Choi Hyeri
Choi Hyeri
Minho opened his eyes to find himself in the same corridor as the building he had entered. But there was no sign of Gayoon or any other life. The halls were empty and there was pin drop silence. The setting was different but there was no doubt where he was.
It was the World of the Dead.
Unlike the school which was a cold and lonely place, that building felt more sinister. There was a strange disturbance in the air and for some reason, Minho felt even more uneasy in that place. There were no signs of any reaper or Mindless souls either. He had hoped that he would run into the mysterious girl he had encountered at the school but it was too much to ask for. She had already told him that each soul was trapped in the spot they had died and it was impossible to escape. He would have to deal with the World of the Dead himself.
Luckily, he was prepared this time. There were a couple of packets of salt and peach blossom leaves in his pockets so he was prepared for any ambush. If he found Choi Hyeri in that apartment, then he would not need to use those things.
Here goes nothing, he sighe.
The greyish walls seemed to be silent witnesses as Minho touched the knob of the apartment he was at. Turning it, the door clicked open.
He entered the small one room apartment. Like the walls outside, it was also painted grey and had minimal furniture. The room was probably half of Minho's bedroom back at the mansion. The tiny kitchen was built in a corner while a medium sized fridge stood next to the dishwashing sink. A mini shelf was stacked against the opposite wall and had two photo frames over it. One was of Shinho, smiling with a dark haired woman in her late twenties. The other was of a baby which Minho had guessed to be Shinho when he was born.
There was only one closet which probably had clothes and there were no beds in the room either. Instead, there was only a mattress on which the mother-son had probably slept on. There was also a bathroom right next to the kitchen. Minho quietly walked towards it and pushed it open.
There was a small tub inside the bathroom, filled with water. And sitting in the tub, fully clothed yet wet was…
"Who are you?" the dark haired lady asked, very shocked. "You are not dead."
"I'm not," he said. "But you are. Is this where you died?"
Hyeri studied the stranger. She was confused how a human managed to enter that world. She had woken up in that world after slitting off her wrists and had stayed there ever since. But now, a stranger had entered that world.
"Shinho is your son," he stated.
The mention of Shinho made Hyeri sit up. "You know my son?" she whispered. "How?"
"You sent him to live with his father," Minho pressed, ignoring her question. "Kang Danny. Why?"
"He will be better off with his father," Hyeri said. "He'll have a good education, lots of luxury and a good future! Kang Danny is an awful man but I know secrets about him which could harm his reputation! Which is why I forced him to take Shinho and give our son a good life!"
"Why did you send him away from you?" Minho asked. "You abandoned your son?"
"I didn't!" Hyeri claimed at once. "I didn't want to send him away but I had to!"
There was immense grief on her face and if she was alive, her heart would have contorted in agony. She wanted to cry and yet, could not shed a tear. Her soul ached to see her son but it was impossible.
"I was diagnosed with stomach cancer," she revealed. "Last stage and incurable. When Danny left me, I didn't want to go and beg him for our son's sake. I had disappeared from his life with Shinho and only focused on him. Our life wasn't perfect but we were happy. Shinho is quite smart and told me that he wanted to be a doctor someday. And I was doing all I could to fulfill his dreams."
"But after the diagnosis," she went on. "I forced Danny to take in our son. He's the father. It's the least he could do."
"If you died of cancer then how did you end up here?" Minho asked.
"I didn't die of my cancer," Hyeri replied. "After Danny took Shinho away, I committed suicide to relieve myself of the pain. I didn't want to die a torturous death in a crowded hospital. I wanted to die where I shared my happy moments with my son."
Minho pursed his lips. Her intentions were good but she had overestimated her hold on Danny. But how did she manage to force a stubborn man like Danny to take her son in?
"How did you convince him to do that?" Minho asked. Hyeri frowned at him.
"Why are you so interested in my life?" She demanded. "Who are you anyway?"
"I am Hwang Minho," he said in a cool tone. "I can't explain how I got here but I know your son, Shinho. I also know Danny."
Hyeri gasped. "You know Shinho?" she whispered. "How? And where is he? How is he?"
She looked around, hoping to see her son but he was not there.
"Your son is also dead," Minho revealed. "His body was found outside the police precinct and my girlfriend, who's a detective, is handling the case. She requested me to enter this world and ask you about Shinho."
He omitted out the fact that her son was a ghost and living with them. That would make her even more agitated and she might try to do something stupid. It was best for him to reveal as little as possible to her.
Hyeri was stunned. Her head was spinning and she was at a loss. Her son was dead? Her...son was...dead…
"You lie!" she exclaimed. "Shinho...NO!"
She stood up from the tub and looked here and there like a mad person who was lost. Her son was not dead! He was alive and well! She felt like crying and screaming at the man but tears would not fall. Her soul was restless and she got out of the tub to run for the door but Minho held her.
"Don't!" Minho gritted, struggling to keep her from running away but Hyeri was mad with grief.
"SHINHO!" she screamed. "SHINHO! NO!"
She was yelling at the top of her lungs, fighting to see her child. He was alive! Her heart was not wrong! Nothing had harmed him.
Minho pulled her back and held her by the shoulders, shaking her hard.
"Your son is dead!" he said harshly. He did not want to be hard on her but she was giving him no choice. She must face the truth.
"But you can still help him!" he went on.
"No…" Hyeri moaned. "I...I…"
"Someone had bashed his head," Minho said. "And murdered him. We suspect it was Kang Danny."
Hyeri's eyes flared and a cold anger was now setting in. "He killed my child?" she asked slowly.
"Probably," Minho said. "But we need proof against him. Anything which might prove that he was Shinho's dad and abused him after being forced to take him in. Do you have any such clue?"
"Abuse…"
Her poor Shinho had gone through so much! Clenching her fists, she wanted to murder Kang Danny for what he had doen to their son.
"I think I can give you something to bring him down," she finally said. "It will destroy Kang Danny's reputation. And it's buried in Kang Danny's own hospital."
"What is it?" Minho asked eagerly.
"The corpses of his past victims," she revealed. "He poached the organs from poor children, killing them before selling the organs to kids from rich families."