BADA'S POV
"Detective Seo?" I ask getting up from beside Luna's bed while rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.
"Hi, Bada. I'm sorry I have to come here under these circumstances. But we need to carry out an investigation for what happened yesterday. We just need you to cooperate with us," he tells me. I glance at my brother from behind the detective confused as to what's going on.
"What's there to investigate? Haneul tried killing Luna and she fought back. It was self-defense. He got his own self killed," I say getting a bit riled up.
"We understand the circumstances but there has to be an investigation whether it was self-defense or not," he tells me.
"It was self-defense," I reiterate. Luna wouldn't willingly kill someone unless her life was in danger. It was her or him in that moment. Heck, he did so much damage to her. When I walked in, he barely had a scratch on him while Luna was beaten up and bruised so much.
"Look Bada, we're sorry how things turned out yesterday. When Haneul left the precinct I should've sent her home with a guard after seeing how he reacted to Luna declining his offer. We just want to understand a bit more about what happened yesterday evening and need you to clarify some things for us. We also need to go and investigate your house and need you there as well," he tells me. I simply nod and he gives me a few minutes to wash up and get ready. Soo-min left some clothes for me so I took a quick shower and dressed. When I was done, the detective was waiting for me in the hall and we left for the precinct.
"Alright Bada, we just have a few routine questions to ask you and then we can be on our way," he tells me and I nod.
"Where were you yesterday?" he asks the first question.
"I was at a talk show with the other girls from my team. We were there from about nine in the morning and I didn't get home until around six or seven in the evening," I tell him and another detective jots it down on their notepad.
"From what I heard, filming ended way before six p.m. yesterday. Where were you after leaving the set?" he asks and I look at him confused.
"Me and the girls went out for dinner after and I had to drive a few of them home and I went a few places after. What does that have to do with the investigation?" I say defensively. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he was questioning me as if I was the one who stabbed Luna.
"Like I said earlier, just some routine questions," he tells me and I roll my eyes.
"This is ridiculous. How is knowing about my whereabouts going to help the investigation? Haneul was here with you guys yesterday and ended up at my house. If anything, we were the ones who trusted you to help Luna. She trusted you to do whatever you could to put Haneul behind bars but you failed and now she's in the hospital with no telling when she'll wake up," I say getting frustrated.
"Why don't we continue this another time? Let's go head to your house," he sighs before getting up from the table. I follow him out and we drive to my house in silence.
When we pull up to my house, the anxiety hits me like a ton of bricks. I haven't been in here since yesterday and everything is taped off. It's a crime scene of some sort. We get out of the car and head to the door. Before going in, I take a deep breath trying to calm myself. I walk inside and my heart stops. I didn't get the chance to take in everything yesterday but it looks horrible in here and my heart aches for Luna. The entire place is trashed. The more I look around, the more my heart breaks. Luna must've been so scared to have to face all of this alone. My baby is a fighter.
"Luna, this way please," the detective says making his way upstairs. I follow and find the upstairs covered in so much blood. Luna's blood and I get sick to my stomach. I didn't realize how much blood she lost until this moment. My Luna has been through so much. No matter how amazing of a person she was, people still wanted to hurt her. She never deserved any of this. Despite everything she has been through in life, she never wished anything bad for anyone.
"Could you tell me what happened yesterday when you got home," the detective asks.
"When I got home, I came in and saw Haneul on the floor. I guess I was in shock about what happened because it took me a few moments to wrap my head around him being dead in my living room. Then I started running around everywhere trying to find Luna. When I found her, she had already lost so much blood. I called my brother to come here then I tried my hardest to stop the bleeding from her stomach. After, the ambulance came and we went to the hospital," I tell him and he nods.
"Alright, thank you Bada for your cooperation. I'll send this over to forensics later on," he says getting ready to leave but we were interrupted when my brother and my neighbor walked through my front door.
"Noona, I was talking with Ms. Park outside and she told me she has some CCTV footage of what happened yesterday," my brother says.
"I was out of town yesterday and came back to check the cameras this morning. The ones from my backyard showed a glimpse of your living room. I found a clip of what happened last night here," Ms. Park tells me.
The detective takes the clip from her and tells his assistant to bring the computer from the cop car. When he got back, he hooked the USB drive to the computer and pressed play. I wasn't prepared for what was to come.
"Oh my goodness," Ms. Park gasps.
In the video, you can see a bit of my living room. Usually, you can't see into here but Luna yanked the curtains down and we get a full view of everything. She was fighting so hard and it crushes me to see this.
"Noona, maybe you shouldn't watch this," my brother says but I can't take my eyes off the screen. Every time Haneul attacks her, I shut my eyes closed and take deep breaths in trying to contain my emotions as best as I can.
In the next clip, we see Luna knock Hanuel down and take a knife with her upstairs. For the next few minutes, nothing happens. We continue watching in silence as I grip the table for some support.
"Bada!" Dae-Hyun says quickly as he moves his hands to cover my eyes. I'm assuming this is when Haneul falls from the staircase. Although we can't hear anything, my heart continues to break. He pushed her to do what she did, and although I know Haneul is dead, Luna did what she needed to do at that moment. Like I said, it was her or him.
I go to turn my head to take in some breaths but it doesn't work. I'm on the brink of breaking down. My entire house is filled with the memories of that horrible day. I walk upstairs to get away from everyone and try to get myself together.
As I walk into our bedroom, my heart sinks again. I see the doors are almost off the hinges. I walk into the bathroom and find the window open. I go over to close it but see some bloodprints near the window seal. Fuck, she must've tried to escape from here. Seeing this was my last straw as I couldn't contain the tears anymore. I kneel by the sinking grabbing my chest as I heave out the strained breaths.
"Why!" I cry out holding on to the sink for dear life.
"Just why!" I keep saying over and over again.
"Bada," Dae-Hyun says from the door and rushes over to me.
"Just why!" I keep repeating trying to wrap my head around how anyone could do this to her. Dae-Hyun lifts me up and carries me to the bedroom.
"Bada look at me," he says making me face him but my body is working against me right now.
"Noona, you have to get your breathing together. You're gonna have a panic attack at this rate. Just breathe," he says rubbing my back. I was hyperventilating at this point and it was hard to breathe.
"Come on Bada, I need you to calm down. She wouldn't want you to be like this," he says softly. It takes me about five minutes to get myself together. The tears are still flowing silently though.
"Bada, everything is gonna be fine. You know we will do anything for Luna. She's family to you which makes her our family too. And we don't leave our family behind," he tells me and I gently nod my head in response.
"Soo-min and I want you to come live with us for a while. Just until the house is in better shape or maybe if you decide to move. We just want you here with us," he says. I stay silent not nodding or anything because I don't even know what I want to do.
"Imma go pack your bags for you, okay?" he says getting up and heading to the closet. A few minutes later, he came back with a suitcase and a duffle bag of my things.
"B-but what about her things?" I ask softly as the tears start flowing even more heavily. I couldn't just leave her things here all alone.
"We'll come back for the rest of her stuff. You can take what you want right now though and add them to the pile," he says folding a few of my things. I get up from the bed and make my way to the closet. When I get in there, my heart twists looking at all of her clothes. The majority of all of her things are pink and have cute characters on them. It makes me smile seeing those adorable sweatshirts she loves but that feeling is gone and replaced with sorrow. I grab a few tops of hers and make my way outside to Dae-Hyun.
"The girl loves her pink," Dae-Hyun says with a slight laugh.
"Yeah," I say.
"Her and Soo-min would be the best of friends. They both love that cat thingy," he says.
"You mean Hello Kitty?" I ask pointing at the shirt and he nods and we both laugh a bit.
"She was really excited when I told her Soo-min was pregnant. She made an entire Pinterest board dedicated to her with all types of baby things and pregnancy things on it," I tell him.
"Sh-she didn't deserve any of this. Luna's been through hell and back all her life yet she is the kindest human being I've ever met. She wanted nothing but happiness and peace for everyone around her. Even when we were best friends, she made sure to take care of me and the girls. She has such a nurturing nature to her and she loves the kids, Dae-Hyun. She wished nothing but good things for our family," I tell him as I start crying again.
"I should've done something sooner. I knew something was wrong from the amount of times she kept coming to the hospital. Even if she tried to hide it, I would find out and keep it to myself thinking it was her business. Maybe if I had said something earlier, none of this would've happened," he tells me with guilt in his eyes.
"It's not your fault. If anything, I shouldn't have left her yesterday. I could've taken off if I wanted to but she convinced me to go. I should've never gone," I say sighing while rubbing my hands over my face.
"It's neither of your faults," someone says from the door. We both look up and see Soo-min standing at the door. She walks in and takes a seat on the floor next to us to help fold.
"You guys can't keep blaming yourselves for what happened to Luna. She wouldn't want that and it doesn't get anyone anywhere to blame themselves. Oppa, we both know you were being professional and discreet about your patients. You couldn't tell us what was going on with her. And you, Bada. I know for a fact Luna would not take no for an answer when it comes to your work. She's the type of girl who supports her partners no matter what and will back you up wholeheartedly. She wanted you to go yesterday because it was important," Soo-min says.
"Nothing is more important than her," I say.
"I know love, but she just put your best interests in mind. She wants you to flourish as a person Bada. Although you're older than us, you can be quite hard-headed when it comes to certain things. She knew if she didn't push you to go, then you'd miss out on great opportunities in your life,"
"Yeah but at what cost? Her life? Soo-min, she almost died," I tell her frustratedly.
"We know Bada. But listen to me when I tell you that Luna has not made a decision where she didn't put someone over herself. Yes, her decisions are questionable at times, but she thinks with her heart. I can tell how much that girl loves you. I don't know if she told you but we've been texting a bit. She told me about the surprise she was gonna do for you yesterday. The way she talked about you with so much love and devotion moved me, Bada. Luna loves you so much, and when she wakes up, you can hear from here just how much she does," Soo-min says and brings me into a hug.
"You can sulk for a while Bada, but please, don't let this change you. She's gonna push through this and we all need to be optimistic about the situation. This also means you not being rude to her friends and her sister," she says pulling back as she wipes my tears away.
I was horrible to Kirsten and the others last night. I know it wasn't her fault Luna ended up like this but I took it out on her.
"Yeah, I gotta apologize to the girls," I say and she nods.
"Take your time okay, I know they won't hold this against you. Everyone's emotions were high yesterday. Kirsten won't be mad at you," she says stroking the back of my hand.
"Now, come on. Let's finish packing so we can get you to our house. You haven't eaten either have you?" she asks and I shake my head no. I haven't had any food since the pizza last night.
We all get up after finishing the packing and make our way downstairs. Everyone else from earlier was gone so it was quiet in the house now. I tried my hardest not to make eye contact with anything in the house. It would just remind me how much Luna struggled and makes me sad. We hurry and make our way to their house.
"Bada," the kids say running up to me when I get out of the car.
"Where's Lulu eonni?" He-min asks me. I sighed a little and kneeled down so I was at their height.
"Eonni is in the hospital right now. She was hurt but she'll be just fine. You guys don't have to worry," I say stroking the back of their heads with a reassuring smile.
"Can we visit her?" Ha-joon asks.
"Not right now loves. She has to get a lot of rest to get better. But once she is well rested, I'll take the both of you to see her. I know she'll be really happy to see you two," I say pulling them into a hug. I don't want them to see her while she's in a coma and unresponsive. I feel like it would scare them, especially He-min so I'll take them to her once she wakes up. It shouldn't be too long from now though.
We all get up and make our way inside. Once I get inside the front door, I stop and mentally face-palm myself. Shin-Nari. I forgot she was living here for a while. I roll my eyes as I see her making her way up to me.
"Oh Bada, I heard about what happened. You must be hurting so much," she says coming in for a hug but I pull my suitcase in between us. I was not about to be some kind of pawn in this sick woman's games.
"I'm not here to play Nari, so please get out of my way," I say sternly. I was not up for any games she wanted to play. I will make it known right now that whatever she has in mind will stay just like that, in her mind.
"Awww, come on. I just wanna make sure you're okay," she says batting her eyelashes at me. I roll my eyes but Ha-joon kicks her in the shin making me cover up a laugh.
"Owww! You brat," she says grabbing onto her leg.
"And don't talk to them like that. If I hear you calling them outside their names, we're gonna have an even bigger problem," I say walking past her with the kids at my side.
"Come on Bada, I'll show you to your room," Soo-min says and I follow her upstairs.
"The kids are gonna bunk together for a while so I gave you He-min's room," she says.
"I don't want to kick any of the kids out of their rooms. I'll sleep on the couch downstairs," I say grabbing my things.
"Nonsense, you're gonna take this room. We put in a new mattress and everything. The kids have bunkbeds in Ha-joon's room for right now so it's perfectly fine. You staying up here is a non-negotiable," she says pointing a finger at me.
"Thank you Soo-min," I say gratefully. If I'm being honest, I'm glad I don't have to sleep home alone. Being there makes me feel sick and sad.
"Of course Bada, you know we'd do anything for you. Now you get settled in and when you're done, meet me in the kitchen. I'm making you dinner, okay?" she says and I nod. She leaves and shuts the door for me to put my things away. I sit down on the new bed in this quiet room trying to get my thoughts together.
The realization that Luna isn't awake and won't be for a while is starting to hit me. I won't be able to have her with me until a while from now. We won't be able to hug each other and talk. Just that though alone brought tears to my eyes. I miss her so much. I couldn't wait to get home to her yesterday and now I can't even talk to her.
I start putting my clothes away in the dresser. The last clothing item I needed to put up was Luna's favorite sweatshirt of mine. It was basically the only pink, colorful thing I had in my closet and she took it. I didn't mind because it looked better on her than it did me anyway. I love seeing her wear my clothes.
I stare at the pink fabric and my heart churns inside of me. It still smells like her too. I close my eyes and fight back the tears, but it's too much so I just let them fall. I sit on the bed and put my hands on my head as I rest my elbows on my knees. I stay like this for a few minutes until someone opens the door. It's He-min.
"Bada?" she asks softly and I quickly wipe my face.
"Yes, love?" I say and she comes to sit next to me.
"Why are you crying? Are you hurt?" she asks me in her adorable voice.
"I'm alright, just a little sad," I said patting her head.
"It's okay to be sad but Lulu eonni wouldn't want you to cry. She loves you too much to see you sad. We can all make her get well cards," she says while holding my pinky with her fingers. She is so freaking adorable trying to soothe me.
"She would love the get-well cards. You're so smart Min-min," I say ruffling her hair and she squirms.
"We can make them after dinner. I still have the stationary things she brought me," she says hopping off the bed while holding her hand out for me. I get up from the bed and we walk hand in hand to the kitchen downstairs.
"Eomma, what's for dinner," she calls out when she sees Soo-min.
"Chicken curry," she says and He-min jumps excitedly. These kids definitely make me feel a little better.
"Where's your brother?" Soo-min asks her.
"Playing a boy game in his room so I left. Boys are yucky," she says making a funny face.
"You can say that again," I said high-fiving her.
"Hey!" Dae-Hyun says walking into the kitchen.
"Even me?" he asks. Me and He-min look at each other and then back at him.
"Even you," we say in unison and laugh. I guess being here with them will help me from losing my mind being cooped up alone somewhere. I needed this distraction.
I take a seat on one of the barstools just as Nari comes upstairs from the basement.
"You get settled in alright?" she asks me smiling and I just nod. I really don't want to give her the time of day. She comes over to sit next to me on one of the barstools.
"If you're ever stressed, just call me and I can come give you a massage," she says quietly in my ear as she puts her hand on my left knee.
"I'm good," I flatly say to her and shove her hand from my leg. I'm trying so hard not to lose it with her but she just keeps pushing my buttons.
He-min asks me to hold her so I pick her up and put her in my lap and we sit there watching Soo-min finish dinner.
"You guys go sit at the table," Soo-min says ten minutes later. We all make our way to the table to eat.
After dinner, He-min brings her stationary kit downstairs to the cleared table and sets everything out.
"Wow, you have a lot of stuff," I tell her. Luna brought her a lot of stuff that day.
"Yup, I love having all of these things," she says smiling.
We both get to work making our cards for Luna. Even Ha-joon decided to join in and make one for her too. Soo-min and Dae-Hyun signed both of their cards.
"Aren't they so pretty?" He-min says happily. The girl definitely got her crafts skills from her grandmother. Her card is way better than mine's.
"They look wonderful. She's gonna love them Min-min," I say to her.
"You kids better start getting ready for bed. It's shower time," Soo-min says and they hop off their chairs and make their way upstairs. I cleaned up the mess we made on the table and put everything away in He-min's craft box.
When I was done cleaning, I sat at the table and stared at each card. I hate that we have to make these cards for Luna in the first place. There shouldn't be a get-well card because she's supposed to be in good health. The longer I stare at these the more hurt I get.
"Bada?" I hear Soo-min say as she taps my shoulder startling me a bit.
"It's gonna be okay hun. Luna isn't gonna give up. She's gonna fight her way to wake up really soon. You just have to be a little patient. This sad period won't last long, okay?" she says and I nod.
"Imma go back to the hospital," I tell her and she nods.
"Oppa brought your car here a while ago and left the keys near the front table," she tells me.
"Ohhh can I sign?" I hear Nari say as she walks over to us. I quickly put my hands over the letters so she wouldn't see them. The absolute last thing I want is for her to be snooping at Luna's things. Nari is not family.
"No," I say looking her sternly in the eyes. I glance back at Soo-min as I get up from the table.
"I should get going. I'm not sure what time I'll be back," I tell her.
"It's alright love, take your time. I put a spare house key on your keys so just come home whenever you're ready. Just don't stay out too late okay, you need to get some rest,"
"I won't stay out too late. And thank you for the key," I say going to hug her. Although I'm the oldest, she and Dae-hyun treat me like a little sister. I love these two with all my heart and consider Soo-min as my sister. She has always been there for me and I appreciate them so much.
I make my way to the front door getting ready to leave, but Nari stops me.
"Bada, if you ever need something, anything at all, just let me know," she says stroking my arm as she bats her eyelashes at me. This chick is crazy if she thinks I want anything from her.
"I don't need anything from you," I say shrugging her hand off of me and walking out the door.
It takes me a few minutes to make it to the hospital and to Luna's room. I thought I'd be the on;y one here but Kirsten is here too.
"Hey Kirst," I say quietly as I walk into the room and shut the door.
"Hi," she says with a faint smile. I could tell she wasn't sure how to approach me after the scene I made yesterday.
I go to pull a chair up next to Luna sitting across from Kirsten.
"I'm sorry about yesterday Kirst. I went off on you and the girls and it wasn't right of me. I didn't know how to take my anger out properly and just blew up at you guys. You know I don't think it's your fault Luna's like this right? I should've never said that to you because it's far from the truth," I tell her.
"I know Bada and it's alright. We were all scared and angry yesterday. I don't blame you for blowing up like that because I'd have done the same. Are you feeling any better today?" she asks me.
"Not really, I'm just trying not to be a bitch at everyone though. I know it's not anyone else's fault but Haneul's so I can't keep taking my anger out on you guys," I tell her.
"How are you though?" I ask her.
"Horrible if I'm being honest. I keep beating myself up for leaving her yesterday. I should've stayed until you came home. If I had just stayed a bit longer, maybe none of this would have happened," she says letting her head fall between her hands. I shake my head no at the situation.
"Don't blame yourself, Kirsten. None of us could've predicted this would happen. I didn't think he was bold enough to do something like this. I'm just glad she got to spend yesterday with you. I know how much you two love each other and I know she appreciates spending time with you," I tell her. She raises her head and a few tears slip out. I go over to hug her and we sit there in silence staring at Luna. A few minutes later, there's a knock on the door. I turn and find Lusher and the girls at the door.
"Is it alright if we come in?" Lusher asks and I look at Kirsten to make sure she's alright with them being here and she nods her head yes. I get up and greet the girls.
"Oh Bada," Tatter says before pulling me into a hug. The other girls come along hugging both me a Kirsten and we are all a crying mess at this point.
"We heard about what happened and wanted to come see if everything was alright. How is she?" Lusher asks.
"She's alright for now, they just don't know when she'll wake up," I say holding my head down. Kyma comes to my side and holds my waist as she leans her head against me.
"It's gonna be alright," she says.
"We weren't sure what to bring so we brought a few gifts. I guess you could give the fruit basket to her mom and dad," Minah says.
"Her parents aren't here," Kirsten says.
"They don't know she's in the hospital?" Sowoen asks.
"Nope and let's keep it that way. It's better they not be here," Kirsten answers and all the girls nod.
"Is it alright if we know what happened? You don't have to tell us if you don't want to," Cheche asks.
"Uhh, you know the guy Haneul?" I ask them.
"The one who was a dance coach a while ago?" Tatter asks.
"Mmm-hmm. Well he was Luna's ex. Some stuff happened between them while they were together and he was dangerous. We went to the police about it a while ago but yesterday, he wanted Luna to take a money settlement for the case. She said no to it and he went after her last night. A lot happened but he ended up dead," I tell them and they all gasp in shock at the news.
"That's horrible. Poor Luna, I can't even imagine how scared she must've been," Lusher says holding onto Tatter.
"Yup, now it's just a waiting game to see when she'll wake up," I said turning back to look at Luna.
"Kirsten, please let the other girls know that if they need anything we're here for you guys okay?" Tatter says hugging Kirsten. It makes me happy to know both of Luna's and I's girls have a good relationship.
The girls stayed for a while to feed Kirsten. She hadn't eaten since last night either. A while later, they left and it was just Kirsten and I.
"You should get some sleep Kirst," I tell her. She yawns and nods her head making her way to the couch across the room.
A few minutes later, Kirsten falls asleep leaving me with Luna.
"Hi, baby," I say quietly making sure not to wake Kirst.
"I've missed you. I miss hearing your beautiful voice. I miss seeing your gorgeous brown eyes. I miss hugging you," I say wrapping my fingers around her left hand.
"He-min, Ha-joon, and I made some cards for you. It was Minmin's idea," I say placing the cards down next to her. The amount of pain I was feeling right now was too much.
"It hurts me so much to see you like this my love. You never deserved this. You were supposed to get your happy ending with me and live happily ever after. We were gonna get engaged, get married, have kids, and live our lives together in peace. I was even looking for an engagement ring already. I haven't found the perfect one yet but I will, don't worry. You know, ever since I've met you, I always thought you were different from my friends. It was different with you than it was with the other girls. You were just so special to me. I knew what we had was more than friendship. I knew you were the girl for me. No matter what happens in the future, I will always be here for you. You are the love of my life and I will never leave your side. So please come back to me baby. Come back so we can live out our happily ever after. I need you here so badly and it hurts to be apart for even a day. Please come back to me my love," I say crying silently.
A few hours later, a nurse comes in to tell me that visiting hours are over. I go wake Kirsten up to tell her we have to leave.
"Do you need me to drive you home?" I ask her.
"No, I drove here, thanks though," she says collecting her things as we make our way out of the hospital.
"I'll see you later, goodnight," she says.
"Night," I say heading to my car and driving to Dae-Hyun's house.
When I get there, the house is silent. I quietly make my way upstairs hoping not to wake anyone. When I get in my room, I change into some pajamas and make my way to bed mentally and physically drained.
I took the shirt Luna wore of mine and cuddled with it. That night, I cried myself to sleep with the smell of the shirt. Her not being here is really taking a toll on me. It hurts so badly. Everywhere hurts.
Hi guys, sorry for the late chapter update. It's been a pretty hectic week for me mentally and physically. But I gotta make sure you guys get an update. I'm not sure if I'll be uploading again before new Year, so I just want to say I hope everyone has an amazing new Year! Remember to be safe. 2023 has been a year full of ups and downs for me but I couldn't be happier to have started writing this for you guys this year. I'm thankful to all you guys who have stuck around for the story🥹. Thank you to everyone who has been interactive because it makes me happy to see all the fun comments (I be cracking up laughing sometimes lol 😂 yall be too funny). I'll see you all next year. Until next year my darlings 💋💙.