After a few minutes of staring blankly, Arkha decided to stand up and observe the place he was in—a wide room containing only a bathtub and a sink.
He walked toward the sink and splashed water onto his face, then looked at the mirror in front of him.
Whether it was a hallucination or not, Arkha saw Hesa standing behind him. He reflexively turned around—only to find nothing there.
"H–Hesa…"
Arkha turned back to the mirror. Hesa was still there, smiling.
"Hesa…"
But when he turned again, the space behind him was empty.
Arkha remembered Jake's words earlier. Maybe the effect of the drug injected into him had started to work.
"AAAAAA!"
He screamed, venting his turmoil.
~~~~~~
Jio woke up in front of a dining table. He accidentally noticed a fork lying nearby and picked it up, just in case.
While walking around looking for the others, he heard someone sobbing.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
"W–Who's there?"
The sound became clearer.
Jio looked at the door in front of him. He was sure the sobbing was coming from inside that room.
Creeeak…
Slowly, Jio opened the door and found Setta hugging his knees in fear, his face bruised from makeup—well, staged bruises.
"Setta."
"J–Jio?"
Jio immediately approached him, sat beside him, and looked at his friend's face with concern.
"What happened to you, Setta?" Jio asked.
"N–Nothing. I'm fine," Setta replied, clearly hiding something, which only made Jio more curious.
"Don't lie! You're all beaten up like this!" Jio snapped.
"It's fine, as long as I'm still alive," Setta said.
"You can't just say that. Be honest—who did this to you? Was it the people who kidnapped us here?" Jio pressed.
"N–No. If it were them, they would've hurt you too," Setta said, making Jio even more suspicious.
"Then who?" Jio asked.
Setta stayed silent, even though Jio was obviously waiting for an answer.
"Hey, why are you quiet now?" Jio said.
"…."
"Come on, just tell me the truth."
"…."
"I promise I won't snitch."
"It's not that. I just don't want any conflict between us," Setta replied.
"So the culprit is one of us?" Jio asked.
Setta went silent again.
"Don't be scared. It's better to be honest than keep getting hurt like this," Jio coaxed, gently rubbing Setta's shoulder.
Hearing that, Setta started crying again—fake crying, to be precise.
"A–Actually… Arkha has been hitting me for no reason all this time. He's been bullying me behind your backs," Setta said through fake sobs.
Jio immediately clenched his fists, holding back his anger.
"I didn't mean to bad-mouth him, but I can't hold it in anymore," Setta continued his act as the victim.
"It's okay, Setta. You should've just been honest," Jio said, trying to smile.
"Sorry," Setta muttered, bowing his head as if guilty, while inside he was laughing.
"Just stay here. I'll go find the others," Jio said as he stood up.
"I–I'll come too." Setta tried to stand but fell.
Jio looked at him with a dark expression. He couldn't believe Arkha could be that cruel to hurt his own friend. Sure, Jio was a troublemaker, but hurting a friend? He'd rather hurt himself.
"No need, Set. Just stay here!" Jio said coldly.
"O–Okay." Setta nodded stiffly.
The moment Jio left the room, Setta burst into a pleased laugh.
"Tch. So easy to manipulate."
~~~~~~
As Joan and Satya stepped out of the previous room, someone called out to them, making them both turn around.
"Finally found you guys." Niki approached them.
"Good. We need to find the others," Satya said.
"Yeah, but first we have to find Arkha and Jio," Joan added.
"What happened to them?" Niki asked, confused. He had just arrived and already had to move again.
"Just come with us. No need to wander off," Satya replied.
The three of them left to search for Arkha and Jio.
~~~~~~
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Jio walked through the area, which looked like an abandoned building. Dust filled the air, making him cough occasionally.
"AAAAAA!"
Jio flinched at the sudden scream. He paused, but curiosity pushed him to find its source.
In front of a room, he heard movement inside.
BANG!
Jio kicked the door open without hesitation, thinking his friend was inside.
"Khan!"
Yes—Arkha was kneeling, clutching his head, his eyes swollen as if he had been crying.
"Jio…" Arkha smiled faintly in relief upon seeing him. Jio, however, stormed over angrily.
"You!" Jio grabbed Arkha's collar, forcing him to stand.
Arkha was shocked. "What's wrong with you, Jio?!"
"I didn't think you were this rotten behind our backs!" Jio sneered.
"What are you talking about?" Arkha asked, confused. As far as he remembered, they were fine.
"Still pretending to be innocent," Jio mocked.
"Are you drunk or what? You're talking nonsense!" Arkha shoved Jio, breaking his grip.
"You hurt your own friend and act like nothing happened," Jio accused.
"I didn't hurt anyone?!" Arkha shot back.
"Setta even tried to cover for you all this time, but you—man, you're sick, Arkha," Jio laughed sarcastically.
"Setta?" Hearing that name, Arkha began to understand what was happening.
"N–No, you're wrong, Jio."
"You bullied Setta. You hit him for no reason. You even did it earlier, right? Let me just kick your head so you get amnesia too!" Jio shouted.
"I didn't do that! I have no reason to hurt my own friend!" Arkha insisted.
Jio rubbed his ear in annoyance. "I'm tired of your excuses."
"Setta lied to you, Jio," Arkha said.
"No way. He told me himself while crying. I saw his bruises—he could barely stand," Jio replied.
"He manipulated you so you'd attack me," Arkha argued.
"I don't believe you. You're just twisting things so he looks guilty and you can keep beating him later," Jio said.
"I'm not the one lying!" Arkha kept trying to convince him.
"Then why would Setta lie? He didn't even want to tell me because he was afraid it'd cause conflict between us," Jio argued.
Arkha fell silent. He couldn't exactly say that Setta was one of the masterminds behind all this terror.
"I'm telling you the truth," Arkha said finally.
"I'm sick of hearing your defenses." Jio
shoved Arkha, slamming him against the bathtub behind him.
With blurred vision and a throbbing pain at the back of his head, Arkha saw Jio pointing the fork at him.
"J–Jio… I'm your friend."
Jio said nothing and moved his hand to stab the fork toward Arkha's neck—
Grab!
Joan caught Jio's hand—luckily the three of them arrived just in time.
"Are you crazy, bro?!" Niki exclaimed in disbelief.
Satya immediately pushed Jio away from Arkha. "You almost made someone's kid die!"
Niki helped Arkha stand while Joan approached Jio with a sharp, investigative stare.
"Why did you do something that stupid?!"
"I know something you guys don't." Jio looked at Arkha coldly.
"What?" Satya asked.
"He bullied Setta," Jio said.
"How many times do I have to say I didn't do that?!" Arkha snapped.
"No thief ever admits it," Jio replied.
"Come on. Setta lied to you. You should realize you were manipulated," Arkha said.
"You're the one who should realize—you hurt your own friend and don't even feel guilty," Jio retorted.
"You—"
"ENOUGH!"
Joan stepped between them as they glared at each other, ready to fight again.
"The only one who can answer this is Setta himself. We should find him—and find a way out while we're at it."
Joan's words made them come to their senses. It was better to look for an exit than fight over something uncertain.
"Arkha… sorry," Jio said first.
"It's fine," Arkha replied curtly. Honestly, his head still hurt from hitting the bathtub, but he chose to swallow his ego and avoid more conflict.
They all moved together, trying to figure out the place and search for a way out.