Letters from the Void // ASTRO ✔

Chapter 31

If not for the transparent glass protecting him from the inmate, he would've probably jumped forward, grabbing him by the collar. But he didn't; the glass was in between them and he was still in his right mind. Instead, he watched silently as the inmate positioned himself in front of him, his desolate eyes piercing through the glass. He didn't offer any greetings, but they only peered at each other, as if waiting for any one to initiate conversation.

Taehyung took the lead. "Why did you do it?"

MJ's pupils were trembling, but Taehyung's resentful face made him stood there stone-faced. "I told them it was an accident."

"An accident that caused Rocky to die."

MJ was unprepared for Taehyung's comeback; he felt as if his throat was being choked and he couldn't blurt out anything. He was definitely guilty; he felt the tears coming.

"What did he do so wrong? So you are admitting that you wanted to kill Eunwoo. But you made a mistake and Rocky became the victim instead. Either way you're still wrong; you attempted to murder Eunwoo and you killed Rocky."

MJ only looked past Taehyung, refusing to look into his eyes.

"The accident 10 years ago was you, wasn't it?"

MJ balled his fists. His patience had its limits; he would burst whenever anyone touches the sensitive issue. He slammed his fist on the glass, and said, "If you were in my shoes, I would guarantee that you would do the same. You would kill if someone hurts your sister."

Taehyung stared at him, feeling challenged. He saw the prison guards materializing behind MJ, ready to take him in, but Taehyung put up a hand. He wanted to ask one more crucial question. One more, and he wouldn't want to see the murderer's face ever again. "Why did you try to take over my sister's body system? Is it because of the fact that Eunwoo likes her? Are you trying to hurt everyone close to him?" He asked the questions in one breath, ready to hear the answers from MJ.

MJ unclenched his fists, and his shoulders drooped. At this point, there was just pure confusion on his face. "What do you mean your sister? Choi Haeun- Kim Taehee? Me?" He pointed to his chest, as if trying to prove a very important point. "I never touched her. It never even crossed my mind; all I wanted to hurt was Eunwoo. Never anyone else."

Taehyung was about to bat away his reply, but he leaned forward, his face inches away from the glass. "But you attempted murder on Eunwoo by controlling him 10 years ago."

The statement triggered MJ, but he decided to just play along. "True, I did it because I wanted to take revenge."

"And my sister was controlled, up to the point that she almost died. It was you, wasn't it?"

MJ put up both of his hands, too lazy to argue. "I don't like repeating myself, but I did control Eunwoo 10 years ago. What makes you think that I was the one behind your sister's near-death experience? It doesn't make sense that I was trying to kill her when she doesn't have anything to do with this. I wanted to kill Eunwoo because it was meant as revenge to his brother. That was it."

Taehyung's skin crawled as he heard MJ using the word 'kill' as if it was nothing, but he didn't want to linger on that any longer. This man was already behind bars, but the culprit who hacked into her sister's body system was still roaming freely. He was so sure that MJ was the one behind it, and he was relieved as he realized his sister was now safe from his hands. Now, his shoulders felt heavy as he picked up new information; someone else was behind this, possibly with malicious intents towards his sister.

MJ was pulled away from his seat, his hands cuffed. Taehyung watched as he was brought away, and before the door closed behind him, he turned around and mouthed: 'I'm sorry.' Taehyung wanted to say that sorry wouldn't bring a dead person back to life, but he could see the genuine feeling in MJ's eyes. The door was shut, and Taehyung was left alone with his thoughts. His mind was cluttered, his confidence when he could figure out the culprit behind his sister's problem now gone in a cloud of dust.