Season one, chapter twenty
"Whatever our souls are
made of, his and mine
are the same"
Even though it was late when they left Mun's house, the sun illuminated the streets of the neighborhood as if it were a huge light bulb in the sky. Thea wondered how a big ball of light and fire managed to illuminate entire parts of the world and she couldn't even confess what she felt to the person she liked.
"Where is Ms. Chu, Mo-tak and Hana?" Mun asked, closing the gate of his house behind him
"At the restaurant" Thea responded turning to look at him for a few moments before starting to walk across the street, not before looking both ways making sure that no cars were coming from either direction
She had so much to say but her lips seemed to be glued together and she couldn't force them apart when she didn't even know what she wanted to say, even though Thea had already been through this whole 'falling in love' thing when she was an immature and innocent teenager. Without knowing very well what she was doing, it was very different from what she felt now.
She kept in mind that It hasn't been long since she had rejected SuHo but she also did not want to lose the opportunity to start over with another person, with a person with whom she imagines a future with, she sees him in each of her plans even in those where she thought she wouldn't invite anyone, she actually wants something serious with him.
She had a thousand things to say to him, but she swallowed them, she doesn't know if it's because he doesn't deserve to be told them or because she didn't deserve to feel them.
"Thea..." Mun said her name after several minutes of walking in total silence, a silence that ate him inside as he did not hear the sweet voice of the brown-haired girl next to him "Are you..." He lengthened the 'u' thinking about withdrawing his words and better remaining silent "Are you dating someone?" He asked hoping he don't regret asking
"Hmm" She hummed, thinking carefully about the words she would say "Well, there is someone I'm interested in but I'm not dating anyone at the moment. Why do you ask?" Thea asked with some curiosity as to why the boy was asking her that so suddenly
On the other hand, Mun didn't know whether to be relieved that she wasn't dating anyone or hurt to know that Thea was already interested in someone else.
"Mo-tak told me about the guy who was waiting for you outside the restaurant with a big bouquet of roses the other day," Mun revealed instantly gaining Thea's attention
"He told you that? Whoa, what a snitch." Thea exclaimed, inhaling deeply before clicking her tongue
"He said that you two seemed very close and that he seemed like he could be your boyfriend, that's why I asked." He shrugged his shoulders, feeling a somewhat unpleasant feeling plastered on his chest, he knew that he wasn't asking because of that but because he wanted to stop feeling so angry and upset at the thought of Thea with someone else
"Do you know Lee SuHo?" Thea suddenly asked
"Lee SuHo?"
"Tall, handsome, black hair, kind of cold. Does that ring a bell? A friend told me that you two were kind of like best friends" She described making movements with her hands to show what she was talking about
"Ah! SuHo! Of course I know him, we've been friends since we were little and he recently returned from the states, right?" Mun exclaimed, tilting his head to the side in confusion "But what does he have to do with all this?"
"He's the boy Mo-tak told you about, I also know him from a very young age, our mothers literally changed our diapers together" She said with a small laugh
However Mun wasn't so happy with what he had heard, were the two of them friends since they were babies? Why did SuHo never tell him about her? Could he be Thea's love interest? His head would explode at any moment if he continued to overthink the matter but as much as he wanted to let it go it was almost impossible because it was about her, the girl he had fallen in love with and now is most likely to have a competition in front of him.
"Handsome?" He scoffed "What do girls see as handsome about that cold heart of his? He's always rejecting girls who confess to him, in a very cruel way and to be honest, if I were a girl I would never fall for him, never" He began to say quickly, crossing his arms over his chest
Thea giggled in amusement at Mun's pouting lips.
"Are you jealous?" Thea asked with a smile on her face turning her head to look at him
"J-Jealous? Me? Keep dreaming." He removed his hands from his chest, shaking his head "Why would I be jealous of him?"
"I don't know, there has to be a reason for it" Thea said, shrugging her shoulders, wishing everything that was going through her mind right now was real "Anyway, I don't know why I'm telling you all this but I suppose I just wanted you to know since you're like my best friend now, and friends don't keep secrets from each other, don't they?" She said forcing a smile on her face
Of course, friends don't keep secrets from each other, but neither of them could open their mouths and take the initiative to say what they felt, what kind of friends are those?
"Y-Yes you're right..." He responded quietly, feeling like his heart was breaking into a thousand pieces, did she really think that? Did she only see him as her friend and nothing more? Wow, those simple words had broken his soul, but what could he do? Forget about her? Put his feelings aside? Yes, that was the best he could do now that he knows he will never have a chance with her.
Of course, he thought that he would have her when he took into account the small gestures of interest that Thea showed him and at some point he came to think that she felt the same as him, but who is he kidding? She liking him? It's the biggest lie he's ever believed, a boy like him could never have someone like her, but why does she confused him so much? Why did she make him confuse?
When they had finally arrived at the restaurant, Thea had been the first to enter. She held the door open for Mun who now wore a downcast expression on his face. Ms. Chu stood up from her seat almost immediately when she saw both teenagers enter through that glass door.
"Mun" She said with a shaky voice as Thea's eyes fell on the soju bottle on top of the table so she assumed the three of them had already figured it out
"An evil spirit has his parents" Thea exclaimed getting straight to the point, Ms. Chu turned to look at Mo-tak who turned to look at Hana who turned to look at Thea
"How did you two find out?" Mo-tak questioned as if he had heard all this before
"We went into his past and saw it" Thea explained placing both of her hands behind her back "It's the guy who killed Cheol-jung" She said looking down at the ground feeling an uneasy feeling in her chest
"What?"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. It was a contract killing" Thea nodded with a serious face"The target was his dad" She turned to look at Mun who looked down at the ground. He no longer knew if he should feel sad for the loss of his parents or for the sudden rejection by Thea, he didn't know which of the two things hurt him more but he wanted to cry
"Wait, then what does this mean?" Ms. Chu asked with teary eyes
"The evil spirit who has Cheol-jung is also holding on to Mun's parents" Mo-tak summarized
"I know what it means" The eldest reproached, approaching Mun and then holding his hand tightly "You went in there and saw that? You saw your parents as they passed away? My goodness. Goodness, you poor thing" Ms. Chu hugged him gently as Mun's eyes filled with tears "Mun. Let's catch him. Let's make sure we catch him" Ms. Chu said with determination, looking deep into his eyes
"It's for the better. I know who did it now" Mun responded just as determined as her, who started crying right there and then
"Are you two done with each other? Mun, we should talk. You must have a lot of questions" Mo-tak said, giving Mun a serious look
The trio watched as the duo of men left the restaurant through the back door towards the basement, but as it was customary for the trio of women to go where they are not called, the three of them went down to the basement to see what was happening between Mo-tak and Mun or perhaps to eavesdrop their conversation, so they heard everything that the older man explained to the teenager about what he had discovered in recent days.
"Does that mean it was him?" Ms. Chu asked, approaching the duo with both girls following behind her
"Why didn't you say you were here?" Mo-tak complained when he got scared by her tone of voice
"Don't leave us out from something that important" Ms. Chu began to say, taking the drawing from the wall "We have to catch him ASAP" Hana took the drawing from her hands and placed it on the wall once again aggressively stabbing a dart into the paper
"Man, that one found one amazing host" Mo-tak admitted taking out his phone from his pocket "A contract killer?" He took a photo of the drawing
Thea tied her long hair in a ponytail, feeling the nerves flood her body but she let out a long sigh, relaxing her body almost instantly. The group of counters was on their way to a junkyard, where Mun had told them a few hours ago that the evil spirit remained, or at least where he had seen him when both teenagers delved into his memories.
Thea noticed Mun's nervousness from the corner of her eye, she was too, just remembering that that man had been able to see her and recognize her through the memory of Mun made her hair stand on end.
"Relax" Thea exclaimed in a soothing voice, taking one of the boy's shaking hands in hers, automatically drawing his attention to her "You get muscle cramps if you get nervous" She squeezed his hand gently, letting him know that everything will be okay
He barely smiled, the events of the previous day filled his head and he wondered if she really meant those words. Why the hell does he care so much about a few simple words? He must be losing his mind for doing it but it was inevitable, it really hurt him to hear those words.
"He might get you if you run amok by yourself. That asshole is awfully strong" Mo-tak added with his eyes glued to the road, getting the boy out of his painful thoughts
"I've fought him, so I know that already" Mun responded seriously suddenly remembering his fight with him
"Don't get hurt. Just don't get hurt" Ms. Chu asked as the teenager let out a nervous sigh, inevitably holding Thea's hand tightly because apparently it was the only thing that made him feel a little less nervous and distressed
When they finally arrived at the junkyard, also being followed by a female detective who seemed to be very close to Mo-tak, the team of counters got out of the car and thus everyone automatically went in different directions to inspect the place.
"Let me know if anything's weird" Thea heard Mo-tak say through the small device in her ear
Thea began to walk through the parking lot of cars in poor condition looking for a clue or something that could serve as evidence. Something about all this didn't feel good to her, for some strange reason.
"The asshole left already" Hana commented after several minutes of silence
"What?" Mun asked, feeling a huge wave of fury rush through his entire body
Thea sighed probably feeling disappointed, turning around to return to where the car where she had arrived was parked, she stood behind Hana who seemed to be lining up for Mo-tak to give them a pair of plastic gloves. When Thea's turn finally came she extended her hand instantly receiving a pair of gloves from Mo-tak.
She looked askance at the detective next to the older man who was already looking at her, probably questioning what they were all doing there, however Thea brushed it aside and started walking towards another place, giving them both their space. Although she did not know her teammate's entire history, she was very clear and it was more than obvious that those two back there had or have some kind of relationship.
"Ji Cheong-Sin" Mun exclaimed after several minutes of silence "That's his name"
Thea continued walking through the rubble of old cars until she found Ms. Chu who was squatting on the ground looking in a certain direction. She trotted until she was behind the older woman and directed her gaze to where the woman was looking, thus finding herself looking at one bloody hand coming out of the trunk of a car.
Thea scrunched up her nose in disgust at seeing the large puddle of blood under the car.
"That bastard killed another person" Ms. Chu murmured, standing up and in a matter of seconds the rest of the team was already by their side
"It's time for you to leave" The detective said standing in front of the team "This is now a murder scene" She took out her phone "Hello? This is Kim Jeong-yeong. I need you to come to Baekjo Motors now"
Thea hurried to take the customers' orders, they almost seemed to be a group of ants because they didn't stop arriving and the small restaurant became more and more crowded.
Although she knew about the popularity of it, they only open for a certain amount of time and close very early as long as resources last or as long as there's no mission, that is why the restaurant used to fill up almost as soon as they opened.
She sighed tiredly, smiling at the young couple in front of her, leading them to an empty table inside the restaurant. The news could be heard in the background and it seemed to keep most of the customers entertained so out of pure curiosity Thea turned around to take a look at what was happening on the news only to end up shocked to see what was happening.
Her eyes immediately went to Hana who seemed to not want to take her gaze off the screen. If there was anyone who knew everything about the story behind Hana, it was Thea, she was the only one with who she had opened up about her problems and everything she had suffered. The had been like a little ray of light that came into her life and she was so grateful to have met her.
After all, they both had more similarities than they thought.
"Goodness, he beat an employee to death" A woman commented with sadness for the young man who had been murdered
"And he can get off because he's rich?" Said another making a good point
"Hana" Ms. Chu exclaimed, moving the curtain to the side but the black-haired girl didn't even look at her "Hana" The eldest called her again but once again she did not answer
"Ms. Chu, I got it" Thea hurriedly said, putting the small notebook inside her apron bag before walking towards the counter and taking the tray with the noodle dishes and taking them to the correct table
She gave a look of dismay at her sister figure, because even if they weren't, she looked at her and loved her as one. Sure she can be cold most of the time but Thea knows that if she ever needed someone to run with and take refuge in her arms she could count on Hana, because that's what sisters are for.
Author's note;
Anyone else loves the friendship between Hana and Thea? 😭 I think I really need to write more scenes between the two of them, but if I do so I won't be able to avoid shipping the two of them together🥹 anyway there'll be future scenes only about the two of them I promise!
Question of the day: What would be a good ship name for Mun and Thea? ✨
Have a nice afternoon/night/day and don't forget to leave your good comments, see y'all in the next chapter! 💕