DOWN AND BEYOND

CHAPTER 1

I stood in the rain and watched the cops lead my father to the back of the car as all our neighbors gathered around with mum and Minah sitting on the porch crying. The sounds of the siren soon died out and I could hear the murmurs and whispers... I am the son of a murderer.

KYUNG EUNSOO

I opened my eyes slowly as the sun rays hit my face and groaned lightly as I got out of bed. I dragged my legs lazily towards the bathroom and turned on the shower. The events of yesterday came running in my mind as the cold water hit my back. I ran my hands through my hair and sighed deeply.

"My father would never do a thing like that...never"

I put on my uniform slowly to kind of kill time. The boy next door was in the same class as me and I knew by now my father's news would be all over school.

I wasn't too popular but I knew a good amount of people since I was the basketball captain and class president. I had three bestfriends and we've known each other since middle school. I kept thinking about how they would react and how the rest of my class would.

" People don't change easily right?"

I went down to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. I didn't bother waiting for breakfast, so I just left. On my way to the bus stop, I still kept contemplating if to go to school or not.

I got off the bus and made my way up the alley, as thousands of thoughts ran through my head.

LEE TAEMIN

I sat up on my bed and stared at the mirror as a pair of puffy red eyes stared back at me. Last night, my mum and I got news that my father had been murdered. The house felt so heavy and gloomy, so I decided to take my bike out for a ride.

I drove down an alley and was about to make a turn when a boy around my age, suddenly appeared out of the corner. Luckily,he moved out of the way in time.

" Are you okay?.... I'm so sorry ". I said with a slight bow as I stepped down from my bike.

The boy just turned away and kept walking, leaving me in a daze

KYUNG EUNSOO

My head was too occupied to take any notice of the boy. I dragged my feet as I got closer to the school gate. I let out a sigh and walked into the building.

The hallway seemed awfully long as I made my way through it. A bunch of people kept staring and pointing at me so I pulled my hoodie over my head and kept walking with my head down.

" It's fine.....they won't change just like that ".

I walked into my class and found my bestfriends in front of the class.

" Ya!!! Yoonho". I called out and waved.

( Ya is a Korean slang meaning Hey)

Yoonho looked at me and turned away, so I walked towards him.

" Ya what's up.....I've been calling you for a while now ".

I said and tapped Yoonho on the shoulder jokingly with a small smile.

" Hey!! Have you gone mad?"

He yelled and pushed me so hard I fell to the ground .

" People like you make me sick . You have no shame and it's disgusting. How dare you show your face after your father killed someone so brutally ". Yoonho said and left with Deokhwa and Minho.

" He's the son of a murderer "

" I don't feel safe with him here"

" What if he becomes like his father? "

" I heard he did it for money "

" I think he's a psychopath "

I looked around as everyone murmured and stared at me with disgust. My head felt heavy as I pulled myself up from the ground and walked towards my desk while having papers and juice boxes hauled at me. All sorts of vile names had been written on my chair and table .

The teacher walked into the class and everyone settled down. At the end of the class, she stopped at the door and turned towards me.

" Kyung Eunsoo meet me in the teacher's lounge when you have any free time". She said and left.

" I hope he gets expelled "

" Seeing his face makes me sick "

I got up from my seat and walked out of the class. I sat in a corner on the school roof and plugged in my earphones.

LEE TAEMIN

My uncle was the detective working my father's case,so I had managed to sneak a peek at the case file.

" Kyung Dongjae ... fourty seven years old "

I muttered as I stared at the picture on my phone.

" Children.... Kyung Eunsoo and Kyung Minah".

KYUNG EUNSOO

My phone buzzed in my pocket so I pulled it out and stared at the screen. It was a text from mum.

" Eunsoo...after school can you go get your sister from her's? Let's have dinner together at the restaurant "

I typed in "okay" and shoved my phone into my pocket before making my way to class. Class went by with occasional glances from my classmates. The bell rung for lunch , so I went to the teacher's lounge.

" Eunsoo.....how are you doing? "

" I'm okay "

" You know you can talk to me right? "

" Yes ma'am "

" How's your mum?"

" Not to be rude.... but ma'am but can you please get to the point?"

" You know how the kids are.....well,they asked me to make someone else the class president "

" Right..... I understand"

" You don't have to come to school if it's too much for you "

" I didn't do anything wrong. Why should I hide? And my father is innocent "

" I didn't mean..... fine.....you can go"

I turned around and walked away. I didn't need anyone's pity talk at that moment. After school I hurried towards Minah's school and stood at the gate waiting for her.

" Oppa!!!"

*Oppa is a korean term used by females to address older male figures*

" Hey..... How was school?"

" It was fine. Did mum ask you to come? "

" Yeah..... so....did anything happen today? "

" If by 'anything ' you mean 'does anyone know that our dad killed someone ' then no. Nothing happened today"

" Okay..... smart mouth "

" Oppa you know I'm way smarter than you are "

Minah said and moved away with a small smile while I laughed.

" But..... Minah you know dad would never do something like that right?"

" Yeah..."

The walk home took longer than usual since Minah kept complaining and dragging her legs.

" Hey mum"

Minah and I said as we walked into the restaurant.

" How are you? Come and set the plates"

I laid the table and helped mum carry the dishes. We ate in silence and I occasionally glanced over at mum. She looked so tired and I could easily tell that this whole thing was getting to her.

" Erm...mum where are all the workers? "

" All of them quit this morning saying they had something urgent to do "

" It's because of dad right? ". Minah said and mum's face darkened.

" Let's eat. The food is getting cold"

The atmosphere around us had gotten really heavy and awkward until mum spoke spoke again.

" Once Eunsoo graduates high school, lets move to somewhere else and start over "

" What do you mean? What about dad?"

" Eunsoo.....

" We should be trying to prove dad's innocence not thinking about moving "

" There's nothing we can do. You saw how he acted when he came home that night "

" So.... So you're saying you believe that he killed someone? You're his wife....you should know he would never do something like that. He is not that kind of person ". I yelled and slammed my fist in the table.

" Oppa calm down "

" I can't believe this "

I stormed out of the restaurant with Minah yelling after me. I kept walking and didn't look back.