The world was spinning. The axis of her mind seemingly turned on itself as the voices distorted. Words jumbled in a muffled mess. Almost like being underwater. The world just keeps moving. Waves of confusion and denial drowned her chest as she could barely make out her voice in the shattering screech of her mind.
"What?"
A whisper maybe - a shout even for all she knew- but barely there.
The older woman sighed. Her face was grim and pitying of the poor soul she was sitting across from in the small office. The blazer made sure her shoulders remained tall, even though both of them knew the tone-deaf request the agent was making.
"The institute finds it best to include you in the team to solve this case." The woman spoke.
Her voice was elegant. Classy was a better word for it. Fake. That was incredibly secure inside her mind. Oh yes, Miss Chang was a dignified woman, fake in her interest in giving an impossible task to someone who had barely healed the basic wounds of her life. But there was a clear emotion behind those eyes. Maybe fear for what she was talking about, excitement on discovering something new, or pity for she may have a sliver of humanity between those shoulder pads, cut to size too unevenly but not enough to take away from the tidy hair and simple makeup.
"Y/N?" She spoke, snapping the younger woman out of her bubble.
Her eyes finally met hers. Brown eyes. How fitting.
"After the success of your previous case, Dr. Kim finds it appropriate for you to join the team and obtain supplementary information on this copycat" Miss Chang spoke.
Y/N could feel a burn traveling through her veins. A dread and fear so sticky, the walls of her not-so-well-nourished veins pinched and pulled away, leaving the acidic reaction behind.
"By doing what exactly?" She dared ask. Anger laced her tone ever so gently. Fear and anger held themselves close when remembering that boxy little room.
"Talking to the one this unidentified subject is copying"
A tidal wave set Y/N's senses on fire. But the room just grew colder. And no one would ever tell. Like a mirage, her yellowed-white walls were becoming reflective. Metal. With all the coldest traveling to her fingers, her wrist resting upon that table. The sound of metal chains clacking, metal versus metal, in a subtle clash of movement. A stark reminder of all the things those god-forsaken pieces kept away.
"And who am I supposed to be talking to?" She asked.
Ha! The agent was annoyed. Just once did Y/N not mind that reaction. She remembered a time when that was her biggest failure. And yet this felt like a trophy won after a race with the only ending being death.
"Choi San"
And there he is. Death itself it seemed. But not quite. How incredibly strange have the last four years been. From finding a small home to recognizing the real meaning of betrayal for the hundredth time in her life. All those moments blended into a deeply rotting mush that grew bigger and bigger as the dimensional understanding of time moved, the earth spinning ever so quickly.. A mind of its own hunting the peaceful silence Y/N had created for herself. That relief, that freedom. Gone. Again.
"No" She said. "He's not my concern anymore. None of them are"
"Look, I know how taxing this must be, but you are the only person to have ever gotten something out of him. Poke his brain. Their brains." Miss Chang interjected. "You will be helping so many people"
Helping. How pretty that word was, wasn't it? On its own, a hallmark of the very things that kept society going. The word is used to force people to give their time away to someone else, expecting nothing in return. A word that became useless, not quickly, but patiently. A volcanic eruption of reality. Helping didn't exist other than for laziness and greed.
"There is much-qualified personnel in many areas that can meet your request a lot better than I can" Y/N said, an ironic -rhetorical- squeeze made her abdominal wall ever so smaller. That heartbeat knocked at the weaker ribs, louder than a sonic boom.
"Y/N-" "Dr. Cabrera or Magtr. Miller can help. They are internationally rebounded for their work" Y/N cut the woman off.
The older woman sighed. Giving up. Something she had experienced before. It was a different relief really. Letting go, moving on. That's all Y/N wanted. Needed.
"Thank you for your time" Miss Chang said, finally standing up. The blazer was accompanied by a pencil skirt in the same washed-out, probably sun damaged- grey. A set most likely. Not tailored correctly to the woman's frame. As she turned, small stray hairs escaped the tightly sealed bun, just above the subtle makeup smudges. She probably put on her makeup after getting dressed. Or took the blouse off a little too quickly to notice.
Y/N remained quiet. The air around her finally filtered back to its original state. Breathable air instead of the water-like thickness that rested upon the room every time one of those agents popped their head inside the office.
The small vibration of a device took her attention away from the fading clicks of the woman's heels. Her eyes landed on the ID displayed on her screen. Mistake1.
She huffed. That date was a mouthful to explain, but that alone could describe the entire thing. This new person came into her life, flirted with her, and began moving along before squashing it all with the simple repetition of the exact same phrase. What do you know about the Devil's Dance murders? How thrilling of a question! How original! But how funny that so many people repeated that.
Even if her name was forcefully kept out of the files. Did she remember requesting it? Not quite. Maybe she did. She wanted healing, normality, friends, all of that, without the sensationalism of sure a high-profile case. One that is happening all over again.
Y/N blinked a few times, finding the focus on the printer going off in the next room. They really needed to get that rusty sound fixed before a monster emerged from the wired innards of the machine. Or before a color cartridge exploded on very sensitive copies. Sensitive used lightly.
"Hey, Y/N" Jeong-ho called out.
He was standing by her door. His uniform was about the crumble as their shift was coming to an end. His stance was relaxed. No furrow or rigidity of the limbs. And his face was one right out of a dream. Those defined features highlighting those beautiful doe eyes. A softer nose than most but the softness fit with the less defined shape of his lips. His skin was tan and incredibly well taken care of. A man after anyone's heart.
"Yeah" Y/N responded, looking up to meet his gaze. A neutral and stable stare. "What's up?"
"Boss called for the preparations on the new piece" He started. "There is a lot of talk about this case and he wants us on it ASAP"
Y/N frowned. A strange beating sequence drummed in her chest, but she knew it had to be put down.
"I know" She said. "That's why Si-U and Ji-ho are on right now. They are covering the development live"
"Uh-huh" He hummed. "You didn't get the notice?"
"What notice?"
"The one where he rearranged the teams. You are the head editor for this specific story" He said, so matter-of-factly. It should have been harmless, thrilling even, but-
"I'm not from that section" She answered. A pathetic excuse, but effective. "Even if Shawn switched everything up, I am not to be put on these sorts of stories"
Jeong-ho shrugged. His expression was missed by the frantic woman, looking at her monitor. Typing all sorts of keywords to find this new announcement.
Heavy footsteps were heard. A certain pattern of a faint limp and a center of gravity that was too forward for anyone.
"I seemed to have missed my chance" Shawn Lee said simply. "But a congratulation is still offered"
"Shawn" Y/N responded back, ignoring his words. "I am not part of this department to be watching over the story. I have a lot of things on my plate right now with elections and new announcements coming up. You cannot-" "Chief Huang will take care of it. You will be switching assignments for once" He answered.
"Why?" She asked before she could even catch the firing transmissions her neurons were going through.
"Because I need a good force on the job" He answered. The tone he used was dry and exasperated. No. He was offended at her doubts, wasn't he? How dare someone to forget who was in charge? How dare she forget what sort of once-in-a-lifetime chance she had? "And you were around the original incident, right? You lived in the same area. I need knowing eyes"
But she was done with once a lifetime.
"I have to decline, Shawn" She said with sad eyes. How easy it was to pull those out of nowhere. Not necessarily just that, but emotions. Those became fake extremely quickly. "I have my heart on getting the elections covered. And other projects that I already started."
She stood up from her chair, coming to stand in front of the men. "I know you want the best and most knowledgeable, but even if I was in the area, I heard nothing. I know nothing other than one of the students in my class was a murderer"
"At least, be my overseer." he said. "You have to ask no questions. Proofread and fact-check in an ambulatory fashion. How's that?"
"Why do you want me on this story so bad?" She answered, crossing her arms over her chest. A teasing smile working its way on her features.
"You are one of my most trusted and most trained. I just want this done well" Shawn answered. "Plus I need the children taken care of"
Jeong-ho's eyes went wide as Y/N chuckled. "Fine, but I will only check finals. I am drowning in work"
The central phone in Y/N's office rang its high-pitched noise.
"Excuse me" She muttered, the men taking it as their leave.
She picked up, her curiosity was quite peaked. "Spark Editorials. How can I help you?"
"Y/L/N?" A faint voice. Familiar? Maybe, but this line was messed up.
"Who's asking?" She asked back. "I can pass a message through"
"No" The voice answered. Male maybe? "I need to speak to her directly"
"That's not really possible right now" She muttered, a slight fear sitting in the very pit of her stomach. "She is not in the office"
"When is she coming back?" Young. Maybe high-pitched in a way.
"She's not coming in for a while" She said. Lying was so fun. "And even then, we don't pass the call through directly unless requested by the recipient"
The individual let out a frustrated sigh. Y/N smirked a little.
"Can you still pass a message?"
"Yes" She said. "Right away"
The notepad that lived on every writable surface was flipped over. Random words jumbled together, but there was still space on the page.
"Go ahead" She said.
A certain curiosity resided within her being. This could be so many things and maybe nothing close to either of them. Maybe one of the candidates was reaching out before a big scandal. Or maybe said candidate finally accepted a direct interview. The main designer house she had contacted could also be reaching over.
"There is a phone number she needs to call. And soon"
Oh! The two interviewed organizers. Get their story straight type deal maybe.
"She knows it be heart, she must" He said. "I am aware she will be called for this gig. But I need her to call me first"
Gig? So it is that designer house. The children of the founder were a mess, to say the least.
"Who's it from?"
An almost childish mischief-like feeling went through her chest. This could be an exciting update on a very fun case. Maybe she could help clear someone's name for once. For real. And not get tampered with in the process.
The person on the other line doubted a bit. Muffled sounds came through but no coherent response could be found. A sigh went through the line.
"Tell her it's from an old friend."
"Mingi"