When I woke up it was to darkness, I squinted in hopes that my eyes would adjust faster. I could make out that I was in a room and by the smell of it, it was underground. I was definitely alone. I wasn’t tied up or anything so I got up and tried to walk to figure out the size of the room. Oomph! I put my hands in front of me, there was a large glass barrier, preventing me from going to the other side of the room. I walked along the glass. It was basically a cage.

“You’re awake,” a voice said. I looked all around in hopes of finding the origin. Suddenly lights came on and I was temporarily blinded again. As my eyes started to focus, I made out a figure standing in the furthest corner from me. I couldn’t quite see the face of the unknown individual. The room was basically designed in such a way as to ensure the one on the inside wasn’t able to see those outside but that the one outside had a full view on the one on the inside.

“Is that you Sungyeol?” I asked, desperately trying to make out the person.

“You lied Woohyun. You said you were here for business.” The tone of the voice was freezing and accusatory. “You work for the government. You’re an agent.”

I struggled to get up from the floor while trying to block the glare of the light. “I didn’t lie, I am here on business for my work.”

“You’re here to catch me.” It was said as a statement that I couldn’t refute. It was true, we were here to catch a killer.

I breathed out, wondering what I should do. I could try to bluff my way out but it seemed unlikely that Sungyeol would buy it. I decided to try a different tactic, the more humane one.  “Why are you doing this?”

“Why don’t you tell me Mr. Special Agent?” Sungyeol mockingly said.

I closed my eyes with my back to the glass wall I slid down and sat. I sighed, “After the death of your family, the date was forever imprinted on you. The names and birthdates of the victims give you that date. That’s how you pick your victims. It’s why I’m here.”

There was silence.

“You think you know so much. I see that you wouldn’t understand anyways,” Sungyeol’s voice gave a warning of danger and I could sense the anger that was building. “I shall leave you to ponder more upon this, perhaps you will come to understand.”

“NO! Wait…” I turned around from my original position in desperation, Sungyeol couldn’t leave, I had to try to get through to him. My hand was outstretched on the glass window. “Please help me to understand.”

Sungyeol paused with his hand on the door handle. “I punished them you know?” he said quietly. The whisper was just barely heard by Woohyun. “I killed them all for burying their deaths as if it were some dirty secret to be hidden away. I went looking for them and the dirty secret was forgotten.” He scoffed, “After all of that pain that I went through, they all just… forgot. That’s when I knew that I had to do it and soon the numbers were a sign of who had to die so that the rest of the world can be saved.”

“Who’s ‘they’ Sungyeol?”

“They were forgotten too, you see. I visited them when I was 18 just as I finished high school. Those politicians and paper-pushers…”

As he said that, the photos of the missing persons flashed through my mind, that’s where I had recognized some of the faces. The one lived in the same building as us and the other was the secretary to the then mayor.

“They were never found, were they? You buried them.”

“Yes, I did bury them. In fact, they’re buried right outside,” as he said this he moved closer to the glass wall that separated us. Then I could see him, there was an odd insane look on his face, he looked halfway between happiness and despair. “Nobody missed them.”

“But then why did you leave the recent victims where you killed them?”

“I think you know why I buried the previous ones. I couldn’t have anything trace back to me.”

I was shocked. This put highly functioning individual into context for me, I guess I just imagined them to be smart but thinking ahead just didn’t seem as real to me.

“I’m actually rather sorry that I will have to kill you. You were probably the only one that would understand out of all them.” For a moment, I truly sensed some remorse in him.

“I still don’t know why you killed them. Any of them.”

His lip turned up a bit and I sensed that his thoughts were dark, “They put me through so much and then when I asked them about it. Do you know what they said to me? I should move on because the rest of the world has. Well, you know what, the rest of the world didn’t know the horror of it all. How could the mayor’s speechwriter be an abusive husband? The mayor is such an upstanding man, he would never surround himself with such people. So, I killed those that helped him cover it all up. And then I realised that those with the corresponding numbers were cursed and they too had to die.” I watched as the glint in his eye became wild.

“What about the mayor?” I asked quietly.

“He went on with his life and now he’s… quite high up.”

It clicked, “All these victims are just stand-ins, isn’t it? You can’t get to him and that’s why you’re doing this!?!”

“Silence” Sungyeol’s eyes flashed at me. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I should finish you. You know too much anyways…” He walked and then stopped at another part of the glass wall. Out of nowhere the wall retracted upwards.

I watched as he made his way close to me. He came at me and grabbed my shoulders with two hands, I struggled and tried to throw him off balance. I reached out and punched his side, desperate to gain the upper hand. He threw me against a solid wall and began to slam my head against the wall. He couldn’t get a proper hold on me. I kicked him, he staggered backwards. “You’re a fighter, I see, no matter I’ll finish you off either way.” His hand went round his back and he grabbed his gun. He aimed it at me. My mind was racing, the adrenaline was pumping, helping me calculate what my next move should be.

BANG!

I watched as policemen and then my team filled in. They all had their guns pointed at Sungyeol.

“Drop it,” Team Leader Ahn said.

Sungyeol gave him a look that clearly said that he wasn’t going to.

“Sungyeol,” I pleaded. “Drop the gun, don’t do this. Let me help you. We can get the mayor together.”

He turned to look at me. I saw the decision he made in his eyes, he raised the gun that he had lowered and aimed it at me.

In slow motion, I watched as his body flung a bit forwards as he was shot.

Instinctively, I curled away as the shards of glass flung towards me. I looked up again and Sungyeol was already on the floor.

I stood outside of the house that I was held captive in. The scene felt wrong. It was too peaceful for all the violence that this place had seen. I stared at two trees that seemed a bit out of place, they were placed at the edge of house. Their species was quite unlike the rest of the property.

“Well, this case is wrapped up,” Team Leader Ahn said, “Well done. I can’t say I approve of the method that we had to use but good job Woohyun.”

I looked at Team Leader Ahn’s face, there was a smile and a look of pride. I nodded my head in acceptance. As he walked away, he turned slightly and called, “You can call me Kangta.”

“Well done, Woohyun-ah!” Jonhyun said as he ruffled my hair.

I watched as the rest of the team packed up. There was a presence next to me.

“I’m not sure why but it’s not a very satisfying feeling,” I said.

Myungsoo replied, “You caught a killer that’s all that matters. I know you feel that there could be more justice but in this world, we must take what we can get.”

I thought through Myungsoo’s words, I allowed them to roll in my mind. I looked at him and smiled, “Yah, let’s go! I think we ought to celebrate our first case!”

So this is the end of this story!! Thank you for your patience and support!! I hope that you that you enjoyed it!! If you want, let me know what you thought of the story! Thank you so much!!