Chapter 6

I am back with a new chapter! This picks up pretty much right where the last one left off. This one will have some darker themes mentioned so please read with caution. With that said, let's get into it!



"What did we miss!?" Felix exclaims.

"Maybe, it was never a kid to begin with," Chan mutters.

Felix groans, "What now? Burn all the bodies on that list?"

"Some of them were cremated," Chan says.

Felix lets out a fake laugh, "Even better...what do we do hyung!" Chan sighs and starts to massage his temples. He sits back into his seat and stares out the window for a second, completely silent. Felix watches him and waits for him to decide on what they should do next. Chan nods after a second and sticks the key into the ignition. He starts the car up and begins to drive down the road. "Where are we going?" Felix asks.

"Back to the river," Chan says, "We clearly missed something, so back to the scene of the incident."

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The cousins walk along the riverbed with emotionless faces. They don't often make mistakes like this. They can't or else someone else will get hurt. This situation is a perfect example of that. The guilt of another life is weighing heavy on both the boys, but they both try their best to push it aside. They need to focus or else there will be another death and that is something both of them refuse to let happen. The hunters scan the area in an attempt to spot anything that they may have missed the day of Chaemin's death. The area is fairly empty now that the excitement of the two incidents have both died down. The caution tape is still surrounding the river, but there aren't any cops or a crowd of people gathered around. The entire area is essentially empty besides for the cousins and an older woman, who stands a small bridge that wasn't blocked off. "There's nothing here, Chris," Felix says, looking at his cousin. The blonde hunter doesn't say anything, he doesn't even seem to notice Felix looking at him. His head is turned towards the bridge where the woman is standing. "Let's go talk to that lady," Chan states, his eyes still locked on her

"Why?" Felix asks.

"After all that's happened here, would you make a walk around the river a priority?" Chan questions, "There's a reason she's here." He starts walking towards the bridge and Felix trails after him, not knowing if his cousin is onto something or not. "Excuse me, halmeoni," Chan says. The old woman turns to look at the two with a sweet smile on her face. She is garbed in a flowery top with long black pants underneath it. She has a bag slung over her shoulder and her hair is pulled back in a loose ponytail. "Hello, boys, how may I help you?" She says.

"I don't mean to intrude, but is there a reason that you're here?" Chan asks, "After the incidents that took place...I don't know why anyone would want to be here..."

The woman sighs, "I had to come...it's the anniversary of my granddaughter's passing."

"I'm so sorry for your loss," Felix says.

She flashes Felix a thankful nod, "The fact that these recent events are similar to the accident that she was in...makes it...hurt a bit more this year..."

"Your granddaughter drowned?" Chan questions.

The woman nods, "She was bullied...I had no idea and by the time I found out it was too late...those kids were joking about dropping her into the river...they hung her over the bridge when no one was watching...but they messed up...they dropped her in and she plummeted..." Chan and Felix look to one another with solemn expressions on their faces. The older woman sniffles a bit, getting a bit emotional as she retells her granddaughter's accident. "She was a good girl...my Wonyoungie..." She murmurs.

"Halmeoni?" Chan says, "Do you mind me asking where is Wonyoung buried?"

The woman sighs at that, "She wasn't. When the accident occurred, her bullies didn't say anything. My Wonyoung didn't come home that night and I got worried. I reported her as missing to the police. They searched but were unable to find anything. It wasn't until a couple of years later that one of her former bullies came and confessed. They searched the river, but by then her body was long lost...."

"Thank you for telling us about your granddaughter," Felix says, "I'm sure it's hard for you to talk about her..."

The woman nods, "It is, but I would much rather people know what happened then let it float away in the river like she did...." Chan and Felix bow to the older woman before walking back to their car. They speak quietly to each other on their way there. "So, Wonyoung is our ghost," Felix says.

"Definitely," Chan says, "She's upset over her death and is lashing out. The issue is that we don't have her body to burn...and there's no way she's just attached to the river..."

"Maybe, she's attached to something in the river," Felix suggests.

"You think it would still be down there?" Chan questions.

"One way to find out," Felix says.

Chan sighs, "It's a good thing I'm a great swimmer."

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"Swim down there and get whatever may be keeping Wonyoung's spirit here," Felix says, "Toss it to me and then I'll burn it." The cousins are set up near the riverbed. Felix has salt and gasoline sitting by his feet. His silver lighter is in his hand. Chan has stripped down to just his shorts and he has goggles strapped over his eyes. "Got it," Chan states. He bends down to get underneath the caution tape and slowly walks into the water. "Be quick," Felix says, "I don't want Wonyoung trying to drag you down."

"Don't worry about me," Chan says, "Just focus on burning whatever it is that is tying her to this river." Felix nods his head and Chan takes a deep breath before diving into the water. He starts to search the second he is underwater. He looks around for anything that may have belonged to their ghost. It's hard for him to determine what may belong to Wonyoung. There's a lot of random items at the bottom of the river. From lost toys to spare change, it all has sank to the bottom of the river. Chan swims straight, keeping his eye open for a hairpin or a piece of jewelry of sorts. "Did you come to play?" A voice says in a murky tone. Chan stiffens and quickly whirls around. His eyes widen when he sees a girl with pale-greenish skin floating in front of him. Her hair is pinned back near her ears, but tangled within the strands are what appears to be algae. She is garbed in a school outfit that has dirt smudges all over it. Her skirt is mucky and ripped in two spots. Her name pin is partially bent, but Chan already knows who she is. "Wonyoung," Chan says quickly, not wanting to waste any breath on speaking to the spirit.

"You know who I am," Wonyoung says. Chan nods his head and lets his eyes dart back and forth, continuing to search for the item belonging to the ghost. He does his best to make his search discreet. He knows full well that ghosts don't enjoy hunters trying to force them into rest. Wonyoung may not be attacking him now, but that can change in a second. "What are you doing?" Wonyoung questions, taking notice of Chan's darting eyes. The hunter doesn't say anything as he notices how the ghost stands almost protectively in front of a gate filter. That must be where the item is. "You didn't come to play, did you?" Wonyoung growls. Chan doesn't hesitate as he quickly swims towards the side, trying to circle Wonyoung and reach the gate. The ghost, finally catching on to what is happening, charges after him. She swipes at Chan's legs, missing him by just a centimeter. Chan grits his teeth and he pushes himself forward, making his way over to the gate. His eyes widen when he sees a rusted metal necklace wrapped tightly around one of the metal bars. He reaches a hand up and starts to untangle the necklace, which proves to be a tad bit more difficult than he thought. Eventually, he gets a good rhythm going and is able to unravel most of the necklace. He stops when he tugs at the chain and it remains stuck around the metal gate. He scowls when he sees a small knot in the necklace that is keeping it attached to the pole. He moves a bit closer to the gate to try to undo the knot, but before he can even start working at it, Wonyoung appears in front of him. She slams him backwards and Chan goes shooting to the other side of the lake. He gasps in pain and begins to choke on the water. He kicks himself up above the surface and takes in gulps of air. "Chris!" Felix calls out. Chan looks to his cousin and shakes his head before preparing to go back under. What he doesn't expect is for the water to tug at his legs and drag him under. He quickly holds his breath and tries to get out of the water's hold, but it feels as if he is wrapped up in chains. Chan knows that he can only stay under for so long and there's no way he's getting out unless he can get Wonyoung's necklace. The ghost in question suddenly appears in front of him with her hand clenched in a tight fist. Chan glares at her, but the ghost doesn't seem even a bit phased. She swipes her hand down and Chan's eyes bulge out of his head as he is tossed to the bottom of the river. He can't do anything as his body goes flying towards a massive rock. He winces as his back slams against the rock. He contorts in pain and he is almost positive that something cracked. His entire body aches, but he does his best to continue to swim. The invisible chains are now gone from his body and he swims as fast as he can towards the metal grate. He grabs onto one of the other poles to steady himself as he loops the necklace into his hand. He yanks with all his might and hisses as pain racks through his body. The water starts to swirl around him like a tsunami is about to start, but he does his best to remain still. He gives it one more tug and the necklace snaps from around the metal. Wonyoung, taking notice of the hunter who is now in possession of her necklace, starts to make the river move even more violently. Chan grits his teeth together as he tries to push towards the surface, the necklace clutched tightly in his hand. Every time he makes some distance, he is pushed back down by a powerful underwater current. The water begins to swirl around him, but Chan continues to fight against it. He kicks his legs with all his might, urging himself to reach the surface just once. He pushes himself up and up until he reaches the surface. He tosses the necklace towards the ground before he can feel the water curling around his ankle and yanking him down once again.

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Felix's eyes widen as he sees Chan toss something into the grass before going underneath the water again. His heart clenches in his chest. Wonyoung must have his cousin. If that is true, then he needs to act quickly. He grabs the salt and the gas before rushing over towards what Chan threw to him. Felix notices the necklace quickly and unscrews the gas. He douses the necklace with the liquid before uncapping the salt and pouring it over the jewelry. He tosses the canisters to the side and reaches for his lighter. He fumbles with the igniter, his eyes locked on the river which has started to move like a violent ocean right before a storm. "Come on, come on!" Felix grumbles as he continues to switch on the lighter which refuses to catch. His mind is spinning as he thinks of his cousin, who could be drowning at the moment if he doesn't get this freaking lighter to work. Suddenly, a flame ignites and Felix is quick to toss it onto the necklace. It catches almost immediately and the metal slowly begins to burn. Felix takes a step back as the fire grows and glances towards the river, trying to spot his cousin. Now that the necklace is burning, Wonyoung's spirit should be free. Chan shouldn't have any trouble getting back to land unless he was already dead. Felix shakes his head, refusing to believe it. His cousin has been through a whole lot more. Drowning by ghost attack wasn't going to be the way he goes out. Almost as if on cue, Chan bursts out of the river. He breathes heavily and slowly swims towards shore. Felix rushes to help pull him from the water. Chan allows him to drag him up towards land, too exhausted and injured to care. Once he's on land, he lies on the ground and sucks in deep breaths of air. "Are you okay?" Felix asks.

Chan nods his head, "Other than a cracked rib...I think I'm fine..."

"Thank goodness," Felix says, "I was afraid Wonyoung really hurt you..."

"She's a vicious ghost, but I had it handled," Chan says, "Come on...I need to get dried off and probably go see a doctor..."

"Not to mention, we still have a couple of hours to go before we reach Seoul," Felix says, "Not including the frequent stops we seem to keep making..."

"No more stops," Chan says, "I can't handle a hunt for a bit and it's high time we actually start figuring out what Wonpil was up to." Felix nods his head and helps his cousin to his feet. The two walk side by side back to their car.




And another case closed with our boys partially unscathed. They'll be okay though. This is nothing compared to what's to come. I won't say more than that since we're still really early into this fic. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. If you did, please vote, comment, follow me, add this story to your library and check out my other Stray Kids fanfic titled Collision Course. Thank you again for reading and have a great weekend!

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