IN A SMALL PLACE LIKE OURS, news travels very fast. Doyeon texts her friends, who then tell their own groups, and within a few hours, everyone knows about the death of the popular IT girl. While everyone is gushing over the gossip, drinking milkshakes and downing sweet potato fries as they conspire, I'm in my bedroom — panicking.

Today would probably be a great day for my sister. Considering everyone is at her restaurant, this day would be amazing for business. She'll probably come home in a lovely mood, but unfortunately I am not faring as well as her. In fact when Doyeon texted me the news, I dropped my phone.

This has nothing to do with me. It shouldn't. I hardly knew Kang Seulgi. It made sense why they called both Soojin and Doyeon in for questioning, considering the fact that they are best friends...so I should not be worried. But yet I am. Because it does have to do with me.

I know it's a murder. It's not accidental, not suicidal. It is a homicide. Because that's exactly what I wrote in my draft for my year end project, it's what I showed to Mr. Kim — the only person who had seen that part of my story — and now this has happened.

But there is no way Doyoung could have killed Seulgi. They weren't even close on that basis, and yes I would know. He told me many things while we had been together in the summer. And Kang Seulgi had not made it into his list of mentions. It didn't make sense either — I show him my draft and he suddenly kills her? Yes, definitely does not add up.

I debate on whether telling him of my thoughts. Then I decide better of it, it's better to keep less contact with the man. It's better for me, and at least it keeps that bitch named Lucas Wong off of my back. So getting up from my bed, I take one look out of my window then head down the stairs and out of the house.

It's darkening into twilight, the Friday night skies coloring into a dark pink. I approach the school doors, making a detour towards the back of the building where one window is left cracked open. This is the window leading to the Red Room, where the school newspaper meets. I crawl in one leg after the other then fumble for the lights. After they're turned on, I take a seat at my desk, flipping open the laptop. I need to write, and to think. That's the only way something productive would come out of this storm wreaking havoc in my head.

The only explanation had to be that someone saw Doyoung's copy. I don't know how, but someone did. Which makes things very complicated for me...because if that were to be turned into the cops, I could be painted as a suspect. Even Lisa's reputation won't be able to save me from that. In fact, hers might go down with mine — although I don't mind hers gets destroyed — I am a bit selfish, and would rather save the hassle of having me drown as well. I'd like to bring her down myself.

I guess trying to unravel the mystery regarding Lisa Manoban would have to wait.

"Mai?" I look up when the door swings open, Yeonjun standing on the other side. He has a contrastingly different outfit now, a dark blue uniform — soccer actually — knee pads, and wet dark hair that clings to his forehead like a mop. I pull down my glasses, and look at him silently.

"You had a game?"

"Uh yeah." He swings his bag over onto the other shoulder. "We came back like twenty minutes ago."

"I suppose that's why you smell like a bunch of different colognes." I look back at my computer. He furrows his brows, then steps inside.

"Well anyways, what are you doing here?"

"That's a secret." I mumble, writing down my thoughts on the murder of Kang Seulgi. I can't even go ten minutes without being bothered by this black haired Fitzwilliam Darcy. He seems to pop up everywhere I go, now I can't even figure what to make of it. Yeonjun grins lopsidedly, then leans against the doorframe.

"Friends keep secrets."

"I think we know that two can keep a secret if one of them is dead. Have you not read Sara Shepard?"

"Her books gave me a headache, no offense. All the lies, it just went everywhere. Couldn't keep up." He mumbles something else to himself, which sounds very close to 'just like this place.' I then remember he is on my list of mysteries to debunk. Right after Kang Seulgi and my rotten witch of a sister. Because Yeonjun is in fact very peculiar and mysterious, he doesn't seem like it but I know he is. There is so much he doesn't tell about himself, and considering the fact that we're friends, I think I have a right to know.

Friends? Did I really say that? I guess he is, though I have a hard time believing that part of me seems to think that.

"Kang Seulgi is dead."

"Yeah I heard."

"She was murdered."

"Yeah I heard — wait what?" He snaps his eyes to me. "When did you hear?"

"I didn't. I just know that that's what the autopsy will reveal." I twiddle with my pen. "Kang Seulgi, eighteen years old, queen of the school, dead. An asphyxial death, wherein she died from drowning. Someone knocks her over the head, and pushes her into the lake."

Yeonjun is silent, the only thing he does is look at me. And now he is completely serious, no joke at the tip of his tongue, no comforting smile. He's thinking, and maybe it's because he is so quiet, that makes me uneasy.

"You wrote that." He finally says, and I nod. I'm glad he doesn't jump to blaming me for her death. "That was the murder scene you wrote? And you think...someone recreated it?"

"Problem is, I have no idea who. No one saw that part of my draft." It's better he doesn't know the full truth. No one knows about Doyoung and I and it's definitely best if it stays that way. I lean back in my seat and look back at the soccer player. Doyeon believed he was charming in his own way. All the Thistlethorn boys had here was a buffed polo shirt style and liked to play golf with their fathers on Saturday afternoons. They took girls out for strawberry milkshakes and broke their hearts in front of the picket fenced porches.

In fact, Yeonjun reminded me a lot of the typical Gorgon. Up to no good, wild, and from the dark side. He had yet to show his inner darkness, but I just knew it was there. Hiding within plain sight. That's what those gang members did anyways, lay low in public and spring out when no one is expecting them. That gang was always a cry of chaos and a bad omen.

"It's late." He says, bringing me out from my thoughts. "Do you want me to walk you home?"

"Me?" I scoff. "I'm not a fragile century old nesting doll, kid. I can handle my own."

"Well. If it isn't my favorite carrions." Lucas then peeps his head through the doorway, wide lips spreading into a vile smile. He winks at me once, one which is not as mirthful or bright as Yeonjun's. "So what are your plans hanging in the Red Room so late at night? Planning a," and he looks at me. "clandestine outing?"

"Oh go to hell you Rottweiler." I scowl at him warningly. "Not all of us like to participate in iniquitous doings like you."

Yeonjun eyes Lucas like he's a vermin — which he is — not speaking a word, yet I can feel his irritation. Good, I'm not the only one in this room who dislikes the annoying boy.

"You're signing an early death notice with this one, Yeonjun." Lucas shifts his gaze to his teammate, clapping a hand onto his shoulder. The other holds his gaze, but doesn't waver. "Watch your back around her. Mai likes to sleep with a knife."

I close my laptop, setting it away back into its bag, then nudge Yeonjun. "Let's go. No point in wasting time talking to him." Maybe he's surprised that I suddenly took up his offer, but the boy does what I say and leads the way out. Lucas doesn't follow, just simply stares at us as we leave.

🥀

LAST NIGHT, WE HAD RUN INTO Mai's sister when I had walked her back home. Lisa seemed a little surprised that we had been out together so late, but the strange thing is that Mai doesn't even give her an explanation, and just marches inside the house without a single word. Lisa carried a small conversation with me for a minute then apologized for her sister's rudeness and entered the house as well. Sometimes I wonder what it's like having a sister as a mom. There's more to their story, but currently I have other issues at hand.

"Yeonjun." When I look up, it's Bambam. I don't quite understand why Mai seems to dislike him as well. Maybe it's the fact that he's interested in her older sister, but I also got the feeling that Mai didn't care about her love life either. The older boy takes a seat across from me.

"How's it going?"

I shrug aimlessly. "S'okay. I mean I didn't know Seulgi that well..."

"Right. The mayor's girl." Bambam leans back more. "But that's not what I'm getting at."

"Aren't you guys investigating the case?"

"Well, yeah. But I can't give you the details. It's confidential."

"So she was murdered." I confirm, leaning back as well. He looks me a wary look, probably wondering how I know. But to keep Mai out of it, I don't explain further.

"Let me guess. Thistlethorn hates the East side, so they'll probably look for some Gorgon member who might have had reason to murder the mayor's kid. And who's new in town? Me? Where am I from? The east side." I narrow my eyes at him. "I know what you're thinking Bam, but it's not going to scare me."

"Before you get all pissed, cool down." The older kid looks amused, waving a finger. "I'm not putting you on a hot seat. I'm just saying, maybe...you should consider your father's offer."

I get up when he says that. "No thanks."

"Come on Yeon. It's not all bad."

"Considering the type of man my father is, it's bad enough."

"You're all alone out here!" He crosses a leg over the other. "I'm worried about you. You already travel alone wherever you go, that Wong kid doesn't like you and his family carries a big name here."

"If this is you trying to be an older brother, drop the act. I don't trust you." I grit. "I transferred to this school to get away from the east side, but all everyone here wants to do is tie me back down to it."

When I leave, his last words are "Don't say I didn't warn you." I throw him a glare before slamming the door behind me. I guess I wear a mask too, just like everyone else. Because the truth is I know a lot of the people in this town pretty well.

Especially Bambam. Just because he is a cop, that didn't make him a good person.