far from you | oneus

seventeen. 29-08-20

"We're going to need to see each of you individually and ask some questions about what's been going on with Son Dongju."

"But what about-"

"We will speak with the two of them too, after they are deemed fit for questioning by the doctor. We are collecting seven witnesses' accounts, after all."

─

"Can you tell us about how you met him?"

"We first interacted in a game,
we played together sometimes."

"After a while, the six of us
became close and exchanged
socials so we could talk more."

"About how long ago was this?"

"More than a month now, if
I'm not wrong."

"I think we first met middle
of July, yeah."

"When did you start noticing
something was going on with
him?"

"To be honest, he seems
completely normal at first
glance."

"He hid it well, but his clues
were always there the whole
time."

"It's difficult to explain. He
never said anything outright
until the letter, he always made
sure he was subtle enough that
we would never have known
anything."

"Seoho, he's the one who first
mentioned it."

"But it was hard to tell until
the letter came out. Then,
all the clues he left us
finally made sense."

"A letter. Can I see it?"

"Here."

"Hm. This letter was written
by Dongju?"

"Yes. I looked into the
website that set up his system, saveme.com. It stores
information that will
be released if the user
remains inactive for a
certain period of time.

"It was created originally
as an unofficial witness
protection system, in the
case that the user is in
danger or has been killed,
important info pertaining
to their situation will be
shown to certain selected
people."

"This letter speaks of a boy
named Son Dongmyeong.
Inspector Kim, I'll need you
to reopen Son Dongmyeong's
case file from 2015 and reinspect
the records on his death. This
is now a murder case we
are looking at."

"Yes sir, I'll be doing that now."

"Under such circumstances, Park Jihwan is likely to be charged for criminal infractions under the act
concerning domestic abuse and
possibly murder."

"Thank you for your
information, Kim Youngjo,
Kim Gunhak, Lee Keonhee,
Yeo Hwanwoong."

─

"It seems this Dongju was a
smart boy. He left his clues in
plain sight all this time. What
I wonder, though, is why he
didn't come to the police from
the beginning."

"Well, in most domestic abuse
cases they don't. Park Jihwan
likely threatened him into
silence. And if he'd left, who
knows what could have happened
to his mother?"

"Speaking of the mother, has
she returned from Paris?
We'll need her to come in for
questioning too."

"Her flight lands tonight at 7pm,
but she requested to go to the
hospital to see Dongju first."

"I can see why. I would have
done the same, that poor lady. It
seems her and her son have gone
through a lot."

─

Ravn shouldered the door to the room open, bearing bags of food from the cafe two blocks away from the hospital. Hwanwoong, Keonhee and Leedo were scattered around the twin-bed room, each absorbed in their own quiet activities, the atmosphere somber and solemn.

Silently they thanked Xion's mother for calling the hospital from Paris and requesting the best double room they had, promising to cover all costs for the stay. As of this afternoon Seoho had been discharged from the ICU, his condition finally deemed stable after a tumultuous 24-hour surgery aftermath. The boys had been there all the three times he'd fallen into cardiac arrest before he'd reached the operating table, and each time the chilling fear of losing a friend hit them harder than the last.

─

"Upper GI bleeding, one bullet hole the abdomen, no exit hole!"

"Take him straight to OR 3, he'll be under surgeon Ju Harin."

"Critical condition, he's bleeding into his abdomen. Get me two units of A, I'll be operating immediately to remove the bullet. Kanghyun, you're coming with me."

─

The four of them sat around the small table at the far end of the room eating their dinner, the silence only punctuated by the steady blipping of the two heart monitors in the room.

Xion was knocked out again after the doctors had prescribed more painkillers; his left leg was in a cast up to his thigh and bandages littered his body like snowflakes on the first winter day. Seoho had yet to regain consciousness after his discharge from the ICU.

"Everything just happened so fast," Hwanwoong said softly, putting down his sandwich. "I couldn't even tell what was happening. One minute the police were outside and the next minute he was on the ground, and his blood was spilling everywhere."

"You know, if he doesn't wake up, I'll never forgive myself." Leedo's voice was so quiet it was like he was barely holding himself together. "If he dies, it was me he died saving. How am I going to live with myself if he doesn't recover?"

"Hey, who taught you to talk like that?" Ravn chastised softly. "He's going to wake up. He didn't get shot a hundred times, you know, Seoho's strong. He'll be fine."

"Yeah? That's what I keep telling myself."

Their conversation was interrupted by the opening of the door once again, revealing a tall, slim woman, her expression jarringly frazzled, luggage still clutched in her left hand.

Xion's mother, Yeon Jiwoo.

"Dongju!"

─

it's been a while
welcome back, everyone :)