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Seokhoon is holding on to Rona. She's crying very loud. I don't blame her. Losing a parent feels like losing a part of yourself. And in Rona's case, a whole part of her is gone. Dr Ha has never been a father figure for her. He might be DNA, but he'll never be able to be a real dad for Rona.
"Will you help with the funeral?" Ms Sim takes place besides me. "I think Rona will need all the support she can get"
"Yeah sure. But my dad.."
"Don't worry" Ms Sim hands me her phone. "I put a tracker in his car. We'll know exactly when he's on his way home"
"Thank you" I let out. "Seokhoon told me something happened to me last night, but I can't remember"
"I've made an appointment at the doctor tomorrow morning. We need to do a brain scan to make sure everything is okay"
"I don't have dementia do I?"
"It's not common among teenagers. It's most likely those drugs"
I sigh. "Who's so focused on erasing my memories.."
Rona and Seokhoon walk up to us. Rona looks very weak and pale. I reach to her hand. It's ice cold. I glance at Seokhoon. Tears brimmed his eyes. I gulp down my sadness and kneel in front of Rona.
"Let's get you cleaned up. You need energy for tonight"
Her head moved slightly. I lock her arm with mine and pace with her to the bathroom. I turn on the tap and wait for the hot water to come out. Rona is standing besides me, fazed. She has no emotion shown on her face. She stopped crying at least which is a good sign.
I wet a towel and place it on Rona's forehead. It feels very hot, but she doesn't seem to budge. I clean the dried up tears under her eyes. I then take a bag of chocolate out of my bag and push it in her hands.
"Even though it's unhealthy, it doesn't take many of them to give you an energy boost"
She drops the bag on the ground. It looks like her arms are paralysed. I sigh and take the bag off the ground.
"Your mom will feel much more at ease if her daughter is taking good care of herself"
"Mom.." she sobs. "..my mom"
"I know..I know" I hug her.
She starts to cry again. I can feel her tears hitting my neck. An ache pushed against my heart. Poor Rona. First Ms Oh lost Rona and now Rona lost Ms Oh. But instead of it being temporary, she lost her forever. Logan is gone, Ms Sim is too distraught which leaves no one with a trick up their sleeves.
"Let's go to your house and-"
"I can't go back there. Not now" she wipes her tears away. "Can we go to your place"
I chuckle. "Sure. Only if you promise me to eat something"
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The atmosphere is gloomy and depressing. Jeni, Minhyeok, Seokhoon and I watch from the door how Rona is sitting on the ground in front of her mothers picture. The flowers are the only colourful thing in the room.
"What are you kids doing?" Ms Kang marches over to us. "Let's go in Jeni. We need to pay our respects"
Jeni follows her mom inside. Minhyeok, Seokhoon and I sit down on the chairs besides the room. We all let out a sigh at the same time.
"I feel so bad for Rona" Minhyeok says. "She's all alone now"
"She's strong. She'll get through it. I believe in her" Seokhoon mumbles.
Minhyeok looks at me. "Right, I wanted to ask you. Why did you dad lock you up? Are you on house arrest or something"
"Yeah, I am" I lie. "He always does that when I'm on house arrest"
"What did you do this time?"
"I slept over at Seokkyeong's without telling him"
"Woah..yeah my mom would've killed me" he looks around him. "Where is Seokkyeong?"
Seokhoon and I make quick eye contact.
"Minhyeok, let's go. It's our turn" Mrs Ko reaches her hand to her son.
I let out a deep breathe and rest my head against the wall behind me.
"Do you have any idea where she is?" Seokhoon asks me.
"I called her a couple of times. I think her phone is turned off" I get back up. "Or she blocked Eunbyeol's number"
"Eunbyeol.." his eyes widen. "You were the one calling from Eunbyeol's phone?"
"It's a long story.."
"I have all the time"
I look inside of the room where Rona is sitting. "Not now"
I take a deep breathe and step into the room. I pay my respects and go to Rona. I take her hand and hug her. Her body feels so tense. Ms Sim and Seokhoon are behind us, also paying their respects.
I want to leave, but Rona continues to hold my hand. I plop down besides her.
"Over here! Hurry"
Our heads twist to the door. Suddenly, a swarm of reporters runs into the room. They run to Rona. The girl stumbles back. Seokhoon grabs our hands and hides us behind him and Ms Sim.
"People are calling your mom the admissions murder. What do you think about that?"
"Your mom killed a girl your age to get you into CheongA"
"Don't you feel bad for the girl that died?"
"Do you have anything to say to Ha Eunbyeol?"
One reporter looks at me. I can see him tapping his colleague. They rush to the side and push a mic into my face.
"Aren't you Park Sunho his daughter?"
"Are you friends with the daughter of the admissions murder?"
"Are you glad that someone had to die in order to get Rona into CheongA?"
My eyes widen.
"What..did you just say? Am I glad?!"
I grab a pillow from the ground and hit the man. His camera falls on the ground.
"You have no shame coming here and attacking a girl that just lost her mother. And then you ask ridiculous questions like this?"
"Did you know the girl who died?" the reporter asks. "Can you comment on that?"
"Leave her alone. This is a funeral. You all have to leave!" Ms Sim yells.
"Aren't you the biological mom of Min SeolA? What is your relationship with Park Dami?"
"Why did you go easy on Oh Yunhee. There never would've been a second victim if she stayed in prison"
"Wake up and face the truth!"
My head starts to hurt. I reach to it and lean against the wall in pain.
"Dami! Eunbyeol! Wake up! Don't take her please"
"She needs to get to the hospital! She's badly hurt"
"Dami, if you can hear me. Your real dad is alive. He's alive and he's here! And so is Suryeon's daughter. Her biological daughter"
I suddenly feel two arms around me as my body drops to the ground. It's Ms Sim. She pulls me out of the hectic room. We rush down the hall into a more secure spot. The woman seats me down in a chair.
"Dami, are you okay? What was that just now?"
"I heard Ms Oh" I say. "She..she told me to wake up. She said my real father is alive" I look at her. "And so is your real daughter"
"My r-real daughter?" she stammers.
"I heard her clearly"
Ms Sim takes my hand. "Do you remember anything else?"
I shake my head. "I need to see Eunbyeol. Maybe she knows something more"
"Seojin is not letting me see her, but maybe she'll let you in"
"Please take care of Rona" I get up. "I'll go talk to Eunbyeol"
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I knock on the door of Eunbyeol's apartment. I take Eunbyeol's phone out of my pocket. If Ms Cheon isn't letting me see her, I need to start threatening her. There is no other way. Something happened that night. I heard it. I just need something to trigger my memory even more.
"Eunbyeol!" I shout. "Are you in there?"
I want to knock again, but the door jerks open. A familiar face is standing in front of me.
"Mr Baek?" I frown.
"I didn't expect to see you here" he says.
"Well, I'm friends with Eunbyeol. You're the one who isn't supposed to be here" I peak passed him into the house. "Where is everyone?"
"They'll be back soon. Do you want to come in?"
I don't reply and march into the house. I hurry to Eunbyeol's room. She isn't in there. I look around the living room. There's wine standing on the coffee table. The lights are dimmed and I can hear faint classical music coming from the boxes.
"Does Ms Sim know you're staying here?"
"She doesn't have to know" he sits down on the couch. "I'll be the one to take care of Joo Dantae"
I put my arms together. "Who are you, really?"
"I told you everything. I'm the real Joo Dantae"
"Yeah, but something tells me that's not the only reason to why you're here"
"Did someone hurt you? You have some major trust issues"
I scoff and sit down besides him. "Are you surprised? Look around you. Everyone is slowly dying"
He laughs. As he grabs the wine glass of the table, his sleeve rides up. I frown. There used to be a bracelet around his wrist. It's gone now. I look at him with narrowed eyes.
"Were you close to that woman? The one who died"
"Her name is Oh Yunhee" I say. "And no. Not really. I didn't really like her"
"Why?"
"She did something bad and I didn't find a way to forgive her"
"And now?"
"I might sound like a bitch, but I resent her more now. How could she die and leave her daughter all alone"
"You really think she just died like that" he puts his glass down. "You don't think it was murder?"
"Murder?" my voice breaks. "Who could have murdered her?"
"Maybe..the fake Joo Dantae"
"You're just saying that because you hate him" I cross my legs. "Can I ask you something"
"Ask away"
"Why do you want you real name back so bad? He's done so many crimes with that name. Every time you'll tell someone your name, they will associate you with him. Why not just keep Joonki?"
"My name is the only thing I've left from my parents" he plays with his thumbs. "Besides that, I have nothing"
"I know what you mean" I sigh. "I don't know if Ms Sim has told you, but I'm adopted. My parents lied about it for my entire life. But honestly, I don't even know if Dami is my real name. Maybe they changed it when they adopted me"
"Do you want to find your birth parents?"
"I do" my heart twists. "My parents did something horrible to them. I know it. I just need to find them. They probably think I'm dead too just like I thought they were"
"Do you maybe have a picture of them?"
I shake my head. "Logan had one, but I think he had it on him when the car exploded"
"Don't worry, you're smart. You'll figure something out"
I shake my body loose and get up. "I need to get going"
"You don't want to wait for Eunbyeol?"
"It might take all night" I zip up my jacket. "Thanks, for the talk. Just don't tell anyone"
"Your secret is safe with me"
A painful pang suddenly hits my head. I reach to it again and can feel my throat closing up.
"What are you doing here?!"
"I'll keep her safe. She's safe with me"
"Do you want more money? Let the girl go"
"This isn't about money anymore"
"Don't tell me you suddenly care for her"
My eyes jump open. Mr Baek is standing in front of me. I let out a scream and jump back.
"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" he wants to walk over to me, but I push him away.
"Stay away from me" I let out.
I run to the door and stumble into the hallway. My heart is racing. I hop to the elevator and push the button to my floor. Mr Baek is standing by the door, looking at me. Darkness gathered in his eyes and filled it.
I clearly heard his voice that night.
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