Chapter 178: Gayoon's Story (14)
Chapter 178: Gayoon's Story (14)
Two weeks passed by without any other incident. Junwan said that they had checked the CCTV cameras at the shops and found nothing suspicious but still assured them that the case was being investigated. But Gayoon knew very well that the police was losing interest in it and the case would be closed off soon due to lack of evidence.
Spring festival was nearly upon them and the school was busy preparing for it. Minjung was still absent from school and even though Gayoon sometimes wondered what was going on with her, her mind became preoccupied with other stuff. Her class was doing a bakery for the festival and she was put in charge of preparing the cakes' base for the event. It was a difficult job but since her grandmother ran a cafe and she had helped her in the past, the teachers assigned her with the job.
"I can't take it anymore!" she complained as she heaved what seemed like the hundredth bag of flour on the floor. Jaewan was the only one who was helping her carry the flour bags from the classroom to the storage situated on the same floor.
"The other kids won't even help us with this!" she said, feeling annoyed.
"Well, they dumped it all on us," Jaewan sighed. He took off the gloves he was wearing and put on a fresh pair.
"It's such a pain!"
She was irritated at her fellow classmates. They were not serious about the event at all, focusing only on their own enjoyment instead of the grades. The best class display at the festival was going to get an A for the project and for Gayoon, that grade meant a lot. She wanted to sit for the National Police exam and if she got consistently good grades, she could enter the force directly as a detective. She gave up on Maths entirely so her other subjects were her only hope. She could not afford to miss out on the grade!
"Stop fretting!" Jaewan said sharply. "Both of us know that our class is gonna win. The other kids dumped it all on us but we can pull it off."
"If only Minjung was here!" Gayoon said out loud. She hated to admit it but Minjung was good at making the kids at their class work. The girl was popular so the other kids would listen to her. Up until her strange absences, Minjung was carrying out all the tasks smoothly but now, Gayoon could see the A slipping away from her.
She still wondered what happened to the girl and why she was acting so strange at the police station.
Gayoon checked her watch and gasped.
"Oh damn!" she cursed. "I was supposed to print out some papers for Mr. Kang!"
Mr. Kang, their history teacher, had assigned Gayoon to print out some research papers for him. He was one of the few teachers who treated her well and even agreed to give her a good recommendation for the police academy. She helped him out with his own research work after school and he had requested her to print out a file for him from the school's computer lab.
"Yeah, I think we can stack the rest of the bag tomorrow," Jaewan said, yawning loudly. He was very sleepy due to the vigorous after school practice sessions at his agency. They were preparing him for a solo debut and he had to work extra hard in order to keep up with the dance routines. And even though it was a rare day off for him, he still chose to stay back and help Gayoon with the flour bags.
"Yeah, you should go home and rest," she suggested. "I can print out the research papers myself. See ya later!"
She waved him goodbye and headed the opposite direction towards the computer lab on the fourth floor. Running through the halls, she was in a hurry because she must submit the papers to Mr. Kang within fifteen minutes.
"Shit!" she cursed, checking her watch and ran towards the lab when someone appeared in front of her out of nowhere. Gayoon tried to stop herself but she crashed into Seungjo, who was startled by the sudden collision.
"Ouch!" both of them yelled. The camera he was holding fell on the ground while Gayoon's bag also dropped on the floor, scattering the contents.
"I am so sorry!" Gayoon apologized. Thankfully, she did not bump too hard into him but he fell over on his back while she managed to steady herself on time.
"Are you alright?" she asked as Seungjo groaned.
"Y-y-yeah," he stammered. For some reason, he was looking very nervous and looked around wildly to find his camera before locating it a few feet away. Gayoon was about to bend down and pick it up for him but he snatched it away from her reach and scrambled to get up.
Seungjo was in such a hurry that he would not even look at his beloved Gayoon and ran off. Gayoon was confused by his odd behavior but Park Seungjo was always a strange guy.
At least he's not stalking me anymore, she thought in relief. The boy's creepy antics initially made her suspect him of the break-in at her home but without evidence, it was hard to pinpoint the blame on him.
She shrugged and picked up the contents of her bag which included a memory chip which belonged to Mr. Kang. Putting all her things back inside, she heaved her bag on her shoulder and continued towards the lab.
The lab was empty at that time because the students were busy preparing for the festival downstairs. The teachers were also aiding them so Gayoon found herself a secluded PC.
Keeping the bag aside, she took out the memory chip and turned on the computer. The screen flashed brightly and she inserted the chip into the drive. Instantly, the folder opened to reveal the files.
"These look like video files," Gayoon frowned. "Am I supposed to print out images from them?"
There were only two videos in them. She clicked on the first one to check the contents.
The screen turned black for a moment before the screen showed the inside of a broom cabinet. Gayoon frowned as she noticed two figures on the screen. One was of a girl who was unconscious while the boy flashed a torch on her face. To Gayoon's horror, she recognized the girl.
"Minjung?" she gasped. The broom cabinet was dark so the camera did not reveal the boy's face but when he stooped down to strip the unconscious Minjung, Gayoon immediately realized what he was about to do.
"Now you'll know what real pain is"
That voice! I know that voice! Gayoon realized and to her horror, the boy bend over, parting Minjung's legs only to-
She instantly disconnected the chip from the drive and turned off the PC. Her heart was racing fast and the sight of what she had witnessed was carved into her head. No wonder Minjung was absent from school and it also explained her strange behavior.
Minjung was not bunking school on purpose. She was traumatized.
"I have to talk to her," Gayoon decided. Picking up her bag, she put the chip in it and dashed off, determined to find out the truth.