━━━━༻ ♣ ༺━━━━ rewind 01110010 ━━━━༻ ♣ ༺━━━━

(Y/n) was woken up with the sound of footsteps. At least, she was pretty sure they were footsteps unless a ghost decided to play basketball in the middle of the night.

The steps were soft and tentative. Whoever they were, they didn't want to wake her up. Perfect for her, since she really wanted to continue sleeping. I swear to God if snowman is going to try anything...

But it wasn't Kieran unless he suddenly changed his cologne to one that smells like vanilla and lavender. It was a scent she recognized and dreaded at the same time. It was the same thing a certain resident duo-personality blond wore.

She kept her eyes squeezed shut and her breathing steady as the person, presumably Jaehyun, came closer to her sleeping form. Then he stopped. She could feel his presence dangerously close to her and she gulped. What does he want?

She heard the faint rustle of clothing as he crouched down in front of her. His eyes flitted across her face, something she was sadly aware of. She nearly flinched when his fingertips brushed against her cheek. Thank God she didn't because if she did...

Well, (Y/n) preferred to sleep the bad parts of life out. It made things easier.

Jaehyun rested his head on the bed next to hers. For once he wasn't blushing, which he usually did when he was close to her. The warmth that radiated from her skin onto his and the way she looked straight at him, her limpid eyes unclouded and unjudging—those things never failed to make his cheeks warm. In a good way, of course.

Though the current circumstances made that difficult. Instead, sadness crossed his face as he gazed at her. "Did you really choose Kieran?" He whispered, more towards himself than the sleeping female. "I don't believe that. There's no way someone as pure as you would choose a 썅놈년 like him."

The foreign word rolled smoothly off his tongue like honey. His English was always beautiful despite his subtle accent, especially with her soft, serene voice and angelic features to match. Many who've come to see the sole Kim heir's artwork were in awe of both his talent and his features. How could one who looked so angelic and delicate produce such heart-stopping work? Some even urged him to be a singer, claiming that they've never heard a more beautiful sound.

Yet his Korean was astonishingly better, hypnotizingly so. It made her shiver and calmed her at the same time.

Fortunately, he still didn't seem to realize she was, in fact, awake. He folded his arms on the bed under his head and continued gazing at her, taking in the way she was so silent and still in her sleep. Her tranquility wasn't unfamiliar to him; he's taken countless pictures of her before, and some were of her sleeping face. He had been shy at first when he broke into her apartment—he was raised never to look at a girl's sleeping face—but soon he grew bolder. Greedier. He was no longer satisfied with watching from afar.

A beautiful smile crept onto his face. "It's okay, (Y/n). I understand now." He unfurled himself from his position on the floor and crawled onto the bed, hovering over her body. He lowered himself so he was right behind her and hugged her tight to his chest, entwining his fingers with hers. The other him purred in satisfaction in his chest.

"It's impossible you're in love with that 썅놈년," he said again, confidence blooming in his voice with every word. He nuzzled his head into her neck. His breath left chills on her skin. "You're being deceived by him. He's tricking you...or forcing you. Either way, don't worry. I'll save you."

(Y/n) bit back a shout of surprise as a dart of pain lanced up her arm from his bone-crushing grip. She restrained her shudder as he softly kissed the back of her neck and squeezed her tighter. Jaehyun let out a blissful sigh.

"This fake world of false smiles and deceitful lies, of unsaid truths and uncovered masks—they're all out to hurt you, just like him." Anger returned to his voice as he released her and stroked her cheek. Anger towards Kieran, or perhaps her? "No one can understand or protect you the way I can! That's why..."

"...I broke it."

What? (Y/n) lied still in the silence that followed. Nothing but the sound of their breathing could be heard in the bedroom. Then, giggles. A giggle escaped his throat, quietly and restrained at first, before it turned into full-blown, unhinged laughter.

"Yes, I broke it!" The boy giggled, though mindful to keep his volume down so the white-haired male next door wouldn't hear. "That illusory world where nothing is true—I broke it. Now you'll be with me forever! You don't have to worry about a sin—gle thing, (Y/n). I've already made all the necessary preparations. The school and your family will think you've died in the Game. And your friends? Well, we don't have to worry about them anymore, do we?"

He kissed her cheek again and flopped back to the bed, his giggles quieting as he wrapped his arms back around her. "There are still those nuisances to deal with..." he sighed. "Tristan's going to be the most annoying, but that's okay. I'll deal with him somehow after I get rid of that bastard Kieran. Then you'll see I'm the only one for you."

He made a humming sound as he gazed at her. "You can't even hear me anyway, but I hope you're dreaming about me. Because if you're not, I'm going to get real—ly angry, you know. Anyway, I gotta go now. I can't kill Kieran tonight—he's a light sleeper. But I have some nasty surprises for him tomorrow morning..."

Jaehyun giggled again but thankfully released her. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and got ready to leave. He hummed as he skipped towards the door in all his deranged fashion, his smile nearly splitting his face in half as he turned and waved at the (h/c)-haired girl.

"Goodnight, my (Y/n)~ I'll see you in the morning!"

As soon as he was gone, (Y/n) sat straight up and rubbed her neck. Her skin was crawling with goosebumps from where he touched and kissed her. It was easier to believe Jaehyun was a killer than someone like Kieran, especially after seeing the blond wield a knife all those times. As he held her, she wondered what he did with those hands. Was he the one behind Isla's death?

Kieran claimed they weren't. He said Leon and Tristan were the only ones responsible for Carmen's death, and they had no idea what happened to Isla. (Y/n) didn't trust him, but at the same time, she had nothing else to believe in. Not to mention the fact that Jason had been killed when the Game started, or even sooner than that, and by an unknown factor no less.

She fell back onto the bed with a quiet oof as the mattress bounced her back up a little at the impact. Whatever, I'll just go to sleep.

The next morning, she was greeted by an uninvited guest. Namely, a certain white-haired Yeti who thought it was a good idea to join her underneath the covers and bring her cold. She woke up to the feeling of something cold pressed to her bare feet and an annoying thing that kept tickling her side every time she tried to smack it away.

It was Kieran. Goddammit, you.

He chuckled at her sleepy attempts to smack him away as he played with the ends of her hair. "Shh, stop fussing," he whispered, his voice husky in the way only morning voices are. "Go back to sleep."

This boy be braiding my hair at—She cracked open her drowsy eyes to glance at the clock—Seven in the morning. What the heck.

His fingers weaved through her hair with expertise even when she made an annoyed sound and almost headbutted him. Her eyes widened when she realized what was happening and she quickly snapped out of her drowsiness. She covered up her irritation, pretending she had only been cuddling up to him instead of trying to flip his face inside-out.

He seemed to buy it and wrapped his arms around her. "Are you cold?" His breath fanned over her skin and made her shiver. When she nodded, he tugged the comforter further up over them and held her tighter. "Next time, tell me when you need something, okay?"

She almost forgot he couldn't feel the temperature on top of pain. (Y/n) dutifully nodded and made herself relax. Okay, so here's the deal, (Y/n). Her inner therapist began the pep talk with a scolding air. You gotta do what you gotta do when times are tough. So even if being within a meter of the snowman and not practicing social distancing makes you want to eat your own hair, you gotta do it. You want to hear Reese's ungodly singing again, don't you?

She really didn't.

Okay, maybe not. But would you rather go pillow shopping with snowman or Reese? Exactly, Reese. So even if you have to hug snowman until your arms fall off, do it. The only thing you're losing is your pride anyway, not that you have any left to begin with.

(Y/n) was terrible at pep talks, even to herself. But it did the trick; she mentally prepared herself, reciting "Do it for the tomatoes, do it for the tomatoes" in her head like a mantra before she found the willpower to sink into the white-haired male's embrace and even return it.

His eyebrows lifted in surprise at her unexpected move and then he smiled. He ran a hand over her hair slowly, as if he was petting his pet tiger back home. "Well, aren't you needy today? You're a really good girl when you're like that..."

Ew, cooties.

"Too bad I can't stay too long," he sighed, his arms loosening. "I was in the middle of getting cleaned up when I got distracted." The shifting of the comforter as he began to sit up revealed that he had quite a few bandages wound around his arms. There were also a few band-aids on his face and neck.

This time, (Y/n) didn't have to fake her concern. "You were literally in one piece yesterday and now you look like Chucky got to you." She furrowed her brow as she inspected the gauzes. "What happened?"

"It's nothing for you to worry about." He lightly pushed her back down. "Go to sleep. I was just careless and stepped on the wrong thing, 'kay?" He pushed himself off the bed and silently padded towards the bathroom to tend to his wounds.

Is this what Jaehyun meant by having a surprise for him? (Y/n) hopped out of the bed and quietly went through the door that linked her room to Kieran's. Sure enough, there were a number of razor blades and glass shards stained wth blood embedded into the floor right next to the bed. Kieran's blanket was also covered in crimson-tipped blades, probably what got his face and arms scratched up so much.

(Y/n) caught herself before she stepped onto a floor of push pins that were scattered in front of the door. The sight made her blood curl and gulp. Jaehyun meant business. She stepped back from the lethal devices and closed the door securely. If that was her, she doubted she'd be as smiley as Kieran had been. She supposed that was thanks to his condition, but it still had to be uncomfortable.

"What are you doing?" The said male stepped out of the bathroom with freshly applied bandages. Worry and fear flashed across his face as he saw her near his room and in the middle of closing the door. He crossed the space between them in a single long stride and his eyes raked up her form in search of any visible injuries.

"Don't go in there," he instructed her firmly, his hands heavy on her shoulders. "I haven't cleaned it up yet. You could get hurt."

They need to stop treating me like a kid, she sulked as his hand alighted on her head. "I'm fine. You should be worrying about yourself instead. You look like a character straight out of a slasher film."

A wicked smirk arose on his face. "Still handsome though, right?"

For sure. My eyes are still losing a lot of blood. "M-maybe."

He simply chuckled and his hand fell back to his side. "I'm glad to see you're still the same, always hesitant to flatter me." A sad smile graced his lips before he quickly covered it with a cough. "Anyway, since you're up already, do you want breakfast or something?"

"I'm not that hungry," she admitted. "I'll be fine with some fruit."

"Alright."

Sometimes I wish life was an online game, the (h/c)-haired girl mused as she trailed after the white-haired male towards the kitchen. Her eyes raked over the framed artworks lining the hallways she's long grown used to seeing day after day. If I could open some kind of character panel and see their statistics, it would make things so much easier. I'd be able to distinguish the backstabbers from those who have my back. And I'd be able to see into their heads.

She eyed the male in front of her. His lean frame was hidden under a tight-fitting open-collared shirt that didn't do him justice. It gave him the appearance of a teenager even though the things he's seen and the things he's done far exceeds that of a typical highschooler. She wished there was some other easier method of seeing into his head.

Or maybe not. There was probably some kind of porno going on in there. Kidding.

She debated how she was going to get Kieran to let her go back to her old room by herself. She needed to come up with some kind of excuse to grab the key to Reese's basement room and, if possible, the laptop along with it. Maybe she could use the same trick of wanting to grab the things that were of sentimental value to her? Namely her late mother's mug.

"Here," Kieran said as they entered the kitchen and he picked up a fruit from the bowl. "Catch."

Her hands fumbled with the fruit before she got a good grip on it. The male picked up an apple for himself and leaned back against the kitchen island. "I'm surprised the prick isn't up yet," he mused, taking a bite out of it. "Or maybe he's still glued to the floor since yesterday."

And I'm not sorry. She felt no more pity for the blue-haired male, given all his glacial threats that hit too close to home. "I take it that kind of thing happens often?"

"Nah, just whenever I feel like it. The same trick won't work twice with him, and if I try something too often, he'd get suspicious. At least he hasn't moved studies yet."

"Speaking of moving rooms," (Y/n) began as inconspicuously as she could. She didn't want him to get any ideas. "There are things I left in my old one. Can I...go get them?"

His hand froze in front of his mouth and he blinked in surprise. "You already have plenty of pillows though. You still want more?"

"No, it's something else." She brushed his teasing tone to the side. "My laptop and some other things"—she plowed on before he had the chance to cut in—"I'm going to die of boredom without them. Pleaseeee?"

He scratched the back of his neck with his free hand. "I...guess that's okay?" Then he shrugged. "Who am I kidding. Go ahead. I'll come with."

That was the last thing she wanted, but at the same time she couldn't exactly turn him down. That's not what the persona she was playing would do. She plastered a bright smile onto her face. "Okay."

They took the elevator all the way up to the fifth floor. Tristan's floor. On one hand (Y/n) was dreading seeing the blue-haired male but on the other hand, his presence would be useful for her. There was no doubt he'd accuse Kieran of yesterday's mishaps, granting her the opportunity to slip away and grab the items she needed. That was the best-case scenario.

She didn't want to think about the worst-case scenario. Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.

And sure enough, a certain blue-haired scrooge appeared in the hallway just as they were rounding towards her old room. He did not look happy to see them. What a surprise. His cerulean-glass eyes held the sharp gleam of a hunter stalking their prey. He seemed to be able to dissect them just with one look that held a cold, calculating calm. Kind of like a supercomputer which was ironic, since he could barely work a personal computer.

This is my cue to go. She slid behind Kieran. In this scenario, she'd rather suck up to the white-haired male until her pride was gone than exchange a single word with Tristan flipping Knight.

Kieran, mistaking her anger for fear, smiled at her reassuringly and stepped in front of her, shielding her from the other male's eyes. A lazy smirk danced on his lips.

"Morning, old man," he drawled, shoving his hands into his pockets. His stance was entirely a casual one, giving him the air of being off his guard. "You look so excited this fine morning. Someone shat in your coffee?"

Contrary to the flamboyant male, Tristan looked like he was chiseled out of ice. His pale eyes held not a single spark in them, and he looked anything but amused.

"Wouldn't you know, Fujikawa?" His tone was clipped and filled with loathing. "I do wonder who it was that vandalized by study with your pictures. I doubt anyone here is as narcissistic as you are."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't you?" Tristan came towards them until he was just an arm's length away. "Who was the scoundrel who filled my closet with packing peanuts last year?" A look of distaste crossed his face at the memory, while Kieran's grin grew wider, mirth shining in his golden eyes.

"That scoundrel was a genius then," the male chuckled. "They wouldn't come off your clothes so you had to wear your gym uniform instead. The ladies had a field day."

Packing peanuts are annoying as hell. (Y/n) knew from experience. Don't ask.

Tristan ignored him and redirected his line of sight towards the (h/c)-haired girl. Kieran subtly shifted further in between them with a permanent smile on his face.

"It's rude to look away from someone when they're talking to you, Trish-chan," he purred, shaking his head with a hefty sigh. "And you scold me on my manners. I'll have you know I'm the perfect gentleman."

(Y/n) and Tristan both had many things to say about that, but they restrained before they accidentally launched the white-haired male into another one of his egotistic speeches.

"What are you doing here?" Tristan kept his eyes on where (Y/n) was hiding. "Up to no good again?"

She bristled, wishing she had a stick or anything on her she could use to poke his eyes out. How good would that feel?

"Can't I visit you from time to time?" Clearly, Kieran wasn't about to give up the reason so easily, just as expected. He got off on making people's lives harder. "Just checking to see if you're still alive."

Tristan lifted an eyebrow in exasperation. "And why would you need to do that to begin with? Were you trying to kill me?"

"I don't know, was I?" Kieran shrugged. He began moving towards the other male in an exaggerated fashion. "Or maybe I just wanted to greet my best friend Trish-chan bright and early in the morning. See? Aren't I such a good friend?"

"I'd rather cut my throat than be friends with you."

"Ooh, harsh~" Kieran winced, though he looked anything but hurt. Behind his back, he waved a hand at the (h/c)-haired girl, throwing her a subtle wink before launching into a story about his and the blue-haired male's childhood that he animated with his hands. (Y/n) got the hell out of there before he got to the part about trying to set Tristan up with a bunch of girls to get him to lose his v-card.

(Y/n) did not want to know about that. Ew.

She went the long way to her room. She still remembered the path, though she made sure to avoid the hallway where the room Tristan had locked her up in was located. The memory of being choked by the darkness made her stomach turn and eyes dry up.

She found the room easily and thankfully, Tristan had left it unlocked. She wasted no time in diving under the bed and grabbing the pillow hidden under the frame. A stupid hiding spot but hey, it was still there. She went all super Saiyan on the pillow and pulled the tear in it wide enough for her to reach her hand in and pull out the key. She shoved it into her pocket before grabbing the laptop that sat on the table as well as her mug.

It was almost too easy how she'd been able to do all this. Were they really blind to her intentions? A sliver of doubt snaked into her mind. What if this was all a trap? What if Tristan had known what she'd been up to since the beginning and was only testing her, seeing if she'd grab the bait and make all the wrong moves? Then he'd have a perfect excuse to turn his knife towards the red-haired male in the basement...

Speaking of Reese, he was still very much alive, although his throat was starting to hurt from scream—uh, singing the Attack on Titan opening song. He was lamenting about all the episodes of BNHA season 4 he was missing out on and how he's beginning to look like the Little Mermaid with how long his hair was growing.

Eh, whatever. She balanced the mug on the laptop and began her trip all the way back down to the third floor. Snippets of Tristan and Kieran's conversation followed her down the stairs. Kieran was saying something about how much he pitied Tristan and his boring life, and how he had signed him up for an exclusive membership at all the bars and nightclubs the white-haired male frequents.

Tristan retorted with a reply about how he's signed Kieran up for a weekly sermon with the local church.

(Y/n) made sure the laptop was password locked securely before stowing it in the closet. At least this time the wardrobe wasn't filled with things that could barely even be called clothing. They were normal clothes. For once.

She kept the key on her in case she ever needed it. I'll go down to the basement tomorrow, she reasoned. I don't have enough time right now. Which was true given the knock on the door a few moments later.

Did snowman finally give up on trying to lure Tristan to the dark side? She walked towards the door, ready to open it after another knock ensued. Through the wood, she could hear a pair of voices, one that sounded much too young to be the P4.

Well, sh*t.

Her hand curled around the key in her pocket. The slender metal dug into her palm, hard enough to cause discomfort but not enough to pierce her skin. Her blood felt like a live thing, tendrils of fire lacing through her veins and igniting all sorts of explosions inside her. And they weren't the good kind of explosions; not the passionate kind. They were the kind that made her want to lose herself to the red haze seeping in from the edges of her vision and tear apart the very thing making her feel that way.

But she held it back. All for the sake of the pretense she's worked hard to keep up. (Y/n) plastered a fake smile on her face as she opened the door. She was greeted by an excited Conan and an apprehensive-looking Leon whose concerned eyes inspected her immediately. She's grown to hate that look—who was he to be worried about her when he's the one who killed Carmen?

The sight of the black-haired male made her hand fist tighter around the key. She so badly wanted to drive it into those eyes that looked like they were made out of stardust.

She didn't, however. Instead, she smiled at the boy as he beamed up at her. "Howdy, (Y/n)!" Conan chirped. "I am here to ask for your hand in making a pillow fort with me."

(Y/n) was not in the mood for making a pillow fort even though the idea of jumping on a pile of pillows made her mood lighten a little. She pushed her anger down and pretended to entertain the idea. "Sure, why not?"

"Really? Yay!" Conan clapped his hands, dropping his obviously fake posh accent. (Y/n) couldn't help but soften. She couldn't be mad at the little boy, even if she greatly despised his brother. "Let's go to the living room. Big brother and I already moved all the pillows there. You see, this place has sooo many pillows! We could even make a fortress with it?"

(Y/n) nodded and pretended to listen to the boy when the only thing she was aware of was Leon's burning eyes boring into her back. He trailed behind them like a protective shadow, one that (Y/n) wanted to drive away with a flame. Or that conveniently placed vase of flowers. Both works.

She didn't have her heart monitor anymore to check if she was about to fall over the edge of the cliff. Not that it mattered. She was perfectly fine with falling if it meant she could drag one or two of them down with her.

The key winked under the tendril of light that sneaked into her pocket as she walked. It would find itself in the keyhole of Reese's door or maybe, just maybe, buried into someone's neck sooner or later.

Both options were pretty appealing.

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A/N: Four/five more chappies until the endings ヾ(*^∇^)ﾉ And when that happens I will not be accepting any more fanart to show in this book but I'd still like to see it :D

Also, my male readers have increased from 1% to 2% :0 (idk that was just surprising to me) but anyway, here's really pretty fanart from summeraindrops! I think you're the first to get the heights right (≧∇≦)