9 Layers Down (Twice)

Chapter 30 - Defeated

5 days have passed. The authorities are still in search for Chaeyoung's whereabouts. The girls and her mom has also been helping in finding her.

Jihyo's phone signalled for a new message. She opened it and saw another message from an unregistered number. 
It was a photo of her in the café she recently visited.
This time, she got really scared. But she didn't want to frighten the girls as well so she decided hide it to herself. She replied to the message and asked who was it.

They replied with intials, BC.

Fear washed over her. 

"Hey are you okay?" Dahyun asked as she sat in the breakfast table next to Jihyo. The girl looked like she just saw a ghost.
But they both jumped out when they heard Sana screamed from the bathroom.

"What's wrong?" Jeongyeon quickly ran to her. The others followed behind.
They saw Sana crying while holding her phone.
Nayeon grabbed the phone and saw a cryptic message from an unregistered number. It was a photograph of Sana in the medical room back in the bunker where she was locked away in isolation.
Tzuyu and Momo held her up and brought her at the living room. They gave her water and help her calm down.
Sana felt like the walls are closing in again.

"Who the hell is this creep?" Jeongyeon said in total devastation. The others have the same question in mind.
Dahyun inspected the number and tried to track it but there were no results as if it was a number that do not exist at all.

"Honestly," Jihyo who have been so quiet since she woke up, finally spoke. "I've been receiving creepy messages too."

"What?" Nayeon exclaimed in disbelief. Jihyo grabbed her phone and let the see the messages. They were so surprised that she have been enduring these all alone.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Tzuyu asked, just as devastated as everyone.

"I don't know. I guess I got scared. I didn't know what to do." Jihyo took a deep breath and her knees gone weak as tears roll down her face. Momo stayed next to her and rub her back.

"This could be the person who took Chaeyoung! How can you not tell us?" Mina yelled.

"Wait, BC? As in Bernard Choi?" Nayeon said as she inspect the messages.

"What if he's alive and came back for vengeance?" Sana assumed.

"Hey. He can't be any more dead okay? We all watched when Chaeyoung slit his throat. We all saw how he took his last breath." Jeongyeon scolded. 

"I have a theory." Momo suddenly spoke, making everyone look at her with a little doubt.

"You have?" Sana asked as if not believing what she heard. 

"I'm serious guys." Momo rolled her eyes from their doubtful faces.

"Let's hear it." Jeongyeon said.

"There are criminal cases in which a person is so fascinated about a certain criminal act. When the case is closed, they tend to get sad that it's over so they develope this urge to do the same. Perform the same crime just so they can fill in that blank space."

"That's definitely possible." Mina agreed with her.

"Is that really you, Momo?" Sana said in disbelief.

"Okay, but the question is, where the hell did they get Sana's photo from the bunker?"

"Holy shit. What if he had an accomplice all along, just waiting for the right timing to strike us?" Tzuyu speculated.

"The second of torture. He have been talking about that." Jihyo stated. Just hearing those theories made the girls shiver in fear. It's just so horrifying to think it must be true. This must be part of his plans. To persecute them even if he's already dead.

"What do we do now? Should we tell NIS?" Dahyun asked.

"There would be a lot of consequences to that. They might be out there right now listening." Mina stated.

This time, they all received a message with photos of when they were out there in the island.

"There's no other explanation about this that makes sense than that he had an accomplice and Mr. Choi had planned this beforehand." Nayeon stated, looking at the creepy photo on her phone.

A knock on the door interrupted the girls' chaotic morning. Fear crept in their veins immediately as the knocks get louder.
They checked out the door monitor but the person was covered with face mask and a cap.
No one was brave enough to open the door. Jeongyeon pushed Nayeon but she was crying so much.
Mina inhaled, trying to relax her nerves and walked to the door. She just wanted to know who's this new monster that plans to make them suffer again. She was also hoping he was the one who took Chaeyoung.

She turned the knob and opened the door, revealing a person with a small frame. She removed her cap and masked.

Suddenly, Son Chaeyoung was stood in front of them.

"Chaeyoung?" Mina said in disbelief.

"Mina unnie?" Chaeyoung smiled, inevitably showing her lovely dimple.
Mina immediately enclosed her in a warm embrace. 

"Chaeyoungie!" Nayeon cried harder. The girls gave her a warm hugs as well.

"Are you okay? Are hurt somewhere?" Sana worriedly asked as she inspect her body.

"I'm okay." Chaeyoung answered.

"Where the hell have you been? We're so worried about you." Jeongyeon asked, still in awe of the turn of events.

"I-I don't- I don't remember." Chaeyoung stammered. Her hands, shaking and cold. Mina took it and intertwined their fingers together.

"What do you mean you don't remember?" Jihyo asked her. "How did you get home?"

Chaeyoung swallowed the lump in her throat. She could feel bitterness at the edge of her tongue.

"My dad took me and brought me to his house. And then someone walked in. I don't know who he was. He doesn't work for my dad. He sedated me. And since then, it felt like flash of distant memories playing in my head. I don't even know if it's real or not. And then I just woke up in a moving bus. And now I'm here."

"Do you even know you went missing for five days?" Dahyun asked.

"What? Five days?" Chaeyoung's eyes widen in surprise.

"Okay, uh, why don't you go with me, I'll take you to your room and get some rest. You need it." Mina suggested. The other girls agreed.
Chaeyoung nodded as a response.

Jihyo went to the room to check her up and gave her pills for her headache.
Chaeyoung had a small wound on her lower lip.
Jihyo also saw bruises and discoloration on her wrists and torso but Chaeyoung said it doesn't hurt.

Nayeon called Mrs. Son and inform her that Chaeyoung was home.
Dahyun called her Ji Eun unnie to inform her too.
Jeongyeon suggested they should call Dr. Song too to assess Chaeyoung's mental health and maybe she could help her remember what happened to her and who took her.

--

NIS began a full investigation on Chaeyoung's disappearance. Inevitably, the cryptic messages has also been revealed. Now, they're in another merry-go-round of questions and revelations and other abnormal stuff that people their age normally do not experience. Life is just so unfair, they thought, one day, they're just normal college kids, goofing around with their stupid friends, the next day, they're face with a pyschopath and tortures and creepy stuff.

--

"Chaeyoung, I know it's hard." Dr. Song said. "It's painful but I need you to open up now. You can't just go around, carrying that burden alone. You have to trust me."

"I don't know anymore, doc. I'm just extremely tired. Exhausted. If there's any word greater than that, then that's it." Chaeyoung smiled and took a deep breath. For the first time, bitter tears roll down her eyes. The doctor was in awe of how Chaeyoung was suddenly showing her true emotions.
She was like a defeated, surrendering warrior, dropping her sword to the muddy ground.

In that therapy session, Chaeyoung didn't say anything more, she just cried and cried, letting go of the emotions she have been carrying.
She hasn't said anything yet about those five days. She was still claiming she have no memories of those days.