Episode 3: Play ground

‎The next day,

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The TV flashes fresh news, and I know what it is.

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‎BREAKING NEWS!

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‎HEADLINE: College student found dead after falling from the university building.

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‎A second-year college art student from St. Benedict University was found dead after reportedly falling from a campus building on September 11.

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‎The victim has been identified as Icy Tokyl, an art student enrolled at the university.

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‎Reports indicate the student was recently involved in a conflict related to a campus cheerleading group, though it is unclear if this is connected to the incident.

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‎Some classmates and faculty members have expressed concerns about the circumstances surrounding the incident; however, no conclusions have been confirmed by police.

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‎Authorities have not yet released an official statement regarding the cause of death, as the investigation is still ongoing, and they are urging anyone with information that may assist the investigation to come forward.

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‎Further updates will be provided as more information becomes available.

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‎I change the channel after seeing the news report; my parents look at me with concern as they know that Icy was the one who pushed me on the stairs and got me hospitalized.

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‎But now hearing the news, they look at me with a small hint of doubt.

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"It wasn't you, Winter, right?" Dad asks me.

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"Honey! What are you saying?!" Mom went to my side, rubbing my back. "Our daughter is innocent! How could you say that to her?" Mom's a bit disappointed in her husband.

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‎Dad holds the back of his neck and sits on the center table. "I'm just saying, kids these days are scary..." He holds his spoon, stirring his black coffee from his mug.

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"Back in my day, we were disciplined by slapping our wrists and hands until they bled for little reasons," Dad sighed.

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"But now, kids these days are so emotional, and even disciplining them by slapping their hands is called abuse already," Dad added.

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‎Ahh, I'm so used to hearing that "back in my day" crap. Honestly? Old people wouldn't understand this generation because it's not their generation. I'm not saying this generation is so much better than the old or vice versa.

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‎For me,

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‎A proper way of communication and understanding from different generations may connect the bridge for both sides.

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"Come on, Dad, do you really think I would orchestrate her death just for revenge?" I sit on the left side table beside Mom. "Besides, what would I gain from that?"

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"Winter, I'm not saying you are not innocent. I'm just saying your generation is quite overwhelmingly entitled." Dad drinks his coffee.

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"Not all, Dad," I argue.

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‎"Well, not all," he responds.

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‎We proceed to eat breakfast, but honestly, I feel a little hurt to hear the accusations. I can't blame them given the circumstances; the most recent conflict that happened to Icy was...

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‎When she got egged, bullied by the whole campus calling her creep from learning she draw all the members of the cheerleading club.. And draw me hugging her in the sketch.

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‎Well, it's out of my grasp because I haven't reincarnated yet in that time. I just think, will it change if I get reincarnated sooner?

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‎Speaking of reincarnation, I need to find that killer bear so that all the killing will stop!.

What even am I saying?..

The truth is I just don't want to die, just like Winter, destined to be killed and chopped. ‎Does the death of Icy connected to the Killer Bear case?

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‎How?

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‎Why?

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‎I stand up and take my waffle.

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‎"Winter! Where are you going?" Mom asks.

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"Just going to walk Pochi for a bit," I said, and I went outside the front door, taking the leash of my dog.

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‎Pochi heard the leash and happily ran towards me, wagging her tail and circling around. "Huff... Huff," my golden retriever says, nodding on me, saying she really wants to go.

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After I put Pochi on some leash, I take her water bottle and poop bag before leaving. As I walked my dog, I just suddenly noticed we were walking towards the school route.

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‎Until my dog suddenly stopped at the playground park near my school. She keeps sniffing the ground and barking near the sliding area. The kids that are playing in the area are getting agitated seeing my dog keep barking in one place. The slide.

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"Come on, Pochi, let's go."

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‎She ignores me and intentionally makes her body heavy, making it hard to pull her, so I sit beside my dog looking at what part of the slide she's barking at.

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‎Kids left the playground. But my dog still insists on barking loudly from the slides.

It's still morning.

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‎9:00 am, the sun is still shining, and the heat starts to feel like it's burning my skin. I was forcefully about to drag my dog when I saw black rats running away from the slides.

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Until I saw a black thing below the slides. It must be a garbage bag, right?. How I wish it were just a black garbage bag.

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"Excuse me! Is your dog okay?" Suddenly there is a guy wearing a bear costume coming walking at me; he is holding a board written "Welcome."

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‎He takes off the bear head costume, revealing his handsome smiling face. "Uhm, I'm Chulseo Wong‎," Chulseo introduces himself.

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‎I never saw his face before, not even when I'm playing this game. It is kind of weird. He's kind of attractive, just like Hyunho.

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‎His hair is cream blonde in color, the same as his brows and lashes. I've never seen those people in real life, and this is my first. His hairstyle is the curtain-short-hair guy style, like Leonardo DiCaprio's hairstyle when he was a teen.

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‎His eyes are oceanic blue, and his dimple shows up on both sides when he smiles. His skin color is a porcelain skin tone, as if he never went outside.

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‎How can I never see him, especially when I'm playing this game? If I did, I might go fangirling or, worse, use his face and name as an AI chat character.

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"I'm Winter. I was walking my dog, but for some reason she keeps barking at the slides," I said, pointing to it.

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‎My dog stopped barking as soon as she felt another person's presence. She glances at Chulseo, walks around him smelling him, and suddenly barks at him.

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‎"Grrr..."

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‎"Awroo! Woof wof wooof!" pochi starts barking.

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‎"She's usually friendly to people; I wonder why she is acting up like this." I pull Pochi to my side.

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"Yeah, that's kind of weird if she did that," Chulseo says, holding his chin.

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"With that loud and aggressive bark... I think your dog is telling something," he said, then looked at the slides. Chulseo dropped his welcome board and went ahead to the sliding area to check.

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‎He looks around, then crouches, looking from below the slides' platform.

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‎As soon as he takes a look below the slides, he falls to the ground, trying to move away.

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‎"Chulseo?" I call his name, getting worried.

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"Winter, you better call the police..Now." With that, all I can think of is one person to call: the most reliable one, and the one I knew would come to rescue.

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‎After 20 minutes, we heard the police sirens. The black sedan suddenly stops in front of the playground with the police car.

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‎The door opens and there he is; the cinnamon boy cooly left the car from the passenger seat, farming some aura.

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‎As soon as our eyes lock in, he jogs towards us. "Who are you? Leon Kennedy?" I whisper to myself.

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"Winter..." Hyunho runs towards us after leaving a police car. He is with an older guy and wearing a police uniform.

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‎The police and forensics are marking the area; they close the whole playground and start the investigation. Hyunho looks to the guy beside me. "Hi, I am Junior Detective Hyunho Kim." He shows his badge.

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"What? You look so...young..." Chulseo laughs.

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‎ Same, I really thought he was just an aspiring detective.

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"Don't worry, it's pretty common to hear that." Hyunho holds the back of his neck. He takes out his little notebook and pen.

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"I'm going to need your statements for this and ask where you were and what you were doing today." Then he looks at me. "Winter, I might need to talk to you later after this. Can we meet at some coffee shop?" Hyunho asks me with a serious voice.

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‎Way to kill my almost delusional dream that I might have a date with this cinnamon roll.

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‎"Wruff! " Pochi answers for me.

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Hyunho laughs and crouches; he reaches Pochi's chin and rubs it. "And who's this good boy?" he asks with a grin.

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"She's a girl..." I said.

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"Oh... My bad," he chuckles awkwardly.

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‎ "Her name is Pochi." Chulseo clears his throat and tells my dog's name.

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"Such a pretty name, Pochi," Hyunho says. Pochi likes it so much when Hyunho rubs her chin. She lets out her tongue and closes her eyes.

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‎Chulseo saw it, so he tried to touch Pochi; he reached out and touched her head.

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But pochi, "Ngrrrr!" she growls, looking back at Chulseo. "Woof! Wruuf!" I guess, if Pochi likes Hyunho, she hates Chulseo.

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‎After going to the police station and stating our statements/alibi, Hyunho had no time to explain and dragged me out of the station.

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‎"Were are we going?"

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"I'm going to drive you to your house instead."

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‎"I thought we were going to go to a cafe?"

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‎Hyunho stops and looks at me with pleading eyes. "I can't risk leaking some info." ‎I didn't ask for more and let him drag me to his car—

Or so I thought.

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"Wait... You have a big bike?" I thought we were riding a car. Where's the black sedan from before?

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"It's my uncle's..."

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"I have a dog! How can you—" I was cut off when Hyunho takes out a bag with holes; it looks like a camping bag, but it's a dog backpack.

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‎"How the hell do you have this?"

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Hyunho averted his eyes from me and hid his lower face with his right hand. "I have a Husky... a male one," he answers.

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‎I tilt my head, wondering why he got embarrassed by saying that, but I didn't ask any more. "Well, we can try to put her there... But I don't know if Pochi will like it."

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"Don't worry," he crouches and opens the bag in front of Pochi. "This pretty lady will like the ride from this bag, right, Pochi? " Hyunho asked. Pochi wags her tail and steps inside without getting told to.

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‎With that. Hyunho wears it like a bag while Pochi is chilling on his back. Hyunho gave me his helmet and then started the engine. I was about to sit in the back when he stopped me.

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"You're sitting in front of me."

"You want the three of us to die?" I put on his helmet.

"Never say you'll be driving." He smiles a little more. like a smirk.

"Huh?" My pea brain can't understand what's happening.

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