At around 2 p.m., Arkha was daydreaming in his room. He imagined what would happen if Thirteen really went together and they all died there.
"What should I do… should I just ask Hesa? Hm, maybe he has a plan."
He immediately called his senior, but after waiting for quite a while, there was still no answer.
"he's probably still in a student council meeting."
Arkha walked to his bed and threw himself onto it. Just as he was about to feel sleepy, the door suddenly opened and startled him.
"Oi, Khan."
Arkha looked at his older brother flatly.
"You could've knocked first. Now I'm not sleepy anymore," Arkha said.
"O-okay." His brother reflexively knocked on the already open door.
"Too late, dude," Arkha muttered.
"Yeah, yeah. I just wanted to tell you your friend's here," his brother said.
"My friend?" Arkha repeated.
"Yeah, the one with the cute face," he replied.
"Cute? Who even—" Arkha frowned, confused, but still stepped out of his room to meet the guest.
Who could it be? Setta? If it was him, Arkha would probably kick him out right away.
When he arrived in the living room, he saw someone sitting there with their back facing him.
"Jo?"
The young man turned around with his sweet smile.
"Hey, I just felt like hanging out at your place," Joan said.
Arkha scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Hang out doing what… I rarely invite people over."
"I'm not satisfied with how I messed with you earlier."
"No, I mean… hm, I've been interested in the discussions you guys have been having lately," Joan said.
"Me and Hesa?" Arkha asked.
Joan nodded. "Yeah. I watched their MV titled Thunder earlier. It tells the story of a kid who disappears during a lightning storm, right?"
"Ah… yeah, I watched it too," Arkha replied.
"There are two interpretations. Either the kid disappeared because something was chasing him… or he disappeared on his own," Joan said.
"Yeah, I know. O-okay, let me grab my laptop so we can rewatch it together," Arkha said as he walked away.
Inside his room, he grumbled to himself.
"Tch, why is this kid actually looking up the theory? I was just trying to mess with him."
Even though he was annoyed, Arkha still grabbed his laptop from the study desk. Just then, his phone rang from his pocket.
"Hello, bro,"
"Khan, where are you?" Jaehyuk's voice sounded from the other end.
"At home. Why do you sound so panicked?" Arkha asked.
"Hesa's in the hospital," Jaehyuk said.
"Are you serious?" Arkha said in disbelief.
"I'm literally still at Given Hospital right now," Jaehyuk replied.
"How? Is he still sick from this morning?" Arkha asked.
"There's something I need to tell you all. Just bring your gang here," Jaehyuk said.
"Yeah. I'm on my way." The call ended.
Arkha quickly grabbed his jacket and car keys, then hurried to the living room.
Joan was still casually watching something on his phone.
"You're coming with me now," Arkha told him.
"Coming? Aren't we going to watch the MV together?" Joan asked, confused.
"We can do that later. Jae said Hesa is in the hospital."
Without another word, Joan followed Arkha to the parking area.
~~~~~~~
Someone stood in front of a grave, scattering the flowers they had brought onto it.
"Thank you, Jihan."
After emptying the entire basket, they rose from their kneeling position.
"I'll come here often so you won't feel too lonely."
When they turned around, their gaze accidentally met someone standing not far away.
"Wish."
The young man called Wish walked closer.
"Did someone close to you pass away too?" Wish asked.
"My friend. A few days ago," they answered.
"My condolences," Wish said.
"Thanks. What about you? Are you alone here?" they asked.
"I just bought some food nearby. I happened to see you while passing by," Wish replied.
They nodded in understanding.
"Want to go to school together?" Wish offered.
"Uh, yeah. Let's go together."
The two of them then left the cemetery area side by side.
~~~~~~~
Five members of the Thirteen gang had gathered in Hesa's room, with Jaehyuk there as well to keep watch since Hesa's parents had passed away and the rest of her family hadn't arrived yet.
"What actually happened?" Niki asked.
Jaehyuk looked at them hesitantly. He felt bad, knowing the Thirteen kids would panic immediately upon hearing this.
"Hesa's just exhausted. He'll probably be able to go home tomorrow, but—" Jaehyuk glanced at each of them.
"Earlier, Hesa and I were eating by the roadside, and we accidentally witnessed one of you getting kidnapped."
They all exchanged looks, searching for the one person who wasn't there.
"Setta. He's the one not with us," Jio said.
"Hesa and I tried to chase the kidnapper's car, but we couldn't catch up. Hesa fell onto the asphalt, got a nosebleed, and not long after that he fainted," Jaehyuk explained.
Jaehyuk's story left Arkha confused. He looked at Hesa, who was still sleeping peacefully. "Hesa panicked that much just because the copy got kidnapped? This kidnapping must be fake, right? Why would he panic like that?"
"You guys can wait here, right? I need to go pick up Hesa's girlfriend. Try contacting Setta's family too," Jaehyuk said.
"Uh… we don't have their numbers," Satya replied.
"Let's just go to his house," Joan suggested.
"I don't think any of us have ever been there," Jio said.
"If I remember correctly, Setta once hitched a ride with Arkha when his motorcycle was at the repair shop," Niki said.
Joan turned to Arkha, who seemed lost in thought.
"Khan?" Joan tapped Arkha's shoulder.
Arkha flinched slightly. "Huh? What is it, Jo?"
"Do you know where Setta lives?" Joan asked.
"Yeah, I accidentally stopped by once," Arkha replied.
"You and I will go there. We'll inform his family," Jio said.
"Why me?" Arkha protested. He actually wanted to stay and watch over Hesa; he had a bad feeling.
"We don't have his family's contact, and you're the only one who knows his house," Niki said.
"O-okay… I'll go to Setta's house and tell them," Arkha said reluctantly.
~~~~~~~
It was already night, but Joan, Satya, and Niki were still staying at the hospital. Feeling hungry, they ordered food online.
"The driver's here," Satya said while looking at the app on his phone.
"Then go get it. What are you waiting for?" Niki replied.
"Come with me," Satya said.
"Scaaaredy cat," Niki teased.
"He's got a point, Ki. It's late—what if Satya gets lost and ends up in the morgue?" Joan added jokingly.
"Come on, Jo, don't scare me," Satya complained.
The two of them burst out laughing.
"Alright, I'll go with you," Niki said.
"You sure you're okay alone here, Jo?" Satya asked.
"I'm fine. Just hurry up and get the food, I'm starving," Joan said while rubbing his stomach.
"Yeah, we're heading down now," Niki replied.
Satya and Niki went downstairs to pick up the order, leaving Joan alone in the room.
Joan played a game on his phone to pass the time and fight boredom.
"Ugh, I need to pee." He quickly headed to the restroom.
After finishing, Joan rubbed his feet on the mat, but something suddenly shoved him sideways and his head hit the wall hard.
"Ah!" Joan winced, touching his head which was now wet.
"Tch… did I just slip?"
As his vision slowly darkened, he turned his head. His body was forced against the wall and his mouth was covered with a handkerchief that smelled strange.
~~~~~~
Hesa slowly opened his eyes. He moved his head, observing the surroundings—an unfamiliar room, but he realized it was a hospital.
Right… earlier he had chased the car that took Setta, and after that everything went dark. Something must have happened, and Jaehyuk must have brought him here.
A faint noise made Hesa turn his head. His eyes caught sight of a figure crouching in front of someone lying down.
"Heeseung…"
The twin turned around and smiled. "You're awake too? I just finished dealing with your friend. The medicine worked a bit slow."
Hesa's eyes widened in shock when he recognized the person lying there.
"J-Joan…"
"I moved the mat so it looked like he slipped, but actually I pushed him. He's a smart kid though—he noticed the strange smell on the cloth and tried to hold his breath. Too bad I knew."
Heeseung crouched and touched Joan's head. "That injury could get pretty bad if it's not treated quickly."
"Get your filthy hands away from my friend!" Hesa snapped.
Heeseung chuckled. "Why? Didn't you already give up? That means I can switch targets, right?"
He pulled out a folding knife and held it near Joan's cheek.
"Why can't you just stay quiet? Just watch and don't try anything—don't discuss theories or think about our little terror game. It's hard work setting all this up, you know, and you want to ruin it."
Enduring the sting as he pulled out the IV from hjs hand, Hesa struggled to get off the bed and approach his twin. "Waiting until your game ends along with my life and everyone else's? Keep dreaming!"
Heeseung stood up and looked at Hesa with disdain. "You say that like you're brave, even though you were the one who told me you'd already given up. You even almost asked that psychic kid for help—the one who helped you on the rooftop. Good thing I got rid of him."
"You cheated. You took my compass watch," Hesa said.
"That's not cheating. That's fixing the storyline so all of you lose hope and have nothing left to rely on."
The twin turned back toward Joan, making Hesa panic instantly since he was still holding the knife. Without hesitation, he shoved him away from Joan.
Heeseung laughed. "You want to fight me?"
"Coward. You only pick on people who are weak," Hesa said.
"Why not?" Heeseung shoved his back.
Thud.
Hesa touched the back of his head, now bleeding from hitting the edge of a small cabinet.
Heeseung smiled as he approached him. "Let's see if you can fight me now."
"I-I'm not afraid of you!"
Heeseung noticed Hesa's vision starting to blur as he looked at him, and he let out a laugh.
"I wasn't going to hurt Joan since you woke up too soon… but making you the target again sounds better."