PEEK A BOO

ten

Seulgi's phone beeped as her phone flashed the numbers 6: 30 am.

She sighed and took a sip of her now-cold coffee. After the CEO had left her in that bus stop, her hopes of escaping and finally living a free life shattered. She absentmindedly went into the nearest 24 hour café and just... stayed there for the past five to six hours.

Her members have been texting her non stop, with the first being Irene. She sent her 26 messages and 4 missed calls, but she didn't ignored them and never answered. Next was Wendy, Joy, and then Yeri. All of their messages consisted of seul where are you? and come back.

Without any more thoughts, she grabbed her duffel bag and left the café.

•

She took a deep breath before turning the door handle.

The dorm looked the same when she left. No sound could be heard except the woman on the television. Maybe they went out. She thought.

Seulgi went to her room, finding the door to be open. She suddenly realized her members were there so she didn't bother knocking. It was her room anyway.

The first thing she saw was Irene crying. There was Wendy reading her letter, Joy frantically typing on her phone, and Yeri hugging Irene.

"Hey, guys. I'm back." She announced so casually that all of their heads snapped at her. Irene stood up from her bed and ran to her, expecting that the older girl was about to hug her, but then the most unexpected thing happened - she slapped her.

"Don't ever do that again." Irene said sternly, still looking like a goddess despite having red eyes from crying. "You're stupid, Seulgi." She wrapped the younger girl into a hug and sobbed at her shoulder.

"I'm sorry." She whispered and soon, the other girls started gathering around them and asked her questions.

"You almost gave me a heart attack! I thought you just went out for a jog but then I read your note..." Wendy wiped her tears and hugged her again. "Don't leave us."

Seulgi wiped her own tear stained cheeks. "I owe you guys an explanation."

"Of course you do." Joy wasn't crying, which was expected. She was the one who lets her anger take control than her sadness.

They all sat on the bed and looked at her expectantly. Seulgi took a deep breath.

"I think all of us are against this mission to kill Twice." Silence. "Last night, I thought about what's happening. We've been nothing but traitors to those girls, killing their members so our CEO could gain back SNSD's title as the Nation's Girl Group - which is a stupid thing.

"They've been so kind to us, yet this is how we treat them behind their backs. They don't blame Yeri for Tzuyu's death despite her being the main suspect. They agreed to meet up with Joy and Irene even after the incident where in fact, they should be grieving with their other members. Hell, Tzuyu's parents have no idea of what happened to their daughter because they knew that we were going to be blamed.

"What I'm saying is that they don't deserve this. They don't deserve this fake ass friendship. We don't deserve them."

Defeaning silence filled the room.

Seulgi continued. "After all that reflection, I was sure that I didn't want any blood in my hands. I want to go back home to escape this industry. I want to become a normal person again, with no constant voice lessons and dance practices. I wanted to quit being an idol. All because of this mission.

"But our CEO saw me in the bus station. How? I don't know why but I begged and kneeled just so he could let me go." Wendy's eyes widened. "But he didn't. He told me that we should finish what we started. Go on with the mission."

"So..." Yeri spoke up after a while. "You're suggesting that we should all escape?"

"No. I'm suggesting that we have to find a way to keep those girls alive without  our CEO knowing." She responded, sounding determined. "There has to be a way."

"No." Irene replied immediately with a stern voice. "No. We can't."

"Why not?"

"The CEO has eyes everywhere. He will know what we're up to." Seulgi's face fell. "We should finish the mission as soon as possible."

"Unnie, you're crazy." Joy exclaimed, surprised by Irene's decision. "You're just gonna let them die? Just like that?"

"This is what the industry does to you, Sooyoung." With that, Irene walked out.

Seulgi sniffed. "I guess... I should do my mission then." The girls looked at her with pity in their eyes. Everyone was thinking of the same thing:

Irene has changed.