“I did a research on the victims, months prior to the murders, trying to find those who matched my ideal list. I met the first victim on a billiard pool. He complained about his back pain. I prescribed him the Bisoprolol, claiming it was pain reliever.”

“I found out about the second victim on an online dating site. We talked briefly for two weeks and I heard she was working several jobs. I recommended her to visit my pharmacy to buy health supplements. I gave her the Captopril.”

“I contacted the third victim pretending to give him a job. We talked around his apartment area. I bought him coffee and diluted Midazolam there. I didn’t expect him to have a driving job afterwards, but it was proven to be a nice touch to my work. I switched their places and brought the victim back to my pharmacy. It was pretty challenging, but I like to be challenged.”

“I was lucky with the fourth victim. She came by herself to the pharmacy. I have already known she had signs of depressions from her social media posts so I prepared Alteplase inside a Fluoxetine bottle. The security system from the precinct made it hard for me to execute my plan, but I did it anyway.”

“The fifth victim was a fun one. I already planned on killing her, but I have to move before my planned date. But the surprise was great and it was one of my favorites. Also, I have fun playing with drugs reaction on this one. Definitely up on my list.”

“After the victims died, I kept them on my bathroom in the pharmacy. I did all the murder myself. I had to break their bones to make them fit into the boxes. Jung Jaewon only helped by packing the box up and sending them to the precinct.”

The words that Seo Jiwon said on court rang through Youngho’s mind like a broken record. His words had sent him into countless nightmares that plagued him to this day.

A psycho.

A psycho sent from the deepest pit of hell, that man is.

A month has passed. Everyone had worked really hard to reach this point. It was supposed to be the end. Youngho splashed the cold water into his face, waking himself up from the continuous spacing out. He turned off the water tap before exiting the bathroom where his friends and his sister are waiting for him.

"Are you okay?"

Youngho looked down to see his sister's worried eyes.

He smiled as he tapped her nose, "I'll be fine. This is what everyone wanted and Prosecutor Kim had helped us to make this happen faster than possible."

"We'll be waiting outside, John," Doyoung patted his back comfortingly as Youngho entered the room.

The room was well lit, looking just like a normal doctor's examination room.

"Mr. Seo Youngho."

Youngho bowed down to a man in scrubs.

"We're proceeding with the death penalty to the crime perpetrator, Mr. Seo Jiwon. Would you like to come inside for some last words?"

"How long does it take for the medication to take effect?" Youngho asked as he followed the doctor.

"For us to pronounce his death, probably around 15 minutes, sir. We're injecting the first drug soon. It'll knock him out in 30 seconds. Do come inside if you want to," The doctor bowed before going to a door that leads somewhere else.

Youngho mentally prepared himself and entered the room and he saw the cause of his nightmares, his own father, handcuffed to a hospital bed. He was connected to a couple of machines and a few doctors are busy around him.

"We attached him to machines to monitor his heart and his brain activity. Once both machines said he died, we will pronounce him dead," The doctor that greeted him came behind him to explain about the death penalty method. Youngho could choose between drugs, bullets, and hanging. But no, he’s not a monster like his own father so he chose the first option despite wanting the man to suffer before his death.

"Are you sure you don't want to have your words with him?" The doctor asked.

"Later," Youngho shook his head.

The doctor nodded understandingly before walking towards the criminal.

"04.55 p.m. Insert IV lines," a doctor said.

Youngho watched a few people disinfecting Mr. Seo's arm and preparing the infusion set. Youngho took a deep breath before approaching the man.

"Oh, son."

Youngho felt sick to the stomach when Mr. Seo grinned, calling him his son, garnering attention of the doctors around him.

"Such a filial son, sending your father to his death bed," Mr. Seo said calmly.

"Why did you do it?" Youngho asked to the point, ignoring his birth father's attempt at pointless small talks.

"You were a cursed child. If it wasn't because of you, your of a mother and I would never separate," Mr. Seo said through gritted teeth.

"05.00 p.m. Infusion set ready! Prepare for venipucture!"

Youngho ignored the talking doctors. "It was not my fault. You hurted eomma long before I was born."

"It was her own fault. She cheated behind my back with Kim Myunghoon that bastard."

"05.05 p.m. IV line secured! Prepare for Thiopental injection!"

"You are the bastard, Seo Jiwon. Kim Myunghoon was a great father and a great husband. I'm glad you're going to die today. I hope you rot in hell."

"05.07 p.m. Thiopental injection inserted!"

Mr. Seo smiled wickedly, "And I hope you grew up like me. At the end of the day, I was still your birth father and you're still my son."

And then his head lolled to the side.

"05.08 p.m. Patient sedated. Prepare for pancuranium bromide injection!"

"05.09 p.m. Pancuranium bromide inserted. Prepare for potassium chloride injection!"

Youngho froze in his place as the oxygen saturation monitor dropped steadily.

"05.13 p.m. Potassium chloride injected!"

Youngho turned his eyes to the heart monitor, watching the lines go crazy before turning straight. He looked at the doctors who were looking at the machines and the body of his birth father.

"Seo Jiwon, 55 years old. Inmate number 7567. Time of death, 05.14 p.m."

Alright, he's dead.

"Mr. Seo Youngho, you can sign the death certificate and—"

"I don't care. I don't want to deal with his death or his dead body. Let the government deal with him." Youngho bowed to the flustered doctors before fleeing the scene immediately, going out to see his 3 team members waiting worriedly.

"Oppa!"

Youngho bawled his eyes immediately as his sister crashed into his embrace.

"He died. He died, Kate. He finally died."

"Hey, hey, it'll all be okay," Yerim hugged her brother tight as he slumped to the floor in choked sobs. Jaehyun knelt on the ground to wrap his arms around his girlfriend who has begun to cry as well and also his friend who was breaking down. Doyoung followed suit, forming a four people hug on the floor of a prison death sentence facility. After a few minutes of good crying, Youngho pulled back.

"Thank you for coming here, guys. You all can go home now. I have somewhere to be."

"Oppa, will you be okay?" Yerim asked worriedly.

"I will be fine, Katie Kat. I need to clear my mind first. Go home first with Jaehyun. Jay, dude, take care of my sister for me?" Youngho turned to Jaehyun.

"Of course, John."

"Doyoung, you too. Take care. I need to go somewhere."

"Take care, Johnny."

The three people waved their hands at their captain who broke down his walls for the first time in years.

___

Youngho exited his car once it was parked on in front of a colorful building. He entered the place and greeted the receptionist before looking around. A small smile left his lips as he peeked through a glass window.

"Is your child taking the piano course too? You look so young!"

Youngho turned around and saw a woman talking to him. He smiled kindly, "Ah, no. I was actually waiting for my father."

"Oh, you're Teacher Kim's son? Wait, I think I've seen you on TV…"

"Ah, he's that detective! From the murder case!" Another woman, a parent too most probably, piped in.

"Oh, right! Teacher Kim must've been so proud to have a son like you!"

Youngho smiled awkwardly, hoping his father would finish his lesson fast. He glanced back inside the classroom where his step father is teaching piano for 5 kids. The man had retired from his job as a building contractor last year and he decided to work to teach music to fill time. Youngho could see all 5 children laugh as they played the piano. His step father is a very warm man. Of course, kids loved him. Just then he watched those little kids ran to hug his father before bursting out the class to greet their awaiting parents. Youngho stood straight and waited for his father to come out.

"Ah, our dearest kids, have fun on the weekend! See you next week!"

"Yes, Teacher Kim!"

Youngho tapped the man's back and smiled when he turned around in shock.

"Adeul! Omo! What a surprise!"

Youngho smiled as he gave his father a hug.

"Appa, did you ride the taxi here? I don't see your car."

"Yes. I was too lazy to drive this morning. Did you bring your car?"

Youngho nodded, "Let's have dinner together. Just the two of us. Boys' time. I'll call eomma. She can have Jaehyun as her son tonight."

His father laughed, "Sure thing, son."

Youngho drove them to their favorite meat restaurant and soon he found himself face to face with his father.

"Here, appa," Youngho offered him a shot of soju. They toasted their glass before downing the alcohol, sighing at the warmth it brings.

"Appa."

"Yes?"

"Today... Was my birth father's execution date."

His father nodded, letting his son talk first.

"I… I don't know what to feel."

Mr. Kim smiled, "You don't have to feel anything. You're free to feel whatever you want to feel. Your focus should be yourself," He said as he patted Youngho's hand.

Youngho nodded, "Thank you, appa. Anyways, I have a question to make."

"Sure. Go ahead."

"Eomma… How do you meet eomma?"

His father smiled. Youngho stared at him who had a longing look in his eyes, probably because his mother is not here with them.

"We were friends. All the way from middle school. And I always have this crush on her. I mean… Look at her! You know your mother," his father grinned playfully.

Youngho laughed, "Yeah. Eomma's amazing. But then, you didn't make any moves on her?"

His father shook his head, "No. I was scared I'll ruin our friendship. Until university came, and she met your birth father. He was her senior. I felt like losing and I became a coward. That was what I regretted the most about myself. I left uni and enlisted into the army to finish my 2 years duty. After I got out, I found out your mother was dating him. I got brokenhearted and I moved to the States to pursue education there."

"And how did you meet her again? I'm curious. You never told us this story before."

His father chuckled, "It was nothing special. My mother already passed away when she gave birth to me. My father passed away when I was in high school. I lived under my aunt's custody. That time I was already working in Chicago when I heard my aunt passed away. I have to go back to prepare for funeral and handle her assets and inheritance. At that time, I got quite a large amount and several assets so I have to deal with them. And that made me had to stay in Korea for a few months. I met your mother by chance. She already had you, but you were still very young. You're basically a baby."

Youngho rolled his eyes, "I must've been ugly as a baby."

"No! You were so cute! You looked just like your mom. And then we just reconnected. As friends. I know my boundaries. Until she told me how… how she was abused. And it bothered me since that man not only hurt her, but also you. You, who were still very young and small. I couldn't take it. I told her to divorce him. She refused."

Youngho gulped, "Was it because she was scared?"

His father nodded.

"And then how…"

"They finally separated?"

"Yeah. That."

"You… you got into the hospital. Your mother too. A baby, barely 2 years old, got hurt because of his own father. Do you think I can handle that news well? Of course not. I told her; she didn't have to be with me if she doesn't want to. But I want her to live a safe, happy, healthy life."

Youngho smiled at his selfless father, "Then how did we end up with you?"

"I contacted our friends who were in law school. We helped your mother get the best lawyer possible to present her. Your mother didn't even ask your father to be prisoned. She just wanted a divorce, and your custody. It was easy."

"And after the divorce, you brought me and eomma to the States?"

"Originally, no. I never wanted to pressure her to be with me. My feelings for her were my own problem to deal with. But she wanted to get away. The only way to bring all three of us the States was through marriage."

Youngho gaped. This is a whole new set of information he had never heard before. "You faked a marriage?!"

To say that Youngho was shocked was an understatement. All this time, he thought his mother married his step-father like most normal people—because they love each other.

His father laughed and downed a shot of soju before continuing. "At first. But I guess, she came through with the fact that I was sincere with her and I wanted to take care of you like my own son. So, we continued the marriage as a real one."

Youngho smiled, downing his own drink. "I understand, how you accepted and loved eomma after all those years crushing on her, despite her already being a widowed woman with a son. I was just wondering… How come you could take me and love me like your own son?"

His father laughed, putting a piece of meat on Youngho's bowl. "What's there not to love about you, son? You were very cute as a kid. You were still learning how to talk. You didn't get that much chance to talk back then but after we moved, you were basically a talking machine. Very cute."

Youngho waited as his father chewed on his food before continuing, "You were very, very smart. You learned English so fast. You were very curious and active, and you always wanted to be near us. I could still remember you, running around asking for me when your eomma forced you to take a bath. You would run around , screaming, 'Samchon! Samchon!'. In the end, we'll bath together and left your mother wondering how we got so close in such a short amount of time. It's a boys’ thing, I guess."

Youngho smiled, "How long did I call you samchon before I finally called you appa? I don't remember…"

"Maybe around… 3 years? After Yerim was born, we told you that you were her oppa. You learned the concept of family but you were confused on why I kept saying I was Yerim's appa but Youngho's samchon to you. I never wanted to force you to acknowledge me as your father. My priority was your comfort. If you’re more comfortable with me as a samchon, I’ll be your samchon. But I guess it came naturally after Yerim learned how to talk."

"She must've babbled a lot as a kid, huh?"

His father laughed, "You're right. I was used to living alone, brooding over my first love, and then suddenly she lived with me and I had two kids. But you were both so cute. I love the two of you so much."

"You still haven't told me how I finally got to call you appa," Youngho reminded him as he took a bite of the meat.

"Oh, that… I cried that day. You came to me after I came home from work. I was still in the entrance, taking off my shoes. You asked me, if I was Yerim's appa and you were her brother, doesn't that mean I was your appa too? I was surprised. I told you that yes, I am your appa. But if you're more comfortable of calling me samchon, then I'm okay. And then you just went, 'I'll call you appa then! I like having you as my appa!'. And then you left to continue playing like you didn’t just say something so life changing for me while I cried in the doorstep."

"You cried?!"

His father laughed and downed a shot in embarrassment, "It was such a meaningful thing. Of course, I cried. I had a drink too later that night and cried some more. Your mother probably thought I’ve gone completely nuts that time."

"Appa.. Thank you."

"Eyyy, for what? I should've thanked you for growing up to be such an amazing man. You made me so proud, Youngho-ya."

Youngho smiled bashfully, "I want to thank you too. Thank you for raising me like your own son. Thank you for bringing Yerim to this world. And most importantly, thank you for making eomma happy."

His father smiled proudly as he raised his shot glass, "Cheers to us."

"To us."

___

Jaehyun peeked inside Yerim's bedroom to see the woman sitting on her bed playing with her cellphone. "Can I come in?"

Yerim yelped and nodded with a laugh, "You surprised me. Come in!"

Jaehyun sat next to her and she sighed immediately.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm worried. About oppa."

"Your mom said he's having dinner with your father. He's fine."

"I hope so. My brother never talked about his feelings to anyone," Yerim sighed again.

"That's just how boys are, babe," Jaehyun laughed, ruffling her pink bangs.

"Which reminded me, you never really talked about your feelings too."

Jaehyun frowned, "About what?"

"Everything! You're pretty silent you know! I feel like the only one talking in this relationship!"

Jaehyun laughed, "It's okay. I like listening to your voice."

Yerim blushed at his response but she brushed it off with a pout, "But I want to hear you talk too."

"Fine. What do you want me to talk about?" Jaehyun threw an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.

"You can start by telling me what actually happened."

"What actually happened?"

Yerim nodded, "That day when we both nearly died."

Jaehyun shrugged, "Nothing much. I found you, and then I got shot. I shot him back in defense. And he shot me again. Help came, and when I woke up, I'm already out of surgery."

Yerim rolled her eyes, "That much I know. I need the details. Where did you get shot? What did the doctors say? W—"

Jaehyun pecked her lips quickly, causing her to redden immediately. "Oppa!"

Jaehyun laughed, "You're too cute. Let's take things one at a time, okay?"

"Fine. First, how did you get shot?"

"I came inside the room and I found you inside the bathtub, unconscious. I panicked. I took you out, I tried giving you chest compressions. It worked, thank goodness. You coughed up the water, but maybe because of the drugs you were under, you were unconscious still. And then suddenly that man came and shot me from the back."

"How did you get shot twice?"

"When he shot me, I reacted immediately by taking my own gun and shooting him on the leg like in protocols. But then he shot me again."

"Geez. Sick bastard. And then?"

"I shot his hand so he’d drop his gun. It worked but I was… incapable of fighting further. He made a good advantage by dropping his weight on me. And then Doyoung came with help."

Yerim sighed and touched his slung arm, "Aside from your deltoid, nothing got damaged right?"

Jaehyun smiled softly, "No. And plus, the sling will come off next week and I can start wearing the shoulder decker. I'll be fine."

"I'm sorry I put you through two bullets," Yerim murmured.

"Yerim, I'll take bullets for you anytime. That's just how much you mean to me, okay?"

Yerim nodded with a smile. "Anyways, next question. When did you start liking me?"

Jaehyun chuckled at her random question, "I don't know. From the start, I guess? I was interested in you ever since you first came to the precinct. You were very pretty, but I had a feeling that you're more than just a pretty face. I was right. You were very smart. And I guess… that makes you kind of hot?"

Yerim burst out laughing immediately. No one ever told her she's hot when she spat facts about a dead body. Everyone viewed her as a geeky and weird woman who loved to deal with corpses.

"Why are you laughing? I was telling the truth! You were very passionate about your work and it makes you admirable. You're also very warm and kindhearted. I guess I just fell for you more and more as we worked together more often."

Yerim leaned to kiss his dimple, "Thanks."

"How about you? When did you start liking me?"

"I guess, that time when we slept over at Johnny oppa's place?"

"Oh, that early?"

"Maybe like is too strong of a word. Admiration… probably? I started paying more attention to you since that time, I guess. You were very cool, I like that. And you were so smart too. I guess that's our preference, huh? Someone smart?"

Jaehyun grinned, "Most of a child's intelligence came from their mother. I guess that's why I was always looking out for geniuses. Which was difficult. But then I found you."

"Johnny oppa has been saying that if we ever get married and have kids, our kids will be at Sherlock Holmes' level."

Jaehyun laughed at the random commentary, "That's absurd. But I'd prefer if our kids don't follow my footsteps. It's too dangerous."

Yerim smiled. She liked the fact that even if they've just been dating for a few months, they've already talked about the future which shows that both of them are committed to this relationship, and Jaehyun wanted to be in this for the long run.

"I hoped my brother found someone soon."

"I hope so. He deserves to be taken care of."

"I'm scared of the future," Yerim said softly, catching Jaehyun's attention immediately.

"No matter what will happen in the future, we'll stick together, okay? Me, you, your brother, and Doyoung. Together as a team."

Yerim beamed, "Together."