(Listen to the music while reading. I'll be adding more instrumentals in the story.)
Music: "Love is Here" by Tracey Chattaway
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"Jaemin? A-are you okay?" I was startled to see the tough boy cry. It seemed almost unusual, like seeing an endangered animal walking along your yard.
"I-I'm fine..." Jaemin quickly wiped his tears and put on a vicious face. "It's okay. Let's keep going."
"J-Jaemin...you are not fine!" I grabbed his hand and pulled him back. "Tell me what's wrong."
Jaemin shook his head and avoided my eyes. "N-no...it's okay, Narae. I'm really fine. Just...a little worked up after what happened in there." He pointed to the house that we came out of.
I gave him a stern look, which read "i'm-serious-don't-pretend-you-don't-know-what-i'm-talking-about."
Jaemin sighed. "Fine! I'll tell you!" He immediately got quiet again, and rubbed his neck in worry. "That monster...I recognize it."
I was shocked. "How? What happened?"
Jaemin sucked on his breath. "This...this is a sensitive topic that I usually don't talk about, because if I do, I'm going to burst into tears and make a fool out of myself." He looked at me with sad eyes.
I gave him a sympathetic smile. "...It's okay, Jaemin. It's okay if you cry in front of me. I'm your friend. We're partners in crime solving. We have each others' backs." I gave him a short hug.
He looked taken aback when I hugged him, but it only seemed to last a second. He gave me a small, sad smile and took a deep breath and started to talk.
"I lived in Sanguis for as long as I can remember, way before the attacks started happening. I lived in the same neighbourhood as my best friends. We were friends ever since we were small. Of course, Sanguis was a pretty diverse town, so some of my best friends weren't fully Korean. Some were Chinese and Korean, and some were fluent English-speakers, but we got along nicely.
"It was in the middle of the year of 2015 when fishy things started to happen. We were still in school and there hasn't been a single attack yet. I already had a mindset of becoming a detective, while some of my other friends had thoughts about studying sciences or engineering. I was walking home with my friends, and as observant as I was, I noticed that there was a strange, cloaked man following us. Now that I look back, it was the same creature that attacked us in there. That man didn't do any harm to us, but every day, I would find the same man, suspiciously hiding behind buildings, taking pictures, and writing down some notes. I told my friends, but they laughed it off. They kind of teased me for being paranoid because they knew that I was already solving neighbourhood mysteries.
"Then, the first attack landed, one year later. It was in July, totally unexpected. When we met each other the next day, one of my friends were shaking in fear and said that the attack landed right next to his house. We decided that it was best for all of us to stay in one house, the one farthest from the attack, which was my house.
"We stayed at my house, crowded in the basement every night, in fear of what we might encounter if we accidentally slip out at night. One month passed, and we were only starting to get used to the thumps echoing into the night and the occasional scream that made us cry.
"Then, on the tragic August 24, 2016, while we were huddled up in our blankets, shivering, my friends went upstairs to go use the washroom. While I was waiting for them to come back, I heard piercing cries and scared screams. I knew what had happened. I rushed upstairs, to check where they were and where my parents were, but my friends weren't there. My parents, on the other hand, were dead on the floor, blood everywhere."
Jaemin buried his face into his hands. He was crying. I put my arm around him, comforting him. "Do you not want to keep going? You don't have to if you don't want to."
Jaemin shook his head. "No, it's fine. I'll finish the story."
When I realized that I had nothing left, I burst into tears. I couldn't stop crying. The bumps had already stopped and my parents were dead. My friends were gone. I had no one. Nothing. I had longed for a shoulder to cry on, but there was no one. I longed for the times when I would joke around with my friends, but I already had the crushing realization that I was now friendless. I had longed for a friend for the past three years, and I came out empty.
Then, I went out, and found the same creature that followed behind us every time we walked home. It was holding onto my friends on a wagon, running away at the speed of light. I wanted to run for them, I wanted to call their names, but it was like chains clamped my feet to the ground and I just watched helplessly as they drifted away, farther and farther into the forest.
Jaemin was really crying now. I just kept my arm around him, aware of his sensitivity at the moment.
"That must've been so hard," I told him soothingly. I didn't want to act as if I was giving him a pity party, but at the same time, my heart pained to think that Jaemin went through three years by himself enduring the pain that attacked his heart from his loss. "It's totally right for you to cry after all of that."
Jaemin gave me a weak smile. "I didn't want to cry. I've never wanted anyone to see me weak while I trained to become a detective. It wouldn't be right to see a detective cry."
"Well, guess what, Na Jaemin! It's perfectly fine to cry, and whoever made up that rule of detectives not being able to cry is living in the 1800s. We're in the 21st century! It's okay to let out a few tears."
Jaemin stayed silent.
"Do you know how many times my parents cried because of me?" I asked him in a quieter voice. "I basically brought metal dumbbells upon their shoulders. All because of my dream to become a detective! And of course they were aware of the 1:27 attacks. They knew that there was a 50-50 chance of me getting butchered alive by some anonymous creature or solve the case with triumph and bring Sanguis to peace."
Jaemin didn't say anything.
Finally, he said something.
"Why did they let you come to Sanguis?"
I gave him the same weak smile he gave me before. "That's because they know that I'm an ambitious person, and they know that failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough." (Quote by Og Mandino)
