A ruckus filled with the shattering voice of cries coveted my eardrums as the dead body splays by their eyes to witness.
I couldn't move.
Definitely, it was our school security man, MR. BONG.
Am I still in one of my continuous nightmares? Please, I wanted to wake up!
His pale face indirectly faced me, empty eyes staring back at me, sending churn to the pit of my stomach. Implement a lucid image of his death to the back of my mind.
I put my hand over my mouth to muffle a scream while the paramedic roughly snatched the linen, giving me an annoyed glance as he put it back to its place.
Did I accidentally injure him? Does he bleed heavily to his death? A shivers run through my spine, thinking, should I look back yesterday, just to make sure he is not hurt anywhere, will he survive?
So, now...
I'm a murderer.
How about my future?
The thoughts give me another pang of headaches, I swayed a little but Samuel manages to hold me back in place.
"Lana..." He muttered my name.
I ignored, him bringing my feet to the classroom for the urge to confirm the incident for myself.
Nevertheless, there are yellow tapes across our classroom door, preventing us from coming any nearer while the police were investigating the crime scene. I dived into the group of students to get clear of view, and all I see is crimson red from the wall to the floor.
God... is this my doing? Have I sent him thrown to the wall and blood splattering everywhere?
It's messy and smelly...
What has happens yesterday replays from the spot where Mr. Bong had cornered me.
I see myself pulling the table to stop him from getting any closer to me. I heard him gasp in pain yet I didn't make any effort to turn. Is the loud thud I heard the sound of his head smashed onto the floor, how strong am I to cause this scenery.
I'm selfishly dashed to my escape. And I see myself heading towards the exits that I'm standing in front of now.
I see myself gaping in terror, about to run over me, I try to avoid...
Somehow I realized the noises in my vicinity were suppressed.
I couldn't feel a thing...
The last thing I knew, I faced the ceiling, and then Samuel comes into my view.
His lips pronounce my names but I was unable to respond to him.
I tried and try until I was totally consumed by a murky black space...
-----------------------------
The scene pushes forward to where I have been from yesterday, once more, standing alone in the middle of the room with Mr. Bong. His broken lips twitched, forcing his rasping voice to howl at me, "MURDERER!"
My feet betrayed me, constrained me to where I was standing as he approached me in his awkward posture. His lips in a dark shade of purple reflected the vivid hues of death in his complexion.
He is dead, and it's all my fault.
The intense building up is painful from thudding and tightening in my chest, torturing me to the brink of insanity.
"Laanna Kangg..."
He is reaching me with his trembling bloody hand.
"No!" I gasped for air, eyes fluttered to a view of the familiar plain white ceiling then the smell of sharp disinfectant welcoming my nostril. Unsure of how I have been here, I exhaled in relief that it was, after all, another one of my nightmares.
"Lana Kang," This time a soft voice startled me.
Ms. Oh, our school infirmary medical officer was there all along, beside the bed, studying me. "You alright? You still burning with the flush of fever but you will be fine if you go home and rest," She explained while checking on the IV drips. "You are exhausted, that's why you fainted this morning. I put you on IV drips, and it's almost done." She continued, marking on my medical chart file.
"Thank you, Ms. Oh."
"You are welcome. Samuel, your cousin said will be taking you home, he is settling the paperwork in the administration office. You can rest while waiting." She said smiling.
Cousin?
We being cousins...? Ah, one of his tactics again. I noticed Samuel had been persistent towards me, the more I distance myself from him the closer he got. Ugh, my head. "Ooh, cousin. Yes, he is. Thank you for letting me know."
"No problem, get some rest. I will be back to remove the IV. See you."
"It's alright, I will ask my cousin to help me remove the IV, don't worry Ms. Oh," I uttered in distress. I needed to know what happens to the investigation.
Did they find out about me? So will there be a group of SWAT awaiting to capture me just in time? I am probably the most dangerous criminal for them at this moment.
Ugh, there goes my wild imagination again...
"Sure, just let me know if you need help. I will be in my office," She replied, considering it for a second before approving my request.
"Thanks."
As soon as Ms. Oh exited the room, inspecting the drips, I couldn't wait any longer. While I was working on removing the IV on me, again I was surprised by Samuel entering the room without an alarm.
Glaring at me, he is displeased with my intention. "What are you trying to do?"
Our gaze locked, somehow I wonder will he look at me like this anymore? The sour taste at the back of my throat is threatening to burst any moment from now.
Sam, I'm a criminal...
"Mr. Bong... I,... I'm the one who killed him," I mumbled, looking for solace from him.
I watched the color from his face drain, the tenses in the air. Panic, he advanced to me, stifled me from talking further. "Shh!"
"Shh... Don't joke on things like this Lana, " Samuel blurted in a half-whispered tone, putting his hand over my lips. "You going to get in trouble." Tears welled up my eyes. I do hope that all of this is only a prank, but Mr. Bong is dead, and I'm officially a criminal. I weakly shove his hand away, "Sam... I'm the last person he met. He tried to... " I hushed, chin trembled, and an involuntary whimper escaped my lips. Staring back at me, he realized that I'm not kidding him. He is silent but at last, he exhaled, coming closer putting a hand over me, and crushing me to his everlasting safe haven body. "I'm sorry, don't say a word anymore." "I'm scared. I didn't mean to..." I convinced him with my voice muffled to his chest. "Hush... I know, I understand, anyone in your place won't hesitate to stab him to death..." He comforted me, tightening the embrace as I sobbed uncontrollably. &n
A thousand rays of the morning sun escaped from between the blinds. I used to love being near the windows, but every now and then each time my glance turns to the exact spots where Mr. Bong's body lay, a cold shiver runs down my spine, and my palms couldn't stop sweating in the cold air-conditioned room. I have to keep telling myself over and over again that it wasn't me that had him killed, I didn't stab him, someone did. And that someone, is among us... It is day four after the incident, there is no new clue of the case, crime scene investigation and evidence collection were completed and we had been allowed to move back to our classroom yesterday. I didn't take leave from school the day after the incident. When I woke up that day later in the evening, I was in Samuel's guest room, he had offered to let me rest in his guest room once I have taken the medicine provided by Ms. Oh. I'm running with fever again on that day, and Samuel said that I keep mumbling in my sleep that he ha
The soft bell chime indicating that school is over for today sends a sigh of relief throughout the class. We say our salute to Mrs. Sue, the mathematics teacher, then gather our belongings to leave. I stuffed my notebooks into my bag and went up to Samuel who was already waiting outside with his three other best friends. "Hey, Lana what's up." Jerry Chon, the boy with the most adorable eyes and sweetest smile welcomed me. "I'm good, thanks," I replied while giving way to a girl who is flirting with Jason Bak without seeing that she almost bumped into me. Anyway, can't they simply wake up to the womanizer who would never commit his heart to any of them, but then there's Jason, all confident... Good looks are definitely a plus. I saw Naomi being the last exiting the class, I try my luck to talk to her again as she approached us but Nelson Kim had already overtaken me. "Goodbye, Naomi," Nelson uttered with a smile. His dimple deepened, showing off his charms. Now I understand why Na
"No. I'm sorry Lana. I didn't mean that way. I mean, you should at least have some basic to be on yourself," He said as he put down his food, using his other free hand, he tilts my chin, forcing me to look at him. "You are going to die before entering the battleground, do you think this is wise?" Always with his broad point of view, somehow he had accidentally become my counselor as we grow up. Damn, I must be in a serious lack of common sense. Meeting his gaze, I'm overwhelmed that it is him from the beginning. As I drifted into his dreamy brown eyes, he breaks the spell by giving me another flick on the forehead. "Ouch!" "Gosh, stop looking at me like that," He said, lightly pushing me away from him and continuing to enjoy his meal. "That's hurt, you shouldn't treat a girl like that," I grumbled, covering my forehead to soften the mild pain he caused to me. "Well, I treat every girl good, except you. Eat your food, I got a ne
The dim light poles along the winding alleys illuminated shadows to the pavement Naomi stepped on. Commuting back home after her self-study in school, this is the long stairways she had to walk up daily, to her home at the top of the alleys. For an outsider, this hilly neighborhood gives an illusion of a romantic getaway as it has the closest space to a better view of the moon. Yet, with the chipped paint of colored houses along with the distinct lack of planning development, this place is soon to be abandoned. Sooner the neighborhood will be only occupied by the elderly and bad memories. Because in reality, living in peace doesn't enough if the stomach goes hungry... The younger generation believes that they can only dream in the land of skyscrapers overlook the run-down neighborhood she lives in. Naomi's sister was one of them, she runs away from home five years ago, leaving behind her aging parents with her litt
Day 2 of tracking Naomi and Harry's mission. Gosh... I sighed to a long exhale of boringness. Why on earth does Samuel have to put me on them? They are merely future scholars, only studies excited them. I am aware that I have developed a new habit of biting my nail recently. Gross, this is a bad omen, what is next? Even Naomi still refuses to talk to me, she rather spends her time alone. I pity myself, oh... Closing my notebook in frustration having the whole class turn to me. A moment of silence, then they return to their desk, leaving me in an awkward situation. Samuel makes a hand signal asking what was wrong with me, but I just waved my hands acknowledging him that it is nothing to worry about. Looking at the wall clocks showing five more minutes to 4:30 p.m, our free time for club activity will start soon. Naomi was in art while Harry
"Let me go, Nelson!" Naomi harshly pulled away from him as soon as Lana and Samuel disappeared from their view. "What's wrong Naomi? What did I do to you that you despise me that much?.." "As I said. Nothing wrong, just stay away from my business." "No. It's not going to happen. I'm not going to let you go. At least I won't." "Don't make me repeat myself!" Holding up the rage buckling in her, she makes sure Nelson heard her well this time. "Stay. Away. From. Me." "NO." Nelson gets a hold of her arm before she gets the chance to run away again. "Give me a chance, let us prove that we are not meant to be together." Nelson hadn't staggered from his position, inoffensive by Naomi's harsh attitude toward him. "Give me a chance." He said, almost half whispering. As if the time had frozen, for a second, Naomi had listened to him. Their eyes locked, and a
The hot day of the day is beginning to subside as the sun is going down. Naomi and Nelson take a seat on the bench by the riverbank overlook from the bustling of the metropolitan Capital City. "Promise me, from now on, never turn your back on me again." He muttered. Naomi paused, staring into the eyes of a boy who wanted to be with her persistently, Naomi lost, the stone-cold heart of her melted a little by little, starting to warm her from the inside. "Naomi..." The way he speaks her name awakens her soul. Urging her to feel human again. After the bad encounter with her uncle, she has no reason to be happy anymore. In her subconscious mind, man is a monster. Being strong, they only wanted to conquer the female and threaten the weakest. But... Why is there another one other than Samuel Jin in front of her, denying every thou