{ chapter sixteen }

‘the Flash’s potential replacement’

Eric entered the house with an aura so powerful that even the investigators were acting carefully around him. The man was composed and calm, but also looked really pissed that someone dared to threaten his family. Sure, they were threatened before but those were empty ones. Not even threats, just taunts. This one, this one was true. Numerous letters every week sent to their house, even to his office. Today’s package was his last straw.

The family had gathered in the living room and they occupied the couches, surrounding the table that had scattered envelopes and papers on it. Eric sat on the middle couch together with his two investigators, while the rest just sat across each other, paired by their genders.

Jin Hee casually sat on her seat while sipping on her chocolate milk that she had found inside their fridge. She was acting so normal even the agents were staring at her. She wondered why they aren’t staring at Se Hun instead who had just the same expression as her, minus the milk part.

“I’m glad to see that all of you arrived here safely,” Eric started, “I apologize though that I needed to pull you out of your own classes or schedules.”

“It’s alright, dad,” Chan Yeol replied, “what’s this about though? I mean, aside from it’s a threat.”

Eric heavily sighed and reached to the table, to get an envelope, “It is a threat. This has been going on for days, weeks even, I just didn’t let you know because I thought it was just some taunts, instead of a threat. But the things I got today… it got serious.

“The first letter was sometime around after Jin Hee introduced the latest car model.” Eric tossed the folded paper with the typewritten words ‘You better’. The paper was old but it had faded guide lines, and the font used was like the ones used for typewriters.

Whoever they are, they’re into classic stuff. Can’t they make it like some Comic Sans or something?

“And then it was followed by these,” he tossed some more paper, Chan Yeol grabbing some of it, “until it made a real message.”

“’You better watch out, Mr. Lee. It is your family who’s next in our list.’” Chan Yeol read the message aloud, and it made the atmosphere around them drop.

“List?” Jin Hee turned to the investigators, “Do you already have a lead on this? They might’ve already done this to the others before.”

The guy in black shirt nodded, amusement flashed in his eyes for a second, “We do have a lead. And yes, they did this to the others back then. Their whole message just gave their identities away, and with all the previous crimes they’ve done, it’s easier now to get them.”

“So,” she squinted, “more families had to… be sacrificed in order for the investigation department to know them, study them, and think ahead of them? So in that way you can put them behind the bars?”

“That’s always the case, Ms. Lee. Harsh world we live in, isn’t it?”

She nodded her head, “In that I can agree.”

“And actually, they don’t target the whole family,” the guy glanced at Eric before getting another envelope from the table, “they just target one certain member. They don’t aim to kill, they aim to torture.”

“Money?” Jin Hee asked, “Don’t criminals always ask for that?”

“No, this one’s different. They don’t care about money, they just want rich people to go down and suffer.” He pulled the content of the envelope, “These were just sent a while ago.”

Pictures were dispersed on the table in a second, and Jin Hee raised her eyebrows upon seeing her face on the pictures. One while she was driving her car, her face seen through the windshield, another was when she was in her old neighborhood, and the other was when she was walking alone in the streets. Last one was when she was sitting in the shed, and the closeness of the photo was creepy.

It meant that the one who took it was just few feet away from her. They could’ve killed her right there, but they didn’t, and that was disturbing, because letting a chance slip from your hands voluntarily means you were waiting for a sure bigger one.

Jin Hee picked up the last photo and frowned, “I have to say, they should just stick to being criminals. Seriously, these guys at taking pictures.” She commented, looking at the blurred quality and her bad angle.

“Oh my God…” Soo Yeon beside her breathed, “Dear, I suggest you not to go to school for days.”

“Well at least this time, it’s legitimately my fault,” Jin Hee shrugged and leaned back to her seat, flinging the photo to the table, “I mean, those could’ve not existed if I didn’t stay outside so often.”

The other investigator shook his head, “It’s not anyone’s fault. It just so happen that it’s your family they want to take down next.”

“You mean they want to take down me next.”

Se Hun’s eyebrow creased in irritation. Why was this girl acting like her life’s not being threatened?  His mind betrayed him when their recent fight flashed, and it made him realize that he wasn’t in the position to think like that when he indirectly wished she was… dead. His self reasoned that he was just angry that time, but his logical other self said that angry or not, you don’t tell someone that they’re better off dead.

Because either way, you’re going to regret it. You don’t speak based on your emotions, because they change, unlike the words you’ve said.

Words linger longer than actions, because words echo inside your head, and you carry it forever.

Chan Yeol almost crumpled the picture if he hadn’t thrown it back to the table, “Dad, we’re not going to let this pass.”

“We aren’t, son, that’s why we’re here.” Eric replied with strength and confidence. He turned to the two beside him, “I suppose you have a plan, Mr. Cha, Mr. Oh.”

One nodded, “We do have one, but this is extremely dangerous and needs your full cooperation.”

They had kept Soo Yeon out of the plan since she, herself, told them to not include her and also, the investigators said they need to be fully brave to pull off the plan. Just by listening to the plan, the woman couldn’t help but to be scared, and Jin Hee kept an arm around her to assure her that everything’s going to be alright.

The plan was brilliant, yet wide, complicated and risky. It’d cost more than one life if failed, but they couldn’t afford failures. The criminals needed to be stopped, for once and for all.

They left the adults to talk further with Mr. Cha and Mr. Oh. Chan Yeol and Jin Hee went to the kitchen to eat anything sweet they’d find in the fridge. It seemed like the whole talk that happened drained their energy.

The two had sat in the bar, face to face and a round cake between them. With forks in their hands, they started to eat the cake.

“I’m so pissed. With all the years I’ve been living, this is the first time we received an actual threat.” Chan Yeol spoke, mouth stuffed with cake.

Jin Hee chuckled, “If you’re