"Irene! You have your car?" Jennie asked her best friend, Irene who was leaning on a counter, talking to another friend. Irene was a bit taken aback by how urgent she sounded, "Hey Jennie, I am doing fine, and yes I have my car, why though?" 

"You are coming with me, and I will explain everything later," Jennie said, grabbing Irene's hand and pulling her to the parking lot, while Irene started speaking, "Jennie, where are we going? At least let me grab my phone! Jennie Kim, where the hell?" 

"I will explain everything later, but right now please drive! I will try contacting the others, we need to hurry!" Jennie shouted. She couldn't drive, call her friends, chase XOXO, probably die alone. She needed someone and Irene was the first person she could think of. 

Sitting in the car, Irene started the engine. It had taken Jennie and Irene almost ten minutes to cross the country club lawn, Jennie glanced at her school. It was lit up like a birthday cake, and the vibrations from the music were almost visible.

"Thank you so much for this " Jennie murmured trying to text her friends but they weren't even online. They would probably be dancing like crazies on the floor. 

"You are my best friend Jennie," Irene answered. "You been through a lot. I could definitely do this"

Irene smiled halfway. "I know lots of things about you. Sometimes I think I know you better than you know yourself." She glanced at Jennie briefly. "You have to do good things for people you care about, you know?"

Jennie nodded faintly, biting at her cuticles. Irene slowed for a stop sign and rooted around in her purse, pulling out a pack of gum. The car immediately smelled like artificial bananas. "Want a piece?" she asked Jennie, unwrapping a stick and pushing it into her mouth. "I'm obsessed with this stuff. Apparently, you can only get it in Europe, but this girl in my history class gave me a whole pack." She chewed thoughtfully. Jennie waved the open pack away. She wasn't much in a gum-chewing mood right now.

As Irene passed the Fairview Riding Academy, Jennie smacked her thighs hard. "I can't do this," she wailed. "How would we be able to chase that car, I don't know where it even is now"

Irene glanced at her, then turned into the riding academy's parking lot. They pulled into the handicapped space and Irene hifted the Hummer into the park. "Okay..."

BACK AT THE PARTY

The loud music chanted through the room, as the blue disco light shadowed over the place. "Where is Jennie?" Rose whispered in Taehyung's ear. Taehyung couldn't hear her so he leaned down, this time Rose shouted, "WHERE THE HELL IS JENNIE!" 

Taehyung looked around, she wasn't anywhere. He spotted Jisoo, Jungkook, Hoseok, Jin, and Yoongi. He signaled to Rose, Jimin, and Lisa to go there. "Where is Namjoon?" Jimin asked, loud for the others to hear. Jisoo pointed to the corner, a math professor and he was talking, "Mr. Karl wants to talk to him," 

"Where is Jennie though?" Rose asked leaning on the counter but then a black shiny thing caught the corner of her eye. It was a phone. 

A girl passed by the eleven but she was stopped by Lisa, "Hey Seulgi, have you seen Jennie anywhere?". Seulgi nodded, recalling it, "She was here but left with Irene. She was in a hurry,"  

"She is with Irene? But where?" Hoseok asked, confused but then Rose gasped, "Oh My God," 

The others turned to Rose, who was staring at the screen of a black OnePlus, scrolling through it. "Isn't that Irene's phone? But she is with Jennie," Jisoo said, remembering the phone cover. Rose nodded, "We need to save Jennie," 

"But what happened?" Jungkook asked. Rose looked at the others, breathing heavily, her face looked like she has seen a ghost

"I-Irene is.... XOXO" 

"He would kill one of us" Jennie stared blankly forward. It was pitch-black out, and the air smelled like hay. She heard a whinnying in the distance. "I should protect them,"

Irene reached into her clutch and pulled out a Marlboro Light. She offered one to Jennie, but Jennie shook her head. As Irene lit up, Jennie watched the orange butt glow and the smoke curl, first around the Hummer's cabin, then out the slight crack at the top of the driver's side window.

"What do you mean by kill?" Irene asked quietly. 

When they were farther down the road, Jennie's iPhone beeped. Jennie unzipped her purse. "Maybe that's Taehyung," she murmured. Only, it was a text from Rose.

TEXT MESSAGE: "IRENE IS XOXO! REPLY IF YOU GOT THIS!"

Jennie's phone slipped from her hands to her lap. She read the text again. And again. The words might as well have been written in Arabic—Jennie couldn't process them at all. 

REPLY: ARE YOU SURE?

TEXT MESSAGE: YES! GET OUT OF THERE. NOW!

Jennie stared at a billboard for Wawa coffee, a stone sign for a housing development, then an enormous, triangular-shaped church. She tried to breathe as steadily as possible, counting from one to one hundred by five, hoping it would calm her down. Irene was watching the road carefully and dutifully. Her halter dress didn't quite fit her in the chest. She had a scar on her right shoulder, probably from chickenpox. It didn't seem possible that she could have done this.

"So was it Taehyung?" Irene chirped.

"Um, no." Jennie's voice came out squawky and muffled like she was talking through a can. "It was...it was my mom."

Irene nodded slightly, keeping the same speed. Jennie's phone lit up again. Another text had come in. Then another, then another, then another. 

TEXT MESSAGE: JENNIE ARE YOU OKAY?

TEXT MESSAGE: JEN! PLEASE TELL ME IF YOU ARE FINE?

TEXT MESSAGE: JENNIE! PLEASE REPLY!

Irene smiled, her canine teeth glowing in the dim light shining off the Hummer's dashboard console. "You're certainly popular. What's going on?"

Jennie tried to laugh. "Um, nothing."

Irene glanced at Jennie's main text message window. "Rose huh? What happened?"

"Um..." Jennie swallowed audibly, her throat catching.

Irene's smile evaporated. "Why won't you tell me what's going on?"

"N-nothing's going on," Jennie stammered.

Irene scoffed, tossing a lock of hair behind her shoulders. Her skin glowed in the darkness. "What, is it a secret? Am I not good enough to know or something?"

"Of course not," Jennie squeaked. "It's just...I..."

They rolled to a red light. Jennie looked back and forth, then slowly pressed the Hummer's UNLOCK button. As she curled her fingers around the door handle, Irene grabbed her other wrist.

"What are you doing?" Irene's eyes glowed in the traffic light's red glare. Her head swiveled from Jennie's phone back to Jennie's panicked face. Jennie could see the realization flooding over Jennie—it was like watching black and white turn to color in The Wizard of Oz. Irene's expression went from confusion to shock to...glee. She pressed the car door's LOCK button again. When the light turned green, she gunned the engine and made a stomach-churning left through the intersection, and veered off onto a bumpy, two-lane country road.

Jennie watched as the odometer climbed from fifty to sixty to seventy. She clutched her door handle tightly. "Where are we going?" she asked in a small, terrified voice.

Irene glanced at Jennie sideways, a sinister smile pasted on her face. "You were never one for patience, but this time you'll just have to wait and see."

The only vehicle options for the nine were Hoseok's clunky, unpredictable Swift and Jungkook's Audi. "I would go and call Namjoon, you guys leave," Jisoo said to the others. "Are you sure Jisoo?" Jin asked 

Jisoo nodded as she stormed off to find Namjoon, "Yes! We shouldn't make Jennie wait," 

Hoseok led the others through the parking lot, his shoes slapping against the pavement. He manually unlocked the door and threw himself into the driver's seat.  Lisa, Yoongi, and Jimin slipped into his car while Jungkook, Jin, Taehyung, and Rose slid into Jungkook's.

Lisa had her cell phone wedged between her chin and her shoulder—she'd called Wilden to see if Jennie and Irene had shown up at the police station. But after the eighth unanswered ring, she hung up in frustration.

"Wilden isn't at his desk," she said. "And he's not answering his cell, either." They were quiet for a moment, all lost in their own thoughts. How could Irene be A? How could she know so much about them?

"Do you think it was a good idea that we texted Jennie?" Rose asked, checking her phone for the billionth time. "She hasn't written back again."

Jin looked at Taehyung. There was a big, glistening tear rolling down his cheek.

The police station was only a mile or so away, right next to Hooters.  When they pulled into the lot, all of them leaned forward over the dash. "Shit." There were eight squad cars in the parking lot, and that was it. "They're not here!"

"Calm down." Jungkook turned off the car's headlights. They all jumped out quickly, sprinting for the police station entrance. The fluorescent light inside was greenish and harsh. Several cops stopped and stared at them, their mouths hanging open. The little green waiting benches were all empty except for a few random pamphlets about what you should do if you were the victim of car theft.

Wilden appeared from around a corner, his cell phone in one hand, a mug of coffee in another. When he saw the eight with party dresses with their masks dangling from their wrists, "Hi," he said slowly. "What's going on?"

"You have to help us," Rose said. "Jennie is in trouble."

Wilden stepped forward, gesturing for them to sit on the benches. "How so?"

"Someone is threatening us for about a year now, she wants to kill us, and we know that person is," Jungkook said, hoping he wouldn't ask too much

Wilden stood up, alarmed. "You do?"

"It' Bae Joohyun," Jisoo said, her voice breaking into a sob. "Jennie's freaking best friend,"

"Bae Joohyun?" Wilden's eyes traveled from one to another. 

"Jennie is in the car with Joohyun now," Hoseok said. " I sent her a text, warning her about Irene...and now we don't know where they are. Jennie's phone is shut off."

"Have you tried to reach Irene?" Wilden asked.

Rose stared at the linoleum floor. Off in the police bullpen, a phone rang, and then another. "I did. She didn't pick up either."

Suddenly, Wilden's cell phone lit up in his hand. Jin caught a glimpse of the number on the preview screen. "That's Jennie!" he cried.

Wilden flipped it open but didn't say hello. He pressed the speakerphone button, then looked around at the eighth, a finger to his lips. Shhh, he mouthed.

Rose and her old best friends crowded around the little phone. At first, there was only white noise. Then they heard Jennie's voice. It sounded far away. "I always thought Hwangnim Road was so pretty," she said. "So many trees, especially in this secluded part of town."

Rose and Lisa exchanged a confused glance. And then, Rose understood—she'd seen this once in a TV show she'd watched with her sister. Irene must have figured it out—and Jennie must have managed to secretly call Wilden to give him clues about where Irene was taking her.

"So...why are we turning down Huanshin road?" Jennie asked very loudly and brightly. 

"Duh, Jennie," they heard Irene say back.

Wilden flipped open his pad and wrote down Huanshin Road. A few other cops had gathered around them. Jungkook quietly explained what was going on, and one of the cops brought out a large, foldout map of Seoul, highlighting the intersection of Hwangnim and Huanshin with a yellow marker.

"Are we going to the stream?" Jennie's voice rang out again.

"Maybe," Irene singsonged.

Lisa's eyes widened. The Yeonsang Stream was more of a gushing river.

"I just love the stream," Jennie said loudly.

Then there was a gasp and a shriek. They heard a few bumping noises, a squeal of tires, the dissonant tone of a bunch of phone buttons being pressed at once...and then nothing. Wilden's cell phone screen blinked. Call Lost.

Rose sneaked a look at the others. Taehyung had his head buried in his hands.  Hoseok, Jungkook, and Jin looked like they were going to faint. Wilden stood up, put his phone back in its holster, and pulled his car keys out of his pocket. "We'll try all the stream entrances in that area." He pointed to a big burly cop sitting behind a desk. "See if you can do a GPS trace on this phone call." Then he turned and headed for his car.

"Wait," Lisa said, running after him. Wilden turned. "We're coming."

Wilden's shoulders dropped. "This isn't—"

"We're coming," Taehyung said behind Lisa, his voice strong and steely.

Wilden raised one shoulder and sighed. He gestured to the back of the squad car. "Fine. Get in."

Irene grabbed Jennie's phone out of her hands, hit END, and tossed it out the window, all without changing the Hummer's speed. She then made an abrupt U-turn, backtracked down bumpy, narrow Huanshin road, and got on the highway heading south. They drove for about five miles and got off the exit near the Bill Beach burn clinic. More horse farms and housing developments flew past, and the road devolved into woods. It wasn't until they swept by the old, dilapidated Quaker church that Jennie realized where they were really going—the Floating Billburd Quarry.

Jennie used to play in the big lake at the base of Floating Billburd Quarry. Kids used to cliff-dive off the upper rocks, but last year, during a drought-filled summer, a public-school boy had dived off the rocks and died, making Floating Billburd's name seem eerie and prophetic. These days, there were rumors that the boy's ghost lived at the quarry's perimeter, guarding the lake. Jennie had even heard whispers that the Seoul Stalker had his lair here. She glanced at Irene feeling a shiver run up her spine. She had a feeling the Seoul Stalker was driving this Hummer.

Jennie had her fingernails pressed so deeply into the center armrest that she was certain they would leave permanent marks. Calling Wilden and giving her location had been her only plan, and now she was completely trapped.

Irene glanced at Jennie out of the corner of her eye. "So, I guess they found out?"

Jennie's nod was barely perceptible.

"They shouldn't have," Irene chanted. "She knew remembering would put all of you in danger." Irene threw her hands up in the air. "Why do you continue to do such stupid things?"

Jennie shut her eyes, wishing she could just pass out from fear.

Irene sighed dramatically. "Then again, you've been doing stupid things for years, haven't you? Like sneaking in everywhere and trying to solve mysteries"

Jennie's mouth dropped open. Irene...knew?

Of course, she knew. She was XOXO.

Irene stole a quick glance at Jennie's horrified face and made a faux-surprised face in return. Her mouth dropped into an eerie smile. "That summer when she disappeared, I found a way to get you, liars, back. I found Somi's diary among all that crap the new people were throwing away. I knew it was Somi's instantly—and she wrote tons of secrets about all of you. Really damaging ones, actually. It's like she wanted the diary to fall into enemy hands."

A flash came to Jennie—the day before Somi went missing, discovering Somi in her bedroom, hungrily reading a notebook, an amused, greedy smile on her face. "Why didn't the cops find her diary when she went missing?" she sputtered.

Irene pulled the car under a thicket of trees and stopped. There was only darkness ahead of them, but Jennie could hear rushing water and smell moss and wet grass.

"Who the hell knows? But I'm glad they didn't and I did." Irene said, then turned to face Jennie, her eyes bright. "Somi wrote down every horrible thing you guys did. How you guys tortured Maria, how you shoplifted, how Taehyung liked her, how Jungkook got someone else in jail, and much more. It made it so easy for me to just...I don't know, become her. All it took was for me to get a second phone with a blocked number. And I really had you going that it was Somi contacting you at first, didn't I?" Irene grabbed Jennie's hand and laughed.

Jennie recoiled from her touch. "I can't believe it was you the whole time."

"I know, right? It must have been so annoying not knowing!" Irene clapped happily. "It was so fun watching you guys go crazy...and then Somi's body showed up and you really went crazy,." She reached around and patted her left shoulder blade. "I had to do a lot of running around, anticipating your moves before even you knew what they'd be. But the whole thing was so elegantly done, almost like a couture dress, don't you think?"

Irene's eyes canvassed Jennie for a reaction. Then, slowly, she reached out and punched Jennie jokily on the arm. "You look so freaked right now. Like I'm going to hurt you or something. It doesn't have to be this way, though."

"Be...what way?" Jennie whispered.

"I mean, at first, I hated you, Jennie. You most of all, and you had everything." Irene lit another cigarette. "But then...we became friends. Best Friends. But you aren't my only best friend on the team,"

Jennie blinked, dumbstruck. She sputtered, "What do you mean?" 

Irene smiled, "This wouldn't be possible without Namjoon, darling," 

Irene gave Jennie a devious look. "We can turn this around. We can go back to the police station and tell Rose it's a huge misunderstanding—that she's not knowing things properly. We can pin XOXO on someone else, someone you don't like? Like, Maria? She is already a bitch?" 

"I..." Jennie sputtered.

Irene whispered. "And we can both be XOXO. We can control everyone. You're just as conniving as Somi was, Jen. And you're prettier, smarter, and richer. You should've been the leader of the group, not her. I'm giving you the chance, now, to be the leader you're meant to be. Your life at home would be perfect. Your life at school would be perfect." Her lips spread into a smile. "And I know how badly you want to be perfect."

"But you hurt my friends," Jennie whispered.

"Are you sure they're your friends?" Irene's eyes glittered. "You know who I set up as the killer? You, Jennie. Lisa was literally ready to turn you in,"

"Lisa wouldn't do that," Jennie shrieked.

"No?" Irene raised an eyebrow. "Then why did I hear her telling Jisoo to stay away from you? And you call  someone, who did that to you your friend?"

"I'm...I'm sorry," Jennie whispered. "There's no way I want to...to be XOXO with you. To rule the school with you. Or whatever it is you're offering. That's nuts."

Irene's disappointed expression morphed into something darker. She knitted her eyebrows together. "Fine. Have it your way, then."

Irene's voice felt like a knife cutting into Jennie's skin. The crickets chirped hysterically. The rushing water beneath sounded like blood gushing through a vein. In one swift movement, Irene burst forward and wrapped her hands around Jennie's neck. 

Jennie screamed and jerked back, flailing to hit the UNLOCK button again. She kicked Irene's chest. As Irene squealed and recoiled, Jennie yanked at the door handle and shoved it open, tumbling out of the car to the spiny grass. Immediately, she pushed herself up and sprinted into the darkness. She felt the grass under her feet, then gravel, then dirt, then mud. The noise of the water grew louder and louder. 

Jennie could tell she was nearing the quarry's rocky edge. Irene's footsteps rang out behind her, and Jennie felt Irene's arms wrap around her waist. She fell heavily to the ground. Irene wrapped her hands around her neck. Jennie kicked and struggled and choked. Irene giggled as if this were all a game.

"I thought we were friends, Jennie." Irene grimaced, trying to keep Jennie still.

Jennie struggled to breathe. "I guess not!" she screamed. Using all her might, Jennie pressed her legs onto Irene's body, throwing her backward. Irene landed on her butt a few feet away, her bright yellow gum spewing out of her mouth. Jennie scrambled quickly to her feet. 

Irene got up, too, her eyes flashing and her teeth clenched. Jennie felt her arms pressing against Irene's stomach, pushing as hard as she could. She saw the whites of Irene's eyes as they widened, and heard Irene's screams in her ears. Irene fell backward, and in a blink, she disappeared.

Jennie fell on her eyes, the sound of cars approaching. She didn't turn around. She tried to catch her breath, trying to understand what just happened. She heard footsteps crawl behind her, and then she felt Taehyung embrace her. She couldn't cry, she was too tired for that. She just wrapped her arms around him. 

"Jennie, are you okay?" she heard Rose's urgent voice as she nodded, hesitant. The marks on her skin said the opposite though. "Where is Bae Joohyun?" Wilden asked observing the surroundings. 

Jennie pulled away from Taehyung's hug, "I pushed her, off the cliff," and when Jennie said this, the tears finally rolled out. Taehyung too was getting teary but wiped them off. "You were just protecting yourself, you won't go to jail, you would just have to do 3 months of community service," Wilden said, understanding the situation. 

Lisa kneeled down, the others too. But then, Jennie recalled something. Where is Jisoo? and Namjoon?

"Guys, where is Jisoo?" Jennie asked slowly. "Don't worry, she is with Namjoon," Hoseok replied

Jennie shouted, "We have to save Jisoo! Namjoon is the other XOXO!" 

The door of the school's terrace was opened by Jisoo was she immediately felt the cold breeze hitting her skin. She and Namjoon used to come here often together and when Jisoo couldn't find him anywhere, she thought of this place. This place was her last hope. 

"Namjoon" she called out, but there was no reply except the sound of some leaves. She walked a few steps, and there she saw him. His back faced her, his mask lied on the ground and he continued to stare in front of him. Jisoo immediately shouted, "Namjoon!" 

He turned back, surprised to see her here. Jisoo immediately ran to him, "Namjoon, we have to save Jennie!" 

Jisoo was breathing heavily, and he asked, "What do you mean by saving Jennie?" 

Jisoo shouted louder, this time, "Namjoon! Jennie is with Irene and Irene is fucking XOXO!"  he continued to stare at her, poking his tongue on his inner cheek and continued to stare in front of him, he muttered "Oh, glad you realized," 

His response shook her entire soul, she gasped, "What do you mean? Are you fucking mad!?" Before Jisoo could speak anymore, he shouted back, "Yeah, I think I am! Even the medical records and my therapist say that," 

Jisoo couldn't understand what he was saying, she didn't understand a word, what does he mean by a therapist? Jisoo shook her head and continued to speak, "Namjoon, I don't understand what are you saying, but please, we need to save Jennie!" 

He yanked off her hand, "Stop being the sweet Jisoo who wants to help everyone, this world isn't meant for such sweet people," 

Jisoo felt her nails dig in her fists. "Namjoon, you are scaring me at this point," 

He smirked, deviously and continued to speak, "Only the world thinks of all of us as best friends, inside we all know, we hate each other and want to replace each other. Don't we? Just like Jennie replaced that bitch, our darling dead best friend, Somi,"

Ever heard something so bad that you wish you can do some witchcraft to make you forget that. That's what Jisoo's state was currently. "Jennie never replaced Somi, and she was not a bitch," she shouted 

"Oh, she was," he yelled back, "She was a bitch, always switching sides, always making me feel excluded, always trying to be the best one, the perfect one, everyone's favorite, she was such a greedy girl, and so I am so glad that I got to end her," 

Jisoo almost felt herself choke on that sentence, and her phone beeped at every second. What a timing. She looked at it slowly, a text message from Jin

TEXT MESSAGE: JISOO STAY AWAY FROM NAMJOON. HE IS XOXO AS WELL

Namjoon's height worked as a power factor as he easily saw her screen. She looked at him in horror, as he smiled, wickedly 

"Congratulations Jisoo, you found out. I am the betrayer," 

Jisoo immediately looked at the door, ready to run but he was definitely faster. Getting a grip on her wrist, pushing her on the wall, he said, "Where are you going darling," 

"Let me go," she murmured, trying to escape from his grip 

"You know, whoever has seen us, dies. Take Eunwoo as an example," he said, almost growling. "Why are you doing this?" she said, trying to get a proper explanation. "Why am I doing this? I had every reason to. I was always the sideline person, wasn't I? In friendship, I was always treated like the last choice. I have been showing you so many signs of my crush on you since ninth grade, but you are always chasing that asshole Jin. Never thought of giving anyone else a chance. You guys were mean ass people, no sympathy for others. You guys treated Irene like shit when all she wanted was to be friends. When I told Somi to give Irene a chance, she shouted at me, told me that I am just another nerd like her, and I should fuck off from your group. That day I decided I wanted to end her! She knew I was going through sociopathy issues, but all she did was treat me worse, You guys are just vicious people! You all need to die!" 

Jisoo couldn't take it all, she continued to try to escape from his grip, "No matter, h-how bad a p-person, no one d-deserves death," 

Namjoon smiled, "Why are you being so humble? Aren't you the same person who tried to snatch her sister's boyfriend," 

He tried to take something out from his pocket, a dagger. Jisoo gasped, no he cannot. "Sorry, Jisoo," he whispered before slightly slicing the knife on her wrist as the blood started to gush out. Jisoo could feel herself screaming, the pain was too much and the liquid started flowing on her wrist. 

A minute later the door suddenly opened with a loud thud. It was the ten and Ruiz Wilden stood behind them. But they were late, Jisoo was already kneeling on the ground, her eyes half close and on a verge of passing out. 

"Oh my god, Jisoo," Jin whispered as they all looked at Namjoon. A knife in his hand, blood dripping from it. Namjoon looked at them, there was no escape now. 

Author's Note: 

And DONE! Oh, my fucking goodness! IT IS FINALLY REVEALED THAT WHO XOXO IS! CAN YOU GUYS BELIEVE IT? 

It feels like yesterday when I wrote the first chap and they received the first message. Your comments asking who the hell is xoxo and now we are finally here. 

Don't worry, there is going to be another chapter and an epilogue. Probably a special chapter too? 

I won't write my journey of writing this right here. Let's save that for the end of book notice and feedback section okay?  I still cannot believe this chapter is out. 

As for answering many of your unsolved doubts such as how Eunwoo got involved, how Namjoon and Irene met, and much more, I will be adding another chapter to answer all of that. If you have any questions about this book, please comment them and I will add them to that special chapter. 

I am glad we all have reached so far and I hope you look forward to the last few upcoming chapters and also the chapter where I write about my journey with this book and ask for your feedback. 

Irene and Namjoon are amazing people in real life, so let's not relate them to this book okay? Red Velvet and BTS supremacy <3 

Once again, thanks for reading this chap, and hope to see your support in the next few too. This was the final chapter of our wonderful experience trying to figure out who XOXO is!