conundrum : prologue

It had nearly been a week since the death of Kim Mihyun had happened. The happiness and bliss that had risen with the sun diminishes into the inky darkness that engulfs the frail light. Two of her closest friends, Shin Hyejin and Bae Yoobin, were the ones who discovered the bloody aftermath where Mihyun was lying motionless. Dark blood smeared all over the concrete in front of school building. Where the trio had agreed to meet before going to eat at the nearest convenience store. There were no signs indicating there was a struggle that can lead to any foul play. The security guard on duty immediately calls 911 after hearing screaming from the two.

"Mimi can't…die. Please save her, sir."

"Please calm down."

"How can I stay calm when my friend is dying?!" 

Paramedics finally arrive and rush Mihyun to the hospital's intensive care unit as they try their best to cling to the little hope they had and at 1:40 a.m. she was pronounced dead from significant blood loss the fall had caused.

The lights from the television flicker in the dark living room. Hyejin clenches her fists as her vision starts to blur as tears threatened to fall once more. Mimi were the walls that held her up and supported her during all the times of her need. And now she's gone forever. Her dark lashes were brimmed with tears before they ran down her pale cheeks as the night kept playing over and over in her mind.

If only you could have told me this wouldn't have happened...

Hyejin stops, as she sees the well-known newscaster on the television once again along with the image of Mimi brightly smiling on the right side of screen. Before panning towards a man in his mid 30s, his face continued to stay grim while the newscaster gave a brief overview of what happened.

"Now, what do you think happened on that Wednesday night?"

“We believe that this is a situation where Mr. Lee and Ms. Kim had been in a long term relationship and recently had broken up. We believe she was distraught over the breakup, which led up to the event of suicide." Investigator Park spoke in a monotone. His eye bags were heavy as if he had been staying up during the case for weeks nonstop. He shifts towards the camera before continuing, “All indications from talking to all of those witnesses had not seen anyone that night that could have possibly murder."

No, this can't be suicide

It has to be murder

There were zero signs that Mihyun was thinking of ending her life, she was her usual self even after the break up with Dongmin. She still did her dumb pranks and hung almost daily at school and the convenience store with Yoobin and her.

Could it possibly be him?

Dongmin had the kind of face that stopped you in your tracks. The sudden pause in a person's natural expression when they looked his way followed by overcompensating with a nonchalant gaze and a weak smile. Of course the pink tinge of blush that accompanied it was a dead give-away. It didn't help that he was so modest with it, it made the girls fall for him all the more. Especially when it came to Mimi...

Just thinking about him killing Mimi in coldblood that night made Hyejin’s head hurt. Is he even capable? Aish, everyone is capable for murder no matter what. Even with a squeaky clean record he could have done it. Even Mr. Han, the forensic teacher, could have done it he even wanted to. But is breaking up with someone a reason to kill? Would that be his intent? Or did something else happen?

Hyejin pulls out her phone after hearing the notification for a new text.

Meet me at the library later today @6p.m.

Hyejin bites her lip after seeing it was Moonbin who sent it. He was the second person in the world she didn't want to talk to and that's all because he's Dongmin's best friend. What could he possibly want? If he needed a tutor he could have asked literally anyone else. Seunghee would have happily agree to help even if it's just basic Algebra.

Sorry, I don't think I can tutor you.

It’s not that it’s about Mimi

The nausea automatically doubles inside her as she reads his response. What could he possibly want to talk to her about Mimi? If he was going to console her he could have just sent a text like everybody else instead of meeting at the library.

****

Okay, I'm going to stop here for the prologue since it's just a quick overview of what happens. I'm not an expert in murder so I hope you won't be too diappointed. Anyway thanks for reading and giving me support!