pe·num·bra

    [pi-nuhm-bruh]

noun

partial shadow outside the complete shadow of an eclipse

I was ashamed of Kris back then. Why would he open up to someone else other than me? I don’t have any power over him, so I just let that thought linger.

But I understood why he did it. Kris was all by himself. He needed someone to take his hand and follow him. Because that’s what Kris just did. He intrigued people without even knowing it.

People never saw me, they only looked at him.

The ironic part of the story is that Kris hates people while I needed attention to function.

Are you listening to me? I really could use someone right now.

“I’ll tell you everything I know.” Tao repeated his words. I could feel strange sensations taking over my entire body. “But you must promise me one thing.” This was the thing Hyoyeon warned me for. Dolls getting inside your head, trying to lure you into breaking them free. Or that’s what she initially thought, because clearly, Tao wasn’t that type of guy.

“What do I have to do?” I said softly, checking the door one last time, making sure that Zico or the maids weren’t anywhere near Tao’s room.

Tao gave me a little smile. “Please put my books in the right order next time. I hate it when my books aren’t ordered. I get anxious.”

I lifted a brow. “Are you kidding me?” But Tao answered quickly by shaking his head.

He stood up, grabbed my arm and practically dragged me to the bathroom, turning on the water of his shower. “I’m making sure no one can hear this. The walls are very thin.”

“So you don’t trust other dolls?” I sat on the edge of the bathtub and let Tao sit right next to me. He was looking at the streaming water and shook his head.

“Some are good. Some are bad. The bad ones have mostly just turned utterly mad under these circumstances. That’s why I keep reading. My mind needs to stay objective and most of all sane. The only person I do trust in this house is Hyosung, the Purple Doll.”

“I’ve met her. Yong Guk sees her sometimes.” I remember talking to Yong Guk about her. He only used her to keep his permission to come here.

“He does not see her like you see me.” Tao whispered and inhaled deeply. “But before the maids think I’m drowning myself while showering…”

“You’ll tell me how you got here.” That was the only thing on my mind right now. How he got here. I couldn’t imagine myself walking down the street and minutes later being kidnapped.

“I told you about being a psychiatry student, right?” I realized that his studies were something he didn’t like to talk about. But who did? He had studied many years to do what now?

I nodded and rubbed through my eyes. I hadn’t been able to get much sleep lately. This investigation was killing me.

“I was ordered by the mental ward I worked and studied at to complete my program someplace else. So I got my things, mostly my books,” that’s why he had all of his books here… “and I got off. They told me I could stay there until graduation, so I was excited, you know. But when I rang the doorbell and Zico opened, I realized they had sent me to the wrong address. Or maybe someone set me up, I don’t know. You have no idea how competitive the medical world is.”

“So you think someone set you up? Someone who was preying on your spot as a psychiatrist?” I tried keeping my voice down, but that wasn’t an easy task.

“Yes. I’m pretty sure of it. There was this one guy…” Tao covered his eyes and tried to think. “God, what was his name again?” he groaned and started brainstorming. “I’ve been here so long I can’t even remember names properly. “Ah! Daniel Armand Lee.” Tao's face changed when saying that name out loud, tears filled his eyes. “He was capable of doing such a thing. He did threaten me once.”

Daniel Armand Lee.

My world collapsed right now. This couldn’t be. “Daniel Armand Lee? Dr. Daniel Armand Lee?” I asked Tao.

“What? You know him?” Tao shot up and looked at me with a confused glare. This couldn’t be. The doctor killed himself at this place, days after he had visit