Chapter 25

[Turmoil]

“Jessica…”

His voice sounded so far away.

“Jessica.”

Who was it again?

“Jessica, please, talk to me…”

Ah, she was too tired to remember. It would have been better if she could just forget all of these. It would have been better if –

Warm hands cupped her cheeks and it was only then that Jessica was pulled back to reality. The first thing she saw was the familiar eyes of Lee Donghae.

She stared at his concerned eyes, at the sorrowful expression he had on his face. For the first time since she saw Tiffany’s dead body, Jessica’s voice came out. “Donghae…”

His arms instinctively pulled her slim body into a tight embrace. At the display of such warmth, Jessica found her sobs finally broke out. On impulse, her weak arms also reached out to hug Donghae back. She buried her head onto Donghae’s shoulders and whimpered.

“Ssh, it’s okay… It’s okay…” Donghae said as he tried to calm her down.

“T-twice…”

Donghae mildly frowned. But he patiently asked, “Come again?”

“T-twice…” she repeated between her sobs. “I f-failed for the s-second time already… F-first Kyuhyun, now Tiffany… I-I thought I had saved them, b-but… b-but…” her words were soon muffled and Donghae did not press her to speak. His hand slowly caressed her back and his mouth told her the words to soothe her.

Donghae did not know how long this continued, but when he sensed her sobs eventually subsided, he carefully pushed her body away –only to find out that Jessica was sleeping. The tears on her face had not even properly dried off.

“How is she?”

Donghae looked to the source of the feminine voice behind him. Yoona was standing there, with Heechul besides her. While Heechul only stole somewhat curious glances to the sleeping lady, Yoona was more obvious in showing her worry. Donghae glanced at the two briefly before he responded to Yoona’s query.

“She’s alright. Perhaps she’s just exhausted. I should just carry her home.”

“Her driver and bodyguard are still waiting in the parking lot. Just take her to them and you can go back here again.”

Donghae hesitated. “It’s okay. I’m going to carry her home. I think her grandmother would want explanation after her granddaughter is sent home unconscious like this.”

Heechul frowned. “You’re not going to attend Der Märchenclub’s meeting?”

Donghae darted his sight around the Bluebeard Chamber. Polices were here and there, and the yellow police line connected four short poles on the middle of the room. No dead body was present, but the red blood previously belonged to Hwang Tiffany was not cleaned up yet. Donghae cringed at the sight of blood. He was not that close to Tiffany, but any death of the members was also his lost. 

Donghae sighed. “I don’t think Leeteuk Hyung will still insist to hold the meeting in such situation anyway,” he reasoned. “Besides, he’s already a suspect now. Will Sungmin allow him to wander freely that way?”

As if to answer his question, the big door of the Bluebeard Chamber suddenly swung open, and Park Jung Soo entered the room. Save for his cuffed hands, everything else about him was normal.

Or abnormal, mused Donghae as he observed how Jung Soo’s expression never changed, even when he saw the remaining of Tiffany’s blood. Donghae felt something cold running through his spine at the picture of unaffected, still smiling Jung Soo.

“Well, there’s Teuk Hyung,” nudged Heechul. “I’m pretty surprised Sungmin does not forbid him to come.”

“Judging by Sungmin’s face, he really does not like the presence of Teuk Hyung,” commented Donghae. “Perhaps he just has to. Last meeting, the majority of us voted to continue Der Märchenclub’s game. Sungmin couldn’t possibly refuse our will.”

“Yeah…”

“But will the meeting still be commenced in this situation?” questioned Yoona –her hand never left Jessica’s since a couple of minutes prior. The other members of Der Märchenclub were already present in the Bluebeard Chamber, but most of them only chose to be silent or to sadly glance at the blood in the middle of the room. All waited for Jung Soo’s commands.

All of them were becoming his puppet.

Donghae gazed at the verbal exchange between Jung Soo and Sungmin from a far. Sungmin was a good cop, but Jung Soo seemed like the type to always get what he wanted. Donghae would not be surprised if Jung Soo would somehow win the argument again that night. Well, in any event, Donghae would not attend that night’s meeting.

Scooping Jessica’s thin body on his arms, Donghae then stood up and announced his leaving to Yoona and Heechul. “I’m going to pass tonight’s meeting. I have no idea what to guess on the game anyway.”

“Oppa –“

Donghae did not even look at Yoona when he continued his words, “I’ll pick you up again later, Yoong.”

“Don’t worry, Hae,” said Heechul as he casually flung his arm to Yoona’s shoulders. “I’ll take her home.”

Donghae’s eyes lingered a little longer than necessary at Heechul’s hand which rested on his half sister’s shoulders. He debated for a while, questioning whether he could trust Yoona on Heechul. But in the end, he knew that Heechul was a trustworthy man.  The Lee guy then cast an affirming nod to Heechul before he walked away with Jessica in his arms.

There were reasons why as a little kid, Yoona liked to play with boys more than with girls. Jessica had always been an exception, because to Yoona, no matter how pretty her precious Unnie was, Jessica actually had the carelessness of a guy. Jessica would not fret with small stuffs or pretended to be the weaker kind or anything. But mostly, it was because she enjoyed being with people like Jessica, people who would not sugarcoat everything and lied to her.

Yoona did not mean to put a stereotype on gender that way. But she couldn’t help to think that way when this girl approached her like that.

Kwon Yuri, Yoona decided, was the type of girl she was afraid of.

Yuri was a fun person and Yoona actually liked her. They shared similar traits and under normal circumstances, Yoona always enjoyed being with Yuri.

But things had never truly been normal lately.

Competition arose there and there. It was no longer a normal game. The Club had turned into a battlefield where people strove to save their own lives. While not all were influenced by the competitive aura; some others already considered each other as enemies. The later group was even further divided into those who still tried to deny and mask the silent hostility with well-trained politeness, and those who engaged in open battle.

Kwon Yuri belonged to the last group. At least, in her battle with Sunny, Yuri did not bother to hide it with pleasantries.

It was a sad picture, Yoona thought. Yuri and Sunny had long been known as Seoul’s upper-class best friends. Their mothers were best friend and they had practically known each other since they were toddler. Ever since, the friendship bond developed between Yuri and Sunny, and Yoona sometimes envied them.

The bond, however, was a fragile one.

“Sunny will be getting new hint from Jung Soo again. She already wins too much. I think it’s better if we girls cooperate and try to find out the hints from her,” said Yuri.

That night Der Märchenclub’s meeting had just adjourned. Despite Tiffany’s sudden death, the emergency meeting was still held. More and less, Sunny played a big role in it. Sungmin had insisted that Jung Soo could not hold another meeting, but Sunny had been more stubborn than that. With eyes that almost shone the lust for victory, she had demanded, no, mandated the meeting to be carried out. And having the luxury of Jessica’s absence, Sunny did not waste the time to shout out Tiffany’s role as the Red Riding Hood.

Yoona could still remember how expectant Sunny’s eyes had looked, how she pursed her lips in a tight anticipation line, before everything broke out into a bright (maniacal) beam once Jung Soo nodded and told her to meet him some days later for more hints.

And now that the meeting was over, Yuri gathered Yoona and Choi Sooyoung to discuss what appeared to be a plan to trick Sunny.

Yoona was at lost of words. Sooyoung, being the louder out of the two, expressed her bewilde