“980k won… 990k won… 1 million won!” Jihyun exclaimed after counting the earnings during the last half hour of their shift. “And we are left with 30 pieces… what are you doing Wendy?”

“My heart is a clear square frame. You’re the subject that I aim,” Wendy zoomed in to focus on Jihyun with her camcorder. “To capture inside. All of you closed up. In this sweet light.”

“Haha, a poetry recital? How did you come up with those lines?” Jihyun laughed.

“Inspired by your perfect 10 visual.”

“Cringy…” Jihyun scoffed at Wendy’s silliness.

“And you like it like that,” Wendy declared confidently.

Little did they realise they were inching towards the other with each word spoken. If not for the phone call from Sooyoung that interrupted the moment, their faces would literally touch. Sooyoung was meeting with the representatives of a charity organisation who noticed and took interest in the bangle she was wearing. Sensing a good business opportunity, she asked Wendy to bring some samples to show them.

“Are you going to leave me alone here?” Jihyun grabbed Wendy’s hand to hold her back.

“The stall cannot be left …” Wendy discontinued her sentence as guilt hit her. She knew the reason behind Jihyun’s anxiety. Ever since the janitor died a couple of weeks ago, Jihyun claimed to encounter sightings of him whenever she was alone in the school compound.

Releasing Wendy’s hand slowly, Jihyun sighed softly. “Get done and over with it. Then come back quickly.”

An hour later…

16.2: School - Social Welfare Club Room

“Thank you for your kind support!” Wendy and Sooyoung bowed to the representatives of a charity organisation.

After they had left, Wendy covered in excitement, “They purchased every piece of jewellery I brought up here!”

“Do you have sufficient stock for the next few days?”

“Not really. In fact, we had to take pre-orders for the more popular designs. Looks like our production team have to work overtime.”

“That’s a good problem to have.”

“I agree. Jihyun joked that the garden is going bald at this rate. Speaking of Jihyun,” Wendy cast a side glance towards Sooyoung. “She has been seeing the ghost of the late janitor. Do you see him around too?”

“Did I hear wrongly? Sceptic Wendy consulting me about the supernatural?” Sooyoung could not help being sarcastic but was quick to switch to serious mode on her next comment. “I kind of suspected something when I noticed that dullness on her ashen face.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have this piece of advice for you. Be very nice to this friend of yours.”

“I’m already being nice to her, am I not? Besides, you aren’t answering my question.”

“I know you’ve been really kind to her. It’s just…” Sooyoung paused midway, then decided that she would not elaborate further. “Never mind. When the time comes, you’ll understand. I hope it’s not too late though.”

“You are still not answering my question…” Wendy turned to look in the direction Sooyoung was staring at when she noticed the latter was no longer listening to her. She saw two students, one male and one female, being confronted by a group of gangsters in outside clothes near the school entrance. Then the female student passed a wad of cash to one of the gangsters. Satisfied with the amount, the gangster retrieved two cigarette-like sticks from his pocket and passed them to the male student.

“Where did Kyungah (Chapter 1) get that money from? I thought her parents have cut off her pocket money supply until she breaks up with that delinquent boyfriend of hers?” Sooyoung was upset with what she had witnessed.

Without verifying with Sooyoung, Wendy could guess from the situation that the two students were Kyungah and her delinquent boyfriend, even though she did not know them personally.

“Oh no! They’re leaving. I have to stop them!”

“No way! Are you crazy?” Wendy was quick to hold Sooyoung back from charging like a bull towards the gangsters. “We are no match to those guys.”

“But I can’t let those hooligans get away with the money that easily,” Sooyoung struggled to break free from Wendy.

“Calm down, Soo!” despite being smaller in stature, Wendy managed to pin Sooyoung against the wall. “Do you think those people would return the money even if we asked nicely? I don’t even want to imagine what they could do to us if we stand up to them.”

Sooyoung was about to protest, but after noticing that the gangsters were already out of sight, she calmed down to regain her composure. “You’re right. I was too rash. Can I at least speak to Kyungah?”

Wendy nodded and followed Sooyoung’s lead. Upon seeing Sooyoung, both Kyungah and her boyfriend wanted to take off and escape. Sooyoung managed to capture Kyungah, but the boyfriend successfully got away, not that Sooyoung cared. “I saw everything.”

“What about it?” Kyungah remained defiant.

“The money that you gave to the gangsters…” Sooyoung eyed Kyungah with suspicion. “You didn’t do anything criminal to get them, did you?”

“Let’s just say it’s finders’ keepers. Nothing illegal,” Kyungah shrugged. “My appa is the superintendent of the police force, of course I would know better.”

“Whatever you say,” Sooyoung was unconvinced but in the absence of anything definite, she could only give the benefit of the doubt. “Then who are those people in outside clothes? Why are you giving them the money? What’s the stuff they give to your boyfriend…”

“Why do you need to know?” Kyungah was clearly annoyed by the tirade of questions. “It’s none of your business!”

“You’re right. It’s none of my business,” Wendy who had been silent all this while finally spoke up. “Sooyoung, I’d have to leave you to handle this on your own. I need to return to the stall and help Jihyun with closing up for the day.”

“No problem at all. See you around.”

Upon being “excused” from the interrogation with Kyungah, Wendy skipped her way back to the stall as she could not wait to share the good news with Jihyun. However, Wendy’s anticipation immediately turned into apprehension when she was greeted by an unmanned stall. Hoping that Jihyun only went for an urgent restroom break, Wendy started to pack up the items. On reaching the camcorder that she was toying with earlier, she realised she had forgotten to hit the “Stop” recording button earlier. Thankfully there was barely enough battery life for her to do so. Just then, Wendy’s mobile phone rang.

“Hey, Jihyun…” When Wendy heard wheezing and coughing on the other end, she knew Jihyun was caught somewhere with an asthma attack. “Ok, I’m coming to you. Just tell me where you are.”

“… Staircase… B…”

Without further ado, Wendy grabbed her inhaler and rushed to the staircase lobby. To her relief, Jihyun was on the floor gasping for breath when she found her. It could have been worse.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Yes, thank you,” Jihyun was starting to breathe easier with the help of the inhaler. “Ahh! There’s no one at the stall!”

“Never mind about the stall!” Wendy threw her arms around Jihyun in a tight embrace. “I’m just glad you’re alive.”

They remained in that position for a while before returning to the stall. On the way back, Jihyun recounted what had happened while Wendy was away.

Jihyun’s mother paid her a surprise visit, which was a great relief to make up for Wendy’s temporary absence. Unfortunately, her mother could not stay for long as her purpose was only to pass Jihyun some money for the household expenses. Left to her own device again, with no customers since most students had left school at that time, Jihyun decided she could close the cash register for the day. She counted the amount one more time to ensure that the total tallied with the sales before putting the money back. Before Jihyun could lock up the cash register, she suddenly felt goosebumps rise on her arms. Subsequently, the apparition of the dead janitor appeared. Clutching his chest and muttering gibberish in Korean dialects that Jihyun did not understand, he approached Jihyun in lightning speed. Throughout this time, Jihyun was too stunned to move, until the ghost reached and slumped down on the table right in front of her. This was the final straw that bolted Jihyun into action. Thrown into disarray by fear, Jihyun ran around in random directions, which triggered her asthma attack.

“Jihyun, I’m sorry to leave you alone just now…” Wendy was filled with remorse.

“What are you apologising for? I’m should thank you for saving my life!” after her near brush with death, Jihyun was simply grateful to be alive.

“When I met Sooyoung just now, I consulted her about your situation. She only advised me to be very nice to you. I didn’t know what she meant back then,” Wendy put her arm on Jihyun’s shoulder to pull her closer to her side. “But now I’m beginning to understand, after seeing how close I am to losing you.”

“Hmm… be very nice to me huh?” Jihyun winked mischievously, “Maybe you can start by treating me to a dinner in a fancy restaurant?”

“Yah! Taking advantage of me already?”

Not long after they returned to the stall, Mr Oh and Ms Hwang visited them to collect the sales report and earnings for their shift.

“The money is missing!” Jihyun panicked on discovering that the cash register was empty. “I think I forgot to lock it just now…”

“You are dealing with a large sum of money! How can you be so careless?” Ms Hwang reprimanded Jihyun.

“Is it a just case of negligence, or perhaps… she pocketed it?” Mr Oh pointed at Jihyun and shrugged. “Well, I can understand how tempting the money is to poor folks.”

“Mr Oh. I apologise in advance if I’m rude. I don’t think it’s fair to accuse Jihyun right away without any evidence,” Wendy, being Wendy, would always be quick to speak up for injustice.

“I’m afraid I have to agree with Wendy on this,” Ms Hwang chimed in. “Jihyun, I’d need to conduct a bag search.”

After rummaging through the bag, Ms Hwang pulled out an envelope containing a wad of cash. “Why do you have so much money with you?”

“My Omma passed me some cash for our household expenses. She was here a while ago,” Jihyun explained without hesitation.

“What a coincidence… the total amount in this envelope is one million won, which is the total sales for your shift, not including the extras from Sooyoung’s referrals,” Ms Hwang commented after counting the cash.

“One million won is a nice whole number. Coincidence is not impossible,” Wendy weighed in on the situation. “In fact, when we were chatting a while ago, Jihyun told me the same thing about her Omma passing her the household expenses.”

“Did you personally see Mrs Kwon here in school passing some money to Jihyun then?” Mr Oh challenged Wendy.

“Well… I didn’t,” Wendy admitted reluctantly. “I just thought she had been rather consistent in her account so far.”

“Fine, assuming that Jihyun was telling the truth,” Ms Hwang then turned her attention to Jihyun. “Why did you leave the stall alone?”

“I… I… saw the ghost of the late janitor and got scared, so I ran away,” Jihyun decided to tell it as it is.

“Ghost?!” Mr Oh guffawed. “And you’re expecting us to believe your story?”

“I know it sounds incredible, but I really saw the dead janitor. He was approaching me and ….”

“Jihyun-ah, I advise you to just come clean about the theft,” Mr Oh interrupted. “We could settle this internally in school with the usual punishments and…”

“Why should I be forced to confess to a crime I did not commit?” Jihyun was adamant about her innocence.

“Then you left us with no choice but to escalate the matter to the disciplinary office and turn you over to the police.”

16.3: Wendy’s House

If something good happens, it is going to be followed by something bad, or in Wendy’s case, several things bad. While still feeling helpless over Jihyun’s situation, she had to be attacked by a heated argument between her parents the moment she stepped into her house.

“Why did you make this withdrawal without discussing it with me first?” Mrs Son sounded upset.

“Come on! It’s only one million won. Don’t make a big deal out of it!” Mr Son retorted.

“This isn’t an isolated incident. There are several other substantial withdrawals that I had no knowledge of,” Mrs Son flipped through the pages of the bank passbook and pointed them out. “You are taking money from our joint account. As the co-owner, I have the right to know what you’re doing with it.”

“Co-owner? I’m the one slogging my guts out there to put money into this account while you’re sitting in the comfort of this home all day,” Mr Son complained. “And you have the nerve to question my integrity for spending the money I worked hard for?”

“Hey, I don’t just sit around all day doing nothing. I do household chores, groceries shopping…”

“Then how do you explain all that weight gain and disgusting cellulite on your body?”

“If you didn’t do anything dubious with the money, then why are you being so defensive when asked about it, to the point of resorting to personal attacks?” Mrs Son reasoned.

“How I want to spend my hard-earned money is none of your business! Besides, you can’t accuse me of personal attack when I’m just stating a fact.”

Realisation dawned upon Wendy at this juncture, as she finally understood the motivation behind her mother’s crazy diet (See Chapter 11). A brief moment of silence followed before her mother spoke again.

“Where are you going with the luggage?”

“Meeting some clients in Jeju.”

Wendy watched her father leave the house without even saying goodbye to her like he used to do. She comforted herself by thinking that perhaps he was unaware that she had returned home from school. Compared to her slightly hurt feelings, Wendy thought her mother had it many times worse. Without bothering to change out of her school uniform, Wendy entered her parents’ bedroom and enveloped the sobbing mess of her mother in a teddy bear hug.

The next day…

Jihyun stood in awe of the bungalow before her. Secluded among lush greenery as the backdrop, it had balconies, a screened-in front porch, a gazebo, a pool, a free-standing garage, a two-storey residence designed by no stretch of the imagination.

“This reminds me of the houses the rich and famous live in. I see them a lot in K-dramas, but I never thought I will have a chance to see one in real life.”

“Not only do you get to see it,” Wendy held Jihyun’s hand and led her to the gate. “You get to step inside one.”

After passing the face recognition security, the gate automatically opened to welcome them. To satisfy Jihyun’s curiosity, Wendy gave her a tour of her home, until lunch was ready, courtesy of Mrs Son.

“Now you must try my cooking at its best using the freshest ingredients, not just some leftovers,” Mrs Son declared proudly.

“This is really good! Wendy’s stomach is so blessed,” Jihyun joked.

“You must have had an awful time at the detention centre since yesterday, so now just put everything behind you for the moment and simply enjoy the spread, okay?”

Jihyun nodded her head and smiled graciously. After the school made a report to the police, Jihyun was detained for further investigation. Mrs Kwon, the only person who could possibly prove her innocence, or at least to bail her out, was uncontactable. According to Jihyun, her mother might be out of Seoul if her client required her to do so. Jihyun’s granny, her other next-of-kin, was taking care of her hospitalised grandad, so she was hardly at home. Chances are she would not be aware that her granddaughter did not return home at all last night and Jihyun decided to leave it at that, instead of adding on to her worries.

Wendy could not bear to see her best friend being locked up. With the help of Mrs Son as the adult guardian representative, Wendy used her savings to bail Jihyun out first. Instead of choosing who to spend her time with for the rest of that afternoon, Wendy decided to invite Jihyun to her home. That way, she could be there for her mother and Jihyun, both of whom had gone through some difficult times. It also helped her mother to be distracted from her marital problems by playing hostess to Jihyun.

After they were done with lunch, Wendy brought Jihyun to her bedroom. Her sister just texted her that she would need the camcorder the next day, so Wendy had to export the video files taken during the first day of the Valentine School Event in order to clear the space. While doing so, she watched the video clips with Jihyun and react to the silliness at various points.

“I still think that poem is silly and cringy,” Jihyun commented.

“Why don’t you just admit that you secretly like it? Your mad blush is a giveaway,” Wendy patted both sides of Jihyun’s cheeks gently. For reasons unknown to Wendy, her action made Jihyun blush harder, to the point that the latter’s cheek was heating up. “Are you okay?”

“I… I’m fine,” Jihyun quickly pulled away. Then she noticed something that could help her change the topic. “It seemed like the camcorder was still recording after you put it back on the table.”

“You are right. When I returned to the stall that day, I realised that the camcorder was still running. I must have forgotten to hit the ‘Stop’ button because Sooyoung’s call came so suddenly,” Wendy dragged the seek bar to fast forward the video as there was nothing but stillness after the scene which she recorded Jihyun for fun. Then something caught Wendy’s attention in the middle and prompted her to resume the video at normal speed.

First of all, Jihyun’s account about what happened that day during Wendy’s absence was being played out like a movie. Although the ghost of the janitor could not be seen, one could tell there was some invisible force at work. What’s more interesting happened moments after Jihyun ran away from the stall.

“Hah! So that’s what she meant by finders’ keepers!” Wendy scoffed.

“You know that girl?” Jihyun asked.

“Her name is Kyungah. That’s all I know about her. In fact, I only met her for the first time through Sooyoung just now.”

Based on what was caught on the camcorder, Kyungah was wandering around with an anxious look on her face until she spotted an opened cash register at the stall. Kyungah looked back and forth as if to ensure that there was no one else around. Then she walked towards the cash register and took off with the money.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Wendy exclaimed.

Jihyun nodded her head vigorously. On that day, Wendy was to learn about the power of video recording as proof of evidence that could achieve breakthroughs in solving cases, from petty offences to real crimes.