Chapter Text
If it weren’t for the sturdy grip of her younger sister, Ryujin was sure that she would’ve collapsed to the ground.
“I don’t think I can go through with it,” she whispered, lifting her gaze wearily to meet Yuna’s.
The younger girl’s eyes welled with sympathy and she tightened her grip on Ryujin’s arm.
“I know it’s hard, but Jisu was your best friend. You’ll regret it forever if you don’t say goodbye.”
Goodbye. Ryujin had said goodbye to Jisu plenty of times. She had waved to her cheerfully as they parted ways at the school gates nearly every day for the past 3 years. She had ugly-cried in her arms as she bid her farewell on her 6 month exchange to Canada. Just 2 weeks ago, she had squeezed the older girl tightly at the bus stop as she wished her luck at her new school. Of course, Ryujin never could have anticipated that that was the last time she would ever see Jisu.
Nobody could have predicted it. Jisu’s death was so sudden and the circumstances surrounding it were even more so out of character.
Just one week after she had transferred to SOPA, her body was discovered in a back alley in Itaewon. The autopsy soon revealed that she had overdosed on a concoction of party drugs and just like that, the case was closed.
The way Jisu died, and the clumsy manner with which the police handled the investigation made the grieving process infinitely more difficult for Ryujin. She couldn’t accept that her best friend was simply a casualty of Seoul’s infamously sketchy nightclub scene. She was a Straight A student. She never drank, let alone experimented with drugs. The only time she stayed out late was when she pulled an all-nighter studying in the library or when her and Ryujin would sneak out to gorge themselves on tteokbeokki.
The police had told Jisu’s family that they had seen hundreds of cases like hers, that kids these days were experts in leading double lives. They encouraged the Chois to believe that their daughter had been deceiving them every time she had told them that she was staying late after school to study, or disappeared for the weekend to marathon marcel movies at her friend’s house. In their grief, Jisu’s parents had accepted this half-baked theory and crippled themselves with guilt. They felt so foolish for overlooking their daughter’s self-destructive lifestyle and couldn’t comprehend how she could have been led down that path without them ever noticing.
Ryujin’s blood boiled at the knowledge that the police would sooner deceive Jisu’s family into believing she was a delinquent than actually investigate her death. Sure, Jisu had gone a little quiet in the days leading up to her death but Ryujin had assumed that she was just busy settling in and making friends. Jisu was smart, responsible and oftentimes reserved. Ryujin knew she couldn’t have been led utterly astray in the span of a few days.
She knew her best friend better than anyone else in the world and she was certain that there was foul play at hand.
None of it made any sense to Ryujin. All she knew was that the girl she loved most in the world had transferred to a new school, one riddled with the countries most famous kids and spoiled brats, and a week later she wound up dead.
Ryujin was devastated, furious and desperately craved closure. She was about to kneel before her best friend’s memorial and say her final goodbyes.
However, as overwhelming and perplexing as the whole situation was, of one thing she was certain. It would not be over once she bowed her head before Jisu’s portrait payed her respects. It would not be over once she rose to her feet and left the memorial. It wouldn’t even be over once her casket was lowered into the ground.
Ryujin would not be able to sleep, focus or so much as smile again until she cleared the fog which obscured the details of Jisu’s tragic death.