Unevitable | Ryeji |

Chapter 9: Pieces of the....?

Yeji's pov:

As I returned home from the club and a took a quick shower. I quickly settled into bed and thought about Hyunjin.

He seems too familiar to me. I feel like I have seen him somewhere before or heard his name before.

I have a feeling I saw similar eyes like his in the charity event. Those eyes, piercing and intense, had caught my attention. They were unmistakable, leaving a lasting impression in the brief moments our gazes met. I couldn't shake off the feeling that there was more to him than what he let on.

I replayed the events of the charity night in my mind. Amidst the crowd, the laughter, and the clinking glasses, there had been a fleeting moment when I felt a strange tension in the air. It was when those eyes met mine.

Hyunjin. The name echoed in my mind. I needed to find out more about him. There was something about him that was crucial, something that connected him to the recent events. My instincts rarely failed me, and I wasn't about to ignore them now.

Determined, I reached for my phone and made a note to investigate Hyunjin further. Tomorrow, I would dig deeper into his background. For now, I needed rest. But as I closed my eyes, those familiar eyes lingered in my thoughts, refusing to let me go.

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*

Morning arrived sooner than I expected. The sunlight streamed through the curtains, casting a warm glow across my room. I got out of bed, my mind still occupied with thoughts of Hyunjin. After a quick breakfast, I headed to the precinct, my resolve stronger than ever.

Upon arrival, I greeted my team and immediately headed to my office. I powered up my computer, fingers itching to start the search. I began by accessing the department's database, typing in "Hwang Hyunjin."

Several results appeared, but none of them seemed to match the Hyunjin I had encountered. Frustrated but not deterred, I decided to widen my search parameters.

An hour later, I hit a potential lead. An old newspaper article from 15 years ago caught my eye. The headline read, "A Family Of Five Get's Into An Accident".

The picture of the articles were crustal. The family was heading to their home town, but it was a bad weather. Many landslides had taken place and sadly they were caught in one.

The father and two brothers had not survived, but the daughter and the mother did. The article mentioned that the daughter, despite surviving, suffered from flashbacks and disordered memory as if she continually relived the traumatic accident.

I leaned back in my chair, processing the information. Could this Hyunjin be connected to that tragic incident? It was a long shot, but something about it felt right. I made a note to dig deeper into the family's background, hoping to find a link.

The details of the article lingered in my mind, and as I continued my investigation, I began to experience a peculiar sensation. A sudden headache struck me, and my vision blurred. In a disorienting rush, fragments of images flashed before me: a car veering off the road, the screaming of metal, and a chaotic swirl of rain and mud.

I closed my eyes tightly, trying to steady myself. The images were jarring, like a jigsaw puzzle that didn't quite fit together. Each flash was accompanied by an intense emotional weight-fear, confusion, and a profound sense of loss.

As the flashes subsided, I found myself struggling to separate these disordered memories from the information I was processing. It felt as if I had been thrust into someone else's past, experiencing their trauma firsthand.

I took deep breaths, attempting to ground myself. Was this a result of the case or something more personal? I couldn't ignore the growing suspicion that these memories were connected to Hyunjin and the accident.

The headache persisted, a constant reminder that something important was just out of reach. Determined to push through, I made a note to investigate further into the psychological effects the accident had on the survivors. There was a crucial piece missing, and I had to find it.

As I delved deeper into the records, another flashback hit me. This time, it was more vivid. I saw a young girl with piercing eyes, standing in the rain, clinging onto someone for her dear life.

This felt too real and I started to tear up. I wiped my tears quickly, not wanting anyone to see me like this. Taking a deep breath, I refocused on my work, determined to push through whatever was happening to me. There was no room for weakness, not now, not when I was so close to uncovering the truth.

I opened another document, my fingers trembling slightly as I scrolled through more reports and articles related to the accident. The names and faces blurred together, but I forced myself to keep reading, hoping for something-anything-that would link Hyunjin to this tragedy.

But my search yielded nothing conclusive. Frustration gnawed at me, and the headache persisted, a constant reminder that something crucial was just out of reach. I decided to take a break and stepped out of my office, heading to the break room for a moment of respite.

I grabbed a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter, letting the warmth seep into my hands. The disordered memories kept swirling in my mind, fragments of a past that felt both mine and not mine. The piercing eyes, the young girl in the rain, the accident-it all felt so real, yet so distant.

(A.N: heh)

Happy birthday our dear lovely Lia 😭🫶