Love Across Universe

Another Mystery

Soojin

Hmm, butter pancakes...I still remember how he used to love them. My phone lit up and I saw a message from Alex.

Alex : Soo, I checked his family's digital footprints, but there wasn't anything suspicious.

I pondered for a while before my fingers started working on the phone's keyboard.

Soojin : Can you send me the list of their online activities?

Alex : Sure, my love. I would but tomorrow. You must sleep now. Goodnight :) 

Soojin : Goodnight love. *goodnight kisses*.

I closed the phone and hoped to find some clues amongst their digital traces.

The morning sun's rays peeked into my room. I threw off the duvet, only to hear Sooah's scream from somewhere nearby. I rushed out following the direction of her voice.

"What happened?" I asked, puzzled as I saw her terrified face and a wooden box lying on the ground.

She ran into my embrace and started crying.

"Unnie...stop. Tell me," I hugged her tightly.

She pointed silently at the box. I approached cautiously and gasped at what lay inside: a doll with one eye missing, black hair matted with blood, and a chilling note beside it.

NEXT MEMBER TO DIE OF THE MIN FAMILY - MIN SOOJIN

I pocketed the note and closed the box, trying to stay composed for Sooah's sake.
She was in tears, covering her face with her hands.

"Someone played a cruel trick, Sooah. Let's not focus on it. I'll make breakfast today," I said, trying to calm her.

"No! You will not be going out today," she pleaded, gripping my arms tightly.

Gently freeing myself, I handed her a glass of water. "It's just a prank, Sooah. I'll take this to the office for investigation. Please bring me my bag."

At Office:

"Soojin, are you okay?" Alex asked with concern.

I turned my head towards him, my hands still on the keyboard. "Who the fuck told ya?"

"Sooah, but the main question is why did you hide it from me?" he cupped my cheeks and I mentally thanked God that no one was there in the cabin.

"Alex, you've already done so much. I didn't want to burden you further," I admitted, avoiding his gaze.

"I  don't adulate this work of yours, Soojin. I know you're brave but what if this wasn't a prank. I can't bear to lose you," Alex said sincerely, our eyes locking  with affection. I wasn't lonely anymore.

I kissed his forehead and he blushed.

"The reports are here Soo- OMG! Sorry! I didn't want to spoil your special moment. I'll be back later," my dramatic sister closed her eyes with her palms and was about to go when my voice stopped her.

"Just delete that clip from your mind Miss Korea. Kindly do the honour and show the reports."

She gave me the reports. Alex and I thoroughly went through it.

"It's real blood," Alex said anxiously. "Soojin and Sooah I recommend you both to do a DNA test and match with the sample of this blood."

His words made sense, so we quickly underwent DNA tests, receiving the results later that evening during a discussion with Miss Stephen.

"May I come in, ma'am?" an employee came with the reports in his hand and gave them to our senior.

"You may leave and thank you," she smiled at the employee who bowed and took his leave.

She read the reports fixing her eye glasses which were falling on her nose-bridge. Her face turned grave after reading the entire report.

"Girls, I apologise, but unfortunately your DNA samples match with the DNA of that blood," she declared with a stern expression, looking down and Sooah's palm was already on her mouth.

"But...how can that be possible?" I questioned turning to Alex, hoping to get an answer from our Detective genius..

"Did any of you perhaps donate blood recently?" Miss Stephen asked.

"No, ma'am. We both suffer from Anemia, so we are strictly forbidden to donate blood," I confessed, nervously biting my lips.

"Did something happen to any of our relatives in Korea?" Sooah asked nervously.

"N-no, we would have got the call then unnie."

"Are your relations good with your Korean relatives?" Alex asked curiously.

"Yeah, we have only 3 cousins. We lost most of our relatives in Japan and North Korea because of the Korean war and our great-grandfathers were betrayed by their close people, so they didn't establish any relationships after the wars. That's our family history, so you can conclude that we don't have huge bunches of relatives like other Asians," I said coyly.

"Any family enemies that you're not aware or aware of?" he opened his laptop, starting his online investigations.

"No...probably-"

"I will call our relatives once to confirm, don't answer in a hurry. We will try to inform you everything by tomorrow," Sooah interjected.

"Wait, Miss Min. Please do not hurry. Alex will drop you both and by that time I will take the help of my secret cops to solve the mystery. Alex, do check the CCTV footage," Miss Stephen winked knowing that we were the first ones in the entire office to know about her secret cops and she expected to keep this a 'secret'.

"The footage had been removed. The footage of the CCTV cameras of the nearby stores were unfortunately removed too. The culprit is indeed smart, but what's more concerning is the fact - that how he got the blood of Min Sisters," he said with a grave expression.

"Hmm...Mr. Anderson please take care of the girls and you two be careful," Miss Stephen said with concern and gestured us to leave.

She would probably discuss the case with her 'secret cops' and needed some privacy.

As I leaned against the window of Alex's car, my mind churned with relentless thoughts. Ever since I turned sixteen, life had been turned upside down. Now, a decade later, peace still evaded me, and uncertainties clouded my future. I couldn't find the calm that thirteen-year-old Soojin Min had once written about so earnestly in her school's essay writing competition where she won the third prize.

Life is unpredictable.