It makes no sense. It all seems too easy…

Things were taking a turn at a monstrous pace that Seungho was unable to keep track of everything happening around him. The image of his sister’s was still etched with utmost clarity in his brain and despite the fact that everything has been cleared now; he couldn’t shake the feeling at all.

It was about 15 minutes after he had reached their home that everything changed. The echoes of his screams and wails were filling the home with more sadness as his tears knew no bounds. Even firmly safe with Joon’s arms, as he held him from moving further into the room, Seungho felt no sense of comfort. It was his baby sister who was lying there, with no life and a pair of pleading eyes that were wide open even after her demise. The thought of her staring into the killer’s eyes, one last time, in a desperate cry to spare her life, irked him and shook him to his core. Every time he heard Joon’s heart beat against him and hear his own heart pumping away, he was angered further, and that his sister did not deserve this.

‘It is okay, Seungho… Cry. Cry as much as you want… I am here. Just cry it all out…’

Joon’s voice kept him company as they now sat across the room, on the floor with Seungho still in his arms, held firmly and not giving him a chance of moving. Seungho understood Joon’s restrain. He knew he was not in the right mind and he might go and mess up evidence that will be crucial to the case. However, all he wanted to do was touch his sister one last time. He knew well that he will not be able to get to do that until an autopsy has been done. Another thought that made him shed more tears; that his sister was going to be cut open. Defeated, he buried himself in Joon’s chest and continued crying, unable to face the men removing her sister from the room.

And that was when it all began…

‘We got a tip…’ Yongguk’s serious voice caught their attention. ‘The killer had called her today.’

Before Seungho could absorb further information he found himself at the Police headquarters, sitting at his desk with a coffee cooling away in front of him, while the entire world buzzed around him. He kept blankly staring at the coffee, not knowing what he should really do. He felt weak, crippled and lt. It was completely not himself. He was the kind of a cop that would think straight without any emotions towards the reality and only focused on catching the killer to avenge the victim. In this case though, he had no clarity. Yes, this was personal but he was unable to detect why he wasn’t able to act the same way as he does for his other victims. They were also from families. They were also the son or daughter or husband or wife or brother or sister of someone. So he didn’t know the answer as to why he was unable to function now. He felt like he was biased by this case but also he was ashamed that he was weak.

How human am I?

Meanwhile Yongguk and Joon were working furiously to trace the location of the caller. It had been revealed that Sunhye’s phone had a couple of recordings about half an hour before her death. They played it only to find that it had been a conversation with the killer. Once they had discovered the information, all of them had moved to the headquarters in such a speed that no one actually realized that Seungho had been sitting there, staring at his coffee for almost an hour.

Yongguk was busy relaying the info from the forensics team on processing the clip to the team that was tracking the location of the phone through GPS. Joon who was working with him intently suddenly shot a glance at Seungho only to find his face changing expressions. He was no longer sad but enraged. His face was slowly gaining color and his eyes were getting furious. Joon didn’t have to think twice before understanding what was going through Seungho’s brains. Being friends for ten and partners for seven years, he knew for sure that it was nothing but the worse.

‘Excuse me for a while…’ he politely excused himself from the team and headed to Seungho’s desk. Placing himself on the seat next to him, he began… ‘I know what you are thinking but you need to stay calm.’

‘Don’t act like you know me…’ Seungho bit his words as he uttered them. ‘I am not a madman.’

‘I didn’t say anything but you labeled yourself of the obvious. You know that you are going to do something crazy. When you are impulsive, you go nuts. I know this is Sunhye but you cannot do what you are thinking of doing.’

Seungho gave Joon a deathly stare but Joon did not budge. Being together for so long, these guys were practically family. It didn’t surprise Seungho one bit that Joon read his mind just by seeing his face. Seungho knew that was he was having stupid thoughts. He was going to rebel, go rogue and rowdy to catch the killer and kill him with his bare hands. It would cost him his life, his future and all that he had worked for till now. It didn’t matter to him anymore though. He simply didn’t care because his only family is dead. His sister was no more and all he could think of was revenge. No matter how much Joon would succeed in suppressing him, he will kill that bastard one way or the other. He swore on it.

‘I would appreciate if you would cut down all the “Law will serve the proper justice” crap to me and let me on my own way. I know you care for me Joon but if you know me at all, then you should also know what I am capable of.’

Seungho was practically threatening him. Joon expected this behavior though. He knew that will go blind and that he will act this way. He was ready for it all. Seungho was different when it came to being emotional. He will react in ways a normal person would not understand. However, Joon knew. He knew it better than anyone else and he knew that, more than any day, he had to be around Seungho right now.

‘I know who you are and I know what you can do…’ Joon began slowly. ‘…which is exactly why I will make sure you are in your right mind. You will get your revenge, but in the right way. I just lost Sunhye and I am not about to lose you too.’

Seungho’s face relaxed almost immediately. He just realized how stupid he really was. He had completed forgotten about the people around him. He specially had forgotten about Joon. They had a long and deep history that cannot be forgotten and he felt extremely stupid, as he realized that only now. He felt so small and apologetic within and he was sure that it reflected on his face, because Joon moved closer and put his hand on his shoulder, holding it firmly in support. He understood him better than anyone else and Seungho was only thankful for that. Slowly, Seungho started thinking about the other people who would probably miss him and right then, a familiar voice echoed all over the room.

‘YANG SEUNGHO, YOU SON OF A B**CH’

A man, similar in age to Seungho and Joon, well-built, with black hair and a pair of glasses to aid to his already intellectual looking eyes, dressed in a suit, stomped his way towards the two. He violently put down the briefcase and punched the desk with force. On a closer look, both could tell that he was crying. Guilt took over their faces as they stared at him earnestly. They were caught up, yes, but they knew that it wasn’t fair on their part to have forgotten about him. He was their only other friend, who knew them better than they would ever know themselves.

‘You two good for nothing idiots couldn’t even pick a phone and call me out of courtesy, let alone friendship and let me know that this has happened to Sunhye? I had to find it when she ended up on my table to be cut open? Are you deliberately messing with me?’

His voice was trembling and the other two sat there motionless. They didn’t know what to do and who was to console whom. The worlds of these three men were violently disturbed now and it was none of their own fault. Silence prevailed for a while until Seungho finally gathered courage to speak out.

‘Byunghee…’ he slowly dragged his name with his shaky voice.

Letting his tears escape, Byunghee immediately rushed over to the other side and gave Seungho a firm hug. His hands were trembling as they held Seungho and Joon watched over them, speechless. All the history they shared was shaking them to the core. If anything they were, these men were nothing but determined to catch the killer.

And right then, Yongguk entered the room.

‘We caught the signal. I have mobilized a team already. They should bring him back soon.’

~*~*~*~

I certainly didn’t expect to run into those two again.

‘Oh look, it’s our friendly tourist!’ I heard Cheolyong yell towards me in excitement.

The last stop of our tour had been Gwanghwamun Square and we had bid farewell after an hour of wonderful memories made. They had made me forget about everything that worries me and for a while, I felt extremely normal. However, good things never last long, at least in my life. I had paid them well with the money I had and planned to take a bus to leave the city as soon as possible. I was instructed to do so by him and I wasn’t going to disobey or disappoint him, not now. He ensured that all this was soon to be over. I just had to survive until he says that it will be okay. Well, I wasn’t going ruin that now, was I?

However, fate had other plans for me.

I hastily rummaged through my backpack as soon as I reached the bus stop only to find my phone was missing. I cursed out loud offending a couple of kids standing next to me. Bowing to them to apologize I started to retrace my steps all the way to where I started. Almost half way through, I ran into the ‘Bang Duo’ again at a small road side café enjoying their hamburgers. Cheolyong couldn’t be more excited to see me while Minsoo looked like his soul was leaving him. Seeing me the way I was, it did something to him. If I had learnt anything through that ordeal, I read people’s faces better. I could tell what they were feeling easier than the other people. It was not a talent I wanted to possess though. It makes you uneasy and it is harder to trust anyone anymore.

‘Hi…’ Cheolyong greeted me as he moved forward. ‘Are you lost? You seem to be looking around as if yu are.’ His voice was filled with genuine concern.

‘Oh, I am not lost… but my phone is. I am not able to find it in my bag.’

Through the corner of my eyes, I noticed Minsoo straighten up. He went rigid in a second and that had my instincts go crazy. He knew something about me. He knew something that made him feel guilty about. I was distracted with his actions while his friend was trying his best to help me.

‘Did you stop anywhere in between the bus stop from the square?’

‘Come to think of it, I did use the rest room in the restaurant behind you.’ I recalled slowly as I looked around.

‘Then it must’ve fallen off inside.’ Cheolyong got optimistic suddenly. ‘It happens to me all the time. I am thinking that I am putting it in my pocket while it has actually fallen out. Minsoo is always picking up for me.’ He added in the proudly.

I shot a glance at Minsoo who was now lost in his senses. He was looking down and his face was filled with worry. It only disturbed me further with curiosity. I wanted to know what he knew that was pushing him to act this way.

‘Here…’ Cheolyong’s voice bought me back. ‘You can use my phone to call yours and see if it rings anywhere around. If you are lucky, maybe someone handed it to the manager’s desk in there!’

I looked at the phone on his hand and then at Minsoo. My gut feeling was hitting me worse than ever and it was telling me that there was something that was going to happen and it was going to be big. It was going to hurt me but how much I wasn’t sure. My heart was thumping against my chest, as if it was minutes away from jumping out, as I slowly took the phone from his hand and dialed my number. My gaze fixed on Minsoo who was finally looking at me with an apologetic expression as I held the phone against my ear.

It was ringing…

I moved towards the restaurant, away from the noises from the street, hoping to hear my ringtone. I was silently praying that it was a simple misplacing incident and I had dropped it out of carelessness. I hear a sound similar to my ringtone and I slowly take my steps into the restaurant. The volume kept increasing with every step of mine and I stop to take a look around. The place seemed normal, not so crowded, just enough people enjoying their lunch. I look out the glass windows and I see the outside world as normal as it can get. Then, I turn a little more to face Minsoo looking at me earnestly. It seemed as if he was wishing that I’d find my phone in here. I noticed Cheolyong instruct him something before he ran out of sight. He probably found another tourist, I figured and that he told him to get his phone back from me. With his worried gaze still fixed on me, I continued to move inside.

Cheolyong was right to be optimistic. As I closed in further, I realized the sound was coming from behind the manager’s desk. The lady in there frantically started to look around for the source of sound and settled down when she saw me standing there with the phone in my hand.

‘May I help you?’ she put on the best smile she could and that somehow calmed me down.

‘The phone that was r-ringing…’ I was stuttering, a sign of my nervousness, as I stated my reason. ‘That phone is mine. I must have d-dropped it when I used y-your washroom.’

She took a second to look at me and reassessed the situation to confirm if I was telling the truth. Then with the same bright smile that she welcomed me, she handed over the phone she took from under her desk to me. Bowing with gratitude, I took it and rushed out of the restaurant before I gave anyone the slightest suspicion. I walked out only to face a much relieved Minsoo, who was now smiling from ear to ear, a smile that I had seen in the morning when my trust on him was high. I silently hand over the phone to him and looked up into his eyes one more time.

‘Are you sure you are okay?’ I asked him with a low and steady voice and observed his reaction.

His smile dropped a little as he tried to maintain his composure while he answered to me.

‘I am fine but I hope you really are happy from now on.’

The answer had nothing but utmost sincerity and it confused me further. All I wanted to ask him was what he knew about me but I knew better than to dwell around. With a small bow out of respect, I turned to the other side and started to rush away. I opened my phone to dial the only number I could at this time. I was hoping to walk as fast as I could to the nearest stop that would take me to the terminal. I hastily took a turn on the edge of that block only to run into two heavily built men in suits. I had bumped into them so hard that I dropped my phone and took a couple of steps back.

One of the two slowly bent down and picked up the phone by his thumb and forefinger alone, as if he didn’t want to get his prints on this. The other was holding some gadget that kept beeping loudly and it got a bit louder as soon as my phone was taken a bit closer. Every bone in my body froze while every instinct was screaming at me, telling me to run away. I stared blankly at those two while one of them chose to speak out finally.

‘Is this your phone?’ he stated every word clearly, as if he needed to make sure that I heard them properly and I would answer it right.

A wave of honesty rushed over me as I slowly nodded in acknowledgement. The result was the moment when I had to hear the words that I never imagined to hear all through my life.

‘Miss, you are under arrest for the murder of Officer Yang Sunhye.’

Crap.