stay with me

That same morning, Kyungeun almost arrived to school late because of her step-mother.

"I really think you should stay home, honey." Her step-mother, Areum, advised upon learning of the supposed bombing on the first day back at school. "I'm just not comfortable with the idea of you going back to school so soon where bombs were found."

"It's fine, mom. Gayoung and Soobin are attending, too." Kyungeun reassured her while getting out of the car. "I had to persuade you to even let me do my morning jog today. Also, I don't want to ruin my perfect school attendance because of it. That doesn't set a perfect example of the President of the Honors Society."

"Well, I suppose so." Areum said with a bit of hesitation.

"Mom, it's okay. I'll be fine." Kyungeun reassured once more before looking over her shoulder. "If anything goes wrong, you'll be the first one I call personally. Anyways, I got to get to class or else I'll be tardy."

"Alright, alright. Love you, Kyungie." Areum smiled as she blew a kiss to her step-daughter.

"Love you, too, mom. See you later." Kyungeun did the same before closing the door and waving goodbye as Areum drove off.

"OH-EM-GEE! About time!" Gayoung yelled as she glomped Kyungeun from behind almost bringing the other girl to crash onto the concrete.

Kyungeun maintained her balance while shifting her gaze onto her friend. "Hi, to you, too, Gayoung."

"Hiya." Gayoung giggled while pulling her towards the school entrance where Soobin was already waiting for them with dragon fruit and acai smoothies.

"Here you go." Soobin handed Kyungeun one of the dark purple drink.

"Isn't it kind of early to be drinking something this cold?" Kyungeun asked, but still sipped the sweet treat.

"No." Both girls chorused as they also enjoyed the delicious smoothie.

"Anyways, any news about Sora's wedding?" Soobin asked a few seconds later.

"Wait, shouldn't it be the engagement party coming up before the wedding?" Gayoung questioned.

"Engagement party in another month, but a wedding some time in June or July." Kyungeun answered. "Still, I don't know anything else beside that."

Soobin asked another question. "Well, have you gotten to know Vincent better?"

"Not really. All I know is that he works at some industrial company in the upper managment."

"Hmm, despite he and your sister dating for almost a year or so, you think you would have learned more about him, Len." Gayoung said with a curious look. "Don't you think?"

"I guess, but Sora's happy so I'm happy for her."

Xukun was sitting with Dee and James near the back of the conference room where the officers of both the First Division and the Special Section were being informed about a new case of two murders that occurred yesterday by Police Sergeant Joni Anwar.

"One murder occurred on Sunday's night, while the other occurred yesterday morning. The victims were Seth LaMarr age forty-nine, an Undersecretary, and Keith Snowden age fifty-two, the Director of Planning. Both officials from the Ministry of Industrial Development of great influence and importance."

Joni clicked through the presentation as both males' profile appeared before them before clicking to the next slide with images of both crime scenes.

"Mr. LaMarr's body wasn't discovered until his wife discovered his body this morning upon returning from a stay with family in another city. Mr. Snowden's body was discovered by workers when they came onto their shift."

The slide moved onto both gentlemen's work profiles

"Lately, both parties have been making efforts to abolish the bid-rigging in public work projects that forces small to medium sized construction companies towards bankruptcy and the major causes of management deterioration."

Joni motioned towards Pim, Toni, Leo, and Lily with a grateful smile.

"Thanks to our forensics specialists and lab technicians they were able to help us further."

The next slide showed the crime scenes along with forensic evidence.

"At the first murder crime scene of Mr. LaMarr, there was a safe that was broken into and fingerprints were lifted and matched to a Jacob Tudyk age sixty who's a director of Tudyk Construction."

The Special Section took notes of the weird bloody cross symbols upon the walls of the first crime scene where one was much larger than the others and the even larger cross on the warehouse door at the second crime scene. They figured that First Division wouldn't worried about this as much as they would and probably focused more on why two people of the Industrial  Development were murdered.

"The thing is with Mr. Tudyk is that he was arrested two weeks ago for assaulting one of our police officers while under the influence of alcohol. At the time of the crime he was confirmed to be at the Nizho Prison."

James leaned closer to Xukun to whisper to him about the assaulted officer. "By one of our officers, that was Alex and why he's on medical leave."

Violette raised her hand and Joni pointed at her. "Yes?"

"Would this be considered a case of teleportation?"

"Of what?" He asked with furrowed eyebrows while everyone turned their attention onto Violette.

"Has there been any prior cases or research involved with teleportation?"

Joni ignored her question and moved on with the report.

"Continuing on with the forensics finding there were traces of skin fragments underneath Mr. Snowden's fingernails indicating that he may have fought back against his attacker. This led to another analysis matching them to Jacob Tudyk who is once again confirmed to be at Nizho Prison at the time of the attack."

Joni faced the group with a serious expression. "How can a man who's in prison be able to murder people?"

"Like I said earlier, maybe he used teleportation." Violette spoke up again with a wide smile. "Or maybe he can walk through walls. If so, then I would like to investigate on what part of the brain would allow you to do that. Is there any way I can meet him?"

Violette was once again ignored, but Xukun wondered if there was a way for the brain to do it. Because he couldn't explain his own situation logically, but the bullet must have done something with a part of his brain to allow him to communicate with the other world. So was it possible for the brain to allow oneself to pass through walls, too?

Serena was casually lying on her back looking at the endless partly cloudly blue sky above her while Melanie was typing something on her laptop with books scattered about her. Although knowing that her sister was still somehow studying in this parrelle universe, Serena knew that it was just as endless as the sky before her.

"Shouldn't you be at your internship by now?" Melanie asked Serena while taking a break from looking at the monitor. "I thought you were going to learn how to interview youths for work placement?"

Hearing the question made Serena realized that Melanie's time zone at the moment was back in early 2011 when she was in her final year of high school. Serena lied.

"Debra called me that I didn't have to go in today. They have some meeting with the board of directors or something like that. I have a free day."

"Wow, must be nice. I'm stuck writing this paper about some dead guy I don't really care for and it needs to be a thousand words or more. Mr. Winchester is cool and all, but this assignment monkey balls."

Serena smiled not saying anything as she heard her sister resume her typing. Moments like these brought Serena comfort and she wasn't exactly sure why even to this day. It was interrupted when she lurched upwards when Maofah landed on her stomach while holding a blue file.

"Special delivery!" Maofah exclaimed as he waved the file around. "For a Serena Vorasavane."

"Oh, hi, Maofah!" Melanie greeted the feline before tossing him a pringle chip. "Keep it down because I have to write my paper."

Maofah caught the pringle easily with his mouth and waved at her with his free paw to acknowledged what Melanie had said. Serena still couldn't figure out how after all of these years on how this whole twilight realm worked as her sister still acknowledged the animals, but didn't know that time had actually passed.

"Earth to Rina. Your file." Maofah said as he hit Serena on the head with it and she aggressively took the file from him with an annoyed look.

"Don't shoot the messenger." Maofah then smirked. "Not like you can anyways."

"Yeah, but I can still do this."

Serena smacked him upside the head before pushing him off of her and sitting upright to read the file.

"Rude." Maofah whined as he slithered his way towards Melanie and nabbed the red pringle container from her.

Serena paid him no mind as her attention was on the file of a Spirit75_WKE.

"Birth name, Kyungeun Wang. English name, Lenna. Nicknames; Kyungie, Len, Squirrel, and President." She smiled at one of the nicknames. "I wonder what's the story behind Squirrel is."

"Birthday, May, twenty-six, two thousand- Oh my god she's a baby." Serena cooed before focusing back on her Cupid duties. "One-sixty-five centimenters. Fifty-two kilograms. Type B. Gemini. Dragon. Motto is 'If you end up stumbling, make it apart of the dance. Or at least, try to'. Hmm very nice."

Serena turned her attention to the while feline.

"Hey, Maofah. Why wasn't this user mentioned at the meeting. She also signed up several hours ago, too."

"Her profile didn't finish processing until after the meeting." Maofah answered after finishing all the chips.

"Oh, okay. Well, who assigned her to me?"

"Hedy re-assigned it to you after talking with Anteros."

"Really? This girl is also cute, pretty, and has luscious hair like the user, JisoosKrist. I thought she would have kept this one for herself since she also is a new one at love and wants to find her soulmate."

Maofah shrugged as he comfortably settled himself into Melanie's lap who began petting him softly causing him to let out a soft purr as he caressed himself into her touch. Serena then switched position and lied on her stomach with the file spread clearly on the floor before her.

"Now, how to get these two to reconnect again?"

Xukun was idlily hanging out in the break room with a can of instant coffee as he didn't really have anything to do since they were stuck on the murder cases of LaMarr and Snowden while he waited for someone in the Special Section to call on him about the Nagai case.

A while later his phone buzzed and he pulled it out to read the message that Pinlin had sent him. It read that the suicide note for Emily Ortiz was left onto her computer for her parents to find. Although in reality Emily didn't leave one, but she might as well have with what she told Xukun at the morgue that day.

The thought of the morgue suddenly brought Xukun's attention back to the lady in black as well as seeing the talking bird and cat with Jisoo earlier this morning. He wondered why now he suddenly can see these beings now when all he could see and here before was just spirits of those that didn't move on or had just died.

He was snapped out of his thoughts and back to the present by a cough to get his attention. He turned his head to see Violette standing a little too close in someone's personal bubble with her hands behind her back and a smile upon her face. Nevertheless he shot her a polite smile while straightening his posture.

"Hello Dr. Wautier."

"Good afternoon, Officer Angy. Say..."

Violette trailed off as she scooted closer to Xukun as he shied away from their close proximity.

"Can you tell me anything about the Industrial Development cases? Or well, more specifically about this Jacob Tudyk himself."

Xukun saw no harm in divulging information to her as they were all policemen.

"Mr. Tudyk ran his own small construction business, but because of the reformation of the bid-rigging he was pushed to the edge of bankruptcy."

"Well, yes, but I'm more curious about the safe that was forced open."

"What exactly about it?"

"Tell me. It would've been easier to take the safe than break in to it. Right?"

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