Faded // Bang Chan

Chapter 6 - Revelations

The week had passed by quite quickly and yet it had been three days since Na Ri last saw Chan. Nobody seemed worried about him though, nobody but her. She knew from the numerous rumours that Chan's attendance wasn't the best and that he often disappeared and then showed up again out of the blue and yet she still found herself hoping that he was okay as she stared at his empty seat at the back of the class each day.

"I have gossip!" Shi Won announced in a sing song voice as she sat at the round table in the cafeteria. Seul Bi, Bo Ra and Jae Hwa all huddled together to listen while Na Ri pretended to be busy searching for something in her bag. She had a feeling this gossip would involve the notorious Chan and although she was thoroughly interested in it she had decided that she didn't want to get caught up in the rumours.

"Do tell!" Jae Hwa pleaded as the other girls nodded in agreement. "Okay, so I overheard this in the changing room after PE but Chan and Jungsoo got into a fight on Monday and neither boy has returned to school since." She whispered as each girl exchanged glances at each other, taking in the juicy news. Na Ri sat in silence for a moment, just taking everything in. "I hope he gets expelled. That's his third fight this year and that's just on school grounds!" Seul Bi commented. "Why would they fight though?" Shi Won pondered aloud. "I don't get that either. Those two haven't spoken to each other since the accident." Jae Hwa added.

"What's 'the accident'?" Na Ri questioned. She'd heard all kinds of rumours regarding Bang Chan but nobody would ever tell her what actually happened. Bo Ra tensed up and Shi Won immediately wrapped a comforting arm around her. Jae Hwa and Seul Bi shot Bo Ra a look of concern before looking down at their table and not uttering a word. "It's okay." Bo Ra faked a smile, urging her friends to explain.

"Chan murdered In Ho, Bo Ra's boyfriend." Seul Bi muttered. Na Ri's thoughts became clouded. She'd always known he was being labelled as a murderer but this made it seem much more real. "In Ho was Chan's best friend but I guess he was jealous of him or something." Jae Hwa continued. "Now do you see why we don't like you having an interest in him. He's bad news." Shi Won warned Na Ri who felt conflicted. She didn't want to believe he actually killed someone but he never denied it and so many other people seem convinced he did it. "What if he didn't do it?" She unintentionally aired her thought to the group who looked at her as though she'd just grown a second head. "You can't be serious!" Seul Bi rolled her eyes at the new girl. "I saw him do it! I watched him kill my boyfriend!" Bo Ra raised her voice, growing increasingly agitated at the conversation. She stood up and stomped off down the hallway leaving the remaining girls to watch as her figure faded from the cafeteria.

"I'll go after her." Seul Bi huffed before leaving to chase after her friend. "Sorry." Na Ri uttered to the group who just brushed it off. "Don't be sorry. You were just curious. Let's just drop the topic for now." Shi Won suggested, clearly feeling the tension. Na Ri felt unsure of her feelings. She felt as though something was missing. Why would Chan kill his best friend simply because he was jealous? Surely something was being left out. Besides, surely if Chan had murdered someone he'd be at a juvenile prison, not here in a public school.

The table of chatty girls erupted into conversation again about some upcoming party but Na Ri was too deep in her own thoughts to pay attention.

"Do you think she's listening?" Jae Hwa giggled as the two girls took in Na Ri's zoned out face. "She's totally out of it!" Shi Won laughed, snapping a picture of the oblivious Na Ri. "Yoo hoo!" Jae Hwa called, waving a hand in her face to gain her attention. Na Ri snapped her head up from the packet of crisps she had been staring at to meet Jae Hwa's gaze. "You wanna come to a party with us?"

"I don't think that's such a good idea. I don't really like to drink and those kind of events aren't fun when you're sober." Na Ri replied, thinking back to that one party she went to last year that ended with her babysitting the girls she attended with. "Have a think about it. Trust me, you won't wanna miss this party! Bo Ra's boyfriend throws the best parties!" Shi Won persuaded. Something about the glimmer in her eye gave Na Ri a bad vibe but she chose not to question it, after all, these girls were her friends and she should trust them.

Three days had passed and yet Chan couldn't bring himself to return to school. Even just waking up everyday was hard. Chan felt hopeless and alone but yet something inside of him wouldn't let him give up on himself and he was grateful for that. He felt as though he wasn't ready to give up. He desperately wanted to make sense of the mess in his head.

"In Ho was going to be a dad before you killed him! Bo Ra was pregnant, you idiot!"

Jungsoo's harsh words rang in Chan's head. Chan had killed not only his best friend but the father of Bo Ra's child. He banged his head repeatedly off of his pillow before burying his face into it to muffle his angry screams.

Many questions raced through his crowded mind. 'Did In Ho even know she was pregnant?' 'Why did Jungsoo know about this when nobody else seemed to?' 'Why did Jungsoo tell me?'

Chan sat up in his bed and ruffled his wavy blonde hair before stretching his arms over his head and glancing at his alarm clock. 1:23 PM.

He sighed before throwing himself out of bed and putting on a random shirt that had been laying on the floor. He knew he couldn't avoid school for much longer but he was scared, of what he wasn't sure but he knew as soon as his feet touched school property the glares would resume.

His phone rang from its space on his bedside table. Chan rolled his eyes before picking up the device and placing it to his ear.

"Hello?" Chan greeted. "Find what you were looking for the other night?" Jungsoo questioned over the line. "How did you get this number?" Chan shot back, immediately feeling on edge. Jungsoo replied with a laugh, only adding to Chan's irritation at the model student. "I heard Kang Dae brought you out. Don't play dumb with me Chan! You may rank higher than me at school but I'm not a moron." Jungsoo pushed, desperate to find out what Chan knows.

"I really don't know what you want me to say?" Chan persisted. Chan knew exactly what Jungsoo was after. Jungsoo had always been nosy but not for the reasons most people are. He's not the curious type, nor the gossip type. Jungsoo was simply manipulative. There was nothing he liked more than knowing information on others that could become helpful to him.

"Well played Chan. We both know you're clinging to Kang Dae for information." He spat. "Smart guy. I'll give you that much." Chan retorted before hanging up and turning his phone off. Chan was baffled as to how Jungsoo not only knew of Bo Ra's pregnancy but now that Chan had a plan involving Kang Dae and his friends.

The truth was, his plan was unsuccessful. Chan knew that Dongwoo was closest to In Ho out of all the boys so if anyone knew anything surrounding the last moments of his life and the pregnancy it would be him but yet, getting Dongwoo drunk enough to spill any information proved to be difficult and not even worth while.

Within an hour of Dongwoo's drunken mumbling about why dropping out of school was the best decision he ever made Chan had decided to just go home and call it a night.

Chan plodded to the kitchen to make some toast but was surprised to see his dad sitting at the table with his head in his hands. "Everything okay?" Chan asked only to be met with a grunt in response. Chan pulled out the chair across from his dad and sat down. Chan hated seeing his parents down but it was sadly something he had grown used to. It's not easy being known as the parents with the murderous son.

"Why aren't you at school again, Channie?" He diverted the attention over to his truant son. Chan sighed before scratching the back of his neck, not being entirely sure how to reply. "I think we'll have to close the shop soon." His dad mumbled while rubbing his temples.

Chan's dad ran a cafe at the posher side of town but once people heard about Chan being behind In Ho's death they lost a lot of customers. Chan remained silent, not knowing what he could say to improve the situation at all. Chan couldn't even begin to imagine the toll his drastic action took on his family. In fact, he hadn't heard from most of his family members since In Ho's death, not that Chan blames them for that.

"Why did you have to do it Chan? Why did you really kill your best friend?"

Thanks for 300 reads. You guys are the best and I really appreciate that!