kill box || park sunghoon

opening game - black - pawn to c5

genevieve vivi song had to be shaken awake the day after yeji died. she didn't know yeji died, of course. she wouldn't find out until about twenty-three minutes later, during her first class of the day, after vivi had haphazardly thrown on some clothes and sprinted out of her apartment, blowing thank you kisses to her roommate mia joo (and resident saviour of her attendance in vivi's early morning classes) that yeji mun had died.

in all honesty, vivi didn't know yeji all that well. they had been friends when they were both kids and living in the same neighborhood gave them a sense of unity that most other kids at decelis didn't have. they were the two fortunate ones who had worked hard and their hard work had paid off when they entered decelis university.

vivi and yeji respected each other, and definitely would be happy to get a cup of coffee every now and then to catch up on the issues from home. but neither of them particularly felt a kinship that was necessary to spend hours upon hours to form into anything more distinctly amicable than 'acquaintanceship'. 

she's upset of course, and she feels incredibly bad for her parents, who had worked day in and day out to afford to send yeji to this school, but she's more confused than anything once she hears about yeji's death.

"hey, did you hear about yeji?" mia asks the moment she finds vivi, sitting in the courtyard as she eats her sandwich. "are you okay?"

"yeah, i'm okay. it's just so unexpected, you know? i didn't know yeji that well so i really don't know what she was going through but i just never expected her to do something like taking her own life," vivi says after a moment of thoughtfulness. 

"it's weird, though. it's a suicide case but apparently the police called zoela madlala out of class today to talk to her about yeji," mia says, taking a seat next to vivi. the march winds are not nearly as harsh as february, so it's more than warm enough to sit outside as they eat.

"i heard about that too," john thomas, vivi's ex-boyfriend (long story) and best friend (even longer story), adds as he sit down next to them, setting his backpack on the ground.

"i didn't know that zoela madlala knew her," vivi says and john shrugs.

"yeah, jake tells me that zoela knew her from modeling," john says. this confused vivi even more, since she's never really known yeji to be the type to be interested in modeling (not for lack of talent or beauty, though) but she files the piece of information into a back corner of her mind.

"that reminds me. have you seen her parents?" mia says, frowning when she turns to vivi. vivi shakes her head.

"no. but my parents called me after journalism about them possibly reaching out to me. they left in a hurry this morning after they found out from the police and i expect that they'll talk to me soon," vivi says, her voice growing soft as she looks down at her sandwich that grows less and less appetizing as time passes. "i'm the only one from our neighborhood that knew her. and, probably to ask if you know, she had anything going on at school that made her make a decision like that."

 "can't blame them, honestly. my gut tells me that something is strange about this whole thing...i mean who knows her well enough to say otherwise? well. i guess no one. but still. i just - something rubs me the wrong way about this whole thing," mia says, seemingly thinking out loud. vivi stays silent, as does john.

but as vivi looks at john, he seems to be lost in thought, rather than merely contemplating the contemporaries of yeji mun. 

interesting.

+++

vivi stared at the envelope on her desk. she wasn't sure who had dropped in her backpack - nor when. all she knew was that when she had opened her backpack an hour ago to start working on some homework, the first thing that had caught her eye was a dark red envelope.

it wasn't blood-red, nor did it look too creepy, as she'd expected for a mysterious envelope.

it looked expensive, as if whoever had put in her backpack was someone who also dabbled in selling homes on sunset avenue. it wasn't tacky; not like someone who tried so hard to pretend to be upperclass that they just came off as desperate. this was someone who was wealthy themselves, or someone who was exposed to true wealth for long enough to become callous to it.

vivi knew because she was the opposite. she'd come from a humble neighborhood, where everyone struggled to make ends meet. and when you're born into neighborhoods like those, you learn to become sensitive to wealth in ways that you'd never expect for someone whose never been able to afford it in their life.

she could tell the difference between the nouveau rich and the true rich. between the upper middle class and the lower wealthy class.

the skill became rather necessary and helpful at a school like decelis, where trust fund kids were as abundant as their cash flow.

all to say that whoever put this envelope in her backpack knew someone who was wealthy. and that whoever had created it was powerful.

because in this world, the wealthy are powerful. they are power. 

vivi stared at it a moment longer before opening the envelope carefully. she should've put gloves on, maybe opened it outside. who knew what the envelope was laced with. or what it held inside. but the envelope was thin, and when vivi had pulled it out of her backpack an hour ago, she'd started monitoring her symptoms.

any toxin would've started taking its toll by now on her body. so with that little piece of (foolish) hope, vivi opens the envelope, and then the letter inside. the letter is a quick read, but a shocking one.

vivi,

yeji mun did not commit suicide. she died by the hand of another. tell no one. you are the first to know, but you will not be the last. there will be six of us. we are the only ones who can save her now. trust no one but the other five. anyone could be lying. everyone could be lying. first find the knight. he's the first one to solving yeji's murder.

the knight is not the king. he will never be the king, as long as the king stands on the chessboard. but he never wants to become king. he is a true friend. someone to trust from an age when you can easily trust everyone - ask your friend, john thomas. someone who could've been a guide - a teacher, if you will - to yeji, amongst many others. of course, this is because he has two more years of experience to call upon.

you may be surprised to know that yeji has touched his life, just as i was. how she's touched any of our lives, honestly. once you find him, the king will be easy enough to find.

remember. trust no one.

bishop

vivi sighs, leaning back in her chair. she had no reason to trust this piece of paper. it didn't have an address, or the name of who it was sent from, or even her name on the envelope itself. there was no reason why she should believe that yeji mun's death was anything but a suicide.

for some reason, however, vivi can't help but think about mia's apprehension. vivi loved mia like a sister, and took everything she said to heart - often times, mia had reason to say or do the things she did. 

something is off about this whole thing.

vivi shakes her head, looking back at a single sentence that sends goosebumps racing across her skin. it's not the part that tells her to not trust anyone, or not let anyone know. vivi already had that under cover. the part that sent shivers down her spine is the part about the king on the chessboard.

vivi knew a little bit about chess - it had been her passion as a child, before everyone deemed it to be 'too geeky' - and the one thing that she knew the best was about the bishop.

everyone knew it was a powerful piece, sure. but no one knew the personality of the bishop. swift, cunning, opportunistic. it was a piece that could wreak havoc, in the hands of the correct mastermind.

everyone could be lying.

so who is this bishop? more importantly, were they lying?

+++

a/n: let the hunt begin! this is chapter one out of approximately 40 chapters. stick around as our team of six find mystery, murder, suspense, joy, misery, love, and unconventional friendships in each other.