Part 1The Canary's Counterattack

Julian Thorne kept thirty "canaries," and I was one of them.

He imprisoned us on a deserted island, his laughter bordering on the psychotic:

"Only one of you is my true love. The rest of you must die if you want to live."

Suddenly, a black subtitle floated across my vision:

[The short-haired girl in the red dress is his true love.]

Instantly, the other girls lunged at her.

It seemed everyone had awakened the ability to see these subtitles.

I didn't move.

Because...

A red subtitle flashed quickly past:

[Julian absolutely hates short hair.]

Because I was the only one who could see the true subtitles.

* * *

I woke up to the agonizing jolt of an electric shock.

I was lying on the floor of a pristine, white church. Around me, other girls were beginning to stir.

I did a quick headcount. Including myself, there were exactly thirty people, and without exception, we were all women.

Like me, they were all girls Julian had lured to this island.

The church echoed with their screams and sobs, the cacophony sounding particularly terrifying in the dead of night.

Suddenly, a string of black subtitles floated before my eyes:

[So pitiful. These girls have just been reduced to toys for the psycho male lead.]

[If only someone could see the subtitles, I want to help them so badly.]

For some reason, the crying gradually subsided.

As my senses fully returned, I lowered my head and tried desperately to remember everything that had happened over the past few days.