“You know that,

I’ve always been this kind of guy,

I pretended to be innocent but,

I was always dirty behind your back.”

– Erase, HyorinxJooyoung

After dinner, Lu Han, Jongdae, Kai and Yoona spend time in the lounge before all of them go to sleep. Although the television is on, they do not show any interest and would rather chat to themselves. The conversation mainly revolves about the final voting and what kind of result would turn out.

“Where is Jongsuk?” Yoona drops a question to the boys eagerly.

“He went to sleep right after dinner ended,” Lu Han, who sits next to her, informs drearily.

“Already sleeping?” Yoona widens her eyes, agog. “Has he cast his vote?”

“Maybe,” he replies.

A big grin splatters across Jongdae’s face. “He’s been saying Krystal’s the culprit so he must’ve voted for her.”

“Speaking of Krystal, where is she? Is she sleeping too?” Kai questions the girl’s roommate. He has no idea, but in all honesty, he wonders why Krystal did not want to join them in the lounge.

“She’s in the room, but not sleeping,” says Yoona. “I’ve asked her out to come here, but she just shrugged me off and left.”

Lu Han quirks an eyebrow dubiously. “What’s the matter with her? Is she sick?”

“She’s not sick, Lu Han hyung,” Jongdae breaks in. “I guess she doesn’t want to be here because you know, if she was here, we’d taunt her.”

“Taunt her?” Yoona clicks her tongue in displeasure. “I didn’t taunt her and it’s just you guys who keep suspecting her!”

“I don’t,” says Lu Han briskly.

“Neither me,” Jongdae adds. “The ones who suspect and taunt Krystal are just Jongsuk hyung and Kai.” He throws the same-aged boy a furtive glance, though it is not that furtive. Kai could see him glance at himself.

Kai does not refute his words, but silently, he agrees what he said. He would be lying if he did not suspect the girl. In fact, he was the one who mocked her the most apart from suspecting her.

However, after seeing her cry her eyes out, he has acted quite differently. He is caught up between two choices. Part of him thinks she was being sincerely honest and another part of him thinks she could have made the crying scene to flee from being suspected.

After much thinking, Kai has come to a decision where he will simply believe in himself. Later, when the right time comes, he will hold the phone receiver and tell the operator the person he thinks is the culprit of the inexplicable, puzzling murder of Byun Baekhyun. Who that person might be is not important – he would just want to believe in things he sees are all true.

The moment Lu Han excuses himself to the washroom, Yoona tells the rest of them about what Krystal told her when she questioned her about her alibi which was different from what she had told in the first place.

“Oh by the way, I think she left the shop around 3:30 pm. She didn’t say where she was going, though. It’s fortunate that I was still there. If I wasn’t, no one would’ve looked after our shop.”

“You know what? Krystal didn’t deny about going out at 3:30 pm. Just like what her mother told us.”

“How can she deny that, noona?” Jongdae chuckles amusedly. “She’d be more suspicious if she ever denied it.”

“What else did she tell you, noona?” Kai stares at the older girl enthusiastically. He did not know a thing about the new discovery about Krystal’s alibi until Yoona mentioned about it.

“She told me that she got a call from her friend and they went outside for a cup of coffee,” Yoona explains, “and she said she returned to the shop at 4.”

“She may have lied to you.” Jongdae presses his lips together into a thin line. “I think she came back home to kill Baekhyun and saying she met her friend may just be an excuse to set herself free.”

“I don’t know.” Yoona just shrugs.  “She may have lied or may have told the truth.”

“After all, we can’t prove that she’s the culprit just because she went out from her shop and fit the time frame of murder,” she adds.

“Yoona noona’s right,” the idol agrees, nodding.

“So you’re voting for her, eh?” The girl casts a glance at Jongdae, but the boy just offers her a smile.

“Suho hyung said we can’t reveal who we will be voting for, right?” the IT prodigy continues smiling significant. “The only thing I can tell you at this moment is, she’s one of the persons who tops my suspect list.”

Yoona flips her hair with indignation and grunts. If she had known the boy would not give her an answer, she would not have bothered asking.

The tanned idol’s eyes flicker at his wristwatch. “It’s now 9 pm and we have like, 4 hours before our time to vote ends.”

“So the only who has voted is Jongsuk hyung,” Jongdae says. “The rest of us are still confused and afraid to reach the phone.”

“It’s just a guess,” Yoona chimes in. “Jongsuk may haven’t cast his vote and will reach the phone when no one’s around.”

A few moments later, Lu Han shows up in the lounge with a glass of plain water in his grip.

“For you.” He hands the glass to her and casually slumps back on the couch next to her, as though nothing has ever happened.

“O-oh, thanks,” she mutters a low reply, almost like a whisper. She is totally surprised with his kindness.

“What on earth is happening to you, Lu Han hyung?” Jongdae bites his lip, eyeing them back and forth with a dubious look spreads across his face. “Why did you only give water to Yoona noona and not to me and Kai?”

“Are you, by any chance, dating?” Kai simply asks, only to be greatly astounded when the older boy nods his head as a respond to his question.

Yoona clicks her tongue in displeasure. She is not really fond of the idea, but she has no choice since Lu Han has brought the topic up.

“God, is that true, noona?” Jongdae’s eyes widen. “Y-you guys are dating, like seriously?”

By hook or by crook, this will be revealed somehow, she tells herself before nodding. “Yes, we are dating.”

Lu Han looks sideways at her and a tender smile looms through his tiny lips. “Actually, we’re fiancés. You know, the one I told you beforehand, Jongdae?”

“I remember,” says Jongdae, still flustered.

“Since we were arranged a marriage by our parents and feel like it’s a little bit unfair because we haven’t known each other very well, so yeah, we decided to go out.”

“Heol,” Kai mutters under his breath. “It just feels weird that you guys are dating while playing the game.”

“Don’t ask me.” Yoona gestures her fingers at the boy next to him nonchalantly. “He started all this. Not me, okay?”

Lu Han breaks his laugh and eventually agrees that the relationship was started by him. The other two boys, who still could not believe the fact, just keep on being flustered until they realized through the show, a couple has been surprisingly born.

Amidst the laughter and humor, they still have a task to do – a metal-like, heavy one.

///

At 11:45 pm, Krystal comes out from her room as she is sure that others have gone to sleep and cast their final votes. Since she has been staying inside, she has not managed to reach the phone. It is really mind-wrecking to face people when they are all looking at her as if she were a zombie.

Surreptitiously and carefully, she tiptoes pass the corridor and makes her way to the kitchen, the phone is located. Although the other one is in the lounge, she prefers to use one in the kitchen. It would not make any noise and the rest of them will not notice her presence.

She takes a deep breath and murmurs some incoherent words before picking up the receiver.

“Hello…?”

“Hello. May I know who on the line is?” comes out a soft greeting from the voice of a woman.

“Krystal,” she says. “Jung Krystal.”

“Miss Krystal, you have come at last! We’ve been expecting a call from you.”

She bites her lip.“I know and that’s why I come right now.”

“So have you decided which one from the suspects you would like to vote for?”

“I have.”

“May I know who your chosen culprit is?”

“My final vote goes for,” she answers, another breath is heaved and she is ready to let it out.

“…Lee Jongsuk.”

///

The anticipated morning comes and here, in the meeting room, Kim Jongdae is the first suspect to arrive besides the host, Suho himself. He stands up in the line and waits until the next person arrives.

A few minutes later, the next person, Lee Jongsuk comes through the open door. He shuts the door closed and walks up towards the younger boy.

“Jongsuk hyung, good morning,” he greets him cordially, a smile naturally flitted across his face. “You’re up quite early today.”

“By any chance, are you enthusiastic to know about the result of the final voting?” asks Jongdae further.

“I guess am.” He just shrugs, his trademark deadpans look never leaves his face. “I wonder which one of us will be put in that jail.”

The younger boy instantly peers at the box-like, brown-colored jail which is moderately big as though two persons can fit inside it. The bars between each other are quite big, but one would not easily slide out through them.

“I wasn’t expecting a ‘real’ jail,” Jongdae answers, eyes still glued at the left side of the room. “It feels somewhat real – just like the one I saw on TV.”

The moment they are talking about the jail, the door is swung open and Lu Han and Yoona trudge into the room.

“Here comes the lovebirds,” Jongdae says teasingly, giving them a playful wink. “Seriously, I still couldn’t believe the fact they’re actually dating.”

Lu Han remains calm as though the joke doesn’t affect him. Yoona, on the other hand, feels a pang of embarrassment upon those words she is getting. When she mulls it over, it is as if she had made the wrong choice – she should not have agreed to go out with him. In all honesty, she has no idea why she did that. Perhaps somehow she has developed a tinge of affection for him through the continuous meeting?

Jongsuk raises an eyebrow. “They are dating?” His words are almost like a whisper, but the younger boy manages to catch them.

“They are dating for real, hyung.” Jongdae lets out a chuckle. “You’re his roommate yet you didn’t know a thing.”

“I don’t think it matters to him even if I told him.” He shoots his roommate a quick glance. “Right?”

Jongsuk nods curtly. “Right. It doesn’t matter to me. At all.”

“By the way, uhm, does this jail really lock?” Yoona shifts the subject awkwardly.

“It is, Miss Yoona,” Suho speaks at last. “The suspect who receives the most votes will be thrown in the jail – it does not matter whether he or she turns out to be the real culprit.”

Everyone drifts into sheer silence – perhaps pondering how utterly bad it would feel if they get locked in the jail.

Just after several minutes, Kai and Krystal walk together into the room and now, the line of six suspects is complete.

“Is that the jail?” They ask the same question simultaneously as the first thing they would see is the jail.

“Yes.” Lu Han nods. “It’s quite scary, isn’t it?”

“Of course it’s scary, oppa.” Krystal puckers her luscious lips.

“I wonder who will be put in that jail,” Kai murmurs audibly.

“Alright then.” The host takes the lead as he claps his hands together. The fact that everyone is all present,he would let the last session begin.

“The result of the mind-blowing deduction game to trace the one who murdered the famous idol, Byun Baekhyun… who received the most votes?”

///

“We will now reveal the result of the final voting,” causing everyone to start hyperventilating and curl their fingers in great anxiety. The mystifying puzzle they have been working on since two days ago will come to an end shortly.

“The lowest votes will be revealed first.”

Jongsuk

Lu Han

Jongdae

Kai

Yoona

Krystal

“I’m really shaking right now,” Lu Han says before Suho proceeds, letting out a sigh. “I wonder if any of us voted for me.”

“Everyone’s nervous, hyung.” Jongdae is still laughing brightly amidst the tension everyone is feeling.

The host has his eyes fixed at each and every one of them back and forth. “Suspects who received 0 votes are…”

Jongsuk

Lu Han

Jongdae

Kai

Yoona

Krystal

0

0

0

Frozen – everyone stops moving and stares at the screen absent-mindedly.

Shock would be an understatement. Their jaws dropped open – they are beyond shocked.

“Wait a minute,” Jongdae speaks up. “No one voted for Kai?”

“This is unbelievable!” Krystal covers with her hand. “I know it wouldn’t make sense if I got 0 votes, but thinking Kai got 0 votes, I just got a meltdown.”

Kai just shrugs and feigns ignorance. Still, a flicker of smile couldn’t not be hidden from his face as he is exempted from being thrown into the jail.

Yoona and Lu Han, though are happy with the surprising (or expected) result, they could not stay put. The breaking result of Kai with no votes still caught them off guard.

“If Kai was the actual culprit, I’d have nothing to say.” Yoona shakes her head helplessly. “You’d be really wicked if you were the culprit, Kai!”

“I am not the culprit, noona,” the idol deadpans. “I’m too obvious, aren’t I?”

Yoona only grunts in displeasure and leaves his question unanswered.

Lu Han says, “So… the left ones are Jongsuk, Jongdae and Krystal.”

“I know there would be some of us voting for me,” the young girl states nonchalantly, crossing her arms over her chest.

“You voted for me, did you, Lu Han?” Jongsuk, after being silent for quite a while, speaks at last.

Lu Han is thrown off guard by the sudden question. He falls silent as he does not know how to respond. Even if he voted for him, right now, it does not matter anymore. It is all useless.

“And Yoona noona’s vote must’ve gone to me!” Jongdae flares up out of the blue, causing Yoona to widen her eyes in surprise. She just got mentioned on the spur of the moment.

“No doubt. You’ve been suspecting from the start,” he adds, flushing furiously. He thinks when the sudden flood of information about Krystal, Kai and Jongsuk being the possible culprit due to lots of evidence, Yoona would not choose him over them. “Even during the first voting, you voted for me!”

“You’re just… suspicious,” is what Yoona can say. “I don’t know why, but in the end, you still are on the top of my list. It feels like you’re hiding something from us.”

“I am not hiding anything.” Perhaps this is why Krystal bawled her eyes out yesterday when people kept on accusing her heartlessly.

Yoona is about to retort indefense, only to be interrupted by Suho.

“Next is the suspect with merely 1 vote is…”

Jongsuk

Lu Han

Jongdae

Kai

Yoona

Krystal

0

1

0

0

///

Jongdae lets out a sigh of relief upon the host’s announcement. He only got a vote and needless to say, he is safe.

Gripping his fingers tightly, he heaves another sigh of relief audibly. “I am safe from being thrown into the jail!” he bursts out.

Krystal and Jongsuk do not react, but it would be a lie if they did not feel bad. The young girl had imagined it would turn out like this – she would be one of the left ones. However, the question is, will she be behind bars or will the odds be in her favor?

 “Since it turned out like this,” Kai murmurs, biting his lip. “the result would be 3 to 2.”

“Of course,” Yoona answers briskly. “It would be 3 to 2 since there are six of us altogether. Jongdae got 1 vote and there are 5 votes left.”

“Aren’t I right?” Jongsuk stares at them, but later moves his gaze to Lu Han. “Besides Lu Han, one of you must’ve voted for me. I wouldn’t have been here, then.”

Lu Han knows he is not the only one who voted for Jongsuk. He has a palpable motive and evidence – the sue letter was more than enough for Lu Han to narrow down – the same-aged boy was behind all this. He murdered his employer, Byun Baekhyun.

“The final suspects, Lee Jongsuk and Jung Krystal,” Suho voices out. “Please step forward.”

Stealing glances at each other, Jongsuk and Krystal does as he told – they take a step forward and face the host.

“Miss Yoona?”

Flustered, Yoona turns to the host. “What’s the matter, Suho?” she inquires him questioningly.

“Out of these two final suspects, who do you think will be arrested?”

“Why are you asking me that question?” Yoona lets out a dry chuckle. “I don’t do guessing.”

“I don’t think guessing would hurt, Yoona,” chimes in Lu Han. He rolls his eyes. “I mean, Suho was just asking you.”

“Just spill it out, noona!” Kai says impatiently. “I couldn’t wait to know who will be arrested.”

Jongdae drapes a hand around the idol’s neck. “That’s true.”

“Fine.” Yoona takes a deep breath and has an instant thought on the host’s question.

“Don’t you dare saying my name, Yoona,” Jongsuk pitches in, to her surprise. “I’m not that culprit we’ve been looking for.”

“Even if you hadn’t said that, I wouldn’t have chosen you.” She clicks her tongue and has her eyes back to Suho. “Between Jongsuk and Krystal, I think it’s likely to be Krystal.”

“Understood,” Krystal says indifferently, as though she had expected it.

“Don’t feel bad, Krystal,” the older girl says. “I’m saying it’s you isn’t because I think you’re the culprit. But thinking that you’d get the most votes from others, that’s the reason why I chose you.”

“I know, unnie. I don’t blame you.” Krystal sounded like she had already given up. Her lips are dry and her smile is not as lively as before. “I know I’d be getting the most votes from you guys.”

“That’s true.” Suho’s sudden speech shocks everyone. “With 3 votes against Jongsuk, Jung Krystal is picked by the majority as the culprit.”

Jongsuk

Lu Han

Jongdae

Kai

Yoona

Krystal

2

0

1

0

0

3

Gasps of surprise start to erupt.

“You guys really voted for Krystal?” Yoona’s jaw drops, clearly face of shock spread across her feature.

Jongsuk and Kai nod, and Kai only follows them a second later.

“I don’t know why, but I’m leaning towards her,” Jongdae says. “The pictures got me suspicious. Krystal may have wanted to avenge Baekhyun for taking his money off her account.”

Jongsuk nods again. “Just like I guessed, Krystal will be arrested. She has a concrete motive.”

Krystal sighs discontentedly. “I thought you’d be super good at deduction, but in the end, you guys still voted for me.”

“You’re suspicious, Krystal,” Kai says at last. “I was wondering whether your crying was just a part of your scheme.”

The young girl’s eyes widened. “It wasn’t a part of my scheme, Kai!” she shrieks as she gets into the jail with the help of the host. Once she has been locked inside there, she stares incredulously at the idol. “I was crying for real, really. I felt bad because everyone started turning their heads against me.”

“I wasn’t,” Yoona butts in defensively. She locks a strand of her hair behind her ear and proceeds, “I don’t think Krystal killed Baekhyun. Though there are evidences, it just didn’t fit.”

“Unnie, thanks for believing me.” Holding the bars with both her hands, she shoots the older girl a sincere smile.

“Those three who voted for Krystal, please step forward.”

It is clear.

Jongsuk, Jongdae and Kai step forward in front of the host, leaving Lu Han and Yoona behind. They obviously voted for someone else than Krystal.

///

Short interview with the voters

Q: Why do you think Krystal is the culprit?

A:

Jongsuk: She has a motive. She killed Baekhyun because she was angry that he found out about her affair with her past flame. Her boyfriend had taken back his money off her account was a strong motive. Girls like money, don’t they? That’s why I think the culprit is none other than Krystal.

Jongdae: I’ve been leaning towards Krystal ever since everyone started to suspect her. I mean, it’d be realistic if everyone suspected her. She has a motive and we found some clues about her. By the way, the part she cried may have been a weapon for her to escape. It was surely strange. Why did she cry all of a sudden? And besides, if Krystal didn’t get the majority vote, I’d have no chance of getting the gold coins. If I want to get it, I would have to vote for her.

Kai: Since she’s his girlfriend, she’d know a lot about him like, when he’d come back home and others. Her mother stated that she left the shop in the middle of working so I guess she was going back home to kill him. At first I thought she didn’t go to work and think she was hiding in the house, but it was wrong when her mother testified her alibi.

///

Each of the three of them has a pouch of gold coins in their hands. If Krystal was the actual culprit, they can have the gold coins. However, if she was not the culprit, the actual culprit would have them all.

“Are those gold coins real?” Yoona simply questions out of curiosity.

“They are.” Kai looks inside the pouch. “I wonder how much money I’d get if I get all these changed.”

“It’d be a lot,” Lu Han says. “Lucky you guys.”

“You should’ve voted for Krystal, then,” Jongsuk hisses in annoyance. “You voted for me, which is obviously not the culprit.”

“It’s still vague whether the culprit is her,” the half-Chinese retorts, gritting his teeth. “So don’t be too confident. I’m afraid you’d be dead embarrassed in the end.”

Jongsuk remains his usual, deadpan face.

“What if she is the real culprit, Lu Han?” Yoona says to him. “I thought you were going to vote for her, though.”

“I didn’t. I voted for Jongsuk.” He shakes his head. “Well… the only thing I could say Krystal may be or may not be the culprit. Let’s just see how the result would turn out.”

Suho continues, “Jung Krystal is chosen as the culprit of the murder case of Byun Baekhyun. But the question is, is she really the one we’ve been looking for?”

“Am not,” Krystal chimes in, lips twitched frustratingly. Aside of being so hot in the jail, the sight of them having the pouches of gold coins irks her.

Suho lets out a tiny chuckle at her statement. “Or is she merely the scapegoat for the real culprit?”

“I just hope she’s the culprit!” Yoona could not hide the suffocation she is feeling, making them crack up. “I feel so suffocated right now!”

“Just reveal the result, hyung.” Kai gestures the host. “Everyone’s become terribly impatient.”

“Alright. I will reveal the result.” Suho nods and a significant smile takes its on his lips. “Jung Krystal, you are…”

///

“Hello everyone. I am 23 year-old florist, Jung Krystal. As aforementioned, I own a flower shop with my mother in the heart of Seoul. About my relationship with Baekhyun, we’ve been dating and living together under the same roof for about one year… until he was recently found dead. That really tore my heart apart.”

“On the day of murder, my boyfriend’s best friend, Lu Han oppa, came to our house to meet him, but he hadn’t come back home. Before he went home, we talked about some things and that’s it. Afterwards I dressed myself up because it’s my turn to look after the shop.”

“Baekhyun finally returned home when I was ready to go out. I’d love to, you know, talk to him and cuddle, but he wasn’t in a good condition at that time. He looked tired, moody and somehow weird.... so I just ignored him.”

“I think I left the house around 2:45 pm because I forgot to wash all the dishes in the sink. Baekhyun’s sort of a clean freak so I washed everything up before I left the house. I did not want him to lash out his temper at me. He was already unstable at that moment.”

***

As soon as the buzzer makes its usual roaring sound and the time has started ticking, Kai, with several Polaroids in his grip, peers on each suspects’ faces with a significant smirk.

“Though each and every one of you has gotten a lot of plot twists that we hadn’t expected, I am definitely sure all of you will start changing your current suspect on mind after hearing my deduction.”

“What have you found?” Jongsuk’s eyes get slightly bigger than usual. “Something’s crucial and worth-telling?”

“Absolutely.” Instead of pasting each Polaroid on the white board, the idol prefers holding them. He takes one of them and keeps the others. “When I was searching for clues in the dressing room, I found your cell phone on the floor.”

The gaze is pointed to none other than Jung Krystal, and she does not look very alarmed.

Yoona an eyebrow skeptical. “Didn’t you bring yours when you went to your flower shop, Krystal?”

She bites her lip and shakes her head. “I only noticed that I didn’t bring my cell phone when I’d reached my shop.”

“Is there anything particularly weird with her cell phone?” Lu Han asks.

“There is and here, I will you show Jung Krystal’s true colors,” Kai says, smirking yet again. “I saw the text messages in her cell phone and it turned out that you sent one to a guy. So here… Krystal, let me ask you a question.”

“What… is it?”

“Lately… is there anything you’re guilty of?”

There is a beat of silence and when all of them are looking at her meticulously, Krystal could not help feeling awkward. “There is…”

“Can you tell everyone what kind of text message is that?”

“I said… let’s stop meeting.” She suddenly lowers her head and her voice has faltered.

“Let’s stop meeting?” Jongdae takes a deep breath. “Are you meeting another guy behind my younger brother’s back?”

Krystal does not utter a word afterwards.

“That’s right! She was indeed having an affair with another guy!” Kai clicks his tongue in distaste. “And there was a photo of her and that guy… and it was sent by Baekhyun.”

“Baek