✔ 𝔖𝔱𝔞𝔯-𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 ℳℯ𝓁ℴ𝒹𝒾ℯ𝓈

Chapter 7.15 - Room 59

The apartment where Soyeon had lived for years was supposed to open a window into their shared past for Beomgyu and Yeonjun. But when the two of them looked around the apartment, it was not a familiar sight that awaited them, but a picture of chaos.

But not the kind of chaos that Beomgyu had described.

The apartment looked as if it had been hit by a storm. Furniture had been knocked over, personal belongings were scattered on the floor and the walls showed signs of forced entry. Beomgyu, who had previously spoken of a chaotic mess, seemed surprised himself at the state they found the place in. Yeonjun frowned and carefully stepped further into the room. His eyes wandered over the broken vases, the shattered pictures on the wall and the overturned chairs. A cold shiver ran down the boys' spines as they took in the eerie silence of the place.

"What-what happened here?" asked Beomgyu with a hint of concern in his voice. His fingers were trembling because the scene before them was beyond imagination. "It's all trashed," he commented quietly, looking at the guitar on the floor, its strings sticking up. A few CDs lay on the floor in front of the shelf and the broken glasses lay in a heap of shards on the carpet.

Yeonjun sighed heavily and carefully pushed a few items aside with the tip of his foot. He bent down and picked up a photo that had been knocked over. It was a picture of Soyeon and Beomgyu, a happy moment from their past together, now tattered and stripped of innocent joy. Soyeon was a pretty young woman, very attractive and it didn't surprise Yeonjun that she should have become an idol. Unfortunately, this factor had a bitter aftertaste. "It looks like someone broke in here," Yeonjun murmured quietly and passed the photo to Beomgyu, then approached the desk where several documents and papers lay.

He noticed a strip of photos that Yeonjun picked up. It showed Soyeon with a slightly older man who was clearly in a very trusting posture towards each other. Which seemed a bit strange, because such photos were more likely to be taken with a friend of the same age, but this man definitely looked older.

What Yeonjun didn't know, however, was that the man was Beomgyu's manager.

Memories of the day this picture was taken flooded into Beomgyu's mind as he looked at the picture of himself and Soyeon. He remembered the warm sunlight streaming through the windows and the light-hearted laughter carried back and forth between them. It had been a day full of fun and joy, a day he would carry in his heart forever. The scene before him, however, stood in stark contrast to that memory. The image was torn apart, just like their former bond. Beomgyu's heart ached at the thought of how quickly everything had changed. He could see the tears in Soyeon's eyes as they talked about their dreams, about their future together. But now all that seemed to be in ruins, just as the apartment around them had been destroyed. He put it down on the table and wandered over to Yeonjun. "Then why didn't they search this room?" he asked, looking over the musician's shoulder.

He immediately widened his eyes when he recognized the man in the photo. "What, Taeyang?" he asked, stunned, questions gathering in his head. "That's my manager! What the - ..." he paused as he remembered Namjoo telling him that Soyeon had had a boyfriend without his knowledge. The pieces of the puzzle seemed to be slowly falling into place and he shook his head in confusion. "The man Soyeon was with was Taeyang?"

"Taeyang? That's really your manager?" Yeonjun asked, his brow furrowed. The connection between Soyeon and Beomgyu's manager seemed like an additional puzzle piece in this complex puzzle. "Why would Soyeon be with your manager?"

"Had been. Namjoo said Soyeon kept it a secret from me because she was in love with me," Beomgyu said, shaking his head. "But why was she with my manager if she wasn't in love with him?"

Pensive and like a dog that didn't understand something, Yeonjun tilted his head to the side. His forehead showed fine wrinkles as he tried to connect the strange situation between Soyeon and Beomgyu's manager. The rays of light falling from the ceiling were reflected in his thoughtful eyes. "Maybe..." he began hesitantly, his gaze fixed on the broken photo of Soyeon and Beomgyu, "could it be that she was in love with both of you?" The words came quietly from his lips, accompanied by an expression of deep thought. His head tilted further to the side, as if searching for answers in the fragments of the past. The black strands fell lightly over his forehead as he continued, "Or maybe she had another motivation for being with your manager? For example, to be closer to you?" Yeonjun's eyes, which normally sparkled with liveliness, now reflected a certain confusion and curiosity.

The possibilities swirled in Beomgyu's head as he tried to understand the true motives behind Soyeon's actions.

Had she really been in love with him?

Or was there more behind the scenes that he didn't know?

The confusion and curiosity grew with each new question, but the answers seemed to remain hidden in the shadows of the past.

And more importantly, what had happened here?

"We should search the room for clues," he finally muttered. "And I really hope Taeyang has nothing to do with all this."

His trembling eyes wandered around the room and Beomgyu paced over the broken things. Clothes were scattered everywhere and it was truly frightening. Every step crunched and when the actor slowly pushed open the door to her bedroom, he was met with another shock. Small pieces of paper were stuck chaotically on the walls, as if they were desperately trying to convey a message. Some were crumpled, others half torn off, but their words were still clearly legible. 'Help' was emblazoned in clumsy writing on some of the notes, while others bore disjointed words and phrases that painted a picture of chaos and despair.

The bedspread lay strewn across the floor, as if it had surrendered in battle against the invisible power of chaos. Pillows and blankets were rumpled, as if they had tried to escape their owners and hide from an unseen enemy. The walls were covered in scratches and scuffs, as if they had fought a desperate battle and yet they had remained silent, unable to reveal the secrets they had seen.

In the corner next to the bed, Beomgyu discovered words written on the wall. The letters were scrawled hastily and unevenly, as if someone had tried to leave a final message with trembling hands. 'Help me' was clearly visible, but next to it were other words that were barely decipherable, as if they had been smeared by an invisible hand.

Beomgyu's heart began to beat faster as he looked around the room. Every piece of paper, every broken piece of furniture seemed to call out for answers, and yet the silence of the room remained unrelenting. An oppressive atmosphere hung over everything, and Beomgyu couldn't help but wonder what had happened here and who or what was responsible. Fear shackled him and he was unable to react.