reign ✓

chapter 8

In reality, things weren't as dramatic as everyone made them out to be. At least that was what Bambam told me. According to him, professor Park and Vernon were just friends. Honest, real friends. He didn't want to tell me how that came to be, but it made sense why her murder would hurt him so much. For the past few days, he was ignoring everyone's calls and hiding in his mansion, so Jungkook sent me to talk to him. He thought that perhaps I didn't do anything to piss him off yet, but he was wrong about that, since I also sent him a text, asking if the rumors were true and he really did have a relationship with that professor.

Maybe Vernon hadn't seen the text message, so he won't call the police on me like he did when Bambam tried to scale the gates of his family's property.

A maid welcomed me inside the mansion and led me to one of the kitchens. Vernon was leaning against the sparkling clean marble counter and looking at something on his phone. His baggy black hoodie, unkempt blonde hair and tired eyes were a painful contrast against all of the luxury inside his mansion. '' You look like shit. ''

'' I already regret not calling the police on you like I did with Bambam, '' Vernon seriously mumbled, without raising his gaze from his phone.

The maid that brought me to him, quickly tried to prevent any arguments. It seemed like Vernon and his family treated their servers well. When she looked at him, you could clearly see the concern in her eyes. '' Master Chwe is just dehydrated. He hasn't drunk anything alcoholic in days. ''

She gave me a look that said please, fix him, before she turned around, walked out of the kitchen and left us alone. I glanced at the oven behind Vernon, took a step closer and curiously asked: '' What are you doing? ''

'' Making weed brownies and planning revenge on the person who killed miss Park. ''

He's dealing with her death better than I thought.

He lifted himself on the kitchen counter and patted the space by his side. I hesitated for a moment, before I took another step closer and copied his movements. My eyes slightly widened with surprise when I looked at the phone in his hand and caught a glimpse of Kang Seulgi's face, but he quickly explained what was going on: '' One time in the past, when my mother... when my mother died, I... I had to go to therapy and that's where I met miss Park. She was kind and she offered me a shoulder to cry on. She helped me make sense of the world again. ''

'' What does Kang Seulgi have to do with all of this? ''

'' She was part of the same therapy group. She is the only one that knew except my friends from the Elite Club, '' Vernon seriously replied and clenched his fists. '' She threatened me with that knowledge before. I don't know if she really had anything to do with miss Park's death and frankly... I think that she's too much of a coward to really do something like that, but I don't care. Someone has to pay for what happened. That's why I'm going to post a certain video on the internet and destroy what's left of Seulgi and her family's reputation. ''

He raised his phone in the air again and pressed play. Seulgi was sitting on a chair in a therapist's office and her eyes were darting left and right around the room until someone coughed behind the camera and caught her attention again. She looked different compared to now. Less of a wreck. '' My name is Kang Seulgi and I am reporting live from therapy! Or maybe... Maybe I am already dead and this is just how I communicate from the afterlife? Who knows, really. You put me on so many pills that I honestly can't even tell, but I love it. I feel like I'm floating. '' 

I paused the video, looked at Vernon and carefully asked: '' Do you have to go after Seulgi? Can you choose forgiveness instead? ''

'' What? '' he blurted out and frowned in confusion. '' Why would I choose forgiveness? I'm just human. I don't forgive and forget. Not without a reason. ''