It was a strange feeling, Mina thought. Sure, it wasn't the first strange feeling she's had recently - after all, she's sitting in a stranger's flat, having broken in a couple of days ago. When she thinks about it, she can't quite believe she's here. She's always been a good girl, obedient to her parents, hard-working and diligent. Taking risks like this, following the pleas of a random person on a messenger app, just seemed like something another Mina would do, in another world far from this one.

But bizarre though that was, it was certainly equally strange to be sitting here on someone else's computer, talking to a group of people as if they were her friends. How quickly they had welcomed her, too, as if they hungered for someone new to talk to. As if they, somehow, weren't quite enough on their own.

They hadn't just welcomed her, either. Mina had lost count of the number of times she'd been flirted with since she first logged on. For someone like her - shy, nervous, inexperienced - it felt like a barrage of attention that she didn't quite know what to do with.

And oh, the men doing the flirting. They'd shared their photos - not that Zen needed to, she knew full well from the magazines what he looked like - and they were all beautiful, in their own way. The sort of men she would barely be able to make eye contact with on the street, let alone talk to. None of them had asked for a picture in return. Mina felt grateful for that, at least.

She wanted to enjoy this experience while it lasted. Even if she felt like a huge fraud.

It was surprisingly easy to chat like this, through a computer screen. She could be the sort of person she had always imagined, as if she had taken herself apart down to the tiniest molecule, and rebuilt herself in her mind as someone she had never been. Attractive, confident, funny. It was easy to pretend, when nobody she was talking to knew any better. Nobody in the RFA knew how people had whispered behind their hands in the corridors at school as she'd passed, or thrown chips at her in the food hall. Nobody knew that she spent most of her time alone in her room reading, because it was less painful than being alone in a crowd. The words that came so easy on the screen would stick in her throat in reality,

Mina wondered how they pictured her. To Yoosung, she was cute, and she thought he'd imagine her as petite, big eyes peering out of a delicate face. Zen seemed to picture her as some kind of sex goddess, someone he wanted desperately to worship. Jumin was more reserved, and she felt that he would expect her to be graceful and clever. 707 was the one she seemed to talk to the most. He was funny and lively, and she bounced off his conversation easily. She wondered if he thought of her as one of those women who were eccentric but ethereal, like those actresses who kept being called "kooky".

Seven had, of course, told everyone else that he'd seen photos of her, and she was cute. She knew he was lying. She never put photos up online anywhere, and all of her social media profile photos were of her characters in various RPG games that she played. She silently cursed Seven for making everyone think she was pretty, and focusing their attention on her the way they had. It was fun now, sure, but she felt sick when she thought how disappointed they would all be when they learned the truth.

She swallowed down that thought and opened up the app to see who was online. It seemed that Seven and Yoosung were in the middle of a conversation about Honey Buddha Chips. Mina watched with a smile as Yoosung begged Seven to tell him where he'd got so many bags of the snack from, Seven ragging him constantly in response. Mina couldn't help but join in.

Yoosung: How did you get the Honey Buddha Chips?

707: Uhm…..

Mina: You were nice and Santa brought them to you?

707: How did u know?!

Yoosung: Seven, just tell me!

Mina: A story leads to a story leads to another story.

707: Yup. And this is a looooong story lol.

Mina was smiling widely when she logged off. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so excited to be talking to someone. Even if it couldn't last, she was going to enjoy it while she could. This must be what it felt like to be the popular one, the person everyone either wanted to be, or to be with. It was an addictive feeling, and she didn't want to give it up.

Her phone rang, and she jumped to answer it.

"This is a market research survey. I need you to say 'Yes Master' if you understand and accept the terms and conditions."

Mina giggled. Seven never stopped making her laugh.

"Yes Master Seven," she said, the smile on her face making her voice sound strained.

"Seven? There is only one Master," he scolded. "I will let that pass without punishment, however, as I am a benign Master. So, question one. Are you ready?"

"I am."

"Great. Question two, then. What type of cheese is best to have on toast?"

Mina's stomach rumbled. She hadn't eaten since breakfast, and she adored cheese on toast.

"Gruyere, I think," she said, "because it goes really gooey. But you can put a slice of English cheddar underneath and then you have the King of All Toasties."

"Oh my god," Seven said. "You're going to make me a toastie, right? You've got to now."

"Don't think I have any cheese in this kitchen, sorry."

"Whaaaat? How can you live like that? We're animals, keeping you in such a place."

"I know," Mina said dramatically, letting out a long, loud sigh. "Evil monsters, all of you. I'm wasting away."

"I will report back to my managers about your concerns just as soon as the survey is complete. So, question three," Seven said, dropping his voice back into a serious tone. "Other than Minnie Mouse, who's your favourite cartoon character?"

Mina looked down at her pyjamas, a bright red brushed cotton set with Minnie's face emblazoned across her chest. She frowned.

"How do you know I like Minnie Mouse?"

"Hmm?"

"For all you know, I hate Minnie Mouse. What makes you think she's one of my favourites?"

"Oh, just a good guess. Who else do you like?"

Mina let the question hang in the air for a while before replying.

"A good guess?"

"Everyone likes Minnie Mouse, right?" Seven's levity was beginning to sound a little forced.

"Not everyone."

"But you do?"

"Yes, but -"

"Knew it! The great God Seven is always right."

"I thought you were the Master?"

"Rumbled! You got me. Anyway, gotta go, Vanderwood will be back any minute. Thank you for your participation in today's survey. Your reward is a packet of Honey Buddha Chips. Bye, bye, bye!"

Seven hung up, leaving Mina staring open-mouthed at the phone and feeling as if Seven was being particularly evasive. Something wasn't right, and she wasn't going to be able to settle until she knew what that was. She fired off a text to him.

: 707, I didn't answer your last question and you didn't answer mine. My answer is Road Runner. Now, what about yours?

It took him over an hour to reply and, when he did, Mina groaned aloud.

: Mine is the Tasmanian Devil :lol:

: I didn't mean your favourite cartoon character. I wanted to know the answer to my question.

: I told you, it was a good guess. I am the Guessing Champion. I guess ALL the time. Don't tell Vanderwood.

: I don't believe you.

Seven didn't respond again. Mina groaned and sank back on to the sofa, wondering whether he had snooped on her before she had come to be at the apartment. Had he been to her usual home, been through her things? She felt sick at the thought. Seven had seemed so nice, not the type of person who would cross the line into criminal behaviour. But then again, he was an agent. Who knew what sort of unlawful things he was involved in? Perhaps rooting through her drawers was the least of his capabilities.

It wasn't a nice thought, but it was the one in her mind as she fell asleep that night. Which was probably why she had such a violent nightmare that she shook awake at 3am sobbing so hard that her pillow was soaked. Try as she might, she couldn't shift that sensation of falling through space unable to breathe, and so she got up and made herself a cup of green tea. Then she sat on the sofa and cried some more, feeling oddly bereft and lonely.

Her phone bleeped beside her, and her stomach fluttered when she saw it was a text from Seven.

: Hey Mina, you OK?

The fluttering became a sinking stone, leaving her feeling as if her stomach was a hollow cavern. Why would he send her that now? Either he was psychic, or…

: Seven, you know I'm not OK right now, don't you?

: Yes.

: I'm guessing now is a good time to answer my question from earlier. Please. I'm not in the mood for messing around.

: Okay. Give me a minute.

Mina waited impatiently, fiddling with her phone. She already knew she wasn't going to like what she heard.