Ursa Major | Park Jin-Seong

13 • The Truth in Red

WARNING: BLOOD, GORE, VIOLENCE

"Lying is both subconsciously done and consciously done. It's generally accepted that telling the truth is better, and if you lied about something, you should tell the truth. But when you do tell the truth, they're only angrier about the fact that you lied, and not at all glad you told the truth. And truth be told, that's really fucking stupid."
-초성민 (Cho Seong-Min)

"Sometimes I wonder if I lied. On anything. Because it's hard, even for yourself, to distinguish a lie if you don't even know you did it. And truth be told, I can't stand liars who criticize others for lying. Because we're all doing it."
-박진성 (Park Jin-Seong)

"Got me second guessing everything you say, thinking that I know you but you're really a stranger. Doing what you gotta do to get your way, you're reckless and selfish and you can't help it."
-Gabbie Hanna, "Honestly"

Tuesday, May 16th, 2023. "Sorry, I'm heading over to Nari's place to retrieve some things that I left behind. Maybe tomorrow?" Areum felt bad that she had to decline Seong-Min's invitation for Taco Tuesday, but she really wanted to get those things back. Especially that doll from her childhood, with the red dress and fox tails, the gumiho.

Areum stood quietly on the subway over to Nari's block. She would go in, get her things, and immediately leave. Don't stop to make small talk, drink a glass of water, or even breathe one more time that she needed to. She can't trust her sister.

Walking into the building, she was smacked with a wave of bad memories and chills rushing through her body. Areum began to regret her decision. Taco Tuesday would have definitely been more fun, but that doll was just too important to her. As she ascended the stairs, all of those dark thoughts came back. Everything that had happened inside her head while she was living here was all coming back.

Every nighttime teardrop, every anguished sniffle and suicidal thought. She had always wanted to jump off from the top of the stairs, every time she went on them. Areum shook the thoughts. She was different now. Changed for the better. She was above Nari's antics. Seong-Min had agreed to go to medical school with her after a lengthy application process. It was a miracle that they had been accepted, and despite the hours spent studying long words and strange conditions, Areum enjoyed it. She was finally beginning to fulfill her lifelong dream.

Each step brought back and released a memory. Mostly sad memories, but some angry memories too. The echoing of her footsteps in the empty stairwell was beginning to unsettle her. Goosebumps were starting to rise on her arms. Something just wasn't right about being here, she could feel it. A place that she associated with so much pain, and yet she voluntarily came back over some dumb doll.

The doll had a name too. Her name was Ari, but Areum just called her "Red" because of the colour of her dress. Red was a birthday gift from her brother, all the way back from her twelfth birthday on June 25th, 2011. And here she was, coming up on twenty-four in a month or so. It had really been a long time since those days. A bright and sunny childhood. Areum felt as if her parents had slightly spoiled her when she was younger, but she definitely wasn't complaining. Those afternoon walks in the summer, and of course, her unnecessarily large stuffed animal collection.

Maybe Nari had been jealous of her. That could explain the strange resentment that had sometimes shone through during their childhood, even when she didn't know about the fact that she should be dead. Sometimes, her older sister would be silent and cold, and other times she would be passive aggressive and irritated. But when she met Jin-Seong, she started talking to Areum every single day, all cheery and hopeful.

Areum finally made it to Nari's door. She took a few deep breaths, going over her plan once again. Get the stuff and get out. No in-between, no chit-chat. She knocked. Her sister opened the door only a few seconds later, awkwardly letting her in. "Your things are in your room."

Areum was here on a mission. Only one objective. Stay focused. She ran into her old room, and frantically searched around for Red. She was starting to feel more and more uneasy. She only wanted Red. Nothing else mattered. Not the bed that she'd cry on every single night, not all of the clothes randomly thrown around in her closet. Soon, clothes started flying into the air, all over the room. Areum finally uncovered Red, but it was too late. By the time she had Red in her grasp, she felt cold steel pressed against her neck.

Areum began to sweat even more, but her entire body felt frozen cold like an icicle.

"Unlock your phone and give it here."

With no other choice, Areum did as she was told. Once Nari took the knife off her neck to take the phone, she immediately bolted for the door, only to find it locked and unable to be opened from the inside. Screams of panic pierced the air, but it seemed as if nobody heard. Nari was typing something on Areum's phone while walking towards her with the kitchen knife. Areum's back was pressed up against the cold, hard door, with nowhere else to run.

Almost made it to twenty-four years, but this was probably it. Better luck next time? Areum began to kick on the door desperately, as Nari put down her phone and stared her dead in the face as she continued to advance. "Ever wonder why eomma and appa always loved to spoil you, but never gave a fuck about me?"

"Because you should be dead."

"Precisely. It's not fair. I didn't choose to stay alive, the doctors chose for me. I don't like doctors. They ruined my life by saving it."

"Well, it's also n-not fair that you took it out on me." Areum was shaking in her boots. All the adrenaline started kicking in. She would make one last stand before she went down.

"Do you want to talk? Maybe have a slice of blueberry pie?" Nari was grinning sweetly, like an old psychopathic grandma.

"Just get it over with."

"If you say so." Nari lunged at her with the knife, which Areum sidestepped, tackling Nari to the ground from the side and beginning to strangle her.

Nari stabbed into Areum's forearm, which was enough to get her off of her. Grunting, Areum fiercely kicked her in the face as she tried to get up and tried to wrestle the knife out of her hand. Blood was streaming down her hand and onto the floor, splattering quietly. She twisted Nari's arm, prompting her to drop the knife in pain, screaming bloody murder. Areum kicked the knife away, and it skidded across the white tiled floor into the kitchen.

Nari punched Areum in the gut as Areum collapsed on top of her and started choking her again. Nari scratched furiously at her arms and managed to get her off with one hard kick to the chest. Clutching her abdomen, Areum got up and started running for the knife, slipping on her own blood and barely grabbing the knife before hitting her jaw on the floor.

Nari stumbled over to the knife rack and pulled out a small paring knife. She threw it at Areum just as she began to sit up, who caught it in her shoulder. Yelling in pain, she pulled it out. "Any chance we could still talk this out?" Areum didn't want to kill her, even though she probably deserved it.

"Probably not." Nari grabbed a cleaver, and charged, aiming for her head. Areum ducked out of the way, causing Nari to stumble and fall, dropping the cleaver in the process. Seeing her sister unarmed and defenceless on the ground, Areum didn't want to end her, so instead, she picked up her phone and frantically tried to dial 119. But the interface wasn't responding to her wet, bloody fingers. "You know, if you wanted to kill me, you could have just said so in the first place. No need to lie."

Knowing she would die to internal bleeding in her abdomen if she couldn't get help, she reluctantly turned back to finish her sister's miserable and pointless life, but it was already too late.

The last thing Jeong Areum ever saw was her sister's rabid bloodshot eyes, and the glint of steel whirring through the air. Nari cut straight through her carotid artery, sealing Areum's fate. Crimson liquid splattered everywhere, and Areum fell to the ground with a thud, her eyes blank and unmoving.

Victorious, Nari dropped the cleaver to the ground, Areum's blood dripping down her face and her own blood streaming out from her nose. "Honesty and homicide really don't suit each other, dongsaeng. Lying was necessary."

Good thing the whole floor was at a community barbecue party.