38

      Watching the news, the men in the room were silent. There was an underlying tension in the air, and none of them dared to talk or look at anything else than the TV screen. The woman talking was a young, pretty one wearing a grey suit with her hair held in a ponytail. She looked professional and her expression suited the information she was delivering perfectly.

"It was announced today Yang JaeSoo was released from the hospital after recovering from a bullet wound in the shoulder. The police immediately escorted him to Seoul's police station for questioning. It was reported half a week ago mister Yang was the main suspect in different suicide cases."

Images of Yang with handcuffs and a mask to cover his face were showing as the woman explained the situation. There was a lot of reporters flashing their cameras and shooting questions, but the police and suspect ignored it to enter the car.

"After his arrest for the kidnapping, torture and attempted murder of famous idol singer, dancer, composer and choreographer Lee Minwoo from longest running Idol group Shinhwa, mister Yang was accused of Detective Oh and Gong MinAe's murder. The police gave no further information yet, but mister Yang's suspected of stalking and pushing his victims to suicide after months of harassment."

There was a general gulp in the room as eyes drifted subconsciously to the man in the bed.

"It was reported earlier this week Lee Minwoo, who was accused of using and buying drugs was one of Yang's victim, and his scandal could be related to it. We do not have confirmation yet from the police, but famous idol member from Shinhwa, Lee Minwoo, may have been the victim of continual harassment from mister Yang on a period close to a year. We're still waiting for more information on the matter. Lee Minwoo's agency has still not made any official declaration, and we're waiting…"

The TV was switched off and all eyes fell on the quiet, apparently annoyed Minwoo in the hospital bed. No one dared to talk, waiting for the dancer to say the first word.

"I want to see Eric." He stated, snapping everyone out of their silent staring.

Looking up at the other Shinhwa members and two managers, he did not have to say anything to finally have someone at his side to help him out of bed. After being rescued, his leg was a mess, and he could not move around excepted with a wheelchair. He hated it, but what he hated more was what had happened to Eric because of him. He could not forgive himself for the leader's actual condition, and everyday he was going to see him.

      Junjin pushed Minwoo out of the room under the others' gazes. The rapper shared a look with his friends and knew as everyone else it was better to not say anything and just comply to Minwoo's will. Even if the dancer should be resting in bed instead of spending hours in a wheelchair at Eric's side. But they could not do anything about it either -they had tried, and the result was an enraged Minwoo yelling and throwing things at them.

Eric's room was guarded and in a more secured part of the hospital, the same as Minwoo. When Junjin opened the door and pushed the wheelchair to the bed, he knew his friend was expecting nothing more from him. Hence, with a hand on the dancer's shoulder, he made his leave and sent a last look at the two hurt men in the room.

Junjin hated the sight, but he hated even more the man responsible of all this.

      Once alone with Eric, Minwoo did not move nor talk, unable to say anything to his unconscious friend laying on the hospital bed with tubes all around and in him.

After being shot, Eric was dead twice on his way to the hospital, and one more time on the operating table. The surgeons were rather pessimistic about his chances of survival, but in the end Eric made it. He was in a coma ever since, but he was alive and recovering slowly.

The bullet had pierced one of his lung and deprived the man from oxygen. His brain had suffocated for a few minutes before he was brought back to life.

Minwoo hated himself so much for what had happened, and when he had woken up in this hospital room and remembered the why and how, the first question passing his lips was about his friend. He had thought at first Eric was dead considering the way the nurses looked at him and told him it was better if a doctor was talking to him. But then he was told about his friend's condition and the boiling rage emerged.

The dancer was not sure against who he was the most enraged, but this feeling was eating him up from the inside and torturing him more than his physical pain. However, he could not hide forever behind a lie, and he had too many time to think about it and went to the conclusion what hurts so much was not the rage…

But the guilt.

He was feeling so guilty for his friend's condition and would have given anything to see Eric's eyes open. He could not lose his friend just like this, he needed him. Shinhwa needed him. Everyone needed him. He could not die, but despite what the doctors were saying, Minwoo could not help fear his friend would never wake up. It was a possibility haunting his nights and making him scream in his sleep.

The nurses were thinking it was due to his traumatism after such ordeal, but it was not his stalker he was fearing in his nightmares. It was not this room where he was tortured he was so scared of. It was not the horror he had went through that were making him scream.

No.

What was awaking him in the middle of the night, terrified and trembling was to find Eric's lifeless body in these woods with blood spurting out of his mouth. It was when realizing he could not do anything to save his friend's life that he was waking up shouting in helplessness.

Sometimes Eric was being at this poor girl's place. He was being tortured by this monster and then killed. At other moments they were in these woods walking together and his friend was being shot and dying under his eyes. Or Eric was being killed in this house instead of Oh and Minwoo could not do anything about it.

The feeling coming with such nightmares was always the same, and it was sticking on him for interminable hours even after receiving the painkillers. He was still terrified of losing Eric, of being powerless, of being forced to watch him die.

More than once he had left no other choice to the nurses but take him to Eric's room just to be sure his friend was still breathing. He knew he should be resting for a better recovery, but he could not. Everything was his fault, and the least he could do was watch over a man who had came looking for him and never stopped being there for him.

Minwoo could not abandon Eric in such situation.

***

      Yang JaeSoo was waiting patiently in the questioning room for now two hours. Detective Lee was observing him from the other side of the one-way mirror since he was brought here, and he could not help the bubbling anger building up inside him at the sight of Yang's lack of reaction.

The man did not seem to be aware of what he was accused, of what he had done. It was like everything was alright and he had not killed and tortured poor people for absolutely no reason.

Lee had looked for half a week in the man's background in hope to find something. But there was nothing. The man was white as a sheet, at least on paper. Because everybody knew in the police station what a monster this man really was.

Yang's past was nothing but a happy childhood in a wealthy family. He had spent his life in Seoul, Gangnam. He was a consultant for a famous company before signing out at his father's death. Yang JaeSoo had inherit everything -from money, house to company- and taken care of his sick mother until her too was dying two years later. Yang was twenty-eight at the time.

Today, at thirty-eight, he was living on his family's fortune after hiring someone to take care of the company in his name. He was had the perfect life and was accused of multiple crimes such a good boy could not have committed.

Yang was no good boy though. Not in the police's eyes at least. He was nothing more than a twisted ert taking pleasure at torturing people and pushing them to suicide. Detective Lee had not found yet JaeSoo's other victims. It was a long and arduous task to investigate all the suicide cases they could have.

Too many people were killing themselves in their country, but there was a pattern for Yang's victims, which was asking time to find.

They needed to find first the ones reporting a stalker, then the ones with a sudden behavior change. It could be anything, from isolating themselves when they were usually out-going to using illegal products when it was never in their habit before.

Yang's pattern was to stalk and harass his victims before pushing them to suicide.

It was what he had attempted to do with Lee Minwoo, and detective Lee was sure if he had not worked so hard on this case then the man would be dead by now. If no one had looked for him in these woods, Lee Minwoo would have died and being accused of a detective's murder.

Lee hated Yang so much for what he had done, and unable to watch him any longer, he decided it was time for questioning.

After a brief introduction of him and his colleague, detective Lee started questioning the man about Lee Minwoo.

"You were arrested on the eleventh for kidnapping, torture and attempted murder. You admitted everything at the hospital. Now, what I need to know is why. Why did you chose Lee Minwoo ? And why did you do all this ?"

Yang snickered and eyed Lee as if he was ridiculous. "Because it's fun." He answered, and the two detectives shared a look before looking back at the man.

"Fun ?" Repeated Lee in an attempt to keep his calm. "Where's the fun in harassing and destroying people's life ?"

Yang smiled "You just answered your own question, detective." Lee frowned. "The thrill of having such power over someone. Of making him terrified of his own shadow. Of damaging him so much that his only way out's suicide."

Lee gritted his teeth and clenched his fist to not jump at the man's throat.

"It's sick." He hissed, unable to silence himself, and Yang smirked.

"It's how the game works." Lee froze. "Life's not much different, you know."

He hated this condescending tone in Yang's voice, but he managed to shut up and just listen.

"You've to fight and endure everyday's pain. Some people just opt out, and others keeps enduring in hope things would get better. What's the difference with my game ? They all had a choice, and they chose death."

"You pushed them to suicide." Snapped back Lee, and JaeSoo smiled some more.

"It was a game. They could have keep going, refused to take their own life. The game's over only when they decide it's time."

"Just like with Lee Minwoo ?" He deadpan and secretly enjoyed the look of annoyance crossing Lee's eyes. "He didn't have much of a choice when you kidnapped him and tortured him."

"He didn't leave me a choice." Answered Yang through his teeth and visible rage. "He didn't play by the rules."

"What rules ?"

"My rules. He defied me more than once, and each time I'd to punish him. He's not a really good learner though."

"You stalked him and assaulted him for months. You drugged him and kidnapped him. We know too you made him believe it was his fault you tortured an innocent girl."

A smile slowly formed on Yang's face as Lee recapitulate his doings. The sick bastard was taking pleasure at the pain he had inflicted to others.

"He broke the rules. He talked to you."

"You didn't leave him much of a choice, now did you ? I would've done the same if a sick er had done all this to me."

Yang's gaze darkened, but the man quickly hid it behind an annoying grin.

"Then you're not a fair player."

"Because you are ? Life's not like this. Its not made of fear and pain only. You kept torturing these people until they were breaking."

"Life's not fair."

"So are the players."

Lee and Yang stared at each other for a spreading moment, the detective enjoying how the man was slowly but surely giving away his emotions. It felt too good to get to him after everything he had done.

"Your game, as you call it, is nothing more than bull. It's just your excuse to hurt people."

"My game !" Snapped the man with a slap of the table before calming down slightly. "Is perfect." He added through gritted teeth. "It was perfect until this little er started screwing with the rules."

"Lee Minwoo ?" Lee already knew Yang was talking about Minwoo, but he wanted to see this annoyance in the man's eyes once again.

JaeSoo glared at the detective "Yes. Lee Minwoo. He made me do all these things. He made me torture this poor girl, he made me hurt his friends, he made me hurt him. If he'd played by the rules…"

"You brought all this upon him. You wanted him to believe he was responsible of all this. It's only another way for you to harm him. You're responsible of all this, not Lee Minwoo."

"Yes he is !"

Lee could see such insanity cross this man's face at some times that he wondered how he could have hid it for so long.

"I gave him a choice. He knew the rules, knew what would happen if he was breaking them."

"Funny." Commented Lee without an ounce of amusement in his voice before opening a file. "Because it says here you started hurting some of his friends for absolutely no reason. He said you warned him for days you'd hurt someone close to him before striking." He shut back the file and looked at the man. "Tell me how's that's his fault now. After provoking Kim Dongwan's accident, I'm sure he was ready to follow any kind of rules you had."

"It was part of the game. He was the main player, he's the reason for what happened, for everything." A worrying grin broke Yang's face before he added. "And he knows it."

Lee felt his hands tremble in growing rage, and leaning away from the table -as much to prevent himself from hurting Yang than get in a better position, he asked a question bugging him since the man had confessed at the hospital.

"Tell me something, Yang..." He began, holding the man's gaze. "Why did you confess ? You didn't strike me like the type to give up so easily."

JaeSeo smirked and let a moment pass before answering. "I know when the game's over, detective. I lost, but the fun's not over." He swifted on his seat arrogantly and added. "Just like the way you look at me... As if, as if I was the devil himself. I like it." And with a devious grin on his face, Yang watched as Lee stood up and stomped out of the room with his colleague in tail.

He had maybe lost against Lee Minwoo, but it did not mean he could not have fun anymore when messing with people. He had always enjoyed it and would enjoy it for long, and prison would not change such fact.  

I'm not that confident about the second half of the chapter about Yang's questioning, but it turned out like this and I couldn't figure out another way to write it. I hope you liked it.

So, Minwoo's safe, but Eric's in a coma. What a way to add to this guilt he's already feeling.

To next time !