Entry 015

I’m trying to act like there’s nothing going on whenever I’m with Sehun but my heart’s pounding against my rib cage like it wants to jump out when he gets too close. He’s stuck with me for two more weeks as my combat training partner because Kai’s busy with his raids. I don’t know if my heart can take all of it. What should I do?

Mina couldn’t explain why she suddenly felt something stabbing her heart when she read that entry. It’s not like she likes Sehun. Right? Both of them met each other and interacted for a few times so it’s not possible for her to already like him. Right? She put her hand on her chest, trying to shoo the pain away.

Entry 016

I’m just really worried about Kai right now. He almost died. It’s getting more dangerous than expected. Kai’s one of the most skilled and strongest Alice users of my age and seeing him barely breathing’s really scary. I visited him together with Xiumin this afternoon but he’s still unconscious. I just hope he recovers soon. Although I get pissed off when he gets too strict during combat training, I don’t want seeing him lying on a bed almost lifeless.

“Your safety’s my biggest concern.”

Kai’s words echoed in her mind as she was reminded of that day when he looked godly and when she felt like her heart stopped beating for a second or two. She could only imagine how dangerous it is to hunt down the rebels. Kai’s been praised as one of the top Alice users in their school so learning that there are times that he got injured to the point of near death only makes her question just how powerful the Black Organization is.

Entry 017

I’m scared. I’m so scared.

I saw him lying there. He was not moving at all.

Kris is dead.

Mina just stared at the last three words. He’s one of those three Royals who died just before Jinhee. With all the information she’s got so far, she was able to connect some things together.

“I told you to be careful with that.”

Mina almost screamed her lungs out when somebody spoke from behind. You can’t blame her. She just finished a scary entry. She quickly stood up and turned around. To her surprise, D.O. was staring at her with his signature expression. His eyes went to the diary which was lying on the table. Mina closed it and used her bag to cover it quickly. He let a sigh leave his lips after a while.

“I thought I made a clear warning last time,” he stated, still with the same expression.

“Y-You did. I’m sorry,” Mina replied with a small voice. It’s her mistake in the first place. But why does she feel like he’s actually concerned? She could hear it in his tone. “U-Umm, here.” She clumsily grabbed the book that he lent her from her bag and handed it to him. “Thanks for lending it to me.”

D.O. reached for the book and looked at it for some seconds. Mina was expecting for him to walk away but to her surprise, he pulled the chair next to her and sat. She was frozen on her spot for a second or two before she sat on her own seat.

“How was it?” he asked and Mina was sure that he was asking about the book.

“It was good. I enjoyed reading it,” she answered right away. “I was totally not expecting the plot twist though. The king trusted his royal advisor so much. It’s sad how the royal advisor betrayed him.”

The book, Twisted Kingdoms, was about two kingdoms fighting each other for years due to political conflicts. They’ve been slowly destroying each other and in the end, they both fell into ruins. Little did they know that the royal advisor of one of the kingdoms was the one who planted all the rumors and plans for war in both kingdoms. The royal advisor grew tired of seeing the tyrants rule the people so he decided to end everything with his own hands.

“That’s the reason why trusting someone too much is not good,” D.O. commented and Mina couldn’t help but raise a brow. She could feel that his words meant something deeper.

She’s been hearing things about trusting someone from the Royals and she knows that something really happened in the past that made them so sensitive about that topic. The last entry from Jinhee’s diary came to her mind.

“Who’s Kris?”

Mina’s question took D.O. by surprise and it was evident on his face.

“I read it in Jinhee’s diary.”

“He was one of us,” he answered before pausing. She could see that he’s hesitant. “When he- they…died, we started falling apart. I always thought that we were one.” His lips curved into a sad smile. “Come to think of it, I was just fooling myself. Reality hit me hard this time.”

It’s the first time that Mina ever saw D.O. with such expression. Beneath that cold appearance is a frustrated man and she could feel that he’s just acting aloof as a defense mechanism.

“Their death made a lot of noise in the Alice community. Kris was the first one. Luhan was next then, Tao.” D.O. slowly traced the title of the book that he was holding with his fingers. “Security was tightened but the killer managed to kill Jinhee. The Council even thought of closing down the school. Even though I try to not think of such theory, I can’t help it.”

Mina stared at how D.O.’s face showed emotions that he never expressed before. “What theory?”

D.O. lifted his face and turned to her.

“That the killer’s amongst us.”

That sentence made Mina shiver in fear.

Even after several attempts to keep her attention in something other than what D.O. said about his theory that the killer’s part of the Royals, Mina would find herself thinking of it again and again. There’s only one person who comes to mind as the possible killer – Baekhyun. Whenever she thinks of what how he looks at her, she could feel her skin crawling in intimidation and fear.

She looked down at the diary in front of her.

Entry 018

 The atmosphere’s really heavy. I still can’t believe what’s happening.

How could Kris die like that? I feel so scared.

Entry 019

Security’s tightened but I still can’t feel secured. I feel like someone’s always following me.

Luhan’s been acting weird lately. I saw him sneaking out of the Manor last night. I confronted him about it but he just told me to mind my own business. He’s not the kind of person who acts like that. I told Tao about it and he said that he’s going to talk to Luhan.

I think Luhan’s really affected by Kris’s death. I can’t blame him. They’re best friends after all.

Entry 020

It’s been 2 weeks since Kris died. It’s uncomfortably silent in the Manor. I feel like I can’t breathe whenever I step inside.

Yunho called a meeting and told us that they’re doing their best to catch the killer. Luhan suddenly walked out in the middle of the meeting. When I tried talking to him, he said that he couldn’t bring himself to sit amongst us anymore. He said that he thinks that one of us is the killer.

Xiumin heard what Luhan said. I saw how Xiumin’s expression hardened as if he was hurt that Luhan suspects us.

Entry 021

Luhan and Tao are acting suspicious. Lay told me that he noticed that too. Chen and Sehun tried talking to Luhan but Luhan’s just pushing everyone away.

He doesn’t trust anyone anymore.

Mina turned another page and when she saw those two lines, her hands suddenly turned cold.

Entry 022

Luhan and Tao are dead.

What the hell is going on?

Knock.

Knock.

Mina jumped from her seat when someone suddenly started knocking on her door. She quickly closed the diary.

“Who is it?” she asked, walking towards the door.

“It’s Lay.”

When she heard that, she felt a sudden rush of relief. A smiling Lay came face to face with her when she opened the door. “Hey,” she greeted with a small smile.

“I brought some sweets for you,” Lay replied, showing her a tray with a delicious-looking cake and a cup of hot coffee.  “Can I come in?” he asked, flashing her a perfect smile. She swore she wanted to poke the cute dimple on his cheek. Mina opened the door wider for him.

As he entered her room, he quickly looked around. His eyes landed on the closed diary which was lying on Mina’s desk. When the latter noticed that, she quickly cleared to get his attention. Lay arranged the things that he brought on the small coffee table and Mina took that opportunity to cover the diary with her other books.

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