Five Feet
Five Feet
Smoke was coming out of the place where the ambulances fell. The smell was getting worse by the second but there was no other choice. They must recover whatever they could from the site.
"What the hell happened here?" Gayoon asked one of the officers. "How did four ambulances crash all at once?"
"We are as confused as everyone else!" the officer replied. "The drivers suddenly swerved off the road and crashed the ambulances off the cliff! It was like a suicide drive! None of the drivers survived and the cars caught on fire. By the time we reached here, the bodies which were being carried inside were burnt to a crisp!"
She watched the whole thing in dismay. The officer was right. The firefighters pulled out some of the remains but they were either detached organs or limbs. Most of the bodies had been destroyed in the crash and carrying out an autopsy on them was near to impossible.
"What the bloody fuck?" she cursed. How could five ambulances crash like this? Were the drivers possessed?
Possessed…
She tried to feel any ghost around but there were none. No cold feeling, no dread. Did they escape after possessing the drivers?
"This is insane!" she cried. "Five ambulances were driven by suicidal drivers? Are you kidding me?"
She was shouting at the officers who were responsible for escorting the bodies. They were all ashamed, looking down as Gayoon scolded them. But inwardly, she was baffled by the phenomenon. It was too much of a coincidence.
"Send whatever remains you could find to the forensic lab," she finally said. "Just...just go!"
The officers saluted her in obedience and scrambled off to work. Gayoon was still puzzled by the occurrence. She must figure out the mystery.
Taking out her phone, she called Junho. He picked up on the first ring.
"Gayoon, we were just about to call you!" he exclaimed.
"Ahjusshi, something happened here too!" she said. Junho frowned. He was with Minho, Jina and Yumi. They were on the way to Casper's murder site to attempt to find him.
"I'm putting you on speaker," he said and pressed the button for everyone to hear her.
"Gayoon, what happened?" Minho demanded. "Everything okay on your end?"
"I don't know!" she exclaimed. "The ambulances which were carrying the bodies...All of them crashed!"
"WHAT?"
"The bodies are burnt!" she went on. "Nothing is left. Carrying out an autopsy is nearly impossible because the fire burnt off the organs."
"What the…"
Jina was looking from her father to her grandfather. Both of them were grim.
"We also found out something," Minho sighed. "Casper...Casper is the previous head of the Lin family. Lin Cheng."
"WHAT?" Gayoon bellowed. Her head was now beginning to spin. So much to absorb in such a short time! One night and everything changed. So many revelations were coming up that she did not know which one to follow!
"This is insane," she gritted. "You know what? Let's split up the work! You guys handle Casper's case and I'll handle Kanji's one. We'll keep each other updated."
"We're off to find Casper now," Minho said. He quickly told her what Jaewan revealed and also about Oh Youngdo, the right hand man of the Lin's.
"Oh Youngdo…" Gayoon said. "I think I can dig up more on him. You guys find Casper and the truth behind his death. If that is solved, all the mystery will be solved."
"Good luck," Minho said.
"You too."
They hung up the phones. Minho stepped on the pedal and headed straight for the construction site Yumi led them to via Jina.
"This is it!" she said, pointing at an incomplete construction site. "Tell them to stop here."
"Dad, that's the one!" Jina conveyed. Minho pulled up in front of the site. All of them got off and ran inside. Jina and Yumi led the way because the latter visited the place with Casper before. She took them deeper into the building until they reached a concrete gravel.
"This is where his body was found," Junho muttered, recognizing the spot from the article.
"But he's not here!" Jina said. "I can't see him anywhere!"
She glanced around, calling for him but the ghost was nowhere. He never refused her call before!
Tears stung her eyes and she sobbed. Her heart was wrenching for her gentle friend who was always with her.
"Casper…" she wailed and hugged her father who was at a loss. Junho did some quick thinking.
"He has a grandson," he slowly said. "Did he go back to his old house? Maybe he wants to meet his grandson?"
"It's possible," Minho replied. "His grandson is the same guy who came to our house for dinner when the Kang's had arrived. Mina even took us to his house last night but I doubt he would welcome us again."
"He's there."
Both of them turned to look at Jina who had stopped crying. She was now hopeful that Casper had gone to his family. If there was something she knew about Casper was that he would do anything for his loved ones. It did not matter to her that people claimed he was a killer while he was alive. She knew he was a good person. There was no way he enjoyed killing. Casper would never hurt a soul. That much she knew about him.
They were friends after all.
….
Mina kept on staring at the cell where Kanji was locked in. He was sitting at one corner, with his back facing her. They were merely five feet apart but the distance was much more than that. The five feet which she could not cross. He would not let her.
Yet, she sat there like a fool, hoping he would turn to look at her. She remained at the police station all night for his sake. Her soul was breaking down, barely held together. If she left, she was afraid she would never see him again.
But she did not know that he was in bigger pain. Kanji felt her eyes on him, silently begging but he could no longer face her. All his efforts to keep her away from the darkness in his world were in vain. No matter how much he pushed her away, she would keep on coming back. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her but if he did, then there was no going back.
She would not know a single day's worth of peace. Her life would be bleak and cold just like his. How could he push the woman he loved to that fate?
"Are you...hurting as much as me?" he heard her mumble.
Yes, he replied in his thoughts. Possibly more than that. But I can't let you know. Not in this lifetime.
"You should leave," he said in a heavy voice.
"No," she simply said. "I won't leave."
"Mina, I told you that...I don't love-"
"Love has nothing to do with it," Mina said in a soft yet determined tone. "I'm here for the friend who is close to my heart."
Kanji was about to tell her something but her phone rang up. Mina absentmindedly answered it.
"If you want to have your boyfriend released from jail, then do as I say."
A cold voice came from the other end, making Mina suspicious. "What are you-"
"Yeonjoo," the voice said. "I know who poisoned her."
Mina froze. Yeonjoo? Was this man the killer? Without a word, she pressed the record button on her phone.
She was very scared and was about to say it to Kanji when the man stopped her. "If you tell anyone anything, I'll destroy all evidence," the man threatened. "Meet me at the one storied house behind the school at N-Street. You must come alone. No cops."
With that, the man hung up. Mina was in a dilemma. Should she listen to this man? Was he telling the truth?
She glanced at Kanji's back. What if that man really had the evidence? But it could also be a trap.
As if answering her question, her phone beeped again. It was a message containing one video. Mina clicked it. Her eyes gaped in shock.
It was a muted video of Kanji at the brothel, shooting down all the men who harassed Mina. But how was this possible? There were no CCTV cameras in that corridor!
Another message arrived. "Now do you believe me?" he wrote. "Come to the address otherwise I'll send this video to the cops. No one can save your boyfriend then. Don't you dare bring the cops."
By then, Mina was sure it was a trap. The killer wanted to harm her for some reason. But she had no choice. She must go.
Mina quietly stood up and walked towards Gayoon's desk. She put the phone on it, praying that she would see the phone and hear the recording.
Kanji suddenly felt like something was wrong. He spun around to find that Mina was gone.
"Mina!" he whispered. Why was his heart filled with dread?
"Mina!" he cried but there was no response. She was gone.