Chapter Twenty-Five

Min-Seo

 

The only reason she answered the house phone was because she happened to be standing next to it when it rang. Later, she'd wish that she'd kept on walking, hadn't put down the pile of laundry, had said that her hands were full and someone else could answer the damn thing. But she had picked it up. The receiver was cool and firm in her hand. She listened. There was no emotion; there was a sudden deadness inside her, a solid feeling in her stomach that wouldn't allow any other feeling past it. Then she thanked the man and hung up.

Robotically, she picked up the laundry pile and carried it to the room that the kids shared and placed it on a bed. She fussed over the pile, making sure it was straight and that the socks were all paired, even though she'd paired them herself only minutes before. When there was nothing else she could do, she reluctantly left the room, taking the stairs slowly, one at a time.

Kishanna was sitting at the kitchen table, her head bent over her computer, her fingers moving like spiders over the keys.

“Excuse me.”

It sounded stupid, but Min-Seo didn't know how else to interrupt her. Kishanna looked up, a faintly irritated look on her face.

“Mmm?”

Min-Seo saw her eyes flicker back to her screen for a millisecond before they came back to meet hers. A deep breath.

“There has been a phone call.”

“I heard it ring. Who was it?”

Min-Seo carefully wet her lips, swallowed. She wished she had sat down at the table now, but it was too late for that.

“There has been an accident.”

Kishanna's eyes widened, her pupils dilating and her throat twitching slightly, but she said nothing. Her gaze begged Min-Seo not to say what she was about to say. Suddenly, the hardness in her stomach was gone and Min-Seo felt a little piece of her heart breaking as she began to speak.

“It's Captain Hanson.”

The scream chilled her bones. It was a sound she'd never forget.