Autumn Leaves

Chapter 10

"We should go."

Mina nodded and walked with Jeongyeon towards a nearly parked black ranger. With a gloomy aura and atmosphere radiating out from her, she let Jeongyeon open the passenger seat's door and let her in.

They both sat inside the luxurious car for minutes. No one talked, and when Jeongyeon wants to utter even a single comforting words, she always back off and choose to shut her mouth because every word might feel like a piercing bullet once said insensitively. Silence engulfed the whole space in and all they can hear were their own breathing and own hearts beating.

"You... I saw you talking to my aunt two years ago... the night you saved me. I'm sure you are that person. So, do you... perhaps... know anything about my parents?" Mina asked in a sudden, putting an end to the killer silence. And she earned a hesitant nod as a response from the other girl sitting just beside her, particularly on the driver's seat.

Mina smiled bitterly. She then looked back at the bus stop that almost get tiny from their far view. And she remembered that one or two times she left in a hurry before Chaeyoung to run for an important meeting. In that memory, she was able to see the latter waving happily and she was able to hear her shouting MINA, not minding the people around as if she has her own world where there are only the two of them. And just about the time she thought she could already handle it, when she thought she finally convinced herself that she could leave Chaeyoung just like that, the rain started pouring and the bus stop, their bus stop, was left with no lone person nor a single shadow.

As Mina can recall with her almost dizzy mind, the sky was all clear and blue a while ago with no hint of the weather going berserk like what is said on the forecast she had watched the other night, so why is it raining? Did the sky feel her pain and decided to cry with her? Was the world with her through this downfall? She bet yes.

The girl beside Mina started the engine, while the latter just leaned her head sideways on the car's foggy and wet window. She tried manipulating her emotions like she always does and then looked outside as if she could see through the watery and blurry glass while wearing a fake poker face like she didn't care at all. She already stopped crying and it just took her less than half an hour to finally calm down, but Jeongyeon, even if she don't fully know Mina, she didn't fail to notice the sadness in the latter's eyes.

"I know almost everything," she cleared her throat "I was the one who forced your aunt to never talk regarding your parents' death," Jeongyeon said to Mina, breaking the uncomfortable silence that unsurprisingly occurred between them once again, her voice mixed on the faint sound of the pouring rain from outside.

"So it is because of you that she didn't bother to tell me a single detail?" Mina smiled sadly, still looking outside even if she can't see through the rain and fog stains. The other girl, silently getting filled with guilt, didn't respond immediately and just continued to drive carefully towards a place Mina cannot recognize.

"You were too fragile and you are still too weak to handle everything. I was there when you are lost and depressed," Jeongyeon uttered, minimizing her resentful voice. Now, she felt bad for keeping it as a secret and even asking Mina's aunt to keep everything from her. She felt bad for she was the reason why Mina was oblivious all this time, "let's talk about it later."

So, Jeongyeon maneuvered the stirring wheel silently after that, eventually stealing glances at Mina who doesn't give a damn. In no time, she stopped the car in a place that is new and strange to Mina's eyes. This isn't Mina's house nor one of the flats that her family own. It was a more luxurious compound with more than forty floors. And there was a man in uniform who approached them to ask for the car's key.

Mina looked at Jeongyeon, eyes asking, bewildered and wondering. Buy the latter just shrugged her shoulders before handing the key to a random guy and going out of the driver's seat to open the door beside Mina as the gentle woman she is.

And when they stepped foot inside the floor of Jeongyeon's apartment, Mina said, "tell me everything."

Jeongyeon nodded and motioned her to sit in one of the couches she had. She was uncomfortable. She was anxious and nervous. Not solely because she feels intimidated by Mina's sole presence in front of her, and not that she couldn't get herself together under Mina's gaze, it is not that she's not used to speaking to anyone, she was nervous not because of those things, but because she is now in front of Mina herself, the girl she secretly loved from years ago until now.

"The officer in charge on your parents case... I found him two years ago and got everything you needed to know..."

"Go on, I'm listening." Mina let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes.

The said case has become a big secret, a great mystery. And the media had limited access throughout the whole investigation or results even if their company was one of the most known all throughout South Korea and Japan. So even if Mina tried searching for information years ago, she failed to get even a little clue to get satisfied of, though she never stopped garnering tiny details.

"The suspect's name is Son Seunghoon. Living with her daughter named Son Chaeyoung alone. And at that time, his spouse, Kim Chaerim, died 2 years ago... a total of 4 years ago from now--"

But in Jeongyeon's whole sentence and all the names she said, only one name caught Mina's attention, making all the other details ununderstood as her mind immediately focused on Chaeyoung... a familiar name she has always loved to utter and call, but now with an unfamiliar family name, "Son Chaeyoung?" Mina asked.

"Yeah, her daughter is Son Chaeyoung, now at her early twentys, former arts & design student, now living alone at a house her parents acquired in Chongdam-dong," Jeongyeon added and put both of her elbows above her knees, she clasped her hand and made her face more serious than before if that was even possible, "I investigated about her just last year and she has a part time job at a café, she has stopped entering school before she even graduated. That's the least thing I got about her. Their family is also too private, like yours... or maybe she got no other relatives to claim and take care of her, that's why."

Mina gulped, her heart started racing due to thought that the Son Chaeyoung they are talking about can be the Chaeyoung she met from two years ago. Everything just matches from the description and little known knowledge Chaeyoung has shared to Mina, and to the obvious truth that connects some strings.... but Mina doesn't want to believe an unproved guess nor consider a hunch without seeing it for herself.

"About the murderer's dau--"

"Son Seunghoon was one of your parents' business partners, particularly one of the biggest stockholder at that time. Nobody knows what really happened one night between them but his psychotic behavior got triggered, and that lead him to killing your parents."

"He was known to be mentally illed since years ago, but I guess something came taking over... I wasn't satisfied and convinced that he did that because of a simple reason or a mental illness," Jeongyeon added, "he killed himself and shot his head right after shooting your parents multiple times. His stocks got transferred to your company and his family never got the chance to take them back, and they didn't even try to... or his only daughter didn't even know about it."

"In short, his stocks and shares became like a payment for the trouble he caused and the lives he took. Millions of dollars of them..." she continued, "and that made his daughter, Chaeyoung, left with no choice but work to feed herself."

Chaeyoung.... the girl she met at that exact same street. Is she Son Chaeyoung?