20 :: Broken
"Ah, yes! Yes. Yes, please. Mhm... Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Thank, yes. Yes, Thank you."
I heaved a sigh of relief as I took a seat on metal rimmed hospital benches, painted black, in the visitors' lounge.
I was burned with several subliminal thoughts running wild in my head. I wasn't too sure of anything that I could do next except Song Taeju and his party. But even doing so needed me a plan.
The problem was that whatever we did unfurled another dirty secret that only led to the deliberation of our existing confusions.
The only thing that made me feel rested was the fact that Y/n took the responsibility of clicking the photos of the birth certificate and send it to me on Bluetooth. She took my instructions too severely and I hope that just because of me, her friendship with the rest doesn't get tainted. I would be forever guilty for that.
"Excuse me, dear." I heard a shaky voice address me as I turned around to look at an elderly lady. She was dressed in oddly bright colours. Her magenta blouse loosely fit her petite body, contrasting with her bright coral pants. Although, what I could conclude was that, even with her skin blazed under the sun and wrinkled in small folds everywhere, she must have been a very pretty lady when she had young blood.
But I failed to recognise her. Did she call me? Or was that for somebody else?
"Yes, ma'am? Did you call for me?" I immediately replied her with a counter question.
"Ma'am? When did you start calling your haleomma, ma'am?" She laughed and gestured me to bend down, so she could get to my height. Adorning my face, she hugged me. Her embrace was warm and comfortable, just how you could imagine your grandmother's hug to be like.
I realised that she mistook me for someone else but the hospital band on her wrist stopped me from revealing it. I stood there crouched, letting her do whatever she wanted.
She broke the hug and kissed my cheek. She must be so happy to have reunited with her apparent grandson.
"Haleomma, what's your grandson's name?" I slowly whispered in her ears.
"Ah? You're playing with me, right? You absolutely haven't changed, Rukwon, have you?" She laughed again.
"Aah, yeah! I was playing with you. Could you wait there a little? I just need to file a form and then we can go home, okay?" I didn't aim to give her false hopes but if there is a way to unite her with her actual family, I would be happier.
"Really? Today, we can go home? Yes, I will wait there." She walked her way back to the seat where I was sitting and I ran to the reception. If she thought Rukwon came, then he must have filled his entrance.
It took me a minute to reach the reception where I was just a while ago, but the lady there wasn't sitting there. Infact, nobody was there.
"How do I find Rukwon now?" I scratched the back of my neck as I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see a very familiar face, almost shocking me.
"Kang Seungwan?" He asked. I realised it was the boy from the pizza shop that I met yesterday. I pretended to be a stranger to him and gave my actual identity instead.
"Ah, no. I'm sorry. I'm Soobin Choi and not Seungwan." I gave an awkward smile and he acknowledged it as a mistake, apologizing immediately.
"No, it's okay. It's fine."
"Thanks. Umm, were you looking for Rukwon?"
"Yes. Yes, I was."
"I see. Why, may I know?"
"Nothing much. I believe his grandmother hasn't seen him in a while and mistook me as him. So, I told her that I would get her actual grandson." I explained.
"Oh. I do think we have pretty similar features but much distinguishable."
"Sorry, I don't understand you."
"I'm Rukwon, Hyung. I am in your team, remember? For the year end project." It was then that hit me why I recognised his voice and face so much. Also, I had completely overlooked the fact that we looked similar.
"Aah, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. I completely didn't recognize you. I'm so sorry."
"No, it's fine. But, what brings you here? Is Yeonjun hyung sick?"
"Who? Yeonjun? No. I... The receptionist is my cousin and I came to drop her lunch because she forgot. Yeah."
"Oh, I see!" We started walking to where I left his grandmother, biting my tongue.
I was a little scared and awkward around new people and perhaps, it's only Y/n who has got me trusting her a lot from the very beginning.
"Can I tell you something?"
"Yes?"
"Umm, the receptionist is my Eomma and I didn't know you were my uncle... So..." A fear struck my heart. I was lying and I was caught. Lord, save me.
"So, I think you can tell me what exactly you're here for. I would get to know from her anyways. Maybe, I can help. I am also studying law like you." He nervously suggested.
"I came for a birth certificate." I confessed.
"Relating to our college's case?"
"Yes."
"All the CCTVs didn't work but there's a thing that I was wanting to tell this since that day."
"What?"
"I have some photos and videos of the scene. I was shooting my vlog about a day in a law student's life. And I happened to shoot everything that happened starting a little time before Anhyun jumped. Or may I rephrase, starting a little time before she was pushed."
"Pushed? You're sure?"
"Yes, I am. I am sure she was pushed. I have seen somebody push her. It's also captured in my video." I was flabbergasted with the newer information. I took my phone out and requested for his permission to be recorded about his statement. Being a junior law student, he was quite confident about his statement and placed it like we were present in the courtroom.
"Rukwon, this can be used in the court if we can find the truth." I told him.
"I am very well aware of it, Hyung. In case that does happen, I shall be present there to give my live verdict as a witness. Also, I was looking for an opportunity to meet you. Thank Goodness that I carried it," He shoved his hands in his pockets, searching for something very small. It took him a while to get hold of the little thing but once he brought it out, he seemed to be quite satisfied to see it's presence.
I recognised it as a SanDisk 3.0 drive, about the size of a dime, that he looked at proudly. Keeping it on the palm of my hands, he said, "The video is quite long, unedited. The images are also high quality. I don't know if the face was seen well but I have transferred everything to that drive. It's password encrypted. I find it risky to reveal it here, considering that could cause us both inconveniences."
"How'd I access it then?" I questioned.
"Same as your password."
"Mine?"
"Hmm. Now, let's meet you later. I'll pick my grandma and head back home." He bowed to me and I reciprocated his actions, still confused about what he meant.
Not paying it much attention, I went back to the reception to ask for the certificate that I required. I was pleased to be informed that the certificate was found. I asked the woman, whom I'd refer as Ms. Huh (or perhaps Rukwon's eommo-nim), to transfer the file into his drive. Sadly, I forgot that it had a passcode.
Although I didn't have any other hard drive, I saw her rummaging through her bag to bring out a similar pendrive, however the size of house key, and transfer the file. She recognised her son's pendrive and handed me hers because somehow she understood that the document was very important for me. I uttered two words of gratitude and for the first time noticed her name on her identity card.
Huh Eun Seok. That was Yeonjun's mama's maiden name as well. Rukwon's father died before he was born. He was also a police man, incharge of the cocaine smuggling in the northern frontier. A truck rolled over him, assassinating him then and there. The truck was chased down but it passed the border into the DMZ, getting into the North Korean boundary. No one was able to legally accuse anybody of the murder.
Huh Eun Seok. That's my password. Our house entry passcode is Huh Eun Seok. It was Healing before I came in the family. Mama called Yeonjun as Healing. When I came, it changed to Healing Binie. And then when she passed away, we changed it to her name to honour her.
"The passcode... Genius!" I murmured to myself as I turned away to walk to the bus terminal. I chose to travel to Y/n's, not my home. It was past the time limit I had set to meet up with them. I hurried my feet and got on the bus, taking a seat on the front. Beside me sat another boy, perhaps as old as me. I couldn't see his face below his cap, until he looked towards me and smiled.
He was, well, different from all others I had met. He was handsome, not perhaps in the conventional sense, but he had that appearance which could make him stand out in the crowd. He was fair, almost pale white. His unfathomable, golden brown eyes contrasted exceptionally with his light toned face. His eyes were as deep and expressive, where you could get lost if you stared long enough. I stared longer than enough.
His face had that faraway look in it, which cannot be described in words. His smile, which reached up to his eyes and wrinkled them, flaunted his modesty and humility. I could see a hint of pain in his sparkling eyes, which disappeared as suddenly as it had emerged. I felt a percentage of how much agony he concealed within himself.
Above all, was his frame and his stature He was not extremely muscular, with 8 pack abs or 16 cm biceps. However, he could stand out in a crowd, which was mostly due to his way of carrying himself. Perhaps he was not the kind who had girls swooning over him. But he was simple and innocent. He was perhaps, just one in a million, who was nothing special but all the same unique.
He was the missing guy in Y/n's group photos in the café. He was Cha Junghoon.
"Ah, hello. I didn't recognise you at first." I awkwardly laughed.
"It's okay, Soobin. I couldn't recognise you too. But nice to meet you."
"Yeah, nice to meet you too." We fell silent as the bus kept on moving through the road. We were stuck in a traffic jam when I decided to break the silence and make some small talk with him. He was related to the victim, after all.
"So... How are you? I know it's almost impossible to be good, but I hope you're giving yourself the much deserved rest." I spoke.
"Yes, I am trying to. Haven't progressed as much, but yes. Trying."
"Good, that's good to know. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions regarding Anhyun?"
"Anhyun? What exactly?"
"Like, how amazing she was? I had never actually seen her."
"You hadn't? How come? Everyone had met her once."
"Most had. I am too introverted to meet girls. I am actually afraid to do so." I apologised to my heart for lying.
"I see. Well she was indeed amazing. Just the perfect person. However, I am only left with regrets. I wish I had known everything earlier." The bus's tires screeched as we got down and started walking towards our respective destinations.
"The fact that even if a few things are not in our hands, they shatter us. I am aware that you have experienced it well enough. Which is why, I suggest you to be careful and not end up hurting yourself. Also, even if I'm broken now, I will not accept any other scratches over this deadness." He left, closing the door shut.
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I am in a desperate need to know your thoughts on this chapter.
Search bagged 1st position in the Fanfiction category in Vineyard Awards, yesterday.
I was particularly having a bland day but that brightened my gloom.
I'd like to thank all of you Rosairises for continuing to go through this. And then, my earnest gratitude to Subein for the review.
Today's chapter is dedicated to our sweetheart, lemonseokie
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