[TW] Chapter 18
Just Us in Our Own Time and SpaceA/N: [TW] just in case...
FLASHBACK
18.1: School - Entrance
Several days later…
Wendy reached school earlier than usual to avoid the thunderstorm that the weather station had forecasted in her area. On reaching the school gate, she saw a fanciful letter pasted prominently on the school gate. To her surprise, the letter was written by Jihyun to her.
“Is this a joke?” Wendy asked herself aloud. Although the handwriting unmistakably belonged to Jihyun, it seemed out of character of her reserved personality to pull such an act; to announce to the whole school that…
Dear Wendy
Life had not been kind to me for a very long time. It had even come to the point that having the world turn against me was normal. Then one day you walked into my class. Being clueless, you helped me. Even after you learn more about my tainted background, you took the leap of faith and became my friend.
Initially, I was satisfied with that. As we spent more time together, all the little things you do, the skin ships that you innocently dish out, or simply being around, cause a storm inside of me. What was on your mind when you were doing all these? Are we just friends, or is there more?
You know me, that I am too shy to tell this to you verbally. If you happen to read this, it means I’ve finally found the courage to make the first move.
Would you join me on this possibly difficult journey? To see where this thing could go? Whether we can make this into something that will last forever? This thing I’d like to call LOVE.
Jihyun
While Wendy was trying to make sense of the situation, a bloodcurdling scream from the school janitor diverted her attention. It led Wendy towards the bottom of the building, where she witnessed the birth of the urban legend that haunted the school in the years to come. Lying on the ground in a pool of stale blood was the body of Kwon Jihyun with her dilated pupil staring in the direction of the nearby drain.
Hysterical shrieks and wails followed as more students arrived at school. No one expected to see the corpse of a fellow schoolmate this early in the morning. Before the situation got out of hand, the teachers rushed to the scene, covered Jihyun’s body with a white cloth and barricaded the surrounding area.
“This is an urgent announcement,” the PA system roared into life. “To all arriving students, the front gate is closed to manage an emergency. Please use the side gate to enter the school. As for students who are already inside the school premises, report to your homeroom immediately and do not loiter around. I repeat…”
18.2: School – Outside Classroom
A couple of hours later…
Wendy was on her way back to the classroom after a session with the school counsellor, granted to students who witnessed Jihyun’s death first-hand. Upon reaching the corridors outside her classroom, she overheard a discussion about Jihyun’s untimely demise.
“What am I gonna do now? I told Kwon that she should disappear from this world just like her mother a few days ago. Now that she’s really gone, I’m scared,” the student who confronted Jihyun previously burst into tears.
“Calm down, it was just a coincidence. From the look of things, we all know who’s really responsible for her suicide.”
“Suicide? Where do you even hear that from?”
“Jihyun left a note declaring her love for her best friend, Wendy. Eww… that’s disgusting! Anyway, she was found dead next. Prior to her passing, Wendy was no longer on speaking terms with her. She distanced herself from Jihyun and hung out with Sooyoung instead. Isn’t that an obvious sign of rejection? On top of that, Jihyun’s mother lost her life in an accident triggered by the affair she had with Wendy’s father. I’m not surprised if Jihyun felt overwhelmed to the point that she had to throw herself off a building to end it once and for all.”
Preoccupied with her own opinion on this matter, Wendy remained where she was instead of entering the classroom.
Recalling Jihyun’s bashful behaviour around her at times, Wendy had to admit that it was somewhat consistent with the content of the letter, only stopping short of an actual confession. In fact, this was Wendy’s first time seeing the letter and before she had a chance to address it, Jihyun had passed away. Therefore, it was too early to conclude that Jihyun killed herself for Wendy, that is if suicide was even the cause of her death. Moreover, the letter that was displayed so publicly for the whole school to see was suspicious in itself. Was it really meant to be a suicide note for Jihyun to explain to everyone why she decided to take her own life? Or was the letter fabricated by another person with the intention of shaming either Jihyun or herself?
Last but not least, if the letter was genuine, what would be her response to Jihyun’s confession? Would Wendy ever see Jihyun as more than just a best friend? With no answers to any of them, only more questions popping up in her mind, some questioning her existing questions, this would be a burden that Wendy would be carrying for as long as she lived.
Then just like in a dream, the school surrounding suddenly disappeared, leaving Wendy alone in an unknown abyss. On turning around, she spotted Jihyun back facing her from a distance. Despite being aware of her death, Wendy had no fear. In this dreamlike state, Jihyun’s apparition became the only source of familiarity. Desperate for an answer, Wendy ran towards her friend. Every time she got closer Jihyun seemed to drift further away to maintain an eternal gap between them. After a while, Jihyun started to fade away as well.
“JIHYUN!” Wendy screamed. Everything felt like a dream… because Wendy was indeed dreaming. Waking up startled, Wendy came face to face with Jimin’s chain-smoking friend, Cho A.
Back to Present…
18.3: School – Staff Room
“Oh… I’m sorry, Cho A. Are you looking for me?”
“Ah… yes. Ms Son. I’m here to submit my homework. Thank you for extending the deadline for me.”
“No problems at all. You were busy with your Judo tournament.”
“I really appreciate your understanding,” Cho A hesitated for a while before voicing her concern. “Are you okay Ms Son?”
“I’m fine. My apologies for scaring you by screaming like that. It’s already 5 pm, you better get going.”
“You too, Ms Son. Take care.”
18.4: School – On the way to Staircase Lobby
When Cho A was out of the teachers’ office, she whipped out her mobile phone to replay the video of Ms Son falling asleep. Apart from smoking, Cho A had a habit of capturing video footage of people in their most embarrassing moments just for kicks. On reaching the part when Ms Son woke up suddenly screaming a familiar name, Cho A felt goosebumps rising. She had heard that Ms Son was an ex-student of this school, therefore it was not too far-fetched that she knew the infamous Kwon Jihyun personally when she was alive. From the looks of Ms Son’s expression, whatever she dreamt about was nothing pleasant. No matter how tough she looked, Cho A was not fearless of the supernatural. After all, it was better to be safe than sorry. Therefore, Cho A decided that she would rather not know the content of Ms Son’s nightmare. Dismissing the video, Cho A checked out the latest discussion in her private chat group instead.
Several hours ago, Cho A posted the video in which she recorded their encounter with Seulgi in the female washroom. While her friends were “LMAO” at Seulgi being the monkey in the middle to catch the cheap-looking plastic bangle, Cho A was more interested in replaying the parts that showed her exposed abs. In the midst of fantasizing about forcing herself on Seulgi, Cho A reached the ground floor only to discover that the exit door of the staircase lobby was locked. Although she thought it was unusual considering that it was only 5 pm, Cho A had no choice but to return to the second floor where she could try other staircases. To her horror, the door back to the second level was locked as well.
Didn’t she just enter the staircase lobby using that door? Before Cho A could even make sense of the situation, she heard footsteps of someone ascending the stairs from behind her. Under the impression that help was coming her way, Cho A turned around only to find no one.
Come to think of it, she did not remember hearing the sound of the door at the bottom opening. Hence the possibility of someone entering the staircase lobby from the ground floor was none at all. Unless that someone was an otherworldly entity…
Coincidentally at this point of her thought, the footstep jump-started again, this time sounding like the owner had picked up the paces. Trapped and helpless, Cho A could only rely on external help to escape. Despite being panicky, Cho A remembered that Ms Son was still in the teachers’ office. She fumbled with the mobile phone used earlier to watch the videos to call Ms Son’s direct line. When she finally unlocked the mobile phone, a blow struck her at the back of her head. Cho A lost consciousness and dropped to the floor, along with the phone…
18.5: School – Staff Room
Cho A was right about Wendy still being around in school. As per Mdm Cho’s prediction, Wendy would go all out to help Seulgi. Even though Wendy could have gone home earlier that day as she had no lessons after lunch, she chose to stay back to work on Seulgi’s case.
Right after her meeting with Mdm Cho to discuss the case, Wendy approached Mdm Ahn who reported the incident that day. To her disappointment, Mdm Ahn revealed that she learnt about the incident second hand from another student instead of witnessing it herself. When pressed for the identity of the said student, Mdm Ahn remained tight-lipped like she was trying to protect someone. Seeing that no amount of persuasion could make Mdm Ahn talk, Wendy gave up and retreated to the staff room.
Hitting a dead end with Mdm Ahn, her only known lead, Wendy could only resort to perusing the notes she had taken during her meeting with Mdm Cho, hoping to find a loophole in the witness account of Jimin’s friends. Any mitigating factor that could be used to appeal against Seulgi’s expulsion would do. In reality, this was easier said than done. Reading the notes repeatedly took a mental toll on Wendy that she fell asleep halfway through. Time might not be on Wendy’s side, but working overtime while feeling exhausted was not productive either. In the end, Wendy decided that continuing the next day in a more refreshed state could help her see new light in Seulgi’s case. When she was about to shut down her laptop, notifications of new incoming emails popped up. The video attachments accompanying the emails stirred Wendy’s curiosity.
“Well, it’s late anyway. Staying behind for a few minutes more won’t hurt."
It turned out that the emails were sent by Cho A, the student who submitted her assignment earlier. There was no subject or content in the body to explain the nature of the attached videos. After running through the virus scanner assuring that the files were safe, Wendy proceeded to download them.
Déjà vu struck Wendy when she watched the first video. It contained raw footage of Seulgi being bullied by Jimin and her cronies in the female washroom. Handed to her in a platter when she least expected it, this was the very s*** that Wendy needed to prove Seulgi’s side of the story. The other files were Cho A’s personal collection of l**bian videos.
“Okay that’s TMI,” Wendy went red face and closed them frantically.
Although a part of Wendy found it odd that Cho A handed over the evidence readily at the expense of it turning against herself and her friends, it did not matter at that moment. It was more important that Wendy did not repeat the mistake she made back then.
Wendy’s laptop went missing one day after Jihyun’s death. Since there were important files inside, Wendy made a police report. Within a week, Wendy received the good news that her laptop was found. Since she was at the police station to take back her laptop, she thought of following up on the theft case that Jihyun was accused of before her death. Wendy remembered seeing Kyungah hanging around freely in school as if nothing had happened despite being the real culprit. Besides the case involved sales proceeds from the event organised by the Arts club, all the more she should check on the progress.
According to what she had found out, the case was concluded with Jihyun being guilty of the crime. Since Jihyun had passed away, the case was closed with no further actions required. Not satisfied with the outcome, Wendy mentioned that she had submitted evidence to prove Jihyun’s innocence, therefore they should continue to pursue the case, regardless of whether Jihyun was alive or not. When the officer looked like they had never seen any video evidence pertaining to the case, Wendy thought of showing them on the spot from the laptop that she had just recovered. To her utter dismay, the second half of the video that showed Kyungah being the thief seemed to have been edited out.
The stolen laptop was more than just a case of petty theft. It seemed well-staged and planned by someone powerful behind the scene to cover up Kyungah’s offence.
Wendy made multiple copies of the video proof and stored them on Cloud and in all the storage devices she had on hand. That was the best she could do for now, even if it offered no guarantee the measure would not be outsmarted again.
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