The Ace (Stray Kids Kim Seungmin)

38

"Are you serious?" That Pen belonged to hearts? But how... That isn't our Pen. Does that mean there are two Aces of Hearts?" Brea questioned.

"No, only one," Mel responded. I remember being in there. Living there once."

"Then... How did you get to the other Pen? You were the last to arrive out of all of us, how could you have lived at a time before the rest of us arrived?"

"Because she died. Five years ago when the other hearts died in that Pen, Mel did too. The blood you saw in the shed, it was hers," Seungmin explained.

Minho eyed him in confusion, "how do you know all this?"

"Because I was there." The Ace of Spades sighed, glancing down at his palms before curling his fingers in to form a fist. "My memory was erased so I don't remember most of it -- in fact, I only remember it because Kayleigh reminded me -- but I remember dragging Mel's body out of the shed and disposing of it in the forest. I did it with a girl. I don't remember her name but she had blonde hair and brown eyes and-"

"Harri..." Brea muttered bitterly. "How does she constantly tangle herself in such messy situations?"

Kayleigh chuckled, crossing her arms over her chest as she stated, "well, it's obvious, isn't it?"

Brea glared at her, "Harri's not the Joker."

"You sure about that? Because that contradicts what I saw five years ago."

"Are you certain the girl you saw by the river was her? And if it was her, how can you be so sure she is the Joker?"

"Because, little girl, I saw the blood dressing her. I saw the brokenness in her eyes and the tears rolling down her cheeks. Unlike you, I was actually there the day it all happened. And I remember everything that unfold as though it was just yesterday."

"You were there, were you?" Brea frowned. "And how did you contribute to the murder of my people then?"

The Ace of Diamonds rolled her eyes, "I didn't kill anyone and that's all you need to know."

"You planned the attack then, I guess."

"Perhaps I did but things were different back then."

"You mean, it was perfectly fine to commit homicide? Were human lives unimportant back then?" Brea asked sarcastically.

"I'm warning you, kid. You don't want to mess with me."

"Or what? You'll kill me like you killed the other hearts?"

"I already told you I didn't kill any of them!"

"Oh right, because you don't like getting your hands dirty, do you? Instead you will come up with a plan to kill me and then force Harri to do it so you appear innocent."

"No one forced Harri to do anything."

"Funny you say that because, if I remember correctly, when we first met you said 'she looked so helpless at that moment, you know, as though she was only a murderer because she was forced to be, not because she liked to kill'."

Kayleigh's confident smirk faltered for a moment but she was quick to regain her composure. With a shake of her head, she scoffed, "I meant the creators forced her to kill because she's a Joker, not because any of us forced her."

"How do you remember?" Melody interrupted, narrowing her eyes as Kayleigh in confusion. "Both Seungmin's and my memories were erased. Why weren't yours?"

"Why weren't mine...?" Kay's voice trailed off as she thought of an excuse but before she could come up with anything, Aira replied on her behalf.

"Mel, your memory was erased because you died. Seungmin and Harri, on the other hand," Aira sighed. "The two of them plus Hyunjin were the only ones directly involved and... Well, let's just say it isn't easy to fully recover after committing such. The creators deemed it necessary for their memories to be erased so that they would be able to no longer dwell on what they did. As for Kayleigh and I, we saw nothing but at that point, we were the only ones left in the world so the creators offered us a second chance. I accepted and was transferred to a different Pen which became the new Pen for the hearts."

"I refused and explored all the parts of the world instead," Kayleigh added.

"So you two were indirectly involved?" Mel asked, watching as they both nodded. "What does that mean? Was Brea correct in suggesting you were the ones you planned it all out?"

"Well..." Aira started only to be immediately cut off when an individual emerged from the dense jungle. Seungmin pulled out the machete Kayleigh had given him, ready to swing while Minho and Jeongin followed suit with their spades.

However, as soon as their gazes landed on the individual's face they knew exactly who it was. Seungmin instantly lost grip on the machete, letting it fall and collide with the ground as he continued to stare at the girl in shock.

She had short blind hair, pale skin but rosy, tear-stained cheeks and big, brown eyes that were bloodshot red. Exhaustion was written all over Harri's face as she threw a rusty machete into the jungle to her left, drawing attention to the splashed blood on her arms before mumbling, "Rayne's dead and I wish I was too."