X
DUPLICITY
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(tw: violence, very brief mention of suicide, please read safely)
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MIN WAS STARTING TO UNDERSTAND that if things could get any worse, it was a guarantee they would. Students at NHU had been practically trained to grit their teeth and endure, doing whatever it took to just make it to graduation.
Min was following their lead, trudging through life by brunt force alone. Because if she stopped for even a second, the weight of what she had just done to Serevena would destroy the last vestiges left of the old Minni. The Minni from Cape Freewell with glowing skin and a taut smile. A girl who existed on the fringes, quietly biding her time and building a better life for herself from scratch. A girl that ate criticism for dinner and stomached dance for dessert. Her ability to persevere had gotten her so far–from the dead ends of the Cape to the city of glass. It was something she used to be proud of, her endurance.
Now, all she felt was a sinking sense of shame that her fight to keep her head above water meant pushing others under. Or watching the ripples in the waves as it happened.
Which is how Min found herself tucked on the couch between Kev and Jisoo on a Friday night, all of them completely unaware of the typhoon about to hit. They just completed two of the StarForce films. Jisoo did not want to watch, but eventually was convinced by Kev's long-winded descriptions of some of the characters. Bless her attempt, but she spent most of the night scrolling on her phone.
Eventually the heiress cracked in the middle of the third film. She adjusted herself in the middle of a monologue, reaching for a strand of Min's hair to braid. She was fidgeting, which meant she was overthinking.
Jisoo finally spoke up. "COTA is coming up."
The Celebration of the Arts was an annual event at Newhurst that every student was encouraged, if not required, to participate in. Students made custom, collaborative performances that could win awards, trophies, and cash prizes during the official showings in April.
It was a big deal, one that Min was putting off thinking about until the last minute. Simply because of the pressure. She had disappointed Madame Dufort enough as it was. Winning a COTA award meant global attention from dance companies, record labels, or whoever else was out there watching NHU's every move. She could not afford any more screw ups and with the way life was going, screwing up was almost a given.
Min swallowed thickly. "Already? Are you doing it?"
"I'm a business major." Jisoo shrugged. "Our side of things aren't so fun to watch."
"Yeah, but you sing," Kevin interjected with a mouth full of popcorn. "So just apply and do it anyway."
"Okay okay, band kid." She snatched the popcorn bucket away for herself. "What about you then? The deadline for proposals is in like three weeks."
He stiffened at the question and sank further into the couch. "About that..." He turned to look at Minni with a hesitant smile. "I meant to ask if you would actually want to do a stage together. My trumpet, your dance. Like a funky ballet jazz fusion sort of thing."
Jisoo raised an eyebrow judgmentally before Min could reply. "So fuck me I guess?"
"You just said you weren't gonna do it!" He waved his arms around dramatically.
The two liked to bicker more than Min would have expected. Jisoo, because she liked to joke around, and Kevin because he had yet to realize her sense of humor. If Minni did not interject they could argue the whole night.
"Sure Kev," she cut in, turning to her other friend. Jisoo's lips were in a pout, eyes distant in a way that suggested she was worried about more than COTA. "And Jisoo, if you want to lend us your voice, you are more than welcome to."
"You could also lend us this month's rent-" Kev chuckled, only to be chuffed on the shoulder by Minni.
Jisoo's smile bloomed again. It suited her, warm and endearing. "I love you Min. What would we do without you?"
"I don't know. Go crazy listening to the sound of your own voices, probably."
"See, you're even poetic with your insults," she snickered, eyes gleaming with a hint of mischief. Min stiffened at the sight. Nothing good ever came out of that expression. "No wonder Juyeon took a liking to you."
"What?" Min stuttered, which was her first mistake. Jisoo was like a shark. If she smelled blood, she pounced and Juyeon was easily a wound of hers that had not stopped bleeding.
"Don't be coy!" Jisoo wrangled the dancer by her shoulders, eager and excited, so completely unaware that she was encouraging her friend to dance with the devil. "Jennie told me you're interested."
"Not anymore!" For once, Minni was being completely honest. It wounded her ego that she was, at one point, genuinely infatuated with him even if it was through a screen. "I was just curious. I think he's a dick."
"Are you sure you don't just want his–"
Min shoved her hands over Jisoo's lips, horrified and absolutely humiliated by what she intended to say. "Don't finish that sentence. I'm serious!"
The heiress held her hands up in surrender, but it did not stop her from laughing up a storm the moment Min let her go. The dancer could only sigh and sink back into the couch, resisting the urge to hide her face with her hands, knowing Jisoo would only take it as confirmation of her very delusional, very biased suspicions.
When Jisoo finally calmed down, the silence stretched for a long moment. Min's embarrassment faded just enough for her to notice Kev had gone stiff and silent. When she turned to look at him, he pointedly stole a glance at the remote instead.
"Let's just watch something else," he murmured, looking out of sorts. Jisoo's teasing had not amused him at all. If anything, he looked worse for wear. The flashing lights of a battle scene illuminated a wrinkle between his brows.
"Are you okay?" Min asked. It was highly unusual for him to stop a StarForce marathon halfway through and she was not naive enough to believe he was doing it for Jisoo.
His smile seemed jumbled together, half-hearted. "'M fine. Just tired."
He pressed a button and the muted chatter of a local news anchor echoed in their tiny living space. Jisoo stopped messing with Min's hair to shoot a glance his way.
"The news? Seriously? What are we, eighty?"
When he made no sharp retort like he typically would, Min and Jisoo exchanged a concerned glance. He still looked just as high-strung, arm thrown over the back of the couch and restlessly shaking.
Min desperately wanted to probe him about his sudden change in mood, but Kev was notoriously a closed book. The last time she asked too much, cared too much, he iced her out for a week. So this time, she wrung her hands in her lap and said nothing. She felt useless, because ultimately she was. There was no way to console him if he was not willing to open up.
So instead, the three let the bland weather jargon from the broadcast flow between them, hoping the awkward mood would fade. That things would get better.
As if God was laughing at her, at all of them, the universe chose that very moment to make things significantly worse. The screen transitioned from the weatherman to a prim and proper lady sitting behind a desk, title card flashing at the bottom.
BREAKING NEWS: ADVANCEMENT IN SUICIDE CASE OF NHU STUDENT.
The tension in the room pulled thin, and collapsed, at the unexpected mention of Somin, the dead girl that just couldn't stay dead. Even Kevin's attention suddenly seemed revived.
"What the fuck," he rasped under his breath, turning the volume up.
"...and an advancement in the suicide case of a local NHU dance student. The 22 year old's death was determined to be a suicide by the Newhurst Police Department approximately three weeks ago. The student was rumored to be allegedly suffering from depression after criticisms from overbearing parents."
Goosebumps spread over Minni's arms like a warning, a sick, twisted feeling rising to the surface. Another suspicion, another loose end that would haunt her until it was tied. Why would Somin's parents ever be suspected in the first place when there was a website full of students waiting for her downfall? It was like the post made about her, all the rumors, even the blog itself, had completely disappeared into thin air.
Min felt Jisoo reach for her hand and squeeze. She had not even realized that her nails were digging into her palms until then.
"However, further investigation suggested that the student may have been encouraged to kill herself by 20 year old exchange student, Lucas Correia. After an anonymous tip, police found incriminating text messages and an account allegedly tied to Correia leaving death threats and hate comments under the deceased's social media posts. Correia has been taken into custody while the investigation continues..."
"Jisoo..." Kevin whispered, distressed and concerned, watching her as if she would fall apart. Only a raucous crash came in reply as the heiress rushed to her feet. The popcorn bowl was thrown onto the rickety floor at their feet, shattered into pieces. Min tried her best to keep her grip on Jisoo's free hand firm, so that she would know she was there for her. Jisoo only snatched it away, her trembling fingers rushing to her hair and pulling.
"Oh my god!" she wheezed, pacing in front of the television. Kevin rushed to turn it off, guilt as plain as day written across his face for having suggested the news in the first place. "How could they?"
"I'm sorry," Min whispered, throat burning. "The police have to be wrong. I don't think-"
"-This can't be happening. I can't." At this point she was sniffling and frantically wiping away tears. The heiress snatched up her bag, rushed for the entrance, and slammed the door behind her. She seemed so fragile in a way Min had never seen before. She stood, not wanting her friend to suffer alone.
"Don't," Kevin blurted, looking absolutely miserable himself. His arms were tightly bundled around his torso. "She needs space after that."
For once, they were in agreement. Min felt her legs give out and she flopped back into her seat, face in her hands. "I don't believe this," she muttered.
Lucas Correia could not hurt a fly. He was too soft-bellied and headstrong. The kind of person that still believed in the good, that wanted to be good. And he was good for Jisoo, a girl who fell in love at the drop of a hat but still struggled to believe it existed.
Min had heard so much about him, how he would volunteer at the food pantry, how he smiled at the sun and at her. How he made her feel whole. Now, he was entangled in such a broad sphere of a murder mystery. The accusations were so obviously fabricated, such an obvious attempt at distraction, that it made her chest hollow.
God. This was why Seonghwa asked about him. He knew. He knew and he didn't believe it either.
Kevin set about picking up the fragmented pieces of their movie night, dust pan in hand. "This is so fucked. Let's check on her tomorrow."
Min could only hum in reply, the shock and secondhand guilt stealing any words she could say. After all, what could she say? Sorry, Jisoo. The people blackmailing me probably murdered Somin and framed your boyfriend and I have to help them hide it all or else we're all screwed. Everything had gone backwards so fast in a way that Minni could not understand.
Jisoo was supposed to be lucky, immune to the wiles of the elite. She was born into wealth and had, miraculously, managed to completely avoid contact with most of them. In part because of her sister, and in part because she gossiped enough to know better. But no one saw this coming, not even Jennie. How could they? What connection did Lucas, of all people, have to The Night for them to frame him?
It could just be random, but it never was with them. It was all about power, control. Min just didn't understand who it was that they were trying to keep in check this time.
···✧···
WHEN THE GUILT HIT, it hit hard and all at once. The feelings she was burying about having ruined Serevena's chance at a quiet college experience, about Lucas, were unearthed the moment she shut her eyes and tried to sleep. She instead found herself rushing to the bathroom crying over the toilet in the middle of the night. Her breath wobbled as she tried to get her breathing under control, but the fear stuck. It always did. It seemed to control her every movement now. She was desperately trying to protect her friends, herself, her family, and she was losing at every turn.
When she managed to pull herself together all she saw was a broken, empty shell of a girl in the mirror. She was at a loss of what to do. All she could do was mindlessly follow what Juyeon said, hoping he was honest enough to leave her alone after she got him dirt on Yeosang.
Min splashed water on her face knowing she would not be able to get sleep the rest of the night and slipped out of the apartment and into the cool, starless cityscape. It had been raining on and off all night and the petrichor reminded her of home enough to clear her head. She wandered thoughtlessly for a bit before heading toward a 24 hour convenience store a block over. This side of Newhurst was always so quiet. It was close enough to the university that the sidewalks were pristine and lined with emergency police buttons.
Which is exactly why Min was not expecting to hear a scuffle in the alleyway, the sound of crying muted by swears and the sound of breaking flesh.
The last thing you want to attract at NHU is attention. So, she pulled her hoodie up. Ignored the boy in her peripheral vision that was lit only by a distant streetlight on the path, surrounded by students with designer clothes in a shadowy corner behind a dumpster.
She could hear it all even if she couldn't see it.
That's the thing about Newhurst. There's always noise. The whisper of rain hitting pavement, the honking of a passing car in the distance, the student on his bike next to her rushing to the dining hall for a midnight snack before it closed, the groans and begs of the poor boy as a polished loafer nails him in the gut. Again and again. The clatter of his books skidding across the pavement.
The person on his bike turned to look, only to brush it off and continue on his merry way. Jaw tight, Min put in her earbuds to block the noise out, blasting the music loud enough that she could feel it in her toes. She tore her gaze away, her inner self conflicted.
She made it about twelve feet before her morals won out over her logical brain, over self-preservation, as they always did. She could not live with any more guilt, and she did not want to be another heartless NHU student. She didn't want the old Minni to die just yet.
Sighing, she ripped the earbuds out. She was unsure of what action to take. If she threatened to call the police, would that even scare a couple of rich kids?
Thankfully, she did not have to overwork her brain too much. Before she could even reach the mouth of the alleyway, the men all filtered out with her chests puffed, hands reaching to light cigarettes. They held their hands above their heads, laughing at whatever they just did as the rain made them scatter.
They did not bother to even look in her direction. It simultaneously made her chest soar with relief and plummet with anger. How used to this do they have to be to not care if anyone sees? It reminded her of Yeosang. It was almost like they wanted witnesses. At the same time, the expectation was that no one would care.
Min cared. Too much. It was one of the only things she agreed with Juyeon on at the moment because the second the men disappeared around a shady street corner, she's shoving her headphones in a pocket and diving head first into the murky gap between the corner store and a flower shop.
"Hello?" she whisper-shouted. A mass against the brick wall behind the dumpster writhed, face to the cement. Min took a careful step forward. "Are you okay?"
The stranger grunted, voice garbled and wheezy. "M'fine. Just get out of here."
Her shoulders relaxed slightly. He reminded her of Kevin. She knew a scholarship student when she saw one. They never got help, and if they did, there was no way to trust it.
"Somehow I doubt that," Min murmured, checking over her shoulder before crouching to his level. It was hard to see his features in the dark, but his skin was clearly discolored and swollen beyond belief. His clothes were getting soaked and he was already shivering. "You got the shit kicked out of you."
"Ha," he exhaled a rattling, humorous breath. He grunted as he shifted his body and weakly flipped her the bird. "Fuck off."
As much as he was putting on a brave face, he was clearly suffering and the way he kept clutching his ribs made her increasingly nervous.
"Okay," she drawled shakily. "Let me start over. I'm Min-"
"-Didn't ask." He had the energy to scoff at least. A good sign, even if it was an irritating one.
"I get it. NHU is fucked up, but I'm just trying to help. I'm a scholarship student if that makes you feel better." That made him pause a little, lift his head just enough that she could tell he was staring.
"How am I supposed to believe you?"
She suppressed an inappropriate laugh at that. "Just look at me."
He breathed out a snicker through his nose after a few seconds, but said nothing. When he finally did speak it was to ask, "What do you want?"
The question perplexed her and she had to remember for a second that she was in Newhurst, where kindness was almost never free and every good deed went punished.
"Nothing. I get it. I'm annoying you and I'm sorry. But you really don't look too good. Do you want me to get you to a hospital?"
That made him jolt up with a strained hiss as if she poked a sleeping bear. Even through the pain his voice went cold and dry. "Don't. Never that."
"Okay, got it." Her hands went up automatically in surrender. "Let me go get bandages at least, and get you a taxi or something."
"Or something," he repeated numbly. The fight drained out of him all out once, like a river gone dry, and he slumped against the wall. "You should really just leave before you get yourself in trouble."
It was already way too late for that, she thought, rising to her feet. The sight was worse standing up. The man's textbooks and belongings were strewn all across the concrete, behind trash bins, and in puddles. She still could not see his face, features concealed by his damp, frizzy hair, but there was a bloody split in his lips and deep scrapes on his arms.
The knot in her throat tightened. "I'll be back."
The stranger said nothing as she scrambled to the convenience store next door. The hum of LEDs overhead overtook the sound of distant traffic as she pushed through the glass doors. There was a steady drip drop of water leaking from a peeling edge in the ceiling tiles into a bucket in the corner.
The animated laughter of a video game character came from behind the counter. A tousled head of cropped hair stared at a handheld console, looking up as the bells chimed. A red, angry scratch stretched from the curve of the cashier's cheek to his sharp jawline. His deep-set eyes narrowed decisively, the lollipop in his mouth shifting with his frown. Some judgment had clearly been made, but Min did not know what that meant. She didn't care, heading straight for the aisle with all of the first aid materials. Curiosity seemingly sated, he went back to gaming and she was forgotten again.
Min came to the counter with more than she probably needed, but she had never been good at first aid. She was more panicky than she looked and would rather be overprepared. Her arms were full with bandaids, bandages, antiseptic, an umbrella, and a bottle of painkillers just in case. If anything, the stranger in the alley probably would need it eventually. Especially if he was not going to see a medical professional.
After she set them all down, the cashier's fingers stuttered in the middle of scanning a box of small band aids. The motion was so curt that it caught her attention and her gaze dropped to his nametag. Mingi.
He raised an eyebrow skeptically, a silver piercing glinting as he did. "All this for you?"
"Most of it."
He hummed meaningfully. The scanner beeped one last time as he rang up a package of gauze. Oddly, he made no move to bag any of it or read the total. His dark eyes snagged on her trembling fingers as she fussed with her wallet. He sighed, casting a longing look at his game console before shifting on his feet.
"Just bring 'em inside." Her jaw must have dropped lower than she realized, because he felt the need to elaborate. "It happens more often than you'd think."
It took a lot of effort to get the man inside. His entire body ached so much that he could not take a single step without biting his lips hard enough for them to bleed. Eventually, Mingi got the hint when she did not return. He found her outside, the stranger's arm tossed over a shoulder, trying to get him indoors and out of what was now a downpour.
Mingi took the man's other arm and together, they got him into a chair in the convenience store break room. The cashier disappeared to flip the open sign in the door to closed and came back to Min trying to wrap a bleeding scratch on the man's arm with gauze.
"Thank you," she managed when he returned, trying not to stare at the man's bloody t-shirt for too long. She had always been squeamish, but ever since the GI party, seeing that much blood made her lightheaded.
By comparison, Mingi's face was so neutral, so calm and silently calculative, it almost scared her. "It's nothing. Pass it to me."
Min obeyed without thinking. He looked like he knew what he was doing. Even the stranger had relaxed considerably. Enough for some of his sense to come back, his defenses up. "If anyone finds out that you helped me, they'll come for you next. You know that right?"
Min had already figured that out the hard way, but she indulged him anyway. Her hoodie was soaked and she was cold and she couldn't be bothered. "Best keep your mouth shut then, Mr...."
"Seungmin."
He finally looked up to let Mingi look at the cut on his lip, using a hand to block out the bright lights. Sure enough it was Seungmin, the same man who Yeosang had fought behind the Darcy center almost a month ago. She almost couldn't recognize him. He looked even worse now than he did then, his face pale and already bruising.
It was stupid, but she couldn't help herself. She just needed to know. Needed someone to blame. "Who did this? Yeosang?"
Seungmin, predictably, got cagey quickly. She hadn't expected Mingi to stop and stare at her for a second, his brow twitching at the name as if he knew it by heart.
"You know about that?" Seungmin questioned sharply, full of distrust. "How?"
"The path behind the Darcy Center. I was there. I'm sorry that I didn't intervene sooner."
"You're sorry? What do you have to be sorry for?" He frowned in a way that clearly said you're an idiot without speaking the words. "Who would intervene? It's social suicide-"
"Lift your head up," Mingi instructed duly, plastering a bandage on a cut on Seungmin's forehead in the middle of their conversation.
"-But, no. It wasn't him. He's the least of my problems," he mumbled, the edge in his voice gone again. As if he was predicting her next question, he continued. "Don't ask. It doesn't matter."
The silence stretched for a while after that. They were all strangers and there was not much to say once the adrenaline uniting them died down. Min eventually excused herself so Mingi could patch up whatever wounds were on his chest and near his ribs. They found her sitting on the tile in a corner of the store, head resting against the wall, eyes clenched shut.
She opened her eyes to Mingi standing over her, emotionless as always. "It's done."
"So, he's okay, right?" She stood, helping herself up by stabilizing her arms on her knees. Now that the situation was not as urgent, all she wanted to do was go home, cry, and pass out.
"Yeah," Seungmin answered from behind the tall cashier. He still looked horrible and each of his steps dragged or faltered and he would be in pain for at least a week, but at least his wounds were bandaged. Glass half full.
"Good." She shifted awkwardly, pulling two twenties out of her wallet the way Seonghwa had for her the day before. No one could tell her the world didn't have a sick sense of humor. "Take it. Get a ride home or something."
"Or something," he chuckled to himself. He did not bother pretending not to need it. It was clear he would have been stranded in the middle of the city otherwise. Only God knew where his wallet was. He pocketed the money with a nod and hesitated with half of his body out the door. "Nothing personal, but if you ever see me again, we never met."
Min would have laughed if she had the energy. Seungmin came off cold for good reason. It was a survival tactic. For both of them. Beneath his exterior, he was wittier than she would have thought. Maybe in another world, they could have been friends. She discarded the thought as fast as it formed. She already had too many people to protect.
Mingi cleared his throat from behind the register. She had been so distracted and he was so quiet that she didn't notice him walk away. "Do you need anything else?"
"I guess." She followed him to the counter, debating whether or not to indulge her curiosity. It was late in the night by now and she was sleep deprived, her favorite time to make bad decisions she would regret in the morning. "Did you know him? Yeosang?"
Mingi blinked rapidly, the only indication the question took him by surprise. "I know a lot of people. Nothing special," he replied noncommittally, shoulders moving in a half shrug.
It was an obvious lie, but she was not going to question someone who helped her as much as he had tonight when he was not obligated to in the first place.
She changed the subject by reaching for her wallet again. "Thank you for your help. I'll pay for the first aid stuff and be on my way."
He only shook his head with a gentle expression that did not match his style. "Don't worry about it. Take care."
Min left after that. If she had looked up, to the curved mirror mounted to the ceiling in the corner, she would have noticed that he immediately reached for his phone when her back was turned.