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ē”± Chish08

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ē”± Chish08

▌│█║▌║ ɪғ ɪ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ, ɪ'ᴅ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜ ᴏᴜᴛ. ║  ▌║█│  ▌

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It was stupid. It was all fucking stupid and a waste of time.

All that fucking Woo-Ram's camera showed was the world freezing over. The birds, the man in the distance.

Everything was frozen.

And Kyung-Jun didn't know how that was possible, he wasn't a genius or a conspiracy theory addict.

But he could still believe his eyes. He saw what he saw, and the fucking camera wasn't broken. So what they saw was true.

Kyung-Jun sighed irritably, curses trickling from his lips, and his eyes began to scan the landscape.

He couldn't see any strawberry blonde hair anywhere, which made him frown. Just, where was that helpful, stubborn bitch...

"Yah! What the hell are you doing, Kim So-Mi?" he heard softly, causing his back to straighten and he immediately started walking in the direction of the voice. He was vaguely aware that Eun-Ha was following him, but he ignored it.

The closer he got, the more he heard. And the more he heard, the more nervous he became.

At the sound of her pleading, his blood boiled and for a moment all he saw was red. What the fuck is happening?

"Don't do it, you hear! Don't- help!" as soon as Kyung-Jun heard Na-Ri's scream, he didn't even notice, but the pace of his walk was starting to look more like a run.

His mind didn't even realize what he was seeing, his body was already acting.

His arms wrapped around Na-Ri's waist, and with a firm tug, he pulled her towards him.

They fell to the ground and Kyung-Jun let out a pained groan. Na-Ri was light, but the basketball idiot wasn't exactly. They both lay on top of Kyung-Jun, forming a weird people sandwich.

Kyung-Jun didn't say a word, just tilted his head to the ground, not caring about the leaves or the dirt.

His eyes were fixed on the blue sky as he panted in exhaustion.

Now that the emergency had passed, he could piece together what had happened.

That stupid, stubborn, stupid, idiotic, self-sacrificing, stupid, stubborn...oh...he is repeating himself. No problem. Go Kyung-Jun has right. Kang Na-Ri was probably born to scare the hell out of Kyung-Jun. To put herself in situations where he is forced to intervene. Just... why can't she be a girl like the others? Why couldn't she stay where it's safe?

Suddenly, the image of Sang-Hwan and Heo Yool flashed in his mind.

Forget it. It's not any safer there. But at least there they don't have to dance near the line like some stupid bastards. Fuck Jun-hee and his idiotic ideas. Stupid fuck.

Kyung-Jun tightened his grip on Na-Ri's waist as he finally looked up.

The number two basketball idiot was sobbing like a baby. Pathetic.

"T-Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you." Kyung-Jun closed his eyes, this took more energy.

"Pull yourself together and get off. The two of you together aren't very light, and I'm not a fucking pillow, loser" Kyung-Jun said as he opened his eyes again.

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Hyun-ho didn't really know what was happening, or even what had happened.

Dong-Hyun was alarmingly silent. In their friendship, he was the one who always had something to say. Hyun-Ho was admittedly worried.

They were separated for a while when they were busy with Woo-Ram's camera. When he saw him again, he formed a human sandwich with Na-Ri and - of all people - Kyung-Jun. Hyun-Ho didn't know what happened, but whatever it was caused a rift in their nine-people exploration team.

Dong-Hyun and Na-Ri were conspicuously unwilling to go near So-Mi.

So their return journey was spent in awkward silence, which neither of them was willing to break.

The dry leaves made a crunching sound when they stepped on them, and somewhere along the way, Hyun-Ho noticed that the awkward silence had turned into a tense hush

Na-Ri walked with her lips pressed thin. As Hyun-Ho looked at her he noticed how lost she was in her mind.

Kyung-Jun behind her was no different, only he was staring at the vice president with eyes like he'd caught a child rapist in the act.

Hyun-ho didn't know what was happening and it was frustrating.

Especially when it affected his best friend. About his best friend...

Hyun-Ho saw Dong-Hyun walk away with Na-Ri and So-Mi to a more secluded place.

The others made their way to the entrance of the youth center, and Hyun-Ho broke away.

Should he follow them?

He finally decided to follow them. He wanted to know what happened to his best friend. They were separated by less than six minutes, during which time he wanted to know what the hell had happened.

He hid behind a wall, his back against it, and he didn't peek. He just listened.

He felt bad for doing this, it was none of his business, it was Dong-Hyun's, Na-Ri's and So-Mi's business.

But it was also his business, because it was Dong-Hyun's business.

Hyun-ho's body tensed as he heard the sound of skin against skin.

Someone had slapped someone. Quite hard.

"Yah! Are you crazy, Kang Na-Ri!" He could almost feel the question marks forming above his head. Kang Na-Ri. The eternal pacifist, Kang Na-Ri. The Kang Na-Ri who was a sweet girl, and it never crossed Hyun-Ho's mind that she would slap someone.

Well, that Kang Na-Ri....

Hyun-ho thinks she just gave the slap of her life.

Judging from the snap.

"Why don't you ask yourself about that?" At the sound of Na-Ri's nervous voice, Hyun-Ho wanted to pull closer. He wanted to see what was happening.

And why doesn't his beloved best friend intervene?

"I don't understand what you're up to, Na-Ri-ah." heard Hyun-Ho, his stomach twisting slightly. That voice, not an innocent voice.

"You know very well!" shouted Na-Ri, and Hyun-Ho heard a soft hiss. "Stop shushing me, Dong-Hyun! You know what's going on, I don't understand why you're not, or upset, I don't understand..." Na-Ri's voice trailed off.

And Hyun-Ho's body itched slightly to move. To do something.

"I'm waiting for an explanation." There. It was there. Hyun-Ho heard his best friend's voice, but that expressionless tone rang alarm bells in his head.

"Ex-explanation for what, Dong-Hyun-ah?" asked So-Mi, her voice hushed.

"I slipped, almost crossed the white line. Na-Ri helped me, you didn't." Dong-Hyun said, stating facts as if he were reading the weather report.

Hyun-Ho's legs, on the other hand, were weak. Dong-Hyun almost fell over the white line? He alm...he almost lost his best friend?

"I've already dealt with that." He said coldly, and Hyun-Ho wanted to bang his head against the wall.

Maybe he should tie his best friend to himself. Then nothing would happen to him.

He could tie An Na-Hee to himself too. And then nothing could happen to her.

To them.

"What I don't understand is why you pushed Na-Ri. When she were almost able to pull me to safety, why did you push her?  I can't understand that, I can't understand it, I can't process it." Dong-Hyun said, and Hyun-Ho could see his friend's kind brown eyes, which now glittered with a cold look in them.

"Can you help me to understand that, So-Mi-ah?" And that mocking tone...

Feel free to judge, but in his swirling thoughts he also wondered how his bisexual awakening was not his best friend.

Then Hyun-Ho remembered Dong-Hyun.

The Dong-Hyun who needs two sets of chopsticks, because he sure as hell, that Dong-Hyun can't split the first one in half properly.

The Dong-Hyun who once tried to build a mush-ice man out of his mush-ice with his paper straw and then when that failed, he tried to build mush-ice castle. In the end, he had to throw out his mush-ice, because he was having fun until the flavour ran out.

The Dong-Hyun who does huge idiotic things but has a huge heart.

Then he also remembered that he almost lost him today, and so the pleasant warmth he felt faded.

"I begged you to help me because we're slipping, because I won't be able to hold Dong-Hyun..." he heard Na-Ri's voice, and his hands clenched into fists.

He couldn't imagine Na-Ri begging, but if he did, his blood boiled...she must have been so desperate...

"Do you think I want to die?" the voice So-Mi spoke in was different from what Hyun-ho had heard before. "Are you out of your mind?" she said haughtily, and Hyun-Ho slumped against the wall.

"When Dong-Hyun slipped, he was lucky to catch my hand," she said in a cold voice. "Then you came along." So-Mi was definitely talking to Na-Ri. She almost spat her words.

"You messed everything up, so I pushed you. Fall with Dong-hyun if you want to help him so much. What do I care."

Hyun-Ho's vision turned red. This...this woman...this...this...

"I shouldn't have pushed you so gently."  the regretful voice she spoke with seemed so sincere that Hyun-Ho might vomit.

"Because then the bully in his chivalrous windbreaker arrived and saved you both."

Hyun-Ho must really be vomiting now. He has Kyung-Jun to thank for keeping his best friend alive. The person he hates the most saved one of the most important people in his life.

"You're a psycho bitch." Na-Ri almost spat her words, and So-Mi laughed coldly. "You do realize that even though we don't want to play games, you've now become the perfect suspect as a mafia?" asked Na-Ri, and Hyun-Ho nodded almost in agreement.

"Even if I was." So-Mi said in an almost pitying tone. "Who would believe you?"

The nervousness of this woman.

And the sweet, innocent Na-Hee is making friends with her. Urgh..

Hyun-Ho hasn't been this angry at the world in a long time.

So without thinking, he steps out from behind the wall and walks towards them.

"Me." He said, ignoring the way So-Mi's face froze, the way Na-Ri's eyes, slightly red from crying, looked at him. And the way Dong-Hyun's face instinctively relaxed as Hyun-Ho appeared.

"And if I were you, I'd watch out." He said in a menacing tone, wrapping one arm around Dong-Hyun's neck and gently gripping Na-Ri's wrist with the other.

"Because one more move like that and I don't care what happens to you." He said as he pulled the others with him, pulling away from the class vice president.

"I'm voting for you."

Jang Hyun-Ho may be polite, helpful, and on average a perfectly kind guy.

But everyone had to know that if his best friend's  was on the line, he wouldn't hesitate.

Then Jang Hyun-Ho could be like Go Kyung-Jun on his worst day.

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So-Mi shook with anger.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!

She'd done a good job of that herself.

But she couldn't do anything about it. Those stupid two good shoes slapped her like she was somebody. Fuck, all of it. She should've left Dong-Hyun the hell alone. The idiot would have walked himself out on that fucking white line.

Then it wouldn't be this. Then she wouldn't have to worry about fixing it.

She should have dragged Woo-Ram with her, maybe the two of them could have pushed him out.

"Aish!" she exclaimed irritably, then slammed her phone to the ground.

So-Mi wasn't stupid, and she might have liked Dong-Hyun as a friend, but when the idiot stumbled, suddenly everything made sense in So-Mi's mind.

When the others fell asleep, she and her fellow mafia stayed awake.

They had to get together and decide who to kill.

Kill someone. So-Mi was laughing hysterically now at the thought.

What were they? Serial killers in training?

So-Mi didn't want to kill anyone. Neither did any of the other mafia.

And then, of course, there were consequences. At around six o'clock Choi Ju-Won went crazy, just like Heo Yool at midnight, and killed himself.

It's just wonderful, fantastic. She had no choice.

So-Mi lived her life by the rule of 'stomp or be stomped'.

This game told So-Mi 'kill or be killed'. Her hands were tied. What was she supposed to do?

Then Sang-Hwan, the idiot. He smashed his head so hard with a stone that he died on the fourth blow.

It wasn't a pretty sight. And So-Mi wondered how many therapists she'd have to pay to get it out of her head. Probably a lot.

Anyway...Sang-Hwan gave her a good idea.

Thanks to Sang-Hwan, she realized that they couldn't leave until the game was over.

And the sixth rule of the game was that the game was over when one team won.

There was no other way. They had to kill the ones who not in their group.

It was a painful realization. She really liked some of her classmates. She really did.

Then... there was Kim Jun-hee. So-Mi...So-Mi liked him, even loved him.

Every day for a year, she thought about how to tell Jun-hee that she loved him. How to get him to love her back.

It wasn't love at first sight, although So-Mi thought he looked like a model at first sight.

His face, his eyes, his nose, his mouth. His body shape. So-Mi loved everything about Jun-Hee. Everything. Especially when he laughed and the smile came to his face.

Even the annoying things he did when he left So-Mi and went to Yoon-Seo instead of So-Mi.

Yeah. Kim So-Mi loved Jun-Hee so much that she accepted his mistakes. She loved his mistakes too.

Of course, because life sometimes taught So-Mi hard lessons, Jun-Hee didn't become a mafia.

Instead, he was either a civilian, a police or a doctor.

So-Mi had to choose.

Because they were on opposite teams.

Her life or Jun-Hee's life.

And although So-Mi thought about Jun-Hee every day for a year, and although she loved him. She really did. She loved him.

So-Mi loved her life more.

So when Dong-Hyun slipped up, she wondered if the game swas going to turn her into a serial killer. Then she would be. On her terms.

And everything would've been fine if it weren't for that  annoying Na-Ri.

Anyway. No problem. So-Mi'll figure it out.

Sighing, she picked up her phone and went to the youth centre.

To her surprise, the others she'd gone to the mountains with were still waiting for her.

They told her they had waited to go in together.

Well...whatever suits them.

Except for Woo-Ram, they're all going to die anyway.

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When they entered the youth centre, their classmates were waiting for them. They were in the lobby, some with snacks of some kind.

Na-Ri's eyes automatically searched for Ji-Soo and Yoo-Joon.

They were standing against the wall, Ji-Soo clutching a bottle of water and Yoo-Joon standing next to her, their hands clasped together, hanging between them.

Na-Ri didn't know how long they had been standing like that when Joo-Young spoke.

"Where's the help?" she asked, standing next to Mi-Na, who was clinging to Hyun-Seok's arm.

Na-Ri looked across their group. Some of them were dirty, Na-Heen seemed to be sparing her left ankle. Overall, their looks might as well have been an answer.

"We couldn't find..." Jun-Hee replied in a guilt-ridden voice. There was silence. Na-Ri didn't know how to handle it, because she was part of the group that was expected to do something. To bring some hope.

Other than hopelessness, they didn't bring much.

"Then how far into the village were you able to go?" asked Hyun-Seok as he stepped closer.

Na-Ri could see the storm in his eyes. When he didn't get an answer to his question, he continued to question them.

"You said you went to look for people, to ask for help. Did you or didn't you?" he insisted, stepping closer to their group. His voice kept rising, surprising the others. Hyun-Seok was quiet, friendly.

"Answer me, when I ask something!" he snapped, his phone clutched tightly, now that Na-Ri was paying closer attention she could see his eyes were red. He was crying before they arrived.

Kyung-Jun, on the other hand, didn't like being asked to do things.

"Shut the hell up-" he growled as he stepped forward, but then Hyun-Seok nudged him by the shoulders. Kyung-Jun didn't move. Hyun-Seok's shove wasn't a strong one, he didn't want to shove hard.

"I won't shut up! I won't shut up because help is not coming, and you started off by making us believe that help would come! That you will bring help! But you don't and... and Sang-Hwan is dead! He was killed by some fucking mind-controlling psycho!" he yelled, causing the fight to drain from Kyung-Jun's features. "And no one comes to tell me why he died."

"What did he do to deserve this." Hyun-Seok paused in his speech, Mi-Na squeezed his hand comfortingly. "He didn't deserve this. I don't even know how I'm gonna tell his grandmother that Sang-Hwan died. That...that he..."

Kyung-Jun no longer looked like he was ready to build Hyun-Seok into the floor.

"Sang-Hwan is dead." repeated Hyun-Seok, his hands shaking as he lifted and covered his face.

"So is Choi Ju-Won." Da-Beom said softly.

Na-Ri decided to remain silent. A strange feeling of sympathy settled in her stomach. As if she had lost someone too.

But no. Na-Ri hadn't lost anyone. A small voice even said yes. She had lost something. Someone. Her gaze automatically drifted to the statue. Someone important.

"We're completely locked in here." she heard Jun-hee's words. He probably didn't know how to console they, so he'd rather deal with what they knew. The facts.

"Then does it mean..." asked Yoon-Seo looking at Jun-Hee, his eyes glittering with concern. "...that we can't leave this place until the game is over?"

The meaning in what she said made many bodies tense, Ji-Soo gripped Yoon-Joo's hand tighter, her eyes looking at her boyfriend, then she looked at Na-Ri.

Ji-Soo couldn't stand it if they had to play until everyone died.

Na-Ri stared at right in front of her.

But that meant they were going to vote again today.

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Park Ji-Soo was leaning against her boyfriend's side, looking at the floor. The fact that she was leaning against Yoo-Joon's side reassured her. The way his hand rested gently on her waist was reassuring.

She knew she could trust Yoo-Joon. She trusted Yoo-Joon with her life.

And that was all. She trusted no one else in this room. Maybe she could trust Heo Yool too because his role was announced after he died. Then he came back to life.

It was still confusing, so Ji-Soo just pushed the thought away.

"What if one of us dies again tonight like Ju-Won?" Yoo-Joon asked. Ji-Soo felt the worry flowing from him, her fingers automatically running over the back of his hand on her waist.

But what he said made sense.

"We should hide and lock the door." Eun-Chan was sitting next to them, and his idea could be used.

However, Ji-Soo wasn't going to hide with them. Friends or not friends. She won't trust them with her safety or Yoo-Joon's.

Sitting next to Eun-Chan were Eun-Ha and Heo Yool. Their hands were clasped together between them, which did not escape Ji-Soo's notice.

Heo Yool seemed to have finally gathered his courage. Too bad it was in a situation like this.

Ji-Soo almost wanted to smile as she thought about how she never thought she would be happy that Yoo-Joon had asked her to be his girlfriend on a normal Tuesday.

"Are you going to vote?" asked Eun-Ha, her voice dangerously low, as if she would rather do anything but say the sentence.

"We have to." said Mi-Na, with Hyun-Seok beside her.

Hyun-Seok had been silent since his emotional breakdown.

Ji-Soo understands. Hyun-Seok lost his best friend. Yoo-Joon is the most important person in her life. Her boyfriend, her best friend, the person she talks to when something hurts her, Yoo-Joon is the one who, puts up with Ji-Soo. He loves Ji-Soo just the way she is. Even if she's bossy sometimes.

Ji-Soo wouldn't know what to do if Yoo-Joon was voted out. Or if Yoo-Joon executed in the night.

The thought is scary, and it squeezes her heart to the point where she really feels a moment of pain.

Now Ji-Soo understands what Eun-Ha meant when she asked her not to call Sang-Hwan and Ju-Won bodies.

Ji-Soo herself would not want anyone to refer to Yoo-Joon as a body, in case....

But he won't.

"But how many people are mafia?" asked Mi-Na, glancing at Yeon-Woo.

Ji-Soo sees he's tapping his phone.

"I don't know. It doesn't say anything about their number." Yeon-woo muttered. And Woo-Ram seemed to have an idea.

"Right. The police. There was an announcement that police used their skills this morning. They must know then." he explained. And yes, it made sense, but what if it was a civilian who they used their skills on? Or a doctor?

Ji-Soo automatically leaned more to her boyfriend's side. She hoped it wasn't used on Yoo-Joon. Whoever the cop is, there has to be someone their's attached to.

Maybe if Yoo-Joon had been discovered, they would have had expectations of him.

Because Yoo-Joon was a doctor. At least one of the doctors.

["I am a civilian. What about you?" asked Ji-Soo as she pointed her phone at her boyfriend. Yoo-Joon didn't show his, he answered.

"Me too." he said, his eyes starng to the others in the room.

And the next day, when the broadcast announced that the doctor had used theirs ability, Ji-Soo felt Yoo-Joon tense up next to her..

And later, when Sang-Hwan ran across the white line, Ji-Soo saw her boyfriend's hand shaking and a clear question on his phone.

𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚘𝚗 𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝙹𝚒-𝚂𝚘𝚘?

𝚈𝚎𝚜                      𝙽𝚘

Ji-Soo saw the decisive movement that brought Yoo-Joon's finger towards the 𝚈𝚎𝚜 option, but gently, she stopped the movement.

It felt good to being protected by her boyfriend. But she didn't think it was necessary. At least not right now.

They were fine now]

That's how Ji-Soo knew there were probably two doctors. Yoo-Joon was one of them.

Then again...if Ji-Soo had been a cop, she probably would have used her ability on first someone she liked.

Maybe that's what a real cop would do.

"Are you really all civilians?" asked Joo-Young hysterically, and Ji-Soo held back a sigh with difficulty. She missed that. That's exactly what she missed.

"None of us are police?" Even if they were...they are not likely to answer.

"Be quiet! You are distracting me. If you plan vote, let's call Jun-hee here."

"Get Jun-hee." So-Mi said to Woo-Ram, Ji-Soo's thoughts ignoring the girl's slight obsession with the class president.

However, Ji-Soo noticed Na-Hee's absence. She thought about getting up and going to look for her. Dragging Yoo-Joon with her of course. On the way, they might also look at Na-Ri.

They could stay there with Na-Ri, away from all the headaches. She could strengthen their budding friendship.

But then she wouldn't know what they're saying here. And Ji-Soo knew that the people gathered here were big gossips. They saw the threads where Ji-Soo had missed them.

So she just poked So-Mi, unfortunately she had to climb out of Yoo-Joon's embrace to do it.

"What about Na-Hee?" she asked, So-Mi looking thoughtfully ahead of her.

"I don't know. She's probably sleeping in the infirmary." So-Mi ran a hand through her hair, then spoke louder so Woo-Ram could hear.

"Yah, Park Woo-Ram! Get Na-Hee too!" she shouted.

Ji-Soo quietly heard a reply in the affirmative from the hallway, so she crawled back to Yoo-Joon's side, satisfied. Yoo-Joon's hand slid back to Ji-Soo's waist in an instinctive movement, which brought a faint smile to Ji-Soo's face.

Fortunately, some things never change.

"Then who do you think might be the mafia?" she asked, just to break the silence.

"Seeing how Ju-Won died, it might be someone from Kyung-Jun's gang." Joo-Young thought aloud.

"Right. They bullied Ju-Won a lot." Yeon-Woo said, his body leaning forward excitedly. He seemed pleased with the developments.

But Ji-Soo just frowned. They were still speculating, not knowing how correct their hunch was.

"It looked like Jin-Ha and Seung-Bin borrowed a lot of money from Ju-Won too." explained Yeon-Woo further, but somehow the dots didn't connect in Ji-Soo's mind. Of course there was a motive, but no explanation.

They were mafia partners. They were supposed to kill civilians, not each other.

"I'm not sure about Ju-Won." Mi-Na said, putting a curler in her bangs with one hand as she continued. "Usually, mafia would want to kill of civilians." Ji-Soo didn't miss the way Mi-Na's eyes locked on Eun-Ha.

Neither did Heo Yool.

"We might be able to learn something from yesterday's vote." Ji-Soo saw the others in the room looking at Eun-Ha.

"Why are you all looking at Eun-Ha?" asked Heo Yool, which made them all look at her.

"She was the one who got us to vote you out yesterday." Joo-Young blanched in a deadpan voice as she looked at Heo Yool like she was looking at a madman.

"Yeah. Because yesterday, we all thought this was a normal game." Heo Yool said in a stern voice. "I also thought it was a normal mafia game. I didn't know I was going to end up diving headfirst into the concrete ." Some people cringed at how bluntly he hinted at his death.

"That doesn't rule out the possibility that he could be mafia." Joo-Young protested feebly, not letting go of her theory.

Ji-Soo watched Heo Yool sigh in exhaustion. Ji-Soo leaned her head against Yoo-Yoon's shoulder, continuing to watch the events unfold.

"But it excludes." he said. "I've played the mafia game with Eun-Ha a hundred times. I know that when she's mafia, she grins mischievously and her eyes twinkle with delight. I beat her a hundred times in this game online before we even started playing it in class. Yesterday when she pointed at me in the hallway, she looked at me with exhausted eyes. It was as if she was saying, 'it's you again'." he explained, and Ji-Soo watched with delight as Eun-Ha's face turned bright red.

Heo Yool leaned back against the foot of the bed, pleased to see that Eun-Ha's suspicions had been repaid.

The way Eun-Ha looked at Heo Yool reminded Ji-Soo of the way she used to look at Yoo-Joon.

Ji-Soo could see Yeon-Woo and Eun-Chan nudging each other, whispering and pointing at Eun-Ha with a soft chuckle.

For the first time since last night, the atmosphere was pleasant.

Then of course So-Mi spoke, and Ji-Soo's blood ran cold.

"Isn't Kang Na-Ri.... suspicious to you?"

"I think she might be the mafia."

.
.
.

ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʀᴇᴀᴄʜᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɴᴅ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ.

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