Soeun stood in front of the mirror and placed two different outfits out in front of her, trying to figure out which would look best for her. Chanyeol had told her that he wanted to take her out for dinner with his friend since he was getting married. Soeun was excited yet, she was nervous because she’s never met this friend of Chanyeol’s, so it worried her a little bit. She took a deep breath after not finding an outfit to wear and fell back onto the foot of her bed.

            “What am I going to do?” She said to herself just as her phone started to ring. She looked over at it while it vibrated against the wooden table and ran over, hoping that it would be Chanyeol. It was. “Hello.”

            “I thought I said for you to be over here by six o’clock.” Chanyeol was standing by the window, hoping that she would go there soon; he wanted to see her.

            Soeun slouched on her bed. “I can’t find anything to wear.”

            “What did I say to you before? I said anything you wear, you’ll always look beautiful to me.” Chanyeol shook his head with a small smile. “You don’t need to dress well in front of my friend.”

            “It’s the first impression, Chanyeol-ah. I want to look my best to show that you have a beautiful girlfriend.”

            “And what if I don’t want them to think that you’re beautiful?”

            “What?” Soeun rolled off of her bed and walked over to her living room, not knowing that Chanyeol had been looking through her window. “Yah.”

            “I don’t want my friend falling in love with you either.” Chanyeol chuckled.

            Soeun’s face turned a shade of pink. “Stop that, Chanyeol.”

            “Hey, I’m being serious.”

            Soeun smiled along with Chanyeol, who was smiling at her through the windows between them.

            “Why do I feel like we’re so far apart when we can see each other?” Soeun touched the cool glass with her finger tips as she stared at Chanyeol, who had his hand in his pockets and was staring right back at her. “I miss you even though I’m looking at you.”

            “Do you know you look beautiful every time you have hair up, Cha Soeun?” Chanyeol let out a sigh through his nose. “I love every feature your face shows whenever your hair isn’t there to block it from my eyes.”

            “Why are you always making me feel this way?” Soeun turned around and leaned her back against the window, afraid that if she were to look at Chanyeol any longer, her heart would disappear from her chest.

            “It’s because I want you to know that I love you.”

            “I love you more, Chanyeol.”

            When they got to the front of the restaurant, Chanyeol held his hand out for Soeun, wanting her to hold it. She hesitated at first, but Chanyeol, being a little impatient for her actions, grabbed her hand and pulled her into the building. The restaurant was beautiful inside. The walls were all white and it looked luxurious, which made Soeun felt out of place. She’s never been to such a restaurant and this made her afraid of how the bill would turn out.

            “Why are your hands shaking?” Chanyeol asked as they made their way through the tables to find Sehun. “Are you nervous?”

            “I don’t want him to be disappointed in you.” Soeun’s voice became soft.

            “Why would he be disappointed in me?”

            “Because I’m not presentable enough.” She bit her lip and lowered her head.

            Chanyeol stopped walking and faced her. He grabbed her chin lightly and lifted her head up so they could meet eye to eye. “Hey.”

            “Chanyeol, stop it.” She said with a small smile while she looked away from his eyes. “People are staring.”

            “I don’t care if people are staring. You’re mine and you’re wonderful.” Chanyeol leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “My friend won’t be disappointed because you’re an amazing person, okay?”

            Soeun nodded her head, unable to speak because of his sweet kiss. She held tighter onto Chanyeol’s hand and followed him as they found Sehun and his wife sitting in the corner isolated from the rest of the customers that were there.

            “Chanyeol, you made it!” Sehun reached over and shook Chanyeol’s hand. He looked over to his side and saw Soeun, the girl Chanyeol had been talking about. “You must be Soeun. I’m Oh Sehun.”

            “It’s nice to meet you.” Soeun bowed her head.

            “Ah, this is my fiancé, Jang Hyemi.” Sehun’s fiancé was tall and slim, just like he was. Her hair was short though and she had beautiful, bright brown eyes that glistened against the light whenever she smiled. Soeun was kind of jealous seeing how she looked that night compared to her. “Hyemi, this is my best friend and man, Park Chanyeol and his girlfriend, Soeun.”

            “Cha Soeun.” Soeun replied as she shook hands with Hyemi.

            “Let’s all sit down and order, why don’t we?” Sehun gestured so they would all sit down.

            While they looked through the menu, Soeun glanced up at Hyemi a few times, admiring how beautiful she had looked. Soeun looked down at her hair and noticed that her split-ends were getting worse and worse, to which she envied Hyemi because Hyemi’s hair was short and pretty whilst her own hair needed to be cut or trimmed soon. Not only did she feel envious because of her hair but she looked down at the woman’s finger tips and saw how prettily it was painted with a red stiletto color – Soeun has never painted her nails once, surprisingly since she was a painter herself.

            “Chanyeol, your girlfriend is so pretty. It makes me feel like I’m not the one getting married.” Hyemi commented after they ordered. “Please, tell me how the two of you met.”

            Soeun felt her heart stop beating for a split second because their meeting wasn’t something that was romantic nor was it something that they would like to think about often.

            “Oh? Maybe… Maybe you two don’t want to talk about it?” Hyemi bowed her head towards both Soeun and Chanyeol. “I’m sorry if I was –.”

            “No, it’s okay.” Soeun shook her head. “Please don’t apologize.”

            Hyemi looked confused.

            “Chanyeol and I met after Joohyun passed away… It’s not something romantic or anything and it wasn’t supposed to happen, but it just did.” Soeun bowed her head. “I was a friend of Joohyun’s when we were younger, so I came to the funeral only to find Chanyeol. My heart hurt seeing the way he was; the love of his life just got murdered… I wanted to console him and make him feel better… So I kept being annoying and kept trying to talk to him.”

            “And it worked.” Chanyeol said after a brief moment. “The way she kept trying to take me out and kept asking me to hang out with her was something I really appreciated because if she didn’t, I’d still be moping around about Joohyun’s death, which I wouldn’t and didn’t want to do.”

            “How long have you been friends with Joohyun?” Sehun asked as took a sip of water out from the glass in front of him.

            “We were friends for over five years now, if I remember clearly?” Soeun replied. “We stopped contacting each other after we went off to college.”

            “So the two of you went to high school together then?”

            “No, our families were good friends since we lived in the same neighborhood.” Soeun added. “I went to a private high school.”

            “Ah.” Sehun nodded his head. “Joohyun’s never mentioned you to me before.”

            “Oh really?” Soeun chuckled. “I’m glad she didn’t. We went through some rough patches together.”

            “Why?” Hyemi perked up. “What happened?”

            “Oh you know? High school girls were really emotional and all, so we often fought over stupid things.” Soeun shook her head a little. “It makes me laugh to this very day. It’s was just stupid of us to get mad over such small situations.”

            “You’re right though, Soeun.” Hyemi chuckled with her. “Girls in high school were like that.”

            “What were your parent’s names? Maybe I’ve seen them around since I’ve been friends with Joohyun since secondary school.” Sehun said as the food finally arrived.

            “My parent’s names were Cha Minjoong and Lee Hoyeon.” Soeun lowered her head a little. “They passed away when I was younger so I lived with my aunt.”

            “I’m sorry to hear…” Sehun regretted asking now that the mood around them suddenly seemed melancholy.

            “Shall we eat?” Hyemi tried to pretend that nothing sad was talked about. “Come on. We’ve been starving, haven’t we?”

            “It was really nice seeing you once again, Chanyeol.” Sehun said as both the men stood outside the restaurant together while their girlfriend and fiancé went to talk on their own. “I see why you fell for Soeun.”

            “Thanks Sehun. Same to you.” Chanyeol replied.

            “But I still have one more question to ask.”

            “What is it?”

            “Do you know which high school she went to that was private?” Sehun asked curiously. “I went to high school with Joohyun, but she never once mentioned anything about Soeun and I don’t know any private high schools nearby.”

            “I don’t think I’ve ever asked her what high school she actually went to.” Chanyeol said now that he thought about it.

            “Not only that, but Joohyun’s parents weren’t friends with a lot of people either. Their only friends were my parents because we hung out often.”

            Chanyeol bit his lip. “Are you being suspicious of Soeun?”

            “I’m not being suspicious, but I’m just curious.” Sehun shrugged. “I’ve been best friends with Joohyun for a long time, so not knowing who Soeun is really irks me.”

            Chanyeol nodded his head.

            “It’s not like Joohyun would keep such a thing from me…”

            “Maybe it was something that just never came up? Joohyun doesn’t talk about things she does with other people often.” Chanyeol scratched his head.

            “Maybe…” Sehun rubbed the nape of his neck.

            “Chanyeol is really lucky to have you, Soeun.” Hyemi said as she and Soeun walked along the streets. “You’re such a kind person and he really must have needed it when Joohyun passed away.”

            “I’m glad I was there.” Soeun pressed her lips together. “Who would have known how Chanyeol would have ended up without me?”

            Hyemi chuckled. “Oh, this is how every girl feels, huh?”

            Soeun nodded.

            “I know I shouldn’t say this, but did you know that Joohyun and Chanyeol were supposed to get married?” Hyemi clasped her hands together nervously. “It seriously was just so sad that she had ended up murdered the night he was supposed to propose…”

            Soeun lowered her head. “It was the most traumatizing thing for him, really. I didn’t know what to do because there was no way I could say that he would be okay.”

            Hyemi looked up at the night sky and sighed. “I’m sure Joohyun’s doing great up there watching over our Chanyeol.”

            Soeun nodded her head. “I bet she is.”

            “I don’t want to leave yet…” Chanyeol said as he held tighter onto Soeun’s hands while they stood out in front of her building. “I want to be with you longer.”

            “I do too, but I have to go in.” She smiled upon how he wanted her to stay. “But I’ll get to see you tomorrow and the day after that, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”

            Chanyeol leaned in and kissed her forehead lightly. “I’m so happy to have met you, Cha Soeun.”

            “Can I say the same about you?” She asked as she leaned back to look up at his face. “I wish we had met earlier.”

            “I do too.” Chanyeol let go of her hands. “Go inside. It’s getting colder out; I don’t want you getting sick because of me.”

            “Have a good night.” She said as she walked through the entrance, her eyes still glued onto Chanyeol.

            Chanyeol waved at her and watched as she passed by one of her neighbors and disappeared into the building. Just as he was about to head back to his apartment complex, the neighbor that he had just seen grabbed Chanyeol’s hand and pulled him back curiously. Chanyeol was frightened at first but knowing that the neighbor was a little older, he smiled.

            “Oh, hello ahjusshi.” Chanyeol bowed his head.

            “Are you and that young lady dating?” The older man asked curiously.

            “Ah, yes.”

            “I’m so glad she met such a fine young man. It’s been so long since I’ve seen her come out of her apartment, you know that?” The older man sighed as he shook his head slowly to each side. “That young lady always locked herself up in her apartment and never came out. After all these years, it’s nice to see her finally come see the sunlight for herself.”

            Chanyeol creased his eyebrows together. “Y-years?”

            “Yes, all of us neighbors had been living around here for a few years now and it seems as though she finally decided to come out after meeting you.” The older man tilted to his head to the side confused. “Where do you live?”

            “I live in that apartment complex…” Chanyeol awkwardly pointed to his building. “I’ve been living there for over a year or so now.”

            “So you live nearby?” The older man nodded his head in acknowledgement. “I’ll see you around then.”

            “Wait, ahjusshi!” Chanyeol grabbed the older man’s arm this time.

            “Yes?”

            “Are you sure you’re not mistaken that she hasn’t been out of her apartment? She recently just moved there this year…”

            “Ah… I don’t remember clearly if it was her actually. I do know that we did have a young woman move in recently, but maybe I had mistaken the two…?” The older man laughed at his lack of memory.

            Chanyeol bid his goodbye to the older man and watched as he disappeared into the night, making him more curious than ever. Tonight just didn’t seem like every other night he had spent. Just when he was about to turn around and walk into his building, his phone rang.

            “Hello?” Chanyeol answered.

            “Is this Park Chanyeol?”

            “Yes.”

            “Hi, this is Mr. Yang calling from the police department and we were looking through the murder case of Min Joohyun. We would like it if you could come stop in tomorrow so we can discuss with you about her.”

            “I’ll come in the afternoon.” Chanyeol said before hanging up.

            “She deserved it! I’m sure the one who killed it knew how we felt!”

            “So you guys had her killed?”

            “Please, you think we would waste our time to go kill or hire someone to kill them?”

            “Then why do the two of you hate her so much?”

            “That’s because she thought she was good at everything and always pushed us to the side, not caring about our own feelings.”

            Chanyeol just happened to had walk in when the girl had said this. He stood bye the door quietly as these two girls rambled on about Joohyun to Mr. Yang, who was taking down notes and observing the girls. He felt his heart hurt seeing that the girls were talking so carelessly about his late girlfriend because she couldn’t defend herself. His fists curled up into a ball, but he had to relax himself. He knocked on the door and Mr. Yang looked away from the girls.

            “Oh, Chanyeol, come on in.” Mr. Yang said gesturing him over.

            Chanyeol made his way and sat on the side, adjacent from the two girls who were sitting in front of the desk.

            “Chanyeol, this is Ahmi and her friend, they were both colleagues of Joohyun; they swam together.” Mr. Yang pointed to the girl. “Ahmi, this is Chanyeol, Joohyun’s boyfriend.”

            “I know.” Chanyeol nodded his head. He knew her since he met Joohyun because she would always talk about the competitions; Ahmi’s name was often mentioned.

            Ahmi’s face turned pink.

            “We’re here to discuss who murdered Min Joohyun, knowing that the girl was a swimmer would be odd for her to drown, no?” Mr. Yang looked at Ahmi before looking over at Chanyeol, who was looking down at his fiddling fingers. “Ahmi, do you have anything to say about this? We know you had fierce competition with her and you weren’t always fond of her presence.”

            “That doesn’t mean I killed her.” Ahmi looked at Mr. Yang straight in the eye. “The damn girl got on my nerves and sure, I had these moments where I would have loved to drown her myself, but it looked like someone beat me to it.”

            “She’s never done anything towards you.” Chanyeol spoke up without thinking, but he didn’t care because he was sick of hearing people talk bad about someone he loved.

            Ahmi looked over at him apologetically, but she didn’t feel sorry towards Joohyun, she felt sorry towards Chanyeol.

            “Joohyun wasn’t that type of person to kick you out of swimming because she wanted to be the best. She was just like you, in case you have forgotten. She worked just as hard as you, dreamed just as much as you, and cried bloody tears just as much as you.” Chanyeol’s fists shook. “You never truly knew Joohyun outside of swimming and you should regret every moment of that because she had the kindest heart out there. She was caring and loving and she always put others before her. Swimming… Swimming was just one thing she wanted to put before anyone else.”

            Ahmi felt tears burning the rim of her eyes. She knew she did nothing wrong, but hearing those kinds of words come out from Chanyeol’s mouth somehow stung her, as if she had suddenly became guilty.

            “If you killed her, or had someone kill her –.”

            “I didn’t kill her.” Ahmi said cutting Chanyeol off while the first tear slipped down her rosy cheeks. “No matter how much I hated her, I didn’t kill her.”

            “Then where were you the day Joohyun was murdered?” Mr. Yang asked.

            “Don’t you think you’re asking us too many questions today?” Ahmi’s friend asked finally speaking up after staying silent.

            “I was out to see my grandmother who had passed away that very same day. She was sick with cancer and when I found out Joohyun died, sure, I wasn’t sad because had something else occupying my mind.” Ahmi felt more tears rolling down her cheeks. “I did feel some sympathy for the girl because for one thing, there was no more competition and it somehow felt empty. I hate to admit it, but even though she’s dead, I don’t miss her; I just miss the fact that I have no one to hate and no one to compete with because she was the only one who was ever above my level… To this day… I am still envious.”

            Mr. Yang looked at Chanyeol since he was curious to see if he was convinced and Chanyeol, needless to say, was convinced. He believed every word that had come from Ahmi only because she was sincere about it, but it still hurt his heart that the one girl, who he was in love with, was hated by someone so much. He couldn’t understand why someone would feel that way towards her. To this day, Chanyeol still missed Joohyun and he still found her one of the most loving people he’s ever been with.

            “We need the documents of your grandmother’s passing.” Mr. Yang said as he leaned forward on his desk to give a tissue to Ahmi.

            “We don’t need it.” Chanyeol said looking over at Mr. Yang. “I believe her.”

            “Chanyeol, you can’t possibly believe –.”

            “But I do.” Chanyeol said cutting Mr. Yang off. “I really do.”

            Mr. Yang nodded his head. “Then do you know of anyone who would have hated her that much or wanted to kill her that they would have drowned her?”

            “I don’t believe anyone else hated her as much as I did…” Ahmi shook her head. “There was no way there is anyone out there who can hate her as much as I do. It’s impossible.”

            “Well, it looks like there was a possibility because Min Joohyun did not just drown on her own and someone hated her more than you to have killed her.” Mr. Yang sighed as he ran his fingers through his nappy hair frustrated. “Who could have killed her if it wasn’t you?”

            “Maybe we’ll never know…” Ahmi whispered.

            “But we have to find out.” Chanyeol perked up. “I just want to know why they would kill her… Or what made them feel that way to even think about going that far.”

            “I’m sorry, Chanyeol…” Ahmi let out a small hiccup. “I’m sorry for your loss. I truly am.”

            “Thanks…” Chanyeol’s heart hurt.

            Chanyeol sat in his car and held onto his steering wheel as he thought about Joohyun. He missed her presence, the way she smelled whenever she was nearby or even when they would hug, or the way her soft lips pressed against his innocently, and even the way she would say his name; it made his heart beat just thinking about it. It was too bad he couldn’t hear it anymore even if he had begged on his knees. He missed every single little thing that the two would do together whether it was walking down the streets of Seoul, hand in hand, or singing to each other whenever rain was falling. He didn’t realize how much of this was gone until now. He was just so occupied with his life and Soeun’s that he had completely forgotten about Min Joohyun, the one woman he fell in love with and claimed as the only person in the world. How could he forget her when she was the one who first showed him the way? He hated himself.

            All of these emotions he was feeling were making him crazy. How could Joohyun have drowned or who could have killed her, but nothing came to mind. He rested his forehead on the wheel as the tears he thought were gone streamed down his pale face. The same feeling of loss, the broken heart, and soulless body was back again. Everything he felt the day he heard about Joohyun’s death somehow came back to him and he just needed to get away.

            “I miss you… Min Joohyun…” Chanyeol’s heart squeezed as he cried into his steering wheel, knowing that she’ll never come back alive to tell him who did what they did. “I miss you so much…”