After pressing the heart button and commenting: “You are so pretty!” on a Facebook friend’s profile picture, Maggie murmured to herself, “This ugly girl is trying so hard.”

  “Then why did you compliment her if you think she’s ugly?” Her boyfriend, who’s at the driver seat, tilted his head in wonder. He is a guy who is handsome from the depth of his eyes to the gentle expression of his voice. His silky hair is dyed in red, elegantly like expensive wine. People often speak of the color of his hair, as if that were of importance, yet his would be beautiful in any shade. And even his name: “Jeonghan” sounds so perfect. Everyone who will meet him will wonder if a gorgeous guy like him does exist and they’ll have no choice but to accept it.

  Maggie has been dating this guy for almost a week but still couldn’t help but to feel awe over his Goddess-like face. Therefore, in awe she carefully detached her mouth, “Well, she is trying so hard so I thought that giving her a simple compliment will boost her confidence, even though it was fake.”

  Her boyfriend, whose hands are taking off his seatbelt, gave her an excessively cheerful smile. “Really?” With a little hunch of his shoulder, he said, “Let’s go. My little sister is waiting for us.”

  There are mixed excitement and anxiousness on Maggie while she is walking behind her boyfriend’s shadow. Never did she expect Jeonghan to introduce her to his family this soon not till they finally stood up the  the door's entrance and Jeonghan knocked familiarly.

  “Knock~ Knock~”

  The door opened; with a creak sound it made Maggie put in tense as if she got trapped inside iron box. When she saw the girl standing in front, she was sure to give her a delightful greet yet with Jeonghan’s sister’s appearance, Maggie was forced to shut mouth involuntarily. Why? It was because of that expectation she anticipated.

  Squinting her eyes towards Jeonghan’s sister for the second time, she began to wonder, ‘Jeonghan is handsome so I thought that his sister is pretty too. What is this? They seemed to share different genes.’

  It is true. Unlike Jeonghan who looks perfect from head to toe, his sister, Jill, has features that are normal: A tiny girl with curly and dry hair, huge forehead, thick brows, big eyes, flat nose and bushy pale lips.

    But despite of Maggie’s strained look which is very obvious, Jill still welcomed the two with joy, “Oh! Hi there! You are my brother’s girlfriend right? Nice to meet you!”

  Maggie tried to loosed her strained face. “H-Hi. My name is Maggie. Nice to meet you Ji-” Her words remained unfinished when Jill suddenly tiptoed towards her side. With widened eyes, she whispered, “I love you brown eyes. It’s pretty.”

Pretty brown eyes. Yes, Maggie always hears the same compliment, aware of it and happy to hear it. But there’s something on Jill’s praise that creeps her out. Was it because of her face? Or her thin voice? Whatever it is, she managed to reply, “T-Thank you.”

  “You prepared us our dinner. Right?” Jeonghan asked his sister and Jill nodded with her hands behind her back. “I did. Let’s eat ,” Jill offered then pulled Maggie in.

  They had a simple dinner together while talking about usual things over a meal. When Maggie thought that she finally adapted her surroundings, she asked this question to the siblings. “Are you two really brother and sister?”

As Jill and Jeonghan smiles faded away, Maggie realized that her question was something she mustn’t blurted out. But it’s too late. The two heard it very clearly and they gradually looked at each other. Then they asked the same thing in unison, “Why are you asking about it?”

  ‘Because you don’t look alike,’ Maggie wanted to say but preferred not to. “B-Because you look so close. I’m getting a bit jealous,” she murmured with a bit hesitant.

  But Jill responded differently, “Brother, you’ll wash the dishes right?” Then tends to Jeonghan.

  “I will,” he answered with a smile as innocent as a little kid.

  “Can I take Maggie to my room so we can chat together?” Jill inquired using a very polite voice.

  “Sure,” her brother allowed.

  Jill then stood up and glanced to her brother’s girlfriend. “Let’s go sis?”

  ‘Why is she suddenly asking me to go inside her room?’ Maggie asked inwardly but though confused, she was dragged inside Jill’s room. Inside, she saw a strawberry printed bed sheet, white cabinet, doll stuff toys, a mirror placed in front of study desk and a mysterious door that caught her interest longer than she expected. ‘Why is there another door inside a room? Their house is too small to have bathroom on each bedrooms?’ she tried to analyze. Yes, that door was the first thing she wanted to ask but for now, she is reflecting for her mistake a moment ago by being silent and by giving up her own thoughts.

  “Can I ask something?” Jill blurted after sitting on her bed. Looking inscrutable, she continued, “Why did you choose to date my brother?”

  Maggie answered, “Your brother is lovely.” And take a seat beside her.

  Jill nodded by her answer. “He is.” Then she diverted her eyes back to Maggie and inquired another question. “What about you? Why does my brother dating you?”

  Maggie wanted to say that it is because of her appearance but saying that in front of an ugly girl might be offensive. And so she said, “Maybe he thinks that I’m lovely too.” She sat beside Jill and looked at her with a smile.

  “Right,” Jill agreed. “Nowadays, people choose looks over love,” she said in cold tone. For the second time, her tone, her immovable eyes and her stare creeped Maggie that she can feel all of his hairs marches up on her skin.

  ‘She is looking at me as if she’s gonna eat me. Is she jealous?’ Maggie asked inside her mind then gulped.

  “If you and my brother are lovely,” Jill whispered. “Then what about me? Am I lovely too?”

Maggie bit her tongue before she said, “Of c-course. You are lovely too. You are pretty.”

  With that fake compliment, Jill burst laughing. “I know. I am pretty. I have pointed nose, pinkish lips, small face, white long legs and pretty hands. I know that I am gorgeous.”

  ‘Is she not looking at the mirror?’ Maggie said inwardly but her facial expression differ her thoughts. “Y-Yeah. You’re pretty.”

  “If only I have your pretty eyes, I’ll be perfect,” Jill pouted.

  Chuckling awkwardly, Maggie changed the topic by pointing that mysterious door inside Jill’s room. “Oh, what’s the door for? Is that a bathroom?”

  “Oh that?” Jill diverted her eyes toward the door. “It’s my secret room. My brother Jeonghan made that room for me.”

  “What’s that room for?”

  “Do you want to check it?”

  “Can I?”

  “You will. But maybe next time. Tonight? Or Tomorrow?”

  Maggie can enter that room next time? When will be that time? Thus, the family visit in Jeonghan’s residence ended with lot of questions inside her mind. Or so, she thought.

  Inside Jeonghan’s car where the AC is in the maximum range, Maggie hugs herself for warmth. “I heard that you built a secret room for you sister,” Maggie said that pierced the silence. 

Hands on the wheel, Jeonghan replied, “Yes. I built that.” Because of his short reply, Maggie thinks that he is still mad over her careless question before: if the siblings share the same blood. So she tried to change the mood by sweet talking.

  “Jeonghan you are such a sweet brother. I wish I have brother like you,” she chuckled and keeps brushing her skin because it gets colder and colder as the time passes by. “What’s that room for?”

  Jeonghan first puts his forefinger on his lower lip. Then he replied, “More like a storage room. She preserves all of my gifts for her in that place.”

  “What kind of gifts?” Maggie continued.

  “Gifts like you?” he answered with a quick glance.

  “Huh?” she murmured in confusion.
 
“What do you think about my sister?” Jeonghan asked after he focused his eyes on the road. “Maggie, you hate ugly girls, right? So what about my sister? Do you think she’s lovely?”

‘Lovely? In which part?’ Maggie wanted to dissed but because it is Jeonghan’s sister they are talking about, she choose to drop sugarcoated words, “Y-Yeah. She’s cute.”

  With her answer, Jeonghan laughed out of a sudden. Maggie was about to chuckle with him, not until she saw the small smirk on his lips, the narrowing of his eyes and the tilting of his head.

  “Why are you smi-”

  Jeonghan is driving in a different road. That fact hit her and stopped her from talking. When Maggie realized that the road they are taking isn’t the main road but a path to unfamiliar place, she then feels intense with her icy hands and cold sweats. 

  “J-Jeonghan, this is not the main road,” she said while trembling.

  “I know,” he said while keeping that mysterious grin on his face. “We are in a place where no one can find us even if you scream.”

  The dark road, the cold AC from the car, the man sitting beside her with his mysterious grin and a place where no one passed by; She fed with the idea that her life will might end tonight. No more words, no more sharp breathes to take, she looked at him with widened eyes.

  “Do you know who I really hate the most?” he asked after stopping the car.

  Breathing sharply, Maggie uttered, “W-What?”

Jeonghan licked the corner of his lips. And then his smile vanished after he met her beautiful brown eyes. “I hate pretty girls who have too much confidence on their looks. Just like you.”

  A nightmare that isn’t a nightmare loomed that night.

When the morning has broken, the police found a cold corpse of a young lady. This terrible murder case went on the front news as the dead lady was killed merciless by plucking her eyeballs. It was the 6th case when countless women were found dead with one part of their bodies are missing.

And the suspect of this hideous crime is no other than the man hiding behind his angelic face.

Jeonghan is holding a coffee. From the kitchen, he went to Jill’s room and towards to that secret room.  “Do you like your new present?” Jeonghan asked his sister after opening the door.

Inside that dark room, there are six glass storages with blue fluids. These glasses look like an aquarium, but instead of fishes and decorations, each glass contains human body parts floating onto the blue fluid that keeps it fresh. The first glass has pointed nose. The second glass has cut white long legs of a woman. The third glass has a dead woman head. The fifth glass has lips. But the sixth glass is still empty.

  “Maggie brown eyes is a good present,” Jill said while playing that two fresh eyeballs on her hands. They are wet, sticky and Jill is playing with it as if it’s a child toy. “I told you, you’ll someday enter this room,” she chuckled before she put the eyeballs inside the empty glass with blue fluid. Jill looked at her brother who is enjoying his coffee while looking at those human body parts he collected by murdering his exes. “Jeonghan, now that I have gorgeous brown eyes, then I became really pretty? Right? Just like you.”

  Jeonghan nodded and said, “Yes. You are pretty, my sister.”

Beauty is bliss.

  The end.