"Jo, let's go to class."
Joan, Setta, and Niki were still standing in the school corridor. They had been walking together toward class, but Joan suddenly stopped, making the other two look at him in confusion.
"You're staring at Hesa and the others," Setta said, immediately following his friend's gaze—different from Niki, who looked confused.
Sure enough, not far from them were Hesa, Arkha, Jio, and Satya, also walking together toward their classroom.
"What's up?" Niki asked.
"Nothing. Anyway, you guys are heading to class, right?" Joan denied.
"Yeah. Where are you going?" Setta asked.
"I'm gonna grab a drink. You two go ahead," Joan said before walking away from his friends.
~~~~~~
Arkha stood beside the vending machine after buying a drink, taking a sip while leaning against the wall.
"Khan, you okay?"
The question made Arkha turn toward Joan, who had just taken his own drink from the machine.
"Out of nowhere, Jo?" Arkha replied.
"I saw Jio pushing you earlier. You were holding your shoulder like it hurt," Joan said.
"I just felt a sting," Arkha answered, taking another gulp.
"A sting? The bandage on your neck isn't from a wound? If it were, it'd feel sore or painful," Joan commented.
Arkha immediately touched his own neck, nervous. "I mean painful. I misspoke."
"Oh." Joan looked away, glancing at the can in his hand.
"Hopefully you don't turn weird like Hesa," he added.
Arkha frowned at that.
"Hesa? Weird how?" he asked.
"You haven't noticed? He's been acting off lately. And he's been weirdly aware when something bad is about to happen to us—like that time the mall elevator dropped," Joan explained.
"You think he's some kind of psychic?" Arkha asked.
"Believe it or not," Joan shrugged.
Arkha chuckled at him assumption, but it still made him think.
Hesa *has* been acting strange, like someone hiding something. And judging from Joan's words, it was almost as if Hesa could see bad things before they happened.
Could this be related to **time**?
"Khan?"
Joan stared in alarm at his friend suddenly smiling.
"Jo, I'm heading back first," Arkha said.
"Alright." Joan waved as Arkha walked away.
"He's acting weird too. Maybe I shouldn't have talked about Hesa with him."
~~~~~~~
During lunchtime, the thirteen-member gang had gathered in the cafeteria, their plates already empty.
"What did you want to talk about? You messaged the group earlier," Jio asked Setta.
"You guys haven't checked social media, huh?" Setta replied.
"What happened on social media?" Niki asked.
"Our vlog from yesterday is going viral. In Hesa's screen time, there's someone following him in the background—and that person looks exactly like him," Setta said.
They all immediately grabbed their phones to check. And it was true: when Hesa was walking alone, another figure trailed behind him.
"Hey, we edited that video together. How did none of us notice?" Arkha asked.
"Even I didn't notice, and I was the one filming," Hesa added.
"But… here, it looks like Hesa is following someone else," Joan said, confused.
"Well yeah, because I was chasing that lavender ghost."
No way would Hesa ever answer honestly like that.
"N-no, I—I was looking for the doll so the game would finish faster," Hesa tried to cover.
"You're brave, huh," Jio said.
"I was sleepy, okay? I just wanted to end it quickly," Hesa defended himself.
"Then who's this? Do you have a twin?" Setta asked.
The moment Setta said that, Arkha glanced over before quickly looking away.
"No, I don't," Hesa denied.
"Who could it be, though? They look exactly like you," Niki said.
Silence fell among the seven teens until the bell finally rang.
~~~~~
"Weird."
Hesa checked his phone again before climbing the stairs. Arkha had asked to meet him there without explaining why, which made Hesa curious—he felt like there wasn't anything to discuss between them lately.
When he reached the rooftop, Arkha was already there, standing by the guard rail. Hesa approached him.
"You have a watch that lets you see the future, don't you," Arkha said bluntly.
Hesa froze. His body trembled as he took a step back. "H-how do you know that?"
Arkha smiled. "I was just guessing, but looks like I was right."
"Answer me! How do you know that?!" Hesa demanded.
"Joan. He's suspicious of you. He thinks you're some kind of psychic because you always seem to know when something bad is about to happen to us. Plus, you've been acting weird lately," Arkha explained.
"Joan thinks I'm psychic, so how did *you* suddenly jump to 'magic watch'?" Hesa asked.
Arkha peeled off the bandage on his neck, revealing a bluish bruise. "I didn't want the others to get the wrong idea, so I made it look like a scratch."
He tossed the bandage aside.
"My twin showed up and attacked me yesterday. He mentioned your twin, Heeseung—said he came to see you but only to take the watch. That's why I figured it wasn't an ordinary watch. And since Joan told me about your weird behavior, it all made sense," Arkha said.
"That's true. My twin exists, and he took the watch. Like you said, that watch lets me see the future—whatever future I want to see," Hesa admitted.
"Heeseung should've explained something about 'the game' to you," Arkha added.
"Game? He did say he wanted to play with me. That's why he told me to remember him. But he didn't explain anything about the game itself," Hesa replied.
"My twin said the same thing. He came because he was curious about Agantha's replacement. Then he attacked me," Arkha said.
"Replacement? Wait—I think I get something," Hesa muttered.
"Get what?" Arkha asked.
"In the cafeteria earlier we talked about my twin being caught on camera. He was watching us. And if he mentioned a game… maybe this isn't the first time. His use of the word *replacement* suggests someone came before us," Hesa said.
"So you think Agantha was one of the previous players?" Arkha asked.
Hesa nodded. "We might be able to learn about the game if we can find previous participants."
"This sounds impossible. First we'd have to convince the others to believe us and help us. How are we supposed to do that?" Arkha asked.
"Well… we just tell them," Hesa said.
"You think they'll believe us?" Arkha asked.
Hesa fell silent.
"When my twin attacked me, everything was recorded by the CCTV. I thought I could use it as proof and warn the others. But when I tried to save the footage, he came back and injected me with something. Then he deleted everything. He mentioned your name, though, which is why I decided to tell you—because I knew you'd believe me," Arkha explained.
"I just remembered—Heeseung threatened me not to tell the others," Hesa muttered, chewing his nail anxiously.
"Before he took the watch, I saw something that's going to happen tomorrow.
We only have each other."