Chapter 1
Two Faced23rd April, 2014
The sun was spreading its rays and the city of Seoul was slowly waking up, if not already. But further, into the city, in the rich district of Gangnam, the birds had stopped twittering. There was a menacing silence. The rays of the sun cast an almost bloody sheen on the tall, expensive looking buildings.
“Gunshots reported on the west side of Gangnam, Red Coral Villa. Which unit is going to investigate the site? Over.” The walkie-talkie crackled. Bloody and shaky hands reached for the walkie-talkie. The walkie-talkie was flung out the balcony and its crash as it broke into pieces resounded in the suspiciously quiet neighborhood.
A dog barked in the distance.
Then the silence continued, the only sound was erratic breathing and muffled whimpers. It was like the silence was to be respected, by the whole world.
Breaking the sacred silence came the buzz of a phone. The same bloody and shaky hands picked the phone up. The phone was pressed against an ear smeared with blood.
“Yes sir?” asked a trembling, low voice.
“Are you crazy you stupid kid? Gunshots at your place! Where on earth are you?” cried the voice from the phone. In the background were sirens and people yelling.
“I’m at Red Coral Villa,” the trembling voice replied, dully.
“Really? What happened? Did you catch the culprit? Is Mrs. Park safe?”
“Said victim Mrs. Oh is sitting on her bed in a state of shock. Said culprit killed herself.” The trembling voice cracked in the end.
“Well, it couldn’t be helped.”
“Send a unit over here before I wring the old woman’s throat myself,” the trembling voice suddenly had a venomous tinge to it.
“What? Are you crazy? Give us a moment, we’ll send someone over!”
The hand slipped down to the ground and the phone hit the floor.
“Mr. Lee I would like to-”
“Shut up! Keep quiet!” the trembling voice snapped, a sense of heart breaking loss in his voice.
There was an audible gasp.
There was silence again before it was broken again by agitated sobs of anguish that brought out heart wrenching emotion from the listener. There was a yell of sorrow, helpless frustration and pent-up horror.
Outside the house, outside Gangnam, life continued on as usual for the citizens of Seoul, not a beat missed in the daily routine of the average human being. No one was affected by the terrifyingly heart breaking drama happening early in the morning in Gangnam. They probably never would know how much was lost for a certain person, how much life was stolen away in a single second. No one knew.
14th January, 2012
A snowflake touched warm skin and a pair of eyelids bordered by pretty, black eyelashes fluttered open. Onew realized he had fallen asleep on a bench in the middle of busy Myeong-Dong. The air around him was filled with lingering body heat from the several, overly clothed people that nearly trampled through the busy streets. But Onew realized the streets were suddenly empty and it was much darker than it was when he had dozed off. He realized the snow now falling was the cause of the empty and lonely pavements. He checked his pocket to make sure that the present he had bought for his little brother was still there. He checked his watch. He was ten minutes late for the dinner at ‘Myeongdong Gyeoja’!
He shot to his feet and ran, trying to shield his face from the steadily rising, biting cold wind. He arrived at the restaurant. He pushed open the door and was hit by warm, comforting air. There was a low conversational buzz and the clink of chopsticks and other silverware. Onew brushed the snow out of his hair before scanning the place. His eyes landed on a corner table where three other people sat. A smile spread across his face and he walked over to them.
“You finally made it,” Amber .
Onew made a face at her and leaned over to ruffle his little brother’s newly dyed red hair. His brother pouted up at him, seeming disgruntled at the affectionate gesture.
“Here, I got a gift for you. Congratulations!” said Onew handing the wrapped up gift to his brother. “Open it up later, alright?”
His brother nodded, grinning at him.
Onew sat down.
“Why haven’t we ordered yet?” asked Onew.
“We were waiting for you, silly. You took such a long time!” Victoria waved her spoon at him. Onew ducked. Knowing Victoria and her antics, he could never be sure when the spoon could come flying at him. When he was sure she wasn’t going to fling it at him, he straightened up.
“Four kalgaksu and mandu here please!” Onew called to the owner, raising his hand.
“I was trying to call you but you didn’t answer your phone.” Amber took out her phone and showed the call history on it. Onew’s eyes widened at the amount of calls.
“Sorry, I fell asleep on a bench. I was on call for two days and nights straight. It was tough. I sat on a bench for a bit and fell asleep.” Onew explained while running fingers through his hair.
“Did you get the guy who was stalking?” Amber sipped her water while peering at Onew.
“Yeah, but he put up a lot of resistance,” Onew answered while reaching over to eat some pickled radish that had already been served. “But Taemin, where are your friends?” Onew asked.
“They all are pretty busy. They couldn’t make it,” Taemin explained.
Victoria and Amber had been with Onew and Taemin since they were kids. They knew each other so well that half the time all of them were considered as siblings, even though none of them looked alike even Taemin and Onew. And they were real siblings!
After eating, Onew paid. Amber ran off with Victoria to go and meet a friend and Taemin got an urgent call from one of his friends to go to the hospital. Onew stood there, waiting to hail a taxi, since there was no way he was going to try and walk in this storm. The snow was falling heavily and there was a wind that was picking up.
Just then someone ran under the shelter he was standing under. He turned and saw a girl maybe just a couple years younger than him, with blond hair. She was brushing the snow off her jacket. Being the courteous detective that he was, he turned to her.
“Should I try and hail a taxi for you?” he asked.
She looked at him.
“Yes please,” she smiled pleasantly. “I have to go to the police station,” she said.
Onew blinked in surprise.
“Someone stole my purse. I had a lot of things in there, including some important documents.” The girl pouted.
“I have to go to the police station too!” he said. “Detective Lee at your service ma’am.” Onew held out his ID for her to see it.
“Oh! What do you know?” She smiled brightly. “We can go together,” she said.
He nodded.
They finally managed to hail a taxi and then headed off to the police station. Onew led her in and went and sat in his seat, motioning for her to sit in the one opposite from his. She took the seat and then Onew told one of his subordinates to get them coffee. The male grumbled but disappeared to get the beverage nonetheless.
“So could you tell me where you lost the bag and maybe what brand and style it was?” Onew opened his notebook. “Miss….” Onew trailed off, he still did not know her name.
“Luna,” she said hurriedly. “Park Luna.”
“Right, Miss Park. Please tell me about your bag,” said Onew.
“Uh, I was in Myeong-Dong and then I sat down for just a bit. I fell asleep and when I woke up my bag was gone,” she said with a frown. Onew almost choked. So the reason he didn’t get robbed was because the thief had been busy robbing this poor young lady! “It was a CeLine handbag. It was a large shoulder bag. It’s flap was dark brown like the kind you see on penny colored horses but a little lighter than that and the rest of it was black. My Driver’s License and papers are still in there,” said Luna without hesitation.
“Could you inform me where it was that you fell asleep?” Onew asked.
“Right across from ‘Basic House’ there is a bench. Right there,” said Luna.
“Around what time was it?” Onew questioned her, looking up briefly from his notebook.
Luna seemed to count on her fingers slowly.
“7:50,” she said.
“Alright, thank you. I will check for your bag.” Onew chewed on his bottom lip. “How do I contact you if I find the bag?” he asked her.
“Oh I work in ‘Namu Guneul’ in Myeong-Dong and uh, here’s my address and phone number,” said Luna.
“Thank you Luna. I will get back to you. Kris, get her a taxi!” he called loudly to his assistant who had gotten them coffee earlier.
29th August, 1999
The thunder crackled loudly and the young boy was startled from his sleep by two pairs of hands that clutched his blanket with sudden ferocity. He looked up and two pairs of wide eyes peered at him. The two almost identical looking girls looked frightened out of their wits. They were younger than him and he knew with their father gone it was just even scarier.
“Come on,” he said. He pulled his blanket up for his two younger sisters to snuggle under with him. They quickly ducked under his blankets, tangling their limbs around him like koala bears. He knew the insecurity. They were scared. Suddenly he wondered if they had locked the door after themselves. He always made sure they locked the doors of whatever room they were in. They had the key to his room, very well hidden and he had the key to their room. “Did you kids lock the door?”
The youngest looked up at him with wide scared eyes.
“Let go of me. I’ll go lock it.”
They let go of him and then he ran to the door, locking it firmly. Then he pulled a table in front of it. He returned to the six year old girls. He slipped under the blankets, hugged them and fell asleep, trying not to brush the bruise on his cheek against the pillow.
He woke up feeling uneasy. It was still storming. According to the glow in the dark clock he had fallen asleep for maybe fifteen minutes. His skin crawled. He felt like he was being watched. He slowly sat up. His little sisters still clung to him. He looked around the dark room, lit up only by the light from the windows.
His eyes widened as he saw the person standing in the doorway. A tall, cold looking woman in her night gown was glaring at him. Her lips were blood red and her eyeliner looked terrifying. His blood went cold.
“Wake up!” he screamed. His sisters started. They shrieked as they saw a man dressed in black advance with a knife from behind the woman. “Window!” he shouted pushing the eldest of the two girls towards it. She grabbed the younger’s arm and dragged her, holding a baseball bat to smash it open. The young boy grabbed a hockey stick and blocked the way of the man from his younger sisters.
He swung the hockey stick at the man with all of his might. The man easily side stepped it and yanked the hockey stick out of the boy’s arms. He could hear himself and his sisters screaming. He gasped as the knife was into his stomach. He fell to the ground as it was pulled out. His sisters were screaming and crying. The man advanced towards his sisters. He grabbed the man’s ankle, holding on with all the strength he had left. There was a crash of glass breaking as his vision began to swim and he coughed out blood. He was kicked in the face and he collapsed, letting go of the man’s leg.
“No!” he sobbed. He desperately tried to reach for the leg again, to let his sisters get enough time to get away. Just a little bit of time. He grabbed the ankle again, only to be kicked in the stomach this time. Shrieking in pain, he let go, his vision flickering red and black.
His arm was grabbed and he was pulled up. He felt a warm breath on his ear.
“They won’t get away you fool.” The woman’s voice hissed in his ear. He coughed out more blood. His vision flickered black and white and the screams slowly became faint echoes in his ears. His head hit the ground. There was a streak of white lightning and a deafening thunder clap that drowned out the screams and went unheard to his ears.
Darkness.
16th January, 2012
Onew shifted through the bag. He avoided everything and went just in search of the thing he was looking for. He pulled out the small card which he recognized as a driver’s license. He looked at the picture on it and recognized the blond girl on it. The driver’s license said, ‘Luna Park’. He looked up at the man who sat in the seat across from him, handcuffed.
“John Lee, you will pay a fine of 200,000 won and you will be spending two weeks in our friendly jail. What do you think about that? That should give you plenty of time to reflect.” Onew cheerfully smiled at the disgraced man.
“Don’t you think you’re going a little tough on a guy who just stole a purse?” Amber asked leaning over to his side of the table as he put his documents and reports into his drawers.
“This purse is branded, and it contains important documents,” Onew clarified. “Plus, it will stop him from stealing.”
“Uh huh….” Amber acknowledged with a slow nod, which clearly meant she wasn’t buying a word he was saying to her. “The harsh punishment is also because the purse belonged to the pretty young lady Detective Lee brought into the station in his own taxi,” Amber loudly whispered.
Onew rolled his eyes. Kris had told Amber about this case because Onew was working so hard on it. Amber was now after him day and night without rest, wanting to know who the ‘pretty-young-blond-haired-lady’ was.
Even Taemin wanted to know since Amber had told him about it.
“I’m going to go and return the purse,” Onew informed Amber.
“I’ll come too!” She shot up from her seat, her large smile almost blinding him with its cheerful intensity that made him want to be sick because he knew that smile meant no good.
“No Amber,” he said pointedly. “You will stay here and take care of the team.” Onew pushed her back onto her seat by her shoulders. Amber pouted up at him. She opened to say something but Onew was already dashing out of the station to run away from her.
He got to ‘Namu Guneul’, after parking his car and crunching through fresh laden snow that had yet to be cleared and entered it. He looked around and walked up to the counter where a black haired girl stood. He smiled and gently knocked on the counter since she seemed absorbed in something else entirely. She looked up at him with wide eyes and a welcoming smile instantly spread across her face.
“Welcome to Namu Guneul’!” she enthusiastically greeted him.
“I’m searching for a Park Luna. Does she work this shift?” he asked.
“I’m Park Luna,” the girl’s grin widened. Onew almost fell over. Her hair was black now?
“Oh! Hello!” he bowed a ninety degree bow and she quickly bowed back. “I uh, found your purse. Hopefully nothing is missing from it,” he put the purse on the counter.
“Thank you!” she said.
“Um, OK….I’m glad to be of service. I’ll be going now.” He turned to leave the café.
“Detective Lee!” she called.
“Yes?” he asked spinning around.
“Would you like some coffee?” she asked.
“Sure!” he said with a large smile.
“Sulli! Take over for me for a bit! I’m treating someone!”
“Alright, Alright!” a short haired, red head walked out from the back of the café, tying the uniform apron onto her waist which she seemed reluctant to wear.
“What would you like?” Luna asked Onew.
“Hot Chocolate please,” Onew said.
“OK, why don’t you go take a seat? I’ll be there in just a moment,”
Luna arrived with the Hot Chocolate and her own drink. They both sat there awkwardly for a moment. Sulli was staring at them with all the power she could muster and it was making Onew feel uncomfortable and worried. Was this not the right time?
“Thank you for finding my bag,” said Luna. She put her purse on the table and sipped her coffee.
“It was my job to,” Onew said modestly. This was a lot more awkward than he imagined it to be. He knew Amber would laugh her head off at him if she was here. Suddenly someone ran by the table, neatly knocking the bag off the table. Luna and Onew leaped forwards as the contents spilled out of the bag.
They both gathered everything as quickly as possible. Onew picked up a sheet of paper and got a mere glance it. One name on the paper stuck out for him.
Mrs. Julie Park
He handed the paper to Luna wondering where he had heard it before. Luna took the paper with a small ‘thanks’ she then focused on rearranging the papers. The name stuck in his head and he simply could not get it out of his head. He shrugged and continued helping the girl till they were back to sitting and finishing their drinks.
After finishing up Onew left, saying goodbye.
30th April, 2014
Onew was roused from sleep by the sound of his doorbell ringing on end. He paid no heed, sinking further into his comforter. He wanted to disappear. He wanted to cease existing. His heart was a mess of dull and painful emotions. It was slowly ripping apart, blood painfully gushing through. The doorbell rang again.
“Lee Onew! If you do not open this door right now I will call Tao to break it down!” Victoria was shouting as she loudly banged on the door and rang the doorbell.
Groaning in frustration, Onew got to his feet, still wrapped in his blanket, like a butterfly in a chrysalis. He waddled to the front door and cracked it open. Victoria shoved the door open. Victoria, Amber, Taemin, Minho and Key walked in. Victoria took of her jacket and hung it up. Key went to the table and put a plastic bag on it. Minho crashed on the sofa, looking disgruntled. Taemin was staring sadly at him.
“Onew, have you even looked at yourself?” Amber asked with narrowed eyes. Onew avoided her eyes, resolving to melt the floor with his glare. “Taemin, can you help your brother get washed or something? I don’t know. Like change him out of his clothes and wash his face.”
Taemin grabbed his arm and dragged him along with him.
Onew sat on the toilet lid as Taemin pulled out stuff for a bath.
“They aren’t accepting your resignation,” said Taemin. “You’re too good for them to just let you go like that. They simply won’t accept it. I’ve been receiving calls from everyone and today we all met up to come here.”
Onew blankly stared at the ground.
Taemin let out a sigh.
“She was crazy. There was nothing you could do about it,”
Onew got to his feet glaring at his little brother.
“She was not crazy! She was……” Onew trailed off. Realization bloomed on his face. “Oh no, oh no,” he bolted out of the bathroom. He ran past Amber, threw open the door and ran out of the house. He ran like a crazy person.
He had only a name. A name only.
He ran all the way to the police station. People stared at him in surprise. He opened up his laptop and quickly typed in the name into the database.
His eyes scanned the laptop screen. He cursed to himself under his breath and then ran out of the police station. He caught a taxi. He arrived at the train station and went to the ticket counter.
“I need a ticket for the next train to Busan.” He held out his police ID.
On his laptop in the police station was the picture of a six year old girl. The name typed in was:
Park Jin Young.
2nd February, 2012
“You are under arrest for threatening, stalking and assaulting a guard.” Minho handcuffed the man. Onew patted Minho on the shoulder. Both of them pulled the man into the car and arrived at the police station. Everyone clapped as they walked in. They dumped the man in and then walked out. “You can go and celebrate,” Minho told him. Onew nodded and then found himself in Songpadong right outside Lotte World. He was about to go and buy a ticket when he crashed into someone.
“I’m so sorry!” He cried.
“Oh! Detective Lee!” The bright, black haired girl smiled up at him.
“Oh! Miss Park!” Onew returned the smile, wondering how on earth she was so bright and happy all the time without fail.
“Call me Luna,” she said.
“Then you should call me Onew,” he said right back. “Are you here for the amusement park?” he asked. He pointed to it. There were screams of delight and laughter coming from it.
“Yes I am!” she said. “Did you already buy a ticket?” she asked.
“Nah,” Onew shook his head.
“I have an extra one! I was supposed to go with Sulli but something came up,” said Luna. “Here, take it,” she said holding it out to him.
“Should I?” he asked her. “How much did it cost?” he pulled out his wallet.
“You don’t have to pay me. Just by accompanying me today should be enough payment!” Luna said. She shoved the ticket into his hands, grabbed his arm and ran into the amusement park.
------o------
Luna laughed happily as they came off the Giant Loop. Onew wanted to fall over because as enjoyable that ride was, he was queasy. Luna laughed even more when she saw the look on his face. She pulled him up to his full height.
“Oh come on! You can’t be that weak! Be a man! It was so much fun!” She pulled him along with her to the exit. They picked up their picture from the ‘French Revolution’. She asked for a second picture and she handed it to him. “You look so silly! You’re terrified!” she laughed.
“So?” Onew pouted in disappointment. They both walked out of the park and bought cotton candy. “Where do you live?” he asked.
“Godeok,” she said.
“Oh,” he said. “Then I’ll drop you off first,”
They arrived at her apartment complex.
“Goodnight,” he said before turning around.
“Onew!”
“Hm?” he asked turning around.
“You have my phone number but I don’t have yours.” She shyly brushed her hair behind her ear. Onew’s eyes widened in understanding and he quickly pulled out his phone. He hadn’t meant to save her phone number in his phone, but he had. He called her number. She grinned at him.
“Now you have my number,” said Onew.
“Are you free Saturday evening?” she asked.
“Would you like to have dinner at the ‘KFC’ in Myeong-dong at seven on Saturday?” he asked.
She nodded with a smile.
Onew had his own little victory dance the moment he entered his house and put the picture on the table.
“May I ask why you’re doing a random worm-slash-chicken dance?” an arrogant voice behind him spoke up. Onew’s heart almost leaped into his throat as he spun around to face the blonde.
“Key you scared me!” he cried in distress.
“You’re scaring me! Did you start doing voodoo or something?” asked Key.
“I was doing a victory dance,” Onew rolled his eyes.
“Whatever for? The stalker you caught today?” Key questioned with raised eyebrows, which actually made him look rather frightening in his own way.
“When did you get back from Bucheon?” Onew asked, avoiding the question aimed at him and asking one of his own.
“This morning,” said Key. “I stayed at Victoria’s place before she threw me out,” Key calmly cracked his knuckles. “What were you doing out so late?”
“I was at Lotte World, celebrating by myself,” Onew lied.
Key snatched the picture from the table.
“Who is she?” Key asked. “Oh my goodness, Onew is dating someone!”
“Hey give it back!” Onew snatched the picture and ran, his childhood best friend on his heels, screaming in his annoying high-pitched way.
“I want to see it!”
“Go away!”
“Let me see it!”
“No!”
17th June, 2012
It was a slightly dark evening. The sky was covered in storm clouds and hopefully the rain would wash away the intense summer heat. Very few people were walking around. Amber shoved her hands into her pockets. People were throwing her looks but she was used to it. It wasn’t everyday you saw a girl dressed completely like a guy. She could even deceive people into thinking she was male. She would stay as that way for as long as she wished.
She apologized as she knocked into someone wearing a yellow frock. She froze as she recognized the girl.
“Excuse me,” she said grabbing the girl’s arm.
The girl turned to look at her.
“Are you Park Luna?” she asked.
The girl blinked in surprise.
“I’m a friend of Onew,” Amber explained.
“Oh,” the girl said. “But I’m not Luna. Luna is my twin sister’s name.”
“Ah…..”
“I will tell my sister that I met you,” she said.
Amber nodded and watched the girl walk away. She shook her head and then headed to Onew’s house. She pulled open the fridge and fished out some orange juice.
“Did you know Luna had a twin sister?” Amber asked Onew.
“Yeah, I knew that,” Onew answered, barely sounding interested. He was busy playing Monopoly with Taemin, Minho and Key. Victoria was sprawled on the sofa. “She stays in Busan. She’s in Seoul right now,” said Onew. “But she’s leaving tomorrow,”
“She looks exactly like Luna! I knocked into her on my way here from the station,”
“Hm….”
“Can you differentiate them?” Key asked.
“No, I’ve never met her, or even seen a picture. How am I supposed to do that?” Onew asked.
“Not even a picture?” Minho gasped.
“She says they don’t like taking pictures together. Something about their brother or something,” said Onew with a shrug. “I have now bought Boardwalk!” Onew yelled in triumph.
“No way!” the three other boys cried in horror.
“When is Krystal coming?” Victoria asked sitting up.
“In a week,” Taemin answered, glaring at the board.
25th July, 2012
“Tell me about your family,” said Onew as he looked at the clock.
“My twin sister’s name is named Jin Young, my brother was named Ha Young, and he died at the age of thirteen.” Luna put down some sushi in front of him.
Onew stared at her with wide eyes.
“He was killed by a man in black. I don’t remember his face. Only me and my sister got away,” said Luna. “My father died of myocardial infarction and my step-mother is somewhere I don’t know,” Luna said with a shrug.
“Your brother was murdered.” Onew breathed. “Murdered,” he repeated, sounding delirious. “At the age of thirteen he was murdered. By who? How? Why?”
“I don’t know who he was killed by. I don’t remember much. I was only six years old. I don’t know why he was killed either. I have lost all contact with anyone I knew except for my sister,” Luna explained. “Don’t get too worked up about it,”
“Don’t get too worked up about it? Are you serious? That is the worst childhood history I have ever heard of!”
Luna smiled softly.
“It can’t be the worst, you’re a detective. You must have heard all kinds of detestable stories. My story isn’t that bad. My twin got hurt a lot. Our step-mother used to abuse my sister and my brother. My brother and sister always managed to hide me, but they would always get beat up.” Luna pushed some sushi into with a content smile. Onew could tell the smile was fake. No one talked about dark pasts like that and then smiled sincerely.
“I’m sorry,” Onew said.
Luna looked up at him with shiny eyes. Tears were soon spilling out of them. Onew pulled the girl into his arms and she cried into his shirt.
“It’s been so long since someone cared.” Her words were muffled by his shirt but Onew heard them. “I can’t remember anything. I have been trying to. But I simply can’t. I can’t even remember my father’s name.” she sobbed as she clutched his shirt, nails digging into his arms. Onew didn’t mind. She had gone through a lot. “My sister doesn’t remember anything either.”
After a bit she pulled away.
“Thank you,” she sniffed, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands.
“It’s nothing. I have a perfect childhood compared to yours,” said Onew.
Luna pushed him with a small laugh.
“Tell me about your family,” said Luna.
“Well I have a little brother named Taemin. My parents are back in my hometown Bucheon. If you want to talk about my non blood related family there is Amber, she works in the police station with me. Victoria, she is a reporter. Key, my annoying cousin from Bucheon who has come here to study med. Minho, who also works in the police station with me and Krystal, the youngest of the group. She has followed me around since we were little which is why I call her puppy.” Onew weaved his fingers with Luna’s.
Luna made a face.
“Does she like you?”
“She’s a fan of my voice, that’s all,” Onew explained hurriedly.
“You sing?” Luna perked up in her seat in interest.
“Uh, yeah,” he said awkwardly.
“Sing for me!” Luna enthusiastically clapped her hands.
Onew sighed and started singing. It was Kim Min Jong’s ‘Kind Love’. It was an old school song compared to what the kids listened to nowadays but it was a beautiful song and Onew loved it. Onew closed his eyes and sang, not wanting to see the look on Luna’s face. He finished and opened his eyes.
Luna stared at him, gaping unashamedly.
“You are really good at singing! I can sing to! Do you want to hear it?” Luna looked at him with hopeful eyes and Onew could not find it in himself to tell her no, if he ever would.
“Go ahead, sing,” said Onew leaning forward in interest.
To Onew’s surprise Luna decided to go old school as well and sang Park Mi Kyung’s ‘Eve’s Warning’. Luna closed her eyes as well and her face was red. Her vocal chords were beautiful and Onew now realized why he always loved her listening to her talk in the first place. Her voice had a musical lilt to it and it was captivating.
Luna opened one eye to gauge Onew’s reaction. Onew clapped wildly shouting ‘Bravo!’ and ‘Encore!’. Luna blushed all the way down to her neck. Onew laughed at her and she started laughing at him as well as both of them rolled on the floor, clutching their stomachs in amusement, soon forgetting the real reason they started laughing in the first place.
Onew finished dinner at Luna’s house and then walked out the door and turned back to her.
“I’ll see you tomorrow hopefully,” said Onew.
“If you can’t just text me,” said Luna.
Onew nodded.
“Goodnight Luna!”
Suddenly Luna leaned up on her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Onew stood there blinking like an owl. Luna settled back on her feet smiling up at him shyly.
“Goodnight Onew.”
Onew nodded, turned around and arrived at his house in a dazed mess. Key instantly attacked him with questions, being the annoying friend that he was. Onew almost forgot Key existed, walking to his room still in a complete daze. To say that he was surprised and shocked was a complete understatement.
“Onew! Are you alive in there? Hello?”
“What do you want Key?”
“Are you OK? Did she kick you to the curb? She broke up with you, didn’t she?” Key gasped.
“No,” Onew smiled dreamily and flopped onto his bed like a noodle, hugging the pillow with all his strength while Key stared at him like he had seen the world’s biggest idiot.
“I’m not even going to ask now.” Key threw a pillow at Onew’s face and stormed off.
15th April, 2014
“Onew,” Amber called. “The chief is looking for you.”
Onew hurried into the chief’s office.
“Onew,” Kim Jonghyun turned to him. Onew tried not to smile because the man had to look up at him. “Kite Corporation’s owner Park Ju Yi just called us up,” Jonghyun looked at Onew sternly. “She has been receiving threats. She wants us to investigate and find the culprit. But she wants us to do it quietly,” Jonghyun tapped his pen onto the folder on his table. “I’m trusting you to the case,”
Onew stared open mouthed.
“Shut your mouth. She lives in Red Coral Villa in Gangnam, Cheongdongdam. It should be easy enough to find, honestly.” Jonghyun turned to Onew holding out some documents. “Don’t let me down on this case, Detective Lee.”
“I won’t sir!” Onew bowed to Jonghyun and almost ran out to Amber in excitement.
Then he remembered that he had to keep it quiet.
He turned and drove to Red Coral Villa. It was easy to find. He just had to ask a fruit shop owner where it was and they would tell him. It was a pretty expensive looking house. Its roof was covered in red tiles. The house was completely white with red here and there. He could see trees that were taller than the wall that protected the house on all sides.
He arrived at the gate that looked elegant and tall, carvings of flowers and birds. What rather disturbed him was that on the very same gate there were carvings of dragons breathing fire. He shuddered at the cold feeling crawling up his spine.
He rang the doorbell and he could tell the intercom switched on.
“Who is it?” a young, feminine voice asked.
“I’m Detective Lee. I’m here to see Mrs. Park,” Onew flashed his ID in front of the speaker which he knew also had a camera.
The gate opened.
“Come in,”
Onew entered the building. It was even prettier inside. But it looked lonely and empty to him. The maid that had led him in disappeared to inform Mrs. Park that he was here. Onew looked around the house. It was surprising how much actually looked red. He was struck by the fact there was only red to contrast to the blank and overly bright white.
The maid returned and led him into Mrs. Park’s office. It was furnished well. Onew realized that the walls in here were actually dark green and it had swirls of black like plants creeping up the walls. All he could think was that the house design was strange.
The woman looked younger than he expected her to be. She looked like she was in her early forties. She was wearing a cream colored white dress. She stood up when he entered, walking forwards to greet him with a hesitant smile.
“Good evening Ma’am,” Onew bowed to her, knowing he was facing one of the richest people in Seoul at the moment. It unnerved him.
“Good evening, please sit,” she bowed slightly back to him and then motioned to one of the maroon colored leather sofas. Onew sat down and faced her.
“Can you please tell me what it is that you received?” Onew asked pulling out his notebook.
“Well, yesterday I just arrived home and my maid showed me the mail that came in. I found one that stuck out because it was a white envelope splattered with blood. It said ‘Let’s hope you rot in hell. That would be the best kindness I can offer you.’” The woman seemed scared as her voice wavered.
“May I see the letter?” asked Onew.
“I burnt it. I was frightened.”
Onew nodded in understanding.
“Then last night before I went to sleep, someone called my number. I picked it up and a female voice said……” the woman trailed off. “I don’t remember very well. I will tell you what I remember. ‘Look at you going to sleep peacefully. Don’t think I won’t stab you to death in your sleep’ or something like that,” the woman said.
“A female…..”
Onew scribbled on his notebook.
“May I see your phone?”
The woman showed him the phone. It wasn’t a cell phone so he wouldn’t be able to track the caller. He looked back up at the concerned woman.
“May I take a look at your house?”
She nodded.
Onew roamed the entire house, the woman following him as he checked any spot where there possibly could be a break in. He frowned. The inside of the house looked pretty secure. He walked out of the house, Mrs. Park still following him. He scanned the walls and spotted a weak spot.
“That wall ma’am. There is no fencing over that. The wall is a little lower because the road goes up hill there.” Onew pointed it out.
“Oh, I keep it like that because I like interacting with the neighbors.”
“You should keep someone with you twenty-four seven. Do you have CCTV?” Onew asked.
“Yes we do, my bodyguards looked through that. They didn’t notice anything off.” Mrs. Park informed him pointing to the men watching them from the window.
“May I speak to them?”
Onew re-entered the house to go over security. He left his phone number in case of emergencies. He was being led to the door by Mrs. Park when he noticed a large picture displayed in the lounge.
“Is that your family?” Onew asked pointing to the picture of three girls, two boys, one baby, and a man in his thirties and maybe the woman when she was younger.
“Yes, that is my family. The kids are in different countries right now,” Mrs. Park looked at the photo fondly with a large smile. Onew smiled in return.
“I’ll be going then ma’am to check up your phone log with the company. If anything happens please inform me,” Onew walked out the door, bowing to her.
Onew got into the car again and drove to the phone company.
6th May, 1999
“Is she here?” breathed the young girl.
“She’s here!” gasped the boy. “Go to the closet now!”
The two younger girls fled towards the play room. The slightly taller one helped the smaller one into the closet. The closet was filled with old and dusty stuffed toys that had been shoved to the side to make a little bit of space for one adult to fit in.
“You should get in too!” The smallest girl said motioning for the other to get in.
The bigger girl smiled and then shut the door in the smaller girl’s face, locking it firmly.
“No! Why are you leaving me in here! Please! Let me out!” The smaller girl wailed pounding on the closet door with her small fists.
“So this is where you’ve been hiding,” growled a woman’s voice. The smaller girl pressed her face against the door to see through the crack in between the doors. She saw her older brother being thrown onto the floor by the woman. The woman came to the closet and furiously tried to open it. The smaller girl started crying, she backed up into the closet, sobbing.
The woman grabbed the other girl by the front of her frock and shook her like rag doll.
“Where is the key you little vermin?” She could hear her sister crying.
“Let her go!” The boy threw himself at the woman, pushing his younger sister away. His sister ran under the bed. A slap rang out in the room.
“No! No!” wails from inside the closet wafted out as the sound of banging issued.
“How dare you!”
More slaps, the little girl screaming from inside the closet.
1st May, 2014
Onew dragged himself to the last house he saw in the lane. He had gone to every house asking, falling asleep while sitting on a low wall. He was tired and he was concerned someone would report about him to the Busan police. He rang on the doorbell.
A girl maybe a couple years older than him opened the door. She looked at him with wide eyes. Onew looked at her, eyes bleary as he saw her.
“Do you know anything about Park Jin Young?” he asked holding up the picture and his ID. His head spun and his knees buckled under him. Instead of his head hitting the ground, he felt warmth. In that warmth he felt himself fading, darkness closed in.
------o------
Onew woke up to see a short wooden ceiling with little light bulbs every two planks. He felt light headed. He slowly sat up, hand to his forehead while the other arm held his weight up. The room was well furnished and as he looked around he realized that it was definitely a girl’s room that he was in. The door slowly opened and the girl he had seen before he passed out walked in, holding a tray. She kicked the door shut.
“You’re up?” she asked him. “You should eat,” she put the tray down on his bed and sat down on a chair next to the bed.
“I’m sorry,” Onew quickly apologized. “I have to go and find something.” Onew was half way out of the bed when the calm girl spoke once again.
“I didn’t know Jin Young that well but I knew Ha Young very well,”
Onew froze and turned to her.
“If you want me to speak you should eat first.”
Onew reached for the tray and began shoveling food into his mouth, desperate for any kind of information he could get. He shoved the last bit of porridge into his mouth and then put the tray down on the bed. He turned to look at the girl.
“My name is Choi Lily,” she said bowing.
“Detective Lee Onew,” Onew bowed back.
“The Park family came to Busan after Ha Young got sick. Ha Young had severe lung problems. Because they came to Busan for Ha Young’s health his father could never be home. His business was in Seoul. So he searched for someone, a woman who could take care of Ha Young, a woman who loved children. That’s when he found Julie Park,”
Onew sat straight at the name. He knew the name!
He remembered the paper from Luna’s bag, the day she dropped it when he returned it to her after the theft.
17th April, 2014
“What you seem to be dealing with in the case you are referring to sounds like someone with a vendetta.” Jonghyun looked through Onew’s notebook, biting his lip. “There also is a sense of mental instability. The reason why Mrs. Park may want not to make this a big deal is to not spur the perpetrator on. Also, paparazzi would love to dig into the juicy background of the case. There may have been a lawsuit that did not go into the woman’s favor, or something or the other,”
“How am I supposed to know when she will strike?” Onew asked.
“People like this woman will go for the big kill. She’ll threaten or frighten Mrs. Park in public. That will make everyone curious. She will probably want everyone to know what wrong Mrs. Park did to her. Be it valid or not.” Jonghyun pressed his fingers to his temples. “So watch anything happening around Mrs. Park that you can.”
“How can I tell if there is a mental problem with the perpetrator?”
“Usually you can tell that when you’re facing them. They will not act normally, especially when they are trying to murder someone.”
“What if in her terror Mrs. Park will turn on me?” Onew asked.
“I doubt it will happen. But if she suddenly uses you as a shield we can’t do anything about it. If she tries to use you as a shield and she gets hurt, you may be demoted,” Jonghyun said.
Onew groaned. There was so much at stake for him on this case! Why him?
“Police business is a fickle business Onew, you need to learn that. Just remember: Never let yourself get attached emotionally to a case, ever,”
1st May, 2014
“Julie Park was the perfect woman. She was beautiful, smart and very caring. She had a daughter and son already when she married into the family. Soon after getting married she had a baby girl. She was called ‘The Angel of Busan’. That was before the people of Busan got to know her.” Lily stopped there and sighed.
“What happened?” Onew asked.
“Ha Young and I were very good friends. He would tell me a lot about his new family. His father never came to Busan. They visited him when they could. For maybe two days. Julie Park was in fact a frightening woman. She hated Ha Young and the twins. At first she reserved herself to sharp remarks and scolding. But then Ha Young’s health worsened and so did his father’s in Seoul. They could not travel back and forth anymore. So they kept up with letters and phone calls. Knowing that they would never see their father again Julie Park revealed her true nature. That’s when everything stopped,”
Lily paused.
“Why don’t you come with me?” she asked.
She led Onew out and then they walked slightly uphill till they reached a tall mansion. It looked like it had been painted bright blue a long time ago. Now it looked like a haunted house. There were plants growing everywhere, even over the walls and spilling onto the streets.
“This was the Park House,” Lily informed him.
Onew went to the gate and pushed the rusted metal open, and the eerie creak of the old metal gate was an unsettling accompaniment to the sight of the abandoned house in front of him. Lily followed behind Onew and they stepped through the over grown garden, trying to ignore the grass that were now grown up to their knees. Reaching the front door, Onew raised a leg and kicked it open, which lead to a billow of dust greeting them, making the both of them cough. The house itself looked like it had been a lively house, but now it was reduced to a house laden with years and years of collected dust.
“This is a sad house,” Onew whispered. They both walked up the stairs and towards the rooms.
“No one left the house anymore except for Julie Park and her children. The abusing started. We would hear screams from the house, sometimes on end. No one reported anything to the police. Julie Park had the police wrapped around her fingers.”
Onew pushed open a door that was broken. It was a room with dark blue walls. The bed sheets which looked old beyond belief were a mess. There was a hockey stick lying haphazardly on the floor. Onew moved further into the room. The window was broken and beside the window was a baseball bat.
“Julie Park knew that the inheritance of the company would never go to her side of the family unless the original Park children were gone.” Lily said.
Onew walked over to the bedside when he stepped on something and there was a loud crack.
22nd April, 2014
Onew walked into the café.
Luna and Sulli stood at the counter, chatting with each other. Sulli however straightened up when she saw him and bent over to whisper in Luna’s ear. Luna spun around to look at him. A smile spread across her face. Onew waved at her. Sulli pushed Luna and then Luna ran over to him.
“I have an idea,” said Onew as he led them out of the café. “Follow me,” they arrived at a jewelry store. Luna looked at him in surprise. Onew pointed to the rings. “Which one do you like?” Onew asked her.
“Are we getting couple rings?” she questioned with wide eyes.
Onew nodded.
Luna scanned the rings and then pointed to a simple silver band that had a single snowflake engraved onto it. It came with the couple pair. Luckily Onew didn’t have to pay for a resize since it already fit them perfectly.
“I like it so much!” Luna said with a laugh as she jumped up and down. Onew grinned at her.
“Come on, we have another spot to go to,” said Onew.
Both of them went to an ink shop where they would paint what you wanted them to on your skin. Onew and Luna sat down before Luna decided to get ‘Onew’ fancily painted on her wrist, with whiskers. After trying to convince Onew for ten minutes Onew gave in and had ‘Luna’ written on his wrist with a butterfly resting on her name.
Both of them then went to go have ice cream.
“Oh! Look at your eye bags! Are you even sleeping nowadays?” Luna asked him.
“Tough case,” Onew said, wrinkling his nose.
“But you have to sleep well, alright? Sleep well and eat well.” Luna nodded to herself with a worried pout. Onew ruffled her hair.
“I will, as soon as this case is solved,” he grinned.
Luna shoved him playfully and both of them burst out laughing.
1st May, 2014
Onew picked up the picture frame he had stepped on. It was a young boy, two girls, a man who seemed to be in his late twenties and a woman Onew guessed was his wife.
“Is this Julie Park?” he asked pointing towards the woman.
“No, that’s the original Mrs. Park. She died a little bit after she gave birth to the twins. I never found out what disease though,” Lily looked at the picture with a soft smile.
“What happened here?” Onew asked.
“Their father died afterwards from a heart attack. The company was to be passed onto Ha Young. That very night was the end. They received a call in the morning that the father died. They were to go to Seoul to take care of the company. I woke up in the middle of the night hearing screams from here.” Lily sounded pained.
Onew in a sharp breath.
“Everyone knew something bad had happened and a lot of us neighbors came up here the next day. There were police officers here.” Lily and Onew moved to the room across from the one they were in. The walls were painted pink. There were two small beds with bright yellow blankets.
“This was the twins’ room,” Onew whispered in realization.
Lily nodded sadly.
“In the middle of the night a man dressed in black with a knife had threatened to kill everyone in the house. But the only ones who actually got killed before the alarms set off were…..” Lily trailed off.
“Let me guess,” Onew whispered. “Ha Young…….”
23rd April, 2014
“Key, turn on the news!” Onew shouted from the kitchen. He heard muffled cursing and then the TV switched on and the channel was switched from showing ‘Angel Eyes’ to the news. Onew strained his ears as he tried to catch the words. Key was grumbling about how they shouldn’t watch news at two in the morning.
“Mrs. Park Ju Yi of Kite Corporation-” Onew bolted out of the kitchen and went to the TV. “-fainted in the middle of a press meet when a song began playing. It was an old song.” Onew froze as Park Mi Kyung’s ‘Eve’s Warning’ started. But Onew knew that the person who was singing it definitely wasn’t Park Mi Kyung.
Feeling horrified, Onew ran out the door and drove to Red Coral Villa as fast as he could drive. He shot out of the car and looked at the house. Damn it! It was three in the morning. He couldn’t ring the doorbell. He suddenly noticed a red corded rope on the wall, the weak spot that he had pointed out to Mrs. Park before. Onew dashed over to the rope and climbed into the yard, feeling sickened. He pulled out his gun and then made his way to the house. The front door was open. He went to the door.
The maid who had graciously greeted him just a couple of days ago lay on the ground. She wasn’t bleeding. Onew checked her pulse. She seemed to have been merely knocked out. Onew quietly ran into the house. He was almost at the upstairs lounge when he spotted Mrs. Park staring at him while sitting on a sofa. Onew’s eyes widened in confusion. Then Mrs. Park’s eyes moved to her right and Onew realized the perpetrator must not be in his view. Onew ran into the room holding his gun out pointing at the perpetrator.
“Freeze!” he shouted.
He stopped in shock as he spotted the girl with the knife.
“You!” the girl gasped pointing at him.
“L-luna?” Onew stammered, heart pounding in his chest as he faced the girl he had spent the morning with in happiness.
“My name is Jin Young!” she snapped.
Onew faltered.
Was it Luna’s twin sister? His eyes flicked down to her hand and he noticed the couple ring and ink painting. He wanted to throw up and die. He couldn’t breathe. Why was this happening to him? He closed his eyes for a moment, praying it was a nightmare. But when he opened his eyes he was still in the same position.
“She is not Jin Young! She’s Sun Young! Only Sun Young could sing so well!” Mrs. Park practically started screaming hysterically.
“I am Jin Young!” shouted Luna.
“No, you’re Luna,” said Onew with a sob.
“I am not! Watch out!” Luna cried. A knife was placed against his throat.
Onew tensed.
“What are you doing?” Mrs. Park screeched at the man behind Onew.
“I am threatening the girl,” a deep voice said.
“Why are you here? Luna said you were busy with a case!” Luna screamed.
“Stop it at once!” shouted Mrs. Park.
“No,” said the man.
“You’re Luna. Look, you’re wearing our couple ring and you have the ink tattoo,” Onew sobbed. He couldn’t think straight. Luna had the Multiple Personality Disorder. Onew wanted to die. Luna slowly raised her wrist and looked at it. Her eyes widened.
She slowly looked back at Onew.
“Onew!” she gasped. “Let go of him!” she cried.
“You’re still here,” the man said. Onew felt the knife cut his neck slightly.
“No! Please don’t!” Luna shrieked.
The man laughed.
1st May, 2014
“Park Jin Young…..”
23rd April, 2014
“Park Sun Young, you should be dead, if you know what I mean,” the man said.
Luna stared at the man with wide eyes.
“Do you know what I mean?” the man said.
Onew felt the knife cut in deeper as he cried.
“Stop it!” Luna shrieked. She desperately looked around and then looked down at her knife. Before Onew could say a word Luna the knife into her stomach.
“Luna!” Onew shouted.
Luna dropped to her knees as blood spread on her cardigan.
Onew was let go of. He took a step forwards.
“Don’t come near me!” Luna cried. She wrenched the knife out and stabbed it in again. Onew dropped to his knees as well.
“Stop it! Luna, please stop it! I’ll call an ambulance! Stop it!” Onew sobbed.
Onew heard footsteps behind him and he knew the man was walking forwards.
Luna coughed out blood. She pulled the knife out and stabbed herself again. Onew sobbed and crawled towards Luna as her head hit the ground, coughing out blood and gasping for air. Onew pulled her into his lap.
“Luna, Luna, look at me!” he begged.
The man ran to the balcony and pitched himself off. Onew heard him landing on the road. Luna clutched his hand and cried.
“Onew…….put that woman in jail,” Luna whispered.
Onew continued crying.
1st May, 2014
“Park Sun Young, the younger twin’s body was never found.” Lily finished for him.
Onew nodded as tears spilled out of his eyes. He picked up a picture frame and saw two little girls hugging each other. Onew wiped his tears with the back of his hand. He the hair of the girl he instantly recognized as Luna.
“She died on the twenty third,” Onew whispered.
Lily stared in shock.
“She did suicide,”
Onew and Lily walked into the hallway. Onew froze as he saw the picture on the wall, a full family picture. A picture he knew he had seen before. His gut twisted as he felt the urge to spill the food Lily had made for him.
“That’s Julie Park,” said Lily pointing to the woman in the picture. “Her real name was Park Ju Yi.”
2nd May, 2014
Onew entered the house and Mrs. Park stood up the greet him.
“Detective Lee what brings you-” she began.
“Park Ju Yi, you are under arrest for abusing Park Ha Young, Park Jin Young and Park Sun Young. You are also under arrest for arranging the death of Park Ha Young and Park Jin Young by telling Lee Moon to kill them,” Onew snapped holding up handcuffs.
He handcuffed the shocked woman.
“Won’t your kids abroad be so surprised?” he said sarcastically before leading her out. “Oh, don’t worry, Lee Moon will give you company, Mrs. Julie Park”
11th May, 2015
Onew put flowers down in front of the grave. He sat down and closed his eyes, bathing in the sun’s warmth. It was completely silent. He felt tears leak out of his eyes as he ran a finger over the couple ring he was wearing.
“I’m here Sun Young.” He opened his eyes, a soft smile on his face.
A bee buzzed around the flowers he had bought before going away.
“She’s gone. She’s rotting in jail and there’s nothing she can do about it. Moon has got the death sentence and she has the life sentence. I did what you asked me to,” Onew smiled and brushed his fingers over the rose petals.
“Shall I sing for you?” he asked.
He sang Kim Min Jong’s ‘Kind Love’.
A butterfly came and settled on the flowers.
Onew’s heart swelled with emotion.
------o------
A/N - So that was that! I hoped you liked it! Don't kill me, OK? Feel free to throw your feels and shoes at me, either one is fine. Once again, I apologize for the crappy and minimal romance. I know there should have been more. Did you see how I made Jonghyun a Chief? I was laughing my head off the entire time! I also hope you guys loved Key's character. Absolutely brilliant! This was a terrible job......Oh well! Now for references and other things you may not know, I will relay it in the next chapter. OK, I'm having this reviewed by several shops, so if they feel confused about anything, I will update in the reference chapter. If you're still confused about anything, feel free to ask!
I do not own the characters. I loved writing this, please tell me how it was! Comment and Subscribe! I love it when people comment! If you have any questions, the comment section is below! Love you all!
Carrots and Horses~
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