#Case035 – 「Under Arrest」

Jongup turned his gazes to his left, just to see Eunhwa who was sleeping peacefully as if there’s nothing happened to both of them before. Deep inside his heart, he really wanted to protect Eunhwa and Soojung from Madman; someone that he knew and yet could put three of them in real danger.

Could he protect them?

“We have arrived.” The driver’s voice finally snapped him back to reality.

Jongup flashed a smile while he gave out the taxi fares to the driver. “Here. Keep the balance.”

The driver nodded. Then, Jongup softly shook Eunhwa from her deep sleep. He was hesitated to do so at first, but as Eunhwa held the key to her own house; he didn’t have any choice left, but to wake her up.

Eunhwa slowly opened her eyes, and when she saw Jongup’s face, she quickly shook her head to wake herself completely. She was just about to take out her purse when Jongup stopped her from doing so.

“I’d already paid it.”

“Why you’d pay that? I should be the one-“

“Noona.” Jongup took her hand and brought her get off from the taxi. “Let’s just go and assume this as my token of appreciation for your offer.”

Jongup close the taxi’s door and bowed to the driver before the taxi went away, leaving both of them behind in Eunhwa’s neighborhood. They were looking to each other and finally made their way to Eunhwa’s house that weren’t far ahead from their stature.

“Thank you, Jongup ahh.” Several minutes later, Eunhwa finally decided to broke the still air that existed between them. She looked over to Jongup’s face. “I really mean it.”

“I know.” Jongup flashed his angelic smile. “And even the fact that you’re a good person; I know it too.”

Eunhwa furrowed her eyebrows. “What did you mean by me, as a good person? Is it some new kind of compliment towards someone?”

Jongup shook his head. “No. I don’t know whether I should say this or not but...”

Eunhwa stopped her walk and so did Jongup. She gave a concern looks to Jongup as he bit his lower lips.

“You don’t have to say it if you don’t want to.”

“I will tell you,” Jongup looked straightly into Eunhwa’s eyes. “It does actually...have a relation with Madman though.”

As soon as Madman word entered Eunhwa’s eardrum, she couldn’t help but to feel curious about topic that Jongup was going to tell her about; especially when she could see how Jongup referred to her as a good person.

She knew that somehow, she’d related to Madman by any chance.

Meanwhile, Jongup took a deep breath just before he told Eunhwa about his discovery that somewhat related with Eunhwa. “I’d once found a proof during President Hong’s case which was turned out to be a silvery locket with a heart shaped pendant,”

Jongup halted for a second as his mind could still remember vividly the locket, the pendant – and on top of it was a single picture inside the pendant.

That smile, that face – he was seeing it now, right in front of him.

“... and there’s a picture of you, right inside the pendant.”

“What did you say? My picture?” Eunhwa couldn’t hide her surprise as soon as Jongup finished his sentences. Then, as if her mind recollecting the past; a question from Gunwoo before rang inside her head.

“Do you...possibly has a secret admirer?”

“I think I’d seen the pendant that you refer to before, Jongup ahh.” Eunhwa weakly replied. “Detective Lee had asked me about it before.”

“I believe you, noona.” Jongup held Eunhwa’s hands inside his. “I know that you’re not the Madman.”

Eunhwa stunned. She was flabbergasted by Jongup’s sincere support despite her image as the Madman’s prime suspect in police officer’s eyes. “Y-you know it?” Eunhwa’s lips trembled upon she tried her best to questioned Jongup.

Jongup nodded fervently. “I’d seen him before – that’s why he targeted me.”

Much to her surprise, Jongup revealed another story – he had seen Madman with his own eyes. And that fact had made her feel scared of Jongup’s safety even more now.

“No wonder...that your life is in danger now, Jongup ahh.”

“Jung Eunhwa!”

Suddenly, a high-pitched call of her name could be heard right from a few meters ahead; which was from the direction of her house.

Both Eunhwa and Jongup head turned towards the voice and looked over for the person’s identity from afar. As they turned into a statue, the person finally took his steps closer towards them – with several people right behind him.

And finally they see him. Lee Gunwoo.

Gunwoo made his way to Eunhwa along with his squad from Seoul District Police Headquarters. But as he made his steps closer, he could felt something tugged his heart; as if to stop him from arrest her.

But he chose to deny it, as he has to.

Jongup suddenly got a bad hunch when his gaze fell upon Gunwoo’s stern reaction on his face, together with the team behind him – it was certainly a serious matter. Then, he looked towards Eunhwa. He saw her eyes – her calm gazes that didn’t show any fright.

Did she know what will happen to her soon?

Right when he saw how Gunwoo’s glanced to her, he knew better that...

...this is wrong.

Gunwoo stopped his steps as soon as he met Eunhwa’s gazes and their distance became shorten. “Jung Eunhwa sshi.”

Eunhwa looked towards Gunwoo curiously. “Yes, Detective Lee?”

He muted himself for a moment before he simply took a handcuff from his jacket and wore it on Eunhwa’s wrists.

“Lee Gunwoo sshi! What are you doing?”

Jongup who seemed panic-stricken quickly eyed Gunwoo, requesting for a solid answer behind all his action.

“Moon Jongup sshi.” Gunwoo said sternly without even looking towards Jongup. “You’ve nothing to do with this. Please stay away or else, I’m not hesitated to arrest you too.”

“A-arrest?” Jongup’s face turned white. Detective Lee Gunwoo was absolutely wrong in arresting Eunhwa as the Madman!

“Jung Eunhwa, you’re under arrest for your crime which you have killed already 8 people with your identity as a Madman. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law.”

“This is ridiculous! She’s not the M-“

“You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as they have been given to you?”

Jongup sighed hard. Gunwoo didn’t even give him a chance to speak the real truth behind Madman’s identity; and yet, sternly spoke the right for Eunhwa as if she was the criminal.

As if she’s Madman.

Eunhwa couldn’t say anything. All these were too sudden for her; and her mind couldn’t process it yet. All she could hear was just the word ‘arrest’ and ‘Madman’. She couldn’t understand this situation, yet, she just let the fate to decide it for her.

“Jung Eunhwa, do you understand?”

“I do, maybe.” Eunhwa stood rooted to the ground, and just simply replied Gunwoo’s question weakly.

Gunwoo gave a cue to Mr. Han and his subordinates that made them quickly walked back to their car; which left Gunwoo, Eunhwa and also Jongup.

“I’m sorry for this sudden inconvenience. I’m just following the procedure.” Gunwoo bowed to both Jongup and Eunhwa. “Let’s go, Jung Eunhwa sshi.”

“Wait!” Jongup held Gunwoo’s arm to stop him. “Eunhwa noona is innocent! The Madman-“

Gunwoo held Jongup’s shoulder and shook his head slowly. “Enough with the talk. Could you please excuse us?”

“But-“

Gunwoo brought Eunhwa right to his car before he drove out from the neighbourhood, right behind the other cars.

Jongup gave a hopeless look right when Gunwoo’s car soon vanished from his sight.

What should he do – to save Eunhwa?

“Moon Jongup sshi!”

Jongup tilted his head aside to look over a newcomer to the scene. “Jung Soojung sshi? A-are you okay? You should be in hospital now, am I right?”

“Yah!” Soojung softly hit Jongup’s chest. “We’re totally in the same boat as refugee from hospital, paboya (you fool). You’re also should be in hospital at this moment; don’t you ever forget that.”

Jongup sheepishly smiled before his smiles faded away as soon as he remembered Eunhwa that had been arrested just now. And Soojung saw that; his worries that was clearly visible in his face.

“I saw it.” Soojung spoke weakly. “I saw when Eunhwa sshi been arrested by Detective Lee.”

Jongup sighed. “I guess we couldn’t just go to police station and tell everything in order for Eunhwa noona to be freed, isn’t it? Detective Lee was so committed to capture her.”

“He’s committed enough to even realize that he had already captured the wrong person.” Soojung slowly replied. “But we can do nothing; as the knife been found inside Eunhwa’s house.”

“The Madman’s knife?” Jongup asked for confirmation. Soojung nodded her head. “How can it be there?”

Soojung shrugged both of her shoulders. “I don’t know. But the only thing that I know and we must do right now is...”

Jongup and Soojung looked to one another; right before Soojung completed her sentences.

“...we must find way to prove Eunhwa sshi’s innocence; and also Himchan oppa’s true identity as the real Madman.”

Gunwoo drove his car in a steady speed of 100km/h across the highway with his expressionless face. For n^th time, he glanced to his rear-view mirror; and looked towards Eunhwa’s cold visage that was looking to the scenery right from outside.

The air was stiff with tension, and both Eunhwa and Gunwoo could feel it.

An awkward situation.

Gunwoo coughed a bit to get Eunhwa’s attention. “I didn’t mean to be rude before. I’m sorry.”

Eunhwa shifted her gazes towards Gunwoo’s back view. “It’s part of your job, I understand that.”

“I’d to arrest you,” Gunwoo started to tell Eunhwa the full story behind her arrest. “As the crime subject was found inside your house.”

Gunwoo then used his right hand to reach the glove compartment and opened it.

TAK

As soon as he succeeds, he took out a transparent plastic with a knife that had dried blood stains on top of it and showed it to Eunhwa. “This is the knife, and those dried blood stains had been examined as Miss Song Jieun’s blood.”

Eunhwa leaned forward and examined it carefully. She couldn’t even remember that she ever had any knives with this design; so how could it exist, right inside her house?

“It’s not mine.” Eunhwa spoke. “I’d never have this kind of knife before.”

“But your handprints were on the knife!” Gunwoo raised his voice as he started to feel stressed out with all things that engulfed him nowadays.

But as soon as he aware that he had already scared Eunhwa, he quickly apologized. “I’m sorry. It’s just...I becoming mad with myself as I can do nothing about this. I’m too afraid if I couldn’t keep my promise to protect you, Miss Jung.”

Eunhwa moved her head aside. Suddenly she felt a tear fell from her left eye. She wiped it as fast as she could, as she didn’t want Gunwoo to see her fragile side.

Right from the bottom of her heart, she felt that she’d been a burden to Gunwoo; and how much she hoped that she could end her life...

...so that there’s no one...would worried about her, as she didn’t deserve it.

Gunwoo pressed the gas pedal harder as the traffic light ahead is still green.

He didn’t know what awaits them.

A bright light shone from nowhere and suddenly blinded Gunwoo’s eyes. He rubbed his eyes just to make his eyes clearer – and it did works, when he saw the light’s source.

It’s coming right from the oncoming traffic.

A big heavy truck was heading towards them. And Gunwoo could felt his heart skipped a beat.

A collision. That’s the only thing that he could figure out.

On the other hand, Eunhwa who was just realized the situation suddenly felt that strong arms grabbed her in a hug...

 ...before all she could hear, is...

A loud bang.

Petite_Star's Corner : Feel free to give comments for this chapter. Thank you~ :)

Bang! What could happen to both Eunhwa and Gunwoo? Let's keep our finger crossed for their safety T~T

And...will Soojung and Jongup succeed in finding the proof to save Eunhwa?

Stay tuned~ for the next chapter ^^

P/s : This story's status now is almost complete!

Do you possibly now are guessing for how it's ending would look like?

Should I tell you a secret? Let me give you a clue then!

#First_clue

'The person to love me is you'