5^th February 2017, 5.00AM

“Twinkle, twinkle, little star…

How I wonder what you are…

Up above the world so high…

Like a diamond in the sky…”

Someone was singing a lullaby. Krystal Jung knew that. She tried to open her eyes but failed. She knew that she was awake but she just could not move even a single finger. Not even her pinky. She desperately tried to lift her hand but her attempt was futile. She was frozen in her spot on the bed.

After playing practically all the rides in Seoul Amusement Park, Krystal had returned back to Seoul Orphanage with Baekhyun. It was not necessary for social workers to sleep at the orphanage but they had volunteered to do so in order to take care of the kids.

Krystal had decided to sleep in the same room as five little girls – Shin Yi Ryeong, Kim MinJee, Park EunMi, Lee Hyeri and Lee Haeri. She was absolutely sure that she had locked the door to their room before she had gone to sleep.

But why was there another unwelcomed presence in the room?

Judging by the voice, Krystal knew that it was a woman. The voice was high-pitched. She tried to open to speak but she could not. It was as though she was paralyzed.

“Little children would you like to listen to a fairytale?” the unknown woman asked. “Once upon a time, there lived a young woman named Cinderella. Instead of getting abused, she was the one who abused her stepsisters and stepmother. One day, the stepsisters and stepmother were tired and angry with the amount of abuse they had received and so they decided to curse Cinderella. The curse had worked well and Cinderella was dead. Now, the stepsisters and stepmother lived happily ever after.”

An eerie pause came after that.

Snores could be heard.

But the peaceful snores were interrupted by an evil cackle. A laughter that was so evil that it brought chills down Krystal’s spine. A laughter that was so cruel that it made goose bumps rose on her arms.

A laughter that was so chilling that it made her feel terrified.

Krystal Jung was never afraid.

“Or so the stepsisters and stepmother thought,” the woman continued her story. “They didn’t know that very soon, a new horror would come for them. They didn’t know that very soon, they would be living their lives in hell. But for now, they lived happily for a short while.”

Krystal wanted to let out a small whimper but she could not even produce a sound. She desperately wanted to open her eyes and scream out loud so that it would alarm the other social workers in the orphanage. She badly wanted to cry out of fear.

But she could not.

It seemed like forever before she heard footsteps leave the room. The door clicked shut. Only snores filled the room.

Why was she so afraid?

Why did she experience such irrational fear?

She did not know.

Slowly, she seemed to fly away to dreamland once again.

5^th February 2017, 9.00AM

“Wake up, you lazy !” a familiar voice shouted. His voice could be heard throughout the whole dorm. It was for a good cause, though. All of them needed to eat their breakfast so that they would be able to gain energy to do whatever work they had that day.

Taemin covered face using his pillow and continued to ignore the shouts that had woken him up. He shut his eyes as tightly as possible and refused to meet the morning. He was exhausted after playing for a long time last night. He wanted to rest. He wanted to sleep. He wanted to-

Someone snatched the pillow that was used to cover his face away. Taemin groaned and sat up. He glared at his group mate. “Key hyung!” he whined. “I want to sleep. Go away.” After saying what he had on his mind, he quickly lay down on his bed again and closed his eyes.

“It’s morning for God’s sake. Stop being a lazy and go wash up already!” Key ordered. “I know you’re tired and all but it’s unhealthy if you stay in bed all morning. Go and eat your breakfast and then exercise!”

“You nag like a mother, hyung,” the young guy responded but he was still lazing around on his bed with his eyes still shut.

“I know,” the older guy replied. “I’m doing this for your own good, Taemin-ah. You’re going to get weak if you spend your morning on the bed for a long time.”

“Fine, fine!” the younger guy gave in at last. He sat up on his bed for awhile before finding the strength to leave his precious bed. He took his towel and went to the bathroom to wash up just to satisfy Key.

After some time, Taemin finally went out of the bathroom and dressed up in casual clothes. He went out of his room and entered the kitchen. Onew, Minho and Key were already eating their breakfast. Raising his eyebrows, he asked, “Where’s Jonghyun hyung?”

The three other guys looked at each other before shrugging.

“He’s most probably sleeping somewhere with a one-night stand girl,” Minho replied so casually that Taemin did not think anything about it for a moment.

“Wait, what?” Taemin sputtered out after a few minutes after what Minho had said truly registered in his brain. “He did what?”

Laughter erupted from the other three guys at the youngest of them all. Oh, how innocent the youngest was.

“Jonghyun hyung is not like that,” Taemin defended, scowling. He knew that the three guys were making fun of him and he did not like it one bit.

“Oh, come on,” Key said breezily. “Jonghyun hyung is twenty-seven years old. Surely he has his own needs too. Don’t mind his love or life, Taemin-ah. It’s none of our business. That hyung is allowed to do whatever he wants.”

Taemin’s face became crimson red at Key’s statement. Even though he was already twenty-four years old, he was not that exposed to things like that. Besides, his image as the innocent guy in SHINee surely did not help him to become more exposed.

“Whatever, hyung,” he replied dismissively.

Taemin secretly agreed with what Minho had said earlier. Maybe Jonghyun was sleeping with a one-night stand girl, after all. Even though he secretly agreed, that did not mean he was not worried. They treated Jonghyun’s disappearance so lightly. What if something bad had happened to him? What if he was kidnapped? What if he-

Stop being so paranoid, Lee Taemin! Jonghyun hyung knows how to take care of his well being. You don’t have to be such a worrywart. Even Key hyung is not worried, he told himself firmly.

Maybe, just maybe, if Taemin had listened to his worries, he could change quite a few things…

5^th February 2017, 11.00AM

Even though it was Sunday, Kai and Sehun still had to work. Fortunately their work ended at six in the evening instead of midnight like usual days. Kai had to admit that he was grateful to Victoria for letting him get a day off in order to go to Seoul Amusement Park for the gathering.

Victoria had told him that he deserved to get a break once in awhile. She even offered a day off to Sehun last night but Sehun rejected her offer.

Honestly, Kai thought that Victoria was a kind and hospitable woman. The only flaw the woman had in her was she believed in things that she could not even see.

He admitted he had had a teeny-weeny crush on the beautiful woman but as soon as he heard that the woman already had a fiancé, he immediately stopped harboring any feelings towards her. No way would he steal someone’s fiancé.

“Kai-ah, table number four’s order!” Sehun’s voice snapped him back to reality. Kai gritted his teeth for losing focus when he was doing his job. He immediately took the tray and served the customers.

At this time of the day, especially on Sundays, the café was full. There were too many customers. Victoria even came down to help the two workers. Those who wanted to meet her for some fortune-telling or advice had to wait until the amount of customers had decreased.

Gradually, the customers eventually left the café, leaving only a number of people.

Kai could see that Victoria was about to head upstairs but when the bells at the entrance jingled, she turned around. She immediately went to usher the customers with a wide smile.

Kai was a little bit surprised to see who the customers were.

Kris was wearing a suit while Sooyoung was wearing a white dress that reached her knees with a black jacket draped around her. They nodded towards Victoria and sat down at a seat near the window.

Much to Kai’s surprise, Victoria also sat down with them and they were having a pleasant conversation, judging from their expressions.

Kai shook his head, telling himself that it was none of his business. He approached the table that they sat at with a notepad and pencil on his left hand and the menu on his right hand. He gave them the menu and Sooyoung and Kris immediately looked through it.

Finally, Sooyoung looked up. “Oh? Kai-sshi!” she uttered in surprise. “I didn’t know you work here.”

Hearing Sooyoung’s exclamation, Kris also looked up. He raised his eyebrows at Kai. “Uh, hi?” he said awkwardly even though it sounded more of like a question than a statement.

Kai just smiled. “Well, I’m working here with Sehun for a little while. We’re taking a year break off our studies before we strive to earn our masters,” he responded.

“Well, that’s good, then!” Sooyoung replied, nodding in approval. “Good luck with your future!”

Before Kai could say his thank-you, Victoria suddenly interrupted, “Good luck with all of your future.” Her statement sounded casual as though it was meant to be a joke but somehow, all of them felt that there was a tint of warning to it.

“What do you mean by that?” Kris asked, trying to sound casual.

Victoria just smiled sadly. “I don’t even know. But let’s just say that the three of you will meet more of one another in the future,” she replied. “The three of you are connected by something but I can’t put my finger on what.”

Kai tried to laugh it off even though he was quite alarmed. “Vic noona, maybe it’s because we’re graduates of Seoul Boarding School,” he replied.

“Maybe,” the woman allowed the possibility.

“But just wondering, how do you know Sooyoung-sshi and Kris-sshi?” Kai asked curiously.

The woman chuckled. “Nah, Kris is my cousin and Sooyoung is his secretary,” she answered.

Kai nodded. “Okay, then. May I have your orders, please?”

5^th February 2017 8.30PM

The interrogation room was enveloped in silence. The atmosphere was so tense that the people who were observing from outside the room could even feel it.

Kim Taeyeon and Do Kyungsoo were having a staring contest. The two of them were waiting for the other to blink or speak first. They refused to open their mouths. That was how stubborn the two of them were.

But Kim Taeyeon was more stubborn.

“What do you want to ask me?” Kyungsoo asked irritably.

Taeyeon blinked at last after a full five minutes of not blinking at all. “At what time did you notice Kim Hyoyeon’s body?” she asked in a straightforward tone. She never liked beating around the bush, anyway.

“It’s a good thing that you went straight to the point,” the guy commented. “Around nine o’clock at night on 31^st January.”

The policewoman nodded and wrote it down on her notebook. “Did you know that she was dead when you noticed her body?” she asked.

The witness shook his head. “No, I didn’t know that she was dead. I phoned the hospital immediately as soon as I saw her as I thought that there was a chance to save her,” he answered.

Taeyeon looked at his body language. Kyungsoo was sitting up straight. His hands were calmly placed on the table and his eyes were looking straight at her. His lips did not quiver and his voice did not quaver. He was telling the truth.

“You said that Kim Hyoyeon was still breathing when you saw her,” Taeyeon stated. “Do you mind telling me why you said that?”

Kyungsoo smiled slightly. “I thought that I saw her chest heave up and down. Maybe it was just trick of mind,” he responded. “I don’t know. But maybe I saw it wrongly.”

“Were you there alone when you saw her body?”

This time Kyungsoo’s hands fidgeted. He shifted his body position. His eyes refused to meet Taeyeon’s as he answered her question.

“Yes, I was there alone,” he said after a moment of pause.

Taeyeon raised her eyebrow at him. “Really?” she asked doubtfully.

“Yes.”

“Are you absolutely sure?” she pressed.

“Yes.” He was fiddling with his hands.

“Are you one hundred percent sure?” she asked, raising her eyebrow.

“Yes,” he hissed. “God damn it! Why are you asking me that question a lot of times?! When I tell you yes, it means yes!” He slammed his fists on the table as he stood up. He glared at Taeyeon. “When can I freaking leave?” he demanded rudely.

The woman leaned back against her seat in amusement. She stared into his eyes for quite a long time. She was playing a psychological game and she knew that he knew it. She knew that he knew that he had lost.

“You’re lying,” she said simply. “You weren’t there alone, Kyungsoo-sshi. Why don’t you tell me who you were with that night?”

The guy gritted his teeth in annoyance. He leaned closer to her and sneered. “I told you that I was alone, didn’t I?” he replied through his gritted teeth.

“Let’s say that you were alone, Kyungsoo-sshi,” the woman said. “What were you doing at the playground alone? Why were you even there in the first place? Why weren’t you somewhere else? At nine o’clock at night, normal people are usually at home or going home or at the club or going on a date. Why weren’t you doing any of that?”

The guy paled slightly. “Well, I was just taking a walk around my neighborhood,” he answered, trying to appear as calm. He sat down slowly.

“Why were you taking a walk alone around your neighborhood, Kyungsoo-sshi?”

“I needed some air and some time to think,” he replied lamely.

“And you expect me to believe that?” she asked sternly.

“What do you want Taeyeon-sshi?” Kyungsoo asked, feeling fed up.

“I want the truth, Kyungsoo-sshi,” she responded. “You want to go home, don’t you? Why don’t you tell me the truth instead of wasting your precious time here?”

The guy responded by keeping silent. Taeyeon sighed. Suddenly, the door to the room swung open and her team leader, Tiffany, entered. “Taeyeon-sshi, I’ll handle this guy. Why don’t you handle the person at the counter who wants to make a police report?”

Taeyeon nodded gratefully. She stood up from her seat and Tiffany took her place. Taeyeon immediately left the room and closed the door. She went to the counter and sat down.

“Are you hear to make a police report, sir?” she asked as she switched on the laptop. She waited for it to load before logging on to the police’s account. Then, she clicked on the file that contained police reports.

“Yes.”

“Your name, sir?” she asked, sounding almost bored.

“Taemin, Lee Taemin,” he answered.

At his answer, Taeyeon immediately looked up and almost coughed. Her eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, it’s you,” she acknowledged. “What would you like to report about, Taemin-sshi?”

“I would like to report about a missing person,” the young man answered. “My group member, Jonghyun hyung, is missing.”

“When did you last see him, sir?” she asked.

“More than twenty-four hours ago,” he answered. “He was getting ready to meet someone and that happen around six o’clock in the evening.”

“Who was he meeting with?”

“I don’t know. He refused to tell,” he replied, frowning.

“Are you sure that he wasn’t spending time with his girlfriend – what’s her name? Shin Se Kyung, isn’t it?”

Taemin blinked at the young woman in front of him. “You’re so outdated,” he told her. “Jonghyun hyung and Se Kyung noona broke up ages ago. Besides, I’ve phoned Se Kyung noona and she told me that she had not met Jonghyun hyung ever since the break-up.”

“I see,” she murmured. “Are you sure he’s not just spending time with someone else?”

“He would have informed me, otherwise,” Taemin replied. “He doesn’t like to worry us.”

“The police will start looking for him soon,” Taeyeon answered.

Taemin was about to reply when suddenly, a man appeared by Taeyeon’s side. “There’s no need to search for Kim Jonghyun-sshi,” the man said.

Taeyeon looked at the man and raised her eyebrow. “What do you mean by that, Chen-sshi?” she asked, alarmed.

“Someone had just called us and informed that he had seen Kim Jonghyun-sshi. Kim Jonghyun-sshi was found near the playground where Kim Hyoyeon’s body was found with a gaping hole in his chest. He was found the exact way how Kim Hyoyeon was found.”

Taeyeon noticed that Taemin’s eyes were widened in fear. He was trying so hard to breathe. She noticed that the young man was gripping the edge of the table tightly.

“W-what happened to h-him?” the young idol stammered. “Is he all right? Can he be saved? Where is he? Will he be fine? May I-”

The last sentence that was uttered by Chen, however, silenced the young idol from asking anymore questions.

“I’m sorry, Taemin-sshi, but Kim Jonghyun-sshi is dead.”

Kim Taeyeon knew that the world had crashed for Lee Taemin.

Author's Note:

I just want to tell you that I won't be updating anymore in this month due to exams. I will be going on a hiatus. I hope you'll understand. My exams are coming near and I have to spend all of my brain juices memorizing 1001 things. I hope you'll understand.

Thank you for your lovely comments. It really inspires me to write. :)

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