Day 3. People have quieted down a bit, but were still talking.

I walked into first period to find Taemin’s desk once again occupied by the wrong person.

A very rude, arrogant, and hateful person, to be specific. It made me angry just looking at him.

            I reluctantly sat down at my desk, trying to avoid looking in Kai’s direction as much as possible. It was quite difficult though since it was sunny today and the sun kept shining down on him.

            “Okay class,” Ms. Choi said. “Continue with your partner the assignment from yesterday.”

            Kai was already smirking at me. “Should I move my desk?”

            “No,” I said. “Stay away from me.”

            “Huh?”

            I put my pencil down. “I said stay away from me. Need another repeat?”

            “But we’re partners for this freaking assignment.”

“We may be partners,” I replied, “but I’m the one doing all of the work anyways.” It’s true. Yesterday Kai had hardly done . I hated people who don’t contribute. “So why don’t you just do whatever it is you do and let me finish this so I don’t have to talk to people like you.”

            “People like me.”

            “Yes. Rude, condescending, a complete jerk.”

            “Now you’re just making up.”

            I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. It’s no use arguing with you anyways.”

            Kai leaned his elbow on his desk. He seemed to be observing me, and then he did exactly what I’d told him to do and took a nap while I finished the entire assignment.

            As if being partnered with him in English wasn’t a pain enough, I saw him everywhere. During passing period, lunch, after school as I walked to my car and even during my Starbucks run with Jackson after school.

            “Isn’t that the new kid?” Jackson had asked me as the two of us were standing in line.

            He was standing outside the café, leaning against the wall as he listened to his earphones or something.

            “Does he even have any friends?” Jackson asked absentmindedly.

            I rolled my eyes. “With his personality, I’d be surprised if he actually had friends.” Then some girls went up to Kai and started talking to him, or more like flirting. He seemed to remain uninterested.

            “All the girls seem into him though,” Jackson remarked. “He’s got that bad boy thing going on.”

            “Ugh I hate bad boys.” I thought back to how Taemin was so sweet, so bright and cheerful. He was the very epitome of an anti-bad-boy and I liked that.

            “Whhhaaaattt? How can you not like bad boys? Most girls like bad boys,” Jackson said.

            “Not me,” I proclaimed.

            Jackson laughed. “Oh please that’s bull. Next thing you know you’ll be gushing to me about how you like this guy with a motorcycle.”

            “Not if Taemin oppa and I are still together,” I mumbled.

            Jackson shrugged and handed me my drink. The two of us walked out and I avoided eye contact with Kai as we passed him. He didn’t pay attention to anybody.

            “So the journal,” I said. I opened the door to Jackson’s car and slid in. “Do you have any ideas as to how we can take a look at it?”

            “Take a look as in sneak in and break in Officer Yoon’s office, am I right?”

            “Can’t we just ask them?” I asked.

            Jackson shook his head. “Nope. Sorry to burst your streak of goodness but we’re going to have to play dirty for this entire case.”

            I sighed. Of course. “You know,” I said, “I’m surprised I haven’t gone over to the dark side yet after hanging out with you so much.”

            Jackson laughed. “Oh you will soon. Trust me. Being good all of the time gets boring.”

            “At least I cuss from time to time.”

            “It’s progress.”

            It was nighttime. Jackson’s car was waiting by the curb.

            “About time you came,” I said as I buckled my seatbelt.

            “Sorry I had to stop and get gas.” He threw a duffle bag into my lap. “Check out the contents I brought.”

            I ped the bag: a capsule of fake blood, a stuffed animal, a bottle of water, a finger printing case, gloves, and even some goldfish crackers.

            “In case I get hungry,” Jackson replied.

            I rolled my eyes. “Are we even going to be able to pull this off?”

            “Relaaxxx,” Jackson assured. “It’s fool proof. I’ll create a distraction and you’ll just sneak inside Officer Yoon’s office.”

            “Why can’t I be the distraction again?”

            “Because you’re the one who wants to see that journal, remember?”

            So Jackson parked a bit far from the police station. We set up the diversion and it was show time.

            I went into the police station and asked to speak to Officer Yoon.

            “He’s quite busy at the moment,” the receptionist lady said. “But here, sign in and he’ll come out as soon as he can.”

            I signed in and sat down, then proceeded to wait for Jackson’s entrance.

            “HELP!” he shrieked as he barged into the police station. His hands were coated with blood and he looked like he was crying. Ah. The blood capsule and the water bottle. “SOMEONE JUST DIED.”

            Of course, this caught everyone’s attention. The few officers on the night shift immediately raced out, and I noticed Officer Yoon doing the same. In the midst of the commotion I slipped down the hall to Officer Yoon’s office. His door was locked with a pass code.

            Via Jackson’s instructions, I brushed some fingerprinting powder over the keypad to reveal four numbers: 3, 7, 8, and 1. I started trying every combination I could think of.

            “HEEELPPP!!”

            “Son, what’s wrong?”

            Jackson knelt onto the asphalt, tears on point, in front of a stuffed bear. It was ripped open, the stuffing was everywhere, blood was smeared on its face, and some faint tire marks.

            “H-He got run over,” Jackson sobbed. “SOMEONE PLEASE SAVE HIM!”

            The officers looked at each other. “Uh…he’s a stuffed animal.”

            “HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?!”   Jackson cried. “ARE YOU PEOPLE EVEN HUMAN? Where has humanity gone to? I HAVE NO HOPE FOR THE HUMAN RACE.”

            “Ok ok calm down,” Officer Yoon said. “We’ll uh…”

            Jackson peered at him. “…give him cpr?”

            “Huh?”

            He dramatically gestured to the stuffed bear. “He’s struggling for his life right now, can’t you see?!”

            “W-Well I—

            “I can’t believe it,” Jackson started. “This is like Rodney King all over again. You policemen are just frauds! IMPOSTERS! PAWNS IN THE GOVERNMENT GAME OF CHESS!! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU GUYS WOULD—

            “ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT,” Officer Yoon said. “I’ll do it just…calm down.”

            Jackson crossed his arms. “If you perform the proper protocol.”

            Officer Yoon rolled his eyes. Then in his walkie talkie he said, “Tell one of the lady receptionists to dig up the nurse outfit from last year’s potluck will you? We have a crazy one on our hands.”

            Suddenly, I came running out to the scene.

            “Officer Yoon,” I said. “Is everything okay?”

            “Hyemi,” Jackson said, serious. “A tragedy has struck.”

            “I was meaning to talk to you about the case,” I said, ignoring Jackson. Although, I eyed him to wrap it up with his acting debut. In the back, the other officers were eyeing the seemingly crumbled up stuffed animal in disturbing interest. “I was just wondering where you guys have progressed. Any new information?”

            Officer Yoon shook his head. “Nope. Nothing, Hyemi. I’m sorry.”

            I was half disappointed but kept an optimistic face. “Well I’m sure something will come up soon. Please keep me posted.”

            “Will do. Take care and have a safe night,” Officer Yoon said before going back inside.

            Jackson immediately came up to me. “So? Did you find the journal?”

            “Yep.”

            “What did it say?”

            “I don’t know,” I said, then pulled out my phone. The two of us got into his car. “At least, not yet. I only flipped through it and took pictures. Didn’t really have time to read it.”

            “Well read it now!” he pressed excitedly as he drove out of the parking lot and onto the streets.

            “Ok, ok.” I flipped to the first photo on my phone. “August 1^st, spent the day with Hyemi. She has such a cute…smile…”

            I suddenly felt very sad.

            “,” Jackson cursed. “Hyemi you can’t read that.”

            “No,” I said, trying to compose myself. “I can.”

            “No,” Jackson argued. “You can’t.”

            Jackson stopped by a burger place. It was now around 11:45 PM. The both of us were starving. Apparently, the goldfish crackers hadn’t been enough.

            The two of us sat across from each other, with me slightly wiping my wet eyes while Jackson peruses through the journal himself via my phone. His eyebrows furrowed.

            “So what does it say?” I asked anxiously.

            “Well,” Jackson started. “Your boyfriend is in quite a bit of a mess. Do you know about Exo Electronics, the company?”

            I thought about it. “Sounds familiar,” I remarked. “Why?”

            “Well they were rumored to be going bankrupt. Their CEO, Kim Minseok, passed away about a week ago.”

“I read about that,” I said. “The police found his death strange and even considered labeling it as a murder.”

Jackson nodded. “According to Taemin’s journal, Minseok had left a will. He’d given Taemin everything that was left of the company, which is still quite a remarkable sum. He knew that Exo was going to go down in shambles and wanted Taemin to have the money because Shinee has always been so good to him. Meanwhile, the former VP of Exo, Kim Suho, had been planning for Minseok to give the sum to him, not Taemin.”

            “Holy ,” I said. “That’s why everyone’s being so secretive about it, including Mrs. Lee. No one can leak any of this information to the media or else Shinee and Exo’s reputations will be tarnished.”

            “Exactly,” Jackson said. “But if the police know about this information, as well as Taemin’s parents, then they should also know that most likely, Exo is the one keeping Taemin captive. This is all a business deal Hyemi. That would also explain the connections to the elite.”

            “But who is this Kim Suho person?” I asked.

            Jackson continued to scan through the pictures. “I hear my parents talk about him sometimes. He’s apparently very aggressive, not to mention cunning. He’ll do whatever it takes to get what he wants. Which, in this case, is to steal Taemin’s shares from him. Currently incognito.”

            “This is ridiculous,” I said. “We have a prime suspect, but we have no idea where he is.”

            “Yeah, maybe that’s why the police are stuck enough on this case as it is,” Jackson said, giving me back my phone. “On the bright side, at least we can conclude that Taemin isn’t in the hands of some crazy murderer. I think. He wrote some stuff about you too. Lots of mushy gushy stuff.”

            “I don’t even know if I have the heart to read it.”

            My seat was facing the window. I was just nonchalantly eating my burger and fries when I notice a hooded figure standing on the other side of the street. Then it disappeared, as if it was never there.