Chaerin woke up to bumps and turns and orange lightning. She found the backs of two seats and it took her a very short while to register that she was at the back of a minivan. The thought of being kidnapped gave a sudden boost to her mind and she shot up with a scared gasp. Suho, who probably heard her, turned around and checked on her. Chaerin wasn’t sure if she was supposed to feel relieved or afraid that it was him.

“You woke up,” Suho commented and Kai sent a fast glance through the rear mirror at her, which Chaerin returned as a frown. “How are you feeling?”

“Where am I? And why am I in a car?” Chaerin asked in confusion. She tried to remember what had happened—pretty useless, considering she only remembered her name being called and black surrounding her. Had she passed out?

“We’re going to a place, don’t worry. We’ll soon be there. Now, do you remember anything?” Suho asked and the blonde girl noticed how he held a notebook and pen in his hands. What for, she wasn’t sure.

“Not much. Nothing, actually.” The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that she didn’t remember anything. “What happened?”

“Well,” Suho started, glancing at the notebook before placing it on his lap and turning to look at her again. “Do you remember the man you found in your bedroom?” When Chaerin nodded, he continued; “Well, something triggered you—whether it was fear or something else—and you entered his mind. It exhausted you, if we consider you have years to let the power out.”

Chaerin only frowned more. “And what happened to the man?”

“It’s nothing of your concern,” Suho waved her off. When she tried to press him, Kai talked instead.

“We’re here.” The car turned into a dark back alley with moisturized walls and silence. Kai unhooked his belt and jumped off the minivan, and after he shut the door, he walked off into the darkness.

“Where’s here?” asked Chaerin as her eyes followed Kai’s back until she could no longer see him. Then, she stared at Suho who once again had the notebook in hand and was writing something down, paying close to no attention at her. “Suho?”

“We’ll try to awake your power,” came his indifferent voice as he scribbled something on the already half-written page. “I want to see if you have any control over it, considering you already did it sub-consciously.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“That’s something Kai will take care of.”

Chaerin felt like something had changed, if not in the whole situation, then at least in Suho’s attitude. She didn’t remember him being like this and it only brought a horrible feeling to her. For some reason, she started to change her mind about everything she’d already agreed to. She doubted she would be able to escape now, however, that didn’t stop her from opening the minivan’s door and hopping off the vehicle just when Suho turned to ask her where she was going.

“Home,” Chaerin hissed before shutting the door with a glare directed to the male. Suho, as expected, didn’t waste time and jumped off the car and walked around it to pop up in front of her with a frown over his eyes.

“What do you mean home?”

“I decided that this is a load of crap,” Chaerin started, not bothering to hide her irritation. “I should have never agreed to this. You promised to tell me so much about my past yet you hide so much more from me.”

“We don’t hide anything from you!” Suho replied and Chaerin groaned. She went to walk past him but he only blocked her way. “Just ask me and I’ll tell you.”

“Then tell me about my childhood.” The girl crossed her arms and stared up at the man with eyes full of expectation.

Suho looked torn. In the end, he sighed and shook his head. “I can’t just yet.”

“And why not?” When Suho didn’t reply, Chaerin huffed. “That’s exactly what I mean. How am I supposed to believe you won’t fool me when you keep saying stuff like that? Just yet.” She mocked his words and huffed again. “I can’t believe I was starting to trust you.” She moved to walk past him and Suho let her this time. She wasn’t sure where she was heading to but, out of anger, she preferred to get lost someplace else than there.

“Alright,” Suho gave in, his voice a bit louder. The girl was already standing meters away from him and seeing how she wouldn’t stop, he gave in. “The man died.” At that, the blonde froze. “He died because you entered his mind too far and changed his memories. I don’t know what you did exactly; that’s up to you to remember. But you broke his memories and soul. The man was to die anyways, he was a guard from the laboratory so it’s not of a big deal.”

“Not of a big deal?” Chaerin repeated in shock, turning around with wide eyes. “I killed him?” Her voice had become so small while the realization slowly sat in. “I killed a man?”

“He deserved it. He worked for years under the man who pained so many more families. You’re not at wrong here, Chaerin.” Suho tried to approach the girl but she made a step back.

“And you were not going to tell me this if I wouldn’t have asked?”

Footsteps could be heard and both turned to the direction Kai had left to. Now, he was back with somebody in between his arms and a wave of recognition washed over Chaerin as soon as she noticed the worn fabrics and dirty skin. She made a step back, raising her hands and shaking her head in disagreement.

“Not this again.”

“Chaerin, it’s the only way,” Suho tried but the girl’s eyes were locked with the poor man’s. The fear in them made her sick and she already felt sorry for him without even doing any harm to him.

“I refuse to do something like this again.” Kai let a sigh out, suddenly feeling tired. “I will not use that on anyone else. Who knows how much I can harm him now that I used it to that extent!”

“But if you don’t, you will not learn your mistakes. The next person you’ll enter will break if you won’t know what to do and what not!” Suho retorted but Chaerin shook her head.

“When that time comes, I will use it on someone who hurt me. Not someone who has done nothing bad!”

Suho and Chaerin’s stares met into a staring competition of who’d last more. Neither seemed to back down and words were useless by this point. Thus, Kai only stood and watched as an inside conversation unrolled without him being part of. The man in his arms tried to escape but he held on tighter, his attention falling back on the task rather than the silent argument.

“If you really want my help, you better listen to me from now on,” Chaerin hissed and after spending another minute of staring at each other, Suho let a tired sigh.

“Kai, please let him go.” The younger didn’t need more than that; he let go of the man who was soon out of sight. Chaerin felt pity on the fear they’d brought on him. Suho crossed his arms, frowning. “What happens if you want t