Scars of the Dead (7)
Scars of the Dead (7)
She sent a text to Minho that she had reached her workstation. When she woke up in the morning, he was nowhere to be seen but had left her a note that he was going to privately look into Shinho's case. Without much information, it was hard to find anything useful but they would have to start from somewhere.
Sighing loudly, Gayoon put her bag on the desk. She was about to open her laptop when someone hung a bag of bagels in front of her.
"Fancy a treat?" Taejoon smiled at her. Gayoon smiled back and took the bag from him.
"Thanks!" she laughed. "I am starving."
She took out a bagel and put it in her mouth while Taejoob watched her eat. He was happy to see her back but was also worried about her health.
"Are you alright now?" he asked. "The CCK had beaten you up pretty badly. You should have taken more time off."
"Relax!" she reassured him. "The doctors treated me well. They even managed to get rid of the scars on my face! The treatment was good so I recovered quickly. Minho took good care of me during this time."
Taejoon shifted uncomfortably in his chair upon hearing Minho's name. Even after the CCK was arrested, Gayoon did not move out of that house. She was living there and it made him jealous.
"So, you guys are a thing now?" he asked, trying to sound breezy.
"Taejoon, I told you that I don't like to talk about my private life," Gayoon said firmly. "But I will answer you question out of courtesy. We are dating and living together. In fact, we even have a daughter together."
Taejoon's eyes widened in shock and he sputtered, trying to find words. Daughter? Gayoon had a daughter?
"Hwang Jina is my daughter," Gayoon revealed. "I served as Minho's surrogate when I was 18 and we ended up connecting many years later. Call it fate or whatever but it's true. So, I'd suggest you to stop pursuing me."
She said the last part in a gentle yet firm way. She was aware of the feelings Taejoon had for her and it would be wrong of him to hold on to any hope that something would brew between them. He looked mortified. For a few seconds, he was silent.
"I should go," he said curtly. "I have a lot of work."
Gayoon did not say anything but simply nodded. He stood up and left. Gayoon felt a little guilty for being so straight forward with him but it was the best way to make him realize that somethings are not meant to be. She shook her head, trying to steer clear of any other suitor issues. There were bigger things to worry about.
She picked up her phone and called Jaein who was probably in the forensic lab.
"Please tell me you're back," Jaein begged as soon as she answered the phone. "I can't deal with the other idiots in the precinct anymore."
"I'm back," Gayoon sighed. "What news do you have for me regarding the body which was dumped at our doorstep?"
"A lot of information," Jaein smirked. "Head over to the lab."
Gayoon hung up the phone and made her way to the lab. Jaein was studying something under the microscope when Gayoon entered. Shinho's body was lying on the stretcher, cold and still. Seeing him made Gayoon a little emotional. She pitied the poor boy whose life was unfairly snatched by someone who was supposed to love and protect him.
But the world was a cruel place. There were people who did heinous deeds which made even cannibal killers like CCK seem human. At least the CCK loved his daughter even if he ended up accidentally consuming her. But even Gayoon could tell that he would have loved his own flesh and blood. What Shinho's father did was to some extent worse than CCK's deeds.
"He was dug up," Jaein informed her. "The killer must have buried him but for some reason, he was dug up from his grave and then thrown in front of the station."
She pointed at Shinho's nose and mouth. "There was soil in his nostrils and mouth. I even found soil in his ears."
"Hmm…" Gayoon said. "Probably, someone found him in a shallow grave? A digger or a hunter? After finding the body, they might have gotten scared and dumped the body in front of the police station."
"Probably," Jaein sighed. "The cause of death is intense trauma to his head. The brain had been completely smashed in with something very heavy."
She gently turned Shinho's naked body and to Gayoon's horror, there were large whip marks on his body. Some were purple and badly bruised. There were fresh ones and old ones too. It seemed that he was beaten up almost everyday.
"He also has a dislocated shoulder," Jaein stated. "Even his legs have marks, indicating that he was hit there with something thick. I'm guessing bamboo stick or something similar to that."
"His body is small for his age," Gayoon noted. "How old is he?"
"Judging by his bone density, he'd be around 8 or 9," Jaein said. "But the kid is badly malnourished. In fact, I checked his stomach contents and there's only a piece of cracker in it. Nothing else. He was starving for days probably."
Gayoon let out a sharp breath. Her knuckles were clutched into a fist and Jaein was surprised to see Gayoon looking so angry. It was as if she wanted to break something. But Jaein could not blame her. Whoever killed the child, was not merciful. The murderer had tortured the kid for days, months probably before finally snuffing the life out of him.
"Any DNA matches?" Gayoon asked, trying to remain calm.
"None," Jaein replied. "This kid…he isn't on any family registrar."
Gayoon thought for a while. How were they going to find this kid's murderer?
…
Minho was typing away his investment numbers on his laptop when Jongin entered his cabin.
"Sir, here's the CCTV footage you requested for," he informed him. "The video of that day in the mall where you…danced."
The last part always made Jongin cringe in embarrassment. It was one day he would like to erase from his memory. But Minho was not paying attention to that.
He quickly took the CD and inserted it into his laptop. "Jongin, do you have a list of all the people who had visited the mall that day?" he asked.
"We have the sales count but not the footfall," Jongin frowned. "Since anyone can enter the mall, there isn't any way to know the total number of people entering the mall."
Minho thought for a moment before playing the video. He went through the videos, skipping the dance parts until he reached the part where he was taking Gayoon to the VIP corner. He watched himself in the screen, heading for the washroom to change the costume.
He fast forwarded a few minutes and played when he saw Shinho running towards the washroom. As soon as he entered the washroom, a well dressed man in his thirties turned up. Minho recognized him immediately. It was the same man who was looking for Shinho in that washroom.
"Jongin," he began, pausing the video. "Bring me information on this man."
Jongin leaned in to take a closer look. Eh?
"You want information on this man?" Jongin asked incredulously.
"Yes," Minho stated. "Bring it to me by the end of the day-"
Jongin could not tell if his boss was being serious or not. "Er…sir," he began. "I can bring you information about him right now."
Minho frowned as Jongin took out his phone and typed in something. He then gave his phone to Minho. The latter took it and glanced at the screen only to be frozen in shock.
"That man is Kang Danny," Jongin informed him. "The leading pediatrician in the country and the owner of Little Home Hospital! Also, the third richest man in the country."
"Third, eh?" Minho asked, leaning against his chair, crossing his legs. "No wonder I don't remember him. Who the hell remembers a third class pest like him?"
Jongin blinked in confusion. What was the money lover up to now? Was he going to rob hospitals now?
"But since he's the third richest man in the country," Minho continued. "I should extend my hospitality."
Eh? Hospitality? When did the Vesudas became hospitable? Jongin wondered.
"Send him and his family an invitation," Minho instructed. "Let us take a good look at the third place, shall we?"
.....
"I'm home!" Jina exclaimed as she ran through the front door. Winter camp was finally over and she was glad to come back home to her parents. As soon as she got off the car, she sprinted towards the mansion, still full of energy even after the long journey.
"That kid is sprightly as ever," Yumi sighed. "When I was alive, I used to get tired by just walking from my house to the neighbors' place. And this puny kid is running around the house as if she's on a sugar rush. Then again, she finished an entire packet of gummy bears so it just might be that."
Casper also nodded in dismay as he watched Jina run inside. The girl had a blast at the camp. Not only did she end up completing all the tasks but also scared off a bully so she was on an adrenaline rush. The kid named Siwan did not dare to mess with her again because every time he tried to harm her, a mysterious creature aka Bobo would growl at the kid and push him to the ground. Siwan never figured out how something invisible could hurt him but he got scared after that.
"I think I'll go and stalk Jaewan oppa," Yumi said. "I haven't seen him in such a long time that I feel as if I'm forgetting his face. Whatcha gonna do?"
Casper made a gesture at her, making Yumi frown. "You're gonna go to the site where you were killed?" she asked. "Why?"
He did not reply but simply shrugged and disappeared. Yumi was confused by his decision but shook off the thought and disapparated from there.
Meanwhile, Jina quickly took off her shoes and threw her bag on the couch. Upon hearing the commotion, Nanny Kim came out of the kitchen.
"Young miss, you shouldn't run around like that!" she scolded but Jina giggled and hugged her around the waist.
"Nanny, will you make me beef bulgogi?" she pleaded. "I'm so hungry!"
"You'll get plenty of bulgogi at tonight's dinner," Kim replied. "Guests are coming over and we've got a lot of things to prepare for. You should freshen up and have your lunch."
"Guests?" Jina frowned. They barely invited guests to their home unless it was one of her father's high profile clients. Minho seldom gave out free food unless there was some kind of monetary benefit to him. So, it came as a surprise that her father was having guests over for dinner.
"Is he earning a lot from this guest?" Jina wondered.
"Who knows," Kim sighed. "But I'm glad that your father is finally socializing like a normal person! Seems like Madam is having a good influence on him."
The household staff no longer dared to anger Gayoon. After the debacle of the first day, they were careful to tread around her. But contrary to their expectations, Gayoon was kind to them and despite their protests, aided them in the kitchen a lot whenever she was home. Slowly, she had gained a great deal of respect from them and the past events were forgotten.
"I'll go and freshen up then!" Jina said cheerfully. "Then I'll call mom and dad! They must be worried whether I got home or not."
With that, she darted towards her room, happily whistling to herself. She was humming a song as she walked towards her bedroom when she paused in her steps. A familiar coldness was making her shiver but the feeling was not bad. There was a third spirit in the house and even though she did not know who it was, she could tell that the ghost was not a sinister one.
"It's in my room?" she noted. Slowly treading towards her room, she peered through the crack in the door. Inside her room was a pale boy of her age. He was sitting on the bed, playing with her toys. There was an innocent smile on his face as he played with her teapot set. Her stuffed toys were lined up and he was pouring tea for each of them.
"And now, we'll wish Hanny for his birthday!" the boy said to his imaginary audience. He picked up a stuffed bunny and put it in the center.
Shinho was very happy. Minho had allowed him to play with the toys. He was hesitating to even touch the toys at first because whenever he snuck out to play with his older brother's discarded toys, his father would become angry and lock him up again. But Minho not only allowed Shinho to play with the toys but also spent some time in the morning playing with him while Gayoon slept soundly on the floor.
"Hanny, what do you want for your birthday?" Shinho asked.
"His name is Sonja."
Shinho jumped and turned around to find a bright eyed girl with twin pigtails looking at him with curiosity. She tilted her head, peering at him.
He instantly got off the bed and backed off towards the wall. The girl had just talked to him and it seemed that she could also see him. The bunny uncle did mention that his daughter was able to see spirits. Was this girl his daughter?
"His name is Sonja," Jina said, pointing at the bunny. "His birthday is in March though."
"Oh," Shinho said.
"Jojo's birthday is tomorrow though," Jina snickered, pointing at a large stuffed cat with brown fur. "Wanna help me prepare for it?"
Shinho blinked in confusion. The girl was quite pretty and he found himself unable to look at her directly. He looked at his feet, blushing a little while Jina came closer to examine him.
"Did this hurt?" she asked, pointing at the large wound mark on his head. "Who did this to you?"
"My dad," he mumbled. Jina frowned. His dad? But dad's do not kill their own children! They were supposed to protect their kids, not kill them.
But upon seeing the sadness etched on the boy's face, she could not help but feel bad for him. Shinho was still looking at his feet, feeling sad and ashamed, when Jina pushed a large stuffed dog at him.
"I still didn't name him," she said. "Do you wanna name him?"
Shinho looked up at the pretty girl who was smiling at him. "Yes!" he exclaimed. "I do!"
He thought for a moment, trying to come up with a good name. "How about Xiu?" he asked.
"I like it!" Jina exclaimed. "He's Xiu then! Wanna host another tea party for Xiu?"
Shinho eagerly nodded his head and they began to rearrange the toys on the bed. Jina decorated the teacups while Shinho put the toys in place.
"My name is Hwang Jina," she said. "What's yours?"
"Kang Shinho," he replied.
"How did you end up coming here?" Jina asked.
"Bunny uncle and his wife brought me here!" Shinho said at once. "They even took me to the pretty doctor who listened to my story. Bunny uncle had offered me chocolates too, but I can't eat them anymore."
There was a tinge of sadness and regret in his voice. Chocolates were his favorite but his father would not allow him to have any. In fact, he was not allowed to go out of his cellar. Whenever he tried to sneak out to meet his mother, his father would become angry and beat him with a stick.
Jina bit her lip, thinking of a way to cheer him up. The boy seemed so earnest and naïve that she wanted to instinctively protect him.
Suddenly, an idea popped up in her mind. "I know!" she said excitedly. Taking out her phone, she dialed a number. Shinho watched her curiously as she waited for the person on the other line to pick up the phone.
"Old man!" she greeted the person on the other end. "I need a favor!"
"Who the hell are you calling an old man, ya little brat?" Junho grumbled.
"I need a favor!"
Junho frowned. What sort of crazy scheme was his granddaughter up to now?
0"How do you feed a ghost?" Jina asked.