Chapter 40

[Macabre]

She looked different from the last time he had seen her. Her hair was now dyed in dark brownish red and cut to her shoulders; her usually bright smile was replaced by an intimidating smirk. But Donghae realized it was not the issue.

The issue was her very own existence itself: breathing, living.

“H-how?” Donghae finally found his voice back after the shock was fully registered in his head.

Hwang Tiffany casually cast a smile to him. She had invited herself into the visiting cubicle of the asylum–the nurses did not have the slightest suspicion on her –they did not know her after all. To them, she was just the normal visitor –courageous and kind enough to pay a visit to a mentally ill friend (ah, what a chivalry).

The shocked look on Donghae’s face was an amusing sight, but Tiffany knew she still had to carry the conversation along. “You seem well, Donghae Oppa. I’m glad.”

“You were dead!” he stammered as he stood up from his chair; his finger was pointed at the red-haired woman. “Y-you are supposed t-to be –“

“Buried six-feet under? Oh, the one inside my grave isn’t me, don’t worry. She’s just a random girl that resembles me. Unlucky enough having to die as my substitute,” Tiffany paused when she became aware that her unsympathetic words had sent Donghae into another round of bewilderment. “…Aren’t you supposed to be glad that your friend doesn’t die, Oppa? How cruel of you for wishing me dead for real,” she said with a pout.

Donghae gritted his teeth as he took some steps backward. Nothing made sense –that he already knew. But this was beyond any question of common sense that he had ever had. Even now that he had (reluctantly) accepted the fact that Tiffany feigned her death, instead of the relief of her safety, her so-called resurrection brought an unpleasant twirl of emotion at the pit of his stomach.

Donghae tried to find for reasons, motives, anything behind Tiffany’s action to trick all people to believe that she was dead. Was she feigning her death so that she would not be targeted again in the future? But her supposed-to-be killer would not have been that foolish not to realize she was feigning her death. The killer must have known if Tiffany had pretended to be dead. Did that mean the killer let Tiffany remain alive on purpose? But then again, even if the killer did, why would Tiffany decide to play along with the killer’s intention? To save her life? Was she being blackmailed? Was she cooperating with the killer? But why would she?

As if completely being able to read his thoughts, Tiffany responded, “I did it well, eh? None of you expected me to be alive, that certainly ease my movement in this plan.”

It struck him. Like a thunder on a broad day light, it shook his entire sense.

“S-so it’s you… the one behind all of the madness in Der Märchenclub is you!”

Tiffany laughed mirthfully. “I get a little help from some friends, of course. But yeah, I think I should take the credit for most of the part. I won’t dirty my hands recklessly, of course. I just pull on the strings, but that’s the biggest credit of the show, isn’t it?”

The fact that he was facing a killer –one that hid everything perfectly well beneath the twinkling eyes and wide smile – made him gulp. If Tiffany was really the one who dared to kill even her own friends, Donghae was sure that she would not hesitate to dispose him.

Was it the reason that she came to visit him then? To kill him?

His jaw hardened. He knew he was still a man; that overpowering her in terms of strength was still a plausible notion. But on the other hand, he knew that it was never an absolute possibility. Tiffany had managed to kill numerous of people –and that was the fact he should be taken into a very mindful consideration.

“W-what do you want?”

Tiffany laid her index finger to her lips, a mocking gesture of deliberating. “Hmm, I just want to have a chat with a good friend, I suppose.”

“I’m not your friend,” he stated. “If you were our friend, you would not do those things t-to them.” His memory shifted to the members that had died on the order that came from this double-faced wolf. Something burning coiled at his throat. They were all good people. They did not deserve death, not like that.

Nobody deserved death that way –deaths that were arranged by a hypocrite death angel.

Tiffany pouted again. “I’d love to be friends with you, Donghae Oppa. You are cute and lovable,” she said sweetly as she twirled her red hair with her fingers. “But as much as I would love to spend this lovely afternoon to have a heartwarming chit-chat with you, I have other business with him.”

Donghae frowned and he eyed the door behind her. If he could just escape the room, he could call for the doctors, turn Tiffany to the police, and –

“Ah, don’t even waste your time imagining on the heroic thing you think you can do,” said Tiffany without even looking at Donghae. Her eyes lingered on her pink, manicured nails. “My loyal dog is waiting on the other side of the door. Besides, to them, you’re the crazy one here. Do you think they would believe you instead of my loyal dog? You might be the heir to the renowned Lee family, but my dog also comes from a respectable family and he is sane.”

Donghae squinted and he darted his gaze to the small glass window on the door behind Tiffany. There, he saw another man was waiting.

His blood froze.

Choi Siwon.

He chuckled humorlessly, somehow not shocked at all. “Of course… Siwon Hyung. Of course, of course.”

But despite not being too shocked of Siwon’s involvement in the whole ordeal, a new level of dread crawled under his skin. If the Choi was behind this, there was no question on how meticulously planned everything would be. Donghae could vaguely remember an article he had read in a South Korean underground conspiracy magazine. The article argued that the Choi was actually the one controlling South Korea. Screw the government. Money and authority spoke louder than democracy.

What a ed up nation.

Donghae took a despaired sigh, his eyes looked above to the ceiling and that was when he realized it.

The CCTV.

It remained as one of the most important protocol that mental asylum patients had to be supervised. Donghae had not been that pleased with the idea of having his privacy disturbed, but for the first time since he entered the asylum, he was grateful to the troublesome protocol. Of course, maybe there would be no one eyeing the cameras at the moment –but worst came to worst, if anything happened to him, the video evidence would be –

“Ah, sorry to crush your hope, but of course, I won’t be that stupid walking in here without protection,” Tiffany stated.

Donghae froze.

“The CCTVs around the whole asylum are sending different images to the control room. And of course, eye witnesses are kept to the lowest level possible, numerous stunts are playing their roles outside this room right now, systems are designed not to hindrance my leaving later on.”

He felt his throat was dry. How could one –

“I know hiring him might be a gamble, but so far, he’s proven himself to be my brightest asset.”

“H-him?”

There was no necessity in answering Donghae’s question, but Tiffany decided to entertain the query –more to have the amusement to herself. Ah, she loved the betrayed expression the most. “Kibum Oppa. My genius dog. Very dependable, though I have to ensure his collar is perfectly latched all the time.”

Donghae’s eyes hardened. “Kibum? W-what are you doing to him?”

“Oh, he follows me on his own accord. Don’t accuse me of brainwashing him or anything,” Tiffany said with a fake disappointed sigh. “Donghae Oppa. I really don’t have much time. Call him, please.”

“What?”

“Call him.”

His frown deepened. “I-I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

Giggling, Tiffany made more advance steps towards the cornered Donghae. Fondly, she caressed his cheek. “You are so cute!”

Donghae stood still, dumbfounded.

Tiffany’s grin, however, immediately faltered as she spoke her next words. “But as cute as you are, you are boring. Call him. I want to talk to the other Donghae. The feisty, courageous, interesting Donghae,” Tiffany shrugged. “No offense, Oppa. I still like this side of you though.”

But the mention of his other self made him even more alarmed –if that was even possible. “He’s gone. He’s dead. That part of Donghae is dead,” he replied sternly.

Tiffany raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really?”

“I won’t let him appear again. Never.”

“Never?” echoed Tiffany as she tilted her head to her side. Taking a deep breath, she then grabbed something from her purse. “Not even with this?”

It was a photograph on Tiffany’s hand. What made everything inside Donghae’s mind blurred into oblivion was the fact that it was the photograph of Yoona. But it was not the smiling one that his other self loved to secretly take. It was a picture of Yoona, tied to a chair –gagged. The chair was placed next to a lake and he knew the implication of it.

Snap, snap.

In a split of second, his other self was awakened. Donghae’s hand quickly grabbed Tiffany’s neck, ready to crush it, as he pinned the girl to the floor. Tiffany choked and tried to struggle for air. The table was turned. The smirk no longer belonged to her –it returned back to him. With a menacing grin, Donghae dug his nails deeper into Tiffany’s neck, his eyes glinted with the madness he had been burying.

The alter ego was back.

“Stupid , you dare to touch my Yoona?” he whispered coldly to Tiffany’s ears.

Tiffany’s legs tried to kick Donghae off her as her hands attempted to tear his hand away from . It was a futile attempt and she didn’t even have the chance to call for help.

But Choi Siwon’s sense had been trained to be alarmed whenever Tiffany was in danger. The moment he heard the ruckus inside the room, he quickly dashed inside. Suavely, he grabbed a gun from his suit’s pocket and pointed the gun to Donghae’s head. Monotonously, he only ordered, “Get off of her. Or I’ll blow your head, Lee Donghae.”

Donghae only smirked as he looked up to see Siwon. Challenging him, Donghae only tightened his grip around Tiffany’s neck.

Siwon was ready to pull the trigger of his gun.

But Tiffany finally managed to create some opportunity and shouted with a hoarse voice, “Siwon Oppa, don’t!”

Siwon did not let his gun down for a moment. “Let her go. If not, you will never see your sister again.”

The reminder of Yoona made Donghae chuckle darkly. His fingers were slowly unwrapped around Tiffany’s throat, but that was not without slamming her head to the floor first. Ah, a feminist no more.

Siwon quickly knelt down next to Tiffany, helped and checked her neck to ensure whether the damage Donghae had done to her would be fatal or not. Not even finished with checking Tiffany, Donghae already spoke again, “And if you dare to hurt Yoona, I swear, it is you who will never be able to see your anymore.”

Siwon’s eyes narrowed dangerously. His eyes followed Donghae as the later grabbed the chair and laid his feet on the table. Leaning casually on the chair, Donghae only nudged, “Where is she?”

“Somewhere place,” Siwon replied in place of Tiffany –who was still trying to greedily inhale the air. “You’re not stupid. You know that the only way you can help her is by following our order.”

“What use of me anyway? What do you want?”

By then, Tiffany already gained full control of herself. “I want that monster that you are –the monster that you’ve just demonstrated to me. I want to make that monster my dog.”

Donghae rolled his eyes. “You have a pretty acute obsession of being a dominatrix, aren’t you, Hwang Tiffany?”

Though still with difficulties, Tiffany smiled. “I love to tame dogs. The more rebellious they are, the more they interest me. You, Donghae Oppa, this side of you, interest me.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Donghae muttered, contrastingly, without interest. “Cut the crap. What would I need to do to make Yoona return safely to me?”

Tiffany cleared – wincing at the dull pain she felt when she did so. “I’ve lost some of the good subordinates. I want you to help me to reach my goal.”

“I’ve never been trained to be an assassin, if that’s what you’re referring.”

“Oh, but I know you know the basic stuffs. And besides, it’s not an assassin quality I’m looking for. Assassin, I could get them anywhere. But real monsters… are harder to find.”

Donghae chuckled. “It’s not just about your targets, is it? If you’re only interested in murdering the members, you can just hire other professionals, as you’ve stated. What you really want is to ruin our life, isn’t it?”

Tiffany smiled, “Precisely. And who would be a better weapon to crush a group of friends than the friend himself?”

The proposal was something he knew he would never be able to refuse. But still, he did not like this kind of position. “Yoona –“

“ – will be safe as long as you do what I order you to do,” assured Tiffany. “You do understand this, don’t you, Oppa?”

Grudgingly, he hissed, “Yes.”

“Sungmin,” Heechul suddenly muttered out of the blue.

Jessica straightened her body’s posture and glanced momentarily at Heechul. It was the first afternoon that they decided to meet up again after they found out the different body inside Hwang Tiffany’s grave. His out-of-the-blue murmur only perplexed her for few seconds, as not long after, comprehension got to her.

Sighing, Jessica allowed herself to close her eyes, to wander her memories to the events that had occurred months ago. “I suppose so,” she slowly agreed. “I remember that Sungmin was the first one to approach Tiffany’s body when Sunny and I found her stabbed that night. He… declared her death immediately, and had her body taken away equally as quick.”

Realizing that there was a possibility that Tiffany’s death was part of Sungmin’s plot did not settle the anxiety. Sungmin had died, and thus it was getting harder to dig the truth from the hypocrite police man.

“Tiffany could have been the victim. Maybe… she was really killed, but Sungmin, for some reason only decided to substitute her corpse with someone else.”

“But what for?” Jessica inquired. “I don’t know, Heechul. If Tiffany was truly dead, that’s good. But Yoona informed us that Tiffany was still alive. And I don’t see any reason why Tiffany had to play along with Sungmin’s plan. Or perhaps…was she threatened by Sungmin?”

“But now that Sungmin is dead, the threat should not have been that alarming to Tiffany,” reasoned Heechul.

“If Tiffany knows Sungmin is dead. Or maybe… there are someone else aside Sungmin who controls Tiffany?”

Heechul grunted. “I don’t know, Jessica. But somehow, Tiffany had the best motive of doing all of this.”

Jessica shook her head in disbelief. “But Tiffany was such a nice –“

“I also want to believe in her!” Heechul snapped. “I really don’t want to believe that someone like her could be this wicked! But Tiffany’s father had most likely been murdered by…” he paused, trying to search for the best conclusion. “I-I mean… not that I believe Kibum’s theory per se, but Kibum said that he heard our parents might have been involved in Tiffany’s father’s murder.”

“So… revenge?”

“I don’t know,” Heechul said as he shook his head. “But to my recollection, you said that only a few people attended Hwang Tiffany’s funeral?”

Jessica nodded slowly, feeling nauseous once the realization jabbed her in the right spot. “Oh my… W-we didn’t even get to see the glimpse of her face during her funeral. We thought she was inside that coffin. And we didn’t have the thought to check upon the coffin when it was descended down to the ground to be buried.”

She felt like she wanted to share an equally cynical chuckle along with Heechul that very moment. Yes, to think about it, Hwang Tiffany’s (so-called) death had been an exception in numerous ways. There had been no white feather, her body was taken away from the crime site immediately, Sunny –who was supposed to get a hint for guessing Tiffany’s role –was killed right after Tiffany….

And Choi Siwon. Of course, he had looked too calm in handling his girlfriend’s ‘death’.

As if reading up her mind, Heechul directly pointed out, “I told you I’ve never trusted Choi Siwon.”

“We have no proof,” Jessica spoke softly.

The lack of proof was not something that could discourage Kim Heechul. “It’s our job to search for one.”

Jessica stared blankly at the other side of the wall. It was not that she did not appreciate the result arising out of her cooperation with Heechul, but lately, and especially, after witnessing the peculiarity revolving Tiffany’s death, desperation started to attack her again. “It’s just that…we are always going back to square one. Every time,” she shook her head slowly. “What we’re facing is bi