Chapter 22: Should I Go Back And Investigate? (Monday POV)
First Posted On: 19th October 2021
Last Updated On: 20th October 2021
T/N: This takes place on 28th September 2020.
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I stretched my limbs backstage while the rest of the members got their makeup done for our next 1theK release. With our comeback in around two weeks, our schedules are getting packed again. The PDs informed us that we had five concepts to work around, one of which being our comeback title track 'Zig Zag' that will be teased for the first time.
I kinda get why we are 1theK's daughters now.
"Don't you already have abs Kim Monday?" Soeun was observing my planking on the floor.
"Shouldn't you be working on getting abs Park Soeun?" I challenged her.
"I'm strong! I'm strong too! Don't look down on me," she huffed and started stretching her arms. Aigoo...
Jihan was about to copy us but I overheard Jiyoon stop her saying, "We are small fries among the tall -line...don't bother trying..."
I'm certain our comedic personalities will last throughout this comeback.
Our dance cover concepts were diverse as expected. We had to switch between the charisma of ATEEZ and Stray Kids and then the vibrant theme of IZ*ONE. Of course, we will have matching outfits for our dances.
There was one dance that I secretly wished I could do: 'So What' by LOONA. However, I was given the dance for Seventeen's 'Left and Right' instead (obviously so Jihan had the chance to flex her Orbit love). Indeed, if I did dance to LOONA, it was so that Hyunjin unnie can be proud of me.
At that, I paused. Ever since I met Hyunjin, I had this desire to do everything to make her happy. Out of context, this would sound weird, but in the two meetings we had, there is some unknown affinity that I feel with her. It goes beyond our personalities as KPop idols, but perhaps something deeper.
I sensed she was feeling some kind of emotional pain. And I could tell from her expression that she could understand how I felt as I searched for Jin Jin.
"STANDBY~!" the PD called us over. That alone reminded me of Hyunjin's behaviour. Oh well, let's get on with the job.
We performed 'Wonderland', 'How You Like That', 'New Things', 'ON' and 'God's Menu' first in our black-themed outfits. It feels a world away from our Zig Zag MV concept, but we managed to pull them off well. At the end of the segment, we were already out of breath.
During our break, I sat with Soojin unnie as we waited our turn to change our outfits. I was about to chat with her about finding Jin Jin when Soeun and Zoa joined us. I guess that will have to wait...
After interacting with the members and mildly starting a joke about Soojin being a 꼰대 (kkondae), I leant my head on Soeun's shoulder. If anything, I didn't want the members to get too suspicious of me spending way too much time with Soojin unnie. They don't know it's to find my real unnie, and I hope it stays that way until I get some leads on her.
Sometime later we completed 'So What' and 'Secret Story of the Swan'. A quick change later and 'Monster' and 'Left and Right' were filmed too. At last, we were ready to perform 'Zig Zag', which will be the first time the netizens will see our choreography and hear our comeback song. For this rendition of 'Zig Zag', we were dressed in blazers with green-black striped ties or bows. The plan was to dance the chorus without props; those will be in the actual MV.
Just before we headed to the set to perform, I caught a glimpse of two men chatting with our manager. I did not think much about it and set my mind to focus on the comeback. Just like our debut song, I began the chorus with a powerful yet bubbly voice. After Jihan's accompaniment, Soeun and Jiyoon took turns to sing the next two lines. Jaehee, Soojin, and Zoa helped complete the chorus, meaning we all got a chance to sing it!
The filming was finally done; flawless as usual. The members and I patted each other on our shoulders as we looked forward to our evening off. It will be one of the last before our packed schedules begin and rumour is that one of them will be us appearing on 'Idol League' for the first time.
At that moment, the two men who were talking to our manager came up to us. They were dressed in suits so they must mean business (ha ha).
"김지민 씨?" one of them, the shorter one, called my name and I promptly walked up to them.
"저요," I greeted them politely. I was about to insert my usual greeting as Weeekly's Monday but the taller man stopped me.
"아라," he spoke. "I'm Hyunjoon and this is my colleague Sunwoo. We're profilers from the National Criminal Investigation (NCI) unit."
He was of course gesturing to the shorter female detective(?) with him. I have heard about the NCI before and it seemed surreal that they would be requesting to meet with me.
"아 예...안녕하새요," I tried my best to maintain my composure. Although I could tell the other members were confused.
"We received an anonymous request for a cold case recently...and we would like your assistance in our investigation," Sunwoo explained the purpose of their visit. "That same anonymous person said they're helping you too..."
Helping me? I wonder...
"Yes you should follow them, Jimin," manager-nim came by. "As much as I rather you girls get rest, this seems like an urgent matter."
After sorting out the arrangements for the rest of the evening, I gathered my things and followed the NCI detectives. For some reason, Soojin unnie looked at me apologetically. Nah...I think she believes it's about Jin Jin. It's not like she reported the matter right?
Right...?
Some driving with the detectives later, we arrived at the NCI headquarters. Night had already fallen and the building was already well lit. It looked dazzling...but I was finding it difficult to admire the view because of this strange air of uncertainty over what I would be helping the detectives in.
They ushered me into an interview room once they had parked the car. I must say though, for a government building they do not have high-security protocols for KPop idols. Well, who am I to say that I'm just a rookie.
After the detectives apologised for taking my time and got some of my particulars down, they got down to the main issue at hand, with detective Sunwoo asking me, "The anonymous source informed us that you are currently living as an only child, is that right?"
Hmm...whoever this person is, they might be close to me. Well, I just assumed it was my parents who might have reported it and just carried on with, "Yes, I am an only child now, but I wasn't before..."
"You weren't an only child?" detective Hyunjoon was interested. "Hmm, I suspected as much because you seemed a little submissive despite being one of the older members of your group."
"It's true," I admitted. "Right now I see Soojin unnie as a sister-figure in my life. However, I used to have a biological sister. It's just..."
She's missing...
"...she's the cold case." detective Sunwoo dropped the bomb.
I initially panicked thinking I really lost Jin Jin until they explained that cold cases are just crimes that remained unsolved for years and it is not necessarily the case that any victims involved are dead.
In the end, I told the detectives about the letter my parents sent me on my birthday earlier this year. That is how they knew about Jin Jin as the pet name for my missing sister.
On a hunch, I informed the detectives, "I was the last person with Jin Jin before she was abducted. Does that not make me the first witness?"
"By today's laws, yes," detective Sunwoo agreed. "But due to you being a minor and victim at the time, as well as taking to account your trauma from the incident, it was the protocol that you would not be interviewed until you were mentally ready to give a statement. And at the time, the authorities thought this case could be closed swiftly, like other similar cases."
Clearly it was negligence, I thought. Then again, the law is the law and we cannot change it.
"We were looking at the case files again on her disappearance," detective Hyunjoon told me. "Usually the longest it would take for a missing-person-turned-abduction case to be solved in Korea is under five years. But this case has gone on for fifteen. Something didn't add up."
"However, I think we found the reason," detective Sunwoo's tone got a little darker. Perhaps furious.
They opened the case file and showed me the report. Except, where the missing person's name was supposed to be...
...it read <수정> (redacted).
And there it was...the one chance I had to find out my sister's name, gone.
"Unless it was an inside job," detective Hyunjoon theorised, "we suspect the file had been hacked externally and the perpetrator deleted the name to cover his or her tracks. They might have taken advantage of the high missing person cases back in 2005 to ensure this report ended up getting filed as a cold case. Back then, redacted missing persons were assumed to have no family connections."
I was trembling in fear. Whoever took my sister away even had the audacity to tamper with the evidence so she remained in their clutches forever. To say it was cruel was too kind in my opinion.
"Jimin..." detective Sunwoo, who had been watching me, suddenly posed a question, "have your parents ever told you what your sister's name is?"
"아니," I denied. "Their letter only mentioned Jin Jin. Maybe...they are not telling me on purpose?"
It's because they do not want to distract you from your dream to become a singer, duh.
"Why don't you call them-" detective Sunwoo suggested but her colleague cut her off.
"There might be a deeper reason behind just revealing the pet name," detective Hyunjoon stared at me this time. "If Jimin here is naturally submissive outside of Weeekly, chances are it runs in the family. Submissiveness could mean there is a fear of some danger that might befall the family if they didn't follow an order from someone, whom might have a grudge against them."
"What do you mean?!" I was shocked by the profiling. "My parents are the nicest people in the world. Why would they have people against them...?!"
"Calm down Jimin-ssi!" detective Hyunjoon advised me before he continued with, "Like you thought, Jin must be one of the characters in your missing sister's name and it is more commonly at the end of one's name. The thing is, 김*땡*진 combinations are so common that it made sense for Jin Jin to be a pet name since it is unique to your sister."
Just like how Jimin is a popular name so Omma and Appa gave me Min Min...
"Your parents might just be acting cautiously," detective Hyunjoon put things into perspective. "It could be the abductor or their accomplices might find out so they did not want to tell you everything. They probably wanted to make sure you were older and mentally stronger to comprehend what happened since they knew you went through trauma as the witness and almost victim."
"We must also consider the possibility that your sister might be living under a different name," detective Sunwoo added. "She might not even remember who her real family is."
As much as I wanted to agree with them, I strangely couldn't. I was holding on to the possibility that she does remember and is searching for her family too.
Not being able to make anymore headway, the detectives ended the interrogation. As this was a cold case on my missing sister, I offered my assistance for the future; at least when I had time off my schedule. Taking into account the circumstances, they also promised additional police protection for me and Weeekly, just in case. However, I had one last question bugging me.
"Who was the anonymous person who tipped you off about the new insights to the cold case?" I asked the detectives. "Besides my parents, only three other people knew about my past. So one of them must have told you indirectly..."
They gave me a hesitant pause. My knowledge of KDrama plots told me this usually isn't a good thing. I was about to say never mind to it, but detective Hyunjoon revealed the name which left me more confused.
"Lee Soojin"
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A/N: Monday is approached by the police too?! Is she closer to finding Jin Jin now? However, why is Soojin involved in this?
Yes, the detectives are from 'Criminal Minds: Korea' if you were wondering. The drama is very good by the way, and I recommend you guys watch it because that is the source of inspiration for this and the previous chapter. It's a little bit of a shame that I had to write a long section about Weeekly's 1theK Countdance as filler content first though.
As promised, the main mystery of this plot is unfolding, so I hope you readers remain on the edge of your seats (or screens). Besides-
HeeChuu: AUTHOR-NNNIIIIMMMM!!!!
Me: Yes Heejin and Chuu, the door isn't locked...
Heejin: Weren't you going to put my name at the end? It's more fitting since it's my birthday today!
Me: But-
Chuu: And mine tomorrow!
HeeChuu: WHEN ARE WE GETTING THE SPOTLIGHT?!
Me: A few things. Firstly, I am following a plot and I decide which POVs and characters are the best for it. Secondly, it is also 'Why Not' 1st Anniversary so I posted this chapter today. Thirdly, you two literally have your own reality show; how much spotlight can I give you beyond this fanfic? Finally, 생일 축하합니다 to you both!
Heejin: I'm confused. Were you lecturing us or wishing us happy birthday?
Chuu: Let's take the happy birthday wish. Also, 안녕히 계세요 여러분 ~!
Me: Yay!! Chuu-meme!!
Soeun (distantly): Don't forget 'Zig Zag' 1st Anniversary too! And my birthday coming up next weeek!
Me: Yes Soeun. One at a time~
*Everyone leaves*
Yeah. A pretty packed few weeks of celebrations ahead. The kids all mentioned them so I'll just let the pictures and MVs do the talking.
Vote + Comment ~ !