When Seryung had left Sehun in the library he was under mind-control. He stared at the books she’d left behind, but of course her temper was too strong to have simply left the books there. She wouldn’t have been herself without knocking them to the floor in an effort to make a statement.

Sehun continued to stare at the books. He pressed his lips together as an itching guilt tried to make its way to him, but it was being countered and then he heard something. A faint sound. He furrowed his brows. He sensed something which made him whip around, but there was nothing there. His eyes searched for a trick of light. His brain was telling him it was a ghost, ‘There’s something there. 'It' was trying to talk to you.’

Yang Jinsung wondered why she was hiding when he couldn’t see her. She didn’t need to hide from him but it had still frightened her when he’d whipped around. She decided to let him be for now, Seryung was gone which meant her mission had been accomplished. Little by little she planned to separate them from each other. They had to be distant for Jinsung’s revenge plot to take action. The sinister fellow had taught her some tricks she could use before he disappeared. He’d strictly told her not to go near the puppet. The ghost concluded he was talking about the president’s son. The warning offended the ghost because she would never dare approach him.

“Whatever! You just keep hating your sister, Oh Sehun. She’ll hate you in return and then you’ll both die. After you die, I’ll be able to move on. That creepy guy will get his revenge. The students of the glass room will rejoice, and the school will go back to being normal. Everyone’s happy.”

Sehun scratched his head. He recalled his senseless fight with his sister and wondered how it even began. She’d been extra sensitive which was strange.

‘Something’s very wrong... Aside from that Oh Sehun, I thought you decided to accept and live with the spoilt littler sister. Why get angry with her for things like that when you’re the one who spoils her? And why the hell did she just leave all her books here? Stupid kid sister needs them for class. 'Go study in the library' they said. 'It’s peaceful in there.' Yeah right!’

Sehun swung out of his seat and knelt down to pick up all the books. He arranged them in a neat pile and placed them at the corner of the table. He waited for his sister to return for her books that she’d angrily mislaid because he didn’t want to be there when she blew her fuse. That would get very ugly, very fast! She’d always had a temper. She used to throw tantrums as a child and as she got older, and inevitably more spoilt, her temper worsened.

Seryung’s temper didn’t rear its head often. One would think she was calm, calmer than Sehun but she wasn’t, not at all. Seryung rarely got angry. In fact there were a few things that made her furious, but the problem was, once she erupted she was worse than a volcano.

-

Out of habit Hana packed her bag and made sure to leave nothing behind. The queer rumor she’d been hearing had been bothering her. It was enough for her to go seek out Seryung.

Hana had hoped to confront Seryung in her classroom, but one glance into the room Hana could tell the younger girl was absent. She chewed on her lower lip. She’d left the Oh household on bad terms, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t concerned. She contemplated messaging Seryung, and once she finally built up the courage to do so she’d waited for a reply while searching for her around the school.

Upon reaching Seryung’s locker Hana frowned. “What are you doing?” She asked the kids had been trying to pick open the lock until another produced a lock cutter. They ignored her and Hana had no choice but to push them away. “I repeat, what are you doing?”

Hana pursed her lips bravely. This was a first, ‘You never stood up for yourself because you were scared, but now you’re standing up for Seryung? Isn’t there something wrong with this logic? Aish! Alright, if you’re going to stand up for her, be brave till the very end. Don’t let them scare you, you’re the sunbae in this situation.’

Hana crossed her arms and leaned against Seryung’s locker. She tilted her head to the side and glared, “I asked a question, are you going to make your sunbae repeat again?”

Hana was surprised to see them glare back at her. ‘Heol! Look at them, they’re so shameless! When I was a hoobae I didn’t dare to look the sunbaes in the eye but these kids… They’re glaring! Yah! If I were someone else I would have smacked your heads, these disrespectful kids!’

“Why are you here?”

Hana pursed her lips slightly flustered by the directness of the kid's nature. She pointed at him, “Yah, are you talking down to me?” She scolded the group and placed her hands on her hips. “Don’t you have any manners? You should speak politely to those older than you! It’s common curtsy. How do you expect to survive outside in the big world if you don’t even have those?”

“Sorry…?”

“That’s 'sorry sunbae' to you.”

The group of three giggled which induced a frown on Hana’s face. She was preparing to lecture them a little more, but her eyes found the lock cutter first. She pointed at the object, surprised that they would carry it around in their bags even as a joke.

“Why do you have that?”

The shortest of three hid the lock cutter behind his back and smiled back nervously. “I don’t have anything.”

Hana clicked her tongue making all three of them jump. “Be honest, what were you trying to do with Seryung’s locker?”

“Noona, it’s not our fault. Honestly, we’re just following orders!” One of them piped up and received glares from his companions.

Hana considered it but it still made no sense to her, “Be more specific. Whose orders are you three following?”

They lowered their gazes not willing to speak. They thought it was obvious already. They’d all received text messages; personalized ones. Normally the text messages sent out by those who studied in the glass room on the top floor dictated the name of the wangta, but this time it was different.

This time Oh Seryung’s name wasn’t the only think printed, alongside it they’d also received individual messages that told them how much they depended on the royal student's families financially, and also a list of things that could go wrong if they failed to comply to orders. It was bizarre. Everyone thought so, but it wasn’t in their best interest to question anything.

The students had been receiving orders ever since the rumor of Sehun's confrontation spread. Seryung's classmates were asked to treat her like a wangta. The rest of the school had to pretend nothing was happening. They weren’t allowed to interfere with what happened inside the classroom. Outside was a completely different story... Everything had been calculated so precisely. 

“Noona, don’t pretend to be innocent! Isn’t all of this your fault? You’re the reason Sehun hyung came to school early and started all this.”

Hana pressed her lips together and exhaled. She ran a hand through her hair, “My fault? Yah, you’re harassing your classmate and calling it my fault. Watch what you say.”

“Isn’t it your fault that Seryung is the new school wangta?”

“What?! But, but I didn’t get any weird messages. Didn’t they send out messages this time?” Hana panicked and reached for her phone. She flipped through her texts and found she’d received nothing. She then turned to Kakao, Naver Line, Viber, Whatsapp, Snap Chat but there was nothing.

“They sent them to everyone. I nearly got a heart attack when I saw my name I thought they were turning on me,” one of them muttered darkly. His friends laughed while Hana shuddered. It was all happening again from the start but this time it was happening to Seryung.

“Think of it this way. If you ask her out she won’t turn you down this time. She’s a wangta now.”

“Yah! Why are you pairing me with a wangta? I don’t want to die young!”

Hana rolled her eyes as they continued a conversation that made her want to slap their heads. They talked about being rejected by Oh Seryung and how ‘her highness’ had lost her ‘crown’ and ‘dropped from her status.’ It all sounded absurd to Hana. ‘It’s bullying! Bullying at its worst! What? You liked her? Don’t joke! If you liked her back then you would still like her now. You wouldn’t be standing here with a lock cutter in your hand waiting to sabotage her locker!’

“But noona, how long are you going to stand there?”

“Yeah. We have to follow our orders otherwise we'll die.”

“Not everyone has the favor of Sehun hyung. It’s a shame Seryung lost it. It feels weird doing this to her.”

“Yah! How are you going to survive with that mind frame? You’ll become extinct!”

“Enough!” Hana interrupted. She scrutinized the boys judgingly before pointing towards the lock cutter. “What were you asked to do?”

“Break into her locker. Don’t leave anything of value intact, and remember to be creative.” One of them recited from his phone. He showed Hana the text while another elbowed him. “Are you crazy? You’re meant to delete those after reading them!”

Hana ignored their bickering once again, and turned towards Seryung’s locker. She sighed heavily, and tried to swallow back the lump in . Her mind was telling her that it was her fault not because Sehun had ‘helped’ her, but rather because Seryung had. The rule was not to go against the 'decision,' but Seryung had done so, and now Hana had a huge favor to return.

“I’ll let you break it open but there’s a condition.”

“What? More conditions? Noona, you don’t seem to understand this. It’s scary business! It involves those guys. Their parents own banks and share in our parents companies. Their parents are the same people that we’ve all had to depend on at one stage, and some of us are still dependent on them. What part of that do you not understand? It’s dangerous!”

“All of it. Everything.” Hana fumed to herself and massaged her temples. “My condition won’t affect your orders so let’s get along. I’m letting you break the lock but I’m taking whatever’s inside. You can spray paint or whatever you want with it after it’s been emptied. If you won’t let me do that, then I’m not moving an inch away from here.” Hana stood bravely against Seryung’s locker and tried to look authoritative.

“Are you sure? That’s kinda risky…”

“Noona you’re cool!”

“I think she’s crazy. Noona, even Sehun hyung won’t be able to protect you if you start acting like this.”

“That’s none of your business. You just have to follow order. If a third party intervenes then it’s not your fault. So, what will it be?”

-

Hana didn’t want to stay back to see what ‘creative’ meant because she already knew that it meant cruel, vicious and barbaric. She felt anger rise in towards everyone and no one. She’d heard that Seryung had left school. It pained her to hear how quickly Seryung had given in and just how extreme her ‘punishment’ was.

Hana didn’t know how much she could achieve on her own. There was only one person the glass room trio didn’t dare antagonize, and that one person was Oh Sehun. Sehun’s popularity was as surprising as it was stunning. He didn’t do anything to promote himself. His fan club did that for him. There was a blog dedicated to him. He was labeled an ‘ulzzang’ and adored by people, mostly girls who didn’t know him. He had an army at his disposal, and that was why he was feared. Hana groaned inwardly for judging them, ‘You’re a gold member of that club! Ugh… So embarrassing! Probably shouldn’t renew my membership this time...’

-

Hana spotted him in the library just as a rumor stated. He was sitting amid a pile of books, and scribbling away furiously in his favorite seat in the library. Hana watched him work with a stern expression on his face. He was undoubtedly good-looking, but seeing him work hard only accentuated him in her eyes. Hana pinched her arm. ‘This is not the time to lose your cool and drool like a fan girl! You have to ask him about what’s going on. Be cool about it, just like you were earlier!’

Sehun furrowed his brows at the knocking on his desk. He whipped to his side and found himself face-to-face with Kim Hana. He arched an eyebrow wondering what she was doing in the library. Her expression was serious enough for him to put his pen down.

“What is it?”

Hana smiled, was it possible he didn’t know what was wrong? His eyes spoke for him. They were baffled, and amused at the same time, but most of all they were curious. It was enough for her to realize he didn’t know, but in Hana’s mind that seemed impossible. His eyes threw her off the questions she wanted to ask. They were colored with tiredness and impatience, which was now being directed at her.

“Um…” Hana tried to collect enough words to form a sentence. She’d been gathering all the fury she could carry with her while making her way to the library, but now that she was here it was gone. She quickly closed before it mumbled unintelligently and furrowed her brows.

Hana chose to look at the books instead of his eyes. He was studying things they hadn’t even covered in class. She didn’t need to be a top student to know, he was doing it without struggling. She envied him, she envied him a lot because while he worked independently she was someone who was incapable of pulling her own weight while receiving help!

“Are you okay?” Sehun asked, he’d been genuinely surprised when she’d interrupted him, but was for once glad she had. He hoped she could relive the tense state of his mind that was hissing with anger while trying to cool down, and study at the same time.

Hana shook her head and sighed. “I don’t understand you at all! You’re the most complex person I’ve ever met. I’ve always had the impression that you loved your little sister but then you go and do something like this… Why? Why would you do that? And why drag me into it? What am I to you?” Hana stopped herself and frowned inwardly. She’d almost overstepped her boundaries. She didn’t dare say anything more against him in case he blew up on her too. She needed to reason with him and ranting wasn’t reasoning.

Sehun ran his fingers through his hair. He didn’t understand her either. He didn’t understand what she was getting worked up about. It seemed serious, yet its meaning didn’t strike a cord with him. “You need to be clear with your words. What exactly are you failing to understand? Why Seryung and I are arguing? That’s something personal and not really worth dwelling on. It was a small argument. We’ll live through it, but whose dragging you into it? Is Seryung giving you a hard time?”

Hana sighed exasperatedly. “If it was such a small fight why did you do it? You turned her into an outcast because of it. How can it be just a small fight? And an exchange? That one makes the least sense to me! I just don’t understand why you would make your sister an outcast and free me in turn. Why?”

Sehun blinked, he had no recollection of doing anything that he was being charged with. Why had his fight with his sister turned into such a big deal? They’d had a small argument. It wasn’t something to get hung up over. It wasn’t enough to…

“Wait! What?!”

Yang Jinsung scratched her head. “This is going to be a long day. Ugh… Why did you have to show up? You’re making my job harder Kim Hana!” The ghost glared at the short-haired girl before lowering herself to whisper into Sehun’s ears.

“Hana just won’t let you be angry. You want to be mad but she’s trying to coax you. She’s trying to wrap you around her finger by acting sweet and caring. She’s not either of those things. She’s using you! She even has the nerve to waste your time. You were trying to study and she barges in and interrupts you.

“She didn’t even apologize for distracting you. It's all just me, me, me, me, me, with her! Look at her complain about things! she’s telling you how to live your life now. She’s become that annoying. She just wants to control you. She wants you to do what she wants. She doesn’t care about your wants. She’s got you in the palm of her hands. You’re her puppet. You dance on every string she tugs at. You’re oblivious to the fact that your thoughts don’t matter to her. Look at her, she’s looking at you expectantly. She always expects something, but what has she ever done for you? She’s a bother. She’s always following you around.

“You were nice to her so now she thinks she can rule over you. That’s the type of person she is. How long are you going to take it? You can’t even tell her to get out of your life. That’s how much you’ve been subdued. If you don’t send her away now you’re a gonner. You’ll have been whipped. Kim Hana is a nobody. There’s nothing special about her. Look at her, she’s lacking in every way. She can’t even be compared to you. How can you let a girl like that trick you? Someone like her has Oh Sehun running in circles? She’s playing with you, and you’re letting her but how long?

“How long until she’s done with you, and throws you out? She wants to see you chewn and abandoned. She hates you. She really, really hates you. She’s trying to make you suffer. She’s out for revenge. She wants you to become close to her so when you fall the hit will be greater. Isn’t that the perfect revenge plan? You’ll fall. It’ll hurt, but I bet you can’t dare to hurt her. You wouldn’t dare try it, would you? Then again, she’s trapped you. You’re perfectly ensnared. I bet you can’t even raise your hand against her let alone wrap your fingers around . You can’t can you? The famous Oh Sehun, who dreams of getting into Yonsei University, can’t even free himself of Hana? Ha! How useless! That hand of yours is afraid of hitting her. Why? Why can’t you? Isn’t it because she’s got you in her trap? I bet you didn’t even know. You’ve become a puppet. You’re a disappointment to yourself. You won’t amount to anything this way. You’re losing. You’re losing against her but you can win.

“There’s a chance of winning. When someone wants to hurt you, you have to hurt them first. Hurt them so badly they won’t dare come back. So that’s what you have to do. You’ve got to hurt her. Go on. You can do it. You know you have it in you. Free yourself!”

Sehun felt rage rise in his throat. It was familiar. He’d been subjected to it before too. Giving into it had felt good. His hands shook. A slap. A punch. A kick. A blow, the voice in his head was telling him he had to be free to save himself. Rage was flaring within him like a fire with black embers. He was getting angry, and as a result his heart rate was rising. He wanted to be free of this overwhelming fury. He wanted to lash out at Hana. She was the cause of his problems. She started everything by coming into his life. ‘Everything’s her fault!’

Hana blinked and peered at Sehun uncertainly. His eyes had narrowed. He was turning red, and he was trembling. Hana chewed on her lower lip and placed her hand on his arm. She shook it gently, “Sehun, are you okay?”

Sehun’s free hand instinctively clutched onto Hana’s arm. He gripped it tightly and watched her squirm.

“That’s it! You have to keep going,” the ghost whispered. The effect of her words were overpowering Sehun’s normal thought flow. She was controlling him perfectly well. The cruel student had promised the ghost that he would teach her how to possess someone properly once she mastered mind control. She waited in anticipation to see how far Sehun would go. The further he went the deeper he’d find himself. The ghost hoped for a prison cell because that’s what he deserved for murder.

Hana squirmed. She tugged on her arm but Sehun wasn’t letting go. Instead he was tightening his hold. She felt his fingers digging into her flesh through her school jumper. Hana’s eyes watered. “Sehun, let go, you’re hurting me!”

“She’s lying!!! This much doesn’t hurt. You know what you have to do right? Break it, and snap it! Break the spell and snap the witch. You’ve been patient. You’ve tried to withstand it, but it's getting too much so you have to crack it.”

Sehun nodded subconsciously. ‘Break it, need to break it, need to be free.’