Since the news of her death reached her, she had locked herself inside her room but it was not unusual for her to do it because she had done the same thing every time her parents had a fight. This time, however, she was alone and that left her younger sister to knock on her door every few minutes. For the whole day that day, she didn't come out at all and cried herself to sleep and woke up to cry again. She felt empty that the person who had given her moral support had passed away. It felt like the only light in her world was snatched away and she was lost in the darkness.

 

"Unnie! Are you in there?"

 

…

 

"Unnie, what happened?"

 

Hearing the voice of her beloved sister, she couldn't ignore her anymore. They only have each other after all. Their parents' divorce process had driven a wedge between them and the once-loving family broke apart. Trying her best to stop from sobbing, she steadied herself by holding onto the wall and slowly walked to unlock her door. Upon hearing the click, her sister immediately swung it open and hugged her sister. If Park Hye Gi was her light, she's the light for her sister.

 

"I thought something bad happened!"

 

They were both crying. Her sister hugged her tightly, as if she would magically disappear if she let go of her and she reciprocated because she realized that more than anything else that she needed a hug. She needed someone that would go through thick and thin, someone who would go against the world if that's what she needed and that someone is her baby sister. The six years gap usually makes people feel awkward but they have the tightest sisterly bond that they developed when they first noticed the tension between their parents. Do Hee would sense if anything was off with their parents and would often play with her sister at the nearby park or in her room so she wouldn't see their parents fighting.

 

"Unnie, what exactly happened?"

 

Do Hee pulled her sister into her room and started to tell her about Park Hye Gi's passing and how she had helped her went through the hardship. She can't stop herself from tearing up as she remembered the things that Hye Gi had done for her and the times they had spent together. She was her source of strength and motivated her to keep going. While listening to her sister's story, she couldn't help but feel sorry and sad that her sister have to put on a tough act for her. She hugged her for the second time that day and whispered her gratitude for staying strong all this time.

 

"Do Hee! Someone's here to talk to you!"

 

She quickly brushed away the tears from her eyes and with her sister reluctant to let her go, they went together to the living room and saw two strangers standing by the sofa. Their mother was leaning on the wall, watching the two with stern eyes while crossing her arms in front of her chest.

 

"Do Hee-ssi?"

 

She acknowledged the two with a nod.

 

"We're from the Soul PD. We just want to have a talk about Park Hye Gi-ssi," she treaded carefully.

 

Do Hee looked warily at her sister, worried that she might be sensitive about stuff like this and her mother seemed to be in a bad mood. At this, the red-haired stranger approached them and kneeled to match her sister's height.

 

"Hello, do you mind if that lady over there borrow your sister for a bit? We can play together," she said.

 

Her sister turned to her, as if asking that going with the stranger will be okay.

 

"You can go to the park and play. I'll be there after I finish up here," Do Hee consented as she bowed to the stranger to take care of her sister.

 

"Let's go?"

 

Their mother scoffed under her breath and left them to go to her room.

 

She pursed her lips but didn't say anything to stop her mother. It was only her and the black-haired detective in the living room.

 

"Am I allowed to speak to you? Usually we need to have someone supervising when talking to a minor," she asked for permission.

 

"Considering she left, you might as well talk to me. She didn't seem to care," she replied, edgy.

 

"Ahh. I'm Detective Song and my partner's Detective Liu. I hope you don't mind."

 

"Actually, I'm glad. I was thinking of an excuse to send her away. She didn't need more stress in her."

 

 "I talked to Hwa Min-ssi and she said you're very close to the late Hye Gi-ssi."

 

"That's right, she's the older sister that I never had. She had consoled me more than I could count and I… I'm so grateful that I met her," her voice cracked.

 

"How long have you known her?"

 

"It's been 3 years? That's when I started volunteer works and I was clumsy back then. I can't do anything right and I was crying all by myself at the storage room when she stumbled upon me on her way to take the supplies. From then on, we had lunch together, discussed about my future and everything."

 

"Did you ever know about her... condition?"

 

"I was informed of it. I've accompanied her to her weekly and later monthly visits to the hospital."

 

"How did she look after the visits? Did she appear calm or edgy or nervous?"

 

"She looked better. Like she was improving..."

 

"But?"

 

"Lately, after she broke off her engagement, she appeared disturbed after her hospital visits and once, her doctor came by at her house saying that she missed an appointment. I was there because of work. She never miss a day working so when she skipped out a day, she called me over."

 

"This doctor, how often did he come by?"

 

"I wouldn't know for sure but I don't like him. There's something about him that makes me uneasy.."

 

"Do you know his name?"

 

"I'm pretty sure I heard unnie called him Dr Kim."

 

The detective looked alarmed after she answered but didn’t say anything further about it.

 

"Then, have you ever seen her engagement ring?"

 

"The ring? She lost it somewhere, she searched every nook and crook in her house but can't find it."

 

"Do you happen to know how it looked like? I considered asking her ex but that would be like rubbing salt into his wound," the detective questioned.

 

"I may have a picture of it. She sent me a picture once because I asked her to. She was really happy back then and things happened and she broke up. It's really unfortunate."

 

She took out her phone and searched for the picture, browsing through her chatroom with her mentor and tears welled up under her eyes. She really missed her and the thought of never seeing her again broke her. Detective Song reached into her pocket and handed her a handkerchief, feeling really sorry for her that she went through so much at a very tender and sensitive age.

 

"Sorry, here it is."

 

The ring was beautiful, and that was an understatement. The small, but well proportioned, diamond sat nicely at the center of the silver band and there were intricate designs all around the band. On the inside, their initials were engraved 'YR <3 HG'. It was a beautiful ring, appropriate for the equally visual couple until they had decided to cancel the engagement. It was a really tragic love story.

 

The detective sent the photo to her own phone and returned the phone to her. She had finally calmed down and thanked the detective for her handkerchief and for giving her a moment to cool her head.

 

"Do Hee-ssi, would you mind if I ask what subjects were you taking in school?"

 

"The usual. Languages, arts, home economics, science and math."

 

"I think that will be all. Thank you for your co-operation, Do Hee-ssi."

 

"It's no problem. Just… Catch the bad guy, please?"

 

"That's my intention. Here's my name card in case you need anything. I'm sorry about your loss."

 

 

D  E  F  L  E  ( x )  T  I  O  N

 

They had gone to the park, just like Do Hee had asked and while Amber had gone straight for the swings, the little sister was standing still near the sandbox. She had her head faced down and was obviously in no mood to play, especially with a stranger.

 

"Hey, I don't know your name. I'm Amber. You know my name, now tell me yours!"

 

She hesitantly approached nearer and nearer but still didn't give out her name. Amber was enjoying herself, swinging as high as she can and kicked her legs in the air.

 

"What's your name, kiddo?"

 

…

 

"What was that? I can't hear you!"

 

"Da Hee! I'm SHIN DA HEE!"

 

"Oh! Da Hee. What a cute name," Amber complimented as she stopped swinging.

 

"Come on, sit on the swing."

 

She followed her words because she knew that Amber wouldn't harm her - she is the police after all. She sat down on the swing beside Amber's and gripped the rope tight even though the swing was not moving. She was just frustrated and stressed with everything.

 

"Hey, easy. You'll get burns on your hand."

 

"It's not like anyone would care."

 

Amber realized that the young person was more mature than she thought so she got off from the swing and bent down to match the girl's eye-to-eye.

 

"Listen to me. It's not the end, you still have your sister and although they didn't look like it, your parents love you. There are people who care about you and if you're having negative thoughts, you'll worry them. It's okay to cry when you want to cry. You're still so young, you're allowed to throw a tantrum. Don't ever think that way again!"

 

Da Hee lis

 

"Good girl, very good. Let it all out. You'll be fine."

 

D  E  F  L  E  ( x )  T  I  O  N

 

When they regrouped later that evening, Victoria had kept Amber updated with the progression of the case and Amber found herself staring into the picture of the ring for over 10 minutes. It was weird for her that the victim lost her precious ring and had misplaced it. Also, there's the doctor. The same doctor that Amber had interviewed just yesterday was making it into their list of suspect and Amber didn't like it even for a bit. Sure, they would have another suspect to investigate but then the fact that he was also tending to her student was making her worry.

 

"Why do I feel like I've seen the ring somewhere?"

 

"Unless you've been shopping for jewelries without me knowing, then there's a slim chance of you seeing it before."

 

"Actually, everyone's alibi doesn't hold since the poison could have been put into her water bottle before her death. We're back at square one. We have no lead!"

 

"Yea, I figured. That's why I've been asking about whether they had been in her house lately. The only ones who could have done it would be Shin Do Hee, the doctor or someone else sneaked in; although, I wouldn't bother including the last one."

 

"How about the ex-fiancé?"

 

"Highly unlikely. He have paparazzi following him 24/7 since the engagement was cancelled. It'll make a headline if he was seen going to her house. And for precaution, I contacted his manager for his schedule and he was out of the country in the past month," Victoria shot down Amber's theory.

 

"If it's the doctor, I'd better contact Seul Hee and warn her not to go to the hospital. I think it'll be good if you could get a warrant for his office and house, Vic-unnie."

 

Amber went to get some privacy and dialed her student's number but she didn't pick up. Amber tried a few times more but to no avail. Her brain was already thinking of the worse case scenarios and her memory flashed to yesterday when she asked the doctor about how Seul Hee was doing.

 

Dammit!

 

She threw her phone against the wall and furiously went out of the HQ with a destination in mind: the hospital. She swore that if even a hair was touched by that good-for-nothing doctor, she's gonna give him a taste of hell. 

 

 

 

---

Okay... There's only a chapter left and the case will finally be solved. Yay!!!!

........... but that also means that I'll be gone again because I'll be away from the 27th until 01-01-2016!!!