ᴏʙsᴇssɪᴏɴs: ʀᴀᴠᴇɴᴡᴏᴏᴅ ᴅɪᴀʀɪᴇꜱ || c.bg + h.k

17: The Mirror of Erised

Saturday, 11th June 2019 - Six days to go

┊ʜʏᴜɴᴊɪɴ'ꜱ ᴘᴏᴠ┊ೃ⁀➷

Why do I feel so betrayed? Kang Taehyun is nothing to me, nor have I known him for that long. The only interaction we ever had was for a measly half of an hour, yet all I can think of right now are the lockets and the Taehyun's face as he rested deep in his death-like slumber, looking no better than those Egyptian mummies.

'O, Kang Taehyun, who even are you?'

"Whatever I am going to tell you right now, make sure none of it reaches Soobin."

I frown at officer Dami. "Why? Must he not know about it as well? He is a part of the team, after all." I had asked her to gather as much information about Taehyun as she can right after I found the locket with him.

Dami's fingers lace together, her hand resting on the table. "Well, according to what I've found, Kang Taehyun is someone very close to Soobin."

That...is kind of unexpected. My eyebrows shoot up, hiding behind the locks of blond. "So, a Ravenwood student, I presume?"

She nods. "A scholar student and candidate for the student council presidency for this year's elections. A bright student, I must say."

The portrait that her words present is so pure. Bright, intelligent, responsible. But I know Kang Taehyun isn't the saint, not even close if he is involved with crimes like murders of not one of two, but three murders. And if this really is connected to the bomb blast of Samjeon, then four murders in total.

Four murders are definitely not a small crime. Even the smallest of involvements is punishable to a great extent as to two years of imprisonment.

I feel a pang of an unknown emotion in my heart. Am I idiot enough to have formed a trust in a kid who I don't even know that well?

"Go on."

"His closest of friends, as per the testimony of the students themselves, is Huening Kai— who is the younger brother of Huening Lea, the owner of one of America's largest chain of Cafés, currently based in Hawaii. Then comes Shin Ryujin— the stepdaughter of a famous celebrity based in Taiwan, Shin Mina. Then comes Choi Beomgyu—"

"Isn't that prosecutor Yujin's son?" I interrupt, wondering out loud. I receive a nod as a reply.

"Yes, yes he is. And then finally comes Choi Soobin. They were best of friends back in 2017. Still are."

I stay silent for a while, my gaze falling on a photograph that is barely peeking out of Dami's files. I slowly slip it out to its full view.

It's a photograph of two smiling boys. I identify one of them, the one right, as Taehyun with his blond hair. However, he looks much younger than how he is right now. Maybe he was fourteen in this one.

My eyes linger on the other boy. He has longer hair, brown in colour. His features aren't entirely of Korean origins. Perhaps half-Korean?

"He is...?"

Dami leans to get the sight of the photograph as well. "That is Huening Kai. He is far much closer to Taehyun, as what the students say."

That explains. I hum to myself in understanding.

"I find this boy a bit interesting, though," Dami says out of the blue, grasping at my attention. I look back up.

"And why is that?"

For a second, she says nothing, thoughtfully peering at the photograph, index finger now unclasped and drumming against the wooden desk. "Well, I've gotten to know that this boy, Kai, has been behaving oddly in the recent years. And by odd, I mean that his temper has been unstable. Sometimes, he would be silent, sitting isolated in one of the corners of the class. But, other times, he is very snappy and has a tendency to glare at every living creature around him. Once he had a panic attack in the middle of a class, but the infirmary nurse later said that it was an episode of PTSD. He doesn't have a mother, nor does he have a father; just two sisters, both of whom are living far far away."

I marvel over this. A mentally unstable child, he is. "But what does it have to do with this case at all?"

Dami picks up the photograph, her face turns sombre, a flash of sorrow kindling in the deep of her brown eyes. "I have studied psychology for three years at the start of my career. All that I've heard so far of this kid only points to one thing." She pauses, keeping the photo back in her folder before a loud sigh is heard escaping her. "Do you know his mother was actually sentenced to a life sentence for the crime of killing her husband and torturing her children? One of the children was in ICU for a whole week, signs of physical assault prominent on her body."

My eyes are wide and my jaw ajar in shock. "What are you trying to say?" I ask, still in utter disbelief.

The woman's eyes travel up to my face. "Prolonged childhood abuse, PTSD, odd behaviour and an unstable temper— all of these are usually a sign of dissociative identity disorder."

┊ᴋᴀɪ'ꜱ ᴘᴏᴠ┊ೃ⁀➷

"Do you know what's the mirror of erised?"

The splash of the cold water is the only anchor that keeps me chained to reality as a part of me finds itself slipping into the deeper of my mindscapes, reminiscing a memory I didn't hold dear. Well, not until now.

"It's a fictional mirror that shows you your deepest desires. It knows what you crave for the most, may it be good or bad."

I stare at my hands, feeling a deja vu as my eyes rave through every corner of the palms smeared with red.

"What is it that you'd see, Hyuka, if we had the mirror?"

I look up at the mirror.

"...a normal life."

Normal, happy life in some secluded corner of the world is all I ask for. It sounds like a simple wish, but only the one in my shoes would see beyond the word 'simple'. It is anything but that, simple.

There are red patches on my white shirt, some of them also painting on my cheeks. 

This is what I've unknowingly become— a monster. A cruel being without a heart and any hint of emotion. And monsters like me deserve only one thing.

Death.

My eyes travel to the freshly wounded wrists as the water washes away the blotches of blood. I am a coward, I should've ended it all long ago. It would've saved so many— Jeon Somi, Kim Dayeon, Kim Dae...–

'Daewon deserved it. He deserved the pain.'

No one deserves to be put through death, not even a person like Kim Daewon. However much I may loathe him, I can't help but wonder— I could've given him a chance of redemption. It's not like wasn't already a troubled kid when he and his friend decided to... Well, it's over now. It's all in the past. I never had control of my choices anyway, how could I have saved them?

My thoughts are interrupted by the ringing of my phone. That is when I am made aware of the tears that are rolling down my cheeks. I wipe them away, reaching for the device.

'범규 (Beomgyu) is calling...'

"H-hello?"

[I am on my way to your house. Don't go anywhere.]

I don't think I have much time left.

ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

A/N ¡! ❝Now, shall we begin with the fun?❞