Eunha woke to an incessant knocking on her door. She hastily got out of bed and stumbled to the door, fighting the feeling of light-headedness from getting up too quickly and threw the door open to reveal Yewon who looked very disturbed.

“Unnie, you have to come quick.” She said and Eunha followed the girl downstairs. She saw that everyone was gathered in a semicircle around a cardboard box sitting on a towel. It looked battered and dirty with dark splotches on the sides.

“What’s going on?” Eunha asked, disorientated from the rude shock she received.

“Yuna found this outside the door and it’s addressed to you,” Yerin said and Eunha instantly felt an overwhelming sense of dread wash over her body. The feeling of light-headedness returned and she felt like someone was choking her. Her stomach churned and felt as dry as the Sahara desert.

“Me… Me?” Eunha stuttered and Yerin carefully approached her, gently holding her arm.

“Eunha, I need you to breathe,” Yerin said, realizing that the girl wasn’t alright. Eunha’s knees buckled and Yerin caught her before she could fall to the ground. The other girls were about to rush forward when the surgeon gestured at them to stay back. “Give her some space.” She ordered.

Eunha wanted to say something, anything, but she couldn’t. It felt like the words were stuck in and refused to come out. She could only grasp weakly at Yerin’s arms and the girl just soothingly rubbed her arm.

“B, can you go to the medicine cabinet and grab the Alprazolam?” Yerin asked and the girl quickly rushed to the kitchen, returning with a small box and some water. Yerin popped one into Eunha's hand and the girl took it.

“Don’t swallow or chew, just let it dissolve in your mouth like candy,” Yerin said softly and raised the pill to Eunha’s mouth. The girl parted her lips slightly and Yerin popped the pill in. She then scooped Eunha into her arms and effortlessly lifted her, moving her to the couch where she would be more comfortable. It took another 20 minutes before Eunha felt slightly better.

“Are you alright?” Eunbi asked and Eunha nodded slightly. The former helped Eunha take a sip of water.

“You should take a seat. I’ll take care of this.” Yerin said as she pulled her swiss army knife from her pocket. She pulled the knife out and sliced the tape on the box dotted with crimson liquid. Yerin was certainly no stranger to the sight of blood and corpses but the contents of the box still disturbed her. Behind the flaps laid a dead rabbit, white fur matted with blood and dirt. It had several stab wounds to its stomach but thankfully it wasn’t disembowelled. Eunbi took one glance at the contents and instantly walked off.

“What the actual ?” Yuna grimaced in both horror and disgust when she got a peek at what was inside. “Don’t tell me all this blood i-”

“It’s fake,” Yerin said, face scrunched up in repugnance. The last ting she needed was to send everyone into a massive frenzy. She spotted a note in a Ziploc bag and frowned. She wanted to reach in and grab it but didn’t want to risk contaminating the evidence. Just then, a latex glove flopped onto her right shoulder and she looked back to see Eunbi.

“Thought you’d need this.” The girl said and Yerin forced a smile. She pulled the glove over her hand and pulled the Ziploc bag out before sealing the box.

“I’ll dispose of it,” Yewon said and was about to pick it up when Yerin stopped her.

“Don’t. You might get charged with animal cruelty if someone sees you. Besides, this is solid evidence. Let me make a call.” Yerin said and set the Ziploc bag down atop the closed lid. “In the meantime, take care of her.” She said and looked at Eunha.

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“We came as soon as we could,” Jihyo said when Yerin opened the door. The artificial blood was still splattered on the door and floor. “Mina, snap some photos of the mess outside. Sana, see if you can get the security footage of the cameras in the lift and lobby at the management office.” She delegated and signalled for Nayeon and Tzuyu to follow her. They stepped through the door as they put on a pair of latex gloves.

“What happened here?” Jihyo asked as she examined the box. Yuna recounted the events since she was the first one to pick up on the scene.

“I was the first to wake up so I came downstairs for a glass of water. That’s when I saw the crimson liquid leaking through the gap between the front door. I opened the door and found this box. There wasn’t any sign of whoever that left this here though.”

“Did you touch the box with your bare hands when bringing it in?” Nayeon asked and Yuna shook her head.

“I used a cloth.”

“What time was it when you discovered it?” Jihyo asked.

“About 9:15 in the morning.”

“Current time is 10:10. This rabbit has been dead for just a couple of hours. 4 hours at most. Decomposition hasn’t set in yet and the insides are still damp. Why didn’t you call us earlier, unnie?” Tzuyu asked as she looked up from the deceased animal.

“Eunha was having a panic attack,” Yerin said simply and the younger girl nodded.

“Is she alright now?”

“Resting in her room with Sojung. I don’t need her to see this but if you need her statement, I can bring you up to her room.” Yerin offered.

“That would be helpful.” Jihyo nodded and the two girls went upstairs. Yuna stood there in silence as Mina entered to snap photos of the box and the Ziploc bag containing a note before Nayeon and Tzuyu bagged it up to bring it back for testing.

Eunbi began to clean up the mess outside to avoid alarming their neighbours. She rinsed off the last droplets of artificial blood just as Jihyo came down.

“We’ll give you a call when we’re done with the testing,” Mina said with a tight smile before the team took their leave.

“So what did the note say?” Yerin asked Yuna who showed them the photo she took with her phone.

“Jung Eunbi, take this as a warning to do what’s right. If you don’t return, the next bloody thing won’t be just an animal.” Eunbi read, scowl deepening with each word