"Did Dalia really diss her group mates in her solo project?" I ponder out loud whilst Hyeon and I go through every single article we can find on the Sweet Poison girls.
I've lost track of the time but ever so often my stomach would growl, indicating just how hungry I am. It must be past dinner already.
"Funny, I listened to her songs over and over again. I mean there were only four of them," Hyeon chuckles and then he pauses. "But there was an obvious diss track."
He opens up a new tab and searches for the lyrics to the song titled "Stolen Feathers". In 2018, Sweet Poison went through a pretty long hiatus, much to the dismay of their fans. Most of the girls did modelling gigs and attended fashion shows that year but Dalia released a solo mini album.
All songs were written and produced by her and the album did spectacularly. The title track 'Darker than Night' achieved a Real Time All Kill in a month which means it dominated all the music charts in Korea within weeks of release. That is no easy feat for a group let alone a solo artist.
People loved to read between the lines of her cryptic lyrics. I remember forums dedicated to them, some of which I used to follow myself. There was one song in particular that garnered some controversy. Stolen Feathers was all about fake people who used everyone to get what they wanted.
I remember an iconic line in Dalia's song that went something along the lines of; even if there was an inch of flesh still left on bare bones, it would still be enough for 'them' to use for their benefit.
I read through the lyrics with Hyeon and the study room is so silent I can hear my own breathing. My stomach of course chooses that moment to growl loudly and Hyeon shoots me a look.
"Did you not eat today?" He asks looking concerned. "Do they really starve you people?"
My lips crack into a smile. "You people?"
"I meant Kpop idols. It's not right you know. You guys are constantly dancing and rehearsing. You should be eating like athletes."
"It's fine." I wave him off. "My dress was just super tight for the shoot today. I couldn't eat much because of the corset."
"Still it's not right. Why does the corset have to be so tight anyway," I stifle a laugh as Hyeon glances at his watch. "It's almost nine. Let's grab some sandwiches."
My stomach is protesting but I'm too invested to stop for food. "Okay, after we finish this."
We turn our attention back to the lyrics and I read through every line, trying to see them with fresh eyes.
"I always thought she was talking about the industry," I murmur.
"Me too. Thought she was talking about the Pt executives or her manager," Hyeon agrees. He leans forward, putting his chin on his fist for support.
"Why did Maria say she was talking about them?" I've read these same lines for the fifth time and there is no indication that Dalia mentioned her group mates. Although this song is all about using someone for personal gain but there is nothing specific.
Unless there is something only they know about.
"What do you think they were looking for in Dalia's house?" I lean back and turn to Hyeon, giving up on the lyrics momentarily.
"Something incriminating," Hyeon taps his chin, looking deep in thought. "What could possibly incriminate three Kpop idols? What were they involved in?"
I write the question down on the notepad Hyeon brought with him. I'd rushed from rehearsal, the only thing I brought with me is my satchel bag and the glitter on my face.
"Let's try looking at other angles. See the people associated with them," Hyeon suggests and he goes through galleries of Sweet Poison's pictures.
There are so many events, so many solo activities. After a while my eyes start feeling sore and begin to water. It's like trying to find a needle in a very glamorous haystack.
"Wait!" I startle Hyeon by pointing at a picture in the bottom left corner aggressively. "That's the guy in the picture! I think it's one of them."
Hyeon zooms in on the picture of Maria, Loona, Summer and Dalia, flanked on both sides by well dressed very good looking men. I recognise one of them as Li Geun, the artist in the group picture in Mr Wan's studio.
He is standing next to Dalia in this one and I notice there is no polite distance usually seen at events like these. Men and women tend to maintain a professional distance in most pictures taken on the red carpet. You can see most male idols have their hands wrapped around female idols shoulders but they are usually suspended in air, no physical touch usually happens.
It's common decorum here but there is none of that in this picture. The girls laugh and smile comfortably and Li Geun's hand is hidden somewhere behind Dalia's back, while she leans into him, striking a cute pose.
They look so comfortable with each other. Like good old friends or maybe even lovers?
Beside me Hyeon is silent. I turn to see him fixated on Li Geun, sizing him up from head to toe. The jealousy on his face almost comical. There really is no competition when it comes to Li Geun.
He was ranked in Korea's top ten bachelor list last year and his art pieces as so prolific, I've heard each one sells for about five million won a piece.
"What are you staring at?" I finally ask because Hyeon hasn't moved an inch since we discovered this picture. He looks like a zombie staring at it.
"Look at Loona's hand," He finally speaks.
I'd been so fixated on Dalia and Li Geun that I'd barely focused on the rest of the picture. I lean in and stare at Loona, who is on the far right standing next to another tall well dressed man.
Unlike Dalia and Geun, these two are standing within range of the usual polite distance that celebrities practice but what's interesting is their hands.
The man's hand is outstretched, reaching for hers and I notice her bare arm splayed out, hand open.
Hyeon zooms in on the picture which decreases the resolution but it is enough to make out a small white piece of paper in her hand. It is so tiny, barely noticeable to the naked eye. I smile at Hyeon, feeling impressed.
"Nice catch. What do you think that is?"
"Not sure. But it's definitely something to look into and also who this guy is." He screen shots the picture and leans back. "It's getting late. We should head back. If you find out anything else text me. We need to be prepared before ambushing Loona."
I nod in agreement, getting up and setting my satchel over my shoulder.
Hyeon gets up and pauses to stare at me suddenly, looking like he is seeing me properly for the first time tonight. He gestures at the elaborate make up on my left eye. "You look pretty."
I turn around before he can see my face burning. "I didn't have time to wash up before coming here."
"There's a nice sandwich truck over here." Hyeon leads me to the parking lot across the road from the library.
The street here is busy with people taking leisurely walks with their partners and buying street food from the clapboard stalls lining the road. We stop at an egg foldover stall and Hyeon buys two sandwiches.
"Thanks," I say before digging into mine with the grace of a starving bear. I've devoured half of my sandwich by the time we settle on a sidewalk bench.
"Slow down or you'll choke," Hyeon says clearly amused. He hands me a soda and I chug some of it down eagerly.
We settle into a comfortable bout of silence as we finish our dinners and I stare at the landscape around us, filled with lighted skyscrapers and a dark empty sky.
"You know if this was Hadong. The sky would be littered with stars. Literally filled with them."
Hyeon, turns to me as I lean against the stone bench seat. "I've been to Hadong once. On a Dalia tour."
I smile remembering the buses that used to flock into Hadong for the so called 'Dalia tours'. They claimed to take visitors to her favourite cafes and the places she used to visit growing up. What most people don't know is that half those cafes didn't even exist when we were kids.
It was all just a tourism ploy.
"I miss her," He suddenly says and it feels like we are in a bubble, the palpable sadness in his voice enveloping us and shutting everything else out.
"What made you like her? As a fan I mean," I ask out of curiousity although the word 'like' might be putting it mildly. I don't want to say obsess but it's clear he's been down ever since the picture of her and Li Geun.
Hyeon shrugs and stares ahead absent-mindedly. "I guess she's always looked like an outcast in her group. It made her so relatable to me."
I swallow the remains of my sandwich, contemplating his words. In all my life I've never seen Dalia as an outcast. She was always the centre of attention, like the Sun and we were the planets that revolved around her.
It's funny how someone who never knew her personally saw her in such a different light. But the truth is, Dalia often mentioned feeling lonely when we had those occasional phone conversations. So maybe Hyeon is right, maybe she did feel like an outcast.
I wipe my mouth and take another sip of soda before sighing. "It's hard to tell what she really felt. I miss her too. So much."
He side eyes me and the moonlight casts a deep shadow across his sharp cheekbones. It's hard to read his expression.
"We should head back." He breaks the eye contact and stands up abruptly.
"Yeah," I murmur in agreement and follow him to the bus stand.
Hyeon insists on following me back to the trainee dorms but we sit separately on the bus. I don't want anyone within a 10km radius of Firefly spotting me with a guy. Especially since my photo with Jiho went viral.
When we reach the dorms I get up and shoot him a quick nod before skipping out of the bus. Today has been more productive than I could have imagined. We're still a long way from figuring all things Dalia related but progress is still progress and the picture with Li Geun and Loona has left me with a buzz of excitement.
It's becoming more and more obvious that there is something amiss in this situation.
There is a crowd at the foot of the staircase and my eyes widen when I see all the girls standing around in tights and thick sweaters. Mr. Oh is pacing in front of them and then Binna sees me.
"She's here!" Her face is tear stricken and she collapses to the floor. A few of the girls quickly rush to help her up.
"What is going on?" I walk towards them hesitantly.
"Jina, where the hell have you been? The girls here have got it in their heads that you've been kidnapped or run away or something." Mr Oh's usually pale face is pink tinged and he looks livid.
"I..I," My stammering is definitely not helping the situation. "I had to rush to the library. My sister needed something and I was afraid it would close."
This is a dumb excuse because anyone who uses the public library knows that it closes at midnight but I'm banking on the fact that these girls aren't the bookworm type.
"The least you could have done was let one of us know. Binna was about to make a police report." JinJin walks up to me with her arms crossed over each other. She looks tired and extremely annoyed with this whole debacle.
"Police don't accept missing persons reports unless they've been gone for more than 24 hours," Kim says out of nowhere but no one pays attention to her.
"This is so reckless. So dumb. Anything could have happened to you." Mr Oh continues his pacing. I've never seen him look so perturbed.
"I'm so sorry everyone." My voice is heavy with guilt especially when Binna looks up at me angrily. "I would have texted but we only have our phones on weekends."
"The good thing is you're safe but management will hear of this, Jina," Mr Oh warns, making me stiffen. "Go on up. Go to bed girls."
My heart sinks as I follow the girls up to our dorms but there is an iciness in the atmosphere as they ignore me and head to their rooms.
"I'm so sorry, Binna. I had to rush--"
"Did you really go to meet your sister?" Binna accuses after she slams the door behind her.
When I remain silent she sighs. "I swear it's like I don't even know you anymore. You've become this whole other person after Dalia died and you just have no time for us. No time for me. Are what the girls saying true? Are you too good for us now?"
Her words sting. Does she really believe that?
"I've just been going through something," I say vaguely earning a grunt from her.
"I'm sleeping in Grace's room tonight. You should be happy. More space for yourself." And with that she grabs her blanket, pillows and leaves the room.
The door shuts with a click and I'm left staring at it dumbfounded. What the hell just happened?