No one's POV
The living room felt unusually crowded even though only five people were there. Judith sat forward like she was holding something sharp inside her hands, something dangerous. Kira stood beside her, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the floor until she finally spoke.
"We figured something out."
Ava sat up straighter. Ethan leaned forward. Jack just stared quietly, waiting.
Judith placed a folder on the table. "This is connected to the kidnapping five years ago, and everything happening now."
Ethan swallowed. Ava glanced at Kira like she already sensed something terrible coming.
Judith continued. "The money transfers everyone assumed were from Kira's uncle… they were ordered by someone else."
Jack blinked. "Someone else who?"
Kira looked at her phone, opened the copied documents, and turned the screen so everyone could see. Receipts, forged signatures, summer records.
Judith pointed. "The signature linked to the transfer wasn't his. He only carried the order out. It was another person giving the instructions."
Ava frowned. "Who would even want to kidnap me? I was just a kid."
Kira's voice shook. "Someone who was obsessed with your mom. Someone who felt like your existence ruined something for him."
Everyone looked confused until Judith quietly finished the sentence.
"Kira's uncle."
Silence dropped heavy like something physical.
Jack blinked. Ethan looked stunned. Ava's throat tightened. Nobody spoke for several seconds until Jack finally whispered,
"You are saying all this wasn't just random. It was personal."
Kira nodded. "He wanted revenge on your mom for rejecting him back then. Ava was his target because hurting her would hurt Yuri."
Ava felt her stomach twist. Ethan leaned back like his chest suddenly felt tight. Jack looked from Judith to Kira, then to Ava.
"So the stalker wasn't the main guy? He was just working for him?"
Judith nodded. "The stalker had his own obsession. But the kidnapping, the watching, the threats… the person behind everything was Kira's uncle."
Ava looked at Kira, eyes wide, voice almost breaking. "Are you sure?"
Before Kira could answer, Ethan spoke, unusually serious.
"I believe it."
Everyone turned to him.
"Because I think he forced my cousin too. It wasn't just obsession. It was an order. The cousin barely did anything without him telling him what to do."
Ava stared at Ethan. Kira looked horrified. Judith's expression softened like she felt sorry for him.
Jack exhaled slowly. "So now that the stalker is gone… the real person is acting alone now."
Kira nodded. "Yes. Which makes him more unpredictable."
Judith sat back, voice quiet. "And he is closer to us than any of us knew."
Ava suddenly felt like the walls of the house were listening. Like someone outside might be listening too.
Because this time… the monster wasn't a stranger hiding in shadows.
He was family.
Kira POV (flashback)
Sometimes memories don't come in order. They come like broken glass, sharp edges everywhere.
That night, after the beach, Judith and I sat at the café while everyone was still laughing outside. At first, it felt wrong sitting with her like this, after everything. But then she placed that folded paper on the table and suddenly everything started making sense in the worst way.
We began matching dates. Five years ago. Summer. The same dates that showed up on those transfers.
I remembered seeing my uncle leave late at night around those years. He used to tell me it was business, but he always came home smelling like cigarettes even though nobody around us smoked.
Judith remembered something too. She said the stalker once mentioned someone giving him instructions, someone older. She always thought he was lying, trying to scare her, but the dates lined up.
Then there was the email I found on his laptop. At first I thought it was him sending emails out. Then Judith noticed the domain wasn't from his actual account; it was forwarded. Anonymous instructions, forwarded through a system only someone older and smarter would know how to use.
Then we checked the signatures. At the police station, years ago, I didn't pay attention. But now, looking closely, they were printed, not handwritten. My uncle's name wasn't there anywhere. But Yuri's was. Except… Judith pointed out that the style was traced, like someone forged it to throw suspicion somewhere else.
I didn't want to believe it. I grew up trusting my family. My uncle used to buy me ice cream every Sunday and call me princess. But then Judith whispered something I wish I never heard.
"Your uncle was always around Ava's mom during high school, right?"
I already knew where she was going before she finished. My mother told me once, in one of those nostalgic moments, that a boy used to bother Yuri a lot during school. Someone clingy. Someone who confused attention with love. Someone who didn't let go.
And suddenly everything connected.
He kidnapped Ava not because of Ava… but because of her mother.
Revenge disguised as obsession.
The stalker was only the weapon.
My uncle was the hand holding it.
And sitting across from Judith, someone I used to play with, someone I used to fight with, someone I once left behind, I realized something terrifying.
We are connected not just by friendship or trauma.
But by a truth that was supposed to stay buried forever.
Judith and I aren't just victims anymore.
We are witnesses.
........
Jack caught up with her outside the gate, hands in his pockets like he was pretending he hadn't been waiting there forever.
He cleared his throat.
"So, earlier at the beach… the whole almost kiss thing. I just wanted to say I wasn't messing with you."
Kira blinked, like her brain needed a full restart.
"You remembered that…?"
Jack looked at her, a tiny smile.
"Kind of hard to forget."
Kira turned her face slightly, feeling her cheeks warm even though she tried to look annoyed or something cooler than she actually was. Under her breath, she muttered, just loud enough for the world and unfortunately Jack to hear,
"Geurae, nareul tto gieokhae"
(Not like I didn't too)
Jack raised his eyebrows.
"You just spoke Korean again, right?"
Kira widened her eyes, realizing what she had just done, ready to deny everything but Jack stepped a tiny bit closer.
"So that means… you also… think about it?"
Kira paused. A heavy second.
She didn't answer.
But silence was an answer by itself.
Jack leaned in and kissed her, soft and brief.
Surprisingly, Kira didn't push him away.
She kissed him back, just for a second, then pulled away, confused and breathless.
Jack smiled again, calmer this time.
"Goodnight, Kira."
He walked toward his house, and Kira watched him go, fingers slightly trembling, trying to figure out what that meant or if it meant anything at all.
When she finally stepped into the house, she stopped immediately because Yuri was in the living room, smiling.
"Ava's staying here tonight. Sleepover with us"
Miyeong popped her head from the kitchen.
"We ordered snacks already"
Kira's heart jumped a bit.
She tried to look neutral, but inside something twisted in a way she didn't understand.
"Jinjja. Keurae… sounds fun"
(Really. Okay… sounds fun)
But her voice wasn't exactly steady.
Happiness mixed with hesitation.
And maybe confusion too.