Jihan closed the window of her bedroom as the night grew late. She placed her homework book on the desk, ready to work on it, but her gaze accidentally fell on a photo frame resting on her study table.
Her hand slowly reached for the frame. A sudden feeling of unease crept into her mind.
The photo showed herself with her group of friends—those who were now gone.
In an instant, her memory returned to the final moment. She and the others had been tied to chairs arranged in a circle.
Jihan's restraints had been released by that figure, but in return, she was forced to shoot her friend who had already been influenced. Of course, Jihan chose to aim the gun at the figure instead, but her attempt was futile—the figure was already dead.
The figure merely laughed, then took control of Jihan's body, forcing her to shoot her own friend.
Without realizing it, tears streamed down Jihan's face as fragments of the past replayed in her mind.
Krieeett—
The sound of a creaking door made Jihan reflexively turn around.
The house felt eerily quiet. Her parents had not yet returned from work.
Someone who looked exactly like Jihan stepped into the room.
'Wow, am I interrupting you?' the figure said casually.
"Go away," Jihan replied in a low but firm voice.
'Don't you miss your own twin?' the figure teased.
"You can only change your appearance to look like me. In reality, you're Hesa from the past," Jihan said.
The figure chuckled softly. 'But right now, I look like you, don't I? And you're the one playing my role in that game.'
"I don't care about you or that game. Leave. I have nothing to do with you anymore," Jihan said.
'Nothing to do with me? I didn't mishear that, did I?'
The figure stepped closer. 'Have you forgotten what happened on the thirteenth? Do I need to remind you?'
"I already finished my game. You should've never come back into my life!" Jihan shouted.
'You're right,' the figure replied calmly.
'But you're the one who reopened this problem, forcing me to deal with you again.'
"I'm free to do whatever I want. I have nothing to do with you people anymore," Jihan said.
'Yes, but you shouldn't interfere with a game that's currently in progress,' the figure answered coldly.
"I can't just stay silent while innocent people become victims," Jihan said.
Her words enraged the figure. It immediately shoved Jihan against the wall and strangled her tightly.
'Then you'll have to accept the consequences.'
Its sharp gaze pierced through Jihan's pained face as she struggled to break free.
'We have to eliminate you… so there won't be any more pests in this game.'
******
Hesa closed his bedroom door and looked again at the sticky note resting on his study desk.
"Who is this actually from?"
"From me."
Hesa reflexively turned at the sound of the whisper, but no one was there. In the middle of his shock, a pale, cold hand touched his shoulder from behind.
Brukkk.
"Shhh—"
Hesa jolted upright from a lying position, rubbing his head as dizziness washed over him.
"W-why… why am I back at the villa from yesterday?" he muttered, staring around in confusion.
Before he could process his thoughts, he heard the sound of someone running.
"Setta."
Hesa followed his friend and hid behind a wardrobe.
"Setta, what's wrong?" Hesa stood right beside him, but Setta didn't react at all. He remained curled up, hugging his knees, his head lowered in fear. It was as if Hesa didn't exist to him.
"Setta, it's me—Hesa." He tried to touch Setta's hand, but his hand passed straight through.
Whooosh—
A sudden, powerful gust of wind blew through the room, bringing an icy chill that intensified the horror.
'Found you.'
Dugh!
Setta's twin appeared behind the real Setta, striking the back of his neck and making him collapse onto the cold floor, unconscious.
'What a shame—we can't play hide and seek any longer since you're so bad at hiding,' the twin mocked, dragging Setta into another room.
Hesa stared in shock at what had just happened, realization hitting him all at once.
"So this is the real event behind that sticky note…"
Invisible, Hesa followed the figure into an empty room containing only a coffin in the center. Inside it, the figure laid Setta down.
Someone else entered the room—Hesa's twin.
'You sure he won't wake up?' Hesa's twin asked.
'I'll trap his soul in another realm,' Setta's twin replied with a smile, placing his left hand on Setta's head and chanting a spell.
Hesa screamed and tried to push both figures away, but his efforts were useless.
Moments later, Setta's twin lifted his hand, having finished what he needed to do.
'All done. He won't be able to return to his body until someone else finds him here—besides us,' he said.
The two figures left, abandoning Setta inside the coffin, along with Hesa—whom they could see.
"Setta, wake up. I've found you," Hesa pleaded, trying to wake his peacefully sleeping friend.
"You can't. This is the past."
Hesa turned around and saw a lavender-haired young man staring at him sadly.
"You…" Hesa remembered seeing him at the villa. It turned out he wasn't the one who had been terrorizing them—it was someone else who looked like Hesa and his friends.
"Only they can bring you here to help your friend."
"You're the one who sent the sticky note—and pulled me into the past."
The young man nodded and placed a hand on Hesa's shoulder. "It's time for us to go back,"
Hesa blinked slowly. He felt something in his hand—and realized a sticky note was tucked between his fingers.
—I'll help you. Kyungmin—
"Kyungmin? So that's his name…" Hesa smiled unconsciously as he read it.
"Hesa."
Hesa turned in surprise to see Kala approaching him with a worried, confused expression.
"Why are you in my room?" Hesa asked.
"Winter called me. She saw you lying on the floor and asked for my help to move you onto the bed," Kala explained.
Kala went to inform Winter, who was searching for medicated oil in the medicine box. Soon, they both returned to Hesa's room.
"Are you okay, honey?" Winter asked anxiously.
"I-I just fell asleep, that's all. Don't worry," Hesa said, trying to calm her.
"Really? How could you fall asleep on the floor? Why not on the sofa or at your desk?" Winter asked suspiciously.
"I-I don't know… I just fell asleep," Hesa lied reluctantly. There was no way he could tell her he'd been dragged into the past by a ghost.
Winter sighed heavily. "Fine, forget it. What matters is that you're okay now."
"Y-yeah. Sorry for making you worry," Hesa said.
"Oh right, I forgot—I never gave you the passcode to my place."
"You didn't. I got it from Jaehyuk. He left earlier, so I asked him. When I arrived, I saw you lying there and panicked, so I asked Kala for help," Winter explained.
Hesa nodded in understanding. "Do you want to wait while I get ready, or go ahead first?"
"Are you sure you want to go to school? You're really not sick?" Winter asked.
"Really. I'm fine," Hesa said reassuringly.
He then turned to Kala. "You're going to school too, right, Kal?"
"Y-yes," Kala nodded shyly.
"Hurry up and go then. And thanks for your help," Hesa said with a smile.
Kala smiled back nervously. "O-okay, I'll head to school now."