CHAPTER 9: AIN'T ABOUT YOU

"Will that going to be the last box?" The prosecutor's voice echoed throughout the porch as she watched her husband took the last box she could see from their new house's gate. After days of contemplating, Irene did not know what came up to her mind to agree with him, maybe she did not want to fire a huge fight between the two of them that may result to her death or it was just the deep part of her saying that she should move on.

Move on.

Two words but she couldn't bear to understand if it was really the point on why she decided to do this. Their plans of having a child was still there but even just the idea of kissing him had made her nauseous, it even made the man to think that she was already showing the early signs of pregnancy but she knew she wasn't and would never be.

Even though with her sudden decision, the woman still couldn't pushed away the fact that she had a job left undone there in Seoul that is three hours away from where they live now, it's not that she's neglecting her job but she also got her priorities she needed to do first. 

Was it really her priorities that she really wanted to save? Or that someone?

She was torn, there's nothing else she can do but to continue on living in this fairy tale she had and always thought to be. Her death, the parcel and the suspicion towards her husband had been getting to her nerves lately, she was eager, eager to solve these things quickly the same as how she wanted to lose him completely but she just can't especially now that her friend was suspecting him as the man behind those deaths.

And if ever that he will be that man behind it she wouldn't promised to be that the same woman that everyone had know before. Irene knew she wouldn't be able to accept that if ever that would happen, no matter how she would try to cry and asked for forgiveness towards the younger she knew her life wouldn't be that colorful as before.

Even though her death was still remained unknown, Irene knew she still needed to look for her justice that she deserved, but her doubts were also bringing her to the suspicion towards him, how much more if her husband did that crime? She'll lost her mind.

"Do you have anything that you wanted to eat?" The man asked from behind as she fixed herself to a sofa to study the papers that the man had given to her earlier. Junmyeon bought a two storey house that can fit a family of four members, it was pretty descent and in good shape when they both decided to pay a visit before they move, everything was cleaned and in place, some of the things that the owner had before were still there but as like what her husband said, it was left their purposely since she had already no plans in coming back to the country which Irene found weird for a person to left some expensive things that would surely left some sort of memory and attachment to them. "I'll go take some dinner down the town, can you wait for me?" The woman nodded her head as she heard him took his keys and left her their alone.

Irene was still reading and looking for any information with regards to the owner when she suddenly heard her phone ringing. A call from her friend, Wendy. The prosecutor knew it would nagged her again as she was just about to say the reason to the officer why they decided to move so sudden and also to remind her that she also needed to do her job. As always. "Wendy."

"Krystal wanted to meet you tonight. I'll send you the address. It's urgent." It really sounds like that. Besides, why would an ex-fiancée wanted to meet up with an ex-girlfriend right? It just made the older to think more conscious to herself, Jung might not wanted to admit but Irene knew that she wanted to blame her for losing Seulgi not just with their relationship but her entire being.

Whatever will be the outcome for their tonight's meeting she knew it would be something related to her death, and if ever things messed up, she would gladly accept it but that did not mean that she would give up. It was for the younger the reason why she kept on doing this even though she already wanted to give this up and hand it to others but for now, she can't, Irene can sense that she can already give the peace she deserved.

"Hello, I'm getting ready, can you please wait?" The woman said in her monotone voice as she took her husband's leather jacket and shoved it at the passenger seat of her car. "I still have to drive back to Seoul, I'm in Daegu right now, can you wait for me?" She asked for reassurance as she connected her phone to an ear piece and completely forgetting the idea that she needed to wait for her husband to come back from a resto.

"Why are you in Daegu?" Wendy asked as the woman from another line drives swiftly from an alleyway to a highway, skillfully showing her skills from the years of driving a police vehicle who was always in chase. Son rummaged to a file drawer looking for something she needed to say for the older. "Unnie." Son called out as she taken down some coordinates she saw at the autopsied picture of the victim.

"Yes? Wendy, you know what I'm driving, I need to hung up this call." She said as she went passed to a green light when she suddenly heard Jennie's voice from the background. "Are you guys still up in the office?" She asked, Irene knew they were supposedly be out by this time just to be surprised their diligent work to help her to solve this case, they both knew that it mean a lot for her to finish this case and with their help, it would make everything easier.

"Yes and we found a coordinates. It was something being carved to her skin with a knife, at the lower portion of her back near her waist." Wendy answered shortly. The woman's eyes were focused on the road when she asked.

"Can you please elaborate it to me?" Wendy answered with a hum and started.

"34.8860° N, 127.5090° E. We can't really distinguish the correct numbers but Jennie somehow found a better picture with a good resolution and showed that, did you two somehow went to Suncheon Bay before? It was that place where the coordinates pointed out."

"Suncheon Bay..."

"I don't actually remember the last time I asked you to hangout with me in here. Seems like they also change some things, including this bench we used to sit." We used to. It really do hurts when it came from someone you thought would never use that past form of verb while talking to you, she became so inward that Joohyun did not even thought to think about this at once, seemed like she was surprised but wasn't that really. "We wouldn't really understand the value of time nonetheless it already came to an end, now I understand what my father had felt when he lost mom." When I lost you. The excitement of seeing her once again will always remained intact inside her but the sadness of reminiscing those times that both of them decided not to remember was also there to hunt them, they couldn't dodged into it at least for once.

"Do stars really disappear?" The older woman looked up as she watched the stars twinkle in the middle of the night with the person she truly love and was now forbidden to enter back inside her life. "What do you think will happen to them after they die?" Joohyun knew that Seulgi was the star and the attraction of her life and she also knew that this was the night that she needed to say goodbye to her before she completely disappeared and became someone's neutron star.

"They explode and broke down into pieces but they were still there," The younger looked at her without a notice, the woman was busy looking up to the night sky, her head full of numerous questions and ways to ask her to stay and to tell the reason why she can't go back to her. Silly, she wanted her to stay but she can't, was she out of her mind? "You may not be able to see them shining brightly again like they did before but they're still there, build to be a new and better version for others." Seulgi answered as she diverted her gaze back to the sea. "Do you think I could be a better person for someone?"

A silence fell in between the two of them as they fell into the sea breeze hitting their skin like nothing, the night might be cold but Joohyun would rather ignore  the idea of  getting a fever tomorrow morning rather than forgetting every inch of the younger. She knew if their would be anything she might forget in the future, it would be least likely to be her. "Seulgi..."

"I heard you're name now was Irene, it sound's nice, it suited you." She cut off  after she turned around to face her. "I missed Joohyun though." The woman said firmly knowing that that deep inside her that she wouldn't be able to figure out whether it was right or wrong to meet her ex knowing that they were heading to a free life now. 

"Are you happy now?" Irene asked as she s both of her arms to the the woman's waist, she knew it would be wrong to do such a bold move towards someone she knew that is already happy with another but it also felt bad for her not to feel those warm heat she used to have before, she always enjoyed it and it felt nostalgic now.

Maybe because it's been years since the last time she hugged her or was it because it wasn't her place anymore. 

Her hands were automatically found the younger's who surprisingly held it before she could even did it to, Irene wished it would be the sign that she wanted to run her away from him but instead, she broke in and pull her body away from her grasp. The older looked up and asked. "Why?" Seulgi tightly shut her eyes and did not answer the woman who stopped herself to get mad with her weird move, Irene clutched her hand into a fist, she was ready to attack her anytime and to beat the out of her just to remind her that she was the first and hopefully her last. "Seulgi, tell me why, I'm serious."  The woman turned back and started to walk away. 

"Are you just going to leave me like that?" She asked as she followed her, but still she did not receive any replies from the younger. " it! I let you walked out from me and despice me once. I see you fall in love with another and I did not even question that but even with my simple question, why, why can't you answer me? Have you gone mad? you!" Her voice rose, Irene just couldn't contain herself with her jealousy and false alarms she got from the younger but she was also not in the place to question her movements it was just she was letting her brain to function what she truly felt towards her.

"I'm happy, I do am, that's what you wanted to hear right? That's it, I'm happy that you." Seulgi turned around to look at her straight to her soul, Irene felt herself burning to ashes as she looked back towards the younger, she can also sense the anger and hatred from it but the woman never did change, she was still the woman who never dared to raise a voice nor hurt her despite of how destroyed she already was. "I'm happy that you're happy, I'm happy to know that you've already found someone who can show you the future, would that be enough? I'm happy, can't you see?" She faked a smile.

"You don't have to worry about me going home, drunk, alone and in danger," Seulgi turned her back. 

"It was ain't about you anymore."

Followed by the screeching wheels in the highway was a smell of a burning rubber from a car flipped upside down. People were scattered around to see the victim of the tragic accident to come out from the burning car, everyone was talking about the person inside it wishing and gossiping whether to make a move in helping her or not. A faint voice from her earpiece woke her senses up, a drop of a red velvety liquid came into her sight as she saw how her airbags hit her face. 

"Unnie! Are you okay?" As much as the prosecutor would want to answer her question, she couldn't bear to move her body just to see her reflection from the broken glass that her head was bleeding, her side had a metal rod sticking out from it making her to curse under her breath. She's losing an amount of blood. "Please, respond, please..." Wendy said with an evident panic on her voice. 

"How about me? Are you just going to forget about me?" Irene asked as she held her hand to stop her from walking farther. "Don't you love me?" She smirked. 

"Should I be the one to ask you that question."

"Hyun-ah..." The prosecutor's eyes were in the brink to shut close as she felt the growing hurt from her side when she heard her that voice after a long, long time. "Live... don't close your eyes, I'm here... Seulgi's here..."

Irene tried her best not to as she fought her best to try looking for the owner's voice but instead, she heard the series of sirens coming from an ambulance from afar.

Tears flowed down to her cheeks, vomited blood as she failed to see even the slightest shadow of the younger, she was scared to be lonely in this darkness of her life-death situation and now, she only needed to see her face in case she failed to live but everything around her turned to black but her words were still about the younger. Calling her, she confessed.

"Seulgi... I-I still love you..."