Let's Kill Her (Book #1)

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"Stop, you would not," I say, smiling.

"You doubt this face?" he says, and wags his eyebrows at me.

"Never," I say, stirring my hot chocolate with marshmallow.

"Why the sudden interest in my love life, eh? Have you got some passionately romantic story to tell me?" he asks mischievously.

"What? No, I wish. I just . . . You know my best friend, Jisoo? She has a huge family and they have these big festive holiday parties. Sometimes I get jealous. I kind of wish there were more of us, you know?"

He snorts and takes a sip of his drink.

"What, you don't?" I say.

"No," he says, pouring more liquid into her cup. "I have relatives in California I would rather forget. First there's that self-serving father of mine, and then all the family members who won't admit that he's self-serving, which in my opinion makes them even worse." He raises his cup. "To hell with the whole lot of them."

I want to tell him that I meant I wish we had more family members like us, but I know better than to do that while he's ranting and damning people. He blames his dad for eomma's death, even though everyone - and the autopsy report - said her death was an accident.

"And don't get me started on Namjoon's family," he says, pointing again in the direction of the snoring. "Putting my family and his family in a room together for a holiday party sounds about as much fun as shoving a Christmas tree up my backside. It would be nothing but fighting."

"Did they ever get along? Or did your family always disapprove of Appa?"

"From the moment you parents got together, it went downhill. Nonstop feuding before you were born."

"But not any more since Appa's parents died, right?"

"Good riddance."

I choke on my hot chocolate. Sometimes I wonder if there is any line Uncle Jin won't cross. "What made you choose Jeongseon, of all places, when you left California?"

He smirks. "Please tell me you're joking, Suzy. How you break my heart. The beautiful Golden Gate Bridge? The fact that Jeongseon was founded by rebels and rabble-rousers? And, well, the Californian food is good."

I open my mouth in fake shock.

"What? I said I didn't like my family. But our food is perfection."

I push my fried noodles around on my plate. I wish I could ask Uncle Jin about what's going on here and about my parents in general, such as why they chose to live in the middle of small town nowhere. From everything Sehun and Sejeong have told me, that couldn't have been accidental. And it makes me wonder what they were trying to get away from - their deadly Families in general, or was it more specific than that? I used to think Uncle Jin's hatred for his relatives was mostly theatrics, but considering what I've seen here so far, blaming them for Eomma's death doesn't seem entirely off the wall anymore. A Strategia Family could definitely make a death look like an accident.

Without meaning to, I look around for Jungkook. If the Eagles did have something to do with eomma's death, if she broke some Strategia rule or something, it's entirely possible that his relatives were involved in making that decision. Is that how he knew what eomma looks like? I drop my chopstick with a loud clang and Sejeong and Sehun both look at me.

Jungkook meets my gaze, and something in me just snaps. The injustice of everything that's happened since I arrived here, the overwhelming horror of I've seen, and the constant uncertainty and fear have finally caught up with me. All I want to do is scream at the top of my lungs.

I push back a chair, furious not only with Jungkook but with the whole school. I bet eomma wanted out, too, wanted to get away from all of these Strategia and their deadly games. The question is whether or not they killed her for it.

"Suzy?" Sejeong says.

"I just need some air," I say, and walk away before either of them ask me any questions. I'm sure Sehun will figure out that I remembered something, and the last thing I want  to hear from him is a detailed analysis of my parents' Families and eomma's probable murder. No wonder Uncle Jin was always so angry when the topic of family came up.

I head between the two long dining tables, my eyes trained on the floor, anything to avoid looking at Jungkook again or I'm positive I'm going to do something I regret.

I'm almost to the door when Yoo cuts me off. I didn't even see him get up from the teachers' table. "Suzy, I need to speak to you," he says, and touches his neck.

"Right now?" I say, not even trying to hide the annoyance in my voice.

"Yes, I have some . . . news," he says, and I stop dead in my tracks.

"What news?" I say quickly. I can't help but wonder if he saw me looking upset and decided it was the right time to shit on me further.

"If you'll follow me to my -" he starts.

"No, just tell me," I say, already running through a list of terrible possibilities in my head and agitating myself even more.

"I must insist that we at least step out of the dining hall." He pushes through the door before I can replay. I follow, but he doesn't stop until he's halfway down the empty hallway. "Do not ask my questions about what I'm about to tell you, because I do not know the answers. It's customary that this type of news is delivered by family members, but considering the recent circumstances, you are permitted a visit."

My entire body tenses. I want to yell at him to just say it already.

He evaluates the hallway to make sure it's empty and levels his eyes at me. "Jin is dead."

For a second, I'm completely still, trying to make sense of his words. Jin? "No," I say, and shake my head. "No. That can't be true."

"As I said, I cannot tell you any more. That is all I know. Jin is dead," he repeats as though he can see that I'm resisting accepting it.

Someone killed my uncle? My uncle is dead. He's dead. The hallway spins. My chest feels like it's constricting and soon there will be no air left. My vision blurs with tears, and with each excruciating heartbeat I back away from him. I see his lips moving, but I can't hear a word he's saying.

If the Eagles were responsible for eomma's death, who's to say they aren't responsible for Uncle Jin's? He wasn't just living in Korea, he  hated them all. Sehun said it was forbidden to leave your Family. Was this what appa was trying to stop when he shipped me off here? My fists clench, my grief mixing with my anger explosively.

All of a sudden, I'm running, tears spilling down my cheeks. I slam through the door into the dining hall, and as if on cue, the whole room turns to look at me. But I'm not watching them; I'm looking straight at Jungkook. I run full-speed toward him, jump onto a chair, and dive over the table. His eyes widen as I collide with him, slamming us both onto the floor. He grunts and tries to fling me off him, but I'm screaming and clinging to him for all I'm worth. For a brief moment, I see Yoo towering above us. Then there is a sharp pain in my head and the world goes black.