8.1: Seulgi's home

“Omma, why are all my things outside,” Seulgi returned home to find her personal belongings sloppily stuffed into luggage.

“You’re hardly at home these days,” Seulgi’s mother down her bottle of soju. “You might as well don’t come back. Just take your things and go!”

“What do you mean? I usually go out for a short while just to collect my assignments from Taeyong… except for yesterday.”

“So… where were you? You were totally gone for the whole day!”

“Well, I…” Seulgi stopped herself, then continued with a lowered voice. “You care about my whereabouts?”

As if being caught for something, her mother became flustered, “No, no, I don’t… Never mind, I don’t want to know anymore. Just leave!”

“Omma! Please don’t chase me away. I have nowhere else to go…” Kneeling down, Seulgi held onto her mother’s unhurt knee to plead for her case, only to earn a vicious kick straight to her abdomen instead. The next kick sent her flying and crashing against the wall.

“Don’t touch me like your dad!” Seulgi was used to her mother comparing her looks to the father. However, the mention of touch was something new.

“What did Dad…”

“Why are you still there? The sight of you is an eyesore. Just… go…” her mother seemed to be hyperventilating. Not wanting to agitate her mother further, Seulgi picked up the luggage and left, defeated.

8.2: School

“Hi Taeyong, are you free after school today?” Jimin approached Taeyong at Class 1-1 during morning recess.

“No, I’m not,” Taeyong’s attention quickly returned to arranging the tutorial of the various subjects to be passed to Seulgi later.

“From my knowledge, class 1-1 dismisses at 1 pm today. What are you busy with after this?”

Taeyong stared at Jimin blankly for a couple of seconds and decided not to waste his breath answering her question. Instead, he continued to sort out the papers in front of him.

“How dare you ignore me!” Jimin snatched the paper that Taeyong picked up. “Kang Seulgi? Is that what you are doing after school today? To pass Kang her items?”

“Seulgi is not in school today. As her classmate, I should help her with what she was missing out on during her absence.”

“It’s not like you are her ONLY classmate in class 1-1. Her best friend, Krystal, can help too. As my one and only fiancée, shouldn’t you spend more time on me instead?”

“I don’t mean to interfere with your domestic issues, but for your info, we have a lunch appointment with Krystal’s parents after school. If Seulgi didn’t live that far away…”

“It’s ok, Kai. Since it’s just us and my parents, I can let them know we would be a little late. Besides I haven’t seen Seul for quite a while…”

“Boys and girls, you can all go ahead with your respective dates. I will bring Seul her things after my Student Councils’ meeting,” Ten volunteered himself, thinking he had done something great.

Taeyong glared at his smiley buddy like he was going to strangle him because he no longer had an excuse not to go out with Jimin. It turned out that Jimin simply needed someone to accompany her to shop for a new dress to attend a charity gala dinner this weekend. Since Taeyong was going to be her dinner partner for that event, she thought it would be great if they could wear a matching couple outfit. Taeyong just wished he did not exist.

8.3 Somewhere near Seulgi’s home

After spending the entire morning at MacDonald’s browsing through the classified ads for room rental, Seulgi concluded that even the cheapest option was beyond her budget for this month. Thankfully, the month was coming to an end, meaning she would be receiving her allowance soon. Meanwhile, she needed a temporary lodging so that she did not have to camp at the subway that night.

“Miss, may I clear your cup?” This was how fast-food joint subtly told their customers that they had overstayed. Seulgi thanked the service crew politely and left.

Once Seulgi stepped outside the restaurant, she was approached by an elementary school student asking for a donation on behalf of the association that helped abused and neglected children.

“… But do remember, the door of the Jung family is always opened for you, even though you have ‘graduated’ from here as a foster child…” Krystal’s words were recalled from Seulgi’s memory. Smiling at the can that gave her an idea where she could go next, Seulgi dropped in a few loose coins. After calling Mrs Jung to give heads up about her visit, Seulgi made her way to the metro.

8.4 On the way back to Krystal’s home

“I regretted allowing Ten to help Seul. Come to think of it, I haven’t spoken to her since she was suspended from school,” Krystal confessed. “I haven’t been a friend in need, have I?”

“Well, it’s not like you have a chance to help her with Taeyong around acting like he is her boyfriend. Isn’t that your intention? To create an opportunity for something more to develop between the two?” Kai winked.

“Clever boy,” Krystal ruffled his hair. “But I feel like I could at least have a heart-to-heart talk with her. It’s all your fault, for taking up all my time.”

At this juncture, the couple had reached the ground floor of Krystal’s apartment.

“Maybe both of you can have a heart-to-heart talk in my arms.”

“I dare you!” Krystal balled her hand into a fist.

With a smirk on his face, Kai pinned Krystal against the pillar. “I’m just kidding. My arms only have enough space for you.”

Both their faces closed in for a kiss that grew needy over time. Krystal’s lack of resistance to Kai’s advances emboldened his hands to wander further. At the height of the intense moment, Krystal’s raging hormones would have taken over the situation if not for the distraction that sounded like someone leaving in a hurry with a piece of luggage.

After glancing around to search for the source of the noise but found nothing, the couple decided that it was time to go up to Krystal’s home. Once the coast was clear, Seulgi crept out from her hiding spot behind the pillar.

“Whew! That was close…” Seulgi muttered softly to herself. If Kai was a regular visitor to the Jung residence, Seulgi certainly would not want to around to intrude in their privacy. The next few hours saw Seulgi wandering aimlessly around the city. Eventually, her feet subconsciously found their way back to where she was the night before.

“Seul?” Granny was surprised to see Seulgi and even more surprised to see her luggage. “Did you run away from home?”

“I don’t even need to. My Omma chased me out instead.”

Granny let Seulgi into the house quickly, where she learned the rest of the story.

8.5 School - Staff Room

“Are you sure Seulgi is innocent?” Mdm Cho questioned Inspector Jang, the police officer who had visited the school to give some updates about Mr Oh’s murder case.

“Yes, there were indisputable records of her being at SNU Hospital at the time of the crime. In fact, one of our colleagues had spoken to her that day.”

“That Kang brat! Did she get into some other kind of trouble?”

“If she does, we would definitely let you know. Since that other case has got nothing to do with her, we are not allowed to share any details with you. As far as Mr Oh’s case is concerned, Seulgi is cleared, therefore you may want to allow her to return to school.”

“Understood. Is there anything else the school can help with the investigation?”

Silence accompanied a frown on Inspector Jang’s face as he recalled the scenes from the CCTV footage. Mr Oh was the only visible living being in the entire drama. He looked like he was being dragged around by an invisible force. Throughout his ordeal, Mr Oh was screaming and begging for someone named Jihyun to stop.

“I would like to have a list of students, teachers, and other personnel of the school by the name of Jihyun..”

“Dead or alive?” Mdm Cho scoffed at the mention of the name.

“Dead?”

“As a matter of fact, we had a student by the name of Kwon Jihyun, who allegedly died of suicide more than a decade ago.”

“Tell me more about this Kwon Jihyun.”

8.6: School - Principal’s Office

“It’s been a while since I last saw you. You have blossomed into a sophisticated elegant beauty since then!” Mrs Park, the principal of the school, was having a conversation with the new teacher who would be replacing Mr Oh.

“Mrs Park, you flattered me.”

“If only we could receive you back in a more auspicious manner. You must be devastated by Mr Oh’s sudden death. After all, you were his favourite student.”

The new teacher forced a smile just to be polite, as the reverse was a different story. Mr Oh was nowhere in her favourite teacher ranking.

“Nevertheless, welcome back to your alma mater, Miss Wendy Son.”