American Casual

“Okay, tell me again,” Kyungsoo whispered.

“We casually bump into Jin, casually mention Julia being sick, and casually leave,” Jongdae replied.

“Stop saying casually,” Kyungsoo said, “and I still think there's a lot of things wrong with this plan.”

“Like what?”

“How much time do you have?”

“Shh, there he is,” Jongdae whispered. They headed down the hallway to where Jin was talking to another employee, but once Jin noticed them the employee left and he bowed at them awkwardly. “Mr. Kim, Mr. Do,” he said respectfully.

“Mr. Lee,” they said in unison, also bowing. They stood there uncomfortably while Jongdae tried to speak, but before he could Jin took a step forward. “This might seem impertinent,” he said in a low voice, “but can I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” Kyungsoo agreed, giving Jongdae a subtle elbow to the ribs.

“Have you heard from Julia? It's just, well, I've been texting her all day and she hasn't responded. I even tried calling a few times, but it always went straight to voicemail. Is everything okay?”

Jongdae and Kyungsoo glanced at each other. “Actually, we think she might be sick,” Jongdae lied. “She didn't show up for our lessons today, and we can't get in touch with her either.”

Jin’s eyes narrowed. “Didn't anyone go check on her?”

“What Jongdae meant was she's probably hungover,” Kyungsoo said quickly. “We drank a lot last night, and several of the members are still feeling the effects. We didn't want to disturb her, but you should go by and see her.”

“Why? Why are you telling me this?” he demanded, then his eyes widened and he folded his arms. “Does this have anything to do with Shindo?”

“Shindo who?” Jongdae asked innocently, earning another elbow to the ribs.

Jin frowned and Jongdae could see the wheels turning in his mind. “Thanks for letting me know,” he said finally.

“Any time,” Kyungsoo said, bowing again before dragging Jongdae back down the hallway. Once they rounded the corner Jongdae pulled away from him and rubbed his arm. “Any reason why you're being so rough?” he demanded.

“Don't you get it?” Kyungsoo snapped. “He knew something was wrong about Shindo before this happened! He didn't even look surprised.”

“If that's true, why didn't he say anything?” Jongdae wondered.

“He probably did, but you know how Julia is about Shindo. She probably refused to listen to him, just like she wouldn't discuss Shindo with us.”

“So what now?”

Kyungsoo let out a long sigh. “Now we wait to see what Julia does.”


******


Julia was awakened by a persistent banging on her door and she felt a rush of fear. What if it's Shindo? she thought panickedly. He still had a key and Julia shuddered to think he could access her whenever he chose to.

“Julia? It's Jin! I know you're in there, and I'm not afraid to call a locksmith and pretend to be your devastatingly handsome boyfriend!”

Relief coursed through her and she sat up painfully. “Go away, I've got a headache,” she called, but he kept banging until Julia finally dragged herself off of the couch and went to the door. “Seriously, I don't feel well,” she said through the door.

“All the more reason for you to let me in,” Jin countered. “I'll make you soup and take your temperature.”

“You can't cook,” Julia said reproachfully, “and I don't have a fever.”

“Then we'll order some soup and watch Netflix,” he replied. “Please, just… just let me in.”

Julia wanted to comply, but she knew once Jin saw her bruise he would know exactly how she got it, and she couldn't take an “I told you so”. But if I'm alone for much longer I'll go crazy, she realized, so she unlocked the door and went immediately over to the kitchen sink as Jin came inside. “There she is,” he said cheerfully, closing the door behind him.

“I'm sorry if I worried you, I forgot to plug my phone in last night and the battery died,” she said, filling the coffee pot with water.

“Don't worry about it,” Jin said. “Here, let me do that.”

He came up behind her and Julia instinctively jerked away from him. “I can do it,” she muttered.

“Don't worry, you can still be an independent woman while I make you coffee,” he laughed, reaching around her again.

“I said I can do it!” she barked, whipping around to face him, and Jin’s smile faded as he took in her bruised face and swollen eye. “Julia-”

“Don't,” she snapped, turning away from him again. She started the coffee pot and got a pair of mugs down from the cabinet.

“You're bleeding.”

She put a hand to her side and felt a warm wet spot on her shirt. “I'm okay,” she murmured.

“No, you aren't,” he insisted. “When did… when did this happen?”

“Last night,” she replied. “Someone broke in and-”

“No,” he said gently.

Julia leaned on the counter and tried to steady her breathing. “Jin, I… you were right, the whole time, but I can't…”

“I didn't want to be,” he said immediately. “I knew he was aggressive, but I never thought it would go this far. I'm so sorry.”

“This has nothing to do with you,” she said, turning her attention back to the coffee pot, “but the members are getting a serious tongue-lashing tomorrow.”

“Why?” he asked innocently. “What do they have to do with it?”

“Minseok and Baekhyun stumbled in on me this morning,” she said, pouring coffee into the mugs, “and I made them swear not to say anything yet. I should've known they'd do it anyway.”

“I don't know anything about that,” Jin said, “but I'm concerned about you. Have you called the police?”

Julia just handed him a mug and sipped her coffee silently.

“At least let me help you change the locks,” he tried again.

She still didn't reply.

“Take you to the hospital?”

“No,” she said abruptly.

“But you're-”

“Not going,” she repeated. “All it takes is one doctor or nurse to recognize us and throw the entire company under suspicion. What if they think you did it, Jin, or an idol? I'd rather recover here.”

More blood ran down her side and she suppressed a grimace. “Thanks for being concerned, but you don't have to stay,” she murmured.

Jin set his coffee down and folded his arms. “Look, I don't want to tell you how to live your life, but I can't stand by either,” he said gently. “You're in danger, Julia, and you need help.”

Julia wanted to protest again, but her cheek throbbed and she fought the urge to cry. “I thought he was okay with it,” she whispered, almost to herself.

“Okay with what?”

“With everything,” she replied. “The members, the tour, all of it. I only went out because he said he was okay with it, but… ” she shuddered and stopped talking.

“You don't have to tell me,” Jin said quietly, “but at least let me take you somewhere to get that stitched up.”

Julia didn't remember much of the car ride, but as they turned onto the street where the SM building sat she felt another rush of panic. “I can't go in there!” she exclaimed.

“It's okay,” Jin said, taking her hand, “there's an old entrance around back. It's mostly for stage crew, but we can get in pretty easily. No one will see us, I promise.”

They parked a block away and Julia pulled up the hood on her jacket before willing herself out of the car. The breeze was pleasant, but she wrapped a scarf around her neck and hid her face carefully. “Where are you taking me?” she asked.

“There's a lady who works as an on-site nurse,” Jin explained as they headed down the sidewalk. “She's fixed lots of small injuries in her time, and she's very discreet.”

Julia couldn't give voice to her next worry and just took Jin’s arm tightly.

“He's not here today,” Jin whispered, correctly guessing her thoughts, “but if he was I'd probably kill him.”

“You can't,” she said immediately, “ever. Promise me, Jin.”

They arrived around the backside of the building and Jin used his key card to open the door he had mentioned. “The nurse’s room is several floors above us, but the elevators will be busy right now,” he murmured. “Can you manage the stairs?”

“Yes,” she said, ignoring the growing ache in her side.

By the time they made it up there she was dizzy and in considerable pain, but she hid this as best she could and pulled her scarf closer. “Almost there,” Jin whispered as they crept down the hallway to a plain door with Nurse painted on it. Jin knocked twice and it opened almost immediately.

“Hello,” the nurse said, bowing, “I'm Hae Chin, and…” she trailed off as she took in the two of them and she looked at Jin. “What happened?” she asked.

“An… accident,” Jin said, keeping a bright smile on his face. “My friend fell on some broken glass and needs a few stitches.”

“Of course,” she said, stepping aside, “please come in.”

They entered the office and Hae Chin locked the door behind them. “Why did you do that?” Julia asked.

“Because this wasn't an accident, was it?” Hae Chin asked knowingly. “Who did this, him?”

“No!” Julia and Jin exclaimed simultaneously.

“I should hope not,” she sniffed. “Show me the wound.”

Julia removed the jacket and scarf and Hae Chin’s face darkened as she saw the bruise on her cheek, but didn't say anything until Julia peeled her shirt away from the oozing wound. “Did you fall on an axe?!” Hae Chin exclaimed, bending down to look at it.

“No, just a broken whiskey glass,” Julia replied.

“When did this happen?”

“Last night.”

“It will need sterilizing and stitching,” Hae Chin pronounced, “and we'll have to see what we can do about that eye. Lay back, please.”

Julia reclined awkwardly on the table while Hae Chin gathered her instruments. Jin smiled down at her, then stuck his tongue out and made her giggle. I really must be lightheaded, she thought to herself.

“I must ask a very personal question now, and request that you answer it honestly,” Hae Chin said as she slid on latex gloves. “Is the perpetrator of these injuries an employee here?”

Julia hesitated. “Please, just-”

“Please answer, Ms. Park.”

Julia sat up on her elbows. “You know me?” she asked.

“There aren't many American employees running around the company at the moment,” she said, gently pushing Julia back down, “and even less those working with one of our most successful groups.”

She thinks one of the members did this, Julia realized. “He does work here,” she confessed, “but he's a junior choreographer, not…”

“Not what?” Hae Chin prodded as she sat down beside her.

“Nothing,” Julia muttered.

Hae Chin quickly cleaned the cut with a cool, clear liquid from a white bottle and dabbed it gently with a cotton ball. “It's not as deep as I feared,” she said, “but it's a good three inches long, which means you must've rolled over it rather than simply fallen.”

She took a pair of tweezers and pulled out a few glass fragments. “And fallen hard, it seems,” she muttered as she dropped the pieces into a tray. “Now hold still while I give you an anesthetic.”

After two shots Hae Chin quickly sewed up the cut and covered it with a thick gauze pad. “Try not to get that wet,” she said, dropping her used instruments onto a side table. “Now, let me look at your face.”

Jin helped Julia sit up and Hae Chin carefully unwound the scarf from her neck. “That's quite a bruise,” she commented.

“You should see him,” Julia mumbled.

Hae Chin raised an eyebrow, but didn't reply. “I can't do much, except give you some ice packs and painkillers, but the swelling should go down over the next twenty-four hours.” She gently prodded Julia's cheek and Julia jerked back instinctively. “Sorry,” she apologized, “but the good news is your facial bones seem to be intact. You should come back in a week and let me reexamine you, just to be safe. I'll need to check your stitches anyway.”

She went to unlock the door, then hesitated and looked back at her. “I'm not usually one to give life advice,” she said, “but here's my two cents: file a report now, while the evidence is fresh, and make sure you're safe. Don't let anything frighten you into silence.”

Julia just nodded and Hae Chin unlocked the door. “Go, it's clear,” she said, jerking her head.

“Thank you,” Julia murmured, touching her arm feebly before leaving the room.

“What can else can I do for you?” Jin asked as they slowly made their way back down the stairs.

“You've already done enough,” she mumbled.

“Do you want to go to the police station? I can drive you.”

“Not now,” she insisted. “I have to sleep before doing something like that.”

They arrived at the bottom and Jin made sure the coast was clear before guiding her outside. “So you will go to the police?” he said hopefully.

“Yes,” she agreed, “but there's a little problem.”

“Oh?”

“Minseok and Baekhyun were the ones that found me, remember?” she whispered. “They would probably have to give a statement, and you.”

“You know I will,” Jin said, “but you're right, that does complicate it a little.” He thought for a moment, then his face brightened. “I've got an idea.”


******


Baekhyun couldn't help feeling nervous as they entered the SM building together. “Something's wrong,” he muttered.

“Don't be paranoid,” Junmyeon admonished him.

“Why else would we be here so early in the morning?” Jongdae countered.

The lobby did feel eerily quiet as the eight of them made their way to the elevators. “Maybe they just want to get a head start on tour stuff,” Chanyeol said optimistically.

The elevator doors opened and Sehun shook his head. “Not at 5:30 in the morning,” he mumbled.

They arrived at the top floor and stepped into a dimly lit hallway. “Great, we're about to get murdered,” Kyungsoo groaned.

“Relax, there's Youngjun now,” Jongin said, pointing down the hallway. Youngjun met them halfway, but he had a very queer look on his face. “Are you feeling okay?” Minseok asked concernedly.

Something is wrong, Baekhyun thought grimly, noting the way Youngjun kept wringing his hands.

“We've been alerted to a situation, and developments require your presence,” Youngjun said in a low voice. “This will be disturbing, but I trust you can all handle it as adults.”

They all nodded and Youngjun led them straight to Kim Yung Min's office and rapped on the door once. “Come in,” a deep voice called.

Inside the dim office was a surprising bustle of activity. Mr. Kim, a middle-aged man in a black suit, was talking to a younger man in a police uniform, while the other EXO managers, Jin and several other police officers waited around the room in little groups. There was a sudden flash of light in the far corner and they all looked over instinctively. It was Julia, sitting in front of a wall as a police photographer snapped several pictures of her bruised face. Baekhyun broke away from the group and went over, but couldn't do anything except give Julia a tiny wave. “Do you have what you need?” she asked the photographer.

“Yes ma'am, for the moment.”

Julia got up and tugged her shirt down as the others came over to join them. “I know you know what this is,” she said, gesturing to her face, “and that this whole setup is confusing, but-”

Kyungsoo hugged her, cutting her off, and the two of them stood there silently for several moments before Youngjun coughed and she pulled away.

“Thank you all for being here,” Youngjun said. “Julia, would you join our detective at the table?”

Julia left and he turned back to the group. “First, none of you are in trouble or under suspicion in any way,” he said in a low voice. “Julia has already made her statement to the police, but there are several other loose ends to tie up. Which of you found her yesterday?”

“Baekhyun and I,” Minseok volunteered.

“Both of you will need to give full statements,” he said, “and the rest of you may be called to as well, as Detective Min's judgement dictates. But your biggest task will be more difficult.”

“Name it,” Junmyeon said immediately.

“We're going to release a story that Julia was the victim of a break-in,” Youngjun said, “and that the thief attacked her after she surprised him two nights ago.”

“What?!” Chanyeol exclaimed. “You mean lie?”

“I can't believe they'd do this to Julia,” Jongin muttered.

“It was her idea.”

They all looked over at where she sat at the table, quietly sipping a coffee. “Her idea?” Minseok repeated.

“Julia called me last night and requested a meeting with Mr. Kim in person. When she told me what happened, I immediately woke him and assembled everyone here.”

“But why do it like this?” Chanyeol asked. “Why didn't she just go file a report? We would've-”

“Exactly,” Youngjun said, pointing at him. “Julia was worried that if she filed a standard report, some of the suspicion would fall on one of you, even with everyone's best efforts. She didn't want to risk any damage to your careers, and you'll notice we all agree.”

“But… but this is about her, not us,” Junmyeon protested.

“It's about everyone,” Youngjun corrected him.

“Gentlemen,” Mr. Kim called, waving them over, so Youngjun stepped back as the guys all took seats at the opposite end of the table from Julia.

“I want all of us to be on the same page,” Mr. Kim began. “Obviously this is a delicate situation that must be handled properly, and based on both the advice of the police and Miss Park's wishes, this is what will happen.”

The guys all leaned forward a little.

“Miss Park will be on paid leave until her injuries have healed. The official story to be released to the public is she was the victim of a break-in gone wrong, and the true report will be sealed and kept from public view. All of you must reaffirm these facts if and when you are asked, and sign a confidentiality agreement.”

“Yes sir,” Junmyeon said in a clear voice, so an officer gave them each a one-page document and waited until all of them had signed it and passed the papers back.

“The perpetrator has been terminated and a restraining order will be filed against him,” Mr. Kim continued. “Should any of you become aware of issues regarding him in the future, report it immediately.”

Baekhyun looked over at Julia while Mr. Kim talked. She hadn't moved once, her eyes fixed on the floor, and her bruise looked even more ghastly in the dim light. Maybe some of this is our fault, he thought to himself. Maybe if we hadn't demanded so much of her time-

Mr. Kim clapped his hands and Baekhyun remembered himself. “Detective, do you have any further instructions?” the CEO asked.

The detective stood up and everyone else respectfully followed suit. “I'll need…” he checked a notepad on the table, “Mr. Lee Chung Jin, Mr. Kim Minseok and Mr. Byun Baekhyun to remain and give full statements,” he said, “but the rest are free to go.”

Baekhyun turned to Chanyeol, who hovered on his right like a distraught bee. “You should take Julia to the apartment,” he whispered. “I'm sure she'll get new locks, but until then-”

“Got it,” he said immediately.

“We'll see you back home,” Junmyeon whispered, nudging the others out of the room.

Detective Min decided to talk to Minseok first and asked Baekhyun and Jin to wait outside. “The less ears, the better,” he said, so Jin found a couple of chairs around the corner and offered one to Baekhyun. “Thanks,” he said, sitting down gingerly.

They sat in silence for a moment, then Jin asked, “Will you tell me how you found her?”

Baekhyun shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Why?” he said finally.

“Because I… I want to know how bad it really was,” Jin confessed. “Julia will probably never tell me, but I want to help her as best I can, and I can't do that unless I know.”

Baekhyun shifted again and glanced at the door, wishing Minseok was here to answer instead of him. “Well, we found the door standing open,” he whispered, “and there was broken glass on the floor in the kitchen. A small bookshelf had been knocked over too, and it looked like… like someone had crawled out from under it.”

Jin frowned. “So you think it had fallen on Julia?” he asked.

“I think so. Minseok cleaned it up and found a few spots of blood in the carpet, so it makes sense.”

“Then what?”

“We heard noises coming from the bathroom, and Minseok made it down there first. I was still trying to understand what had happened, but once we saw her we both knew.”

Jin sighed and leaned forward on his knees. “What did you see?” he asked.

“She had a pair of tweezers, and was trying to remove the glass from her skin,” Baekhyun said, remembering the sight of the bloody shards in the porcelain sink. “Her face was… well, you saw her face. I didn't know what to do, so I found myself taking the tweezers and helping her get the rest of the glass out. She kept trying to convince us it was a break-in, but she looked too scared for that.”

The door opened and Minseok stepped out. “They're ready for you, Baek,” he murmured, jerking his head at the table.

Baekhyun got up and went to the door, then impulsively put a hand on Jin’s shoulder. “We all want to help her,” he murmured, “but you may be the only one who can.”

He went in and closed the door behind him before Jin could respond and the detective looked up. “Have a seat, Mr. Byun,” he invited.

Notes