Donghae read and re read Henry’s letters. He had gone through all kind of emotions: sadness, anger, pity, self-pity, laugh… The childish way of writing and Henry’s love for his brother in those letters was heartbreaking. It made Donghae think that he could’ve been the one writing this… that he could’ve been like Henry. The brunet was sitting in his car, in front of his house. He knew his brother wasn’t home; Eunhyuk told him Donghwa was at the hospital. Since Donghae started doubting his own flesh, he was a bit scared to imagine him with Siwon. But at the same time he wanted to trust him, he didn’t want to believe that his brother, his loving brother was some cold hearted killer.

“Someone took care of me.” Henry said in one of the letters. “He is a tough teacher but he understands me.” Then another excerpt. “We play chess together sometimes, he reminds me of hyung.” Or, “… I was feeling down today, so he made me sea food hotpot.”

Donghae understood why Sungmin and the ones from the bureau didn’t find anything useful, because the “he” of those letters could be anyone. Only someone who knew what to look for could realize… His hyung loved playing chess and Donghae’s favorite dish was sea food hotpot, which Donghwa used to cook for him every time he was down. But what finished crushing his doubts was a simple sentence.

“My teacher has a superpower that makes him invincible.”

This echoed with what Donghwa had once told him: “I was the perfect soldier. One who doesn’t feel is invincible.” Con analgesia wasn’t a super power… it was a curse.

Drying the remaining tears of his face, Donghae took a deep breath before getting out of the car and going up. With a heavy heart he looked around the apartment. This was the place they had stayed the most, after jumping from house to house. Here had almost been a home to him… not anymore. Suddenly he heard key noise on the main door. Donghae knew who it was. He waited for him to come in and when he entered the living room, Donghae faced him. Then like a rubik’s cube clicking in its last position, making all the faces of the cube wear the same color, Donghae’s brain clicked too when he saw his brother. Everything he ever knew about the case, about the people around him, about his own life, came into place and the puzzle was pieced together. The real Chess Game was starting now. Even of it was already a checkmate…

***

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Leeteuk asked again for the fourth time.

Eunhyuk nodded, lying down on one of the precinct’s leather couches. Sora had kindly accepted to come down to the station to help Eunhyuk. Leeteuk was there, with Kangin and Sungmin. He would’ve thought that Sungmin would’ve stayed with Kyuhyun but apparently he wanted to be there for his best friend, which Eunhyuk was thankful for.

“I’m not used to having so many people watching.” Sora complained. “It’s not a show, it’s a medical treatment. He needs total calm.”

“Just go with it doc.” Eunhyuk said. “They need to hear whatever I say when I’m in.”

Sora nodded, but still clearly not ok with all this, and started her relaxation exercises.

The feeling was now kind of familiar. Eunhyuk felt himself being dragged down, as his body became heavy, and he fell into a dark pit.

And quickly he was in front of the door of his sister’s apartment. The whole scene happened again, but something was clearer about it, a kind of shimmering and brightness making the memory neat. The killer was in front of him, turning his back, and instead of focusing on his sister’s dead body, Eunhyuk tried hard to focus on the killer. His hands covered in blood, his sobs in front of his crime, his words… Then the Classic killer climbed the fence of the window and was about to jump when he turned his face to him…. And Eunhyuk could see it again. Donghae’s face. Time froze, as if someone put his mind on pause and he could look at the killer’s face better. As he stared with more attention he could see that it wasn’t exactly Donghae’s face. He had stared over and over again at Donghae these past weeks, he knew his features by heart now, but the face in front of him was younger. A younger version… and his jaw line was a bit more square, his cheeks were higher, and hi eyes weren’t the same… Chocolate brown yes, but they didn’t have that small drop of yellow in them, like Donghae’s. Then Eunhyuk understood. It wasn’t Donghae’s face, it was something close to it though… someone like his brother.

The detective woke up smoothly and not in a jerk like before. He was still cold, like the first time, but his body wasn’t shaking, and he opened his eyes calmly. Everyone was looking at him, waiting for him to say something. The thin man sat down with a sigh. He felt lighter, as if a huge weight was lift from his chest. Even if what he saw should’ve horrified him, the only feeling lingering was a grand calm.

“So?” Sungmin finally asked, impatient.

“Don’t rush him.” Leeteuk scolded. “It takes time to come back to reality.”

“I need a computer.” he suddenly said.

Everyone frowned at him, finding his demand rather strange.

“I need to do a sketch of the killer.”

Kangin nodded, and helped him up to on the closest computers. Now the technology was so advanced that they didn’t need a special artist, but had a program in which they could build the suspect’s sketch by themselves. It was a win of time and resources. In quick experts movements, Eunhyuk was fast to build the sketch. When he was over he showed it to the others.

“Who does he looks like?”

Everyone let out a surprised gasp.

“Donghae…”

“No. Think again.”

They looked at him, frowning, not getting his point. That’s when Kyuhyun came out from the room he was in. His expression was grave but his eyes were shimmering at the same time. Kangin turned to him.

“Did you find something?” he asked hurriedly.

“I did…”

“So?”

“Donghwa-shii did his military service at Nonsan base.”

It didn’t come as much of a shock for Eunhyuk than to the others. They couldn’t believe what they were hearing. The thin detective had that strong certainty that made him dazed.

“Hyung…” Kyuhyun turned to Eunhyuk.

“Do you have a picture of him?” Sungmin asked. “From the army?”

The boy handed him the file he had in his hands and the blond detective opened it quickly and put the picture that was in there, next to the sketch Eunhyuk just did. Other surprised gasped escaped Kangin’s and Leeteuk’s lips.

“Donghwa… It’s Donghwa, Donghae’s brother.”

“Yes…” Eunhyuk finally said. “He is the Classic killer.”

Kangin turned to him frowning.

“You’ll have to have more than just memories of a hypnotherapy to prove that. Do you know how crazy this is?!”

Eunhyuk could understand his boss’s skepticism. Even he couldn’t believe it. His head was spinning, and he tried hard to focus on the chair he was sitting on, the only thing keeping him in reality. Kyuhyun waved the other files he had in hand.

“There’s much more here. I think Eunhyuk-hyung is right.”

“Wait a second! Then is Donghwa is the serial killer then Donghae…” Leeteuk started, but couldn’t finish his sentence.

Everyone felt silent in the realization of that possibility. Then it was Sungmin who finally broke the silence.

“Where is Donghae?”

***

The brunet was literally trembling in front of his brother. He shouldn’t be though, it’s not like he was going to hurt him. No it wasn’t fear, it was pain… he was trembling and shaking in pain and sadness. The sadness of truth. His brother sketched a small smile.

“Hae, you’re back. I didn’t think you would be back so early.”

He couldn’t say a word. Donghwa noticed that something was wrong and lost his smile.

“Are you ok? Did something happen?”

These concerned eyes, this worried tone, it represented everything he had known from his brother. This was his real brother, and not that horrible version that killed people and turned others into murderers… No it couldn’t be…

“Hae?”

But he wouldn’t close his eyes. No, he couldn’t! “Find the proof and when you do, don’t make the same mistake as I did, talk to him and ask him why.” Those were Changmin’s words, and that’s what he was going to do. But where to begin? Donghwa took another step to him.

“Donghae you’re scaring me, you’re pale as death. What’s wrong?”

“Stop!”

Donghae yelled. To see his loving brother like that made him so mad, to know that it was all a lie made him so mad…

“Please stop…” he pleaded.

Donghwa stopped. It was a good thing for him to keep his distances, or else Donghae would be tempted to fall into his comforting arms and want to forget all of this.

“What have you done to Siwon?”

“What do you mean what have I done? I was with him at the hospital until now! I just got back to change and then I’m going back to him.”

“No you’re not! You’re not going to finish your work… you’re not harming him anymore.”

“Hae, what the hell?” Donghwa asked him confused.

That wasn’t it… that wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Donghae took a deep breath to trying calm his nerves. Then he focused on being professional, from now on he would speak as an officer to his suspect.

“I know who you are. I know you’re the Classic killer.”

The shock on Donghwa’s face was so real that the brunet’s heart clenched in pain. What if he wasn’t? Just what if…?

“We found new evidences on the Classic killer… He actually knew Henry, he was the one who thought him how to be a killer. And he was the one who murdered him when the boy was about to talk… The killer was someone close to Henry, that he had met in the military. We thought they were from the same base but we discovered with Siwon’s help that the killer probably went to another base.”

He was waiting, carefully observing his brother’s face, to catch a glimpse of a reaction. But his brother kept staring at him, eyes widened and mouth slightly opened.

“That other base is Nonsan… You went to Nonsan; you did your military service there.”

“Donghae… what are you talking about?” the oldest managed to say, his voice trembling.

Hearing him so shaken up, Donghae was almost tempted to let it go, to stop and not ask him anything more. He really didn’t want to know the answers to all his questions if it meant knowing his brother was a monster. Not to lose his just found courage, the brunet continued.

“First we’ve looked into Henry’s base but of course your name wouldn’t be on it. I know that you’re not on the list because you’ve moved bases when we moved to another city, but I also know you were there for at least 8 months before moving to Nonsan. Enough time to have met Henry and…”

“And what?! Do you really think I’ve trained that Henry guy to be a serial killer? Are you out of your mind?”

“That’s not all…  You were a sniper! You wouldn’t stop bragging about how good you were… There’s that bruise on your shoulder too! I studied what a K14 is, and I know that the recoil of that weapon is strong enough to leave a mark. But of course you wouldn’t have felt it…”

“Hae… what you’re saying is insane. I got that bruise falling down the stairs.”

“I want to believe you, hyung… I really do… But every piece of evidence, everything that people ever said to me, and that I saw in that case points to you. And I just couldn’t see it, because I was too blinded by brother’s love.”

Donghwa took a step forward extending his hand to touch Donghae’s arm.

“Hae…”