The Alters. (Purinz)

One

A new girl is coming. Please, don't mess this up again.

"Chaewon, we're all in this together. Either we all ruin it, or we all save it," said Michelle, inside her head. Though Chaewon heard her so clearly, she could swear Michelle had whispered in her ear.

She sighed, trying to relax. She was incredibly nervous.

The last three roommates she had were gone because they couldn't handle living with five completely different people sharing one body.

At least they had been kind. They didn't call her crazy or scream at her or anything they just left and never spoke to her again.

Or at least that's what Chaewon knew. As the host, the other personalities didn't tell her anything that happened.

Chaewon had been diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) three years ago, after something had gone very wrong on prom night.

That night, she had gone home with Sakura, her love interest. It was clear that her intention was to have sex with her, but after a few hot kisses, she remembered absolutely nothing.

She woke up the next day in the hospital, with no idea what had happened.

The nurse, the doctor, and the psychiatrist who visited and cared for her over the next couple of weeks helped her adjust to the news.

That night, she had felt slightly uncomfortable with Sakura's kisses, which was enough for another part of her to take control-the part she later came to know as Pupu, her protector, whose job was to protect her from any sexual situation that made her feel uneasy.

Sakura had realized something was wrong and stopped. When she asked if Chaewon was sure, it was Pupu who nodded, but Sakura still sensed something odd.

Perhaps if Sakura had continued, they would've had wild sex, and the next day Chaewon wouldn't have remembered anything, blaming it on the alcohol. But that didn't happen because Sakura was too good too kind.

Pupu was mute and knew sign language. After a while, she answered Sakura's questions with her hands.

Chaewon had no clue about sign language. After that, Sakura had distanced herself and called her adoptive parents, who took her to the hospital, thinking something was wrong, because none of Pupu's behavior matched their daughter's.

They realized it wasn't the child they had adopted at age eleven. Pupu would say yes to everything, even things Chaewon hated. And there was the fact that she didn't speak and communicated with signs, though she tried to avoid doing so as much as possible. That wasn't their daughter. That wasn't Chaewon.

After explaining what happened to the doctor on call at the hospital, the situation was far from over.

Things were already strange enough when a third person appeared.

Michelle, as she introduced herself later, was the primary protector. She was the one who answered all the doctor's and psychologist's questions. The poor student psychologist looked terrified.

- I'm not in a position to respond, she said, her voice graver and more serious, far more intimidating than the soft tone everyone knew Chaewon for. - Mom, can we go home? I'm tired.

- No one is leaving until this is explained, Chaewon, the woman said, and the girl nodded reluctantly.

- I'm fine. It's just a couple of voices, nothing more, she said, sounding genuinely relaxed and convincing.

At that time, Chaewon was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, but what she had was completely different.

- It must've been because I drank a lot at the prom, she shrugged.