Yuqi stretched under her bed, knocking on the wooden slats above. “Hey, Ghosty, have you ever read The Exotic?”

Ghostface didn’t react.

Yuqi pouted, rolling onto her side. “C’mon, you have to know it. The one with the dead dog?”

Ghostface finally glanced down at her, tilting his head in that slow, eerie way of his.

Yuqi sighed, resting her chin on her hand. “Yeah, yeah, I know. They were kinda freaked out when they got here, but it’s just the first day. They’ll get used to it.”

Ghostface rummaged through a pile of stuff before handing her a pair of white glasses.

Yuqi blinked, then chuckled, taking them. “Oh, come on, Ghosty. I know they think I’m at least a little funny. Like, yeah, I’m weird, but I’m charming and weird.” She slid the glasses on dramatically. “Bet they’re in their room right now whispering, ‘Wow, Yuqi is so cool and mysterious, I totally wanna be her best friend.’”

Ghostface didn’t laugh. Instead, he pulled out a familiar piece of paper—the contract.

Yuqi’s grin wavered for a second before she waved it off. “Ghosty, seriously. They’re just guests. It’s kinda nice having people around, y’know?”

Ghostface crossed his arms.

Yuqi groaned and flopped onto her back. “Don’t tell me to be less freaky. That’s like me telling you to take off your mask. You can’t. It’s part of you. This is part of me. I mean… yeah, they’re a little freaked out. But they’ll warm up to it. And if they don’t, well…” She shrugged. “I’ll just be my freaky little self anyway.”

Ghostface hesitated, then gave her a slow thumbs-up.

Yuqi smiled, flicking off her lamp. “Love you too, Ghosty.”

Meanwhile, in the girls’ room, an uneasy silence hung in the air—until Brie finally spoke up.

“When we got adopted by a freaky girl, I thought it’d be more like Annie.”

Hannah sighed, flopping onto the bed. “Are we sure we wanna stay here? I mean, yeah, it’s nice, but what if we, I don’t know, die or something?”

Niki rolled her eyes. “We’re not gonna die. Did you see the way they treated Yuqi?”

Hannah shook her head. “That’s because they’re used to her. We’re not.”

Brie sat up, hugging her knees. “Maybe we just need to get used to Yuqi too. I mean, yeah, she’s… different. But she’s fun. I kinda wanna get to know her better.”

Niki scrunched her nose. “Well, I don’t. She’s way too weird, and I never even wanted to come here.”

Hannah shrugged. “Would you rather go back to the orphanage?”

“Honestly? Yes. At least we were safe there.”

A beat of silence passed before Hannah sighed. “I think we should at least try. Not like we have much of a choice.”

Brie nodded. “Yeah. It’s only the first day, right?”

Niki groaned, sinking into her pillow. “Fine.”

The next evening, the three girls groggily made their way to breakfast—at 7 PM.

Hannah let out a sigh, rubbing her eyes. “I think living here is messing up my sleep schedule.”

Yuqi, fully awake and way too energetic for the situation, grinned as she flipped a pancake. “You’ll get used to it! You’ve hardly been here for a day. Your body just doesn’t know you live in my world now.”

Jigsaw stood beside her, carefully decorating the pancakes with an unholy combination of olives, caviar, and tomato sauce, arranging them like some kind of disturbing masterpiece.

Niki gagged. “Is that what you usually eat for breakfast?”

Yuqi snorted. “Heck no! This is just today because we finally got our hands on caviar. Usually, it’s just normal pancakes—boring pancakes. But Jigsaw insisted on his ‘special mix.’” She shot Jigsaw a look. “Honestly, dude, you worry me.”

Ju On, silent as ever, tapped his glass as Yuqi filled it with orange juice.

Brie, who had been trying really hard not to stare, finally blurted out, “Does he blink at all?”

Yuqi barely looked up. “Yeah, but no one’s ever seen him do it.”

Niki rolled her eyes. “How do you know he blinks if no one’s ever seen it?”

Yuqi paused, eyes glinting mischievously. “Maybe he blinks when we blink.”

And with that, she took a bite of her strange-looking pancake like she hadn’t just said the creepiest thing ever.

Yuqi stretched her arms with a lazy grin. “Anyway, I’m off for a bike ride with Jigsaw! Entertainment’s on Lilith and Lillian today.”

Jigsaw let out a slow, eerie chuckle, ringing his tiny, ominous bike bell.

Brie stiffened. “Hold on… you mean those two?”

Yuqi beamed. “Yup! They’ve been dying to play with you.”

Niki crossed her arms. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”

Yuqi leaned on her bike, smirking. “C’mon, don’t look so scared! Lilith and Lillian are super fun! They’ve been dying to play with you.”

Jigsaw let out a low chuckle, ringing his tiny, ominous bike bell.

Brie swallowed. “Wait… you mean those ghostly twins that just stare at people?”

Yuqi gasped dramatically. “Wow, Brie. That’s kinda rude. They blink sometimes.”

Brie squinted. “Do they?”

Yuqi shrugged. “Maybe. No one’s ever caught ‘em doing it. But if you stare at ‘em long enough, maybe you’ll be the first!” She cackled, swinging her leg over her bike.

Niki groaned. “This is exactly what I was talking about.”

Yuqi waved her off. “Oh, relax! You guys are in great hands. Lilith and Lillian know all the best games.” She winked, then kicked off, speeding away with Jigsaw trailing behind.

Brie, Niki, and Hannah slowly turned toward the hallway. There stood Lilith and Lillian, motionless, smiling eerily.

“Wanna play?” they asked in unison.