Arin had always felt that something was off about him. From the moment he met her, he seemed to know a lot more than he let on. He was always getting involved in her affairs, and always more willing to help her than a person should be, especially for a mentally unstable, suicidal girl living on the roof of a building.

Hoshi’s revelation made her blood run cold. The color drained from her face as it dawned on her that this person she loved had been lying to her all this time.

She wished she could forget about the fact ‘Woozi’ was probably a fake name, a lie… she would have much rather lived in blissful ignorance than to go through the doubt that was now overwhelming all of her thoughts. If he lied about something as basic as his name, then what else would he have lied to her about?

She thought about the story of the and murdered girl that he was inextricably involved with, then shuddered.

The trust that she had for him, which she had just taken for granted, was wavering. Who was Woozi? What was his name? And why would he lie to her?

“Are you okay?” Hoshi asked as he watched Arin’s expression go dark and tense.

Arin shook her head. She was not okay. She didn’t know who to trust anymore.

“Look, it’s just a theory,” Hoshi added. “I might be wrong, but… but if it’s true, then, I strongly recommend that you stay away from him for now until we find out what his deal is.”

This explained her doubts about his love for her. It hadn’t made sense to her why he loved her so much so quickly. People don’t just fall in love, especially with someone like her who barely spoke and had crippling anxiety.

She remembered how he had nearly begged her to be with him that day in the car. How he had access to her at all times in his apartment, which might be bugged with cameras for all she knew. How he had always been so willing to help her, how she easily trusted him...

“Hey, don’t do that,” Hoshi said, reaching out to take her wrist. She hadn’t even realized that she was picking her fingers again.

Arin nodded and forced herself to stop through sheer willpower, but without her fingers, she had nothing on which to take out her mounting panic.

She found in her heart that she no longer trusted him. She could have given him the benefit of the doubt; maybe this was all just a big misunderstanding and maybe he was a good person after all, but Arin could not help but believe it. Something about Hoshi’s theory felt too real to ignore.

“What do you wanna do?” Hoshi asked her.

There was one thing she knew she needed to do right now, and that was to get away from him. She needed to get out of his apartment, more specifically, get Meemo out of there, then call him and demand he tell her the truth.

-

On her way to the apartment, she already devised her action plan: grab her stuff, grab Meemo, then take a taxi back to MRS and lodge in the Procreation Unit. After that, she didn’t know what she would do. For now, she just didn’t want him to have access to her anymore.

She entered through the door, and as soon as she did, her blood ran cold.

Meemo usually ran over when she heard the front door open, but not this time.

Something in the air felt different, unusual, like someone else had been there. There was a brief scent of disinfectant in the air that was not there before. Arin also saw the Chilli album that Jeonghan had bought for her sitting open on the table. She could have sworn she had put the album away.

If Meemo had not been there, she would have just grabbed the album, ran away and never returned, and to hell with all of her other belongings. But she could not just leave, even with the suspicion of danger hanging in the air like a noose around her neck.

“Meemo!” she yelled, standing in place, afraid to go further into the apartment. “Are you there? Meemo!”

Not a sound.

She couldn’t just leave, no matter how much fear shook through her bones. She needed to find Meemo, and they needed to get out of this together.

She gathered her bravery and walked into the apartment, calling for Meemo all throughout, until there was suddenly a syringe in her arm, injecting her with something. Arin was paralyzed before she could even move her neck to see who it was that had done it.

Before long, her legs gave out, and she collapsed. The world around her faded into darkness.

A/N: Because this was a short chapter, I will update again on Monday or Tuesday! Look out for it :)