Dry leaves rustled beneath her feet as Hana dragged herself to the stream. She wasn't tired or feeling unwell, she was just sick of living in the village.
It wasn't like she was born there. She moved to the village with her dad when she was just six, after the collapse of her dad's business.
After finishing high school in a school not to far from the village where they lived, her dad sent her to study in Seoul National University. Now that she was done studying, she was back in the village.
She had tried so many times to convince her dad to move to the city. But no, he didn't listen which made her wonder sometimes why her dad was so adamant on not moving to the city. Was there a specific reason? Or did her perhaps loved the peaceful life of the village? She just couldn't tell exactly so she ended up shrugging off the thought.
The village had nothing juicy to offer her. After years of hard work in the university and training, her twenty four year old self was back in the village, working in a local book shop.
Sometimes, the thought of it alone made her furious. Her dream was to become a detective though at the moment, she doubted her dreams would ever come true.
As she made to get some water from the stream, her eyes suddenly caught the sight of a body laying at the edge of the stream.
She dropped the bucket in her hand and moved in fast paces to where the body laid.
She let out a gasp at the sight in front of her. The body was covered in blood and it was a guy, judging by the hair cut, facial look and the clothes.
Following her instincts, she checked if the person was still breathing. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she confirmed for person was still alive and running as fast as her legs could carry her, she raced all the way home.
"Appa! Appa!" She screamed at the top of her voice as she approached their house.
Their house was small, with two bedrooms, a small living room, a kitchen and a bathroom. Not the kind of comfortable house though, it was manageable.
"What's wrong Hana?" Her dad asked in a sort of agitated tone because Hana doesn't scream unnecessarily.
She was too out of breath to answer his question so instead, she pulled him along with her saying, "Appa, hurry".
He must have thought it was an emergency so he didn't bother to question her further.
In a matter of minutes, they arrived at the stream again and Hana gestured at the boy laying at the edge of the stream, then she said, "He's alive, I could've brought him but I don't think I'll be able to lift him on my own".
Her father hurried to the boy. He trembled a little at the sight of the blood but he quickly got a hold on himself.
With Hana's assistance, he lifted the boy to his back and then carried him to their house.
"Hana, get the doctor" he instructed and she ran off in an instant. Meanwhile, he changed his clothes.
A few minutes later, Hana came in with the doctor and after exchanging pleasantries, the doctor ordered them to stay outside.
While waiting outside, Hana kept pacing to and fro until the doctor came out.
"How's he?" asked Hana's father with a hint of anxiousness in his voice.
The doctor drew in a deep breath and the cleared his throat.
"His breathing his okay for now. He has a serious injury in his head and though I've treated the wound to the best of my ability, I think he might suffer from temporary amnesia" Explained the doctor.
"Temporary amnesia or not, he's going to be fine right?" Hana asked.
"I can't say for sure yet, it depends. He might as well be unconscious for days" Said the doctor and Hana nodded, showing that she understood his words clearly.
"I'll have to check on him everyday" Added the doctor.
"How much is the fees?" Hana's father asked and the doctor chuckled slightly.
"I won't charge you a penny. You're my friend afterall" The doctor said with a smile.
Hana's father's mouth curved into a smile and he said, "Thank you very much".
After the doctor left, they rushed inside to check on the boy.
Now, Hana could see his face clearly. His face was well shaped, his eyebrows full, his eyelids were long, his perfectly shaped nose and cute pink lips were just right on his face. He was damn handsome even Hana couldn't deny it. Somehow, his face looked familiar to her or maybe it was her wishful thinking.
"Poor thing. I wonder what happened to him" Her dad commented.
Suddenly, it hit her like a bomb that she hadn't even gotten water for her bath and she was running late for work already.
"Aishhhh!" she exclaimed in frustration, racing out of the room.
---
Loreen was seated on the couch in the living room, her right leg crossed over her left. She gently lifted her cup of coffee from the table and took a sip.
Placing it back on the table, she focused her attention on the fashion show she was watching.
Suddenly, her best friend, Lisa, rushed in.
"Loreen" She called, her chest moving upward and downward as she breathed heavily.
"What?" Loreen asked, a look of irritation crossed her face. She wasn't pleased one bit that Lisa interrupted the show she was watching.
"Have you heard the news?" Lisa asked, her eyes almost bugling out of their sockets.
"What news?" Loreen arched her brows in confusion.
Lisa drew in a deep breath, then she said, "Kim Tan is dead"
Loreen got up to her feet instantly.
"What are you saying? Oh! You wanna prank me? Too bad, it won't work this time" Said Loreen then she slowly lowered her butt to the couch. Her heart started racing in fear and she sincerely hoped that It was a prank.
"You think I'm pranking you?" Lisa asked, tears dripping from her eyelids. Loreen became alarmed. She studied Lisa's face and that was when she noticed that her face was puffy. She had cried obviously.
"This has to be a prank" Loreen disagreed.
"It has to be... "
Lisa snatched the remote from her and she changed the channel.
"South Korea most loved and famous K-pop star, Kim Tan has just been reported dead.... " the reporter announced.
Loreen's legs wobbled and she fell on the floor.
"What is he saying? Tell me it's not true Lisa. Do you believe them huh? Do you? How can you believe such lies?!" Loreen screamed as tears streamed down her face.
It was so hard to believe.
"Loreen..." But Loreen cut her short.
"They're lying Lisa. You'll see, I'll give Kim Tan a call now. I'm sure he has arrived safely at Busan. These reporters are out of stories so they're just making up something. Where's my phone?"
Loreen scrambled to her feet. More tears rolled down Lisa's cheeks. She grabbed Loreen's hand and said,
"Loreen, Kim Tan is dead. He's gone forever. Get a hold on yourself"
At her words, Loreen broke into an uncontrollable tears.
"No, no... This is all a lie. I can't believe it" Loreen said, her whole body shaking as she cried harder. Her face has turned pale and her make up was smeared already.
"It's not a lie, he's gone" Lisa sobbed. She pulled Loreen into a tight hug.
It was so hard to believe Kim Tan left the world before her.
---
Jun Jae paced around his room. At a moment, he would stop and ruffle his hair, then start pacing again.
His phone vibrates on his bed and he hurried to pick it up.
"Sir, it has been taken care of. There are no traces" A voice said over the phone.
"Just make sure nobody finds out" And with that, he disconnected the call instantly and then, deleted the number from his call log.
He breathed a sigh of relief and slumped heavily against his bed. Finally, things were going his way.
Kim Tan had always been an obstacle to his dreams and he was glad he eliminated him when he had the chance.
With Kim Tan gone, He would probably become the band leader and Loreen, who he had always has his eyes on would become his.
The thought of it alone made the corners of his mouth curve into a smile.
He had always wondered why people loved Kim Tan so much.
Well, it was all over now. It was time for Kim Tan's sun to set and his sun would rise and shine.
The door creaked and Jun Jae quickly sat up and put on a sad expression.
Felix strolled in. Tears shone in his eyes and the way he dragged his feet across the room depicted nothing but sadness.
"I can't believe Kim Tan is gone" He sighed as he wiped the tears already rolling down his cheeks.
"Same here" Said Jun Jae, pretending to sniff.
Kelly, Jace and Joon trooped into his room. A look of sadness spread across their faces but one could tell that Jace had cried more and more tears formed in his eyes.
"When are we going to check the body?" Kelly asked with a cracked voice.
"Ask Manager Lee" Jun Jae replied and with that, Kelly brought out his phone and dialled Manager Lee's number.
After disconnecting the call, Kelly said,
"Manager Lee said we're going to check the body tommorrow"
"I don't believe Tan is dead. I don't... " Jace broke off and broke into another round of tears.
"Guys, let's allow Tan rest in peace. Crying won't bring him back. It'll just make him uncomfortable wherever he is" Said Jun Jae and Jace totally lost it.
He gripped Jun Jae's shirt and yelled, "How can you say that?! So you believe he's dead?! Well, I won't blame you! You were never close to him and you didn't even like him to begin with!"
And with that, he stormed out of the room, Joon, running after him just to make sure he doesn't do anything drastic.
"Don't take him seriously man, he's seriously hurt" Kelly said to Jun Jae.
Jun Jae kept out a sigh. In his mind, he was a bit worried. He just hope nobody finds a loop hole tommorrow when they check Kim Tan's body.
Though Kelvin had assured him that he had taken care of everything, his mind wasn't still at rest. The slightest mistake could give them away and their game would be up even before it began.
