1 The mystery tragedy

The sound of the water droplet jolted Minah Kim awake. She faintly opened her eyes and sat bewildered. At a glance, she realized she wasn't in her bedroom.

The room is dim, cold, and felt like she is in a fridge. She wondered where she was and how she got here? Her eyes stared at the light streaming in from the door wide-open. Noises of people chatting and crying echoed in from the outside.

In a slow pace, she stood up and walked toward the door. She got baffled as she saw her mother sat on the floor crying a river. A spontaneous reaction, she hastened to sit right next to her.

She tried to rub the tears from her mother's face, her hand passed through. She tried to touch her mother again, it's the same. Her hand passed through again. She wondered how her hands became intangible.

Minah called her mother, "Omma!", her mum ignored. Confusion and worry keep escalating within her. She turned her head and looked around.

In a gloomy-looking hall, men wearing a black suit, and women wearing a black hanbok. They were grieving in tears and sadness. She realized she was at a funeral.

She gazed at the shrine table in front of her. Her heart sank into her shoes when she realized her face in the obituary photo.

"Wh…...at?….W…..why..wh...at...am I dead?"

She pinched her cheek and felt the pain. It wasn't a dream. Could not bear to watch her mother crying. She gathered her strength to stand up and moved totteringly towards out from the hall.

When she stepped out further, camera lights keep flashing towards the actors and actress in the reception. An enormous crowd gathered outside the funeral home.

A news anchor is standing close to her. He was broadcasting the news of her death and mentioned the reason for her death is committing suicide. She stood frozen and wondered what's going on?

Her mind is blank. She could remember nothing. A young man appeared jumping in front of her, "Hello, Miss Minah Kim."

Minah looked at him, startled. Everyone ignored her, she presumed they could not see her. But then, he actually saw her, greeted her and called her name! "Who are you?...and how can you see me?"

He is wearing a black suit, black pant and a black hat. He chuckled and introduced himself as the grim reaper. "Happy to meet you finally! Do you realize how long you have been sleeping?"

She looked at his smiling face and yelled at him, "YAA! You are a rude man! How can you laugh when someone is dying?"

The grim reaper scratched his ear with his finger. He hated the high pitch voice coming out from her. Amid the argument, several men carried Minah's casket out from the hall.

Her brother is holding the obituary photo of her. Family and friends were marching behind the casket during the funeral procession. Camera lights continue flashing.

Her eyes brimmed with tears. She was going to get married in a few weeks. Today, she witnessed her own funeral!

The grim reaper took out a handkerchief, gave it to her to wipe her tears. She refused to take it. He got annoyed because she was ignoring her. He grabbed her wrist, stamped a number #78, and announced her official died.

"I am sorry it upsets you. Nobody will live forever, You can spend 49 days in the human realm. I will come to visit you again to claim your soul when the times come and bring you to report to the underworld."

In a blink of an eye, he vanished from her sight.

In a few minutes, Sarah passed by in front of her, heading towards a black limousine van. Minah followed Sarah into her limousine van. She considered Sarah as her best friend and someone trustworthy to her.

Inside the van, she noticed Sarah rubbing off her tears and started smiling. It's strange! Perhaps she is being oversensitive, but nope. She is smiling as because Minah is dead! If Sarah is dying today, she won't be able to smile, not at all.

The chauffeur of the limousine van started the engine, driving around on an unfamiliar route. She wondered where the chauffeur is taking her. The limousine is turning left, then turning right and finally parked at a mansion. Sarah got out of the limousine van and stepped toward the main door of the mansion.

Minah stepped down from the van and raised her arm to block the ray of sunlight. As far as she could remember, this is not Sarah's home. She got curious and followed Sarah into the mansion.

To her horror, Sarah hugged and kissed her boyfriend, Brandon Jang.

Brandon goes to the wine cellar, took out a bottle of wine, poured a bit of wine into two glasses, and started toasting with one another.

Minah whispered to herself, "I just died, and they are kissing? toasting?".

Brandon's phone vibrated. He took out the phone and started a conversation.

Minah collapsed on the floor in shock after she heard Brandon confirmed he had bribed the police to close the case of her death as a suicide.

Whilst Sarah laughing and embracing the man she was going to get married to in a couple of months. Instead of a wedding, she had a funeral.

Minah moved closer to Brandon's phone, tried to find out who he just spoke to. Her hand passed through the phone each time she tried to grab it.

On the spur of the moment, she felt a burning sensation within her. It was her human body in the cremation chamber, being cremated.

Intrigued to find out what is he up to, keeping wondering why did he bribe the police to close the case as a suicide. She followed them, going upstairs.

She left the bedroom after seeing Brandon remove Sarah's clothes. Heading towards his study room and saw a ledger of the talent agency company she is working for.

She saw her name appeared on the ledger many times and figured out that they amended the ledgers.

The truth is too brutal for her. Her shock did not entirely subside. She sat on the couch crying.

Three ghosts, Yoona, Bokja, and Sophie passed in and out from the kitchen. She greeted them with respect. The ghosts greeted her back with a big smile on their faces. They seemed excited to meet her.

They are a big fan of Minah, keep praising her acting skill. But it surprised them to meet Minah visit at Brandon's mansion.

Minah revealed to them that Brandon is her boyfriend, Sarah is her best friend.

Yoona disagreed, she said, "Sarah is Brandon's official girlfriend. Sarah told Brandon to seduce you to get into a relationship with him. No clue why Sarah had to share her boyfriend.".

Seeing Minah getting emotional, Bokja said, "Ignore Yoona. She loves babbling. What Yoona just told you is some sort of script she imagined in a drama."

Minah responded, "I am just desperate to find out how I am dead, and why I am dead. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to rest in peace."

Sophie padded on Minah's shoulder, trying to comfort her. "Yoona is telling the truth, but Bokja is just trying to comfort you."

Minah saw Sophie flipping through the magazines. She asked Sophie, "How she can touch the magazine as I tried to grab something each time my hand passes through."

Sophie tells Minah, "We are a veteran ghost. You just have to think about what you want to do, then she will touch it."

Minah thinks about drinking wine. She grabbed the wine and poured it into the glass. It worked!

Minah asked, "Why are you all lingering in the house of Brandon? "

Sophie responded, "We are your fan of Minah! The human being does not know the truth about your relationship since the media has covered up, but the ghosts have been following their idol to see what they have been doing every day. I feel sad for you because Brandon...." she sighed.

She just found out today that actors and actresses who got millions of followers on their social media have millions of ghost followers too.

In the skyscraper, an office building of Nation Herald.

The chief requested his secretary to summon for Joseph. His secretary quickly ran to look for him, but he isn't at his table.

Joseph, a young journalist in charge of the entertainment section in Nation Herald. He is very dedicated and helpful to the colleague. Somehow, the chief is not happy with his performance.

He has been working for a year, most of the articles he published are outdated or have the least readers.

The secretary saw him in the garden, having a late lunch. She ran to him, "Joseph! Chief is looking for you. Quick!"

Joseph is a very polite man. He bowed at her to thank her for coming all the way to inform him. His positive attitudes made every colleague adored him.

Her heart melt when he smiled, "It seems like a volcano just exploded in Nation Herald. Be careful!" she winked at him.

He clasped his hand and heading to the Chief's office.

The chief slammed the table as soon as he sees Joseph. He yelled at Joseph, "Minah Kim's funeral is trending on the website, the headline is all over the news and internet. Why aren't you posting anything about the funeral?"

Joseph kept quiet, he had no words to say. He drives the chief crazy when he is not replying to his question and giving him a stare like a cute puppy.

"WHY? WHY? WHY? I just asked you a question!"

"....I am sorry", Joseph said politely.

The chief blood is boiling hot in his veins. He chased Joseph out of his room.

Sun setting down, pulling down the curtain of the night.

Minah went home on her feet. Her mind is totally blank, the heart is heavy, and her eyes are teary.

As she reached her mansion, she noticed hundreds of her ghost fans holding a banner outside. On the banner, it printed "they are rooting for her".

She avoided them. Turned around, stroll around the street.

She noticed a weird man wearing sunglasses walking opposite her direction. It surprised her he was trying to avoid bumping into her.

She approached him to ask if he could see her? He ignored her. She followed him and continued to bug him for an answer. She knew he was a human being that can see the ghosts.

Minah saw a tag on his bag displaying his name, Joseph. From the logo of the company, she identified he is a journalist.

She offered a deal, "I can be a spy for you to help you with your job."

Joseph stopped walking and looked at Minah. He is interested in this deal. He invited Minah home to discuss further.

At Joseph's home, he tells Minah she can stay in the living room, but he pledged to her to respect his privacy, not to barge into his bedroom. She agrees.

Joseph goes to the kitchen to cook Ramen.

While cooking, Joseph asked, "Do you have any information?"

Minah twirled her hair and said, "I want to reveal the truth. I did not commit suicide, and I knew they have bribed the police officer to conceal the truth"

Joseph gave an annoying glance towards Minah.

Joseph is not interested in getting into trouble. No way! He does not want to investigate the case of her death. He ignores her and starts slurping his noodles.

Minah keeps persuading him to help, "It could be an opportunity for you to amass credits .... and get a promotion in your job .... and my fans will recognize you."

He keeps trying to end the conversation by keeping himself silent, but Minah is exuberant. She won't stop talking.

Joseph had pinpointed he won't help with the investigation just to stop her from talking.

"Many ghosts have appeared to me to ask for some favour, just like you did. I helped them, but I got nothing in return but troubles. I help a ghost, she is an old lady who died a few years ago, her soul meets me to request for help. I agreed and helped her to inform her granddaughter about her hidden passbook. And, guess what? Her granddaughter reported to the police about him being a stalker. They arrested me and locked in the prison cell"

Joseph continues, "I have helped another ghost to lodge a police report about the fraud of forging his will. The police use the shreds of evidence I gave them to investigate. The next day, the thugs beat me up and warned me not to intervene. An ambulance came and admitted me to the hospital for a week."

Joseph uses his palm to smack the table, "Another ghost, a young lady who was my neighbour. She asked me to convey a message to her father. So I did. Guess what? Her father mocks me for being insane and spreads the news across the neighbourhood. My parents, who came to know about this, get upset, and kept pestering me to see a doctor."

Minah agreed and sorry for him and understood his situation.

Minah sighed, "I am still suffering from the aftershock of my funeral, then another shocking moment when I found out my fiance is cheating on me with my best friend"

Considering that this topic will spark the interest of the readers, Joseph asked, "Are you in the relationship? Who is your boyfriend?"

Minah replied, "Brandon Jang, a famous actor." An idea came into her mind. "You wanted information? Perhaps you can write an article to expose the relationship of Brandon Jang, and he is having a secret affair with my so-called best friend, Sarah Lee."

Joseph, who is also a tech-savvy man, grabbed his laptop to search for more information.

Minah gave Joseph her login credentials to her social media account. She told him to look out for the hidden album containing photos of her and Brandon.

After checking out the hidden album, he feels excited and starts an article about Brandon. Minah told Joseph that Sarah and Brandon often meet in the mansion.

Minah rushes to the mansion after Joseph guides her on how to help him get the login information to access the server that stores the video recorded by CCTV camera. She locates the router to the CCTV, finds a sticker with ID and Password. Minah memorizes them and rushes back to Joseph to inform him about the ID and password. Joseph looked into the videos and took a few screenshots of the important photo.

The next day, Joseph presented his article to the chief for approval. A secret affair of Brandon Jang and Sarah Lee. Joseph's senior chief, excited about the article, gave his approval and instructed for immediate publishing.

The news went viral as soon as they published it. Citizens criticize Brandon for cheating on Minah, they believe it was the reason of Minah commits suicide. Sarah Lee, Minah Kim, and Brandon Jang are trending on the search engine.

The news infuriated Sarah Lee and Brandon Jang. Paparazzi rammed them everywhere they went. Photos of Sarah and Brandon published on the news. Look convincing to the readers. They knew they could no longer hide their relationship; they disclosed their relationship to the public through their agency.

Fans of Minah appear to throw flour and eggs toward Sarah and Brandon. Fans of Sarah and Brandon have turned their back against them in the term of humanity. It angered them to learn about Brandon cheating on Minah with her best friend, Sarah. Fans appear on the filming site to protest, petitions for to drop Sarah and Brandon out from the current ongoing movies involving them.

The situation is driving the directors and their filming crews crazy. They seek approval to change the cast. PD Eddie throws the scripts on the table and tells them to continue with the shooting, as it will cost them a lot of money to reproduce the movie.

Joseph walks back home happily. He was happy about his achievement today. Before he could get into the main door, a few thugs abducted him. They bring him into a van. They bring him to a forest and start beating him into a pulp and leave him there.

He stood up, struggling to walk home in pain. As soon as he reaches home. Minah knew it was Brandon who hired the thug. Minah proposed to Joseph to upload a photo of him with bruises. Joseph thought it was a good idea. Joseph posted on his social account, revealing that he was the man who posted the article exposing Brandon and Sarah. He exaggerated with the potential of a murder case for exposing the truth. Again, the photo spread across social media. Social media users are leaving comments to wish him well.

Brandon who hires the thug has noticed the photo of Joseph being beaten up. He stays a low profile since Joseph is in the nation's attention. Sarah barged into the room of Brandon, whining, grumbling, and groaning. Brandon yells at her to shut up because he could not stand the annoying pitches coming from her.

Joseph at home, searching for more information about Brandon. Looking upon several websites from his computer, paying serious attention. Minah stared at him with a soft smile and walked closer to him.

Brandon's father, Kelvin Jang, is the biggest shareholder of one very successful entertainment company, The red curtain. Brandon's mother, Lisa Jang, is the Chairwoman of The red curtain. Kelvin Jang is the chairman of a public-listed construction company in the country. Sarah and Minah are the actresses that work for The Red Curtain.

Minah then tells Joseph if he wants to know more, he could ask her since the media has covered up a lot of information. Joseph looks at Minah, "I can't find much information about Sarah. They only posted about her biography and portfolio".

Minah puts her hand around her chin as she thinks about a flashback of memories between her and Sarah, "Sarah comes from a poor family. Her father works for Brandon's father as a driver for many years. Brandon and I have been friends since childhood. We attend the same school. One day, Sarah was critically sick. Sarah's father could not pick Brandon up from school and because of the emergency, he also never informs Brandon that he will not pick him up. Brandon became furious and requested his mother to sack Sarah's father. After Sarah has recovered, she appears to beg Brandon not to sack her father. Brandon becomes closer to Sarah ever since they first met, and he introduces Sarah to me. Sarah is a very intelligent girl. She knows how to talk to people..should I say...good at convincing?"

Joseph nodded his head and asked, "The news mentioned that you hang yourself to death. But why?"

Minah stared at Joseph, "I will not kill myself! .....Why should I be hanging myself? It's painful ... If I want to die, why should I beg you to help me with the investigation?"

After receiving praises from the chief for exposing the secret affair, he plans to help Minah with the investigation.