[Nichkhun POV]

Three years.

For three years, I haven’t stepped one foot in South Korea. Not since my father was killed. But for a mission given to me by the Interpol, I had to go back.

Because in this mission, I may have the chance to avenge my father and mother’s death.

Days have turned to months and months have turned to years but the events the day my parents died still haunt me.

My father…

He was my hero, my role model. He was a noble man, a good father and an honorable police officer. All my life, I looked up to him. He was the reason I wanted to enter the law enforcement agency in the first place.

The day I finished school, he told me, “Son, remember to keep the core principles of being an officer. You must not let greed of power, fame or money get into your head. Integrity is an important factor of becoming the best law enforcer and you must not forget it.”

Despite doing well, it took him a long time to get promoted to the position of Senior Superintendent. He was assigned as the head of Drug Enforcement Agency. It was a massive job, but he was definitely capable. It was not that high of a position but he took pride in it.

“The only reason I got old in this job was because of my honesty,” he always joked.

As far as I knew, my father never received a bribe. He never up to any politician to get promoted. He was never involved in anything illegal. He kept his principle despite the pressure he got and maybe that was the reason he died early.

I remember the day he passed away.

It was the day my two-year probation as Policeman Assistant ended. That night, I started my work as a Junior Police Officer. It was the lowest rank, but hell, it was definitely better than the previous job I handled.

My father wished me luck that morning. I, in turn, wished him luck. His team has finally closed in on one of the largest drug manufacturers. If it ends well, it could be one of his greatest achievements. Before he left, he said, “I’m always proud of you.”

I didn’t know it will be the last sentence I’ll hear from him.

I was on patrol with a colleague, who was also a friend, in Seoul’s red light district when we heard an advisory on the police radio. My father and his team were successful in their mission and the news was being relayed in every department.

I was immensely thrilled for him. My friend and I exchanged smiles, but our celebration was cut off early when a shot was heard in the background, followed by the frantic outbursts of the officers.

“Jurisdiction 230. Line 2, Line 2. An officer down at the factory behind Evening Star Park! We are in need of paramedics! I repeat! Paramedics are needed!”

As soon as I heard the place, I stepped on the accelerator and went straight to where it was. I knew that backups weren’t requested, that the place was teeming with officers like me, but I just had to go there.

When we arrived, I saw a body under a bloody white sheet being wheeled to the ambulance. I need not to see who it was. Everyone’s faces gave it away when they saw me. It was my father.

He was dead on the spot. He was shot at the back of his head, with his colleagues around him.

An investigation followed and the best detectives were put into the case but all their efforts were futile. Evidence logged on the database matched to no one.

All they had was a bullet with no distinct marks.

The case of his death hasn’t been solved until now. The man who killed him remained faceless all these years. It was considered a perfect hit.

And an insult to everybody on the force.

My mother…

All her life, she took care of me and my father. All her dedication, patience and love were only given to us.

She and my father were like lovebirds, always a pair.

That’s why when my father died, she was devastated. And she died of a broken heart.

The killer shot my father, but he also managed to kill my mother.

With my father’s death, I came to one painful realization. For a person whose life is always on danger, love is an unwanted emotion.

I promised to myself that I wouldn’t let anyone suffer the same like my mother.

”Nichkhun! Ya! Nichkhun Horvejkul!”

I heard my name being called once I stepped out the arrival area. I scanned the place and smiled once I saw who it was. It was an old friend, the same friend who was with me that dreadful day my father was murdered. Choi Myungwoo was promoted and he is now one of Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s senior policemen. Grinning, I dragged my suitcases, rushed to his direction and gave him a salute as a greeting.

“Fool. Why are you saluting to me? You have a higher rank. I should be the one giving the salute.” Myungwoo impishly punched my chest. “Besides, this isn’t a duty call. I just wanted to see you.”

I punched him back, saying, “Shouldn’t you be catching bad guys?”

Hearing my remark, he clicked his tongue wistfully, “Aish! I can’t believe that three years in France would make you a nag.”

“Two, Myungwoo. I was only there for two years,” I corrected. He frowned as he realized his mistake and shrugged.

“Whatever, you’re still a nag.” He grabbed my suitcase and insisted on carrying it for me, despite the fact that it wasn’t even that heavy. “It’s light,” he commented, “You’re not staying?”

I sighed and said, “Well, I would only stay for two to three days. I have to go back after the briefing.” I saw him nod and he told me that he was expecting me to stay for a little while longer, just because I was gone for so long.

After my father’s death, I requested for a break and they willingly gave it to me. Besides, the examination of my father’s death was still on-going and the department psychiatrist advised that a break would be best for me.

I went to America after that and took various courses in MIT. After a year, the Interpol came to the institution asking for technical assistance. I volunteered and after I said that I was a policeman back in Korea, they hired me but only for assistance and not really for police work.

A drug raid propelled me into the position I’m holding now.

The Sicilian Mafia, headed by its capo Nunzio Martini, was being suspected smuggling drugs in Sicily. The police went there to have the raid, but the organization was already killed when they broke in the warehouse. The capo and his guards were gunned down. The gun used was loaded with lupare, cartridges with large leaden balls, a hunter’s trick to spread the pellets. The guards were cut to pieces.

And Martini?

He was killed the same way as my father.

A single shot at the back of the head.

And just like the Korean police, the Sicily police force was left with a bullet with no distinct marks.

When the Interpol received the information, I could hear my father’s voice:

“Coincidence. In our work, there is no such animal. It usually spells danger.”

I immediately gathered every information I could find in the organization’s databases and found a common denominator. I reported my findings to my superior and they told me they were impressed.

So impressed that they sent me back to Korea after a red flag was raised by SMPA.

Myungwoo and I made our way to the parking lot and as he was loading my suitcase in his car’s trunk, he said, “Oh, yeah, are you going to stay in a hotel?”

I waited for him to go inside the car before I said, “No, it was all taken care of Interpol.” I took out a piece of paper and handed it to him.

He wrinkled his nose as he scanned the paper. “This is a residential area,” he remarked as he recognized the address.

“I’ll explain everything later,” I promised.

We arrived at the SMPA headquarter a few minutes later and I received a warm welcome from everybody. I saw old friends and lots of new faces but it was still the same building. The same old building where my father spent his whole life.

A junior police officer ushered me into the conference room where I would be conducting the briefing. As soon as I entered the room, conversations were hushed and every pair of eyes was riveted to me. The atmosphere was tense and it felt a little hostile.

You can’t teach old dogs new tricks.

Most of my audience was older than me. A younger lad giving a lecture to old ones never went well. Old people think they’re more experienced and I thought as I went to the stand, After this, I’m going to change all of your minds.

“I’m Interpol Detective Nichkhun Horvejkul. I will get straight to the point why I was sent here by the French Headquarters.” I pressed a button and a series of photos were shown on the plasma monitor behind me. “These are unsolved crimes in several countries.”

A hand shot up in the air and basing on his insignia, he was a senior inspector. “That’s plain normal. Contract killing.” I looked back at the screen and saw that one of the pictures shown was the latest case Interpol has been working on. The killing of a corporation head where several civilians were also gunned down.

I gave a nod and said, “Yes. Normal. But I guess after this demonstration, you yourself would find that there’s nothing normal about it.”

I asked several officers to go to laptops installed with the Interpol’s archive and instructed them to input the case files from the previous murders. As soon as they did, their doubt was replaced with horror.

“It all comes back to the deceased!” exclaimed one of the officers I asked.

“Yes. This organization has managed to infiltrate the main database and every police database in the world with a worm virus. Evidence collected goes back to the deceased and investigations had to start from scratch in an endless cycle.”

All eyes and ears were on me and one of the doubters managed to mutter, “So, this organization…”

“They’re faceless. And it’s up to us to unmask them.”