Its’ been nearly a week and details of the case were finally beginning to leak to the press— and Seoul is in a state of panic specially after finding out that one of the victim is a member of Special Agent Unit.

To date, they knew that a crazed killer had broken into the house and took Krystal Jung to his apartment and killed her there in a ritualistic fashion. It would only be a matter of time, a day at most, before the fact that Krystal had been the Bride Killer’s sixth ritualistic killing made the news.

The fact that the Bride Killerr was not only out there but homing in on his seventh victim deepened the desperation that had pulled the investigation into its jaws. They couldn’t take time to mourn. Min Ho had hurled himself back into the dark murky waters like a man who’d jumped overboard, knowing that the killer was in the deepest part of the ocean.

But there was nothing new out there, and in the end the waves had washed him up back here. At the Center for Wellness and Intelligence.

Sister Mi Kyung sat at her small wood desk in front of a wide bookcase filled with psychiatric and psychology books. She leaned back in her chair, studying him like a mother who knew more than she let on. “It’s not your fault.”

“I could have stopped it. It feels like my fault.”

“Of course it would. And now you’re terrified to take the next step because you’re afraid that you’ll be at fault again.”

She was speaking about Shin Hye. Her insistence that Shin Hye might hold the key had whispered through his mind, drawn him back. Without her encouragement, he wouldn’t be here. And even now he was torn.

She leaned forward, “Help me out here. You have a lead in a case—”

“We have a girl…”

“A woman.”

“… a woman who forgot what she saw when she made contact with one of the killer’s victims. Is that a lead?”

“Isn’t your obligation to fully explore every lead in a case like this?”

“She can’t remember.”

She nodded, then winked at him. “Not yet.”

In Min Ho’s world what she suggested made no sense whatsoever.

 “Do you know what I think?”

“Mm?”

“I think you’re afraid. Not of violating any protocol. You’re afraid of Shin Hye herself.”

“Ani, that’s not—”

“I think you feel for her and you’re afraid of hurting her. It’s the same reason you probably have difficulty committing to any relationship. You’re wounded by a monster called guilt and you just can’t go there again because of the pain.”

She’d hinted at this already, but hearing it so clearly put Min Ho back on his seat. He didn’t know how to respond.

“I think you’re falling in love with her,” She went to say.

“What…” He crossed his legs and folded his hands, uneasy. “Listen, I know you think all of this is good for her, but you can’t just push an absurd relationship like this… This is crazy.”

“No, she’s crazy, and that’s the real problem, isn’t it? Any other witness and you wouldn’t be sitting here like a small boy, feeling sorry for yourself. Well, let me tell you something, Agent, the last thing you need to worry about is whether Shin Hye will or won’t get hurt. Stop treating her like she’s subhuman.”

“So now I’m wrong for not leading her on?”

“I’m not suggesting you lead her on. I’m only saying that she deserves to be treated like any other woman her age. With complete honesty.”

“She’s not any other human being!”

“She is!” Sister Mi Kyung cried. “Do you think God loves her any less because of her condition?”

“Don’t put words in my mouth.”

She sighed and leaned back again. “Fine. I’ll be straight then. I hope you find this killer and put an end to what he’s doing before he hurts another woman. He’s clearly psychotic, and it’s the few like this maniac who give my children a bad name. Despite the vast majority of wonderful people learning to cope with their psychosis, there’s always the one who’ll graduate from University, then snap and kill his fiancée. On account of those few, the world treats them all as if they have leprosy, and that makes me sick. You have six dead women on your hands, and that’s a terrible thing. But I have dozens living in my care who face a kind of death every day because they are made to feel like the dirt on the bottom of your feet. Less than human. Dead already.”

Point taken.

“You cannot hurt Shin Hye more than she’s already been hurt. You can only help her. Don’t let your fears and insecurities stop you from treating her like any other woman.”

He stood and walked to the window. “Fine, I won’t. But you’re wrong about one thing.” He turned and walked to the back of his chair. “I’m not falling in love with her. Maybe I am wounded and maybe I’m afraid to let a woman love me, all that psychobabble. I like Shin Hye very much. She’s… precious. But I’m not falling in love with her.”

The idea of it…

He didn’t like the way SIster Mi Kyung's eyes twinkled. “Fine. Then you’ll treat her like a human being. Like a woman.”

“I said I would.”

“Because if you do, she’ll trust you. She might let her guard down and tell you what’s hidden inside her. And she’ll probably fall in love with you, if she hasn’t already.”

He couldn’t believe she was saying this.

“And I’m telling you that’s okay,” She said, standing. “Let her fall in love with you. It will do her wonders.”

“I refuse to lead her on—”

“I didn’t say lead her on. I said treat her like any woman. Just don’t penalize her. There’s a difference.”

She walked around her desk and headed toward the door. “And this bit about God’s favourite, from the killer’s note.”

“‘I’ve taken God’s favourite back to him,’” Min Ho quoted from memory.

She gripped the doorknob and turned back. “You realize that’s theologically sound. In God’s infinite love, he loves no one more than another. We are all, therefore, God’s favourite. Each soul is immeasurably valuable, no less than the value of a single bride loved by her suitor. Few humans understand their relative value to God.”

“And you’re saying the Bride Killer does,” He said.

“Whoever this man is, he thinks he’s doing God a favour, finding the bride of Christ for him. What he doesn’t realize is that he’s actually killing God’s favourites. He’s got it backward, you see? He’s not an angel, he’s the devil. Someone needs to correct his thinking.”

“Well, he’s delusional.”

“But he’s not the only one who’s got it backward.” She opened the door and stepped out. “Now we should go. Shin Hye is waiting.”

“She is?”

“She’s been waiting for an hour.”

----------------------------

Min Ho cleared his throat. “Do you know why I’m here?”

“Because Krystal’s dead,” Shin Hye replied. Then added, thinking her delivery too crude, “I’m so sorry.”

“So am I. But you were right about the jack in the whole.”

“Sister Mi-Kyung showed us the last note. Jae Suk oppa and Yoo Bi spent a whole day on it, but they couldn’t come up with anything.”

“I think it was a note for me.”

“That’s what I told them.” She paused. “Did you love her?”

He blinked. “Krystal?”

Shin Hye nodded at him. He thought about his partner who he couldn’t get out of his mind.

 “Not like that, no,” he said. “But we were very close.”

Shin Hye almost asked him what he thought about her, but she caught the words in before she made a fool of herself. The room was feeling stuffy and she was sweating, so when he said that maybe they should find some privacy near the fountain, she jumped at it.

They walked in silence, and her awkwardness grew. She became aware of every step she took. Her sandals, which she’d never worn until today, looked like something out of a bad horror movie. His leather shoes, on the other hand, looked like they might cost her full monthly allowance.

They were both wearing jeans, but hers were too short. Why were all her jeans too short? She’d never realized that until just these last few days. She let him walk infront because she was too conscious of him.

 “Okay, stop.” Min Ho suddenly halted, holding up his hand.

She plowed into his back, then scrambled back. “Sorry. I didn’t realize you were going to stop. If you would have told me, I would have gone around. I didn’t mean to run you over.”

He didn’t seem to care. “I can’t do this,” he said.

Dread spread down her face. “Me neither.”

That stalled him. “I’m sorry?”

“Eo?  What were you talking about?” She was obviously talking about her attraction towards him. What was he talking about?

“Sister Mi Kyung said I should just be honest.”

When he didn’t elaborate, she agreed. “As opposed to lying, yes, she would say that, she used to be a nun. I mean, I would, too, of course. Honesty is always best, particularly around someone like me who despises a fake.”

“Really?”

“You like fakes?”

“Then you know why I’m here?”

“Because Krystal is… you know…” She made a motion with her hand but quickly gave up, realizing she didn’t know how to say dead without saying it. “Dead.”

“I mean… why I’m here with you,” he said.

She had no clue, because she was purposefully controlling her own mind and forbidding it to wander. Well, yes, she did have a clue. They were here to try to shake loose the memory of what she’d seen in the kitchen. The ghost. “To get me to remember…”

“And the only way to do that is to get you to trust me,” he said. “You realize that?”

“I do. And I already do trust you.”

“Yes but… I mean…” His eyes shifted, and he used his large, strong hands absently.  “More than just trust,”

“Like what?”

“Like become comfortable with me. Release your fears. Whatever’s blocking your memory.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“I think so. You want me to let go of my inhibitions so that my mind lets go, so to speak, and recalls what I saw.”

“Something like that. Yes.”

“But you’re afraid that we might get too emotionally involved,” she said.

His eyes widened slightly. She’d spoken too frankly, she knew that the moment the words had left , but seeing his reaction, she felt strengthened. She had some power over him. It was the first time she’d exercised this kind of power over a man like Min Ho, and she found it amazingly satisfying.

“You’re afraid I might fall in love with you,” she pressed. And now he blinked. Then blushed. Not much, but just enough to encourage her even more.

“Or that, however unlikely, you might fall in love with me.”

“Ani.”

“Eo?”

“Well…” Now his face was bright red.

Shin Hye thought about everything she’d just said, and she felt her own face turn hot.

“Don’t worry, Min Ho-ssi. I have no intention of falling in love with you.” She walked past him. “Now come on, let’s go to the foun