The Wolf and The Fox

27

TW: SLURS

READ WITH CAUTION

"Years ago, when I was younger

I kinda liked a girl I knew

She was mine and we were sweethearts

That was then, but then it's true"

INCHEON, SOUTH KOREA. 2026.

Soojin followed the same routine every day– Once she got home, she would lock herself in the Shuhua room for a few hours, drowning in her grief and forgetting everything outside that room. She watched the old videos and looked at the old green t-shirt the girl loved so much, there was this anger inside her that she couldn't voice out, a frustration that ate up her spark bit by bit until she was just a shell.

It's been 11 years since Shuhua was killed, with no signs of her killers– and Soojin, despite being a cop now, couldn't find anything to help her find and kill them. Not one clue; She snapped out of her thoughts as she heard a knock at the door followed by Hoetaek's voice calling for her, Soojin paused the video and stood up before making her way towards the door and opening, letting the man inside.

"I thought we agreed on no locking this door," She heard him say as he walked in and looked around, at all of Shuhua's belongings, nothing was ever moved around that much and dust was starting to become more and more obvious.. "... I'm gonna be cleaning this room soon–"

"No!" Soojin snapped, and he looked at her. "It's fine the way it is..."

He stared at her for a few seconds before nodding to himself.

"I wanted to speak with you," Hui said. "I wanted to have this conversation with you for a while now,"

"Can't we do this another time?" Soojin asked before looking around. "Or somewhere else?"

"No," Hui said, looking around before he looked at the funeral picture of Shuhua, then nodded to himself. "I want to talk here, in front of Shuhua," He explained. "And I know... wherever she is, she would agree with what I have to say."

"I don't understand..."

"Soojin, do you even remember what day is tomorrow?" He asked and waited for an answer, but all he got was silence followed by a shrug, Soojin's tired eyes barely focused on him and he knew she most likely would've spent the night awake staring into those photos of Shuhua, letting the sadness eat her alive. "It's Soohua's birthday, you remember her, right? Your daughter."

"Hui–"

"Do you think Shuhua would want you to be like this?" He asked. "To spend your days locked in this room, watching your life pass by? Wasting your days–"

"Don't talk like that," Soojin interrupted. "Respect my grief–"

"Grief? This isn't grieving anymore, Soojin!" He said. "It's like you went into the tombstone with her." He said. "You gave up dancing, you let so many opportunities go, things you loved to succumb to this obsession–"

"And you?!" Soojin Snapped. "You have never shown any interest in my dancing, so why are you trying to bring this up again? Huh? You never tried to care about it,"

"If I have never shown any interest, it's because you made it clear it was your thing with Shuhua," He replied. "I couldn't try to get closer to you, to comfort and to bond because Shuhua's grave continues to stay between us, I have been fighting her ghost for a glimpse of your attention, do you even know what it feels to know I'm fighting a losing battle?" He asked. "To know that not even your own daughter is worth your attention when it comes to Shuhua?"