I rushed into the boxed office and faced an expressionless familiar face. I was panting like a dog and I could hear my mechanical heart working within me. There was nothing else on my mind except for the list of questions I was about to scream at him.

That liar… I gritted my teeth in frustration, straightening up and glaring into his eyes. He didn’t even seem surprised as he matched my gaze with his own deathly stare.

“You lied to me.” I sneered and he smirked smugly, amused by my reaction.

“I would not call it lying, son.” He grinned sickly and I felt vomit rising in my mouth as he sickeningly cooed that endearment. But I didn’t say a word about it, knowing what would come if I did.

“He’s alive. He survived. How?” I demanded an explanation. He chuckled lightly as if it was nothing serious that he lied to me.

“I was wrong, Ren. So terribly wrong. I went about the experiment in the wrong way.” I flinched at that word. Experiment. It was what we were. It was all we were.

“You see, it didn’t occur to me that different human bodies would react to different experiments. Ren, boy, I only focused on your way of experimenting. When I mixed your bloods with the others, I did it one by one and watched as it reacted to yours in the days to come. It must have hurt, right?” He smiled apathetically and I clenched my fists.

The memories of those years being strapped to a metal table, stark , starving, parched, and both mentally and physically on the brink of death flashed in my mind vividly. I could practically taste the blood in my mouth as it mixed with water and stale bread. I remembered the prickling pain of needles, the searing sensation of scalpels, and the fear of knowing how it would affect me afterwards. I remembered convulsing in pain and agony on that cold metal table, the leather straps burning the skin of my wrist and ankles as I tried to struggle against them. I feared sleeping back then and even now. If I fell asleep, I was afraid I would never wake up or I would wake up to ten needles piercing my body at the same time.

Nowadays, when I fell asleep, I always awoke in sweat and tears. That smile, that crooked and psychotic smile that haunted my memories, my dreams, my sleep, and my life. The only time I ever felt safe was falling asleep on Eun Mi’s shoulder on the plane when we were heading to Jeju.

Noona… My eyes widened, snapping out of my nightmarish memories.

I narrowed my eyes dangerously at him. “Just tell me what happened.” I gritted out.

“Alright,” He shrugged, unfazed by my obvious annoyance and hatred towards him. His lips suddenly curled into a sick, sick, sick smile and I felt my blood go cold and my throat run dry. It was the same smile that haunted my nights.

“I did everything I did to you to him but at the same time.” My jaw dropped and I trembled in fear. No, he couldn’t have survived that pain. “And he miraculously survived!” He grinned, crossing his arms smugly.

“I thought he wouldn’t be able to withstand the pain especially with so much blood coursing through him at the same time but it appears to me that he is stronger than you.” He suddenly turned serious and his stare turned cold.

“Do you understand that Ren? He’s stronger than you, meaning that, if you don’t do your job well, I will personally take you out and use Aron instead.” He warned icily and I nodded reluctantly.

“Do you know why Aron is much stronger than you?” I turned to him and he smiled creepily.

“It’s because unlike you, Aron truly is a machine. No emotions.” His smile widened at his last words.

“No love.”

I ran out of the room immediately after his sickening words. No love? Does that mean that Aron hyung has no control over his actions? He was like a machine. I pondered, disturbed by the thought of it.

I rushed into a room, one that was familiar for me. A metal chamber filled with five large tubes with a green chemical inside each of them to preserve them. In each tube, only two were empty. The other three held three males.

They were save for the black pair of pants they wore. All of them had their eyes closed and their nose and mouth were strapped to a mask that had a long tube connected to an oxygen tank. They weren’t alive but they weren’t dead. Stuck in a comatose state for a long time now, their organs save for their lungs and heart weren’t functioning.

My eyes softened. These are my hyungs. I moved closer to one of the tubes, my hand reaching out to touch the glass. I closed my eyes and memories of the five of us all playing together and laughing uproariously flickered in my mind. Those were wonderful days. I thought.

“What are you doing here?” A familiar voice broke me from my reverie and a warm feeling rushed over me. I spun around and faced the familiar male with a smile…that soon died when I realized the look in his eyes were different.

“Hyung?” I whispered out, bewildered by the drastic change in him. Was this what he meant by Aron hyung becoming a machine?    

“How long will it be until you’re done with your mission?” He asked robotically. It was like he was dead to the world but he was actually breathing.

I hesitated for a moment before trying to answer but he cut me off immediately. “Doesn’t matter; what matters is that you better stop wasting your time and do it fast. If not I’ll have to step in. Do you understand, Ren-ssi?” He raised an expectant eyebrow.

My eyes grew wide and I nodded dazedly. “Yes, hyung…” I trailed off and he stepped away from the door.

“Get out of here and do your job.” He said, eyeing me blankly. I grew flustered and I rushed out of there.

Tears started to cloud my vision as I ran out of the wretched building and into the streets. That was not Aron hyung. That was really not him at all. He doesn’t call me ‘Ren-ssi’. What about ‘Lil Mink’ that nickname he gave me when he first came here from America? I dashed up the steps of a bus that would take me to God knows where! I tapped my card and sank down into the nearest seat distraughtly.

I didn’t care for the looks of concern or apprehension as I cried to myself in the bus. My mind was running a marathon as I was trying to decide what to do next.

What can I do next? I’m just a pawn in this twisted game for power. I don’t want to hurt Eun Mi noona and her mates. But I also want to save my hyungs. But with the possibility that Aron hyung might not remember anything from before, if he took over my mission, imagine what he could do to noona and EXO hyungs. If he managed to make Sukira High crumble with just a touch of his finger, what else could he do to Eun Mi noona?

Eun Mi’s POV

With Ji Eun coming up with a great idea to use a weight to hold down the key to keep the cave open, both Min Ji and Hyo Sung were set to work, weaving an intricate basket with the reeds around the waterfall. Both Yong Guk and Jong Up were picking up different types of rocks especially heavy and think ones that wouldn’t be swept away by the current.

“Done!” Hyo Sung cheered as she lifted up the basket for everyone to see. Currently, everyone sat on the edge of the cave. Apparently, the cave wouldn’t close until any form of life has left the magical area.

“Here are the rocks.” Yong Guk handed her a bunch of big rocks and they began dropping them into the basket. Once they were done, they handed the basket to Him Chan who stood at the spot where he had stomped on before.

Him Chan placed the basket down on the spot he stood on and the rest of us quickly left the cave and faced it, hoping that it would work. When the cave didn’t close after a while, we all cheered and prepared to head back to the mansion.

“So, what do we do now?” Ha Na questioned and I grinned at her. “We go find, little Miss Yoon So Hee.”

“What the hell do you want, ?” She spat in my face as she greeted us at the front door of her house. I expected that kind of reaction from her.

“So Hee-ssi,” I laughed awkwardly. “I know we have our differences-”

“You broke my arm, my wrist, you stole my man, and you poured soda all over me just recently.” She cocked an unamused eyebrow at me and I froze.

“Well,” I drawled out apologetically. “If you’re willing to look past all that, we really need your help.”

“Willing to look past all that? Why, sure I am, because I am such a forgiving little .” She s