“Make your move, Kris.” Honestly, why am I even playing this game with him? We already know who the winner will be. I watched Kris’ face morph into total concentration as he overlooked our chess game. He leaned on his knees, breathing heavily and creating little mists of vapor onto the glass chess pieces. He bent his head side to side as if angling his move. Oh God, just get on with it. Finally, he moved his queen forward, taking a few of my pawns as captive. He looked up at me with his signature smirk and replied, “It’s your turn now, Luhan.” As composed as I appeared outside, my mind buzzed with activity. I knew you were going to do that. I then moved my queen with no hesitation towards his ‘shield of defense’. With a small smile, I sat back in my chair and whispered, “Checkmate.”

 

Kris’ face was priceless. Absolutely picture worthy and just as if he heard my thoughts, he looked up at me again, lips slightly parted, eyes emotionless and he stared.

 

And stared.

 

And stared.

 

And stared.

 

At nothing.

 

There he goes again.

 

As if it were my queue, I pushed my chair back and got up, leaving him in the recreation room to stare at nothing.

 

 

 

On better days, the facility almost looked like a resort, with its futuristic curves and edges, custom built in a secrete location between some woods and a lake. It almost looked like a resort, with its white exterior and architectural beauty of a glass room jutting out of the building. This was the recreation room and the patients were only allowed in there for an hour. This is where we participated in indoor activity since we weren’t allowed outside. They didn’t trust us outside. There were eleven nurses on duty during the day but only four stayed at night. Smart women. They knew what happened here at night.

 

Today wasn’t one of those better days. The facility looked just like that. A facility. No matter how hard they tried to ‘beautify’ it, we all knew what it was and why we were here. Walking down the white washed hall-way from the recreation room, I couldn’t help but wonder, What does Kris see? Why does he just…stare at nothingness? And I shrugged, thinking it was silly of me to even care about what he did. He was here for his own reasons. My fingers reached up to my neck tie and I shifted it center. I knew it was crooked. My own footsteps echoed off the walls of the hall, reminding me of how quiet it was…in the daytime. I treasured these moments of silence. I thought better. I planned better. I acted smarter.

 

The glass door slid across, revealing to me the reception area. So posh, it’s almost surreal. I saw a head bobbing over the desk closer to the entrance and I moved towards it. Casually, I leaned over the desk, expecting to see Li Na when I spot someone else in her place. This woman is small, or is she even a woman? Her skin was as pale as porcelain but her lips were bright red. They reminded me of…something. She looked up from her paper work and her little chest jumped at the sight of me. I smiled shyly. “Annyeong…and who might you be?” The girl bit her lips and her eyes widened in sudden recognition. “W-What is it?” she stuttered. I couldn’t help the laugh that wanted to bubble from my throat. “I asked a question miss. Or did you not hear me? Who…are…you?” With every word I emphasized, I watched in eagerness at her sudden intake of breath. “I’m…I am Hae Jung. Park Hae Jung. You must be Luhan…” She said my name as if testing it to see if she would burst into flames…or anything out of the ordinary. This time I really did laugh. “First day and the other nurses have already told you about me? I must be a hot topic, huh?” She swallowed with difficulty as I intensified my gaze. She moved out of her chair and around the desk but I blocked her on purpose. I stared at her with somewhat interest.  She cringed under my heavy gaze. I remember the stories they told me about him. How could I forget? “Do I scare you, noona?” I smirked at her and tilted my head left as a puppy would. She swallowed hard. “Please step aside sir. You’re blocking my path.” I chuckled lowly, as if for her ears alone to hear. “You’re path? You have no path. Everything and everyone here…is mine.” A small gasp escaped her lips as she forcefully pushed her way pass me. An act like that would normally result in…violence but not with her. Not this time. I let this one slide. “Oh and Hae Jung?” She turned around, clutching the clip board closer to her chest, keeping vigilant of my movements. “Tell Chanyeol I’ll be there in a second. That is where you’re heading, right?” She gasped again and scurried away, like a mouse would from its predator cat.

 

I made my daily trip around the area, checking in on my fellow in-mates and their activities. Heechul and Himchan shared a room but never spoke to each other. Heechul spent his days laying on the floor in a fetal position, mumbling incoherent words while Himchan counted the hours he spent here by scraping the walls with his nails, creating the of a tally. Come to think of it, he wasn’t here long and there were too many …

 

In the ‘dining room’, I spotted D.O and Chen, heads bent over something on the table and giggling like teenage girls. Imbeciles. Two nurses kept watch in a discreet corner as jail guards would. I swiped my hand over my bleach blonde hair and smiled at the nurses, who scowled in return.

 

Maybe it was my sophistication they despised, or the fact that I was the most sane person here. Or it could be my night activities. Either way, the nurses were always cautious with me. Smart women.  They knew my capabilities.

 

I got bored with circling the facility and watching my fellow abiders suffer, so I decided to meet with Chanyeol now. By then, Nurse Park should have gotten what she needed from him and left. Nurse Park. Hae Jung. She’s a pretty thing. A little young to be in this line of profession but no one’s complaining. The scenery gets boring quickly.