🍀🍀🍀🗝️🗝️🗝️ *THE ARCHITECT OF SILENCE*🗝️🗝️🗝️🍀🍀🍀
*CHAPTER 18*
*MI JIN AH'S POV*
I chuckled.
Me:
"Yo—"
A voice cut through.
"Yah, Kang Seo Woo… you can't just have a private chat with my friend. Let her go."
Woo Jin.
Seo Woo raised his hands lazily.
Kang Seo Woo:
"Relax. I just happen to like your friend… how about lending her to me?"
A smile—
But it felt like a threat.
Woo Jin pulled me into his arms.
Woo Jin:
"Not even if you die… she's mine."
Mine.
I didn't react.
Seo Woo's eyes darkened for a second—
Then—
He turned.
And left.
Silence followed.
Then—
Woo Jin spoke again.
Woo Jin:
"Did you hear? The GOLDEN 10 parents had a meeting… they've decided to bury all the cases."
He paused.
Then—
"Ha Na's parents are demanding investigations… but who do they think they are?"
My expression shifted—
For a second.
Then—
Returned to nothing.
So—
Even him.
He wants to protect this system.
Then—
There's no reason to keep him.
Woo Jin:
"Mi Jin Ah…"
"Mi Jin Ah!"
My vision blurred.
Voices stretched—
Distorted—
Then—
Darkness.
***
I woke up.
7:59 PM.
What—
I stood up immediately.
The door opened.
A nurse rushed in.
"Ah you're awake, thank God…"
I grabbed my bag.
"Where are you going?"
No answer.
The door opened again.
Woo Jin.
He ran toward me.
Woo Jin:
"Where are you going at this hour?"
Me:
"Home. Where else?"
He pushed me gently back onto the bed.
Woo Jin:
"Not now. It's late… and—"
He paused.
"I found Rank 1."
I looked at him.
Still.
Woo Jin:
"I haven't met him yet, but I know where he is. If you just smile once, I'll take you there."
A faint laugh escaped him.
"I've never seen you smile."
Me:
"Forget it."
I stood.
He grabbed my wrist.
Woo Jin:
"Fine. Let's go together."
***
The car moved.
Familiar road.
Too familiar.
Silence filled the space between us.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Woo Jin:
"You know…"
He hesitated.
"I heard something."
Silence.
Long.
Woo Jin:
"Do you know why SEOUL HIGH was never turned into a boarding school?"
No response.
Woo Jin:
"Someone died. A girl… a pianist."
He paused.
"Back in 2009… or 2010."
His voice lowered.
"They said her neck was twisted… her legs broken… like she was pushed from somewhere high."
Silence.
He looked at me.
Searching.
Woo Jin:
"You're not even surprised."
Me:
"So what? Does that mean I killed her?"
—
BANG.
The car jerked violently.
Woo Jin:
"Jin Ah—what just happened?!"
Fear.
Real fear.
Me:
"Why are you asking me?"
He froze.
I opened the door.
Woo Jin:
"Jin Ah… what if… what if I just....I just...killed someone?"
His voice trembled.
"I can't… I can't be a murderer…"
I looked at him.
Cold.
Me:
"You're that scared?...."
I stepped forward.
Slowly.
The world felt—
Different.
Frozen.
Silent.
Time slowed.
And then—
A body.
Lying still.
Blood pooling beneath it.
Spreading.
Endless.
If it had been before—
I would've run.
But now—
My legs trembled.
Memories—
Buried—
Came back.
Her body.
Broken.
Her legs.
Her hands.
Her neck.
Twisted.
Voices.
Loud.
Sharp.
"She killed her!"
"It's her!"
"Her bad luck killed her mother!"
Fingers—
Pointing.
Accusing.
I covered my ears.
Closed my eyes.
But still—
They were there.
In the dark.
Watching me.
Blaming me.
Then—
A voice.
Soft.
Close.
"Mi Jin Ah…"
I forced my eyes open.
One face.
Clear.
Standing there.
Kang Seo Woo.
Darkness swallowed everything.
*END OF CHAPTER 18*
*🗝️🗝️🗝️☘️☘️☘️THE ARCHITECT OF SILENCE*☘️☘️☘️🗝️🗝️🗝️