The Request (12): Disagreement

It took Jinhyun a few minutes to register what Cherry had said.

"What?" he asked incredulously. "What are you saying?"

"Your friend Jenna was the one who started the fire," Cherry repeated bluntly.

"Ms. Wang." His voice was quivering with fury but he kept himself calm. "You do realize that you are accusing one of the top celebrities of this country of committing Arson? That too based on speculations. There is no proof that Jenna had done it."

"The fire started in her room," Cherry pointed out.

"But there were many people in her room," Jinhyun reasoned. "Makeup artists, assistants and designers! Even fans went in there for pictures and autographs. Did the CCTV camera actually show Jenna starting the fire?"

"No but-"

"So you're only making assumptions now," he stated flatly.

"Your friend is one of the investors of that building," Cherry stated. "She took out millions of dollars worth of insurance on that building. If something happens to it, she will get the money. That sounds like a motive to me."

"So you're saying that the woman who gets numerous endorsements, dramas and produced successful albums would burn down a building for money?" Jinhyun scoffed. "Why would she run after money when she has a lot of her own? Aren't you being a little too judgemental this time?"

"It's the truth," Cherry replied, raising her eyebrows. She could feel that Jinhyun was angry at her but he kept himself calm.

"I disagree with you this time, Ms. Wang," Jinhyun said.

"Fine," Cherry shrugged. "I was just informing you of the truth. If you wanna deny it so badly then it's up to you."

She picked up the gift and turned to leave. Before she left, she paused and turned around to say one last word.

"You really can't go against your loved ones, can you?" she sneered. "It seems your heart is your biggest weakness."

"At least I have a heart," he shot back. Cherry glared at him and turned on her heels, slamming the door behind her. Even though she had not expected him to believe her, she still felt irritated. After all his big talks, in the end, he meant none of it. His idealistic views of his friends clouded his judgement.

But she was in no mood to entertain his doubts. If he refused to believe her then she would not even bother to explain herself. Why should she? What was he to her?

Back in the cabin, Jinhyun was also fuming with anger. Despite Cherry's rude attitude, he used to think that she was a nice person beneath the rough exterior. He felt that she was simply a lonely soul, tired of living for so many years. But he was wrong.

She loved to judge people based on her pessimistic views. She only saw the worst in people. Instead of giving them a chance to redeem themselves, she would curse them at the first opportunity. Furthermore, she had a twisted sense of justice which only served to fuel her ego.

I'll prove her wrong, he swore. She'll eat her words.

….

Jinhyun was discharged the next day. Sekjong dropped him home with his belongings. He wanted to accompany Jinhyun upstairs but the latter insisted on doing everything on his own.

"I can take my bag on my own!" Jinhyun insisted, killing down Sekjong's protests.

"But you've just been discharged!"

"I'm not that weak," Jinhyun said sharply. "I'll be fine. Relax!"

Shaking his head in defeat, Sekjong gave up trying to convince Jinhyun so he bid his friend goodbye. Jinhyun waved him bye and turned to go upstairs by elevator.

Once he reached his floor, he briefly glanced at Cherry's apartment. For a minute, he had the urge to barge down the door and make her see reason. Jenna was not the type of person who would fraud people and Cherry was mistaken.

But he knew that his neighbor was a tough one. She would never admit that she was wrong. And it was up to Jinhyun to prove her wrong.

He unlocked his door and went inside. Picking up his phone from his pocket, he made a call.

"Jumyeon!" he spoke into the phone.

"Jinhyun, how are you feeling now?" Jumyeon asked.

"I'm fine," Jinhyun said. "Can you look into a matter for me? Your friend is still a private investigator right? Can he do me a favor?"

"What is it?"

"I want him to look into the fire at our studio," Jinhyun stated. "Find out if it was a deliberate attempt or an accident."

There was a silence on the other end.

"You think someone started the fire on purpose?" Jumyeon questioned him.

"Just find out for me please," Jinhyun requested. "And don't tell anyone else about this. Not even Sekjong. Have your friend report straight to me."

"Alright," Jumyeon sighed. "I'll talk to him."

"Thanks," Jinhyun said. He hung up the phone, his eyebrows furrowing in worry. He did not want to believe Cherry's words but there was a nagging voice inside him, urging him to find the truth. Even if the perpetrator was not Jenna, what if the fire was lit on purpose? He had to find out.

….

It was almost midnight. The sky outside was pitch black, dawning a strange darkness on the secluded street. There was not a soul in sight, not even a small animal. It was a deafening silence all around. The only source of light was a single street lamp, flickering on and off.

The silence of the night was broken by the clanking of loud heels, walking up the road. The approaching figure was not afraid of the darkness around her; she walked ahead, devoid of any emotions. She wore a red shirt with denim blue jeans. There was a large red hat on her head.

She stood under the lamp, patiently waiting for someone. Finally, she heard footsteps approaching her way. A tall, bald man in his late thirties came towards her.

"You're late," Yoona stated.

"Apologies madame," the man said.

"What news do you have for me?" she asked.

The man took out a file and handed it to her. She took it, carefully reading the documents. A crazed smile formed on her face as she read on.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked gleefully.

"Absolutely," the man replied with confidence. "Everything in this file is true."

His words made Yoona's grin widen. She snapped the file shut.

"It's time," she declared. Her way to Jinhyun's heart was going to become very easy.