No Matter What - h.hj [✓]

╰☆☆ 5 ☆☆╮

☆• Jung Chaeyeon •☆

It's been a few days since Hyunjin revealed who was behind Yoreum's case.

I couldn't get myself to head to ATEEZ or even call Hyerin. I mean, why would I call someone who murdered someone important to me?

Something inside me was still denying the fact that Hyerin was the one who killed Yoreum. I can't just believe Hyunjin just because:

One, he told me that and even mentioned some things that would prove him right.

Two, Hyerin suddenly came up to me that day, fingers red, and somehow knows that I had a new best friend.

I grabbed my phone on the table and dialed Hyunjin's number. I waited for a moment...

But he didn't pick up.

A huff escaped my lips as I glanced at my phone. A caller ID then popped up, and I noticed that it was Hyunjin's number. Immediately, I answered it and brought the phone close to my ear.

"Hello? Chaeyeon? I'm so sorry I didn't answer your call." Hyunjin huffed. "I was in the bathroom."

"... You responded like, three seconds after I called. I don't think it's much of a difference." I chuckled.

"Yeah, but still..." He mumbled. "A-anyways, why did you call?"

"I... Can't seem to bring myself to think that Hyerin killed Yoreum..." I ran a hand through my hair. "Do you have the files...? I'd like to see the proof with my own eyes."

"Oh, sure. I'll bring it over." Hyunjin hummed. "I'll bring some cases from other members too for proof."

"Okay. I'll send you my adress."

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I paced around the living room, glancing at the clock on the wall every now and then. I really didn't want to know the truth, but I had to. If not, who knows what I could end up getting myself into?

The doorbell rang, making me glance at the door.

"Finally..." I huffed, opening it. There, Hyunjin was carrying a backpack over his shoulder, and he looked like he was out of breath... Sort of...

"Hi..." He panted. I stared at him for a good three seconds before stepping aside.

"Come in."

He did as I said, then looked around for a moment, a small smile forming on his lips.

"Sit on the couch first. I'll get you some water." I told him. He nodded in response while I left to the kitchen and grabbed two glasses of water.

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"Okay, let's take a look at Yoreum's case." Hyunjin opened the first file and showed me the pictures there. "See that white rose painted red? It has black specks on it."

"Okay..." I nodded, trying to remember the picture. He set the file aside, then grabbed another file.

"This one is from 2011 as well. Jongho's the murderer here." Hyunjin showed her the picture of the rose. "It's just a white rose painted red. No black specks at all."

I nodded again, and he placed it aside, grabbing two files.

"This is from 2013. Seonghwa did it." He placed the file on the table and pointed at the rose before opening the other file. "This one's Hongjoong."

He showed me files from other cases where each member from ATEEZ's main unit were the killers. The roses Mingi, Yunho, San, Wooyoung, and Yeosang left were just like the roses Hongjoong, Seonghwa, and Jongho left: They were merely white roses painted red. There were no black specks whatsoever.

In the end, he laid them all out on the table for me to see.

"Oh, here's another one. This is Hyerin." He took one last case and showed me the picture of the rose. "See? White, painted red, with black specks."

My eyes widened a bit before he set it beside the file of Yoreum's case.

"Another thing." He sat down. "The killing style."

"Oh, not blood..." I huffed, closing my eyes and heaving out a sigh.

"I know you can't stand the sight of blood, but please bear with it." Hyunjin softly pleaded, making me nod.

"Okay... Go on..."

"The members of the main unit have different killing styles. Some have the same, some are different." He started. "Like Jongho and Mingi's case here, you can see that their targets were beaten up badly. There's also Yeosang and Hongjoong who use empty syringes to kill their targets, in order to avoid making a mess.

"Then you have Seonghwa and Yunho, who would shoot their targets. Lastly, San, Wooyoung, and Hyerin, who prefer to stab their targets."

I nodded as he cleaned up all the other files, except the cases which included the last three mentioned, and Yoreum's case.

"Now, you're going to need to look at the stab wounds..." He muttered, showing the pictures to me. I took a deep breath and nodded, rubbing my hands together. "If you look very closely, you'll notice that the stab wounds look rather different.

"San and Wooyoung prefer drop point knives while Hyerin prefers clip point knives. Drop point knives are thicker than clip point knives, so they leave wider wounds. Now if you look at the pictures, you should notice that the wound San and Wooyoung left are wider than the one Hyerin left."

"... Huh..." I nodded, eyes slightly wide. "My brain can't process the knife bit..."

Hyunjin chuckled, shaking his head a bit.

"It's okay." He shrugged, closing all the other files except Yoreum's. "Because there's one last major proof to show you."

He raised the picture of the rose, and underneath, I saw a picture of a knife with a black handle and a ruby on it. My eyes widened at the sight of the familiar object as I thought back to the time when I saw Hyerin with it.

"Oh, this is one of a kind."

I remembered her saying that the other members don't have that knife either, so she must have been the only one to have that knife.

"I doubt you haven't seen that knife before..." Hyunjin's voice was low.

"... But someone could have a duplicate..." I commented, glancing at him. "I mean, it is a simple design-"

I stopped talking when I caught the sight of small letters written on the blade.

Y.S.G.K.H.D

"Uh... Chaeyeon?"

I stood up, repeating the six letters in my head.

"I need to see Hyerin. I need to make sure that it was actually her." I stated. "And you're coming with me."

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Author's Note
I'm the mafia ;)