The Party That Killed || Hyunlix

37 🕸️

3rd person pov.
Chan stood in the middle of the dimly lit room, staring at the mirror in front of him. His reflection seemed blurred, and Chan’s gaze drifted beyond the glass, into the past. A memory pierced through the fog of his thoughts, slowly taking shape.

He saw himself again as a child, standing on the side of the playground, while his brother, full of energy and a smile, ran among the other children, clutching a new ball in his hands. Chan watched him with a certain admiration, yet felt a strange, heavy sensation inside—like a thin thread of jealousy had tangled with his heart. His brother drew the attention of everyone, always full of life, while Chan felt like he was somewhere in the shadows, too quiet, too invisible.

The scene shifted like a kaleidoscope—now he saw their mother approach his brother, furrowing her brows, disappointed and stern. There was no softness in her eyes. His brother lowered his head, trying to defend himself, to explain, but his words were swallowed in unspoken sorrow. "If you only tried harder, like Chan…"—their mother whispered these words, but their weight was enormous.

The memory passed, revealing that night when his brother was gone. Chan heard their footsteps in the distance—the sound of the door closing behind him.

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Seungmin pov.
We approach the house from the new address we found—all of us have mixed feelings. The place seems quiet and empty, but there’s something strange in the air. When Chan’s mother opens the door, I immediately feel the chill of her gaze. She’s cold, as if our presence irritates her. After a few curt words about Chan, she closes the door, unwilling to reveal anything more than she absolutely must.

Just as we’re about to give up, a boy appears, clearly not expecting to find anyone here. For a moment, we stand facing each other, his face expressing pure panic. Before any of us can react, he spins on his heel and starts running.

“Hey, wait!” I shout and charge after him.

We chase him down several streets until he finally stops, gasping for breath. He turns around and speaks with clear anger:

“I’m not telling you anything, I’ve got nothing to do with Chan, so just back off.”

I try to stay calm, though my pulse is quickening. I exchange glances with the others and barely hold back my frustration.

“Yeah... and you definitely weren’t heading to his house, right?” I reply, not letting him off the hook.

“No, I was just passing by,” his voice shakes, but he tries to stick to his story.

“And that’s why you ran when you saw us?” I look at him suspiciously, trying to throw him off balance.

“I’m not telling you anything, I’ve already said it,” he cuts me off sharply, and I know that whatever connection he has with us, it’s deeper than we thought.

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3rd person pov.
Jisung felt that something was off. His thoughts drifted back to Chan’s house, which had been abandoned so suddenly, without warning. He wondered what could have happened for everything there to be left in such a state. He decided to talk to Minho, feeling like they were missing something.

“Minho, I need to tell you something,” Jisung began, searching for the words to explain it all. “I don’t understand why Chan’s old house was just abandoned like that. And without a word, like something happened. The furniture is still there, everything’s like someone just disappeared… they didn’t sell it, or move the stuff, they just left it.”

Minho looked at him with slight surprise, as if he had just realized something he hadn’t noticed before. He stopped for a moment, contemplating Jisung’s words.

“You know what, you’re right… This whole situation is strange. Normally, if someone dies, at least the family comes, packs up the stuff, sells the house, but here, nothing. And you know what’s even stranger? This house doesn’t look like it was just abandoned by Chan. It’s like no one wanted to touch it. They didn’t even do anything with his things, like he was just meant to disappear, and no one wanted to know what happened.”

Jisung felt a shiver run down his spine. More questions began to arise in his mind, questions he couldn’t answer. He leaned against the table, looking at Minho, unable to believe what he was hearing.

“You know, Minho… Maybe it looks like someone just couldn’t deal with it. Like the people who should have taken care of it are gone. Or like someone was trying to hide something in that house. Maybe, you know, that house… it’s not just Chan. Maybe someone else was there who had to disappear quickly, before anyone could figure it out.”

Minho stared at him in silence, but in his eyes, the same uncertainty began to appear that Jisung felt inside himself.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right. We know Chan, but this house has something more. Maybe it’s not just his past we’re trying to understand, but something else. And that something is dragging along questions we don’t have answers to. Maybe all we’re seeing is just a superficial façade…”

Jisung nodded. Suddenly, the whole topic, which had seemed simple to him just a moment ago, now felt like something much bigger. And they couldn’t let it go. He felt they had to get to the bottom of it; something about this case wouldn’t let them rest.

“I don’t know what’s happening, Minho, but I feel like what happened in that house is connected to what’s going on with Chan now. Maybe it’s no coincidence that he’s been avoiding this place.”

Minho only sighed, looking off into the distance, thinking over Jisung’s words. He felt the same – something wasn’t right, something about this case stank. And they couldn’t just leave it.

“You’re right, Jisung. But we have to be careful, because whatever happened, it might be more dangerous than we think.”

“I don’t know what to think about all this…” Jisung exhaled, leaning his hands on the table. “I used to be sure everything would fall into place, but now… Wait, what does this even mean?”

Minho looked at him with a slight doubt in his eyes, then stood up and went to the window. He paused for a moment, then turned to face Jisung.

“I don’t know, but one thing’s for sure… Our search is just beginning.”

Jisung fell silent, and in his eyes, something began to appear that he hadn’t seen before. The boy felt a shiver run down his spine. Everything was becoming more and more tangled.

“Yeah… It’s just beginning.”

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Movie suggestion: Carrie (2013)