Cold as an ice-sculpture she lay

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TAEHYUNG and Jungkook stood in the hallway, feeling extremely out-of-place in all the richness that now surrounded them. Even though they had to wait for some time to be admitted ("Where did that idiot run off to?" Mrs. Song, the cook had muttered as she let them in), no time in the world could have prepared them for what was inside. 

"Damn, this place has changed so much ..." Taehyung spoke, awed. 

"Weren't you brought up here?" Jungkook asked.

"Yeah, but I remember it being a whole lot simpler. None of this gold-plated gargoyle business. I don't remember this dressing table in the hall either. Where is the housekeeper, Mrs. Paeng? She might be able to tell us the reason behind the sudden extravagance in this place. Why, I think I might've entered a petty king's summer residence."

"Your description is very accurate, Mr. Kim," a soft voice behind them said, making the two of them jump. 

Seungwan smiled as she received the desired reaction. Her hair now tied in two braids, she looked like a gray version of Wednesday Addams and blended perfectly with the silk tapestry behind her. 

"And you are ...?" Taehyung queried.

"Son Seungwan, the housekeeper. Mrs. Paeng stopped working here a year after you left. I'm her replacement's replacement's replacement," she replied. 

"Ah, that makes sense. Three grandchildren must've been a handful for her old self, poor dear," Taehyung reasoned, choosing to ignore the number of times Seungwan had uttered "replacement".

"I think you're grossly mistaken, sir. You see, she died; problems of the heart, you know. The dining room is this way, sirs. Mr. Kim awaits you," Seungwan said and proceeded to show them the way. 

Jungkook and Taehyung both shared the same look of bewilderment.

*

"Long night, eh, Whee-Whee?" Hoseok remarked as he stared out of the window above the kitchen sink. 

Wheein, too immersed in reviewing a letter, paid no attention to him. She studied the document carefully, sucking on her pen. 

"Damn it, that's grammatically incorrect," she tutted and crossed out a line. 

Hoseok chuckled and turned his attention on the squid that he was frying. He picked one out from the bubbling oil and bit into it. 

"Needs salt," he commented and added a pinch to the remaining batter. 

For about fifteen minutes, no words were exchanged between the siblings. The sizzling of fried fish from the kitchen and the rustling of letters piled high on the table were all that filled the house. 

Finally, Hoseok removed the last golden brown squid from the pan and chopped up some parsley for the garnish. Adding the rice cakes, egg rolls and fried squid in each plate, he sprinkled some parsley for the final touch. He carefully balanced both plates in each arm and placed them on the same table where Wheein was working. 

"Dinner's ready. What do you desire, beer or soju?" Hoseok drawled, picking up a small heap of letters that Wheein had finished with and dumping it onto a bean bag. 

Sighing loudly, she removed her spectacles and set her pen aside.

"I would like beer, if you don't mind," she yawned and stretched her arms in the air. Picking up the rest of the letters, she deposited them on the same bean bag. Never mind if they got mixed up, she was too tired to care. 

"I was in the mood for soju but hey, beer's good too," Hoseok shrugged, pulling out silverware from the table drawer. 

Wheein got up from her chair and went to the kitchen, returning with two cans of beer.

"What do we have today?" She asked, peering into her plate.

"A Japanese bento on a plate, minus the cute faces on the rice cakes and the lunch box," Hoseok said.

"No offense, but aren't egg rolls supposed to be round? Or circular, for that matter?" Wheein asked, forking one and observing its triangular shape. 

"They are and I simply don't know how the heck they ended up in that shape. Must've been the pan; it was so small that when I took out the egg-roll, it looked more like a kaleidoscope than a cylinder. And of course, when I cut it into small pieces, it came out like this instead of the circular disks that were shown in that YouTube video I looked up for the recipe."

"Maybe it was the sausage," Wheein pointed out, as she bit into it. 

"Yeah, maybe that too. Still looks good, though," Hoseok added.

"Tastes good, too," she remarked. He bowed his head in mock gratitude. 

Once they had almost wiped their plates clean, Wheein volunteered to do the dishes. As she started putting the plates into the dishwasher, a sudden, stray thought struck her out of nowhere. 

"Hoseok, I have been thinking," Wheein said, emerging from the kitchen, dishcloth in hand. He looked up from the newspaper.

"Hm?"

"When you said you suspected Seokjin, what exactly did you mean? I have been trying to wrap my head around it and it still doesn't make sense to me. Doesn't he have a strong alibi at the time of the murder?"

Hoseok put down his newspaper and pursed his lips. Wheein recognized it as a sign that her brother was carefully reviewing his opinion in his head, trying to word them as accurately as possible. After a brief silence, he began to speak.

"Like I said before, I can't exactly place my finger on it. Something about Seokjin seems off and in a way, the way things work out, don't add up. Now, I know what you want to say," he said, raising a hand to stop her from interrupting him. "I know that you will say that so are the rest of the Kim family. But the way I see it, Seokjin seems to benefit the most."

"How? Isn't he going to pay out the sum that Joohyun and Yerim inherited from Namjoon's will? And both bequests, sum or not, are pretty huge. Considering that Mr. Han suggested to cut down some of the investments of the firm, its assets would be a bit shaky after such a big payout."

"You have a point there, Wheein. However, call me crazy, but I feel like there is something incomplete in this entire puzzle. This wasn't randomly done and motive plays a huge role. Everyone except Seokjin has a motive, which for some reason, I find fishy as fuck. How is it that he's the only one singled out? Even Yerim, who seemed to grieve for the man, has a strong motive. Freedom and the choice to do whatever she wants. Even her husband-to-be does, because of the fat money-bag that is Yerim's inheritance. Joohyun does too, hers being the lion's share, which is why you suspect her. But still, I believe there is something that needs to be done. Something that won't make this case look so slick, so easy."

"Are you suggesting that you want the case to be crazier?" Wheein gasped.

"Dress it however you like it, Wheein. The killing method was much too smart to have such a simple resolution," Hoseok concluded, crossing his fingers, looking most ominous. 

*

Yerim stepped out of her room, this time wearing slightly thicker makeup so as to hide any blemishes her tears may have uncovered. She contemplated whether leaving her tresses free was a good idea. After all, Hansol did say that it didn't suit her and maybe he did have a point. It reminded her of back when Taehyung was still in the house, back when she was happier, back when she was more believing and sweet. 

Deciding to stick with the current look as a tribute to those times, she made her way to the dining room. As she reached the last step of the staircase, she thought she saw a very familiar back accompanied with another one that she didn't recognize, disappearing behind the door of the dining room. Eyes moistening a little, she made quick work of reaching there and pushed the door open. 

Before her eyes, stood her brother Taehyung. Standing beside him was a raven-haired man.

'His husband, of course,' she finally registered.

Seungwan stood behind them, about to pull chairs behind for them to sit down. With quick strides, she jumped on her brother, enveloping him in a tight hug. 

"Oh my God, I have missed you so much, brother. So, so much. You have no idea how much I wanted to call you after the last time but Father forbade any contact with you and I was caught before I could post my letter after you l-left and-"

Taehyung patted his sister's head gently, wrapping his arms around her too.

"It's okay, Yeri. I understand. It wasn't your fault," he smiled as he spoke, keeping his tears at bay. Extricating himself from the embrace, he grinned widely. 

"So, what's up with you?" 

"Well," Yerim looked at her feet. "I'm engaged. His name is Chwe Hansol."

"Would you look at that, Jungkook," Taehyung squeezed Yerim's hands as he turned to his husband with a bright smile. "My little sister's getting married."

Turning back to her, he asked "When's the big day?"

"Sometime in mid-winter. We haven't fixed a date yet but preparations are underway," Yerim replied, a fixed smile on her face. Taehyung found this a bit strange, but didn't make a fuss about it.

"I'll get the first course, then," Seungwan said and tactfully left the room.

"Looks like Joohyun and Hansol are late, again," Seokjin remarked, checking his pocket watch. 

For the first time in all the time spent breathing the same air, Taehyung met eyes with Seokjin. For a long time, neither initiated conversation. 

Yerim's eyes flitted between her brothers. So did Jungkook's, who could taste, forget smell, the tension brewing in the air. 

Jungkook seized the moment to distract Taehyung. 

"Let's sit, shall we?" Saying so, he pulled two chairs opposite Seokjin's side, while Yeri chose to sit on the head of the table, the seat on Taehyung's adjacent right. 

Yerim and Jungkook shared the same thoughts at that time, unknowingly. They both fervently hoped that the Kim males wouldn't end the night with a dance of fists.

*

Joohyun stared at herself one last time in the mirror. Her makeup was thicker than usual, however, it blended well and enhanced her natural beauty. The shade of lipstick she had chosen was blood-red and it complemented the ruby-drop earrings she had worn. She had opted to tie her hair up, instead of leaving it down as she would normally have. Two neatly curled strands lay strategically on either sides of her collarbones. Her outfit was a claret dress that covered nearly every part of her body, save for a sweetheart neckline. 

Overall, Kim Joohyun was satisfied with the result. Slipping on a pair of black heels that nobody would see, she stepped towards the doorway. However, from the corner of her eye, she spied a notepad on her rosewood desk. 

Her red lips twitched into a pernicious smile. 

*

Hansol glanced at his watch one last time before emerging from his car. He knew he was five minutes late and mentally prepared himself for Seokjin's snarky remarks. God, did he miss the days when Namjoon was head of the household. Seokjin was far too uptight for his taste; not that he liked going against the powerful man.

That was the one of the two traits both Namjoon and Seokjin shared - efficiency and intimidation. Both religiously observed their rule-books, differing each's contents may be. Hansol had learnt that such men didn't deserve respect but demanded it. 

Disregarding his lateness, he took a detour and decided to take a short stroll around one of the gardens of the House of Kim. He lit a cigarette and puffed it while taking leisured steps, admiring the vegetable patches and berry bushes. If only his own gardeners could reach this level of competence, perhaps his own gardens may have some aesthetic touch to them. For the time being, he had to make do with the grotesque fish-cut bushes and the apricot trees that barely gave a basket of fruit each season.

A flash of light from one of the windows disturbed his thoughts. When he saw what was behind the windows, his eyes grew wide and mouth dry. 

*

Taehyung was smiling, yet his white knuckles told a different story. A vein was throbbing in Seokjin's temple, even though he tried to lighten the mood with weak jokes. 

"What do you call a faux noodle?" Seokjin pressed on, for the third time.

"What?" Yerim finally responded.

"An impasta," he revealed, very impressed with himself. 

"Thank you, Seokjin. Much obliged," Taehyung sneered, stabbing a tomato with his fork. 

"When will that woman bring the first course?" Yerim whined, playing with the loops in her sleeves out of sheer boredom.

"Soon, sister. Have some patience. It isn't like there isn't food on the table," Seokjin sneered, breaking some bread and spreading some butter in it.

"My sister can't eat everything you can, can she?" Taehyung interjected, receiving a gratified look from her. Jungkook stiffened a little, silently praying that he won't be witness to a family brawl. 

"Ah, yes. I momentarily forgot about all her allergies," Seokjin reasoned. Yet, Taehyung sported a victorious grin which mirrored Yerim's own. 

Jungkook raised his eyes to the heavens, thanking his stars for being an only child, with no siblings, real or adopted. 

"Say sister, what's up with the new décor? So much has changed in such little time," Taehyung said.

"Ah, that's because Father's new wife - I mean, his widow - has an expensive, if not eccentric taste," Yerim drawled.

"Yerim, kindly keep your dislikes to yourself and for once give an unbiased opinion," Seokjin tutted.

"Actually, I appreciate those who speak up about their true feelings rather than biting their tongues and lying," Taehyung interrupted. 

"Taehyung-"

"But I shouldn't expect any better from this family, eh? After all, we all wear facades, to mask and protect ourselves," Taehyung ended.

Fortunately, Seungwan arrived just then, followed by Mrs. Song. Both carried trays bearing bowls of Velouté soup. The rich aroma of the steaming soup managed to momentarily distract the hungry guests who began to pick up spoons and help themselves. 

"You still haven't lost your golden skills, Mrs. Song," Taehyung remarked, grinning at the beaming woman. 

"Oh, you are still the people-pleaser. And this is your, uh ..." Mrs. Song, motioning to Jungkook, who braced himself for the usual weird look he got. 

"I'm his husband, Jeon Jungkook. He's filled my ears with appetizing tales of your cooking. I must say, they do no justice to all this food," he flattered, just as Taehyung had taught him. 

Feeling put as ease from the unknown topic, Mrs. Song nodded warmly. 

"Have a good meal, Mr. Jeon."

Both ladies exited the dining room and headed to the kitchen after bowing to the guests. 

"I wonder where that boy has got to," Mrs. Song whined. "This is his job, not ours. It isn't even his day off today." 

"We will be able to manage just fine. I will have a word with him tomorrow, don't fret," Seungwan coaxed. 

Just then, the doorbell rang. Seungwan left the kitchen and went to open the door. The ash door revealed a hassled, breathless Hansol. 

"Ah, Mr. Chwe. The rest of the family are already digging into the first course, sir. Would you like to freshen up or something?"

"No, thanks, Ms. Son. I-I think I'll just go straight to the dining room, I guess. Wouldn't like delaying too much, would I?" Hansol spoke, nervously laughing. 

Seungwan didn't reply and led him to the dining room; after doing so, she returned to the kitchen. 

"What took you so long, Hansol?" Yerim asked, as he took a seat as far as he could from Seokjin. 

Before Hansol could utter a word, everyone was distracted by another person who had just entered the room.

"Joohyun, finally," Seokjin breathed. 

She donned a subtle smile and glided in the room. 

"I apologize for taking so long. I wanted to look as presentable as possible," she purred. 

"With what? My makeup?" Yerim snorted in her soup. Taehyung deafened her scathing comment with his compliment. 

"You look lovely, Mrs. Kim," he smiled and Jungkook nodded fervently. Despite being gay, he had to admit that Joohyun was a very beautiful woman. 

Joohyun fluttered her eyelashes and slightly bowed her head in Taehyung's direction. It was her sign towards accepting a personable man in her midst. Which, in layman's terms, meant that she found Taehyung an attractive man (which most women did).

Lightly laying a hand on Taehyung's shoulder, she smiled her most gracious smile.

"I hope you find the arrangements and food quite well?" 

"Yes, I do. Actually, Yeri and I," Taehyung spoke; Yerim snapped her head up in fear. "Yeri and I were just complimenting your taste in art and home décor."

"Is that so?" Joohyun flicked her head and looked at Yerim, her poised smile dimming a little before regaining its light as she turned back to Taehyung. "Then, I'm glad. Well, that soup looks delicious. Pity to let it go to waste, huh?" 

She then walked up to the seat between Seokjin and Hansol and began her own meal. Hansol, a bit transfixed from her entrance, took a few moments to return back to his own bowl of soup. 

After a few minutes, Seungwan brought in the main course which consisted of Coq au Vin (chicken cooked in wine), Lorraine quiche and Niçoise salad. Some more bread was served on the side, kept at various places on the table, thus making it accessible to all the guests. 

"Well, that's quite a French spread. Will I be able to save some space for some dessert, I wonder?" Taehyung said, amused. 

Everybody responded agreeably to this statement with laughs and even Seokjin mustered a bemused smile. The rest of the meal thus went on in this pleasant fashion. 

As everyone tucked into their apple tart, Seungwan poured wine for the third time in the night, as a nightcap. When Joohyun picked up her glass, she accidentally knocked her dessert spoon on the floor. 

"Let me just get that little devil," she giggled as she bent down to pick it up. Hansol stiffened as he felt her fingers brush against his thighs. Whether it was accidental or intentional, he didn't know and didn't want to, either.

She got up with the retrieved spoon and conversation continued from where it was left off. From the corner of his eyes, Hansol saw Joohyun wearing a conspiratorial smile and he then felt something being thrust into his palm, under the table. He looked around the table and saw nobody had witnessed any of the exchange between the two of them. As Yerim recalled another childhood memory aloud, he seized the chance to open his fist under the table. It revealed a scrunched up paper ball. 

He quietly opened it and his eyes grew wide when he saw its contents. He quickly glanced at Joohyun. She was smiling and nodding as if she was listening to Yerim but he knew that was a farce. She caught his eyes and wiggled her eyebrows. 

He returned to his tart and proceeded to finish it. This time, instead of a worried look, he wore a faint smirk.

*

"Are you sure you don't want to stay the night?" Yerim asked Taehyung and Jungkook as the rest of the family saw them off from the door. 

"Maybe next time, Yerim," Taehyung assured, patting her head. Turning to Seokjin, his smile dropped and his tone became business-like. 

"When's the funeral?"

"Next Friday. That's a week from today. Will you be in town?" 

"Of course, that's why I'm here. I'll see you then, okay?"

Seokjin nodded stiffly.

"It was nice meeting you, Hansol. I hope you take good care of my sister," Taehyung grinned.

Hansol gave a weak smile.

"It was lovely meeting you, Jungkook. I'm so happy my brother found someone like you," Yerim beamed, squeezing Jungkook's hands.

Jungkook smiled back, happy to know that despite all the weird stares he may have got that night from nearly everyone in the house, there was someone who accepted their relationship and supported it.

"Take care!" Joohyun simpered, waving. The two men waved back and walked out of the gates of the House of Kim. Boarding into the taxi they had requested, they left for their hotel.

"Well, now that's done with, excuse me as I go finalize some tenders. I need to get them done by tomorrow," Seokjin announced and marched up to his room.

"Will you stay, Hansol? I can have a room prepared for you," Yerim beseeched. 

"Thank you, Yeri but I'm afraid I must leave-"

"Oh, do be a sport, Hansol! It wouldn't kill you to stay a night, would it?" Joohyun persuaded, chuckling airily. 

Hansol switched his vision from looking at Yerim's eager face to Joohyun's inviting one. He swallowed and finally gave in to their demands. 

"Excellent! I will tell Seungwan to get one of the spares next to my room ready," Yerim exclaimed and rushed inside. 

Left alone with Joohyun, Hansol turned to her. She seductively bit her lip and spoke, her voice a bare decibel above a whisper.

"I'll go and have a bath, okay? I hate going to bed without it. What do you think?"

"I-I guess it h-helps with the body odour?" 

"Silly boy! I don't have those, at least not with the help of those perfumes. But it does liven the skin up a bit, doesn't it?"

At this, Hansol snapped. "Stop it, Joohyun. I must confess, I do enjoy these "escapades" of ours but with my wedding drawing closer, if we continue with them, Yeri's bound to find out."

"Find out? About what?" She laughed.

"About us, Joohyun." 

"If you're so afraid, call off the marriage. Nothing will happen."

"Are you nuts?" Hansol cried. "My company will be ruined if we do that! You do realize that your husband's company and I had a financial deal that allied us with them on the condition I married his daughter? Do you really think Seokjin will take kindly to that, being his faithful dog?"

"Calm down," Joohyun coolly shut him down, placing a finger on his lips. "Nothing will happen. I promise. I have seen to that issue."

Hansol quietened after that but he was still not convinced. And he didn't think he would ever feel secure by that assurance. 

*

In the middle of the night, Yerim got out of bed, feeling distressed that she couldn't get a wink of sleep. Perhaps a cup of hot cocoa would help, or at least, arouse some drowsiness that could be fueled by one of the etiquette books bought by Namjoon. 

She tied her hair into a ponytail and slipped out of her room. In the kitchen, she quietly made her drink and then climbed up the stairs to the library, mug in hand.

She picked out the dreariest etiquette book of them all, Speaking Manners, and headed back to her room. On the way, she chanced a glance into Joohyun's room, which was right at the landing of the second floor, where the rest of the rooms of the family members were situated.

The lights were still switched on, which made her raise an eyebrow. 

Curious, she pushed the door wider and saw that Joohyun wasn't in bed. Looking around, she saw the lights of the room's bathroom were switched on from the bottom creak of its door. She gingerly walked inside the room and turned the bathroom knob. It was locked, so she resorted to knocking. 

"Joohyun, are you in there?"

No response. She knocked an octave louder than before. When to that she received no response, she knocked so loudly she was afraid she might wake Hansol in the next room. 

"Answer me, Joohyun. I'm just checking," Yerim impatiently said. "There's no need for your sass at this hour."

When she still didn't get an answer, Yerim began to get worried. She continued to knock, her voice growing louder with each one, until her knocks grew to bangs and her requests to shouts. Such a din it made, that Hansol and Seokjin, even Seungwan left their beds and hurried to the source of the sound, fearing a burglar. 

"What is the meaning of this, Yeri?" Seokjin commanded. 

"Jin! She's not opening the door, damn it! I don't know what's going on and it's locked from the inside!" Yerim exclaimed hysterically.

"Calm down, it's not that serious. Maybe she fell asleep in there," Hansol suggested.

"With that racket my dear sister made?" Seokjin snorted. He turned to Seungwan. "Do you have the spare key on you, now?"

"Yes, sir. Just a minute," Seungwan said, reaching for a pocket in her nightdress and pulling out a keyring with labelled keys. She hunted for the specific key for a while and when she found it, handed it over to Seokjin. He inserted it and turned.

Before them lay Kim Joohyun in her bathtub, her flawless body now covered in blisters from head to toe. The coppery stench of blood loomed in the air making the four of them cough. A faint tinge of lime could also be detected.

Taking a bold step forward, Seokjin moved closer to the tub and saw the water in the tub almost red. Joohyun's face was at least recognizable, if not spotless as before. But her chest no longer rose in a rhythmic pattern, upon holding her hand Seokjin found that the pulse had stopped beating and no breath left her nose. 

Shaking, Seokjin struggled to stand up. He turned behind to meet the fearful eyes of Seungwan, Yerim and Hansol. Voice dry, he feebly managed to croak,

"Joohyun is no more."

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