HIM.

xxii.

xxii. DEAD

THE last she heard of Lina was not what Mari would've predicted. She actually had absolute no clue that the phonecall she currently was on would be her last with Yi Lina.

If only the poor girl knew...if only she knew. Then that would change the whole situation.

"Hey, what's up?" Mari wouldn't and couldn't lie when she said that Lina's calls didn't bring a smile to her face. At the end of the day, that girl understood her mind more than anyone else. She never pressed for the details Mari was not comfortable talking about. Though she understood the girl was dying for answers.

"Will you be at your apartment later on tonight?"

"Should be. I might come home a little later than usual. Why?"

"Stop by at my place later today. I have something for you."

"Something?" From the corner of her eye, Mari noticed Namjoon enter the refreshments room. She offered him a small nod, which the man dutifully returned.

"You got me something? That's so unlike you."

"Not a gift...a-a movie. We should watch a movie today."

"Movie? I'll see if I can. I don't have work tonight, but I might have to study for a test tomorrow."

"Don't let me down, Mari. Please come!"

"Yeah, yeah whatever. See you then?"

She heard a noise of agreement before ending the call. Following right after, she heard the familiar pop of a soda can from behind her.

"So...how's your special quest coming along?" Mari chimed, grinning small at Namjoon. "Any luck so far?"

"We're getting somewhere, yes. I can't tell you what we've found yet. That's a secret."

"I guess you're right." She shrugged. "So you've put your other missions aside?"

Namjoon nodded again. "Pretty much. This has consumed most of our time, so everything else is currently on hold."

Mari smiled. "Makes sense. Well, if you do need my help, I'm just one text away."

He watched her exit the room, twiddling with an almost empty can of soda as she left. Maybe she herself was just getting weak, because she couldn't detect the strangeness in his behavior either.

•

MARI did arrive dutifully at Lina's house a few hours later. She was tired, her classes had been mentally draining. She noticed how her friend hadn't been there for the entire day. She also wasn't picking up any calls.

Maybe the girl wasn't feeling well. It wasn't uncommon that Lina did that. Whenever she wasn't feeling well, she would drown everything out, and just sleep the day away.

Mari picked at the key card under Lina's doormat, then swiped it across the lock. There was a resounding beep, and the light switched to green. The brunette opened the door, met with an eerie silence.

It was really quiet.

By habit, Mari pulled out her phone. There was a missed call from Jae, and a text message from...

Lina.

1 NEW MESSAGE FROM:
yi lina

yi lina
love u

Huh? Mari felt a sinking in her stomach, realizing now that maybe the paranoia she had felt all day had to be for some reason. A gut feeling, she supposed. Gut feelings existed for a reason.

She opened the door to the girl's bedroom. Her hand stayed wrung around the metal doorknob, and her knuckles eventually whitened.

Kei Mari always thought Lina was beautiful. She had a slightly tanned complexion despite being Chinese. Her eyes were round and bright, and her lips always stretched into a huge grin whenever she laughed.

But, she looked completely lifeless right now. The girl was dead.

Mari couldn't cry. She wanted to, the tears were threatening to spill, but she couldn't. She wouldn't. That wall that Lina almost broke down was building itself back at an alarming rate, and Mari felt just as numb as when she moved to the country in the first place.

She only ever felt like this because of her father's doings. After this time spent apart, he still wanted one thing from her for his benefit.

And she knew he would destroy everyone that she loved in order to get what he wanted.

Mari feared for who was next.