《Whatever It Takes | Rosekook ✓》22: shock
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"You totally could've ruin your phone, you big dummy," Mark said. He was retracting the protective cover on Roseanne's phone. "Did you have to throw it across the room? You're lucky the screen didn't crack."
Yuju had come earlier in the morning with coffee and donuts. Yuju was sitting beside Mark at the kitchen table.
"Did you have a rough night?" Yuju asked. "Was it because of that video with Kim Yerim and Seonghwa Spills? I still can't believe Chou Tzuyu was cheating with Jaehyun from the Trinity. It's just so scandalous! I knew she wasn't as nice as she pretended to be in her videos but who knew she was cheating on Jungkook?"
Roseanne shrugged. She had been a mess the night before but wasn't about to tell that to Yuju. She doubted Mark would share with them either — even if he did have a huge crush on Yuju. "It's just a phone."
Her best friend rolled his eyes. "Right, because they're so inexpensive to replace."
Roseanne didn't miss the sarcasm Mark's words were coated in.
After he helped her calm down, Roseanne had spent the night coming up with ideas to grow her channel. She hadn't done that in months. Not since her haunted apartment video. Her channel mainly consisted of horror-related content. Her haunted apartment had been something completely coincident and she still can't believe she caught it all on camera.
"Do you think Seonghwa has connections in the industry?" Yuju randomly asked. She grabbed a glazed covered donut and took a bite. "Because there's no way he could build his fame that quick."
"Calm down," Mark chuckled. "He's just a gossip channel YouTuber."
"So? I bet they make a ton of money. Do they, Rosie?"
Roseanne had no idea how much money gossip channels make. She hadn't been making anything significant on her videos.
"Why? Are you hoping to start your own gossip channel, Yuju?" Roseanne asked.
Yuju grinned, taking another bite of her donut. She nodded. "I might if they make good money. Working at Retropolis is great but it's not exactly a moneymaker."
"We know," Roseanne said. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be living here."
"Yeah, this place is kind of sketchy," Yuju agreed. "Also, your apartment smells kind of weird — no offense."
Mark cursed under his breath before getting up and handing Roseanne her phone. The smell Yuju was referring to was the lingering scent from the voodoo doll someone had anonymously sent her. Roseanne refused to go to the police station with it. What would be the point? They hadn't done anything after someone broke into her apartment and took pictures of her sleeping.
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"Mark was trying to cook some new dish last night," Roseanne lied. "It's a good thing you weren't here or you might have gotten bubble guts from eating it."
"Be quiet, Rosie," Mark said. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sorry about the smell, Yuju. We probably need to buy some air freshener or something to get rid of it."
"Ewww...that's gross," Yuju was laughing. "Mark, please never offer to cook for me."
Mark was about to reply when someone began knocking at the door. Roseanne shook her head, telling him she wasn't going to answer the door. He groaned before calling out. "Who is it?"
"It's Kim Yerim. I just need a few minutes."
Mark turned to Roseanne. "Did you invite her over?"
"I have to use the bathroom," Yuju blurted. She stood, pushing her chair back. "It might be a while," she ran towards the bathroom before anyone could respond.
Mark opened the door and Yerim barged in.
"I'm sorry to show up unannounced but this is important," Yerim explained. "I know you were upset about the video from yesterday but we had to do it, Rosé. People need to know the truth. Tzuyu was using Jaehyun. I told you she wanted to get back at Jungkook for breaking up with her. I think she thought he'd stick with her no matter what."
"What person would stay with someone who cheated?" Mark asked.
"Tzuyu was a bit of a narcissist," Yerim answered. "If you were a guy and in the same room with her, she'd think you wanted her. I was just as surprised as anyone that Jaehyun kissed her back. Maybe he was drunk...I don't know."
"So you wanted to tell the world Tzuyu wasn't as good as everyone thought she was," Roseanne said. She placed her hands on her hips and shook her head. "Tzuyu's dead, Yerim. What good does that do?"
"It tells everyone there was a motive for someone to kill her. Maybe it was Jungkook. Maybe it was Jaehyun. Maybe it was one of the Trinity fans. Did you see we were trending on the trending page?"
"Yes, I noticed."
"That's such a good exposure for the both of us."
"I know. I'd rather I end up on the trending page for horror-related content."
"I've been getting so many messages from viewers," Yerim smiled. "A lot of them subscribed to my channel. I bet you're getting a ton of new subscribers too."
Last night Roseanne was determined to grow her channel through any means necessary. Today, she felt a little guilty. Jaehyun had been nice to her and she unintentionally helped expose him.
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"Have you heard from Jaehyun?" Yerim asked.
"Why would I hear from him?"
"Because you did a livestream with him," Yerim reminded her. "For all I know you have one another's phone numbers."
"I don't," Roseanne protested. "I'm not going to call him and ask him how he's doing either."
"I wonder if Jungkook will fire him."
Roseanne shook her head. "Do not worry about those two. Clearly, Jungkook saw Jaehyun kissing Tzuyu the night of that party. Why would he wait to do something about it? That makes no sense."
"I don't know," Yerim answered.
"Is that why you came over first thing?" Mark asked. "To explain why you surprised Rosie by showing up to be in Seonghwa's video?"
Yerim bit her bottom lip and shook her head. "No, I was hoping Rosé would be willing to do another video. I was thinking we could go through her apartment to get clues."
"That sounds horrible," Mark growled. "Rosie, don't be an idiot and do this. I know you said last night you wanted views but recording yourself going through a dead girl's stuff is not the way."
"You're not her boss," Yerim took a menacing step forward.
Mark rolled his eyes. "No, but I'm her best friend so she knows I have her best interest at heart. I can't say the same about you. Do you even know what being a best friend means?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Yerim had a hand on her hip as she spoke to Mark.
"I thought you were Tzuyu's best friend. What kind of best friend capitalized on the others death?"
"That's enough!" Roseanne raised her hands as she stepped between the two. "Yerim, I appreciate the offer but I can't agree to that. If I come up with a new idea for a collab, I'll let you know but for now, I think it's best if you went home."
Yerim made a harrumphing sound before stalking out the door.
A few minutes later, Yuju opened the door of the bathroom. "Did she leave?"
"She just left," Mark answered. "Were you hiding?"
"N-no, of course not."
Roseanne's phone dinged, letting her know there was a text message. She stepped away from Mark and Yuju before reading it.
Meet me at xxxx. It's about Tzuyu's death.
Roseanne didn't recognize the phone number. She texted back:
Who is this?
The response back was quick; I'll be waiting.
"Well, that's not cryptic," Roseanne muttered. She looked towards Mark, who was sharing a donut with Yuju. "Mark, I have to leave for a bit."
"Where are you going?"
"I need to meet a friend. I'll be back later," she grabbed her purse, not waiting for him to respond.
An Uber ride later, Roseanne found herself on a baseball field. A group of teens in their uniforms were in the middle of practice. Roseanne wondered if one of those players was the person who sent her the text message.
She made her way behind the wooden bleachers surrounding the field. Although she wasn't a big sports fan, she remembered the cheerleaders and football players hiding behind the bleachers to make out.
Roseanne pulled out her phone and was about to send a message when a familiar voice stopped her.
"You actually showed up."
Roseanne turned around to see Jeong Jaehyun, one-third of the Trinity, standing behind her. His brown eyes pierced her as they wanted to stab her. Roseanne took a reflexive step back.
"You were the one who texted me?" Roseanne asked.
"Were you expecting someone else? I needed to talk to you after you and Yerim decided to post that picture of Tzuyu kissing me. I thought we were friends, Rosie. We even let you show up in a livestream us — the Trinity. Do you know how much exposure that gives a person? Hell, we even have celebrities asking to film us and this is how you replay us?"
"I didn't know they were going to post that picture. I swear."
"Now, how am I supposed to believe that?"
"I'm not lying."
"That's not what people are saying. Poor Rosé. Should've stuck to your ghost hunting videos. If you had, maybe you wouldn't have to get into this scandal."
"What scandal?"
"Oh, like you don't know? Everyone's talking about how the Trinity is breaking up. It even became a Twitter moment. Jungkook is pissed."
"Jungkook knows about the video?"
"With Seonghwa Spills? Of course, he does. It was in the trending page and had his name in the title. Jeon Jungkook fighting with a Trinity member. Can you believe that? They didn't even say my name. I'm reduced to a Trinity member."
"Wh-what do you want from me, Jaehyun? I had no idea Yerim was going to show that picture."
"No?"
"No," she confirmed. "Listen, I've got to go. I thought this was going to give me a lead on Tzuyu's murder."
"Who said it wasn't?"
A shred of dread cut itself through Roseanne's stomach. She shook her head and turned away from Jaehyun. She wondered if screaming could help. Maybe the baseball players or the coach could hear her. Her steps were hurried as she made her way beyond the bleachers, Jaehyun right behind her.
Several yells filled the air before pain vibrated through Roseanne's head. She turned to Jaehyun before whispering. "What did you do?" Roseanne didn't hear his response. She was too busy falling to the ground, unconscious.
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