Daniel's breath came ragged, every tug of the ropes biting deeper into his wrists. The chair creaked beneath him, and the room smelled of mildew and stale perfume.
Across from him, the girl he only knew as the Stalker stood trembling, though not with fear—her whole body shivered with obsession.
Her notebook was open on the table, crammed with sketches of his perfect body, each line frantic, obsessive. Next to them were scribbles of his real, ugly form, crossed out with thick strokes of ink.
Her smile stretched too wide.
"Two Daniels," she whispered, voice broken. "Two bodies. But only one is real. Only one is mine."
Daniel's heart thundered. "You're… insane—"
"I see the truth!" she snapped, slamming her palm against the notebook. Tears spilled down her cheeks, but her grin never faltered. "The handsome Daniel—the perfect one—that's who you are. This ugly shell?" Her foot lashed out, kicking him in the shin. "This should disappear."
She reached for a knife lying on the table. The blade gleamed under the flickering bulb.
Daniel's panic spiked. He thrashed against the ropes, his voice cracking. "Stop! Don't do this!"
The Stalker's breath quickened, her eyes never leaving him. "I'll free you. I'll make sure you never have to be weak again."
Her hand lifted the knife—
The door slammed open.
The sound echoed like a gunshot.
The Stalker froze, her wild gaze snapping to the intruder. Daniel gasped, hope flaring.
Crystal Choi stepped inside.
Her heels clicked sharply on the warped floorboards, her presence cutting through the suffocating air. The flickering light caught her cold eyes, unblinking, steady.
"What," Crystal said, her voice flat as steel, "is this?"
The Stalker stumbled back, clutching the knife to her chest. "Stay away! He's mine! Not yours!"
Crystal didn't even flinch. "Yours?" Her lips curved faintly, cruel. "You couldn't even keep hold of your sanity. Pathetic."
The Stalker screamed and lunged.
The knife flashed through the air.
Daniel shouted, jerking helplessly against the ropes.
Crystal moved like water. One sidestep, one sharp twist—her hand clamped onto the girl's wrist, twisting until bone creaked. The knife dropped, clattering across the floor. A knee drove into the Stalker's gut, forcing the breath from her lungs in a harsh wheeze.
The girl collapsed, gagging, her face pressed against the dirty floorboards.
Crystal looked down at her like she was nothing. "Average."
Daniel's chest heaved, eyes wide. "…You—"
Crystal crouched, not to untie him, but to pick up the notebook. She flipped through its pages, her expression never changing.
Sketch after sketch of Daniel's handsome body. Pages slashed through with his ugly form. Notes about his two lives. Two masks. Two shells.
Crystal's lips curled faintly, then she tossed the notebook aside.
She stood, her heels clicking sharply against the floor.
"Sit still," she told him coldly. "You'll understand soon enough."
Daniel froze, confusion and shame twisting inside him.
Crystal pulled out her phone and dialed. "Yes. This is Crystal Choi. I have a violent offender in custody. Send a unit immediately."
The Stalker whimpered, curled on the floor, her fingers grasping at Crystal's ankle. "No! He's mine—don't take him from me!"
Crystal kicked her hand away, her gaze icy. "You're finished."
Daniel said nothing. He only watched her in silence, his stomach churning with dread.
Later that night, the flashing lights had faded. The Stalker was gone, dragged off screaming by uniformed officers. The room was silent again, save for Daniel's uneven breathing.
Crystal finally moved to untie him. Her fingers were sharp, efficient, not gentle. The rope fell away, and Daniel rubbed his wrists, but he couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes.
Crystal looked down at him, her expression unreadable. "Two bodies. Two faces. Always hiding."
Daniel's throat tightened.
She tilted her head slightly, voice like glass. "It doesn't make you special. It makes you weak."
His breath caught. "…Why are you saying this?"
Her lips curved into the faintest, cruelest smile. "Because you're nothing like him."
Daniel blinked. "H-him?"
Crystal turned, her back to him, her silhouette sharp against the doorway.
Her words cut deeper than the knife ever could.
Across the city, Charles Choi's office was quiet, save for the faint hum of jazz from a record player.
Crystal's voice came steady over the phone. "It's done. She's been arrested. Daniel… won't be a problem."
Charles swirled the wine in his glass, the crimson liquid catching the low light. "And the matter of his… peculiarity?"
Crystal hesitated. Her mind flashed to the notebook, to the scribbles of two bodies. To Daniel's trembling face.
She spoke calmly, but her choice was deliberate. "Irrelevant."
Charles's lips curled faintly. "Good. Don't get distracted."
The line clicked off.
Beside him, Gun leaned against the wall, a cigarette glowing between his fingers. He had listened to everything, silent until now.
"She's learning," Gun muttered, smoke curling from his lips. "Didn't even flinch i guess. Put the girl down herself. Average fights don't scare her anymore."
Charles's gaze slid to him, curious. "Your influence?"
Gun smirked. "I trained her for a while. She was soft then. Not anymore. She's still no monster—but she can handle herself."
He tapped ash into a tray, his eyes gleaming. "I don't raise weaklings."
Charles chuckled softly. "You never do."
Gun's smirk deepened, sharp as a blade. "The game's moving, Charles. The pieces are falling into place."
Charles lifted his glass, his smile cold. "Good. Let's see who survives long enough to matter."
The clink of crystal against his teeth was the only sound as Gun exhaled smoke, his eyes glinting with dangerous amusement.
Daniel sat alone in his room later, wrists raw, his perfect body curled tight. Crystal's words echoed in his mind, louder than the Stalker's screams.
Pathetic .Weak. Nothing like him.
And for the first time, Daniel wondered if even his perfect shell wasn't enough to hide the truth.
✨ End of Chapter 58 ✨