Chapter 8 – Tell us a story
"I am so sorry" he apologized and I looked at him blankly. "People like you disgust me," I said. "Tomorrow will be the final court hearing and I hope that you get a fair punishment," I said and after that, I walked out of the jail. Soon, I walked back home, sitting on the ground while crying. Actually, the police told me that my mother's sister will take care of me from now on, but I don't want to.
After mom and dad passed away none of my relatives agreed to take care of Unni and me. They simply turned their backs on us. Luckily, Unni had turned above the age of eighteen some months ago and she became my legal guardian, but only we know how long we struggled. So why would they suddenly volunteer to be my guardian?
I spend the night at my home and the next day I walked to the court. After hearing them talking about things I didn't even understand finally, the judge voiced her verdict. "Choi Min Jae has been accused of raping and murdering Lee Hana and has confessed his crimes. Considering the fact that Choi Minjae regrets having done these crimes, I sentence him to 30 years of imprisonment"
I closed my eyes as tears streamed down my face. He deserved it.
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I stared at him blankly. What did I just do? Did I seriously loose on purpose? "Mina lost and Jonghyun won!" Key, the moderator announced. "Seems like she will have to bring him lunch every day" he continued and I put my rocket down. "I guess I will have to bring you lunch every day then," I said and scratched my head. "Sure," Jonghyun said with a cheeky smile.
"Anyway, I am very tired. I should sleep now" I said as I yawned. "Good night, Mina," Daisy said as I left for my room. I laid down on my bed and stared at the pitch black room for some minutes, thinking why I would do that, but soon tiredness took over me and I fell asleep.
The next morning I woke up sooner than anyone else. After brushing my teeth, I decided to go for a jog. I ran around the beach and soon across a park, examining my surroundings well. Out of the nowhere, I saw a familiar figure sitting on the bench, looking at the sun which was about to rise.
"What are you doing here, Jonghyun?" I asked as I took a seat next to him. He looked at me surprised and then passed a small smile. "You startled me," he said. I looked at him and somehow he just seemed sad to me. "Why are you so sad?" I wondered. "Why do you always ask questions?" he asked back. "Just answer," I said as I chuckled. "I am not sad, it's just your imagination"
"Liar" I claimed. "I am really not feeling sad" he defended and I looked at him unbelieving. Maybe Taemin was right when he said that he doesn't really tell anyone when he is feeling bad. "You know, you can tell me. Maybe it feels good to let out your inner feelings" I explained. "Says the right one"
If I think about it, he is right. Who am I to say that to him when I don't even share my feelings with anyone? What am I even thinking while saying that to him? "I have a compromise" he suggested and I waited for him to continue. "If you give me the answer to my questions then I will answer yours" I knew that he could ask questions related to my past, but somehow I didn't mind him knowing.
"Sure. But I'll ask first" I said and he nodded. "Why are you feeling down?" I asked. "Well, I just found out that my dad is getting divorced." He said truthfully and made a pause "Again" The only sound that could be heard right now was the sound of the wind passing by. "I mean, she wasn't even my real mother and neither did I like her. I knew that she didn't like me and mistreated me often, but somehow it still hurts that my father never learns. That he never knows the value of the people in his life"
"Some people never change. Sometimes it's just better to accept their flaws and move on with life" I advised. "I say that to myself almost every day, but you know, it's easier said than done. Anyway, forget about this. Now let's continue. So I really wanted to know about your Unni"
"Actually, her anniversary is coming up next week. You can come and visit her with me" I offered. "Sure," he said and smiled. "What kind anniversary is it anyway?" he asked. "Her death anniversary" He looked at me silently, he wasn't too shocked, since I knew that he had suspicions that she was no longer, but now he knew for certain. "Let's head back now, the others are probably awake already," I said as we walked back to the hotel.
As soon as we arrived back, we had to pack our things and get ready to leave. "Guys, this trip was too short" Key whined after we arrived at the parking lot. "True" Daisy agreed. This time, our sitting arrangement was different. While Jonghyun, Minho, Taemin and I shared one car, Daisy, Onew and Key were on the other.
"Before this trip ends, we should play a game" Minho suggested some minutes after Jonghyun started driving. I, who was sitting in the passenger seat, turned around and looked at Minho, who was sitting in the back seat. "What should we play?" I wondered. "Well, let's not rather play a game but tell stories instead" Key recommended. "Fine. Let's start. Minho, tell us an embarrassing moment in your life" Jonghyun said and grinned.
"Once was rejected by a girl in front of a huge crowd" Minho admitted and Key laughed. "That's embarrassing. Let's continue. Key, tell us an adventurous story" Minho challenged. "Once, my family and I went to the jungle for our vacation. We decided to take a small break, so I decided to stroll around but after I had come back, I had seen that my family had already left. So I was all alone in the jungle" Key said and woke an interest in all of us. "What happened then?" I asked curiously.
"Well, they came back five minutes later and picked me up," he said and shrugged his shoulders. "Was that supposed to be adventurous?" Minho asked and I chuckled. "Anyway, it's your turn now, Jonghyun. Tell us a love story" Both Key and Minho exchanged excited glares and I couldn't help but look at him interested too.
"Let me think," he announced and thought for a while. "Back in junior school, there was this girl and somehow I was interested in her. Some time kater, I found out that my seat partner had a huge crush on her and in the end, I just ended up playing the cupid so eventually, they started dating"
"Wasn't your seat neighbor Changsoo in junior school?" Key wondered. "And wasn't his girlfriend Yerin?" Minho added. "You liked her?!" both of them screamed in shock. It was only me who didn't know who they were talking about. "Who was she?" I asked. "Kim Yerin was the most popular girl back then. She was easy-going, smiled often and was very helpful" Key explained like a teacher.
"Basically the opposite of you," Minho said with a smirk. "So true, she is so different from her" Jonghyun added and somehow I felt a bit sad. "I mean, back then I didn't know that she was just putting up an act," Jonghyun said and we all looked at him confused. "Didn't you know? She was just pretending to be nice, just to become famous. That's why Changsoo broke up with her. Unlike her, you never pretend to be someone you aren't and somehow we all noticed that you actually care for many people" he said as he looked straight at me.
"Anyway," I said and cleared my throat. Somehow, I didn't know how to respond, so I decided to open up a new topic. "It's my turn, right?" I took a scrunchy from my pocket and put my hair into a bun. "Tell us a tragic moment in your life," Key asked.
Well, my life is a tragedy itself.
"I don't really recall any" I answered and they knew that it wasn't true. "Come on! Even Onew will have some even though he looks like the happiest person alive" Minho said. "Why don't we ask something else?" Jonghyun asked. "It's fine, I'll answer that question. Once I got into a fight with my aunt and left the house. Actually, I was sitting in front of the house door the entire night, waiting for her to search for me and find me, but she never came. I even saw her look out of the window and see me, freezing while the snow was falling, but she just closed the window and ignored me"
"Wow, that's pretty mean," Key said and Jonghyun nodded in agreement. "So you spent the entire night outside?" Minho questioned. "Yes, I did. The next day, I was in bed with a high fever" I replied with a sigh. I decided not to tell them that that actually, my uncle also came back from work that day, but passed by me like he never saw me sitting in the cold, and entered the house since that would seem too sad.
With that, we finished the game and for the rest of the ride, Jonghyun turned up the radio and all three of them jammed along the songs which were being played. First, we dropped Key to gigantic house, then we drove to Minho's place, then Jonghyun moved towards my apartment. "Thanks for the ride," I said as I got out of the car. "No problem" I heard before I closed the door.
I walked towards the house door, but who I saw next made me stop on my track.
Lee Hee Seo.
I thought I would never see her again, but why was she standing right in front of me? I finally freed myself from her, but why did she come again?
End of Chapter 8