I paused mid-bite, watching him act strange on purpose. Why was he acting like that, like he didn't know exactly what I was talking about? His calm face only annoyed me more.
"Stop pretending. You know what I mean," I said, rolling my eyes as grease stained my fingers.
"No, I don't," he replied without even looking at me.
His tone was too smooth, too innocent. He knew. I knew he knew.
"Then if you don't get it, forget about it," I said and focused back on my delicious wings, biting into them aggressively like they had personally offended me.
The silence stretched between us again, thick and awkward, broken only by the sound of chewing.
"Here, you should try the wings with the sauce. It tastes like heaven," I said, dipping the chicken and pushing it straight toward his mouth, my lips pouting without me even realizing it.
"I don't eat such. I'm a vegetarian," he said calmly.
I didn't even know when the laughter burst out of me, loud and uncontrollable. I almost choked.
He just stared at me, confused.
"You almost had me right there. You? A vegetarian?" I laughed harder, holding my stomach.
"It's your choice to believe or not," he said, already focusing back on his laptop like the conversation meant nothing.
The silence returned.
I kept munching on my wings, still laughing under my breath.
"Vegetarian," I muttered again, shaking my head.
When I finally finished eating, I wiped my hands and picked up the empty boxes, standing up to clean up. As usual, clumsy me didn't even take two steps before my foot caught something.
I tripped. My heart jumped into my throat.
I almost fell headfirst, but strong arms caught me mid-fall, pulling me back. Instead of the floor, I landed right on his lap.
I froze instantly. My breath hitched as I felt something beneath me—solid, undeniable. That was his rod. It was mighty down there. My throat went dry. My body stiffened like I'd been struck by lightning.
I swallowed hard and tried to stand up quickly, panic rising in my chest, but he pulled me back forcefully. I landed on his rod again, this time deliberately.
My fingers curled into his shirt.
"Where are you running to?" he asked.
"I didn't mean to. I tripped," I said, my voice shaky as I swallowed again.
"I thought you said you wanted us to do it," he replied casually.
So he knew.
He had known all along.
I stared into his eyes, disbelief written all over my face.
"Liar, liar, CEO," I muttered under my breath.
"I'm not doing anything with you," I said quickly and tried to stand again, but he pulled me back once more. I stayed seated, my heart pounding wildly.
I finally stopped fighting it.
"I won't force you to do anything with me. Whenever you're ready, I'm also ready. So you don't have to shy around me," he said softly.
"I wasn't shy," I replied.
I lied. Of course I was shy.
"Is that true?" he asked, closing the gap between us.
I could feel his breath on my lips. Our mouths were so close that one tiny movement would make them collide.
"You're too close," I whispered.
"You caused a lot of trouble at work today. How are you going to repay me?" he said.
"I… I… I don't know. Do I have to repay you?" I stammered.
"Yes. I canceled an expensive shoot because of you. My model was injured. My meeting was interrupted. My..."
"Fine!" I interrupted. "I accept defeat. It was all because of me. What do you want me to do?"
"Kiss me," he said shamelessly.
"Pervert!" I screamed and hit his chest hard.
He groaned slightly… then smirked.
Suddenly, his phone rang.
Thank goodness.
He released me to pick it up from the table. I jumped off his lap immediately and ran straight into the kitchen, my cheeks burning red.
From where I stood, I saw his expression change. His playful face disappeared, replaced with worry.
He stood up quickly and headed toward the stairs.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"It's Alexa. She ran away from home," he said.
"What?" I gasped.
That little girl was spoiled, but still…
"Why would she do that?" I asked.
"She probably found out her mom is pregnant. She wants to be the only child," Raisem said.
That hit too close to home. I remembered being ten when my father brought home another child. I also ran away from home. The jealousy, the anger… but Alexa was barely five.
"Where are you going now?" I asked.
"I have no choice but to look for her," he said, looking worried.
"I'm coming with you."
We got into the car, and he sped off. His jaw was tight, hands gripping the wheel hard, even though he tried to hide his worry.
The car's system beeped as an incoming call connected automatically through the speaker.
"Anything yet?" he asked.
"No, we haven't found her yet," Alexa's mom said, her voice breaking.
The call ended as we arrived on an empty highway. Security vehicles were already waiting.
Alexa's mom ran toward Raisem the moment she saw him, tears streaming down her face.
"I don't know where she is. I'm so scared, Raisem. What if something happened to her?" she cried.
"We'll find her," Raisem said firmly.
A female bodyguard approached, holding something.
"Ma'am, we found this," she said.
It was an Apple smartwatch… and a merchandise toy from a popular kids' show.
"This is her watch. And her toy. We can't track her anymore. She dropped the smart watch," Alexa's mom said, crying harder.
"She watches Hola Family?" I asked in shock.
"Yes. She loves them," her mom replied forcing a smile.
"I think I know where she might be," I said.
I wasn't so sure but it could be correct. There have been reports of missing kids found in the mall and it all connected back to the kid's show.
"Then let's go," Alexa's mom said immediately.
******
We got into the car again, security following closely.
"It's fifty-fifty," I explained to Raisem. "There's an abandoned mall where they shot Hola Family. Kids believe there's a wishing well there."
"What the hell…" Raisem muttered.
"There have been rumors. People dressing as Hola Family characters. They hurt people, If she's at that mall, I don't think she's safe." I added urgently.
Raisem increased the speed.
"I thought the show was banned for too much violence?" Raisem said.
"Yes, it was but trust me it was still in circulation all over the world." I assured him.
******
We finally got to the abandoned mall where the animation was shot, and everyone got down from the cars.
The place was creepy.
The building stood in front of us like it had been forgotten by time itself. Parts of the walls were cracked and stained with dark patches, like water and mold had eaten through them slowly.
The silence there was too loud.
"What is this place?" Alexa's mum asked, her voice trembling as she looked around.
"She could be by the well," I said quietly, scanning the surroundings.
"Where is the well?" Alexa's mum asked, panic clear in her eyes as she held her hands together tightly.
"I have no idea, but we can split up to cover more ground," I said.
Raisem nodded immediately, his face tight with worry, and everyone split up.
"You're coming with me," he said firmly, holding my arm.
I didn't argue. I followed him closely as we moved deeper into the building.
We walked through broken staircases and long, dark hallways. Every step echoed loudly, making my heart beat faster. Shadows clung to every corner.
Some doors were half open, creaking softly as if something had just passed through them. The air smelled damp and rotten, mixed with dust and something else that made my stomach turn.
Unknown to us, eyes watched us closely from the darkness.
We finally got to a corridor that looked like a funhouse. The entrance was shaped like a giant doll's mouth. The lips were painted red but chipped and dirty, and the teeth were uneven and cracked.
One of the eyes above the entrance was missing, leaving a black hole that felt like it was staring straight at us.
Just standing there made my chest tighten.
The inside was worse.
As we stepped in, the floor felt uneven beneath our feet, like parts of it were sinking. Faded mirrors lined the walls, some broken, others distorted.
When I looked at my reflection, my face looked stretched and wrong, like someone else was staring back at me.
Strange sounds echoed—soft giggles, dragging footsteps, and the distant squeak of old machinery.
Then Raisem stopped suddenly.
He bent down and picked something from the floor.
"It belongs to Alexa. Her name's written on it," Raisem said, holding up a small red ribbon.
I leaned closer and saw the name written in childish handwriting.
My heart dropped.
I was right. She was here.
Suddenly, the lights powered on by themselves.
The brightness hurt my eyes. Then music started playing.
Hola Family's OST filled the entire place.
The tune was high-pitched and cheerful, but the speakers were damaged, making the sound distorted and slow, like it was melting.
The music echoed again and again, bouncing off the walls until it felt like it was inside my head.
It was annoying… yet deeply traumatizing.
I used to love it as a kid.
Now it made my skin crawl.
Ahead of us stood three doors—one red, one blue, and one black. Each door had drawings of cartoon-like characters painted on them.
They had round bodies, oversized heads, bright colors but their smiles were too wide, their eyes too big, and their limbs stretched in unnatural ways.
"She could be inside one of the doors," I said quietly.
Raisem moved forward quickly and reached for the handle, but I grabbed his wrist.
"Wait. There could be some booby traps here," I said urgently. "After kids were reported to be coming here, they filled some parts with traps to scare them off."
"How could they leave a place like this? Isn't it better to take it down?" he asked angrily, his jaw tightening.
I walked slowly toward the doors, my heart pounding.
I knocked on the blue one.
No response.
I knocked on the red one.
Still nothing.
Then I knocked on the blac one. There was a knock back. I knocked the door three times.
Three knocks came back.
"She is here," I said firmly.
Raisem didn't hesitate. He kicked the door down hard.
The door crashed open. There she was.
Alexa sat on the floor, hugging her knees tightly, her face red from crying.
"Alexa!" Raisem shouted and ran to her, pulling her into his arms.
She cried loudly, clinging to him.
"I'm sorry I ran from home. I don't want Mum to have another child," she sobbed.
Raisem ran his hands through her hair gently, holding her close.
"You shouldn't have left home. It's dangerous," he said, his voice firm but soft.
"We should leave now," I said urgently.
As we turned to go, the lights suddenly went off. Complete darkness.
Before I could scream, something sharp flew toward me, like a dart but it was bigger. Raisem moved fast enough and caught it before it hit my chest.
A loud, hysterical laughter echoed through the hallway and shadows moved.
"They are here," Alexa whispered fearfully. "The legend is true."she added.
The music started again, louder this time.
We looked up and saw them.
The four Hola Family characters.
They stood on the balcony above us, staring down. Their costumes were oversized and dirty, their heads tilted unnaturally. Their eyes were black and empty, and their smiles didn't move.
Some of them dragged metal rods, others held broken props.
"Let's get the hell out of here!" Raisem shouted.
He lifted Alexa into his arms and ran. I followed closely behind. We reached the broken escalator but they were waiting.
The characters blocked our path, laughing as they walked toward us slowly. Their movements were jerky, like broken dolls.
Raisem pushed me behind him and he began to fight.
He punched one hard, knocking the mask sideways. Another came at him, and he kicked it down the stairs. He moved fast, shielding both Alexa and me, taking hits meant for us.
His breathing became heavy, his movements sharp and desperate.
Then, it happened. A dart pierced through Raisem's back.
He gasped sharply and stumbled.
"Raisem!" I screamed.
He lost his balance while holding Alexa. They both tumbled down the escalator.
Their bodies rolled violently, hitting each step until they landed at the bottom with a loud, sickening thud and blood flowing everywhere.
They didn't move. They were both unconscious.
I stood frozen and haking.
The characters turned toward me slowly.
"Stay away from me!" I screamed, backing away.
One of them stepped forward and tilted its head.
"Hola Family," the bastard said.