Love Across Universe

Another Mystery

Soojin

Hmm, butter pancakes...I still remember how he used to love them. My phone lit up and I saw a message from Alex.

Alex : Soo, I checked his family's digital footprints, but there wasn't anything suspicious.

I thought for a while and my fingers started working on the phone's keyboard.

Soojin : Can you send me the list of their online activities?

Alex : Sure, my love. I would but tomorrow. You must sleep now. Goodnight :) 

Soojin : Goodnight love. *goodnight kisses*.

I closed the phone and hoped that I can spot something which could give me a clue of them.

The sun rays of the morning sun peeped into my room through the window. I removed the duvets and heard Sooah screaming. I rushed out of my room and went to the direction of her voice.

"What happened?" I asked being puzzled as I saw her terrified face and a wooden box lying on the ground.

She turned towards and immediately ran into my embrace and started crying.

"Unnie...stop. Tell me," I hugged her tightly and she pointed her index finger towards that wooden box, still being too stunned to speak.

I walked towards the box and screamed loudly as I saw the object inside it. It was a doll whose whose one eye was missing and some black hair which was covered with blood and a note was lying on the floor beside the box.

NEXT MEMBER TO DIE OF THE MIN FAMILY - MIN SOOJIN

This was what written in the box. I put the note inside the pocket and closed the box. I turned around and saw Sooah crying covering her face with her palms.

"Someone played a dirty trick on us Sooah, get up. I am making the breakfast today," I said making her stand up.

"No! You won't do anything and you won't be going out t-today," she said holding my arms.

I freed myself from her grip. "Unnie, someone has just joked. I am gonna take this box to the office and get it tested. The files are already kept in my bag, so please bring the bag for me."

At Office:

"Soojin, are you okay?" Alex asked.

I turned my head towards him, my hands still on the keyboard. "Who tf told ya?"

"Sooah, but the main question is why did you hide it from me?" he cupped my cheeks and I mentally thanked God that no one was there in my room since it was tea time.

"Alex see, you have already done a lot for me, I don't wanna cause you any kind of troubles, anymore," I said looking down.

"I  don't adulate this work of yours Soojin. I know you're brave but what if this wasn't a prank. I can't live without you," he said directly looking into my eyes and I felt that yeah, someone loved me too. I was not lonely anymore.

I kissed his forehead and he blushed.

"The reports are here Soo- OMG! Sorry! I didn't want to spoil your special moment. I'll be back later," my dramatic sister closed her eyes with her palms and was about to go when my voice stopped her.

"Just delete that clip from your mind Miss Korea. Kindly do the honour and show the reports."

She gave me the reports. Alex and I thoroughly went through it.

"It's real blood," Alex said anxiously. "Soojin and Sooah I recommend you both to do a DNA test with the sample of this blood."

His words made sense, so we both did a DNA test and the reports came at the evening when our trio was discussing this case with Miss Stephen.

"May I come in, ma'am?" an employee came with the reports in his hand and gave them to our senior.

"You may leave and thank you," she smiled at the employee who bowed and took his leave.

She read the reports fixing her eye glasses which were falling on her nose-bridge. Her face turned grave after reading the entire report.

"Girls, I apologise, but unfortunately your DNA samples match with the DNA of that blood," she declared with a stern expression, looking down and Sooah's palm was already on her mouth.

"But...how can that be possible?" I questioned looking at Alex.

"Did any of you perhaps donated blood recently?" Miss Stephen asked.

"No, ma'am. We both suffer from Anemia, so we are strictly forbidden to donate blood," I said biting my lips.

"Did something happen to any of our relatives in Korea?" Sooah asked nervously.

"N-no, we would have got the call then unnie."

"Are your relations good with your Korean relatives?" Alex asked curiously.

"Yeah, we have only 3 cousins. We lost most of our relatives in Japan and North Korea because of the Korean war and our great-grandfathers were betrayed by their close people, so they didn't establish any relationships after the wars. That's our family history, so you can conclude that we don't have huge bunches of relatives like other Asians," I said coyly.

"Any family enemies that you're not aware or aware of?" he opened his laptop and started his stalking work again.

"No...probably-"

"I will call our relatives once to confirm, don't answer in a hurry. We will try to inform you everything by tomorrow," Sooah said and stood up.

"Wait, Miss Min. Please do not hurry. Alex will drop you both and by that time I will take the help of my secret cops to solve the mystery. Alex, do check the CCTV footage," Miss Stephen winked knowing that we were the first ones in the entire office to know about her secret cops and she expected to keep this a 'secret'.

"The footages had been removed. The footages of the CCTV cameras of the near-by stores were unfortunately removed too. The culprit is indeed smart, but what's more concerning is the fact - that how did he get the blood of Min Sisters," he said with a grave expression.

"Hmm...Mr. Anderson please take care of the girls and you two be careful," Miss Stephen said with concern and gestured us to leave.

She would probably discuss the case with her 'secret cops' and needed some privacy.

I leaned against the window of Alex's car, afraid and confused of my fate. My life turned upside-down after I turned 15...now after a decade too, I couldn't get the the peace which that 13 year old Soojin Min had wanted and wrote about it in a essay in her school's essay writing competition and won the 3rd prize.

Life is unpredictable.