The Boy in My Closet | k.th

04. What Happened

[Warning! Possibly triggering content and mature topics. If you are uncomfortable with the discussion of death, please do not read the following chapter!]

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The Human

Maybe you were scared to sleep alone that next night.

But how could you not be after what had happened?

You went into your apartment when the sun still comforted you through the open glass windows, and you were fine. You had even entered your closet.

Everything was normal.

You were relieved.

But now the sun was setting. Nervousness crept up into your throat like a cough wanting to escape.

You left the lamp beside your bed turned on as you worked on an assignment on your computer that was due the following day.

You had classes tomorrow morning and then work in the afternoon.

The closet was left open.

Every now and then, you would glance over at it, as if expecting something to be there.

A part of you was anxious and even a little scared.

But the other part of you was almost curious.

With your computer out, you search up the article from the other day about your apartment.

The incident happened just over seven years ago, you quickly learned.

A lot of the reports simply covered the numerous cases against the business that owned the apartments at the time, as well as separate investigations.

The specific website didn't impart anymore on the specifics of the cause.

It only showed a few more images of the complex.

It sure looked a lot different so long ago. You could tell a lot of renovations were made, presumably by the new company that bought it.

You find that the apartment did, in fact, share the information of the tragedy, so it was your fault for not looking into the disclosures.

With another click, you find yourself on a separate article with more details of what happened.

Kim Taehyung.

That name, along with a poorly zoomed-in class image to show his face, reveals the boy that had died here.

You read further and find out that he was only twenty years old and lived alone. He was a college student, just like you.

The date of the incident was on a Sunday in the middle of May.

With some more reading, you find out he went to the same university as you, along with some other background things.

Then you get to a heading that reads:

What Really Happened on Sunday, May 16 in Apartment 106.

College student, Kim Taehyung, attacked inside apartment 106 after an attempted robbery.

Autopsies show signs of exsanguination and asphyxiation as the cause of death.

You stare in horror at the screen. This wasn't a usual death as you had naively believed. Whoever lived here died of blood loss and suffocation. You read further down.

The victim was attacked on the base floor of apartment 106. After being stabbed twice by the robber, once in the abdomen and once in the forearm, investigations show that the victim then went into his closet on the second floor shortly after being critically inflicted by the assaulter.

The break-in occurred at 2:34 in the morning and CCTV recordings show the assailant leaving at 2:40.

Your stomach stirs uneasily. This all happened right here.

The victim was found three days later, locked inside the walk-in closet behind a dresser. 

Inquests indicate that the victim attempted to hide between the wall and the dresser. By the time he did this, the perpetrator was already gone.

Reviews survey that the victim was unable to escape the compressed area between the dresser and the wall once he was there, and ultimately suffocated and suffered from the blood loss.

The assailant has still not been found.

Exsanguination and asphyxiation are ruled as the final cause of death.

Tears were in your eyes before you could realize it.

Your heart ached for that boy, and you try not to think about what his last moments must've been like... Or how scared he must've been.

You look back at the pixeled photo. He was so young.

You start to wonder what he was like.

What kind of life he lived before he died...

You take one lingering glance at the closet before you shut your computer altogether.

[A/N]

Thank you for reading, my wonderful Ramies. I'm astonished that we're nearly at 500 views. Numbers don't usually mean much to me, but you truly make my heart warm with all this love.

A few of you have even left some kind comments! I understand some of you may be silent readers (because I sometimes am too!) but I want to thank all of you for even reading.

I hope that I do well with this book and that you enjoy it... Sorry about this sad chapter!

Please rest well!

- Ichiranramen <3