Sasaeng Chapter Twelve

…Fire…

“It’s been two weeks since the -- apartment fire, where the body of Mr Kang was found”

The news anchor reported.

“Today is the funeral for Mr Kang, whose full identity has been protected through this whole ordeal. His fiancée and other family will be in attendance in a private ceremony later this morning. The police still haven’t found the culprit of the arson murder; however, the investigation is still ongoing…” I droned out the tv report as I sat in the room that we were using to get ready.

My mother and father had flown in with my little sister, and our whole family had gathered together… just like the funeral for my grandparents… but this time it was for my uncle…

“Hyungmin, turn that blasted thing off!” my mother’s voice cut through the quiet murmurs. My little sister clinging to her leg, her face buried in her hip. My mother was covering her ears. My father rushed for the remote and turned it off.

“Sorry, honey” my father picked her up and cradled her in his arms.

“Alice, there’s someone here for you” a voice called for me. I reluctantly looked up and saw the manager in the doorway. All eyes turned to me. My eyes shot back down to the floor and my body didn’t want to move… I didn’t want to move.

“Come on, let’s move” the manager was suddenly to me and pulling me to my feet… I didn’t speak… I couldn’t speak… He led me to another room, closed the door behind me and left.

“Alice” Jimin’s voice filled my ears and that warm feeling he brings with him washed through me. A thousand emotions ran through me as I looked up to see him. He was alone and dressed in black. Black jeans, black leather jacket, black shirt, black cap…

This was the first time I’ve seen him since then…

“Alice” he repeated in a low, soft voice. He walked towards me and his hand reached up to my face. His warm hand cupped my cheek as he lifted my face to see me clearly. But I didn’t speak… I couldn’t speak… there was nothing to say… what could I say?

“Alice” his voice was barely a whisper and he was so close his breaths brushed against my numb feeling face… everything felt numb. His hand brushed a curl from my eyes, as his darted over all my features. “It’s going to be okay” was all it took…

These past two weeks I haven’t cried since the day it happened. I haven’t spoken a single word in hopes that I could keep myself together. But the second he speaks… my walls shatter and come crashing down…

“No” my voice broke as emotions welled inside me. Tears flooded my eyes and my body began to shake. “No, it’s not. He’s gone, Jimin. My uncle is dead and he’s never coming back, and it was all my fault…” I cried, the salty tears falling down my face.

“No, it’s not” he cooed, bringing me to him and holding me in a secure embrace. He began rocking me as I clung to his leather jacket… finally letting out the cries and emotions I’ve kept bottled up these past two weeks. “Shush, it’s okay. That’s it just let it out” his voice was like hot chocolate. Warm and sweet. Comforting.

After what seemed like a lifetime, I finally stopped crying and Jimin let me go. He wiped the wetness from my face and hovered in case I wasn’t done yet. I straightened out my black hanbok… which I had never worn before.

“Thank you” I squeaked, my throat feeling raw and strained. He gave a small nod and a cautious smile tugged on his lips.

“You’re very welcome. The other members are coming later but your father said that he was worried. So, we all agreed that I should talk with you” he revealed, and I felt my cheeks redden. My dad… sold me out…

“I should… probably apologise to him” I mumbled, stepping back when I realised how close he was. I remembered to just before the call, how I was feeling about him and my decision about his confession and my feelings. He took a step towards me. I stepped back again… he looked hurt… but it was for the best, especially after all of this…

“Too close?” he asked with curious eyes. I nodded quickly and cleared my throat.

“How do I look?” I sniffed as I readied myself to leave. He smirked and cocked his head to the side as he checked me over.

“Red-eyed, puffy faced and you have a pimple right there” he pointed to my forehead. My hands instantly went up to inspect his accusations… “I’m joking, gosh” he chuckled his squeaky laugh and patted my head tenderly. “Get you back to your family, they’re probably wondering where you’ve gone” he nodded for the door.

“Okay” I said as I reached for the door. I hesitated, took a deep breath in and glanced back a Jimin before walking into the hallway.

“There you are, honey” my dad came from the family room. “We’re going to the hall now, come on” he beckoned me towards me.

“Okay, dad” my voice was croaky and hurt. My dad looked relieved.

“Thank goodness you’re speaking again, you were scaring us” he sighed and hugged me in a large embrace before we left to send my uncle off.

The funeral has been a long process. My uncle’s body was kept by the police as the investigation began. It was found that he had died after inhaling too much smoke, but he was knocked out before the fire began. The firefighters found him before he got burned.

The funeral was delayed so long because the first time they released his body they didn’t believe that he needed an autopsy… but after they realised it was murder, they took him back. Now three days after we got him back, we’re finally burying him.

For three days my dad has been living at the funeral home, as per custom. Other family, friends, co-workers and others have come and gone… today is finally the last day… Hyerin has also been sleeping here… she hasn’t left…

“Oh, Alice” Hyerin was already stood outside. When she saw me with red puffy eyes, she took me off my dad’s hands and pulled me into her arms. She cried softly into my shoulder and gave my back a soft rub. And the tears began again.

“I’m so sorry Hyerin” I sobbed as I finally opened up to her. Instead of crying more she gripped my shoulders and pulled me away from her.

“You’re talking again!?” she gasped, her eyes as wide as dinner plates. I sniffed my cries back and nodded, taken back by her behaviour. “Thank god!” she gasped, putting a hand on her chest and sighing heavily in relief.

“Hyerin?” I asked but she stood straight and shook her head.

“I thought you were never going to talk again” she breathed and went back in for a hug. “Never scare me like that again” she warned and almost crushed me before letting me go and… smiling…???

“Hye…” I began but she wiped her tears away and stood straight as the hearse pulled up. I turned to see the men of the family walking through with my uncle. My dad at the front, his strong eyes welled up.

…We drove to the crematorium. Sent my uncle off with many tears. And then drove back to the funeral home. Picked up our things and went back to the hotel with my parents. Hyerin went back with hers.

A few hours later, I sat on the bed with my little sister, sleep in my arms, and my parents reading through the messages we were left… my dad’s phone rang making us all jump and my sister jolted awake.

“Hello?” my dad answered and then froze… his eyes widened… and then they darted straight to me. “It’s the police… they want to speak to you” he announced and put the phone on speaker.

“Miss Kang?” the female officer from before.

“I’m here” I called, moving onto my parents’ bed with my koala of a sister clinging to me.

“Hello, Miss Kang. I’m called to inform you of some recent discoveries. We finally managed to recover some security camera footage from your apartment. Most of it, however, was destroyed” she paused, and we heard rustling paper.

“But there was a section of usable footage and we believe we’ve found who the killer is. I believe you’ve had altercations with her before…” another pause.

…

“We have reason to believe the killer of your uncle was Lee Aera”

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AUTHORS NOTES

SO... UM... THAT HAPPENED! THIS TOOK SO LONG FOR ME TO WRITE SINCE IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT CHAPTER FOR FUTURE STORYLINE. BUT I HOPE YOU'RE NOT TOO UPSET ABOUT ALICE'S UNCLE!!! SORRY!!! NEXT TIME: ALICE SETS HER SIGHTS ON THE FUTURE! SHE OFFICIALLY MOVES INTO HER NEW APARTMENT AND GOES BACK TO WORK... WHAT CAN GO WRONG???

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Hi! I’m EstelleKpop! I hope you like Sasaeng so far! I’m sorry for any spelling and grammar mistakes, I’m not a professional writer hehe XD

I will hopefully be uploading every Tuesday and Saturday. Please look forward to more chapters soon!

Thank you for reading!

Laters!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KpopEstelle

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