"So, how are we going to find Kim Bora?" Sanghyuk asked, hands in his pockets as he walked alongside Yoohyeon.

After deciding to finally track down the true killer, Yoohyeon had decided to take a little detour to a small children's park on the way home. And of course, Sanghyuk accompanied her diligently, watching her carefully, almost as if he was trying to discern what she might be thinking at that moment.

"Hm," Yoohyeon said, shrugging lightly. "I'm drawing a blank right about now."

"How do we know she's still alive?" Sanghyuk questioned. Seemed at some point he'd become the devil's advocate. "Most of the people we ran checks on from back then are either not in the country or dead, remember?" 

"Perhaps we're just not looking hard enough," she said, jumping onto the small divider that ran along the edge of the playground. "We've come this far, haven't we? We have to believe she's alive. We need to."

"Why?"

"Because we need to bring an end to this," she replied curtly, kicking a small stone that was in her path so it was out of her way. The stone rolled onto the ground and near Sanghyuk's shoe, making him pause for a moment before bypassing it. 

"So how does it feel?" he asked.

"Hm?"

"How does it feel now that you've solved the case?"

She shrugged. "I don't know," she finally admitted. "I feel bittersweet."

"What do you mean?" 

"I mean, I'm glad that we've gotten to the bottom of this, and that we're closer to getting you guys free," she explained. "But, I sometimes wonder if they would've been happier not knowing any of this."

"What makes you think so?" he asked her, as he fell into step beside her on the ground.

She pursed her lips as she turned her gaze upwards. "When I told Taekwoon that it was his girlfriend who was the actual killer, I think he almost thought I was joking, until that chain of his snapped," she said. "You saw the reaction on his face. Actually...everyone's faces. Didn't you?"

Sanghyuk hummed. "Yeah, I did." He grinned slightly. "Honestly, I didn't believe it myself. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense."

"But it wasn't what they wanted to hear, was it?" Yoohyeon asked. "Because, that theory would confirm what they'd all been trying to avoid for decades."

"The fact that Bora was cheating on Taekwoon," he mused.

She nodded. "So...a part of me wonders...would they have been happier not knowing it?"

He paused in his step, looking up at her. "Yoohyeon," he softly said, getting her attention.

She paused in turn, turning to him. "Yeah?"

"What was your reason for doing this? For doing any of this?" he asked her slowly.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I know, it was primarily to rid us ghosts of haunting you," he offered. "But has your intention always been to make us happy? Or has it been to set us free at any cost?"

"If you put it like that," she said. "Of course it would be to free you guys." She sighed deeply. "But, I often wonder why there has to be a choice."

"A choice?"

"Do I always have to choose between the truth and happiness? Does knowing the truth always have to be painful? Why can't it be happy? Why can't someone be happy when the truth in uncovered?" she asked into the air.

"You want them to be happy?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

She shrugged. "I-I don't know," she said. "It might be naive of me, I know, but I don't want to solve a case and then throw it away, you know? There are actual people involved, people with feelings, thoughts, emotions..."

"And...?" he prompted.

"Perhaps a part of me wishes that the truth could be happier, you know?" she said. "That the truth didn't always need to be sad. That secrets that people hide didn't always have to be bad, or hurt other people."

Sanghyuk sighed, pushing his hands into his pockets. "I guess that's why they're called secrets, you know?" he suggested. "People hide things in order to protect the ones closest to them, the ones they love."

She scoffed a little. "I doubt Bora kept secrets in order to protect Taekwoon."

Sanghyuk raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"She was lying to him," Yoohyeon grumbled. "She was hiding the fact that she wasn't faithful to him anymore. I don't think she had his best intentions at heart."

"You're not a fan of cheating, I assume," Sanghyuk murmured.

"You think?" she asked. "If you're not in love anymore, why don't you just break up and start afresh?" 

Sanghyuk chuckled. "Something tells me you've never been in a relationship before."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Should I have been in a relationship to understand why someone cheated on someone who loved them wholeheartedly and kept it from them?"

"Perhaps not," he agreed. "But it might make you see the grey area more." 

"Does it matter?" she asked. "What she did hurt Taekwoon and the others for a long time. And I can't help thinking that if she had just broken up with him normally, none of this would have happened."

Sanghyuk thought for a moment, humming. "You've got a point there," he agreed. "Had she broken up with him normally when she fell for Jaehwan, Taekwoon might not have suffered thinking she was cheating on him. He might not have ended up at that building that night. He might not have been framed for murder." He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "But, you're forgetting the converse."

"The converse?"

"Had she broken up with him normally, there was a chance that Taekwoon might not have had the motivation to live, even with his friends' help."

She turned her eyes back down to him. For once, he looked completely serious, his gaze forlorn and sad.

"You really think that?" she asked.

He pursed his lips, "Who know what might have happened," he said. "However, I do get where you're coming from, about wanting the truth to be happier." 

She sighed deeply. "I don't know," she said. "This all seems like some kind of Shakespearean tragedy. No matter what you do, it all ends in death and sadness and stuff." 

"But haven't you ever thought that perhaps you did get your happy ending?" he asked.

She raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Well, I don't know about you, but they've been stuck here for fifty years," he told her. "They've been stuck, unable to pass on to the afterlife." He turned to her. "I think, no matter how hard the whole thing is for them, they're still grateful for all you've done."

"You think so?"

He nodded. "What's worse? Finding out that your girlfriend cheated on you or not being able to die?"

She grinned softly. 

"You did good," he told her. "Don't let your doubts cloud that. All of them...are incredibly grateful for all you've done for them." 

He pulled his right hand out of his pocket and held it out to her. Unable to keep the small smile off her face, she placed her hand in his.

His skin was warm, almost like he was human, like he was alive. It felt good on her cold skin in the chilly weather, as his strong grip closed around her hand, his palm big against her much smaller one. His thumb lightly moved across the sleeve of her shirt, pushing it away so that he could continue to run his thumb across her skin.

He lightly pulled on it and she stepped down from the ledge. 

"But then again, should you really be listening to me?" he added, the cheeky smile back on his face. "No one else can see me except you. I'm practically a figment of your imagination."

"The other guys can," she added.

"Touche," he grinned. "Come one, I'll walk you home."

She rolled her eyes. "You always do."

He shook his head softly. "Not this time."

The smile dropped from her face. "What do you mean?" she asked. "You follow me around everywhere, don't you?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I do," he agreed. "But now that you're so close to the end of this? You don't need me around as often as before." He lightly squeezed her hand, which she then realized that he hadn't let go of yet. "So tonight, I'm going to just walk you home." 

She looked down, her gaze falling on his shoes, only looking up when he chuckled. "Come on," he said lightheartedly. "Don't give me that sad face. You definitely look prettier when you smile." 

She stayed silent, her lips curling into a smile at his antics. 

They silently walked together, not leaving hands.

Yoohyeon had to admit, she'd gotten used to having Sanghyuk around all the time, offering thoughts behind her back and teasing her lightly. But then he'd go and do things like this. 

His hand was warm, and it felt really nice. She was sure that she'd feel colder in its absence; she didn't want to let go of it. While she was more than ready for these ghosts to stop haunting her, and to set them free, she only now realized what that might entail. 

She might never see them again.

Not Hongbin. Not Wonshik. Not Hakyeon.

Not Taekwoon.

Not Sanghyuk.

She felt a strange hurt in her chest thinking about that.