Hana guessed that that piece of information was more shocking than anything else because Yixing gasped. He leaned forward, placing his hands on his knees as he looked at her with wide eyes.

“His daughter? But he seemed so much calmer than you when he got the call,” he said. Hana shrugged, curling her legs up against her chest. She let her hair out of the hair tie and shook it out, her bangs lying flat against her forehead. Suddenly self-conscious in front of Yixing and the way his eyes bore into her, she started rolling her bangs with her fingers while playing it off as if she was just playing with her hair. It wouldn’t work as well as a roller, but it was something.

“He’s just really good at hiding emotions and keeping them in check. I should know better than anyone else considering he’s the one who taught me how to do that. The only difference is that I’ve had 3 years of practice while he’s had 15.” Hana dropped her hands from her hair to wrap them around her legs.

“How did he react when he found out? When did you tell them?”

“Since the message was from Subin’s phone, I called the chief immediately, thinking they might be able to trace the phone. At first, it seemed as though he was going to have a breakdown on me. He’s a single father, you know,” she spoke, fighting through the tears that threatened to make an appearance. “Subin’s mother died when she was a kid due to cancer. I think he realized that I was about to have a panic attack, so he got a hold of himself and sent a few uniforms to where I was. They were Myungsoo and Jongin. They came to pick me up while the IT team tried to trace Subin’s phone from the precinct. That b*stard was smart though. He turned her phone off immediately, and we guessed that he took out the battery too. The last location that the phone had located was a few meters away from the club — it was just the road near an empty alleyway. At that time, we figured that he probably had a car parked there as a means of getting away quickly, especially since he had an unconscious female with him. And guess what the most frustrating part of going to that alley was?” she asked, not exactly directing the question at Yixing as she was looking up at the ceiling. Yixing didn’t respond.

“There weren’t any CCTVs at that exact place. He planned this. It was all part of his plan. Was it his plan to grab me or was he going to just kidnap any girl? Was there a reason that he took Subin instead? Or was it just a coincidence that I was her friend? God knows how long he had been watching me,” she spoke as her voice came out as a shudder. She set her head on her knees and looked at Yixing. He looked at her for a moment before moving closer to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. He tucked her in close next to his body, and she hesitated for a brief moment before laying her head on his shoulder. She felt his thumb rubbing circles on her shoulder through her t-shirt, and she let out a shaky breath as she felt his warmth. It was strangely comforting to not see pity in his eyes towards her.

“What happened with the investigation?” he asked, looking at the TV but not watching.

“Forensics swept the area and found nothing. At this point, there was nothing we had to go on. I didn’t know what he looked like. He had covered his face with a baseball cap, and the club was really dark. No one else did, either. He had just disappeared. There were many moments where I would be crying in a room alone. It was then that the chief really became a father figure for me. This was the case that led to me getting closer to Myungsoo and Jongin too.

“A few months later, a mother came to the precinct hysterical because her daughter had disappeared. The precinct launched an investigation since it had been a few days since anyone had seen her, but in a day or two, the investigation was sent over to the homicide department. She was found dead at a club from where she was apparently taken. She was wearing a white dress, and her face was covered by a wedding veil. Her left wrist was covered with a corsage of mini red roses, which her mom later said were her favorite flowers. The autopsy report said she died from blood loss — there were cuts on her wrists — and there was a significant amount of chloroform in her body which suggested that she was probably unconscious as she died,” Haeun spoke. At this point she felt like she was telling a horror story that didn’t involve her. She didn’t want to feel anything. “At least she didn’t feel it. There was also a note with her body saying that the girl could’ve been a good bride, but she wasn’t cut out for it in this lifetime. He left a single heliotrope bud taped to the note, and he signed that note as The Gardener.”

Haeun closed her eyes, and she took a deep breath. Yixing never said a word, simply moving his hand from his back to her arm, rubbing it in an up and d