghost—something that could force you to cross over without finding peace. Evil spirits are dangerous, Sana.”

Sana sighed, leaning back against the kitchen counter. “We have to get in there somehow.” She thought for a moment, trying to figure out another way to get into Dowoon’s apartment. “Wait, I’ve got it! But, you might not like it…” Sana gave Jihyo an apologetic smile.

“You want to what?” Mina asked loudly, eying Sana like she’d truly lost her mind.

“I need to get into Dowoon and Chaeyoung’s apartment, and Nayeon’s our best bet. I mean, she’s the only one who’d ever be invited over there. I can snoop around quickly, see what I can find, and be done with it.”

“No. No way!” Mina crossed her arms and glared at Sana. “You can’t do that. Maybe I can just tell her and—”

“Mina, she won’t believe you. Not without any proof. She didn’t believe you when you told her you could see ghosts in the first place, right? Why would she believe you if you told her her sister’s boyfriend was possessed by an evil spirit and was actually responsible for her sister’s accident?”

Mina’s face darkened slightly. “I don’t know, but maybe—”

Sana grabbed Mina’s shoulders softly. “I know it’s...awkward, but it’ll be fine. Dowoon won’t have his guard up when he’s actually in the apartment. There won’t be any traps set for me because I don’t think he’d expect it.”

“How do you know you can even possess her?” Mina whispered, as if the word “possess” was a dirty one. “Your energy is negative and hers is positive...”

“It might not work, but it’s worth a shot. I’ll go find her now and try it. If I can’t, we’ll have to tell her everything.”

Mina looked torn. She took a breath and nodded. “Okay just...don’t do anything stupid.”

Sana looked offended, taking her hands off Mina’s shoulders. “Oh c’mon, this is strictly for business purposes.”

Mina rolled her eyes and Sana just smiled innocently.

“I’ll be back soon!” Sana winked, and after a second she was gone, leaving Mina alone once again.

When Mina exited the bathroom, she was surprised to see Tzuyu sitting on her bed, seemingly waiting for her.

“The rest of the girls are all watching a movie together, so I figured I’d check up on you,” Tzuyu replied, sensing Mina’s surprise.

“Sana figured out who killed her,” Mina explained, sitting down beside Tzuyu. Both girls were dressed in their pajamas, looking like they were ready to go to bed. “It’s the same person who hit Chaeyoung, too. It’s all connected.”

Tzuyu leaned forward with interest.

“It was Dowoon, Tzuyu. I still can’t believe it but, Sana saw his face when a memory came back to her. And earlier today she said Dowoon looked right at her and smiled, like he could see her! We think he might be possessed by an evil spirit, which is why he was capable of such terrible things. Sana has this plan to try to find proof of his guilt but—”

“Whoa, hold on,” Tzuyu said, interrupting Mina. “We’re talking about Chaeyoung’s loving boyfriend here. She’s literally never said a bad word about him to me and they’ve been living together for nearly two years! They’ll probably get married someday. Chaeyoung’s even told me about dreams she’s had where he proposed to her.”

“I know it sounds crazy, but Sana has no reason to lie. I believe her,” Mina replied, firmly.

Tzuyu sighed but nodded. “If it is true, and Dowoon did that to Chaeyoung...then he needs to pay.” She suddenly looked very serious. “What’s Sana’s big plan then, to prove he’s guilty?”

Jihyo had saltily given Sana the address to Nayeon’s apartment earlier, and so now Sana found herself there, staring up at the complex from the street. It wasn’t too far from EDEN’s apartment, which made sense for convenience purposes. Feeling slightly nervous, Sana stepped inside and walked up to the fifth floor. She found Nayeon’s room number and phased inside through the door, gazing curiously at the interior of the apartment.

It was pretty minimalistic, with stylish looking couches and decorations. The colors of the furniture and walls were muted and earthy tones. Sana found Nayeon inside, laying on a couch in the living room while scribbling away on the notebook Sana had seen earlier in the car. It was Nayeon’s song book, and Sana so badly wanted to look more closely at what was inside. Maybe now she’d actually get the chance.

Bouncing on her toes slightly, Sana focused entirely on Nayeon, before running at the girl at full speed. Nayeon remained completely unaware.

There was a weird spark that jolted through Sana’s ghostly form, making her grit her teeth. She pushed through it though, focusing on taking over Nayeon’s body. There was an unseen force that was making it difficult, but Sana wouldn’t give up so easily.

After an intense moment of concentration and willpower, Sana found herself laying on the couch with a notebook propped up in her hands. She sat up quickly and set the notebook down, examining herself. There was Nayeon’s long, black hair draped across her shoulders. She’d done it! She was in control of Nayeon’s body now.

Smiling to herself, Sana found Nayeon’s phone, which was on the coffee table next to the couch, and unlocked it using her thumb—thank goodness it had touch ID activated. Sana tried not to be too nosy and immediately looked for Mina’s contact. It was saved in a very formal manner, with Mina’s first and last name listed. Sana texted a simple message to Mina: It worked.

As she waited for a response, Sana began to flip through Nayeon’s song notebook, scanning through the catchy hooks and verses written across the pages. Honestly, Nayeon had talent. How could she be keeping this to herself? Nayeon’s phone buzzed on the wooden coffee table, interrupting Sana’s reading. Mina’s response stated: Okay, time for you to come back now.

Patience, young grasshopper, Sana thought. She found Chaeyoung’s contact, saved as the nickname “ChaengChaeng” and typed up a message: I feel like it’s been awhile since I’ve had dinner together with you and Dowoon. We need some solid sister bonding time, what do you think? Monday night? Since tomorrow night was the Seoul Music Awards, Sana knew Nayeon would be swamped until at least the day after.

While she waited for a response from Chaeyoung, Sana took the time to look around Nayeon’s apartment. She was looking for more of Nayeon’s personality shining through the decorations, and found it sprinkled around subtly.

The salt and pepper shakers were two white dogs with pointy ears. There was a customized calendar hanging on the side of the refrigerator with pictures of Nayeon’s family and friends on it. Pictures of Nayeon with Jihyo and Chaeyoung smiled back at her. There was even a picture of Nayeon with Sungjin and all of the EDEN girls. Wandering a bit more, Sana discovered Nayeon’s bedroom, smiling at the two posters on the wall of IU and Taeyeon. Nayeon was a secret fangirl, Sana concluded.

Nayeon’s phone buzzed: another text from Mina. What’s taking so long?

Wow, this girl was impatient. Imagining Mina getting slightly anxious and embarrassed back at the EDEN apartment made Sana giggle to herself. Just to mess with Mina a little, Sana flopped down on Nayeon’s bed and held up Nayeon’s phone, playing with the angle until she found the best one, then she snapped a selfie and sent it to Mina with a kissy face emoji.

A few minutes passed—Sana could imagine Mina staring at the selfie in shock and not knowing what to do with herself. Eventually another text came through: I seriously cannot believe you. You know you have to delete all these messages now, right?

Sana just smiled, letting her eyes close as she sank into Nayeon’s comfy bed. There was another buzz. Sana checked the screen to see a response from Chaeyoung: Monday night at 7pm, my place? It’s been awhile since you’ve been here.

Perfect! Sana responded happily before getting up and walking into the bathroom. She had counted on Chaeyoung offering up her own place, and luckily it had worked! Flipping on the lightswitch, Sana examined herself in the bathroom mirror. It was strange to see Nayeon looking back at her. She was so used to seeing Mina’s face in the mirror these days that possessing Nayeon felt oddly wrong. Sana tested a smile, seeing Nayeon’s adorable bunny teeth.

“You’re the girl Mina likes, huh?” she said to her reflection. Even though Sana found Nayeon to be relatively grumpy, there was something surprisingly soft about her—like she guarded herself by putting up a front but if you got close enough you could see the cracks in her rock solid exterior. Seeing Nayeon comfort Mina at the hospital when Eunha nearly died made Sana’s heart feel full. She was happy for Mina, truly.

However, seeing the two girls holding each other made Sana feel slightly jealous. As she stared at Nayeon in the mirror, it suddenly occurred to her that she wasn’t sure who she was more jealous of...Mina or Nayeon.

What are you doing? A voice rang out in Sana’s head. It wasn’t her own thoughts though, rather, it was someone else’s voice. A familiar one. Sana spun around, looking for the source of the noise, but saw nothing. She was alone in the apartment...wasn’t she?

Who are you? The voice said again. Sana put her hands on her head, as if to block out the voice. She began to step back, out of the bathroom. What’s going on? Why are my legs moving on their own? I’m not moving them! I—

The voice in Sana’s head sounded panicked. Sana wasn’t sure what to do, but on instinct she spoke out to it. “It’s okay,” Sana assured, trying to calm the voice down. “Where are you? I don’t see you…” Sana spun around again, scanning the apartment. Perhaps it was just a ghost she couldn’t see?

Why am I saying these things? I’m not in control of my own mouth...what’s happening? the voice said, clearly not calming down at all.

“You’re not in control? Wait, Nayeon? Is that you?” Sana asked with wide eyes.

Yes, I’m Nayeon. And who are you? How are you controlling my body? Let me go! The voice’s fearful tone was becoming more impatient and angry rather than scared.

“You’re awake? You can see everything I see?” Sana waved her hand in front of her face. “Can you see me moving my hand right now?”

My hand, you mean. And yes, I can feel it too. It feels like I’m a puppet being pulled on strings.

“That’s so weird!” Sana exclaimed. “This has never happened before. It must be your positive energy!”

My what? Urgh, just get out of me, whoever you are! Whatever you are…

Sana frowned at that, not quite sure what her next move should be. “I guess I have no other choice but to come clean. Nayeon, my name is Sana and I’m a ghost.”

WHAT.

“I was killed about 3 years ago on the same night as your sister’s accident. Her boyfriend, Dowoon, he—”

Sana felt a weird and slightly painful push, before she was ejected from Nayeon’s body against her will. Falling down onto the floor, nearly faceplanting, Sana looked up at the girl above her with a look of pure puzzlement. Nayeon held her head in her hands, cradling it.

“Leave me alone, please,” Nayeon whined. She slowly uncurled from herself and looked down at her hands. She could move them freely now. “Thank god,” she muttered. She collapsed in a heap on her couch. “Maybe I’m losing my mind,” she said to herself.

The messages to Mina! Sana thought—I didn’t delete them from Nayeon’s phone!

Sana got up and scrambled to possess Nayeon just so she could erase the messages between them. Running at Nayeon once more, Sana prepared herself for the electric shock she had felt when she first possessed Nayeon earlier. Sana got shocked alright, but she found there was now an invisible forcefield around Nayeon. Just like how Sana had a hard time possessing confident people, like Jennie, it seemed Nayeon was suddenly off limits.

Sana groaned in frustration—she’d never been ejected from a body like that before. Nor had a host ever been aware of their own possession! Her plan was about to fall apart! She had to warn Mina, immediately. They had to resort to plan B.

Teleporting in a flash, Sana was back in Mina’s apartment. Sana found Mina in the living room with the other EDEN girls, watching a movie—something animated. Sana waved her hands at Mina, clearly looking nervous. “Nayeon kicked me out!” Sana cried. “I don’t think I can possess her anymore!”

Mina facepalmed and stood up quietly, walking back into her bedroom and earning a worried look from Tzuyu as she left the room. “What do you mean you got kicked out?” Mina hissed after closing the bedroom door.

“It’s like Nayeon’s positive energy booted me out. And another thing...she was conscious when I was possessing her. She could see what I was seeing and feel what I was feeling, but I was still in control. I could hear her thoughts in my head.”

With every word Sana said, Mina looked increasingly more angry and confused.

“I also got kicked out before I could erase those messages I sent you...” Sana looked at Mina apologetically, lowering her head out of guilt. “Looks like we’ll have to tell Nayeon what’s going on and make her believe us. I set up the dinner with Chaeyoung and Dowoon, so it’s up to her now to look for anything suspicious.”

Right on cue, Mina’s phone made a pleasant alert sound. She pulled it out to see Nayeon was calling her. Giving Sana a dirty look, Mina answered the phone. “Hey. I um—you’re probably wondering what’s going on.”

“I’m sorry I sent you that picture,” Nayeon began, referring to the selfie Sana had taken. “I don’t...I don’t even remember taking that, or sending any of the other messages to you. I just saw you were randomly on my recent contacts when I checked my phone now. I’m not drunk, I’m perfectly sober, I swear! One minute I was on my couch and the next I was in the bathroom...it’s like my brain glitched out. It was like I couldn’t control my own body anymore, and someone else was moving me around. I don’t even know what the hell you and I were texting about. I texted Chaeyoung asking her if she wanted to grab dinner soon and I don’t remember that either. I know it sounds crazy...”

It was strange for Mina to hear Nayeon sounding so frazzled when the older girl was usually always cool and collected. It actually made Mina’s heart ache with sadness. This was exactly how Mina had felt when she awoke in the hospital with no recollection of the past few days. It was a strange and terrifying feeling. “I know what happened to you, I can explain everything,” Mina assured. “But we need to have this conversation in person.”

Nayeon wanted to ask Mina more but held her tongue. “I’ll take you to see Eunha tomorrow before the award show. She might be awake then. I’ll pick you up at 7am. It has to be early because it’s going to be a long day for us both.”

“Okay,” Mina agreed. Then quietly, holding the phone against her ear tightly: “Nayeon, will you be alright?”

Nayeon hesitated a moment before responding. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’ll see you tomorrow. Get some sleep.” After she heard a committal hum from Mina she hung up.

Mina slipped her phone into her pocket, looking slightly drained. “You shouldn’t have done that Sana...she’s scared. We should’ve just told her everything in the first place like I said.” Mina’s voice was a bit scarier than Sana was used to—it was slightly unsettling.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. We'll tell her everything tomorrow morning, and we can get Jihyo to help us convince Nayeon if we have to,” Sana replied. She looked like a puppy that was being scolded. Truly, she felt really bad for being the cause of Nayeon’s confusion and anxiety. The whole point of possessing Nayeon had been to try to prevent the older girl from being confused in the first place. Sana’s plan had completely backfired in her face. “Mina—” Sana began, taking a step closer to her friend.

Mina stepped back though, looking slightly sad. “I’m gonna go back and finish watching the movie, then I’m going to get to bed.”

Sana wanted to talk to Mina more, but the girl looked totally closed off. Gently, Sana reached out and took Mina’s hand. “I’m sorry I’ve pulled you into my mess,” she said. “Hopefully it’ll all be over soon and then I can move on to the other side.”

Mina looked up at Sana with a slightly vulnerable look on her face. “You don’t have to apologize,” Mina assured. “You never asked for any of this. I’m happy to help you, and I’m sure Nayeon will be willing to help too.” She gave Sana a small smile. For some reason, Sana could feel her heart growing heavier until it felt it was weighing down her entire chest.

Sana nodded, returning the smile. “Thank you, Mina.” She let go of the girl’s hand and Mina was nearly out the door before Sana called after her. “You’ve been keeping the paper I got from Jihyo with you at all times, right?”

Mina reached into the pockets of her pajama pants, pulling out the slightly wrinkled pieces of paper with spells scrawled across them. Sana sighed in relief. “Good. Well, I’m going to bed so I’ll talk to you tomorrow, bright and early. Enjoy the rest of the movie!” The two girls parted ways, and Sana watched as Mina joined her friends on the large couch in the living room once again.

Laying down on Mina’s bed, leaving space for Mina beside her, Sana closed her eyes and fell asleep—trying desperately not to think of the memories that reemerged in her mind today.