Chapter 5: Funeral

Im Yoona had never liked the feeling of sadness. She had never liked it when she was feeling sad just because she failed a test during elementary school. She had never liked the depression that she was feeling during her high school days. Sadness was a negative feeling. To live life sadly would be a waste. That was why she had always tried her best to live her life to the fullest. She would try to make herself happy even though deep down, she was battling with this little feeling called sadness.

But what she was feeling right now was not sadness. It was pure grief. She hated feeling like this. She despised the grief that she was feeling inside her heart. The crushing grief was overwhelming her. It was trying to make her bawl her eyes out like a baby. The crushing grief was the kind of feeling when you felt this emptiness inside your heart and the emptiness hurt so much because you knew that nothing you did would be able to fill the hole up.

Yoona bit her lips to stop herself from bawling her eyes out like a baby. She knew that even if she did cry, no one would care as it was normal for people to cry when their loved one died. Since Yoona would always be Yoona, she refused to cry as she did not want to reveal her vulnerability to everyone in the room.

It was the day after Krystal's house had been searched by the police when Jongin's funeral took place. Apparently, the police had finished conducting an autopsy and following the normal Korean tradition, a funeral was to be held for three days straight in the funeral home. His family and friends came to pay respects and say their final goodbyes.

Yoona had just entered the room and the atmosphere was visibly gloomy, making her want to cry. She wore a black hanbok, just like the other guests. She went immediately right in front of Jongin's picture and bowed until her forehead touched the ground. She stayed in that position for a little while.

I promise, Jongin, she vowed to herself. I promise to find the person who killed you and kill him or her. I promise you that.

Slowly, she lifted her forehead from her ground and stood up. A tear slipped from her eye, landing on her cheek. She wiped it away and searched for Jongin's family to pay her respects and give them her condolences. At last, she caught sight of Mrs Kim who was crying and Mr Kim who was trying to comfort his wife. She headed towards them.

"I'm sorry for your loss," she said softly to them. "Jongin was such a great friend to me. Nobody could ever replace him. He was very special."

Jongin's mother looked up and met Yoona's eyes. The older woman wrapped her arms around her tightly while burying her face onto her shoulder. "Thank you for coming, Yoona-ah," she murmured, her voice slightly muffled as Yoona returned the embrace. Mrs Kim was still crying when she lifted her head. Mrs Kim quirked up a small smile to Yoona to show her appreciation for her visit.

Yoona returned the smile with a smile of her own as tears streamed down her face. She could not hold it any longer. Seeing Jongin's mother cry was so heartbreaking. She could not imagine what the older woman was going through – losing her youngest son when he was still at such a young age.

Mr and Mrs Kim excused themselves as they greeted Jongin's other friends that had come. Yoona looked at the people around her. Some of them were crying while others just stood there with no trace of emotion on their faces. She let out a small sigh. Jongin was a popular guy. There was no doubt about that. He had lots of friends.

Just as Yoona decided to leave, a commotion broke out outside the room. People were trying to prevent someone from entering the room.

"I'm his best friend!" the person shrieked. "Why am I not allowed to pay my respects to him and say my final goodbye?!"

"I'm sorry, Miss," one of the guards said. "This is what Kim Jongin's family ordered."

Silence filled the air as everybody turned towards the entrance of the room. It was not a pretty sight to see Krystal being held back by a bunch of well-built men.

"What the hell?" the young woman cursed. "I'm his freaking best friend! You should let me in! Who asked you to prevent me from entering this room?"

"I did," someone said coldly. Yoona let out a strangled gasp as she saw the person who had said it. Mrs Kim had gone to the entrance of the room and blatantly told Krystal straight to her face that she was the one who had sent out the order not to let Krystal enter the room. What made Yoona more shocked was, Mrs Kim used to like Krystal the best among all of Jongin's friends. It was a known fact.

"Why?" the young lady asked weakly, with tears already spilled on her cheeks.

"You dare to ask me why?!" Mrs Kim shrilled, making Yoona's ears almost bleed. "You killed my son and yet you have the nerve to come to his funeral?!"

"I didn't kill him!" Krystal protested.

"Get lost," Jongin's mother spat out.

"Please," the young lady begged. "I didn't kill him. I really didn't."

"Bring her away," Mrs Kim ordered the guards coldly.

As the guards whisked Krystal away, the young lady shouted in order to vent out her frustration. "What happened to innocent until proven guilty?!" she demanded. "What kind of justice is this?!" More yells could be heard but Krystal was too far away for her words to make sense.

A sigh escaped Yoona's luscious lips. Her shoulders sagged slightly and her eyes darted to where Jinri was standing. The younger woman was smirking with satisfaction even though the tears were still evident on her face. Yoona had a feeling that Jinri was the one who had influenced Jongin's mother to hate Krystal. Another sigh escaped her lips. She was tired of this, really. She just wanted to find out who Jongin's murderer was.

That was all. Why was it so complicated?

"If I were Jung Krystal, I would not have come to his funeral," a young man beside her mused.

Yoona turned, facing a man who looked to be in his early twenties. He was wearing a black suit. He was quite short for a man but he was undeniably good-looking especially with his big eyes.

"I'm Do Kyungsoo," he introduced himself. "I was Jongin's best friend during high school but we lost contact with each other after high school."

"Im Yoona," the young woman replied stiffly.

"It's nice meeting you, Yoona," Kyungsoo said quietly. "I have to go."

The young man was about to walk away when Yoona called out, "Wait." He turned, looking at her expectantly. "You're wrong," she told him. Kyungsoo raised his eyebrow questioningly. "It would look more suspicious if Krystal didn't come to his funeral. People would say that she was feeling guilty and she could not stand going to the funeral of the man she had killed."

A small smile reached his lips. "Touché," he replied before turning to leave.

Yoona wondered why the young man did not look the least bit sad.