AAE -- Twists of Fate

Part 1 -- Chapter 19

by LoveCR2

edited by All-About-AAE

 

 

Hyung-Chul squinted into the setting sun as his eyes swept the lake. He glimpsed something -- it could be a body, face down. Gray clothing made it almost indistinguishable from the choppy water amid the swirling mists.

 

Her name tore from his mouth, "Sun-Mi?"

 

He waded in, moving quickly at first, then slowing as the lake went from knee-deep to waist-deep. He stumbled on the rocky bottom, losing his orientation in the growing gloom. When he saw it again, closer, his fears were confirmed. It was a woman's body, arms outstretched, hair floating in an auburn halo around her head.

 

He gathered Sun-Mi into his embrace, pressing her close, as if the force of his pounding heart could restart hers. But she lay motionless in his arms, cold, limp... lifeless.

 

Returning to the shore, he laid Sun-Mi down on the pebbles. Her face was composed, peaceful, eyes closed as if she were only sleeping and might at any moment awaken. He knelt and bent down to kiss her lips -- the kiss he should have given her when she could have kissed him back, heard him say he loved her, and nodded 'yes' to his proposal.

 

But she was not Sleeping Beauty. And he wasn't a Prince -- his kiss didn't have the magic of True Love.

 

Sun-Mi did not respond. He didn't expect her to. Hyung-Chul sat up again. Stared down as tears flooded his eyes and overflowed down his cheeks.

 

Her eyelashes fluttered. He blinked. They fluttered again... then Sun-Mi looked up at him. And smiled...

 

 

A sharp rap on the door startles Hyung-Chul. He opens his eyes to see yesterday morning's paper spread out on his desk. On the front page is a recent photograph of Sun-Mi with the headline:

 

'MBS Announcer Jin Sun-Mi Missing -- Reward Offered'

 

 

Hyung-Chul raises his head from his hands as Sun-Dal marches straight to his boss' desk and surveys the man seated there with a two-day stubble, rumpled suit, and red, sleep-deprived eyes.

 

"You look like hell," Sun-Dal says tiredly. "Keeping vigil here won't help. Go home. Get some rest."

 

Hyung-Chul grumbles. "Any word yet from the police?"

 

With a sigh, Sun-Dal rests his weight on the upholstered arm of the couch. "Dozens of possible sightings. None verified. She's not on any security video from the bus and train stations. And no taxi records of fares from her home, or to the cemetery that morning. And no body... yet."

 

"What about their search?"

 

"I spoke to the detective in charge myself," Sun-Dal replies. "He claims they can't spare any more resources. It sounded like he'd already made up his mind."

 

"A person doesn't just vanish into thin air without a trace!" Hyung-Chul explodes, slamming a fist onto his desk. "Someone must have seen something, somewhere..."

 

 

Miss Lee steps up to the open door with Young-Mi trailing her. "Announcer Huh is here, Manager Kim."

 

Hyung-Chul shoots a puzzled glance at Sun-Dal.

 

"I called her to come up. She may be the last person to have seen Sun-Mi."

 

Young-Mi steps into the office and bows slightly.

 

"Take a seat," Hyung-Chul motions to the desk-side chair. "What is it?"

 

Young-Mi sits, swiveling the chair to face both Sun-Dal and Hyung-Chul.

 

"I was at Sun-Mi's house Sunday afternoon," she begins quietly. "I didn't think it was important, until I heard a rumor that she had sleeping pills in her purse."

 

Hyung-Chul asks, "Why did you go to Sun-Mi's house?"

 

"To congratulate her on winning the News At Nine," Young-Mi replies, "and to try and make amends."

 

"Tell us everything that happened." Hyung-Chul leans forward. "No matter how insignificant it may seem."

 

"It was raining and we were both soaked. Sun-Mi loaned me some dry clothes and made hot tea. She even used a towel to dry my hair..."

 

Young-Mi stops, lowering her eyes. She lifts a hand to fondle the locks grazing her shoulder.

 

"Please, go on," Sun-Dal urges.

 

She looks up again. "I expected Sun-Mi to gloat about taking the News, but she didn't. Instead she surprised me by saying she hadn't wanted the anchor seat anyway. That winning meant nothing to her now."

 

Sun-Dal nods. "That's consistent with what she wrote to Joo-Hee."

 

"But it doesn't explain her disappearance," Hyung-Chul notes. "Continue, Announcer Huh."

 

"I told her that I envied her, and she said she envied me, too." Young-Mi pauses to look down at her hands, clamped together in her lap. "We even shook hands. That meant a lot to me, Director."

 

"Was there anything else?" Hyung-Chul asks.

 

"I asked Sun-Mi for a box of Kim Woo-Jin's things, which she gave to me. Then we talked for a while. She encouraged me to go to his mother and speak to her."

 

Sun-Dal's brow creases. "Why would she do that?"

 

"I'd rejected that box once before," Young-Mi confesses. "I think Sun-Mi wanted to give me another chance. But I never intended things to turn out... like... this..."

 

She drops her head into her hands, breaking into tears.

 

"What do you mean, Young-Mi? Like what?" Hyung-Chul gently asks.

 

"When I went there, I had planned to end things that night," she whispers through her fingers. "I'd gotten a prescription for sleeping pills. But Sun-Mi sensed my intention and talked me out of it."

 

Young-Mi wipes at her face. "She said that Kim Woo-Jin wouldn't want me to harm myself. She made me give her the sleeping pills before I left -- for safekeeping, she told me."

 

She stares at Hyung-Chul, trembling, her wet eyes shining. "I didn't know what she was intending. I didn't think she'd use the pills herself. Now... I'm responsible for the deaths of two people. People who both saved my life."