In the evening, the teenager leaves her room to use the bathroom and get ready for bed. At the threshold, Jin surprises her. The boy grabs her hand and forcefully pulls her out into the hallway. He positions her against the wall and stares into her eyes as hard as if he were trying to find something in them.
— Your games are no longer funny, Hannah. — He presses her against the wall, and although this posture doesn't suit him at all, he's had enough. He can't control himself. He wants to forcibly pull everything out of her as her behavior becomes more and more disturbing.
— Don't start…
— What don't you start! — he yells at her, and she opens her eyes wider in shock. Circling the corridor, the girls discreetly look at them. They are excited about getting another topic for gossip. — Stop playing around. Just tell me what you're playing at.
Hannah climbs on her toes and unexpectedly kisses him on the lips.
— It's me, Danielle — she claims, smiling charmingly. — Danielle, the girl you love more than life. Didn't you always say that?
He is devastated. He lets go of her and takes three steps back.
— What are you doing? — he asks in a weak voice, not taking his eyes off her. — What's going on with you?
The girls gossip among themselves, and for a brief moment their encounter spreads throughout the boarding school, as curious boys begin to descend on the second floor.
— Why are you angry with me all the time? Aren't you happy that I came back to you? Would it be okay if I continued to pretend that I don't know you?
Jin leans his back against the parallel wall with resignation. He is slowly starting to freak out. He no longer knows what he should think about all this.
— So explain to me how you got the scar under your ear.
The 16-year-old touches the skin and runs his finger over that spot. He does not answer the question he asked.
He remains silent.
She huddles against the wall and starts repeating that she wants good for him and wants to make him happy, but he doesn't believe her at all.
She cries, and then Jin can't stand it.
— Danielle is dead! In June, she died in a car accident!
Breathing heavily, he looks at her and sees that she is also suffering. He wants to do something, but he is torn by emotion.
Without taking his eyes off her, he slowly begins to retreat backward.
Eventually, he walks away.
The students make way for the caretaker, who unexpectedly appears on the second floor. Seeing what chaos there is among the youngsters, she starts sending everyone back to their rooms. The students are reluctant to do so, especially when they spot Joseph, who emerges from the darkness and approaches a shaken Hannah. He grabs her hand and forcibly helps her to her feet.
Hannah pays no attention and doesn't even protest when he pushes her into the room. The boy stops at the door, and a smile appears on his face when he sees the surprised look on the sitter's face.
— Joseph Scott! — he yells out. — Don't you dare do that... It's late in the evening, and you're going to lock yourself in a room with a student!!!? Don't you dare!
The boy ignores her. He slams the door, ignoring the woman's exhortation. He turns the key in the lock and looks at Hannah.
The girl sits down on the bed.
He is fed up with the show and intends to find out the truth. Since his friend can't do it, Joseph decides to take matters into his hands.
— Don't you think you should end this crib already, girl? — he speaks up in a sharp voice. — Look at me. Show some respect when I speak to you. — She lifts her face and looks at him with sad eyes. — There are situations when you can't reveal the truth to a person you care about because you would rather not hurt them, so… what do you do when, at such a moment, an enemy turns out to be closer than a friend?
He raises an eyebrow as he waits for her correct answer.
— I open up to him because I know he will advise me sincerely, even if they are the most painful words.
— Here it is. — He crosses his arms over his chest, and a cynical smile appears on his face. — Don't think to yourself that I don't know your situation... I was close to a person whose gaze was the same as yours: full of pain, sadness, and longing. Although you tease me, in this situation I am the only person who can understand you. So. time for confessions to begin?
Looking at his face, at that moment, Hannah understands that he is completely sincere. Can she really trust him?
*
The next morning is equally harrowing for everyone. Heated conversations erupt among the students when Hannah shows up in the cafeteria accompanied by Joseph. Brunet seems amused by this. He is amused by the shocked faces of the students; they look as if they are wondering if the two of them are preparing some kind of hell for them.
Hannah looks at the boy accompanying her, which he doesn't see, as he proudly looks around the cafeteria.
The previous evening, she realized that it was in him that she had the most support. She trusted her enemy because he knows her situation and understands her like no one else.
Joseph unexpectedly forces a wide smile on his face and puts his arm around his younger colleague. Jin lets the spoon out of his hand. Tom opens his mouth so wide that Jimmy witnesses his swallowed food. He wrinkles his eyebrows and nudges him in the back of the head to come to his senses.
Everyone is having a lively discussion. Only one person is boiling with anger. She angrily puts the chopsticks down on the table, with which she draws Joseph's attention. The boy has distrusted her for a long time. He wants to find out if she is actually the reason Halsey left school.
He leads Hannah to a table. She sits down between him and Jin.
The boy is devastated.
— What's going on is some kind of paranoia — he says in a stifled voice. He gets up from his chair and is about to leave, but the 16-year-old grabs his hand, asking him to stay by her side.
— Don't go.
He looks at her with sadness in his eyes for a long moment, however, when he remembers that she is playing with him, he walks away without saying a word. The girl watches him until he disappears behind the door. She can't get over what she has done. She wanted him to be happy again, but instead she hurt him even more.
Tom squints his eyes, all the while watching her closely.
— It's impossible that even Joe managed to seduce you. You are definitely not human — he says, still convinced that Hannah is Gumiho. His gaze wanders to the food the girl places next to him. He opens his eyes wider when he notices that she has chosen liver to go with the potatoes. — Protect your precious organs — he says in a trembling voice, then rises from his chair and runs out of the cafeteria.
The others seem to be used to their friend's strange behavior, as only Hannah looks surprised.
— What happened to him? Why did he mention organs? — She asks, looking at Jimmy. The boy only laughs under his breath. And just then he remembers the idiotic conversation in which it was Tom who decided that she was not human.
— You've probably heard this before, but he has a 4D personality. He lives in his world — Joseph speaks up, meanwhile putting his meal in his mouth.
— In his world… — repeats Hannah. The boy sitting next to her plunges his intense gaze into her. He sees that her lips twist in a slight smile.
— Yes, that's what I'm talking about.
The person sitting a few rows away throws the cutlery against the countertop. Walking through the cafeteria, she purposely walks past their table. He discreetly runs his fingers over Joseph's neck, which only his friend notices. Jimmy is shocked when he realizes that she is his secret partner.
*
Hannah looks over her shoulder when she is accosted by someone in the corridor. She is surprised to see Tom's face, who pats her with a toy handle from Adams as a safety measure.
— What's going on with you lately? I was sure we had become friends. You continually told me that I would become your wife, and now you try to avoid me and look as if my presence is a nightmare for you. Why this sudden change? — she asks because she is sorry that Tom is not behaving towards her as charmingly as before. She misses the sense of humor with which he greeted her and cheered her up every day. — Is it because of my misunderstanding with Jin?
— How did you seduce Joseph? — He squints his eyes, watching her carefully. — You have a demonic personality inside you, don't you?
— What are you talking about? First you make up some stories with Gumiho, and now you claim I'm a demon?
— Then confess to me what you are! — He nervously jumps in place like an impatient child. Hannah laughs at this sight.
— I assure you that I am a man — she replies, looking him in the eyes. — A man of flesh and blood. Maybe my soul seems impure, but I am certainly no demon.
— Do you swear?
— On everything. — She rolls her eyes, being amused by his theories. He definitely has his own imaginary world. But that makes him amazing, and having such a friend is equal to finding a treasure. — Will you stop being suspicious of me?
Tom pokes her with a contrite look, which changes rather quickly when Hannah's classmate accidentally hits her on the back with his elbow. The girl crouches in pain and is about to shout at her peer, but she is forestalled by her friend.
She is surprised by his sudden outburst of anger.
— You dared to hit my wife!
She throws a toy that she specifically aimed at his head. The 16-year-old massages his forehead, looking at Tom with an apologetic gaze.
— I didn't do it purposely…
— Then next time, don't jump down the hall like a wild orangutan!
Hannah blinks her eyelids. She hasn't seen such a version of Tom yet, although she has lived at the boarding school long enough.
The building is already closed when late in the evening, Hannah goes down to the first floor. She sits down on the windowsill and, swinging her legs, waits for an older student to come to the agreed place. She still can't believe that the enemy understood her better than the people she is close to. This is beyond comprehension. All he had to do was look into her eyes, and he knew what she was really hiding.
— Since yesterday, I've been wondering if I was accidentally possessed. I don't know what's happening to me that I'm putting on such a crib — she says out loud as she walks downstairs. — Jin was right. Some kind of paranoia is forming from this.
— Aren't you doing this because you found that I am exactly like her? Don't I have her look?
— This is disturbing to me from the very beginning. I think that's why you caught my attention, satanic girl. — He stands next to her and leans his feet against the windowsill. — The fact that I see it in you is the only reason I want to help you.
The sixteen-year-old gleefully rolls her legs, ignoring Joseph's crooked gaze. Just as she was terribly afraid of him before, after yesterday's conversation she feels at ease around him. Perhaps because he knows her secret?
— This Halsey… — begins, which automatically displeases the 18-year-old. He pouts, but doesn't say a word until he finishes what he has to say. — I heard that she was your first love. She lived in my room, but she went crazy….
— It's just a silly rumor. She didn't go crazy. She left school on her own. — His face is twisted by a grimace of pain. It appears that he still thinks about her and misses her, even though it's been a long time since their separation.
— She was also tormented by someone, wasn't she? Is it related to this room?
— Yes and no — he burbles under his breath, continuing to look ahead. — For a long time I took revenge on the students because I thought it was their fault that Halsey left me. I was wrong.
— You open up to me?
The boy looks at her bewildered face and crinkles his eyebrows as she opens her mouth in shock.
— Close those duck lips.
Indignantly, she crosses her arms over her chest, grimacing like a small child.
— Halsey was intimidated by jealousy. — The teenage girl plunges her curious eyes into his as he begins to speak. — And do you know why someone clung to you from the very beginning? Because this person is angry that you took away her room. She wanted you to change it. Later it came to jealousy...
— Jealousy? — She is strongly surprised because she does not understand: why? From the very beginning, he was her enemy. — How do you know about all this?
— Do you think that in this building something can hide from me? I know all the secrets. I also discovered yours without any problems — he claims, and his lips twist in a slight smile. — I've got a hook on you, so you'd better make sure you take a good place during the exams. The podium must belong to you because our bet is still on, you remember that, right?
The girl nervously bites her nail. Is he serious? If she loses, will he tell her secret? Joseph has a nasty personality, but last night as well as this one, she discovered that under the mask of a monster there is a normal, affectionate boy.