Chapter 7: Replay (Part 2)

          “Cold heart, baby! Cold eyes, baby! Let’s go! Met her, fell for her; I have fallen for her; at first sight, y…”

          Jonghyun immediately pulled out his ringing phone from his pocket at the sound of a call. After swiping the screen, he answered, “Hey Onew Hyung, what’s up?”

          “Um, this Seohyun girl that Key asked you about, well, we read in a news article that she got into an accident a week ago. It wasn’t all too pretty either,” Onew spoke in his usual slow word pacing.

          “Yeah, I just found out she died from a comma a few hours ago, about some time past 11: 30 pm,” Jonghyun replied as he paced the streets wondering what to do next.

          “But, dude, get this: she got into an accident at the exact same date as the time when Soo-Young and Yuri moved into the apartment and started seeing ghosts. Do you think that has something to do with anything?” Onew asked through the line. “It might just be a coincidence though. Maybe I should call Key again and ask him why he wants info on Seohyun.”

          “Yup, you totally should call him again. He might have gotten an idea or something. I don’t know what Seohyun’s case has to do with the food-stealing case, but I’m going to look into it anyway. By the way, you didn’t happen to read which hospital she was taken to in that article, did you?”

          When Jonghyun hung up the phone, he got the address of the hospital and headed there right away.

***

          “Ring ding dong ring ding dong ring diggiding diggiding ding ding! Ring ding dong ring ding dong ring…”

          Taemin woke up from taking a nap on the apartment 1124 kitchen table at the sound of Key’s obnoxiously repetitive ring tone. After wiping his drool from his chin, he slapped Key’s head beside him, but Key did not wake up at all. Finally, he just grabbed the ringing phone and answered the call.

          “Hello?” Taemin said as he rubbed his tired blood-shot eyes with his fingers.

          “Taemin!” greeted Onew from the other end of the line. “Can I speak with Key?”

          “He’s really too tired. I’m kicking him right now but he’s not responding,” Taemin said with one last blow on Key’s sleeping head.

          “Anyway, do you know why he asked us to look into this girl named Seo Joohyun?”

          “He just thinks that she’s strange. As you probably have seen in the cameras, she’s the girl who came to the apartment at 11:45—”

          “Wait, what?!” Onew exclaimed, interrupting Taemin’s explanation. “Look, there was no girl caught on camera! All we saw in the cameras were you all talking to air!”

          “W-wh-what do you mean, th-that she’s the ghost?” Taemin stuttered in fear. He shook hands with Seohyun and had a conversation with her about a few things a few hours ago. How can this girl be a ghost? She looked more like an angel!

          “Well, that is the only explanation,” Onew tried to think clearly. “Minho and I found an article dated about a week ago that Seo Joohyun got into an accident and was sent to the hospital. The driver of the delivery vehicle was convicted with drunk driving and had to pay compensation. She was in a comma for a week—beginning since the exact day that Soo-Young and Yuri moved into the apartment. Then, Jonghyun told me that she died sometime past 11:30 this night! Don’t you think it makes sense that she is the ghost?”

          “B-b-b-but why would she steal Soo-Young’s food?” Taemin nervously asked, knowing that the ghost was right here in the same apartment as he was.

          As Taemin was trembling during the phone call, he caught the sight of a figure of a woman moving in the shadows of the living room. He had seen so many horror movies before, but this time, he realized that this ghost case was very real. Just like Eunji, he just fainted at the thought of having interacted with a ghost.

***

          “Whoa, she’s actually really pretty,” Jonghyun said to himself as he stared at the angelic face of Seo Joohyun’s dead body lying at the hospital bed. “It’s a cruel world we live in. Drunk drivers and all that crap…I just wonder what you have that ties to our main case with Soo-Young.”

          “Uh, um, excuse me,” a faint voice of a girl called to Jonghyun as he stood there thinking. “What case are you talking about exactly?”

          Jonghyun turned around and found the girl who was crying at Hyoyeon’s house. It seems she had followed him there when he left.

          “Oh, Miss…?”

          “Please call me Yoona,” she said.

          “Miss Yoona,” he said as he tried to formulate the right words. The whole food-stealing ghost thing still rings ridiculous to his ears and he’s pretty sure that she will find it ridiculous too. “Can I ask the questions instead? I mean, I am the detective here.”

          Yoona nodded. She looked very distressed and tears were still stained on her face. She seemed to be really close to this Seohyun girl.

          “What exactly happened at the day of her accident? Tell me what you were doing, where you were, and what you think Seohyun was doing when it happened. I want to hear it from someone personally involved, not just from vague news reports.”

          “It all happened about a week ago,” Yoona began to explain as she stared at Seohyun’s lifeless body. “I assume you already know Soo-Young Eonni?”

          “Yes, I do.”

          “Well, earlier that day, Soo-Young eonni visited us to tell us that they were moving to their new apartment later that night…”

***

About a week ago

          “It’s great that you’re finally moving into that apartment that Sica recommended,” Hyoyeon said as she walked with Soo-Young, Yuri, and Seohyun to the black sedan car.

          “It’s a great place!” Seohyun interjected. “Taeyeon Eonni, Tiffany Eonni, and I came to check out the place when they were looking for a two-bedroom home. It was very spacious and had an amazing view.”

          “Hey guys, are you getting in the car or not?” Yoona impatiently asked as she rolled down her driver’s seat window.

          “I’m getting in!” Soo-Young exclaimed as she opened the car door.

          After everyone got into the car, Soo-Young finally asked the inevitable question. “So, where are we having lunch?”

          “Where do you want to eat, Soo-Young Eonni?” Yoona asked as she released the breaks and gently stepped on the gas pedal.

          “How about some fast food? They serve burgers pretty quickly at McDonalds. I don’t think I can wait any longer. My stomach is growling,” Soo-Young replied.

          “Yuck, no way,” Seohyun whined beside Soo-Young in the car. “Fast food is very unhealthy. Eating burgers will kill you.”

          “Gosh, kid, don’t be so fussy. It’s just a burger,” Yuri snarled.

          “Yeah, I am pretty hungry too,” Yoona agreed with Soo-young. Next to Soo-Young, she was the most voracious eater in the group. “I don’t think I can wait either. But if you don’t want to eat there, Seohyun, then we’ll just look for something else to eat.”

          “No way, Yoona. Don’t listen to her. Burgers are actually pretty good. Besides, it won’t kill you to just have one burger in your lifetime. Come on, let’s just eat there,” Soo-Young insisted.

          “Seohyun, you always manipulate us and make us feel bad with your excessive fuss over health and straight-way of life. We’re getting revenge on you by forcing you to eat a burger!” Hyoyeon laughed. “I’m just kidding, Seobaby.”

          “I just don’t want you eonnis to be unhealthy and die. Health is very important, you know,” Seohyun mumbled in her own little corner.

          “Don’t worry. It’s just a burger. No one’s going to die,” Soo-Young said as she patted Seohyun’s head.

          Feeling defeated, Seohyun just went along with her persistent eonnis. She was the youngest after all. Besides, she doesn’t want to fight them. However, she still does not approve of this certain food choice.

          Everyone munched on their burgers while Seohyun just ordered a simple Caesar salad. Yoona, who was directly across Seohyun, opened wide open and bit onto the huge burger that she ordered. Seohyun was totally disgusted.

          “Hey, you’re totally not escaping this,” Soo-Young said as she unwrapped her hamburger. It was oozing with fatty cheese. “Come on, Seohyun, just try one. Here, have a bite on my burger.”

          “No, thank you, Eonni. I do not want to die,” she refused.

          “Just try it, Seohyun! You won’t die. It’s about time you try stuff that you hate,” Yuri chuckled. Hyoyeon started laughing with her, and Yoona began choking with her full mouth from laughter.

          Finally, Seohyun bit into the huge cheese burger. She hesitantly chewed and eventually swallowed, trying to hide the obvious expression of displeasure on her face.

          “Well, how was it? You didn’t die, right?” Soo-Young joked. Everyone else continued laughing. Bullying their youngest was just amusing. Seohyun just scowled in her little corner as she sipped some water to wash away the taste.

          After eating and joking around with their “maknae,” Soo-Young and Yuri left to catch their train back to the city. Hyoyeon, Yoona, and Seohyun headed back to the parking lot to find their car. When they opened the black sedan’s doors, Seohyun suddenly stopped.

          “I think I forgot my purse on our table at McDonalds!” Seohyun exclaimed.

          “Gosh, you’re always fussing about health and the ‘right way of living,’ but you’re clumsy and forgetful sometimes,” Hyoyeon shook her head. Yoona just giggled.

          “I’ll just go back to get it,” said Seohyun.

          “Yup, just go and we’ll wait for you.”

          As Seohyun was walking back to the entrance of McDonalds, a delivery motorcycle went speeding right at her direction. The rider was speedy, yet unstable. In a flash, Seohyun screamed at the top of her lungs. Yoona, who had just fastened her seat belt in the driver’s seat of their black sedan, saw it happen through the mirrors…

***

          “…sh-she…w-was hit…,” Yoona cried as she was retelling the story to the inquiring detective. “We were joking around about ‘death by burger’ and now, she is actually dead!”

          Jonghyun silently thought for a while, trying to analyze this new information. Suddenly, his phone started ringing. It was Team Leader Onew.

          “Hey, did you find out anything new?” Onew immediately asked when Jonghyun answered the call.

          “Well, it’s kind of a long story,” Jonghyun replied. “I don’t even know where to begin.”

          “You should know, I talked with Taemin earlier, until he just stopped talking mid-sentence for some reason; anyway, the ‘invisible guest’ they were talking to was the ghost. Taemin confirmed it, and even Eunji’s strange reaction to the video sort of confirmed it. She appeared at exactly 11:45 pm. We even rewound the footage and it definitely matches the time. I believe that it’s this Seohyun girl.”

          “Wait, that’s the exact time that Seohyun died!” Jonghyun exclaimed as he talked on the phone. Yoona was listening to him.

          “Creepy huh?” Onew sheepishly chuckled. “I don’t know if this is seriously happening right now or I’m just dreaming in my sleep. I’m honestly very tired. Do you have any idea on why she would be haunting Soo-Young like this?”

          “Well, from the recent alibi that I have heard, I think I do. I need to hang up. It’s almost morning. I need to call Key and tell him everything first!”

***

          Detective Key, who was sleeping like a rock with his head face down on the kitchen table heard the incessant noise ringing by his ears. “Ring ding dong ring ding dong ring diggiding diggiding ding ding! Ring ding dong ring ding dong ring diggiding diggiding…”

          “Ugh, this stupid ring tone…,” he grumbled, finally managing to lift his head up. After what seemed like the biggest struggle to open his heavy eyelids, he saw Taemin also sleeping face down on the table with his arms sprawled over the case files that they were reviewing.

Looking over the call log of his phone, he noticed that Jonghyun had been calling him over and over so many times. The flood of missed calls was just too much. Suddenly, his phone started ringing again. It was Jonghyun.

“What is it?” Key asked groggily after swiping the screen of his phone.

“This is crazy,” Jonghyun started. His voice seemed to be worried and in a state of panic. “This case—I already figured it out!”

“Wait, what?” Key was so startled by Jonghyun’s statement over the phone that he immediately shot up as if he just sipped the bitterest espresso on earth. “What do you mean you already figured it out?”

          “Well, I think I figured it out,” Jonghyun began, his voice rising with every second. "It's Seohyun."

          “Yes, yes, what about her?” Key raised his voice too.

          “She is the ghost!” Jonghyun exclaimed.

          “What?!” Key almost screamed. “Why? What do you mean?”

          “She’s dead, man! And her death is indirectly related to Soo-Young!” Jonghyun started. Then he proceeded to tell Key the story about eating the burger and eventually getting hit by a motorcycle. “You see, she didn’t want to eat the burger because she strongly believed that eating a burger will cause death. But Soo-Young forced her and now she’s dead! Talk about insane jinx!”

          “But why did she suddenly appear out of nowhere? She never appeared to us in the first few days of investigation, but now she appears like a human being. Eunji and Taemin even shook her hand!”

          “I don’t know.”

          “She used to be just a silhouette that appears only to Soo-Young Noona at night, but now she’s human! I don’t understand this at all!!!!” Key was basically freaking out right now.

          “Look, Key, I have no idea how ghosts work. However, I do think that Soo-Young is in great trouble. This ghost, she might be there to take revenge! Be careful!”

          From the way Key had been yelling over the phone, Soo-Young woke up from her sleep on the living room couch. Then she suddenly felt a strange knot in her stomach. Her insides growled, making her feel really sick and nauseous. Last night, Seohyun told her not to eat the left-over burger from the refrigerator, but she didn’t listen to her. Now she just feels terrible.

“Ugh, what the heck did I eat?” Soo-Young grumbled.

“I told you not to eat the burger; you might die,” Seohyun said with worried voice that echoed across the room. Oddly, a while ago, she wasn’t even there in the living room when Soo-Young woke up, but now she was standing before her, wearing a long white dress with her hair hanging loosely over her shoulders.

“W-what?”

Soo-Young tried not to throw up. She’s already feeling so queasy. She quickly ran to the bathroom and vomited a hefty of the burger she ate last night.

“Ugh, I don’t feel so good…”

After hearing Jonghyun’s explanation over the phone, Key’s complexion turned pale and he dropped his hand phone down on the cold tile floor. He felt all the hair in his body stand up in fear. He immediately ran to Soo-Young in a hurry, only to find that their client had already collapsed unconsciously on the bathroom floor. Then he kicked Taemin awake and burst through Yuri’s door and yelled, “Soo-Young Noona is unconscious!”

Then Taemin immediately called the ambulance.

Meanwhile Yuri groggily got up to check what happened to Soo-Young, but she was distracted by a phone call from the living room landline.

          “Hello?” Yuri answered.

          “Yuri, it’s me, Yoona,” the voice on the other line replied. Judging by the constant sniffing, Yoona seemed to be crying.

          “What’s wrong?” Yuri became worried.

          “Seohyun…she’s dead.”

Author's Note:

This story is almost done. Probably a couple more chapters. I might make a new/better Sherlock Team concept later on. Or not. It depends on my mood lol :D