Chapter 9

Arzenville High Student’s Lounge

When Mark entered the school that morning, he had to keep his head down and try and keep himself level-headed. Everyone was whispering things while looking at him in a not so good manner. Seems like every student in Arzenville High is gossiping about how he was taken by the sheriff the previous day.

But now, he feels better. Being surrounded by his friends gave him a little more strength to go through the day.

“So, Mark, what happened yesterday?” Bambam asked the older. “Heard sheriff even handcuffed you and stuff. Jinyoung looked like he was having diarrhea the whole day yesterday.” He snickered.

“They were able to retrieve Hyunwoo’s phone by the side of the river. They saw that I was the last one who contacted him so they thought they already found a good suspect for his case.” Mark told everyone. He then resumed by telling them all the details of what went down including the theory about his father and how they fought in the kitchen that night.

Jackson cleared his throat. “Uhmm…I don’t mean to offend you, Mark. You are our friend and we don’t want to hurt your feeling.” He directed his eyes at Jinyoung who has his head down the whole time Mark was talking about how his dad might be a possible suspect. “But we were already considering that even before Mr. Kim took you.”

In all honesty, the oldest felt a little mad when he learned that his friends actually think his dad would do something like that. But he knew that would make him a hypocrite so he just stayed silent for a few seconds before speaking again. “It’s…it’s okay. I guess. I mean, right now, I might be considering it too.” He sighed.

THUD!

Suddenly, they heard someone slam a hand onto the lounge’s door. When they turned to see who it was, they found a furious Jaebeom approaching them. The said guy then proceeded to grab Mark’s shirt and dragged him up. Everyone was too shocked to move. But when the Im punched Mark hard on the face, that’s when Jinyoung snapped out of it and went in front of his friend to try to defend him.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Im?” But the guy didn’t give him any attention. Instead, he just looked at Mark again with dark eyes.

“You don’t deserve to walk freely outside of bars, Tuan. It’s all your fault. He shouldn’t have been there if you didn’t plan anything.” Jaebeom stated calmly but everyone can clearly see the rage in his eyes while his fists were shaking, aching to throw another hit on Mark.

“You can’t be unfair, Jaebeom. You’re not the only one who lost someone you love, okay? Mark is your brother’s lover, for ’s sake. You think Hyunwoo would be happy when he sees you like this?” Jinyoung said.

“You. You don’t get a say in this, Park. If anything, you’re on the list too. You have a reason you could possibly take his life.” The guy said while he glares at the younger.

“What do you mean?” Jinyoung squinted his eyes at Jaebeom. “I already told the sheriff my alibi. I have no reason to do it. You really think just because we’re fighting for the captain position, I’d do that to him?”

“Oh, I’m not talking about the captain position, Jinyoung. I’m talking about the past.” Jaebeom looked at Mark then back to Jinyoung while smirking, making the latter swallow a big lump of his saliva while trying to see Mark’s reaction through his peripheral vision.

“That has nothing to do with it. And that was too long ago. I don’t care about that anymore.” The younger replied.

Jaebeom was still about to talk back when Youngjae suddenly started speaking. “Okay, this is enough. We can’t start pointing fingers at each other now. Come on guys, let’s get going. It’s not worth it anymore. Besides, classes are about to begin.” He announced as he nodded to his friends.

Until the moment the gang walked out of the door, Jaebeom’s dark eyes followed their movements.

Arzenville’s Music Hall, After Classes

Jaebeom is currently seated in one of the corners in the music room with the lights off while he is crying his heart out. He was missing his brother so much and aside from that, he was bearing a guilt. A guilt the comes from thinking that he was not a good brother to Hyunwoo. And it hurt him a lot.

The door suddenly opened and the lights . “Uhmm…hello? Is there anybody there? I heard someone crying!” the guy announced as he entered the room. Jaebeom can’t be seen easily since the piano was covering him. He didn’t want to be found but he couldn’t stop crying either so he was given away by his sobs and his hiccups.

“Im Jaebeom? Hey, are you okay?” It turns out to be Youngjae. He kneeled in front of the other guy and tried to sympathize with him. “Spit it out. All your feelings. Pour them, I’ll listen.” The younger said while carefully trying to pat the other’s back. But he was surprised when Jaebeom pulled him in for a tight hug while the guy cried even louder.

“Shhh it’s okay. Just tell me everything. I can be your friend.”

“It’s just, I miss him so much. I miss him. Everything was so sudden. I can’t believe his already gone. And I know I kept a strong front and try to show everybody I’m fine. But I’m not. I can’t…I just miss him. I love him.” Jaebeom told Youngjae as the younger began to hug him back.

When the older finally calmed down, him and Youngjae was seating in silence until the former broke the peaceful surrounding. “I’m sorry you had to witness that.” Jaebeom sighed. “And no offense but how will I know I can trust you enough to accept your offer of being a friend?”

“Really?” the younger asked as he turned his head towards Jaebeom and raised an eyebrow. “You ranted to me before thinking if I can be trusted or not. Set your priorities right, man.” He snorted.

Jaebeom let out a small laugh. “Well, even if I don’t admit it, I really needed someone to talk to.” He admitted. “And you just happened to be in here at the right time.”

“Well, after this, the offer still stands, okay? We can totally be friends.”

“But you’re friends with Mark and Jinyoung.” Jaebeom noted.

“About that,” Youngjae sighed, “what you did awhile ago was too much. Mark loves Hyunwoo, why do you think he’ll do that to your brother? I know the sheriff took him but anyone can be a suspect. I know Mark hyung. And from the time I’ve been with him, he can never do something like that. Not even anything close to that.” He defended his friend.

“I just can’t trust anyone right now.” The older replied.

“I know. But you can trust me. I never went out of our apartment until the day before I stared attending this school.” He mused and smiled at Jaebeom who looked like he was actually considering it.

The older then sighed. “Well, you seem cool.”

“So, what do you say huh, Im?” the younger nudged him by the shoulders.

“Okay. I want to be your friend.” The other decided.

“Cool! But promise me you’ll try to be nicer to Mark and Jinyoung. They’re innocent people, I swear.” Youngjae insisted.

Jaeeom frowned at his request then he rolled his eyes. “Well, I can’t promise.” Youngjae was about to whine when the former spoke again, “But I can try. Is that okay?” the younger smiled then nodded.

“Let’s head home before the janitor finds us here.” Jaebeom stated before standing up and lending a hand to Youngjae who smiled at the gesture.

“Thank you for talking to me…friend.” The older gave him a small smile then left the music room.

Bloodrose Mansion (Im Residence)

“Im Jaebeom. You finally decided to come home, child.” Mrs. Im said. Jaebeom wasn’t in the mood for his mother’s nagging about him going home later than usual so he just kept walking until he reached his room on the second floor.

He took a shower and lay in his bed. He was just staring at the ceiling when he remembered he has something to ask his father. He shot up from his bed and walked towards his parents’ room but when he got there, Mr. Im wasn’t there.

Jaebeom sighed. He was about to leave when something suddenly caught his eyes. A small box made of wood on top of his parents’ big cabinet. You can almost not see it of you’re not on the right place doing the right position.

He looked back outside the door, checking to see if his parents were anywhere near the room. When he confirmed that no one was near where he is right now, he quickly got a chair and used to it to reach for the small box.

When finally got his hands on the item, he immediately arranged the chair back to its original place and quickly went back to his room.

He was panting from nervousness and almost running. ‘Are long hallways even necessary?’ he thought to himself wondering why their house had to be that big when there were just five of them living in there in the past. They only have three maids so he thinks a huge house is too much.

Jaebeom took a deep breath to prepare himself from opening the box. His hands were shaking while he starts fumbling for the lock that keeps the thing from opening. He knows he prepared himself before opening it but when he finally managed to see what’s inside, his breath stopped for a few seconds. Tears were threatening to fall from his eyes when he discovered what was hidden in that box.

‘A Colt Trooper. The same gun he was holding when he was found in the river. With the same bullets that shot him right through his head.’ He said in his mind. His heart was beating so fast and his thoughts started conflicting. He was stuck between wanting to believe that his parents won’t do that to their child and acknowledging that he somehow found evidence that the killer might be closer than he thought.

Afraid that he might be the next one to die after his brother, he hid the gun in a secret compartment he made under his bed. Jaebeom sighed once again and decided to sleep it off for the night.

Arzenville High Student Lounge

“Hey, over here!” The rest of the group frowned at Youngjae and looked at him weirdly when he called Jaebeom to come over. Jackson decided to speak up, “Really? You’re becoming allies with an enemy?” he hissed.

Youngjae snorted. “Don’t be a child. I already spoke to him yesterday. He won’t harm anyone anymore so relax, okay?” he replied then smiled towards Jaebeom as the latter was coming nearer to them.

“What are you doing here?” Jinyoung asked the guy who just took a sit beside Youngjae.

“He has something to tell everyone.” Youngjae announced. “Right, Jaebeom?” To his surprise, Jaebeom didn’t even think about it. He immediately apologized to Mark.

“I’m sorry for behaving that way yesterday, Mark. I shouldn’t have accused you without thinking.” Ha said. Mark was speechless. He did not know how to respond to that.

“Uhmm okay. It’s okay. I understand you were really not feeling okay dealing with his death. I mean, I sometimes feel it too.” The older answered. Jaebeom immediately changed his demeanor. From an apologetic expression to a calm one.

“Good because I might need your help.” He mumbled.

“E-excuse me?” Mark stuttered. He’s really dumbfounded with what’s happening.

“What is it, Jaebeom?” Jinyoung asked irritably. He couldn’t believe the nerve of that guy.

“Well, we can stop the town’s whisper that you’re an obsessed lover who shot your man to death because he was late that day by helping me with the evidence I found.” Jaebeom claimed.

“What evidence?” Bambam asked as he got curious with where the conversation is going.

“I found a gun in my parents’ room last night. With extra bullets. It was the same gun discovered with Hyunwoo’s body. Same type of bullets too.” He informed everyone. Mark widened his eyes.

Jinyoung thought of all the evidences they found until now. It didn’t quite make sense. Learning the new information from Jaebeom made him want to find the answer more eagerly.

“Do you think Mr. Im has any connections with Rattle?” Jinyoung whispered to Mark. “I don’t know. But I don’t know if my dad has connections with him either but he is on our suspect list so…” the older whispered back.

Jinyoung cleared his throat. “Well, do you have any plans?”

Jaebeom smirked at that.