Taeyeon sprinted desperately out of fear, and she only stopped running once she was outside of the haunted house. The panting girl placed her hands on her knees, gasping for air. Shortly after she caught her breath, Taeyeon realized the mistake she had made; she left Tiffany all alone inside the haunted house. Taeyeon mentally slapped and scolded herself for being such a coward. How could she leave her girlfriend all alone? What kind of a girlfriend was she to be so inconsiderate and selfish?

Taeyeon took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself to enter the room of death once more. Once her nerves were calmed, Taeyeon sprinted inside the haunted house and immediately collided with someone.

“Ouch! That hurt!” the familiar voice shouted.

“Sunny-ah,” Taeyeon said in surprise. “What are you doing here?” Taeyeon offered Sunny a helping hand.

“Looking for you, you big coward,” she stated bluntly, taking the latter’s hand. “And honestly, you have to stop running into me.”

“I’m sorry. I was in a hurry because I wanted to go find Fany-ah.”

“Oh, so now you remember your girlfriend?” Sunny asked cocking an eyebrow.

“I know, I know,” said Taeyeon. “I screwed up. That’s why I want to go find her. I don’t want her to be all alone in there. What if people take advantage of her?”

Sunny chuckled. “Honestly, you sound like an ahjumma. Tiffany will be fine. She’s a grown girl.”

“So what?” Taeyeon shot back, intensity in her eyes. “She’s still a girl, and a beautiful one, mind you. So you can never be too safe in assuming that no one will take advantage of her.”

Sunny stared at her in surprise then smiled. “Wow,” she said. “You’re so overprotective. You were never like that with me. I’m kind of jealous.”

Taeyeon looked at her friend. “I’m sorry, Sunny-ah. But after all, you never gave me the chance to be like this with you.”

“I know, Taeng,” she said with a smile. “It was my fault for letting you go, but I still haven’t regretted that decision. You and Fany were meant for each other. Anyone with eyes can see that.”

Taeyeon smiled. “Thank you,” she said, embracing Sunny. “Thank you for being such an amazing person. But I am most thankful to you for always being such a great friend to me.”

Sunny smiled and tightened her hold on Taeyeon. “You’re always welcome, Taeng.”

At that moment, the two of them heard faint screams from a distance.

Taeyeon pulled away from Sunny. “Did you hear that?” she asked, looking around for the source of the sound.

“Hear what?” Sunny asked, puzzled.

There was another scream, this time it was louder.

“There it is again!” Taeyeon said. “That might be Fany! Crap! I knew I made a mistake leaving her in there all by herself.”

Sunny placed a hand on Taeyeon’s shoulder. “Relax, Taeng. Fany’s not alone. I left Jiwoong Oppa there to take care of her.”

Taeyeon looked at Sunny and smiled slightly. “I know you said that to help ease my nerves, but honestly, that made me even more anxious.”

Sunny stared at her with a confused look on her face. “What do you mean? You don’t trust Oppa?”

Taeyeon shook her head. “No, it’s nothing like that. Oppa hasn’t done anything to betray my trust, but it’s just this feeling I have. I just feel like something’s not right.”

Sunny sighed. “You worry too much, Taeng. But if you’re really that riled up about it, I’ll take you to where I left them. So loosen up, all right? Seeing you tense makes me uncomfortable.”

Taeyeon smiled. “Thanks, Sunny-ah.” She stepped aside to let Sunny through. “After you.”

Sunny walked past Taeyeon and looked over her shoulder. “Are you sure you’re ready for this? You won’t start screaming and run away again, will you?”

Taeyeon chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. It’s for Tiffany’s sake, after all. That’s all the motivation I need.”

As the two girls made their way back inside the haunted house, they were greeted by a group of individuals, who looked aghast, almost as if they had seen something they had never wanted to see.

“I can’t believe we just saw something like that,” one of them stated.

“I know,” said another. “It was horrifying, but I don’t think it should have been part of this place. Besides, it looked too real.”

“I know what you mean,” a third one chimed in. “Let’s just get out of here. My only wish is to never see something like that again. I felt really sorry for that lady out there. She looked like she was terrified of that young man.”

Sunny turned around to look at Taeyeon. “I wonder what they were talking about,” she said. “Nothing in this place is even scary.”

“Speak for yourself, Sunny-ah,” she replied. “We’re not all as brave as you.”

Sunny sighed. “Taeng, everything here is fake. What are you so scared about?”

“Never mind that,” said Taeyeon. “We need to go find Tiffany first.”

Sunny turned around once again and began to walk. “I already told you. Fany will be fine.”

“And I already told you,” said Taeyeon. “That doesn’t ease my worries one bit.”

The two girls continued to walk and as they were nearing the spot where they had left Tiffany and Jiwoong, they heard another scream.

“That’s Fany!” Taeyeon exclaimed, breaking into a sprint. “Fany-ah!” she shouted as she ran. “I’m coming for you!”

Once Taeyeon reached Tiffany, she saw Jiwoong buttoning Tiffany’s shirt. Taeyeon approached them and was surprised to see Tiffany disheveled with a look on her face that was a mix of despair and hatred.

Taeyeon collapsed on her knees beside Tiffany. “Fany-ah, what happened? Who did this to you?”

“Taeng,” Jiwoong said as he noticed his sister.

Taeyeon turned to her brother. “Oppa, what happened?” she demanded.

“She—she was,” he broke off looking away.

Taeyeon grabbed the front of Jiwoong’s shirt. “She was what?!”

Jiwoong looked into Taeyeon’s eyes. “I’m sorry Taeng. I tried to stop them.”

“Stop who?” Taeyeon shouted.

“There—there was a group of men that came here and started talking to Tiffany. I didn’t think much of it at first, but then they suddenly grabbed her. I tried to stop them, but they were too strong for me. I was useless. And they—they—,”

“They what?” Taeyeon screamed. “What did they do?”

Jiwoong looked away.

Sunny placed a hand on Taeyeon’s shoulder. “Taeng, stop. You’re getting all worked up.”

“Sunny-ah, I want to know what happened! I deserve to know what happened to my girlfriend!”

“I understand that, Taeng. But you’re also too upset to think clearly.” She kneeled down beside Taeyeon. “Our first priority is to get Tiffany out of this place and home safely. Then you and Oppa can talk.”

Taeyeon furrowed her eyebrows then looked at Tiffany. “Fany-ah,” she said. “Let’s go home.” She then scooped Tiffany up in her arms and carried her bridal-style. She stared at Tiffany who could only stare back with blank and emotionless eyes. Tears began to stream down Tiffany’s face, and the sight of those tears forced tears to stream down Taeyeon’s eyes. Taeyeon then placed a soft peck on Tiffany’s forehead.