16^th of November, 2011 – 11:19pm

“What are you doing here?” Sungmin demanded, looking frustrated and annoyed. I guessed that the investigation wasn’t going well.

I held Jessica’s hand tightly, unwilling to let go. Even when the police officer who had called her had threatened me, I refused and accompanied the girls to the police. “This is my sister.”

Sungmin scowled. “It doesn’t matter, anyway.” He turned his attention to the police officer that had brought us here. “Hyukjae, what were you thinking?”

“She insisted,” Hyukjae said, his face blank.

“She insist–?!” Sungmin visibly calmed himself down and sighed. “Fine, fine, she can stay. But your job is to interview those girls.”

“Yes, sir.”  He started to lead the other girls out of the room, and Park  Gyuri cleared expectantly. Jessica hesitated and glanced at our linked hands. Gently, I squeezed her hand and let go, giving her a reassuring nod.

Jessica bit her lip. “Just hang on a minute,” I promised. She gave me one last look before leaving with the rest of the girls.

Sungmin spun back to the desk and I finally realised where we were – the security room. Rows of equipment lined the desks and walls, and there were several screens, one of which had been paused on a particular room.

I moved closer to the screen, ignoring the glares Sungmin sent my way. I recognised the room in which Sunggyu had been killed but with a start, I realised that there was someone standing at the doorway, about to leave the room. Wearing baggy clothing – a hoodie and sweatpants – I could still see a hint of feminine curves beneath them; the hood was pulled up, but long hair peeked out from underneath it.  Three things hit me at once.

Firstly, Sunggyu was alive at that point.

Secondly, the would-be killer was female.

And lastly, thirdly, most importantly…the killer was blonde.

Sunggyu was alive…perhaps the killer hadn’t actually intended him to die. The only difference between his death and that scene was his throat – unharmed. The time on the screen read 7:58pm – 15 or so minutes before Yuri had found the body and panicked…if Yuri wasn’t the killer.

The killer was female…that crossed about half of my suspects, leaving Tiffany, Yuri and Hyuna. Then again, it also lengthened the list to all the girls Sunggyu had played and wanted revenge.

The killer was blonde…that eliminated all my suspects, leaving only a handful of people at Seoul University attending this dance. Of those handful, I knew several of them were male.  And of those that were left, Hyukjae had collected them all – BoA, Gyuri, Jessica and the rest. All blondes, or at least girls with light-coloured hair.

Altogether, that left a blonde female who intended to hurt Sunggyu. What I didn’t know was whether she was the killer – did she come back? Or did someone else come to finish him off?

“You were wrong.” I turned my head to see Sungmin looking at me, a strange expression on his face. “Although, I have to say she had every reason to kill him.”

“But she confessed,” I said quietly.

“But she was wrong. She was traumatised, and spent more than half her life hating her brother. But tonight, after so many years wishing he would die…he did. She felt that it was her thoughts, her reasoning, that brought his death, and the guilt was too much. Her brain invented a story that would fit the circumstances.”

“How did she know how he died?” I asked.

“You told her, didn’t you?” Sungmin shrugged. “Now, don’t you have a sister to take care of?”

~~~~

“Soomin, you’re not allowed to go in,” Park Gyuri said imperiously once she saw me approaching the interrogation room.

Despite the fact that I was half-expecting this to happen, I still felt outraged. “Why can’t go in?”

“Jessica is your sister – you’re blood-related, and Eunhyuk also said something about being compromised.” Gyuri shrugged nonchalantly.

“Eunhyuk?”

“You know, the police officer,” she said casually. She sounded so blasé about everything I was almost worried. “Hyukjae? I gave him a nickname.” Gyuri sounded very pleased with herself. “Yeah, anyway, apparently you’re allowed to watch everyone else.” She rolled her eyes and I could almost hear her asking why?

“Can you tell me what’s happened so far?” I asked patiently, looking around at the girls assembled – Kwon BoA, Park Gyuri, Lee Chaerin, Kim Dasom, Jeon Hyosung and Choi Gina. Only Jessica was missing, and that was because she was being interviewed.

Gyuri thought carefully. “Well, BoA-seonbae’s already been interviewed. She didn’t look very worried. And so has Gina. And me. I think they’re going oldest to youngest.” She shrugged.

I nodded absently. I felt that I could cross of the three girls – Gyuri, BoA and Gina – since they had no relationships with Sunggyu that I knew of. As seniors, they mostly stuck within their own age groups.

I was certain that Jessica wasn’t the killer – she couldn’t deal with blood very well, let alone kill someone in cold blood. I had been in the hall most of the time, but it would’ve been all too easy for someone to slip out. I hated myself for even entertaining the idea of my sister being the killer, but it had to be done.

Jeon Hyosung and Lee Chaerin were also around my age, but I didn’t know how they related to Sunggyu; the same went for juniors Kim Dasom, Nana (Im JinAh) and Luna. I knew most of them, and they knew me, but the one I knew the best out of those 8 was Luna, who was Krystal’s friend.

 With a click, the door opened and Jessica came out. She seemed worried and very much confused, but not shaken or frightened like I expected her to be. “Soomin?” she called.

I smiled, forgetting our previous argument. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Jessica answered, shrugging. “Jeon Hyosung? The police want to see you now.”

Hyosung bit her lip anxiously but obeyed, walking inside the room. I gave a meaningful look to Jessica before slipping in after Hyosung.

She seated herself opposite Hyukjae, or Eunhyuk, as Gyuri affectionately called him. The platinum-blonde police officer looked stern, almost angry at the girl. Without looking at me, Hyukjae said, “Jung Soomin, perhaps you would like to sit down.”

The silence in the room was deafening, and I winced at every creak and scrape of the chair as I set one down on an unoccupied side of the table. Hyukjae cleared his throat and opened a folder, identical to the one Sungmin had when interviewing me, and began the interview.

I stayed silent throughout the rest of the interviews, admiring Hyukjae’s technique. He remained calm and patient at all times, even though it sometimes seemed to bother the girls. The way he coaxed the information from them was subtle and sneaky – they barely seemed to mind.

“Thank you for your time, Miss Park.” Hyukjae nodded and closed the folder containing Luna’s information. Lucky for me, the police officer had given me a notebook – my notebook – and I was free to jot down notes for the other 5 interviews.

I tried to be sneaky and look at Hyukjae’s notes on BoA, Gyuri, Gina and Jessica, but I figured my calling in life wasn’t to be a ninja, but rather, a blunt and straightforward girl.

“Can I see the notes on the others?”

The police officer turned his head towards me and shrugged indifferently before leaving the room. As the door clicked shut, I scrambled into his seat and glanced at the notes. I wondered briefly if he actually needed to take notes, seeing as he was so good at his job – the notes were precise and neat, as if he’d been expecting me to read them.

NAME: Kwon BoA (25)
RELATIONSHIP: None
MOTIVE: None

NAME: Choi Gina (24)
RELATIONSHIP: Flirted with Sunggyu; no real relationship
MOTIVE: None

NAME: Park Gyuri (24)
RELATIONSHIP: Flirted/slept with Sunggyu; no real relationship
MOTIVE: None

NAME: Jung Jessica (23)
RELATIONSHIP: None
MOTIVE: None

NAME: Jeon Hyosung (23)
RELATIONSHIP: Slept with Sunggyu once; ‘played’ by him (victim)
MOTIVE: Wants revenge?

NAME: Lee Chaerin/CL (23)
RELATIONSHIP: None
MOTIVE: Get revenge for hurting maknae

NAME: Im JinAh/Nana (22)
RELATIONSHIP: Slept with Sunggyu once; ‘played’ by him (victim)
MOTIVE: Wants revenge?

NAME: Kim Dasom (22)
RELATIONSHIP: Slept with Sunggyu once; ‘played’ by him (victim)
MOTIVE: Wants revenge?

NAME: Park Sunyoung/Luna (22)
RELATIONSHIP: None
MOTIVE: None

I assumed that most – probably all – had alibis. It seemed that way for BoA, CL (Lee Chaerin) and Jessica, who had pretty solid alibis, with no relationship or motive (unless you counted Jessica being in SNSD with Yuri and Tiffany). Gina and Gyuri also had excuses, no motives and relationships with Sunggyu – flirting, occasional one-night stands but supposedly no meaning.

The next three – Nana, Hyosung and Dasom – were likely suspects, having been played by Sunggyu this year. They all harboured a mild resentment towards, though I wasn’t sure if it was enough for torture and maybe murder. And the only thing connecting Luna and Sunggyu was my sister Krystal, who had been crushing on him since her high school days.

Judging from what I’d seen, Hyosung, Luna and Nana seemed the most suspicious – Nana insisted she was with her friends, but she had all the signs of a liar – blinking, fidgeting, looking away – whereas Hyosung told Hyukjae she was dancing in the hall, before refusing to say any more about it; Luna seemed nervous throughout the entire interview, looking unusually sober even though she had no relationship or motive towards Sunggyu.

They say it’s always the quiet ones.

SUSPECTS –

     Kwon Yuri

     Lee Howon (Hoya)

     Hwang Miyoung (Tiffany)

     Ahn Daniel (Niel)

Kim Hyuna

Kwon BoA

Choi Gina

Park Gyuri

Jung Jessica

Jeon Hyosung

Lee Charin (CL)

Im Jinah (Nana)

Kim Dasom

Park Sunyoung (Luna)

~~~~

It’s all too easy for someone to slip out.

~~~~

NAME: Im JinAh (Nana)
DOB: 1/9/1989 (22)
: Female
GROUP: After School
RELATIONSHIP: ‘Victim’; played by Sunggyu
MOTIVE: Wants revenge?
OTHER: Alibi false; friends confirmed she was with another male (anonymous)

NAME: Jeon Hyosung
DOB: 13/10/1988 (23)
: Female
GROUP: Secret
RELATIONSHIP: ‘Victim’; played by Sunggyu
MOTIVE: Wants revenge?
OTHER: Alibi confirmed; friends confirmed (bad liar)

NAME: Park Sunyoung (Luna)
DOB: 12/8/1989 (22)
: Female
GROUP: f(x)
RELATIONSHIP: None
MOTIVE: None

The two groups – Secret and After School – had told us everything they knew about Hyosung and Nana, but everything they said only reinforced my growing suspicion that Nana and Hyosung weren’t the killers. Secret had confirmed Hyosung’s alibi, excusing her shakiness as nerves, while After School admitted that Nana was meeting up with an anonymous male.

I had expected Hyukjae to interrogate After School and Secret but instead, he had passed the responsibility to the youngest of the team, fresh-out-of-university-genius Cho Kyuhyun.

Despite his high intelligence, Kyuhyun was inexperienced – that was plain to see as the interviews dragged on. With each passing minute, he grew more nervous and stressed, fumbling with his words. It didn’t leave a good impression on any of us.

He’d taken a few minutes of break after each interview, taking the time to relax, but as soon as the girls stepped inside the room, his stress levels rocketed. It seems he would’ve had a nervous breakdown within the first minute or so, had it not been for my gentle prodding every now and then.

I could almost imagine him giving a pep-talk to himself, mentally preparing himself for the next group of girls. I suspected that he was nervous not just because he was new, but because the interviewees were girls – no doubt his university days had been occupied by studying and exams, rather than the love drama that surrounded some at Seoul University.

I wasn’t sure whether it was because he was new, or because he knew I could help, but he hadn’t said anything about me leaving, even though Krystal was my sister. I glanced briefly at the notes and recognised the names there – I was quite familiar with f(x), considering Krystal was one of them.

Chinese Victoria Song was the leader and dancer; Luna and Krystal were the singers. Choi Sulli was academic and tomboyish Amber Liu was both academic and artistic, specialising in rap and dance.

I schooled my face into a blank expression at the four girls – Luna was waiting outside – filed inside the room – as expected, Kyuhyun panicked. He cleared his throat nervously and shuffled the papers, though I could see his hands trembling. Briefly, I wondered how he would react to Jessica and her lovely friends, or even Gyuri and hers.

“Please, sit down.” The girls obeyed, and I noticed their faces were just as solemn as Luna’s had been. “C-Could you please tell us everything about Miss Park?”

I noticed Sulli and Krystal exchanged smirks and sighed mentally – like dogs, those girls could smell fear, and Kyuhyun reeked.

With the beginnings of a wicked smile on her face, Victoria answered for them all. Define everything.”

Kyuhyun swallowed nervously.

~~~~

 “I said, shut up!” the police officer bellowed, panting with exertion. “Do you not listen?! We are all adults, so you five should like one!”

Sulli blinked innocently, “Sir, I don’t know about you, but–”

With a snarl of frustration, Kyuhyun stormed out and slammed the door behind him.

I stared wordlessly at the four girls as I absorbed the last few seconds. “Sulli…”

She shrugged innocently. “I was just going to say that he wasn’t acting very mature either.” Her nonchalance was starting to annoy me, so I shot a nasty glare at her and turned to my sister.

“Krystal, what the hell was that?” I demanded. “Kyuhyun was right, this is a police investigation, and someone has died tonight, and it would be nice if you would actually take it seriously!”

“I was just defending you! He was yelling at you!” Krystal defended herself immediately, while Sulli’s innocent look faded into wariness. “Just take it easy!”

“You know I can’t do that!” I fired back, crossing my arms angrily. “Sometimes you have to let things go, Krystal, and now would be one of those times. Things are very, very wrong tonight, okay? So just – just don’t!”

Krystal swallowed, tears in her eyes, and nodded. “Yes, unnie.” I scowled darkly at her and refused to say anything more to her.

I exhaled sharply. “Look, you guys just–”

“You don’t have to be so rude,” Sulli piped up, glaring back at me. “Your sister was just helping you.”

“I know that,” I snapped. “Can you just–”

“Even if you are angry, that’s no way to treat your little sister,” Sulli continued. “Do you think she’s  stupid? Do you think we’re stupid? We know someone died, it wasn’t Luna or us, and it’s not our fault that your precious Kyuhyun was too inexperienced to handle us, okay?”

“That’s enough, Choi Jinri,” Victoria admonished, looking deadly serious. “It’s not your place to tell your seonbae what to do.” She turned to me. “Even so, Sulli was right – you need to respect your little sister a bit more. I don’t know if you’re ignorant or just stupid, but Krystal’s been through a lot.”

I seethed quietly, eyeing the four of them suspiciously. It was interesting the way they jumped straight to Krystal’s defence. While Victoria and Sulli were more outspoken, Amber had simply shown her support by standing up behind Krystal, looking less than happy with everything. I had a nagging suspicion that they would defend Luna just as well, even though everything they’d tried to explain about the blonde-haired girl had confirmed that Luna had no relationship or motive for Sunggyu.  

With the three of them on Krystal’s side, I knew I couldn’t win this round. “As I was saying, could you please just wait outside with Luna?” I said stiffly. “I can’t interview you because of Krystal, so I’ll see  if I can get another police officer. Okay?”

“Let’s go,” Krystal whispered, standing up. She led the way out, followed by Amber and Victoria. Sulli departed with another dirty look, but she paused at the door.

“Victoria really meant it when she said your sister’s been through a lot,” Sulli said, quiet and vicious. “Sometimes I wonder what kind of sister you are – you’re never there for her, you know.” She slipped out of the room, banging the door shut.

I sat in silence, hurt by Sulli’s words. I had always been closer to Jessica – why wouldn’t I be? I mostly ended up looking down on my little sister, just because she was so different to me. But in time, I realised even Jessica didn’t truly understand who I was, and the attention they received made me feel alienated.

Even though I wasn’t what most people would call close to Krystal, she was still my sister and I still loved her, despite our differences. Then again, our relationship had changed so much since high school, where she’d first developed her crush on Sunggyu, before…

She wouldn’t.

A torrent of disbelief and shock had me gasping for air. I bowed my head, clenching my teeth and breathing as deeply as I could as I remembered.

Valentine’s Day, 2006.