'What the heck?!'

Sandra's mind screamed. Why the heck were the Mad KingZ here?

Slumped on the floor by the front door, Sandra took a deep breath to calm herself, but even then, she remained shaken.

She tried to stand up with the help of the wall and slowly walked to her room.

She didn't turn on the lights, afraid the Mad KingZ would know which room she was in.

She walked straight to her windows. She only had horizontal white faux wood blinds, no curtains, giving her minimal privacy. After this, she would buy curtains as soon as tomorrow.

She pulled down the blinds' slat a little to look outside and saw the Mad KingZ leaving.

They were noisy even when leaving, particularly the laughing Ted, Mateo, and Jon. TOP and Kidrey were the quiet ones.

Sandra gripped the blinds tightly, almost breaking them, before loosening her grip.

This was no coincidence. The Mad KingZ were here for a reason. They wouldn't just hang out under the bridge near her home out of the blue.

A chill ran down her spine. Did they find out who she really was?

Sandra prayed they hadn't. She trusted the President had concealed her identity well. She was no longer Sandra Grace, the eldest sister of Kevin Grace, but Dar Rose, a farmer couple's only daughter from Texas.

The Mad KingZ had left now, and she heaved a sigh of relief.

But this was far from over.

If the Mad KingZ were still there tomorrow night, it would confirm her suspicion that they were there because of her, per Kidrey St. Creed's order.

Her eyes widened with realization.

"...I can make all things possible, that includes finding out your name even if you won't tell it to me right now..."

Had Kidrey done this?

Was Kidrey true to his word and had dug up her identity and location?

This was messed up. Kidrey wouldn't be that interested in her, would he?

Sandra had a gut feeling that if her suspicion was true, Kidrey was one step ahead of her now. If he had her investigated and brought his gang near her home, she was screwed.

"Damn," Sandra cursed under her breath.

She needed to form a plan quickly to ensure she had the upper hand. She couldn't let the Mad KingZ intimidate her like this.

Observing them was different from having close encounters with them. Their force together was undeniably strong, and anyone would be scared of their dynamics.

Sandra was reminded of the time they briefly met in the hallway back in the courthouse during her brother's judgment day. The Mad KingZ, together, had intimidated her.

It had shaken her.

And it shouldn't have. She should remember their uncaring looks that day. They didn't care that they had caused someone else's death. It was like they were used to it.

Sandra clenched her fists. She had every right to be angry with them.

She should never forget that.

---

"Do you know them?"

Sandra looked up and saw P.O near the window, peeking outside.

"No," she lied firmly, taking off her shoes.

"They've been there for two nights now. That's sudden. Almost no one hangs out in that bridge," P.O pointed out seriously.

Mad KingZ. He was talking about the Mad KingZ.

Sandra closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. She was tired and wanted to go to bed early.

"Good night, P.O.," she said, walking to her room.

P.O nodded, still serious, while watching the Mad KingZ outside.

Sandra went inside her room and locked herself in.

She thought deeply about the situation.

The Mad KingZ were here again, just like the previous night, almost as if they were waiting for someone. Her.

Sandra sighed again. She waited a bit before slowly walking towards the windows. She pulled the blinds' slat down. Even though she already knew, her heart still pounded hard at the realization.

The Mad KingZ left shortly after she arrived.

They were waiting for her.

Sandra didn't know why they were doing this or if it was some kind of joke or entertainment for them. It was so sudden.

"Kidrey," Sandra gritted the name. Of course, it was because of Kidrey St. Creed. He was the only one she had encountered so far. Now, he had involved his whole group with her too.

If Kidrey was playing a game with her, then she decided to join him. Two could play this game.

---

The next day at school, before the Club Assembly Day events in the afternoon, Sandra decided to pay the Mad KingZ a visit at their spot on the stairs.

Whether they recognized her or not, she didn't care anymore.

Sandra adjusted her glasses before turning the corner to reach them.

And there they were—the Mad KingZ in their usual place.

The chilly wind fanned her face, her short hair dancing behind her, as she walked steadily and slowly towards them.

Each step she took is seconds more pounding to her heart. But she held her head high, eyes focused on where she was going, not daring to meet their eyes.

From her peripheral vision, she saw them stop whatever they were doing as soon as they noticed her. Then silence followed after.

Her heart throbbed more because of this. The air around her felt heavy. They knew her now. They definitely knew her now. She was no longer the visibly invisible woman who passed by every day to observe them. Those quiet days were over. The Mad KingZ were aware of her now.

Sandra was almost at the top of the stairs, about to leave, when a deep voice spoke behind her.

"Miss Rose."

Kidrey.

Sandra stopped in her tracks.

"I told you I'd find you," Kidrey said, and even though she wasn't looking at him, she knew he was smug about it.

Sandra didn't respond and quietly left as she had arrived.

The wind might have been cold that day, but no one could deny that the look in her eyes was colder.

---

Sandra stood in front of a red dropbox, holding a piece of paper tightly. She had been standing there for a while, clutching the paper as if it were her lifeline.

An application. Her application for the Mad KingZ's Selection Day.

Sandra had filled out the information, but she wasn't fully decided if she should drop this paper in the dropbox labeled "THE SELECTION DAY APPLICANTS."

"...it's a death trap..."

She remembered what Kwanghee had said.

But Sandra knew that if she decided to submit this application, she would be putting herself in the same situation as her brother last school year. Only, he died. She should be scared, but she wasn't.

With thoughts of her brother in mind, Sandra didn't hesitate anymore and dropped her application.

She wanted to find out what kind of death trap the Selection Day was, the one that had caused her brother's demise. She had to know. It was a missing piece in the puzzle in her head.

And she wanted to know personally if she would meet the same fate as him.

Sandra clenched her fists at the thought.

---

"We've got some interesting candidates this year," Jon said as he began pulling out papers from the dropbox.

All the members were in the Mad KingZ frat house living room. Other members were watching Jon go through the papers, already bored.

They watched him shrugging occasionally as he dismissed some candidates.

"We've got applicants from the IT Department, Engineering Department, Foreign Stu—" Jon stopped as he read the paper in his hand again. He blinked twice, a look of disbelief on his face.

The other members looked intrigued. Jon was considered the calmest among them, so seeing him like this caught their interest.

Jon looked up and met Kidrey's eyes. "You might want to see this," he said, throwing the paper to him.

Kidrey easily caught it. He read the contents, and though he was surprised, he hid his expression well.

Jon filled the others in. "Miss Dar Rose from the Foreign Studies Department sent her application."

TOP whistled at this. Now watching their leader, TOP was interested in how this would affect him. This was a surprise.

"This is interesting. She'll be the first woman applicant ever," Mateo commented, chuckling.

Ted looked doubtful. "The same woman who ignores us when we hang out near her place. And even ignored our dear leader Kidrey when he called her earlier. And now, she suddenly wants to join our gang? What's her deal?" he asked.

All except Kidrey shrugged. Ted had a point. Dar Rose had given the impression she wasn't interested in them, so why the sudden interest in joining their fraternity?

Kidrey stood up from his seat. His stance caught all his members' attention as they waited for him to speak.

"Let's proceed as planned," Kidrey said as he climbed to his room, Dar Rose's application in hand.

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a/n: Are you enjoying the tension so far? Thanks for reading. Don't forget to vote and comment. See you in the next chapters.