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After drinking at the coffee shop with Kei, they walked a bit and then he accompanied her back to her dorms. Arriving in front of her room she was going to thank him and say goodbye when he suddenly asked.

“Can I come in?”

The girl hesitated.

“My roommate is going to be back soon…”

“I’ll go when she comes.”

Minha didn’t really want to let him in… but at the same she didn’t want to be discourteous. He had only been kind with her, and she liked the guy. He was smart, funny and very nice…. But something told her not to let him in. Ignoring this voice in her head, she took a step to the side, letting him get into the room. With a smile he looked around.

“It’s very cozy. Do you get along well with your roommate?”

Minha nodded. Cozy he said? It made her think of when Leeteuk came into her room, what he said… and what happened. It was weird to have Kei in the same room where Leeteuk a few days earlier kissed her. She couldn’t stop thinking about him since this morning, she felt guilty to have left him alone, but at the same time she didn’t want to admit it.

“Are you still thinking about your friend earlier?” Kei asked suddenly.

Minha turned to him surprised; it was like he had read her mind. The boy came closer and put a hand on her face.

“What can I do so you’ll forget him and start seeing me?”

The girl kept staring at him not really knowing what to do. She wasn’t expecting him to behave like this. He leaned down to her lips, but at the last moment he girl turned her head away. She couldn’t… this was just too sudden. But him being so close, she could smell his perfume, a mix of mint and something else…  It triggered something in her, and that’s when images started to flash before her eyes.

***

She was standing in front of the door. It’s been almost a year since she came to the warehouse. She shouldn’t be here, but after what Naoki told her, she had to make sure. The girl took a deep breath and went in the room. Everything was dark and silent, and it had this weird smell, that she couldn’t quite figure out what it was.

Minha let out a relieved sigh when she made sure Kei wasn’t there. If he had been, she would’ve confronted him, she didn’t want to believe Naoki’s accusations but at the same time she couldn’t deny Kei’s crazy behavior lately. He even tried to force himself on her, something he would never do. If it hadn’t been for Shun, she didn’t know how it would’ve ended…  And now she was in Kei’s office trying to find some evidence to lock him up. She wondered how they got there… The girl hurriedly went to the large wooden desk to search for what she came for and get out of this place as soon as possible. She didn’t want to spend more time than needed here. Then suddenly she heard footsteps on the stairs coming that way. Panicked, she did the only thing that came to mind even if it was stupid. She hid in the large closet, holding the doors nervously in front of her.

A few seconds later, Kei and someone else came into the room in great discussion. By the small cracks of the closet door, the girl could see a bit of what was happening in the room, even if she couldn’t quite distinguish the conversation. At that moment she felt really stupid. Why was she hiding in the first place? It’s not like Kei would hurt her if she was ever found in his office. But something told her it was better to hide, it was almost instinctive. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, she finally could identify that weird smell that adorned the room. It smelled like death…

Screams and sounds of struggle were heard on the other side of the door. Surprised, the dark haired girl put a hand on to stop her screams of terror to come out. She couldn’t see what was happening on the other side but she was terrified. Scared, she was unable to move, or to speak, and she realized she had stop breathing. He couldn’t find her here, if he did, she was… she would be… dead…

The door of the closet opened in a fly… Before her eyes, was Kei, panting, and covered in… was those red stains, blood?! His eyes widened when he recognized Minha.

“What are you doing here?”

The girl couldn’t answer; fear was stopping her vocal chords of working. But she found enough courage to at least stand up and get out of the closet. Kei took a few steps back, still shocked. He was scared of her?! That was ridiculous! No, he was more scared that she saw what he had done…. She looked around and that’s when she noticed a body on the ground.

“What did you do?!” she let out in a whisper.

Without hesitation Minha ran to the body to see if the person was alright. She turned him on the back and noticed two things. First it was Shun, Kei’s brother. And the second, he had an open wound on his left abdomen.

In her nurse’s reflex, Minha put a hand on the young man’s wound putting pressure on it to slow the bleeding. But nothing worked, Shun continued to lose all his blood on the carpet. She turned to Kei.

“Give me a towel or a belt!” she ordered.

But the boy didn’t move and just stood there staring at her.

“What are you doing?! MOVE!” she yelled.

Finally waking up from his trance, Kei undid his own belt and handed it to her.

 Minha managed to attach the belt around Shun’s torso and pulled it tight, to stop the bleeding. Then she got up and went to Kei’s desk to grab the phone. But before she could read it, Kei grabbed her hand.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m calling 911!”

“You’re not calling anyone!”

Minha stared into Kei’s eyes and saw how panicked he was. She knew he wasn’t a bad guy; he was just terrified of the consequences. Slowly she made him let go of her arm and tried to take her most conciliating tone.

“If we do nothing he’ll die… and you’ll be a murderer.”

Kei hesitated, but then something dark passed before his eyes.

“Don’t pretend you’re worried about me when really you’re worried about your lover.” he said, pointing at Shun.

Minha frowned.

“You’re not seriously still thinking that we have something with Shun?!”

“If not then why are you so worried?”

“Because he’s a human being!” she exclaimed. “And he is your brother. I know you’ll regret if he dies. Plus, I’m a nurse; my mission in life is to save people, whoever they are. That’s why I saved you, years ago.”

Kei hesitated again, as if her words were reaching him somehow, so she continued.

“There’s no time, let me call an ambulance. Let me save you again.”

Minha saw in Kei’s eyes that je would let her. That’s when Shun, still on the ground, started to convulsing and spitting blood. Minha rushed to him and turned him on the side to prevent the boy to choke with his own blood. Shun convulsed one more time before falling totally still. Minha’s heart stopped. She knew oh too well what it meant and what she most feared had just happened. The girl took his pulse with trembling hands. No pulse. Shun was dead. Completely hopeless, Minha fell back, the ground being the only thing keeping her in reality now. Understanding the situation, Kei went to his brother and took him by the collar.

“No… no… NO!”

The boy started to panic, shaking his brother’s lifeless body.

“You can’t die! I forbid you to leave! Wake up! Open your eyes!”

He continued yelling, while Minha made an effort to get up. Something, like a sixth sense was telling her that things would get worse… especially for her. Suddenly Kei calmed down and turned to her. His eyes were cold and not like themselves.

“It was an accident.” he whispered, as if he was trying to convince himself. “You’re not going to tell anyone.”

“Kei…”

“You won’t tell Naoki!”

“We can help you! Naoki would do anything for you.”

“He would do anything to ruin me.” he said harshly.

Minha’s eyes widened. How could’ve she not seen it before? The Kei she knew was gone and what she saw now scared her. But instead of being prudent, she needed to be sure.

“Did you do it?” she asked. “Did you really do what Naoki accuses you of?”

“You prefer believing in him rather than me?”

“You just killed your own brother!” she said, her voice rising.

The girl felt that she was close to a nervous breakdown, but she wouldn’t give in just yet, or else she would be in trouble. Kei took a step toward her which she answered by taking a step back, in spite herself.

“You’re scared of me.” it was more a statement than a question.

“Did you do it?!”

“What if I did?” he said, emotionless.

That was the last drop. It was as good as if he had confessed. Minha reached her hand to touch the wall; feeling like her hand was supporting her whole weight. Her knees started to shake and she felt tears form in her eyes. What had he done?! She took a minute to calm down and turned to him.

“I can’t stay silent. You’re a gangster and a murderer. I don’t even know who you are anymore! But only one thing is sure, my friend Kei is gone.”

“Minha don’t… don’t… I love you!” he pleaded.

“You don’t love me, you want me to be your thing. But I won’t! I never will! And I can’t possibly cover this for you!”

Kei’s despair seemed to switch immediately to anger. Anger, that was turned to Minha.

“I won’t let you.”

And then everything went really fast. Kei jumped on Minha to grab her but they lost balance and fell on the ground, the boy on her. She struggled whil