Jimin and I sat in that cafe for nearly three hours, talking, laughing and catching up with each other's lives. It had been so long since I last had an actual conversation with him and of course, he didn't fail to make me laugh. He was such a charmer, and I had to admit that if he wasn't like a brother to me, I would've ended up dating him.

"So I tried to excuse myself without hurting anyone, but just as I was about to descend my chair, I hit my head against one of the pans they hung for decoration and of course that made me stumble and I fell from the chair head first," He recalled with me one of the situations he had been through with chairs. Ever since we were young, Jimin and all the chairs around the world had this mutual relationship based on utter hatred and competition. It was either the chair lives or Jimin does, and of course, most of the time, the chair was the one that ended up alive.

Sometimes, Jimin would reenact some scenarios that happened to him, or how he fell off a certain chair (because every fall was different from the other) and I would scream from the amounts of laughter. I had to wipe my tears which fell due to how hard I was laughing at Jimin and his jokes. It had been a very long time since I had last laughed that much, and so I was grateful towards him for making me feel that way again.

Just like the old days. We would laugh for hours, and even after we go back to our orphanage, we would still remember those jokes and laugh on our own on our beds.

"I swear, I don't even know why thi-" Jimin was going to say, but suddenly paused and pulled his phone out of his pocket. The moment he saw the caller ID, his expression flipped and he looked scared, then he immediately accepted the call without any delay.

It seemed as though he was being scolded because he parted the phone away from his ear a bit and grimaced.

"I'm sorry. I didn't have it w-" He tried to say but it seemed as though the person on the other line interrupted him.

I put down the handkerchief that I was using to wipe my tears as I saw Jimin lower his head and apologize to the person on the other line before ending the call with a solemn expression on his face.

"I'm sorry Sun Hee. I wish I can continue this hang out with you, but apparently they kept on calling my name repeatedly on my walkie talkie and I didn't answer. Seems like there is a serious case going on and I need to head back to the station," He said before taking his wallet out and calling for the waiter.

"The bill please," he said to the middle-aged man before turning his attention back to me and wearing his brown, leather jacket hurriedly.

"You will be alright on your own for the night?" he asked, but all I could do was nod with knitted eyebrows, not knowing how to react to the sudden apology.

"As I said, I'll be sleeping over at your house for now, so don't worry. You won't spend the whole night alone. I don't know when I'll be back though, so if you feel tired, just go ahead and sleep, alright?" He told me while giving the money to the waiter and then stood up to leave.

"Come on, I'll take you home first," He told me, and waited for me to stand up, but I didn't.

"No, it's okay. I will stay here for a while. You can leave first," I said with a slight smile drawn on my face.

He let out a heavy breath then bent down and put both of his hands against my shoulders and looked into my eyes.

"Hey. I'll be back. I promise. And we can stay up all night and talk. I'll just see what they want from me and I'll come back, okay?" He said softly, a gentle smile forming on his face before planting his lips against my forehead and leaving with a cute little "bye" of his.

I let both my smile and hands fall down after he was completely out of my sight. Why was I disappointed? I didn't know. Something like this should be completely normal to me considering that the two of us were used to not contacting each other for a long while because of our jobs. Him leaving to attend to his job wasn't something that was supposed to upset me, but it did.

I took two sips from the drink that was in front of me before I stood up and left, pushing the chair in and bowing to the waitress that was standing at the door before leaving. The sun had finally rested, and it was the moon's turn to illuminate the night sky. The town that we lived in wasn't in the heart of Seoul, so it wasn't as busy as anyone would expect it to be, yet you could still hear the sounds of people everywhere and cars too.

A sigh left my mouth as I strolled down the streets that led to my apartment. Nothing illuminated my way except for the lighting that came from nearby windows and some street lamps, some of which didn't even bother to work. The wind blew softly as it was too close to autumn, but it didn't send a chill running through my body. Everything about that night was beautiful, and I was left dazzled by how beautiful the night could be. I didn't see the stars, never did for a long while actually. It was because the amounts of lights that illuminated the streets were too bright that they covered up the twinkling of the stars in the sky (also because the sky at night used to be so cloudy and dark). I passed by the park that was a couple of yards away from my apartment and watched the people who were in it as I walked by. It was filled with families, couples, single people and their friends, and many other people.

There were many instances in life where I wished that I could sit down in a park with somebody, be it a boyfriend, a husband or a friend, and actually talk and have fun. Unfortunately, due to a personal issue of mine, I grew up having extreme trust issues and so the only person who I learnt to trust was Jimin. It was hard for me to trust him completely though. There were times when I actually doubted our friendship, when I wished that I could stay away from him and find someone else, but I knew that I couldn't do that because it will hurt both of us. He didn't have much trust in me in the beginning either. Seeing Jimin grow up was the one thing that kept me alive all these years. From a boy who used to hate everyone and curse at them all to one who is now responsible for the lives of many and knows how to make others feel happy, that was the big shift in Jimin's life and being there to witness every single bit of it never failed to spark something in me.

I let out another sigh before stuffing my hands in the pockets of my pants and walking off to my apartment faster than I initially was. If I wasn't going to spend that night talking to Jimin, then I should've at least spent it in my bath tub or on my beloved bed. The moment I entered my passcode and heard the lock click, I pushed the door open and ran off to my room after slamming the door shut. Walking in the dark wasn't something I was scared of, not after spending the last 23 years of my life in an orphanage that punished us if we stayed awake during the night.

Strangely enough, the door of my room was opened. I never left the house without making sure that the door to my room was locked, but then I remembered that Jimin lived with me in the house now, so it was possible that he had passed by during the day to get something. I didn't even bother turning the lights on and just took my shirt off in one go, not wanting to waste anytime before stepping into the bathroom. The moment my foot felt the cold bathroom tiles, I was immediately left frozen at the door of the dark bathroom. Ahead of me was something that looked like the silhouette of a man, sitting casually at the edge of my bath tub.

It was extremely dark with no source of light at all, so I wasn't capable of recognising who that silhouette belonged to, but that wasn't my concern at that moment. The only thought that played in my head was the fact that there was a man sitting in my bathroom.

My body managed to back away slowly in hopes that the man wasn't aware of my presence, and I closed the door slowly, trying to not make forms of noise as I moved backwards with the door knob in my shaky hand. The moment I made sure that the door was locked, I let a shaky breath exit my mouth, my hand never leaving the door knob.

It took me a long moment to realize that I had to get out of my house before that man notices the presence of another human in the house, but when I actually mustered up my courage to let go of the door knob, my back hit something stiff as I backed away two steps. The feeling of bumping into something left me frozen in my spot and caused all the hair on my body to rise. For a moment, my lungs forgot how to function properly, and it felt as though I was going to pass out any moment. My body shook slightly in fright, my head not capable of rotating to see what I had bumped into.

Not long passed until I felt warm air brush against my bare nape and it made a chill run down my spine, causing my whole body to tremble even more. I clenched both my fists as I made the decision to turn around and take a look at whatever was behind me. Once I was ready to face whatever I was bound to see, I quickly turned my head around only to be faced with nothing but absolute darkness. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and the tension that was accumulated in my fist started disappearing bit by bit.

I spotted my shirt that I had thrown onto the floor and grabbed it quickly, determined to put in on as rapidly as possible and exit the whole house. The moment I turned my back around, I felt as though something, rather someone, was moving behind me. That feeling made me freeze in my spot until I decided that the best option was to leave the house. I totally forgot about the shirt that I had grabbed and just ran out of my room, making my way quickly through the living room since I practically knew the exact location of every piece of furniture in the house.

As I was running, I bumped into the sides of my couch and I fell over it, letting a yelp leave my mouth. I landed flat on my stomach, but then turned my body around and laid on my back instead, only to be faced with the same silhouette but this time standing a couple of feet away from the couch. The moment my eyes landed on the silhouette, I started backing away, my body dragging itself against the couch. The man advanced forward until he took a seat at the coffee table that was near the couch, making my back away even more.

Just then, without any warnings, the light turned on, revealing Jung Hoseok who was sitting on my coffee table, his elbows seated comfortably on his knees, his eyes watching my terrified self with utter amusement.

"H-how did you get here?" I asked him, feeling a huge lump get stuck in the middle of my throat.

He looked down at the floor beneath him before letting out a scoff and saying," Nice to meet you too, but before we start exchanging words, can you cover yourself up? I'm uncomfortable."

I instantly looked down, only to see myself clutching my shirt instead of having it on. My hands fumbled with the shirt before I finally found a way to wear it. Hoseok's eyes only met mine the moment my shirt was on and I was sitting there completely covered up. At least I knew that he wasn't a pervert.

"I'm going to cut short on the introductions and all. From what I've heard, you seem to know me pretty well, and believe it or not, I've also heard a few stuff about you too," He said, his eyes focusing on nothing but mine. Just then, I had to remind myself that he was both an illusionist and a hypnotist, meaning that he was going to try to enter my mind at any moment.

"I've only heard of you too. Nothing personal," I replied back, trying to cancel out all forms of fear from my tone.

His lips formed into a smile, causing me to instinctively look away, afraid that he might be tricking me.

"I'm stuck with a smart one. Too bad. Heard you are a fellow hypnotist," He said, trying to act very friendly when I knew that his true intentions were nothing close to what his tone implied.

I kept my eyes low, trying my best to not trick myself into falling into a trance.

"You know, most people think that because psychologists study about the human mind, it means that no one will be able to trick them. I think that's such a stupid claim. Psychologists are humans too you know. So are hypnotists. I can tell that you are smart and all, and being what you are now most probably took some work, but I'm going to have to take something from you," He said, causing my head to shoot up to his direction at hearing the last part.

"What?" I let out, but it came out as a faint whisper instead of a clear question.

"Nonone out there knows my identity. I've found everyone who knew who I am, what I do, and what I'm capable of and I made sure to get rid of that specific part of their memory. That guy who died, whom I killed, had to leave just for a simple reason. Just because he took a video of me without my permission and posted it online for millions of people to see under my name," He said so casually as though what he said was what a normal, sane person would do in such a situation.

"Why are you telling me all this? It's not like we know each other for too long that you can expose such a thing to me," I asked him, oblivious of the reason behind why he suddenly confessed to his crime to me.

"You really think that I told you this without knowing how to deal with you afterward? I already told you, it is either two options. You die, or your memory of me gets completely erased," He said, then stood up.

"Which one is it gonna be?" He asked me, then started moving towards me on the couch.

Okay, erase what I said earlier. Maybe he was a little bit perverted but knew how to hide it well. Regardless of the way he was eyeing me at that moment and the way his innocent yet devilish smile was piercing through my soul, I didn't feel too intimidated. I had to trust myself. There was no one around but him and me, if I wasn't going to help myself then who would've?

I knew that without his ability, he was basically nothing, and that was what I worked on. I thought,' If he can't enter my mind, then he can't kill me, and he certainly can't erase my memory. But what if he takes things to a physical level? How will I save myself?'

"Shall I choose for you then? You seem to be having a tough time deciding," He said then put a finger under my chin, making my head turn into his direction, his irresistible eyes capturing mine with no second to waste. My inner self kept on resisting the temptation to give in to his looks, to his demonic eyes, to his angelic yet devilish smile. Everything about this human was contradicting and it only made him more interesting, more attractive.

"Why are you resisting? I'm going to enter your brain at the end of the day so might as well save yourself the time and the effort," He whispered seductively, causing my heart to beat even faster. The way his words were capable of stirring something in me felt odd, something that I never experienced before, but it felt bad.

"S-stop-" I said, my voice cracking from the amounts of strength I was putting into pushing my attention away from him.

"Let. Me. In," He demanded, his voice releasing a whole swarm of butterflies in my stomach, and for a moment, I nearly let myself loose, nearly fell for his trap until a ring of the doorbell captured the attention of the two of us. My eyes found their way immediately to the source of the sound which was also my only hope of escaping.

Hoseok seemed to be extremely composed despite the fact that he still didn't erase my memory and that I am capable of saying everything he told me. Instead of freaking out, he smiled at me and said," Guess the two of us aren't meant to have fun today. I'll see you later?"

I looked at him with wide eyes, not knowing whether he was being for real or not. The long stare between the two of us came to a momentary halt when the door bell rang for the second time.

"I don't know if you know this, but, leaving someone hanging like that behind the door isn't exactly ethical," he said,  air-quoting the word "ethical".

"And are you planning to stay here while I open the door?" I asked him, my voice coming out faint the moment I noticed our proximity.

"Why are you worrying about me instead of the fact that there is someone ringing your bell right now and you are alone with a man you don't know?" He said, his voice coming out as faint as mine did, but his tone had a sense of seduction in it, something that ignited a sudden, painful spark in me. No, I didn't like it.

His intense stare and the tension between our now mixed breaths was broken again by a third ring. I took that chance to finally break free from the chains that held me to him.

I made my way to the door slowly, still not sure what Hoseok was planning to do in case it was Jimin.

Why am I worrying about Hoseok?

The moment my hand was on the knob, I turned around to find Hoseok sitting on my couch, his arms sprawled against the top of my couch. He raised his eyebrow at me as he sat on MY couch, acting so casually as if the house belonged to him. I gulped then opened the door only to find the person standing behind it someone looking at me with annoyance and somewhat disgust.

"Out of everyone in the world it had to be you!" He said, then pushed his way through. I was about to stop him in fear that he would see Hoseok, but the moment I turned around, Hoseok was gone.

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Hey my lovelies!!!

okay that was a very late update XD

I'm truly sorry ..

But hey, I made it up to you by one long ass chapter... the word count for this one is more than 3000!

This is the first time i ever do this word count...

I know many of the readers most probably stopped reading... but it's okay..  it is my fault anyway...

as for now.. I hope you liked this chapter and plz fo wait for more... idk when the next update will come but I'll try

Don't forget to take care and love yourselves,

Thank you all,

I love you,

-R 💜💜