Balloons & Goodbye

[dear_skye.]

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Balloons & Goodbye </div>


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“Huh, you actually came back.”

YoonSuk growled. Yet his vibrating voice was no more than a mere rumble from his throat. What was supposed to make YaeWon tremble with fear had her feel chilling waves of comfort. His voice, even when it was angry, was like an angel’s low with plenty of vibrato so it could remain in your memory forever.

“Get on with it, will you?”

YaeWon laughed. She pushed her chair back, startling YoonSuk. Cocking her head, she peered at the table legs. They looked so sturdy…She couldn’t resist. YaeWon threw her legs on the top and gave a satisfied sigh.

“What did the table pleasure you?” YoonSuk snapped when YaeWon closed her eyes. He was sick of YaeWon’s stalling. Staring at her up and down, he noticed a shimmer in YaeWon’s hair. Was it naturally that orange brown? It reminded him of the autumn leaves that fell before his window during the fall.

YaeWon’s eyelids fluttered open. She laughed, a crystal, tinkling, mocking laugh. “Are you jealous?” she whispered hoarsely, no doubt flirting with the man.

YoonSuk scoffed. Something wasn’t right about her today. He was about to retort when the guards came in. They rushed in holding two cups. One of them steps before her.

“Prisoner 3721, your medication.”

She gave them a queer look but didn’t take the cup. The guard stiffened at her rejection. Just was he was about to yell at her, she grabbed the cup from her hand. Wincing, she threw the pills in her mouth and downed it with a cup of water.

YoonSuk heard a shuddering breath from YaeWon. She claimed down and took her legs off the table. Scooting her chair foreword, she rested her head on the table. He was almost outraged when he discovered that she was about to fall asleep. YoonSuk reached forward to shake her but her voice stopped him.

“So that girl ignored her balloon boy for about a week…and weeks turned into months…”

And those months stayed months, for the balloon boy refused to leave her “side.” He never spoke his name nor did he ask for hers. All he did was faithfully show up at her window at ten o’ clock every morning with a single red balloon in the air.

And each time, YaeWon would faithfully pop the balloon.

Afterwards, she would slam her window shut. But one day, she decided to leave it open, just to see what would happen. What she heard was usually covered by the slamming of her window. This time, she watched the balloon bits shatter and drift to the ground.

Then she heard a clink.

It was definitely a metal clink. At first, the sharp ring hit her ears, and then it was followed by the dull clunks of the rebounded hit. It clattered a few times before completely stopping. YaeWon peered down. She saw the boy bent down and pick up a shiny object. He blew it gently and dusted it off. Then he pick it in his pocket, give it a gentle pat and walked off. All of this was done with a smile.

It’s to bad…YaeWon thought. She was serious when she wished that the boy admitted to her before she made her first kill. And she was glad that she didn’t get to know the boy too well because in heart her, she knew if she got to know him, she would love him. But that’s the thing; the only reason she knew would love him was because she was already starting to love him.

The fact that she resisted to start a relationship with him proved her love even more. She was protecting him from all the possible things that could happen. All the dangers she was forced to encounter, she wanted to shield those from him. Even if YaeWon didn’t know it, these were just simple acts of love.

Something clanked against her shut window. With a burst of energy, YaeWon jumped up and pulled the window up. Her face met with a dark, hideously black balloon. The familiar twitching came back to her hands. She hadn’t pulled a trigger in months.

YaeWon pulled a pin from her head. Her hair fell out of its confinements and dropped to her shoulders. She popped the balloon, letting the man know she got the message. How ugly black looked compared to the cheery tomato red balloons.

She watched the paradox mysterious figure walk to her plant and slip a small envelope under the pot. For one short moment, YaeWon gave a thought of ignoring the message, treating as if she never received it at all, but when she looked at her house, she knew this was the only way to keep surviving. Kill one life to keep her own skin intact, being an assassin was essentially a selfish job.

YaeWon pulled herself together and headed downstairs. She decided to take the fire escape stairwell and walked down. Each step wasn’t exactly agonizing. The closer she got to the bottom floor, the more intrigued she was by her job.

Finally she reached the bottom stairs. She pushed the backdoor open, a rush of autumn wind greeting her. Walking out where the sun shone, YaeWon walked over to her flowerpot. She lifted it up and slid the envelope out.

Opening it up, she pulled out a single picture and a slip of paper that had an address and a time scrawled in messy writing. She almost gasped when she looked at the picture. YaeWon hadn’t been expecting this. In the cropped photo, there was a picture of an elegant lady, dressed in a rich red-violet cloak.

The lady wasn’t old. In fact, she looked like she was in her mid-thirties. What struck the pity chord in YaeWon’s heart was that the woman’s hand was reaching out, reaching out towards a small blonde head. YaeWon focused her eyes to the sign in the background. She was a rich lady who supported orphans.

The thought of rejecting this job crossed her mind again. YaeWon looked at the scribbled piece of paper and discovered that she was supposed to be on the job today. At five pm, the lady would exit a news meeting and then head home. There was no time to waste. YaeWon washed all thoughts of pity away and quickly walked back to her house.

She needed to get ready.

Packing her guns, YaeWon considered bringing the tranquilizers. If this lady were nice, she would make her pain as least painful as possible. Just as she was about to leave the house, YaeWon caught a postscript on the note. It asked YaeWon to bring a voice recorder. She sighed and rushed back into the house to get one. If she spent one more minute dwindling, she would never be able to catch her target.


YaeWon rushed out of her house and snuck into the back alley. She covered one of the motorcycles and pulled out a key. It was a master key she had specifically designed for Harley motorcycles. Because she couldn’t risk having her own, she would borrow the ones that were left in the alley.

Jamming the key, she let the engine ignite and drove off on the main street. Fifteen minutes later, she reached the area where the lady was. YaeWon stopped about a block away and watched as the lady waved at the cameras with a picture perfect smile. As soon as the limousine took off, YaeWon followed the car. No one noticed anything suspicious.

Once in a while, YaeWon would speed ahead and turn a block. After the car passed, she counted five seconds before appearing behind the car once more.

The limousine’s driver never took notice of the reoccurring Harley behind the car. The area they were driving in was a lousy one. Harleys were everywhere because gangs liked to race. He didn’t even notice that the Harley that passed him each time to turn around a corner was the same one that trailed behind him.

When all of them left the poor part of the city, YaeWon noticed the large change. From what looked like run down apartments to rich, walled houses, the change from poor to rich was definitely large. She didn’t know there was such a stark contrast. YaeWon herself lived in a mediocre part of the city.

They reached a five star hotel. YaeWon parked the motorcycle in the back alley near the fire exit. She hung around as the lady’s chauffeur booked a room. Room 415, she heard and took a mental note of it. The lady walked by, swiftly, and went towards the coffee house. Now it was time for YaeWon to take action.

People were watching her, because her clothes were definitely out of the ordinary. For a five star hotel, YaeWon shouldn’t have been wearing jeans and tennis shoes. One of the bellboys was about to kick her out when YaeWon lifted her tattered baseball cap.

Her hair fell, shimmering down like falling copper. As if her hair had given her new clothing, the bellboy decided to wait before completely kicking her out. Hair that healthy and silky was hard to find anymore. If only he could reach out and touch it.

He scuttled forward, reaching to touch the beauty’s shoulder. YaeWon jerked at his touch.

“Miss,” he said quietly, trying to cause a distraction. “What are you looking for?”

YaeWon scowled, cursing herself. As a professional, she was taught always to look as if she knew every place she stepped into. During the last job, the club was darn easy. In some strict hotel, it was extremely hard. YaeWon had never been to such luxurious places.

She didn’t know what to say when the bellboy spoke to her. YaeWon opened her mouth but nothing came out. Then an idea struck her. She touched her throat, stroking it gently while opening her mouth.

The bellboy knew she meant that she was mute but he couldn’t help but notice how smooth her skin was. Out of all the people that walked in and out of this hotel, whores or not, the girl before him was definitely the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He shifted in his uniform. Suddenly, he wanted her.

YaeWon noticed his change in behaviour. The bellboy always reached out to touch her as if she was incapable to walk on her own. Gosh, she only pretended to be mute, not retarded. But as the bellboy lead her away, she could only smile and follow. She didn’t have much time to waste with this guy.

He found a replacement to do his job for the time being. Then he took YaeWon, gently, by the elbow towards the storage room. Something in his pants was just begging for more room. And if wasn’t as if YaeWon didn’t notice. She noticed how his hands were slowly creeping towards her waist.

Right after he locked the door, he advanced towards YaeWon. It had been a while since he got laid. YaeWon pretended to tremble, but inside she felt disgusted. As soon as he laid a hand on her, YaeWon grabbed it and twisted his arm. He howled in pain as YaeWon took his wrist and cracked it backwards.

“You bitch!” he screamed as tears streamed down his face. He was so tempted to say more, but he couldn’t. The pain was too excruciating. With his hand cracked backwards, he didn’t dare lay another hand on the girl.

YaeWon thrust out her hand. “Master key,” she demanded.

The bellboy looked at her, confused. Then he realized what she meant. But he refused to comply.

“Don’t have one,” he snapped. “Only the maids do.”

YaeWon just scowled as she eyed the boy up and down. In his charming little uniform, he looked like a pleasant boy. Yet there was an undeniable bulge in his pants that told her he was like every other man on the face of this earth. He was just for sex.

With a harsh kick, YaeWon shoved him against the stack of bed sheets. He laughed as YaeWon began to body search him. She started from his feet, forcing his shoes off of him. YaeWon stared him with an irritated glance as he continued to laugh. She threw a shoe at his face, trying to make him shut up.

But both of them knew that he was not the type to be quiet. He would continue to laugh even as he received whiplashes on his back.

YaeWon moved up, skimming her hands along his pants. When her face reached his crotch, he thrust his hips forward, shoving it her face. YaeWon spluttered in surprise. The bellboy almost died from laughter after he saw the surprise look on her face. Clenching her fist, YaeWon rose up to eye level with the bellboy. He was still unshaken by her glare.

YaeWon grabbed his head and smashed it against the wall. Any feeling of remorse, regret and even pity had completely disappearance. Suddenly she felt the urge in her fingers. The urge to kill. It was running through her veins, begging her to do so. YaeWon was tempted, so tempted to strangle him at the spot.

Instead, she knocked him in the face, causing his face to bleed. At the same time, his hat fell off his head. YaeWon wasn’t going to bother with it until she heard a tap. She looked at the floor and saw a card key on the floor. With an angry exhale, YaeWon realized why the boy was laughing.

“I could kill you,” she whispered dangerously. “But you’d be a waste of bullets.”

The boy exhaled in relief.

YaeWon reached her hand out. The boy closed his eyes in fear but only felt her stroking his head. He glanced with one eye to see YaeWon’s eyebrows furrowed. Then they rose in a mark of realization as YaeWon grinned.

At a certain spot of his head, he felt a strong pressure. YaeWon grabbed a flashlight that was left hanging on the wall and turned the boy around. She pushed him against the wall. For the first time, the boy began to tremble. There may be some things worse than death.

Raising her hand, YaeWon brought the flashlight down. It smashed against the boy’s head. He immediately slumped down, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as he fainted. YaeWon dusted her hands as his head dropped against the floor. By the time he woke up, he wouldn’t remember a thing.

YaeWon grabbed the master card. She was about to leave the room when she saw a box titled ‘Maid’s Uniforms.’ Just for security measures, YaeWon took her own clothes off and changed into the uniform.

Then she slipped out of the room, locking the door behind her. The click satisfied her as she tried the door again. It couldn’t be opened without a key. Swiftly, YaeWon folded her clothes and pretended to walk towards the maid’s cloakroom. No one took notice of her. No one took any notice of maids.

YaeWon found a black garbage bag. She shoved her cloths into the bag and hid it behind a large shelf in the grand hall. Her hands were quick and her actions were stealthy, so no one noticed her movements. After all, she was in a maid’s uniform. People simply dismissed her as someone cleaning the room.

Spending no more time on useless affair, YaeWon immediately headed up to Room 415. She gave a sigh of relief as no one appeared in the hallways. YaeWon slipped the card in. The green light came on, and YaeWon slipped into the room.

The lights were off. The elegant lady hadn’t appeared yet.

As her eyes grew accustomed to the dark, YaeWon noticed that the curtains were thick and definitely unnecessarily heavy. They were in a Victorian style, the kind that could be found in castles. YaeWon walked towards the curtains and lifted them. There was so much space behind the curtains.

Thanking God for giving her a slim body, YaeWon slipped behind the curtains. At the same time, the door to the room opened. YaeWon stopped breathing through her noise and opened her mouth. Air flowed in without a single noise.

The lady sniffed the room and made a face.

“It smells like rotten laundry in here.”

There was a manly laugh. YaeWon stiffened. Another man she might have to kill. Another life to help her own continue on.

“Can’t wait until we move back to Seoul,” the lady said again. Her voice still coated thickly in disgust. YaeWon heard the ruffling of clothing. She was taking off her jacket now. There was a throaty giggle from the man. “Not now, Adam.”

There was a sigh of disappointment. YaeWon heard a plop come from two different areas. Someone had sat down in a chair while the other had dropped themself on the bed. YaeWon closed her eyes so she could concentrate on the noise without distraction.

“How many more of this pitiful charities do I have to attend?”

The sound of papers ruffled.

“Two more then back to Seoul we can go.”

“Thank god,” she breathed. “Another one of those damn orphanages and I’ll be sick! Can’t those children wash themselves? They’re so filthy!”

YaeWon almost growled when she heard her speak. Then she remembered her recorder. YaeWon turned it on, muffling the ‘click’ noise. But somehow, it was still heard.

“Did you hear that?” the lady asked. She perked up in her seat. “There was this clicking noise, and a muffled rewinding sound. Is there something in this room?”

“Sit down YaeWon,” the man grumbled. YaeWon’s eyes grew wide as she heard him speak her name. This lady’s name was YaeWon as well? An unexplainable numbness came over her as the lady sighed. “It was just my shoe’s heel hitting the chair’s leg.”

“God, Adam. I hate these orphanages you know that. They’re just so…dirty.”

Adam rolled his eyes. He didn’t want to hear his wife mutter over and over why she hated orphanages again. It was true that he forced the job of visiting charities upon her. It was either she complained about her aborted daughter or the dirty orphan child. Frankly, the whole point of the orphanages was for her to find a child she liked and adopt her.

No, instead Ms. Korea had to make it a huge charity event to boost her popularity.

He didn’t want to listen to her complain anymore. Adam got up and walked towards the bathroom.

“Where are you going dear?”

Adam looked at his wife, who was staring at her fingernails. She had a beastly, spoiled attitude that was for sure. But somehow, somehow he couldn’t bear to part with her. He also knew that if it weren’t for the fact that he had plenty of money, she wouldn’t bat an eyelid at him. Again, he still loved her. Even when those divorce papers were mailed to his front step, he couldn’t bring himself to sign them. Even the most despicable people are loved, that is why their blood and genes continue to exist.

“Shower,” he muttered as he walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

YaeWon waited until the sound of water filled the room. She was about to reveal herself, but the lady came to her first. In one smooth motion, the lady pushed the curtains back to reveal YaeWon, standing with a recorder in her hand.

“Who – ”

She was cut off by YaeWon’s hand. With a forceful shove, YaeWon pushed her onto the bed and shot a tranquilizer into her. The former Ms. Korea’s eyes rolled to the back of her head as her eyelids fluttered down. YaeWon snarled at the limp body. She picked up the T.V. remote and turned the black box on. Flipping the volume to a decently loud level, YaeWon turned her attention to the hypocritical woman.

YaeWon switched the recorder off. Then she reached for her gun. There was no way this woman was supposed to die peacefully. She trembled as she remembered how that woman spoke of orphans. YaeWon herself was an orphan. YaeWon shook the death out of the lady, bringing her back to consciousness.

As the lady’s eyes fluttered open, YaeWon cocked her gun.

The woman almost screamed but YaeWon muffled that with a pillow. She began to kick and thrash violently at YaeWon. YaeWon climbed on top of her and head the gun at the pillow. Straddling her legs down, YaeWon took the pillow and covered her head. She fired one shot, narrowly missing the important part of her brain.

Then woman stopped thrashing. When YaeWon removed the pillow, she began to hear moaning. Blood dripped down her forehead, gushing out of the wound. It was like a well carved into her skull. The purest blood was at the bottom so someone threw a heavy rock to raise the water level, only this well overflowed.

YaeWon watched the woman writhe in pain. There was a playful smile on YaeWon’s face as she saw the woman touch her forehead in a robotic, shaking manner.

The woman tried to scream when she saw her blood covered hands. But she was quickly silenced by another shot in the stomach. YaeWon winced at the blood splattered over her face. She quickly dismounted the perverse woman. YaeWon took off her own clothes and rummaged through the closet.

She pulled out a nice pair of skinny jeans and a fashionable top. YaeWon pulled out a jacket as well and donned it. She turned around and glanced at the woman, drowning in her own puddle of blood. YaeWon smirked as she left the room.

Now her husband needed to stop taking that shower.

By the time YaeWon was two blocks away from the hotel, the police had arrived. She stood from afar, looking like every other citizen. It would take a while for the police to notice that the lady’s clothes were missing but that didn’t even matter because YaeWon had a new set of clothes. The ones she had on before she hurt the bellboy were behind the large bookshelf. The ones she stole from Ms. Korea were thrown into a fire that several homeless people were trying to keep burning. Even the Harley was abandoned.

Her face looked like every other curious person that was standing there. She stood on her tiptoes, pretending to be interested in the scene. Finally, the police began to dismiss people. They opened up a road for everyone to leave. YaeWon ducked her head and walked with the crowd.

“Hey!”

Someone touched YaeWon’s shoulder. She jerked the hand away and continued to walk. When the hand rested on her shoulder again, YaeWon snapped around. She didn’t know why she didn’t fear that it was the police. There was this sixth instinct that told her she could never be caught.

Her eyes widened in surprise as they met the tired eyes of her balloon boy. His hand stayed, clinging onto her sleeve.

“What are you doing here?” he said with a wide grin.

Suddenly, she felt so dirty.

YaeWon shook her head and brushed his hand away. She didn’t deserve to be touched by him. When she turned around, he stopped her again. This time he looked at her with concerned eyes. Why was she avoiding him? He inhaled sharply as he saw a glisten in her eye. Was she crying?

More than ever now, he wanted to hold her. But he wanted to understand her first.

YaeWon touched his hand and he stiffened. The girl that had been so cold towards him had finally touched him. He expected her hand to be like ice, something that he could melt but it wasn’t. Her hand was just like every other girl he had ever touched. At the same time it was different. It was warm but in a sad, bittersweet way as if she coated her outside with sunshine but inside it was still winter.

In that case, he would have to freeze her all over and begin to melt her heart from scratch.

Sadly, she pulled his hand off, like it was a piece of unnecessary accessory. Instead of letting it down gently, YaeWon dropped his hand. It slapped against his thigh as she walked away. He wanted to chase after her but something told him not to.

“Hey Brian!” someone called his name.

He waved a hand at his detective friend, telling him to wait a moment. They had been eating dinner together when he was suddenly called away. Brian had begged to come with him to see how the force worked. He saw what he expected. The usual blood and gore of a dead body covered by a white sheet that was slowly stained as the blood continued to flow. Funny, the body’s dead but it’s as if the blood has a life of it’s own. It continues to flow like an invisible source is still pumping.

What he didn’t expect was to see his Rapunzel watching the scene. She looked so distant while watching the scene. He was so happy to see her but when he saw her expression, it was so indifferent. She looked almost horrified to meet him. That hurt.

“Okay, coming!” Brian called as he step backwards so he could watch her back. He didn’t even have a chance to learn his princess’s name yet. All he could do was call her Rapunzel because of her beautiful hair.

He kept looking back until he met up with his friend.

“Did you see someone?” his friend asked.

Brian shrugged. “Just someone I know.”

YaeWon watched as her balloon boy’s friend gave him a pat on the back. She cast a look on the ground in dismay as she realized that he was friends with a cop. That made him even more of a forbidden step. Something tickled her eye as it slipped down her cheek.

She lifted her hand to itch it when her fingers collided with wet moisture.

She was crying?

“I guess that was your first time crying,” YoonSuk said, almost sympathetically. He could tell that she loved MinGyu deeply but that still didn’t make her right.

YaeWon didn’t reply. She looked away, biting her bottom lip.

“One question.”

“What?” YaeWon replied dully. She didn’t turn her head to look at him. There was this strange gaze in his eyes that he didn’t want to meet. If it was hatred, she didn’t want to feel guilty. If it was sympathy, she didn’t need it.

“You say you have long hair but why do these cases always turn up without any clues?”

This time, YaeWon looked up. Her eyes bore straight into YoonSuk’s but he didn’t look away. Unlike her, he had nothing to hide. Yet this was the longest time they looked at each other straight into eyes. For a small moment, he felt her sorrow and the burden she carried. YoonSuk quickly shook his head, at the same time, breaking their eye contact.

“Look again,” YaeWon said, pointing at his clipboard. “It’s not that the cases don’t turn up with clues. It’s that the clues just don’t add up.”

YoonSuk looked at his clipboard.

So she was right. There were always traces of long hair that were found at the sites of the murder but DNA testing couldn’t be done on them. Whenever they tested the hair, the results always pointed towards someone who died.

YaeWon smiled as she watched YoonSuk’s face. It was mixed with confusion and other strange expressions she couldn’t identify. His eyebrows contorted, rising up and down, moving towards the center of his forehead and then back, as he read the paper.

He looked up at YaeWon, who only smiled. His eyes searched hers, looking for an explanation.

She cocked her head. YoonSuk watched her as she grinned, almost a sorry grin. YaeWon lifted her hand to her head and began scratching it. Slowly, she pulled her hair, tugging and tugging. YoonSuk gasped when he saw what she was doing.

Slowly, YaeWon pulled off her beautiful locks. It slid off her head and lay limply in her hands. She sat before him with a baldhead.

“Dr. Hwang,” she slurred as YoonSuk winced at the way she said his name. “You should just let me die anyway…”

YoonSuk didn’t really want to hear what she had to say next. But she said it anyway. That’s how YaeWon was after she entered the prison. What you didn’t want to hear, she’ll always say. Even if it hurts, she’ll say it.

“I have leukemia.”

[dear_skye.]

5

YaeWon had to be forced out of her jail cell. The guards grabbed her limp body and brought her to the visitor room. If she had struggled two days ago, the guards would have just sent YoonSuk home but now she was so close to revealing her secret. They weren’t going to tolerate her attitude anymore.

They dropped her, hard, on the chair. YoonSuk was already there. He had been early last time as well. YaeWon frowned when she looked at him. Even though he gave a mildly pleasing smile, she couldn’t bear to face him. Today was the day.

“So,” YoonSuk began, trying to break the ice. He could read YaeWon’s nervousness all over her face. She didn’t want to be here. The strange thing was, YoonSuk wanted her to stay. The longer she stayed, the strong Brian’s presence became. “How are you today?”

YaeWon stopped fidgeting. She looked up, curiously, at YoonSuk. Her eyebrows furrowed, creating crease marks in her forehead. How should she answer him? Same as everyday Hwang YoonSuk. But what came out was, “You try living in jail.”

He chuckled.

YaeWon was in no mood to joke around. Her headache was worse than ever. In the past few days, the pain had slowly begun building up. She had managed to with stand the pain but today it was too much to bear. Given the chance, YaeWon would have thrown herself out the window.

Her vision was shaky as she watched YoonSuk place the clipboard in front of him. Waving a hand in the air, YaeWon told him to put it away. She was starting to see double of YoonSuk. There were transparent outlined silhouettes of him everywhere.

“Put that away, I know you’re not a psychiatrist,” she muttered.

YoonSuk didn’t find that as a surprise. He wasn’t a very convincing actor. Even with the proper props and terminology before him, he couldn’t pull off the role of a shrink very well. Without saying a word, he slid the clipboard on the floor.

He saw anguish etched in YaeWon’s face. She was struggling to keep her conscience alive. If he pulled the wrong strings, she could burst out. YoonSuk had studied leukemia before. It was required since one of his cases depended greatly upon the medical cases of the doctor. But there were so many types of leukemia; he didn’t know which one to refer to. Headaches were a common symptom with all of them.

“Are you alright?”

YaeWon waved a hand, rudely dismissing him.

He was tempted to reschedule this meeting but he didn’t. He was so close to discovering how Brian died. His concern and curiosity was no longer a police reason. It passed the jurisdiction of reason and entered his personal life. Brian was his best friend; he had to know how he died.

YaeWon rubbed her temples, although that did not help one bit. She closed her eyes and tried to bring her mind to another dimension but when she thought of clouds and birds, her mind hurt. Clouds and birds were no longer a part of her memory. It was too long ago for her to remember.

“October 27…October 27…October 27…”

Kang DongWon’s murder was the news of the century for about three weeks. Police searched high and low for the killer but nothing could be found. They even tried to look for the girl in the red dress but all that remained in people’s memory was the red dress. No one could remember what the girl looked like.

“She was too perfect to remember,” a man was quoted.

An elderly man, who was known for his photographic memory, said, “Anyone who tries to remember will only see a picture of an angel or Catherine Zeta Jones, and we all know that doesn’t work. Angels don’t kill the innocent and Catherine Zeta Jones could care less about our DongWon.”

Mr. Kang, YaeWon’s boss, attended the funeral of his illegitimate son. The paparazzi had somehow come across the story and ran it by the largest press in Korea. So Mr. Kang was forced to come out with a pretentious look of guilt and sadness while the press continued to talk about DongWon. Mr. Kang even managed to brilliantly shed a tear as the press talked about the poor life DongWon lead.

YaeWon was frightened.

She didn’t know that DongWon was that important. Most of all, she knew that Brian had seen them together. But when Brian read the news right in front of her, he didn’t seem to recall anything.

His eyes scanned the picture and frowned.

“He looks familiar,” he mumbled.

YaeWon stood up in her seat. She didn’t attempt to change Brian’s memory. He would only grow even more suspicious. The quieter she was, the more Brian seemed to slip into his own world and come up with random reasons.

“Ah right!” Brian said as his mouth was filled with an egg salad sandwich. “He was the one who tried to steal my red shoes!”

YaeWon almost burst in laughter. Brian’s red shoes were the ugliest things in the world. No one in the right mind would ever want to steal them. She began to wonder how Brian had even thought of that reason. As YaeWon giggled, Brian looked at her and smiled.

“There you go!”

YaeWon looked at him, questioning his statement.

Brian looked back at the newspaper, continuing to read the article about DongWon. “You laughed,” he said. “I like it when you laugh.”

She smiled as she heard those words. No matter how many times Brian mentioned how he liked whatever YaeWon did, she couldn’t help but swoon. He said it so simply as if it was natural for him to think that way.

It could be considered as one of the most pure relationships ever to cross this earth. No matter how much Brian talked, no matter how YaeWon stayed silent, they never grew tired of each other. Neither of them tried to change for each other. They loved each other exactly the way they had met each other.

Brian loved YaeWon’s silent behaviour, her occasional smiles and daydreaming into space. Even as it seemed like she wasn’t paying attention to him, he knew she was because a small smile would play over her lips. When Brian stopped talking, YaeWon would reach her hand over and touch him. She wasn’t looking at him but she was listening. Many people told Brian that he talked too much but YaeWon never said that. Anything he had to say, she was interested.

YaeWon loved Brian’s cheerful, youthful nature, his charming grins and endless talking. Even as it seemed like he was paying more attention to himself, she knew he was talking because she was listening. When YaeWon closed her eyes, Brian would reached over and pull her light body onto his lap so that she would be more comfortable. He wasn’t talking at the moment but his actions spoke louder than words. Many people muttered in annoyance at YaeWon’s silence but Brian never seemed to be bothered. Anything she did, he appreciated every bit.

They became the same petals on a rose. The string and the air on a balloon, together they created something beautiful in the world. Everyone who saw them together smiled because it made them reminisce and think of the time when they too had once loved. For those who were in love, it gave them courage to continue on.

But there was only one fault.

Shim YaeWon was a killer.
And nothing could ever change that.

“Ah! I remember where I’ve seen him.”

YaeWon bit her lip to keep it from trembling. She managed an airy, “Where?”

Brian winked as he laughed. “My friend knows him. I’ve seen pictures of them together. Oh Jo…” Brian trailed off. YaeWon leaned in to catch the name of his friend but it only came as a hoarse whisper. His voice turned drastically mellow as he realized what he was talking about. “…Oh my god…”

His change in tone caught YaeWon’s ears. Brian suddenly stood up and grabbed YaeWon’s hand. He dragged YaeWon to her feet and pulled her out of the restaurant. Everyone watched the couple hurry away and wondered why. Even the Brian’s usual waitress chuckled as she saw them leave. Brian would come back to pay, he always did.

Once they stopped, YaeWon breathed. Her chest heaved up and down as she tried to catch her breathe. Brian was searching frantically for something but he didn’t seem to find it. YaeWon asked what he was looking for. With a worried expression, Brian’s head turned left and right once more.

“I can’t seem to remember where he lives,” he said with a worried voice. Brian let go of YaeWon’s hand and began to pace back and forth. “He must be so worried by now. I have to go visit him.”

“For how long?”

Brian stopped. He turned to look at YaeWon. He knew that she never liked to spend the night at another place. As late as they stayed out, YaeWon was always determined to return to her house to sleep. When YaeWon’s expression did not change, he gave a sigh. He hated leaving her.

“YaeWon, you can head home first. I’ll be staying with him for the next few days. He needs companionship. I think DongWon was his best friend…”

She dropped her head when she heard this. DongWon was truly a nice man but she didn’t expect him to be tied to closely to her in this life. YaeWon didn’t understand how even after death, he managed to haunt her. He had pulled the trigger on himself after all. But YaeWon nodded her head, not speaking any of her thoughts, and turned around to go back home.

Brian couldn’t bear watching her leave so silently, without a word. So Brian reached out for her and grabbed her arm. He pulled her back and held her in his arms. Breathing in her scent of roses, he rested his chin on her shoulder and closed his eyes. Holding her seemed to stop time.

“Goodbye,” YaeWon muttered.

Brian let go and nodded her head. He watched YaeWon turn around and walk away. When she finally disappeared from his sight, he gave a sigh and went about his mission to find InSung’s house. He hated letting her go.

YaeWon reached her home, slightly regretting that she had left Brian. Although she wanted to go back, she couldn’t. Her hand was already hovering over the doorknob. I can’t, YaeWon laughed when she realized what she thought. Nothing was impossible. She could run and fly back into Brian’s arms if she wanted to but it wasn’t that easy. With a sigh, YaeWon closed her eyes, turned the doorknob and plunged into the darkness of her own world.

A place where Brian could never step foot in.

The sunlight crept into her apartment, cautiously making its way into the dark world that remained in the confinements of YaeWon’s room. She squinted as the yellow rays overlaid her eyes. Glaring into the bright sun, she flipped her legs to the side of her bed and sat up. Stretching her arms out, YaeWon stood up and walked to the window.

Her arms came out to pull the curtains shut but from the corner of her eye, something crept up, blocking the sunlight.

It almost appeared like a ghost. Slowly coming into focus, the atrociously black balloon hovered before her. It blocked out the sunlight, creating a black opaque screen so the sunlight was dark. It crept up and waved before her, threatening to jump at her as if it were a mountain lion waiting for its prey to turn its back. The very air that leaked from it seemed to be poison.

YaeWon paused, watching the balloon. A mocking smile flickered on the balloon’s face that was caused by the silhouettes of by passing birds. For the first time it was an evil grin. YaeWon’s heart dropped as she looked out the window. For a spilt second, she felt her heart harshly thump, wishing it were Brian. Wishing the balloon was red instead of black, vivid, wild apple red instead of the dull and ugly black.

The man holding the balloon noticed that her hesitation was longer than usual. Day by day, YaeWon took longer and longer to respond. He knew it wasn’t because of the time of day. It may have been early, six o’ clock, in the morning but at six in the morning, YaeWon’s shadow always cast down on him. Even if she didn’t open her window and stood outside, he could tell.

She just stood, staring at the balloon and he was growing impatient. Not that he had other things to do but because the black balloon looked so tacky. The last time he was caught with the black balloon, a strange man with a clown nose in his hand had stopped him. He was given a short but tedious lecture about the colour of balloons and how black ones wouldn’t make the girl all that happy. After that, the man made sure never to be seen by anyone again.

Finally he heard the window open. YaeWon’s hand came out and struck the balloon with a sharp pin. This time, as the man watched YaeWon’s hand withdraw, her hand came back out. YaeWon’s face appeared through the window. Her hand was drawn back, behind her head. As the man turned around to place her information under the flowerpot, YaeWon threw a rock at his head.

“What the hell?” he cursed as he turned around, just in time to hear YaeWon slam her windows shut. The usual elderly lady that walked by clucked her tongue. So the pretty girl from the windows had finally snapped and rejected the black balloon boy. When the boy turned to face her with a hard glare, she turned around and whistled innocently.

But there was no one to be seen, so he grumbled once more and continued on his way. YaeWon, through the front door’s peephole, watched until he disappeared. Then she opened the door and slowly walked out. When no one was watching, YaeWon picked up the flowerpot and took the envelope.

YaeWon worriedly looked around, just in case Brian popped up but her mind calmed when she remembered that Brian was at a friend’s house. Letting a deep breath escape, YaeWon opened the envelope. It was a good thing Brian was away for a few days. After this kill, she could take a rest and cleanse herself before seeing him again.

She pulled out the envelope. Out slipped a photo of a cheerful looking man. He was amazingly tall and carried a scholarly air. Even though he didn’t wear glasses there was something about the way he looked that made him seem very intelligent. He looked like the classical, ideal Korean. He lacked a sharp jaw line but his charming smile made up for it all.

And YaeWon wondered this time, how innocent would this man be?

Each time the murders got more and more dangerous. Each time they required YaeWon to show herself.

This time, she was given an address. By the looks of it, she assumed it was a home address. Now YaeWon had to break into his house and hide until it was a good time to kill him. Not only that but she had to make sure that no one would hear the gun shot and call the police on her. In such a condensed part of the city, YaeWon had to be at least a good ten blocks away before the police came.

So YaeWon sat in the seat and began to plan. She had sheets of A4 paper scattered all over the dining table, as she looked on her laptop the layout of the area and the frequency of the police. Thanks to Mr. Kang she had access to anything she wanted. She drew sketches and tried to time every move. After half an hour, she got her entire layout planned.

The only problems were the neighbors. She had to make sure none of them would interrupt her, see her, or hear the gunshots. YaeWon remember the gun silencer and almost smacked herself for such stupidity. But there was still the interruption and visibility problem.

YaeWon walked to her closet and settled with a low cap. As she placed the red cap on her head to check how much of her face it covered, she got a brilliant idea. It would help her make a quick getaway and if need be. She threw her red cap on the bed. Reaching for the usual compartment where her guns were hidden, YaeWon pulled out the box and took out the silencer. Just for safety measures, YaeWon took several tranquilizers as well. She didn’t want an innocent man to suffer the way DongWon had.

Then YaeWon walked out to take the subway. She got off a few stops before her actual exit and went out to the busy city life. Everything was frantically moving as if it didn’t have enough time. A few times YaeWon was pushed around and even violated. But these people were swift and they left quicker than they had came.

YaeWon brushed past the swarm of people and reached a payphone. Luckily, there was no one inside. No one noticed the pretty girl as she slipped into the phone booth and made a phone call. After she made that phone call, YaeWon rushed to the subway. She ran into the train just as the doors began to close.

A nice old man asked her if she was all right. YaeWon turned around and saw her hair caught in the doorway. Biting her lip, she said she was okay. YaeWon stood awkwardly as her hair bound her to the door. Thankfully, the next station came and the doors released their firm grip. She gave a sigh of relief as she combed through her hair.

Two more stops later, YaeWon got off. She left the subway station and headed for her victim’s house. It wasn’t in such a populated area as she had expected. Compared to the last town she had visited, this place had enough space for a girl to twirl her arms in the air without bumping into anyone.

YaeWon came to the apartment and realized that she couldn’t get in without a combination. There was a single security guard who looked half blind as he sat there. YaeWon was glad she had thought up of the phone call before entering. Her plan would help throw the security guard off.

“Are you waiting for InSung my dear?”

YaeWon looked up to see a middle aged woman. There was a tender smile on her face as she scanned YaeWon’s features. She could only assume that this girl was waiting for InSung. After all, InSung was one of the only good looking boys in the block. For such a pretty girl to stand outside was a pity.

“How about you come in to wait?” She asked. Her intentions weren’t exactly pure. She wanted to know how this girl felt about InSung. She wanted to hear a lot of things. Gossip was something she thrived on.

YaeWon grinned but shook her head. She wasn’t really waiting for someone to help her open the door. The lady frowned as YaeWon rejected her offer.

“Well, it’s up to you,” she said curtly and turned her heel to walk away.

As the lady left, YaeWon stuck her tongue out. She much rather kill this woman than her victim. YaeWon didn’t even know her victim’s name. She sighed as she waited for the most crucial part of her plan to arrive. If it didn’t, YaeWon didn’t know what to do.

But within ten minutes, a motorbike came by. Just as YaeWon had requested, it was a female deliver. YaeWon used some lame excuse that she had androphobia. The call taker believed her and said that a female deliver was no problem at all.

“Pizza Hut?” YaeWon asked as she walked over to the girl with a red cap. The girl slyly looked at YaeWon but gave a curt nod. “Ah, my friend had gotten so hungry he made me come down to buy him food. If it’s all right, I’ll take it up for me.”

The girl nodded. Of course it was all right, it meant one less trip for her. As she prepared to speed off, YaeWon tripped her feet. The girl fell forward and as she fell, YaeWon hit the back of her head. She fell into YaeWon’s arms, unconscious.

YaeWon placed the pizza in the compartment of the motorbike and quickly carried the girl off. It was her luck that no one saw her. She went into a back alley where she began to undress the girl. YaeWon slipped out of her own clothes and put on the uniform of Pizza Hut. Feeling a bit guilty, YaeWon placed her own clothes on the girl. Then she quickly pulled on the red cap and walked towards the parked motorbike.

With a firm identity card in hand, YaeWon buzzed the door. The security guard let her in. He beckoned her over while squinting his eyes. His nose caught the scent of the delicious pizza. For an old man, he hadn’t had this type of junk food for days. His mouth watered as YaeWon drew closer.

“Pizza delivery,” she announced.

The man stared longingly at the pizza. YaeWon flashed her identity card. The man only caught a glimpse of the feminine face and quickly waved a hand to dismiss her. The torture of pizza was frightening. When his break came, he would immediately taxi over to the nearest Pizza Hut.

YaeWon entered the lift, slowly breathing out. She saw the way the old man dreamt of pizza. Maybe after she killed her victim, she could give the pizza to the man and claim that it was a mistaken order. The lift rang at the seventh floor.

Taking a small step out, YaeWon made sure no one was around. After standing in the hallway for about a good five minutes, YaeWon advanced towards the house. 7B was the apartment number. On every floor there were four apartments. A, B, C, and of course, D. YaeWon rang the doorbell.

“The door’s unlocked!” she heard a voice yell.

YaeWon opened the door and stepped in. She looked around the place, quickly absorbing the nearest possible exits. She frowned when she realized that the front door was the only one. Maybe there was a fire exit in the kitchen or a fire escape in the master bedroom. But she would not know any of this until her victim was dead.

The man stepped in from the hallway. His head was only one foot short of the ceiling. YaeWon grimaced at the height of this man.

“I don’t see why you have to make me do this…” he trailed off when he saw YaeWon. Shaking his head, as if he was seeing a dream, he made a displeased face. He spoke almost cruelly, “Who are you?”

YaeWon didn’t mutter a single word. She lifted up the pizza box.

“I didn’t even order pizza…oh great, that idiot boy ordered again – God, I told him I could cook. Why won’t he listen! How much is it?”

The man pulled out his wallet as he advanced towards YaeWon. Then he stopped halfway and frowned at the empty components. He waved for YaeWon to place the pizza on the table. He muttered something about getting money from his room and telling her to wait. As he turned his back, YaeWon slipped the gun into the pizza box.

While waiting for the impatient man to get the cash, YaeWon observed the room. Somehow this man reminded her of Brian. She hadn’t noticed until she stepped into the living room. There were red balloons all over the place. They were stuck to the ceiling.

YaeWon looked at the floor and saw a deflated balloon. The man had been just blowing one up when she had disturbed him. All the balloons stuck to the ceiling, crying to be free. And because of the balloons, YaeWon felt slightly discouraged about killing this man. She didn’t want to kill someone just because he was grumpy.

“So how much was it?”

YaeWon couldn’t afford to hesitate. One second more and she wouldn’t be able to pull the trigger. In a flash, a movement faster than the man could follow, she lifted the cover of the pizza box and pulled out the gun. Holding it in front of his head, she shook as she threatened to shoot.

She wasn’t fast enough. The door behind her creaked open and several footsteps were heard. YaeWon told the man to be quiet by placing her finger to her lips. The man agreed by pressing his lips together. YaeWon timed the footsteps.

“Hyung, I – ”

With rapid footing, YaeWon turned around and shot the man. It hurt to kill an innocent bystander but she couldn’t afford to let anyone who could be an eyewitness live.

But the gunshot was a mistake.

YaeWon’s eyes widened as she watched the red balloons from the hands of the shot man touch the ceiling. A sudden surge of emotions over took her. YaeWon dropped her gun and rushed the dying man’s side. With trembling hands, she picked up Brian’s fallen body.

“Oh god, oh god,” she moaned, trying to hold back the tears.

Brian smiled when he saw YaeWon. He didn’t know why he was on the floor but for some reason his chest really hurt. He felt extremely weak but he didn’t want to show that side to YaeWon. His mind never asked why she was there. He was only happy that she was there. There was this gutting feeling in his stomach that this would be the last time.

YaeWon pulled up Brian’s hands so that they would touch her cheek. She was speechless, terrified. Brian wasn’t crying out in pain. He wasn’t talking at all. With sudden fear taking over her body, she tried to keep her hands still as she warmed Brian’s cold body. But her hands were trembling so violently, as if she were made of ice.

“YaeWon…” Brian said faintly.

YaeWon turned around to the shocked man, Jo InSung, the one who was supposed to die. “Call 911!” she screamed. InSung rushed to the phone to dial the emergency number. YaeWon turned back around to give her full attention to the love of her life. “Brian, stay with me – oh god you’re bleeding so much.”

Brian didn’t know what she was talking about. How could he be bleeding when he didn’t feel any pain? His entire body was numb from some sort of shock. He heard a long bang like the pop of a balloon. Then Brian realized what had happened. He tried to roll onto his side but YaeWon wouldn’t let him go.

Mustering his strength, Brian muttered, “Why are you crying? A balloon just popped, that’s all. It…just…popped.”

YaeWon replayed the scene in her head, trying to envision balloons popping but all she could see was herself firing a gun straight into Brian’s chest. She had missed his heart, by centimeters and now he was barely living. The real reason he was still alive was because he was unaware of the fact that he had been shot.

Brian was completely unaware he had been shot. He felt this strange pain enter his chest but his body quickly numbed to the pain as he fell to the ground. Bizarre, but he couldn’t find the strength to pick himself up. As Brian looked at the ceiling, he counted the balloons. One, two, three, four, five, six…the seventh balloon was missing. Of course, he mentally laughed at himself and then winced at the sudden pain. His chest was starting to hurt.

Brian turned his head to see a popped balloon on the floor. He had been holding that balloon in front of his chest and all of a sudden, it popped. Then he saw YaeWon’s elegant figure rush over to his side. Why she was crying, he still had no idea.

“Brian! Brian! Stay with me.”

Blinking, Brian tensed his head and looked up. Silly YaeWon, he was always with her. She didn’t need to be so frantic. Then he realized he had been closing his eyes, ready to doze off. He was beginning to feel very tired…

“BRIAN!”

He was shocked at the splash of tears that hit his face. With dying strength, he pushed his body up and used his hand to brush back YaeWon’s hair. Her face was stricken with tears but he didn’t understand why. Brian reached around, trying to feel for the remaining bits of the burst balloon. His hands hit the rubber remains and then he began to search. Finally he found the ring.

Lifting it to YaeWon’s face, Brian found that he couldn’t speak. The pain in his chest was growing stronger. It was beginning to feel like searing fire. Brian winced as he moved his arm. Everything was extremely painful. YaeWon’s face began to twirl around, almost as if he was in a dream.

“Wake up! Wake up! Oh god, wake up!” YaeWon cried as Brian’s eyes struggled to keep open. “Don’t leave me! I promise I won’t be so secretive. I promise to speak more. Oh Brian, anything I’ll promise. I’ll stop lying. I’ll stop…”

YaeWon ranted to keep Brian awake. He was amused by how much she was speaking. It was so unlike her to be this frantic and talkative. It was a nice memory…it was a nice last memory. Brian closed his eyes and let his head fall back. He’ll just have to ask her to marry him when he woke up. It was really tiring now.

His body fell limp and YaeWon felt it. She screamed and pulled the frosting body closer to her. Cradling Brian’s head to her chest she tried to get him to breathe. Maybe if she suffocated him he would thrash about and then get up to chase her around the house. Oh, maybe if she promised to blow two hundred forty four balloons for him he would wake up and laugh to say how silly she was.

YaeWon rocked the body back and forth as if she were cooing a baby to sleep.

All of a sudden, the glass of the window shattered. YaeWon, in shock, turned around to see InSung falling to the floor. The shattered pieces of glass fell inward, indicating that the destruction was caused from the outside. YaeWon wanted to go and look to see what it was but her body refused to leave Brian’s side. Even the slightest thought of leaving him hurt her. She wanted to cling, merge, stay next to Brian forever. The thought of her arms being empty scared her.

“YAEWON!” Someone roared. They stomped over and pulled on her arm, trying to get her to stand up. “Get up!”

YaeWon shook her head, clinging onto Brian. She clenched her eyes, holding onto him for her dear life. She knew the voice of this man. It was WonBin, her trainer. His muscular arms reached down to swift YaeWon up but she kicked and screamed trying to get her way back to Brian.

“Leave him! He’s already dead!”

YaeWon tried to block out the noise.

“No he’s not!” she countered. Her voice was shaking, full of doubt but she yelled to make it sound stronger. “He’s only sleeping! He’s tired! Oppa, look at the balloons he blew for me. He was trying to blow two hundred forty four balloons! Seven months oppa! Let me watch over him while he sleeps!”

WonBin slapped her.

It hurt him to slap his favourite student but it was something he had to do. The red imprint grew on YaeWon’s cheek. Her eyes wavered with fear, but not of WonBin. As if realization had hit her, YaeWon fell to the floor. She inched her way back to Brian and cradled his body again.

“What am I going to do? What am I going to do?”

WonBin watched his dongseng cry over the limp body. Any time before this, he would have thought it was pathetic. In the movies, in books they were just overdone scenes, but now he was seeing it before his eyes, his heart cried out for her. He wanted to comfort her but he knew that YaeWon would rather hold the cold body forever than have a pair of warm arms to protect her. As long as Brian was the cold body, YaeWon would never want another human touch.

“YaeWon…” WonBin’s voice trembled. “We have to go. The police are being called right now.”

He was right. WonBin’s entrance was not a pretty sight. Someone had heard the glass shatter and called for InSung. But when there was no reply, they called the police. Having to get two calls from the same address, one about a dying body and another about shattering glass, the police quickly dispatched an extra ambulance and security car.

“No,” she muttered.

WonBin leaned in. “What?”

“No.”

The sirens echoed in his ears. He had no time to waste. If he stayed, he would be caught for InSung’s murder. Mr. Kang had especially sent him in just in case YaeWon couldn’t do her job. WonBin had watched from the balcony of the opposing apartment. He saw YaeWon hold the gun to InSung head and then briskly turn around. After ten minutes, InSung still stood there. When he saw InSung run to the phone, he knew he had to finish her job.

WonBin gave a sigh as YaeWon dipped her head. Her long tresses covered the face of the body in her arms. There was a familiar look about that boy, WonBin thought, but he had no more time to waste. WonBin rushed out the window and jumped down the fire escape. He ran into the nearest alley and escaped through a pothole in the ground.

It was just yesterday his hopes were high. It was yesterday he actually wanted to believe that YaeWon didn’t commit a fourth murder. It was automatically assumed the YaeWon had killed InSung but her testimony proved it false. And it was the other way around YaeWon had killed Brian.

YoonSuk grew speechless. His head was filled with so many questions but before he could open his mouth, YaeWon spoke.

“He admires you a lot you know,” YaeWon whispered. YoonSuk wasn’t sure he heard right. He leaned forward as YaeWon continued to speak. She stared at the table, seeing a blurry reflection of YoonSuk’s face. There was a reason she remembered him now. Hwang YoonSuk, Hwang HwanHee – Brian’s best friend – the cop that was on her case, the one who called Brian’s name on the night of the Ms. Korea murder.

There was a faint smile on YaeWon’s face as she reminisced of Brian. He never believed her when she said she listened to him. When she said she did, Brian just gave a laugh and then continued his long talk. HwanHee was often the main topic.

“He wanted to become a police like you are but he knew his record was no good.” YaeWon sniffed as she told YoonSuk about Brian. Pressing her lips together, YaeWon covered her mouth, trying to hide her trembling lips from YoonSuk. She spoke through her fingers, her voice coming out like the tremor of a frequency. “You guys met because Brian got in trouble in a club…The first time he saw you, he was so jealous. Somehow you convicted him to become a better man. That’s why he became a clown. If he couldn’t save people, then he could make them happy.”

If only Brian knew how happy he made the two people in the room. His very presence lightened up their life. Now that it was gone, the memory of him was slowly flickering away. And YaeWon desperately tried to grasp a hold of it. But with only the passing of the sun and moon to tell time, YaeWon couldn’t hold onto the memory for long.

“I’m starting to forget what he looks like…”

YoonSuk reached forward to touch YaeWon’s hand. YaeWon jerked at the contact. The sudden action attracted the attention of the guards. They swarmed in, yelling something about breach of violations. They grabbed YaeWon’s arms, confining her to their bodies. She screamed, trying to break free but they held her down.

Hwang YoonSuk stared in shock at the scene before him. This was his entire fault. Yet even as he yelled his lungs out the guards couldn’t hear him over YaeWon’s high-pitched screams. To get their attention, YoonSuk drew his gun and fired in the air.

The loud gunshot silenced everyone but YaeWon.

She looked at him with trembling eyes. The guards let her go as she ran into the corner that was furthest away from YoonSuk. Covering her ears, she stared at the ground and rocked to her own chanting. It wasn’t her reaction that scared YoonSuk. Rather, it was the words the escaped her mouth…

“It’s just a balloon pop…it’s just a balloon popping. No one died – a balloon just popped…”


6

YoonSuk was devastated when he heard the news. It was expected since YaeWon had claimed that she killed Brian. If only the jury knew the whole story, how much YaeWon suffered to claim a certain freedom of loving, a restricted type of freedom. But his jurisdiction had cut the recording clips of YaeWon’s story. They skimmed the record until they heard YaeWon confess her shooting. Then they cut the part out, along with WonBin’s shooting of InSung.

The jury claimed that YaeWon should receive the death row.

YaeWon’s face was expressionless as they condemned her. YoonSuk bit his lip as he watched the brave woman, who was scared of balloons, stand before the crowd. People were yelling at her, screaming curses too evil for the ear to hear. But YaeWon stood through all of this without a single emotion. All she did was stare straightforward like a blind person.

Her death was to be executed on January 27th.

She was to be killed by the electric chair as many people requested. It was inhumane and the judge was about to protest when YaeWon’s voice broke through the jeers and squawking.

“Give them what they want. I deserve it.”

There, YaeWon received the judge’s respect but because she had said those words, the crowd burst into insurrection. If he didn’t comply to her wishes, as well as the people’s, there would be a great fight. He looked at the police in the room. All but one was nodding their head in agreement to her death sentence. The one that didn’t seem agree, the judge became intrigued with. He would have to see him after court.

The security guards led YaeWon away. Some people, who managed to get close by slipping past guards and forcing their way through, spat on her. Their spit clung to her face but YaeWon didn’t react. She didn’t even flinch when the revolting glob of saliva hit her face.

The judge slammed his hammer against the table. He called for order but no one listened. With extreme frustration, his voice resounded throughout the court with a loud roar, “STOP!” Everyone stopped. The judge growled at the ones who spat on YaeWon. He quickly sentenced them to two hundred and forty four hours of community service. That was four days and anyone who violated YaeWon afterwards would receive an extra twenty.

No one made a move after that.

YaeWon was lead to the back room. The guards who escorted her in were the same ones who had watched over her in the visitor’s room. She didn’t know it but they had the microphones, which were installed into the room, on, not just to record her story for YoonSuk, but also for their open ears as well. Every day YaeWon’s story was the soap opera of the week, guards fought to take that shift.

On January 27th, YaeWon was taken to a room where she could do anything she wanted for the next two hours. Then in two hours, she would be sent to the electric chair. The guards came in to be slaves to her. They tried to give her water to drink but she wouldn’t take a sip. They coaxed her but she didn’t relent.

They stopped when the door opened. In entered YoonSuk. They had great respect for this man since he was the one who got YaeWon to open up. YoonSuk walked over to YaeWon’s table. His eyes flickered towards the door, signaling for everyone to get out. Without questioning his motives, the guards scurried out.

YoonSuk placed a clipboard on the table.

He looked at YaeWon who looked back in return. He blushed and looked away. For a moment, he couldn’t speak. There was something he had done to justify YaeWon’s story but he know that he looked at her, he wasn’t sure if it was the right thing.

Gulping, YoonSuk stared at the clipboard while talking to her.

“I thought you would like to know this before you…” he couldn’t bring himself to say it. So he swallowed the word and continued on. “It’s your medical record, the one that was thoroughly rechecked by a doctor from United States. He was interested in your case of leukemia.”

YaeWon closed her eyes. She knew what everyone was thinking: how could she stay so still while people tortured her and jeered at her? She inhaled deeply but it made her head go for another spin. The reason was because her headaches had grown drastically worse. She never spoke about her pain but she knew that even if they didn’t request for execution, she would die anyway.

“We traced your family records using your blood. There were no signs of any form of cancer in your family. You’ve had a pretty healthy background. And it says here that you didn’t have any symptoms of leukemia until you were eighteen years old. Is there anything significant about that age?”

YaeWon didn’t understand what YoonSuk was getting at. She couldn’t remember anything special about the age of eighteen. Other than the fact that she had been let out of school and was going to officially work under Mr. Kang.

“Nothing special? Because your records are very strange.” YoonSuk looked at the notes the doctor had written. “You have the human T-Lymphotropic virus in you. Do you know what the means?”

It hurt to shake her head, so YaeWon said no.

“It’s a sexually transmitted virus. YaeWon the first signs of you having it are in your records when you were eighteen years old. Do you remember what happened when you were eighteen?”

Something began pounding in her head. YaeWon didn’t remember what happened when she was eighteen. There was no way she could have a sexually transmitted virus. She had never taken drugs or had sex; let alone touch alcohol. WonBin had always told her those things were bad for an assassin. If they were to try something bad, then the worst they could do was smoke.

When YaeWon didn’t reply, YoonSuk tried to explain things he, himself, didn’t understand. “This virus is one of the causes for leukemia, which we now know that you have.”

YaeWon lifted her hand up to her aching head. Why was he telling her this information?

“YaeWon, you don’t just come across this virus by accident. Something must have happened to you.”

This was more for Brian than anyone else. By YaeWon’s story, YoonSuk knew that she had never spoken to him about her disease. They would have fought it together, YoonSuk realized, if Brian had lived. But Brian was dead, so YoonSuk felt obliged, yet willing, to help the person he loved most in life. To discover the truth behind YaeWon’s sickness was not for himself, it was not even for YaeWon, it was for Brian.

“Brian never knew about this did he?” YoonSuk said, replying to YaeWon’s sexual encounter. He assumed it was rape but he wanted YaeWon to speak of it first. “You never told him.”

YaeWon didn’t want to speak. All she wanted to do was shake her head but that hurt so much more than simply saying no. So YaeWon forced her mouth open and said, “No.”

YoonSuk gave a sigh.

In the dim room, a light shone through. YoonSuk turned around to see the judge walk in. The judge looked like a fatherly figure. YaeWon looked up, gazing at the judge. He looked familiar but she couldn’t place her finger where she had seen him. Then again, she didn’t want to remember.

The judge walked in and sat in the seat YoonSuk offered him.

“Hello YaeWon,” the judge said.

YaeWon squinted at the man. His soft features seemed to shower her with comfort. There was something about this man that made her feel at home. His wavy black hair was streaked smartly in with grey. He looked intelligent. But there was an unnerving tone in her voice that made YaeWon shake. She was scared to recognize where it had come from.

“Shim YaeWon,” the judge spoke again with more tenderness. “You probably don’t know who I am. I share the same last name as you, ironically. Maybe that’s why I feel this strange connection. Also because you share the same name as my wife…the deceased Shim YaeWon.”

That blew YaeWon’s mind.

She had killed the judge’s wife. Ms. Korea, Shim YaeWon, was the wife of the kind judge that sat before her. Even though it made her head spin and feel like it was a ball of lead, YaeWon bowed her head down. But she didn’t lift it back up. She couldn’t find the strength to do so.

“Though you don’t look quite like us, I would have taken you for my daughter if I had the chance…you see, my wife was pregnant back then. Ashamed of her disproportioned body, she hid away for a year. When she returned, she told me that she had aborted the child. Our child would have been your age if she lived.”

YaeWon didn’t understand why he was telling her this.

“I just wanted to let you know that I don’t hate you for killing my wife. I loved her very much, but she was a selfish woman.” Judge Shim rubbed his temple as he remembered his wife. It hurt to think of her because all he remembered was her ghastly looking body on the hotel bed. Soaking in blood, her mouth was lolled open in shock and her eyes were rolled back.

YaeWon pressed her lips together, and closed her eyes. Tears were forced out as she silently attacked her clothes. She pulled at the hem in a crazy motion, hoping to get rid of the pain. But nothing was working. Her own headache was getting stronger. It hurt so much that she had to cry.

“Shim YaeWon, I only need a single statement from you and I can stop a whole chain of future murders.”

YaeWon looked up. Judge Shim was taken back by the stream of tears. YoonSuk rushed forward, holding out a handkerchief. YaeWon couldn’t even keep her vision focused on the handkerchief so YoonSuk wiped the tears for her. Through the burning headache, YaeWon managed to spill the beans about Mr. Kang.

Earning a stern look from YoonSuk, Judge Shim quickly thanked YaeWon. He got up and walked over to YaeWon. Noticing the physical pain she was going through, he bent down and gave her a hug. If only he had met her when she was young, she would have been a perfect daughter. When he left, YoonSuk turned to YaeWon. He needed her to remember what happened.

Just as he was about to ask, YaeWon began to speak. In a trembling voice, she forced the pain to the back of her mind and with slow painful hesitations and deep breaths in between; she managed to say, “When…I was eighteen…Mr. Kang asked me if I would…marry his son…I…refused and he had me…dozed with a shot.”

Now there was no doubt about it. The shot most likely continued the human T-Lymphotropic virus. YoonSuk dropped into the chair as he realized how YaeWon came across leukemia. He would share this with Judge Shim. Mr. Kang wouldn’t be able to buy his way out of this one. With this information, they would be able to send him to jail.

Just as YoonSuk was about to say another word, a guard came in.

“It’s time,” he said through the door. It was obvious that the mood was very grim.

The guards came over and helped YaeWon stand up. By this time, she was so weak that she couldn’t even walk by herself. Feeling guilty by just watching, YoonSuk ran over to help them. He placed YaeWon’s arm around his shoulder and steadied her. Together they walked to the room where she was destined to die.

They pulled off her wig and strapped her to the seat. Taking a wet sponge, they placed it on top of her head and placed the metal helmet on. The water from the sponge would help the electricity shock the entire body thoroughly. Strapping YaeWon by the arms and legs, the guards tried to soothe YaeWon. Some even offered to give her painkillers but when she made no reply, they walked away.

YoonSuk was forced to sit outside in the viewing room with all the other people. Reporters and families of the victims were there. No one them really looked happy to see YaeWon die. Everyone watched YaeWon’s emotionless face.

In the beginning, the reporters were excited. Some of them were new reporters, ready to take on their first big story, but when they saw YaeWon’s weak body, their hearts went out to her. Her head could barely even stay up. Her hands were limp and her legs looked tired. Her shoulders were slumped in such a way that they knew YaeWon was already dying. The electric chair was much too harsh for her.

When YaeWon closed her eyes, the security guard signaled a countdown. Everyone in the room quickly backed up against the water in fear that somehow, the chair would electrify them as well. The guard that had his hand on the handle took a deep breath. He knew this would be the worst death he had ever witnessed.

With a swift movement, he pulled down the trigger.

And suddenly the room went black. All electricity turned off.

YoonSuk rushed to the window, trying to force his eyes to get accustomed to the darkness. His eyes searched for YaeWon but it was too dark to see. People around him were starting to yell in frenzy. YoonSuk struggled between his police duties and his personal interest. He wanted to make sure YaeWon hadn’t suffered from that sudden blackout but his police instinct went out and he went around the room to calm everyone down.

After two minutes of calming, the lights came back on.

“Look! She’s dead!”

YoonSuk turned around, in shock, and pushed everyone out of the way as he made his way towards the window.

Sure enough, YaeWon’s body was completely limp. There was no movement in her chest and her eyes were closed. She looked like she was sleeping but YoonSuk knew she had died. Just as peaceful as a balloon that was freed, her spirit floated from her body and left the room. YoonSuk traced the serene figure with his finger. It was better this way.

After much hassle, everyone was escorted out.

YoonSuk took a step out the prison gates. Suddenly, the sky was filled with red balloons. So his story had gotten out to the public. Just one night ago, YoonSuk had stolen the recording of YaeWon’s story. He transferred it to an mp3 file and loaded up all over the Internet. With each file, he added a distorted voice of his own.

“On January 27th, anyone who was touched by this story, stand by the gates of the prison. The moment Shim YaeWon dies, we will send with her, two hundred and forty four red balloons.”

What Brian could finish, YoonSuk would help. His hand reached into his pocket as he pulled out a slip of paper. It had been three months since Brian died.

The first mission that Brian had was to find his biological mother. YoonSuk did that.

The second mission was to open his own chain of party goods. YoonSuk did that.

The third mission was to propose to Shim YaeWon by blowing up a red balloon for everyday that he knew her. Two hundred and forty four red balloons. One balloon would sink to the ground, separating itself from the rest. Because in the one balloon laid a golden ring which YaeWon was supposed to receive.

He lifted his head to the heavens and watched all two hundred and forty four balloons fly to the sky. Like Brian, like YaeWon; all of them ascended into heaven. These balloons would never pop as they rose up to kiss the sky. They would never make a sound like a gunshot.

Two hundred forty four balloons.
Two hundred forty four red balloons.

And they were all for Korean’s number one female assassin, Shim YaeWon, who feared them more than death itself.

<div align="center">“For every balloon that pops,
a simultaneous shot is fired,
somewhere in the world,
towards another body…</div>
<div align="right"> killing someone’s beloved. ”</div>

spilt

Brian picked up his phone and called his father. He wrinkled his nose at the thought of hearing his father’s voice. It wouldn’t be a very pleasant conversation, Brian realized. After meeting YoonSuk, Brian grew to realize that his stepfather was indeed, a very horrible man.

Being the adopted kid of a great tycoon, Brian was privileged to be a spoiled brat. And a spoiled brat he was. At the age of ten, he was adopted into a rich, lavishly designed home. A slightly chubby but delightful man walked down the steps to greet him. Within two years, Brian became a stuck-up, cocky jerk.

He was never overweight but he knew that’s how the staff of the house nicknamed him. Everyone pretended that he was fat. There was this certain man he hated that always made fun of him. What was his name? The guy that trained his father’s workers to do heavy labor…Ah right, Kim DoJin, otherwise known as WonBin. Women in his father’s household drooled over the muscle, good-looking man. Brian just stuck his tongue out at him in disgust.

Brian hushed his loud friends as he made a phone call to his father. It disconnected for some reason.

Aware of the loudness of the club, Brian made his way outside. He stood outside the club, waiting for the reception to work. Finally the tiny bars increased, telling him that full reception was in store. Brian dialed his father’s cell phone once more.

“Hello?” Brian said when someone picked up.

“Son!” his father barked. “I told you to be here!”

Brian frowned as he remembered the meeting. He had been so caught up with the coffee time with YaeWon that he had forgotten. His father’s tone told him he was very displeased. Lately, Brian had been missing everything that his father planned. It was already a disaster for his father to learn that he wanted to open a party store and be a clown.

It was then and there Mr. Kang disowned his son. Brian immediately switched his name to his mother’s maiden name, Joo. After two weeks of living away from his stepfather, Brian received a call. It was Mr. Kang, begging for Brian to return.

“Gosh, you don’t have to be so loud. Look, I’m not coming.”

The door to the club opened, loud music escaping the through the crack and entering the phone.

“Are you drunk?” Mr. Kang spoke loudly as he tried to scream over the music. “Get your fat ass over to the Italian restaurant right now!”

Brian grimaced. He had thought about talking this nicely over with his father, but now that his father had called him fat he could shove the request straight up his ass. Brian didn’t tell him that but he was sure close to.

“Look, I set you up with a nice girl this time. Not some old diggity that has sagging breasts and love handles enough for the children of Africa to have a grab.” Brian heard the tone of his father’s voice. So his father wasn’t as angry as he thought.

Brian didn’t even have to consider that. In his mind, the only girl that left an impression was Shim YaeWon. He had worked so hard to get her attention and now that it was finally in his grasp, he didn’t want let it go.

“Dad, the girl you set me up with could be Ms. Korea or Ms. Universe even! But I don’t want her.”

There was actually genuine care in Mr. Kang’s voice as he spoke to Brian, “No, this girl is different. She is perfect for you.”

The only girl perfect for him was Shim YaeWon. For a moment, Brian did consider seeing the girl. The sudden change in his father’s tone was extremely suscpicious. The girl had to be very special or drop dead gorgeous to receive his father’s praise in that manner. But when Brian went to flag down a taxi, he discovered that he truly didn’t want to meet her.

He was about to object once more when he heard the voice on the other end. It was almost inaudible but it managed to reach his ears. It sounded like air passing through a receiver.

“I decline your offer,” the voice said.

Brian was intrigued by the voice but before he could say anything, Mr. Kang hung up on him. Brian sighed as he looked at the phone that emitted a loud, annoying busy tone. Throwing the phone lightly in his hand a few times, Brian exhaled and headed back into the club.

It was a good thing his father hung up. He was almost excited to see the mysterious woman. Now with his mind clear, he concluded that she would be like every other woman he knew.

[façade]

I love this storyy. I love all your writing. I'm jealous, haha.

I don't really know which part to comment on, because I read the whole thing all at once. So yeah.

Can't wait for Goodbye. :]

[dear_skye.]

pposed by an old companion _[/i] [/b]

Months passed.

HwanHee woke up to find AeRin’s body, once more distant from him. He gave a sigh as he reached over and put his arm around her waist. She stiffened, but he didn’t loosen his hold. When she relaxed once more, HwanHee drew her close. There was something special about the warmth of her body.

He didn’t like her so far away from him, even if it was simply out of habit.

AeRin squinted in the light. There was something soft against her back. She felt warm air on her neck and shivered. It wasn’t even cold. She moved to slip out of HwanHee’s hold but he arm stiffened, unwilling to let her go. She squirmed uncomfortable until HwanHee let out a growl from the back of his throat. AeRin relaxed, out of fear, and her back slumped, coincidentally pressing against HwanHee’s firm chest.

It wasn’t until a week ago AeRin had agreed to share the same bed with HwanHee. He had been awkwardly persistent about sharing a bed. At the same time, he swore that there were no connotations to