“How is your brother?” Hongbin asked after a long silence. They have not said anything since the film staff left them. Everyone who knows a Jung Taekwoon knows very well that the person does not talk much. Hongbin is also not the kind of person who is very sociable as their team leader, Cha Hakyeon. He even often acts awkwardly on various situations.

“He was released due to a lack of evidence.” Taekwoon's face instantly changes as he talked about his brother. He knew well that this is the news which Hongbin wanted to know, based on Hongbin facial expression which instantly turned guilty for offending it.

“What about the victim?”

“She's still in a coma, so Team Leader Seo has not been able to get any direct information from the victim.” Taekwoon replied. Not wanting to discuss his brother's problem any further, Taekwoon immediately changed the topic, "So he is the last person we need to meet, isn’t he?”

“Yes, he is. His name is Yoo Changseon.” Hongbin replied after reviewing the same car owner's list of car used by the Joker. Yeah, they're here to meet the last person on the list. They've been doing this job for weeks but nothing is suspicious.

“Sanghyuk went to see Yoo Changseon’s colleague a few hours ago. He should have called me now.” Hongbin continued. Just talked about it, his cell phone rang and true it was from Sanghyuk. What makes him gaped in disbelief is that the information is very suspicious. There must be a big deal behind that story.

The man came up to them after finishing his scene. Actually Taekwoon wanted to attack him real soon with various questions but stopped by Hongbin.

“Hyung, we should not be rash. Remember, we haven’t got any proof yet.”

2 hours later...

“Hyung, where are you? What took you so long?” Hongbin asked as soon as Hakyeon answered his call. Today Hakyeon asked permission not to go to the station and his phone was hard to contact. He was not in his apartment either. He just answered his phone after the 26th call.

“I’m sorry. I’m at the charnel house. Why are you calling?” Hongbin silently stunned by Hakyeon’s answer. Charnel house? Who is he visiting until he’s hard to contact?

“I have some important news I want to tell you. I can’t say it through the phone. It’s about the list of those white sedan owners. One of the owners we met today was very suspicious.”

“Get Wonshik to check his background. We’ll talk about this tonight at 8. It would be better if there’s more information that Wonshik can get when we talk about it.”

“Yes, hyung.” Hongbin nodded as if Hakyeon could see his nod. But there’s something unusual here. The team leader’s voice sounded a little different than usual, “but hyung, Are you okay? Your voice sounded hoarse.”

“I’m fine. I just got a cold.” Hongbin doesn’t know why but he felt that Hakyeon was lying. This is definitely not due to colds. Is he crying? He shrugged.

“I told you not to overwork yourself. Make sure you take your medicine.”

“Hmm. I’m going to hang up.” Hakyeon hung up before Hongbin could say anything else. Hongbin shoved his phone into his pocket and sighed tiredly.

***

The dusty clock on the wall shows 46 minutes past 8 pm. Wonshik was just arrived when Hongbin was explaining the result of their investigation. He came a bit late due to his sudden job. But it doesn’t matter to the team leader, because he knew that Wonshik already know about what will be said by Hongbin and Taekwoon. That's why only Hakyeon who was surprised to hear the information about the suspicious person named Yoo Changseon.

“So you are saying that Yoo Changseon knew each other with Byun Taehyun?”

“They not only know each other, but there is also a problem between them.” Hongbin replied.

“Problem?”

9 hours ago...

“You know Byun Taehyun, don’t you?” Hongbin finally started his game to provoke the man – who is the last person to meet on the list they hold – after an introduction and some cheap talks. Fortunately Sanghyuk had been searching out about his acquaintances and turned out he knew each other with Byun Taehyun, the fifth victim.

“Byun Taehyun? Yes, I know him.”

“I heard you have a problem with him.”

“It’s my personal problem so you don’t have the right to discuss it. After all he’s dead, so the problem between us is over on its own.” He replied, more like snapped.

Hongbin tried to remain calm, “Ah, right, he’s dead. Did you know that he reported missing 5 days before his body was found?”

“Why did you ask me about it? It’s none of my business. But I’m sorry about what happened to him.”

“You don’t know? But I think you know it. He reported missing from the 26th of March and was found killed on March 31st. And the funny thing is I heard you also disappeared from the set since the lunch break on March 26th and just appeared on April 1st. Isn’t it a funny coincidence?” Hongbin smirked at the word funny, “and even funnier, a staff saw you fight with Byun Taehyun the day before he disappeared.”

“So you accuse me of killing him?”

“I didn’t say that I accuse you. So, you do feel offended, don’t you?” Hongbin silently smiled. The man ate his bait. On the other hand, Taekwoon was secretly astonished at the way Hongbin handles the man. Unlike his somewhat harsh attitude with this kind of situation, Hongbin was just trying to build a kinda-light conversation. But still, every single word that escaped from his lips shot the other person right in the heart, evoking his anger.

“Hey, don’t think that just because you are a policeman so you can accuse me at will. Let me explain, I went to Busan at that time. My sister had an accident and I was the only family she had.” His face turned red. He clenched his fist and was ready to punch the detectives.

“Then what about 27th of April until the 2nd of May? You disappeared again without a word. And amazingly, someone was found killed with the same modus operandi and signatures.” Taekwoon joined the game, shooting him with another question.

“Stop accusing me or I will sue you.” His knuckles turned white with the strength of his fists, while Taekwoon and Hongbin grinned at enjoying their game.

“We never said we accused you of killing them. We just told you some great, funny coincidences. So why are you so angry? Ah, I become suspicious. Perhaps you’re the culprit.”

“But your words describe that you clearly accuse me. I told you don’t accuse me at will. I was at home. I was not feeling well that day, so I did not go out. You can ask my neighbor if you still do not believe me.”

“Is that so?” Taekwoon pretended to act like Hongbin did.

“Now get out of my sigh before I beat you up. Next time you must have a proof before accusing people at will.”

“We already want to leave though.” Hongbin smiled mockingly.

“So, what’s the problem?”

“The problem is his lover ends their relationship so she can date Byun Taehyun. And what’s even more surprising is that his ex-lover is none other than Seo Boram.” Wonshik answered, surprising those in the meeting room including Hongbin and Taekwoon.

“Seo Boram??!”

“Yes, the sixth victim, Seo Boram.” Wonshik nodded, “but no matter how hard I try, I can’t find Yoo Changseon’s relationship with the other four victims.”

“Yoo Changseon. Yoo Changseon. What’s his job again?” Hakyeon asked.

“Stuntmen.”

“Stuntmen, Yoo Changseon. I know all of her acquaintances, and there is no one named Yoo Changseon.” Hakyeon murmured, but loud enough to be heard by Taekwoon who sit next to him.

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing.” Hakyeon rubbed his face, “bring the person here for interrogation immediately!”

“But we have no evidence or even a warrant.”

“We can take care of that later.” Hakyeon rose from his seat. He glanced at the four of his team members in turn, signaling that they had to move immediately. He was about to step out of the door when he heard Taekwoon’s phone buzzed again. It has actually been buzzing ever since and it's quite annoying to Hakyeon. Hakyeon stopped his steps and turned to Taekwoon, "why didn’t you pick up your phone? Maybe that's important.”

Taekwoon cannot help but obey his team leader, immediately took the phone out of his pocket and sighed when he saw the name on the screen.

“What again, Jung Jiwoon?” Taekwoon snapped.

“Hyung, what took you so long?”

“I just finished a meeting. You keep calling me when you know how busy I am.” Taekwoon sighed again, “Why are you calling? Are you making trouble again?”

“No, I’m not. But it looks like someone has been following me.”

“Someone has been following you?”

“There is a man who keeps following me. He’s carrying a backpack. I can’t see his face because he’s wearing a hoodie. I’m scared, hyung.” Taekwoon know his brother very well, and he could have sworn that his voice is really like a person who was scared to death.

“Where are you right now? Get a taxi and come here quic—” A noisy voice interrupted his words. He couldn’t hear anything else other than his brother's scream. Taekwoon panicked.

“Jiwoon-ah, what happened?”

“Jiwoon-ah!”

“YAH, JUNG JIWOON. ANSWER ME!” Taekwoon keep calling his brother like a fool but there is no response. All he could hear was the sound of his brother's yelling and the stranger's laughter.

Not only taekwoon who could hear the voice, but everyone in the room including Hakyeon. Taekwoon accidentally pressed the loudspeaker icon when he heard his brother's scream so that the other four could hear the voice clearly.

***

Deg...

Hakyeon felt dizzy. Its sounds like déjà vu. It’s him. It was the voice I’ve heard. It was the laugh I’ve heard. It must be him.

“Timjang-nim, find his location. It’s your specialty, isn’t it?” His ears could hear Taekwoon’s voice vaguely, but his body refused to react with Taekwoon’s order. His brain locked him into his trauma that had haunted him this last three years.

“Timjang-nim, what are you doing? I told you to find his location.” This time he could hear it clearly. He could swear he wanted to react real soon, but his weak heart forced him to freeze in his position.

“YAH, CHA HAKYEON, I SAID FIND HIS LOCATION!”

Hakyeon couldn’t hold it anymore. He fell to his knees. His whole body trembled. The tears hold him. He knew that he must act right away but he couldn’t move his foot for even an inch.

“Hyung, are you okay?” Hongbin bent to help him up.

“It’s him.” Hakyeon murmured, loud enough to be heard by Hongbin.

“Pardon?” Hongbin was still puzzled.

“I said it’s him, The ing Joker. It’s him.” Hakyeon tried very hard to stay calm but did not succeed. His heart was beating so fast like an express train and ready to burst out. His vision was getting dark.

“What do you mean?” Taekwoon asked as he pulled the team leader's collar and looked into his eyes sharply like a lion that ready to pounce on him.

“I SAID IT’S HIM. He has a backpack full of knife and he’s wearing a hoodie. He had the exactly same voice. He had the exactly same laugh. IT’S HIM!” Hakyeon raised his voice, very successful to make the others open-mouthed. Very successful to make Taekwoon unconsciously release his grip on his collar. That's when Hakyeon can no longer hold his dizziness and let the darkness take him.

***

 “Yiseul-ah, where are you?” Hakyeon barged her with a question once he answer her call. He’d been looking for her desperately for days and finally there was a call from her.

But instead of answering his question, she crying as she begged him to save her, “Oppa, please save-me... He’s go-ing to kill-me. Please-save-me. Please—”

“Who’s trying to kill you?”

She cried even harder. Hakyeon could have sworn that her voice sounded really like a person who was scared to death. “He’s go-ing to kill-me. He has a backpack full of knife. He’s going to kill me. He’s going to—”

“Yiseul-ah, answer me. Who’s going to kill you? Where are you?”

“Yiseul-ah!”

“Hong Yiseul!” Hakyeon kept calling her name but there is no response. Dead silence. But it didn’t last long until Hakyeon heard the voice of a man laughing eerily. He could hear the man's voice clearly. He froze. Tears starting to run down his eyes.

“YISEUL-AH!”

“HONG YISEUL!” he kept calling his beloved person’s name like a fool but all he could hear was her scream and the unknown man’s laughter. The laughter was heard more clearly just before the line was disconnected.

“Yoon Heeseok, find her location.” Hakyeon threw his phone to Heeseok’s desk. His body trembled by the force of his worries and fears. He cannot think straight.

“But—”

“HURRY UP!”

“Alright hyung.” Heeseok immediately typed things on his computer while Hakyeon paced behind him. Heeseok didn’t take a long time to find her location, “I have found it. Her phone switched off around Nonhyeon-dong”

 “Let’s go there.”

“But that is not our authority, hyung. I’ll tell Eunkwang hyung to go there. I’ll send him the address.” Heeseok tried to stop him by grabbing his hand, but was soon pushed over by Hakyeon.

“Don’t you hear it? Someone’s going to kill her. She was crying for help. We have to go there.”

“Okay. Let’s go there”

When Hakyeon got there, the place was already flooded with local polices and reporters. A very familiar police officer came out of the crowd shortly after seeing Hakyeon, tried to stop Hakyeon to see what was happening.

“Hakyeon-ah, what are you doing here?”

“What happened? Why is it so crowded here? Yiseul called me. She said she was here.” Minhyuk swallowed hard after hearing the answer. Hakyeon still does not understand what happened. The signs of Minhyuk are very suspicious to him. But still he has no idea.

“It’s nothing. You shouldn’t be here. Let’s go home. You must be so tired.”

“Who called him? He shouldn’t be here.” Eunkwang asked to Minhyuk.

“The victim did.” Minhyuk replied.

“What do you mean by victim? Where is Yiseul? She’s fine, isn’t she?” Hakyeon sure there is something odd here. He kept asking where Yiseul is but instead of replying, Minhyuk kept asking him to go home. Eunkwang also kept looking at him sadly.

Unable to resist his curiosity, Hakyeon burst through the crowd to see what was happening with his own eyes. He was surprised to see blood scattered everywhere. Minhyuk tried to stop him by pulling his hand but Hakyeon was too strong for him.

Among the blood clots Hakyeon's eyes found a woman’s corpse that was difficult to recognize. Her body was full of cuts and her head was almost severed. Her face was covered with blood. Hakyeon was too shock so he stumbled over his own feet and landed right before the face of the corpse.

Hakyeon froze. It also froze in his veins when he noticed who the corpse is.  His stomach was filled with butterflies. How could he not recognize that face?

“Yiseul-ah, what are you doing here? Why are you lying on the ground? Let’s go home, its cold here.” Hakyeon burst into tears, tears that running like a river. His heart shattered in pieces.

“It's all my fault.” Hakyeon kept repeating the word between his tears.

“... It's all my fault. It's all my fault.” Hakyeon kept repeating the word between his tears. He kept crying in his sleep and it make the youngers – Jaehwan and Hongbin – more worried.

“Hakyeon hyung, wake up. You are dreaming.” Hongbin shook his body gently, afraid to hurt him.

“Don’t leave me. Please don’t leave me.” Hakyeon begged in his dream, gripping Jaehwan’s arm more tightly.

“Shhh... Its okay, Hyung. I’m here.” Jaehwan caressed Hakyeon’s hair to soothe him.

***

Hi~

Thanks for still supporting this story.

And sorry for the always late update, because I need to change some location in this story to fit it into the next chapters (Like where Byun Taehyun's corpse was found, changed from the alleyway into Dosan Park).

So how was the story so far? Mind to share your thought?

Well, see you in the next chapter :)

.: 인형 :.