Nothing to Ruin

Chapter 9: What Really Happened

“.. Moon..?”

Hyejin opened her eyes, welcomed by the worry etched in Moon Byul's face.

Moon Byul did not turn her head. Arms crossed, she opened her mouth.

“Who was it?”

The question made Hyejin gulp. She could lie, and she could say she had no idea. But the continuous trickle of the saline and the fresh ache in her shoulder stopped her. There were too many reminders of last night's events.

“A Lee,” she lied. Perhaps not even a lie.

Moon Byul took a deep breath. “Do you remember his face?”

Hyejin shook her head. “It was dark. I couldn't see clearly.”

“And why were you out?” This time, Moon Byul met Hyejin's gaze. Her eyes burned with silent anger, the type of emotion Hyejin feared the most.

Hyejin looked down, unsure of what to say. How could she make Moon Byul, who had never felt heartbreak, understand her case?

“I-”

Before she could present an answer, Hyejin felt Moon Byul's arms around her. As the woman looked D over her with a sigh, tears threatened to escape.

“Please, Hyejin,” Moon Byul began. It was selfish, she thought, having to ask Hyejin this. “Forget about her. She's not worth wasting your life away.”

Hyejin held back the tears. “Byul, you know I can't do that. You say it like it's an easy thing, but-”

“Date someone. Anyone else. Leave the country if you want. Anything for you not to be tangled with her,” Moon Byul pleaded. In the first place, if she had not trusted that traitor, this would not have happened.

Hyejin closed her fist, pained by the despair in Moon Byul's voice. Wheein could be in Mars or Saturn, and she'd still pine over her. Crying over spilled milk was pointless, right? But she cried over spilled blood and shattered trust too.

“I'm going to America. If it will make you feel at peace, I will stay there for a long time.”

The words left Hyejin's mouth, dry and empty as can be. She didn't want to, but she had troubled a good friend far too many times.

Moon Byul nodded her head as she broke their embrace. Hopefully, with enough time and distance, Hyejin will learn to move forward.

The ringing of his phone made Eric raise both of his brows. Who's calling at this hour past midnight? He picked up, then his eyes widened at the first words that reached his ears.

“Eric Nam. There's an abandoned factory in the city's outskirts. Bring Kim Seokjin with you.”

“Oh, shit is about to go down all right...” Eric hastened, dialing Seokjin at once. He dashed out of his apartment, barely getting the chance to yawn. Now was not the time to be tired, he thought.

Seokjin marveled at the sight of Wheein having a smoke. Eric was right when he said the woman was that unreadable. Vicious, even. So frustratingly unpredictable.

Wheein took a second's worth of glance at the newly arrived cops. She tapped into her phone and later tossed it to Seokjin.

“Whee?”

An overwhelming wave of shock made Seokjin's hands tremble. He knew his brother's voice. That same baritone that brought him pride and utter grief when he died. But if Taehyung was dead, who was beyond the other line?