𝐕𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐎.

10. Meracuni

"What the hell did you do before I got there?" He shot through the almost uninhabited apartment, the creaking door screaming shut.

"Nothing! This is as much of a surprise to me as it is to you!" Greta protested as she grew closer to him. "I told you already, he came in and—tried to... get with me, and then I beat him up... someone must have poisoned him before he came to see me."

As her eyes registered the fact that she didn't bring Jisu's life to an abrupt conclusion, she believed for a moment that perhaps the throttling grip of guilt would dissipate from her mind, the sinful pigment being rinsed off her hands. Yet, even without the crimson reminder of murder, the presence of the stigma wrapped tightly around her throat stayed stitched to her.

He exhaled, breath like satin, the noose of guilt ceased to strangle him.

"Well this just means we don't have to worry about this anymore." He disclosed, solemnly earning a confused expression from her.

He folded his arms, stealing the dominating role. "This means that you didn't kill Jisu and therefore we don't have to involve ourselves with this mess anymore." He explained.

"What? N-no. We're not out of this yet. Jungkook... we might not have killed him but we still buried his body." She scoffed, the memories of them throwing his body into the daunting crevice of the Earth slithering into her eyes.

"What are you trying to say? That-that we need to find the killer or something?" He chuckled slightly, Greta's silence expressing all the words she failed to speak. "Greta no—."

She swiftly intertwined her fingers into Jungkook's almost as if she were trying to inject his body with poisonous sympathy.

"Oh come on Jungkook." She whined, expanding his name into a lasting innocent tone.

"No, I don't want either of us getting involved in this anymore than we already are. The police are the ones who are trained for things like this. Just let them do their job and let us continue with our lives." He decided, a moment of tranquility running through the scene before Greta spoke again.

"Please Jungkook... even though I didn't kill him, I still feel guilty. I can't stop thinking about it. I guess-I guess finding the killer is the only thing that will give me closure. You know I can't do this on my own... besides, who doesn't love a murder mystery?" She gently smiled, allowing her eyes to ascend and meet his.

He sighed.

"F—".

Before the remainder of his words could be liberated into the world, a symphony of clicks followed by a shriek of an aged door filled the room.

"Oh, Jungkook." Maria spoke through a caramel smile. "Greta, why didn't you tell me Jungkook was coming? I could have cooked something for the two of you." She continued as the door closed behind her, settling the shopping bags on the marble counter of the kitchen.

She chuckled nervously. "It was just a last minute decision."

"Ah okay... oh! I saw you were running low on p—" Maria started to chirp before her mind recognised that Jungkook was still in the backdrop of this dialogue. "Well you know... 'lady things'." She tried to encrypt in a whisper.

It took no longer than half a moment for Greta to realise what Maria was hinting to as the almost vivid, intense packaging of the sanitary towels sat in her shopping bags.

"Oh. Umm thanks." She replied as the common burning sensation in her cheeks returned, soon fading into a distant memory as her skin evolved into an anaemic shade.

Her eyes scavenged through her memories, trying to remember the last time she was greeted with vexing week of constant crimson.

The previous week of torture must have been almost two months ago, sending a crumbling feeling shooting down her body.