Chapter 61 - A Shadow
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....
A maroon Maybach stopped in front of the mansion and Mrs. Jung came out of it with her darling son. She was doting on him, constantly worrying for his welfare. Lawyer Charles was closely following them.
"Look at the stress my son has been put through!" she was saying. "How dare that detective do this?"
"She was merely doing her duty, ma'am," Charles pointed out. "They can't do anything without proof."
"Make sure that bitch gets transferred!" Jung growled. "I don't want her near my son!"
Hyojin, who was being pampered by his mother, lowered his head and stayed quiet. He was tired and scared but he could not tell anyone about Rachel. Charles, on the other hand, was peering at Hyojin with suspicion.
Jung sat her son on a couch and cooed at him. "Do you want anything to eat, dear?" she asked. "Fried rice? Baked potatoes? Or your favorite, Beef Steak with marinated sauce?"
"I'm not hungry," he said, his gaze still lowered. He did not look at his mother as if he was afraid of something. His gestures did not go unnoticed by the lawyer who was examining the boy very carefully.
"I'll go and get you a plate full of fried rice!" Mrs. Jung insisted. "My poor boy. My poor poor boy…"
The front door slid open and a timid looking girl entered the house. She was drained and exhausted by the day's events.
"I'm home," Sera said in a dejected tone. Mrs. Jung frowned at her daughter who was wearing a different set of clothes from the ones she was wearing in the morning.
"Where's your uniform?" she asked.
"I had to get rid of them," Sera replied. "It got stained…"
Before her mother could ask anything else, Sera ran upstairs and locked her room. Mrs. Jung turned to her son but he was also heading to his room.
"Where are you going?" she asked in surprise. "You need to eat! And what's going on with your sister?"
"Mom, we're really tired," Hyojin mumbled. "Rachel's death and everything. It's too much to take in. Just leave us alone."
"I'd like to speak to you," Charles suddenly spoke up. He turned to Hyojin who was confused and even a little scared. Mrs. Jung was also bewildered.
"What's there to talk about?" she demanded. "My son knows nothing about what that whore did! They broke up-"
"The law will not see that," Charles stated. "He's an ex-boyfriend and normally, the police will look into the ex-boyfriend of the victim first. I need to ask your son some questions alone so that I can protect him from any future harm."
Hyojin mumbled something like, 'follow me'. Charles nodded and followed Hyojin to his room, leaving Mrs. Jung flabbergasted in the hallway. She wanted to demand that they tell her the secret as well but then, her phone rang. It was her husband, Jung Mooshik.
"Yes dear," she greeted him over the phone. "The preparations for the party are going well. The hotel hall is ready."
"Good because a very important guest is coming!" Mooshik's excited voice resonated from the other end. "The heiress to the Hwang empire, Hwang Jina, has agreed to come to our party! Can you imagine that?"
"Really?"
Her husband had been trying to secure an investment from the Hwang Corporation for months but they had ignored him. Mooshik did not give up and kept on following them and even sent an invitation to the Hwang Group's CEO, Hwang Minho, to attend their first social party. The CEO was no longer in the country but his children were invited. The Hwang twins had fully packed schedules and the daughter was unreachable. The Jung's never saw the daughter but they kept on pestering Hwang Minho's secretary to convince her.
Finally, after many weeks, she agreed.
"This is going to be an important event for us," Mooshik said. "Make sure you treat her well."
"I will!" Mrs. Jung said at once. "I'll ensure that she's completely satisfied with our party and they'll invest in your company. This is just perfect!"
And I'll finally become a socialite! Mrs. Jung thought in glee. What could go wrong?
….
Charles followed the troubled teenager to his room. Once they were inside Hyojin's room, Charles closed the door and turned towards his client.
"Sit down," Charles ordered. Hyojin sat on a chair, fidgeting with his fingers. Charles adopted a gentle yet firm tone in order to communicate with the kid.
"Tell me about your relationship with Rachel," he said. "What happened?"
"I thought we were going great!" Hyojin replied. "Everything was perfect! We were the most good looking couple on campus. She was the cheerleading captain while I'm the star of the football team and we were even going to the same college!"
"But then, she hooked up with a college dude in a frat party," he said bitterly. "Last month, we snuck into National University and there, she slept with a random college guy. I caught them in bed and was shocked. She said sorry and that it won't happen again but I was really angry. And then-"
Hyojin narrated the rest of his tale to Charles who was nodding, urging him to tell the truth.
"You can't tell my parents!" Hyojin begged. "If mom and dad find out, they'll be totally devastated! I can't tell anyone about this. I'm scared!"
"I can't promise anything," Charles sighed. "What you said could incriminate you. The detective is still on to you. Moreover, by hiring a lawyer beforehand, you've only increased their suspicions. They're gonna come at you by hook or by crook. Beware."
Hyojin was now even more scared. He had no idea how to wiggle himself out of this mess. Rachel had died but even after death, she was tormenting him from the grave.
"Woof!"
He was startled when something barked from outside the door. Opening it, he saw that his German Shepherd, Tommy, was standing outside, barking loudly for its master's attention. As soon as the door was opened, the dog barged in, but growled at Charles, baring its sharp teeth
"That's one scary looking dog," Charles commented. The dog had a mean streak in it. Its pupils were dilated into a ruby red color and it was bigger than the armchair Charles sat on. There was a faint stench of raw meat emitting from the dog while its posture was aggressive as if it was ready to attack.
"He doesn't like a few people," Hyojin muttered. "Especially Rachel. Every time she came near him, Tommy would try to bite her."
"Anyways," Charles said. "I'll be off. I have to read the case files on Rachel's death. The autopsy results are crucial. You better pray they don't find anything useful in it otherwise, you'll be arrested. I'll try to prevent that so please don't do anything stupid in the meantime."
Hyojin nodded as Charles walked out of the door. The dog was still growling at the lawyer but the latter did not care and left the mansion. Hyojin turned to the dog and began to pet him.
"Are you worried for me too?" he mumbled. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I won't go to jail this easily…"
The dog was suddenly alarmed and barked loudly. Hyojin craned his neck to see what Tommy was barking at. Sera's room was right across the hall and a tall figure seemed to be peeking from it, looking at them.
Hyojin frowned. His sister was not that tall…
He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing it correctly but when he glanced at the room again, there was no one.
I must be seeing things, he thought and went back to petting the dog. But the dog's gaze was fixed on Sera's room, sensing that something was coming for them.