The Last Case II

„Where are you?” Yunho asked coldly, trying not to lose control over himself.

“I’m…I don’t know this place…” Jia mumbled. “I’m inside some shed in a middle of the forest.  I don’t know what’s going on! Help me!”

“I will, I will help you. But I need to know some more details…Jia…?” but the person at the other side of the line wasn’t his girlfriend.

“Hello.” The voice was deep, manly for sure. But it sounded strange, like someone changed it with a transformer or some other device. “ It’s nice to hear you again, Yunho-ssi.”

“Who are you?” asked the man but the voice only giggled in answer.

“ You wouldn’t believe anyway. Too many years you’ve spent on forgetting your past.”

“ Where is Jia? What do you want from her?”

“ She’s in a place where you never wanted to go to again.”

Yunho was thinking hurriedly. No, that wasn’t possible.

“ Yes, you’ve guessed well.” The voice said contently.

Now Yunho started to feel anxious. It seemed that the mysterious person not only could read his mind, but also knew him pretty well.

He swallowed and tried to sound calm.

“ What do you want?”

The voice remained silent for a while, but then it said what the detective had been expecting and at the same time been afraid of the most:

“You.”

It was late in the afternoon when Yunho was quickly driving across the suburbs of Seoul. He was going to the place where he used to spend his holidays with his family – a house by a lake.

One time, when he had been a little boy, he had witnessed a terrifying accident.

A boy more or less his age had been drowned by a monster in the lake. For young Yunho it had been so shocking that he had never even gotten close to water again.

That was also the reason why he was disclaiming the existence of any unnatural creatures. He was simply afraid that his mind could not take it any longer. Talking about things no one would believe, especially when no corpse had been found in the lake. As a young kid he had decided to never let his imagination fool him again.

But now the years of persuading himself didn't seem to be worth anything anymore( I’m not sure how to write it )

The detective stopped his car on the verge of the forest and then walked in with tense but determined steps.

Storm clouds started to form in the sky, making the forest look gloomy and moist. A bevy of black birds flew in the air with a loud squawk.

Yunho’s thoughts were running through his head. What was waiting for him on the shore of the lake? What business did the voice’s owner have with him?

Before he really noticed, the lake appeared in front of him; large and terrifyingly quiet. But he still remembered the dread hiding in its depths.

Yunho noticed the tracks of something being dragged on the ground. Something or someone…

“Jia!” His heart pounded like crazy. The tracks led to the lake. He took a step forward with the intent to rush for help, but a splashing sound stopped him immediately. The fear of  water had never been so strong.    

Now he had to make a decision. Which type of fear was he supposed to fight – the fear of water or losing the person he loved?

Yunho was overwhelmed by his inner conflict. He took a deep breath and made a decision. All or nothing. He slowly began walking into the water. When it touched his midsection, the man couldn’t control his phobia anymore. But even while quaking he did not move back.

The water gradually covered his body. He closed his eyes, held his breath and submerged completely.

It wasn’t easy; he couldn’t swim well and the water wouldn’t let him walk on the bottom of the lake. The detective desperately tried to keep afloat paddling his arms. He didn’t know how far it still was to Jia’s body. Uneasily he opened his eyes but the water blinded him right away. It was dark and filthy in the depths. If it had been possible to breath it would have smelled like rotten wracks and fish. In the distance of a few meters a silhouette appeared: Jia was wearing her white summer dress, her hair was tangled and floating and it gave the impression of dark fire. She was pale like a dead person.

Yunho reached out his hand and he almost could touch her, but then, behind Jia, two yellow lights appeared. A dark form moved in the water, monstrous tentacles raised and straightened. The monster had awoken.

The oxygen in his lungs was slowly using up but the most important thing for him was to rescue his lover. When he got to Jia he tried to push her up but it did not work. She was tied to the bottom with a rope.

The water was clouding his gaze but he still could hear the sound the monster made. It resembled the sound of whales but it was dark and angry; it made him shiver in terror.

With shaking hands he picked up a sharp stone and tried to cut the rope.

The monster moved closer, piquing the dust and sludge. Its eyes now looked like a pair of  headlights.

When the rope finally snapped, Yunho gripped Jia and strongly pushed off the bottom with his legs. The monster’s tentacles were embracing them from both sides.

No, thought Yunho, I’ve made it so far! I’ve overcome my fears and surviving will be my prize. Let me go!

In that moment his last amount of air came to an end. The water poured into his nose and throat. He jerked violently, with all his strength trying to get to the surface. But the numbness began to carve his mind and movements.

Unconsciousness came silently, like he was falling sleep.

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”  Sooyoung wiped the engraved gold letters with her finger. She put the white flowers on the gravestone and lighted an incense stick. After the prayer, she stood up and left the place of her grandma’s final rest.

It was six months after the mysterious tragedy and her grandma’s disappearance. Sooyoung had left the hospital and had started to work in the flower shop again. She had sold the house and then decided to start again, with the experience she now had. The girl still believed, implicitly, that it all had had something to do with demons and ghosts. Grandma’s house was possessed and she also had had contact with the other world.

Sooyoung was investigating by herself, doing research by reading books and files. But on the other hand she wanted to live peacefully. And the only way was getting to know the truth.

The day was sunny but chilly. The season between the end of the winter and begin of the spring was always busy for florists.

The doorbell rang when a customer opened the door. The girl raised her head and saw detective Kim Yunho. The man was wearing a black coat and a dark purple turtleneck. He smiled softly when saw who was going to sell him flowers.

They exchanged a few nice words. He bought a bouquet of orange begonias. She knew the detective already was on retirement; she didn’t want to bring up the past, although there were many thing she wanted to tell him. He looked like a person who enjoyed their peaceful present time but still deep down his soul remembered the past.

“Are these flowers for someone special?” she asked.

“ Yeah, for someone special.” Yunho responded with a shy smile, payed and left the shop. A few moments later he and Jia were walking through one of Seoul’s parks. They happily looked forward into the future, new and promising. It was sure for them, that no monsters would ever stand in their way.

The snow was melting into dirty mud. Soon, the trees would burgeon and life would wake from winter sleep.

The night’s sky was so clear one could see the stars shining brightly. It was a sign the next day’s weather was going to be good.

Mrs. Han was drying off wet dishes and wistfully looking out of the window. There was still no information about her missing daughter. Her motherly instinct was telling her that she was alive, but the police and detectives would only believe in dry evidences.

Suddenly the sound of an opening door startled her out of her thoughts.

“ Darling?” she asked, thinking it was her husband going somewhere. The woman walked out of the kitchen, and when realized who the visitor was, the plate she held fell out of her hand.

“Sunhwa!” she gasped and lunged at the young girl.

Sunhwa was acting strange; apathetical and tense. Her school uniform was dirty and her hair tousled.

Mr. Han, baffled by a sudden ruckus, came out of the daily room. His bewilderment quickly was replaced with joy. Now, both parents were hugging their long lost daughter. They could not believe the happiness of having her back so suddenly. But her face would show no emotion.

There was only a weird glint in her eye, almost resembling a pair of lights…