"It might be too late to recover the true Yonghee."

Yongguk glanced up at Daehyun with an inquiring gaze; his dark eyes were clouded with fatigue and exasperation, and now, with a furthering frustration penetrating through them in result of Daehyun's reported news. "Too late to what?" Yongguk echoed softly. His voice was tired, raspy from lack of water, and hoarse from sleep deprivation. "What did you do to her?"
Daehyun sat down comfortably into the chair beside Yongguk's and sighed, leaning back stiffly. "I got her to reminisce," the younger replied vaguely. "Her memories and flashbacks are what triggers vulnerability. Her vulnerability is what falters her alter ego. If I can get her to remember enough of her childhood, I just might be able to discover a way to fix her --"
"You just said it might be too late, didn't you?" Yongguk questioned provincially.
"Might," Daehyun clarified firmly. "The true side to Yonghee knows what's going on. Sunbaenim.. your sister's health is actually at risk here. If this continues without any further assisstance, the true side to your younger sister could disappear forever." Daehyun's trailed off awkwardly into a hushed whisper, soft in timbre as he glanced pitifully at Yongguk.

The elder had his head bowed with his arms crossed stubbornly across his chest; his cigarette hung loosely from the corner of his lips, seething flickers of ashes onto the hem of Yongguk's shirt. "She can't be fixed," Yongguk persisted monotonously. "I told you that already --"
"We can get rid of her alter ego; we just need to work harder --"
"And then what?!" Yongguk snapped, barking harshly at his younger. "And then what? Even if we do restore Yonghee's personality, she's still going to be traumatized. She's going to have to take medication, and she'll have to go to monthly - or maybe even weekly - checkups. She's not going to get better just because we've recovered her true personality. She's still going to live a hard life. With medication, serving time, with her history!"

Yongguk rose to his feet, stumbling as his chair skidded behind him to a cold halt. The elder seethed relentlessly under his breath, gripping the edges of his desk with his white knuckles. "Yonghee would probably be better off hidden away under her second self," Yongguk whispered defeatedly.
"She's suffering," Daehyun stated coldly. Daehyun's odd tone was drenched with a cold venom, distant and reprimanding against Yongguk's ignorance. "If you had seen her the way I did, I'm sure you wouldn't be saying the same things you are now. She's vulnerable, desperate, and suffering. If that's how you want to look at your own sister, then fine. But I'm going to help her."

With that, Daehyun picked up his bag and snatched the file from Yongguk's desk, with no intention of hearing out his elder any more. He only stopped when Yongguk's burly hand gripped his wrist, hindering the prior from carrying forth. "Why are you doing this, Daehyun?" Yongguk croaked. He looked up at the younger with red eyes, recoiling himself underneath Daehyun's chiding gaze. 
"I'm a cop," the latter returned simply. "And as a cop, I'm supposed to help those that are suffering, in pain; those that are innocent --"
"Yonghee is not innocent!" Yongguk objected stubbornly.
"The Yonghee you're seeing isn't," Daehyun asserted. "But the Yonghee I saw... she is."

She was drinking herself dry in a bar when Daehyun found her. Shot glasses surrounding her lone figure at the bar; she was oblivious to the male onlookers, oblivious to the lustrous eyes peeling her clothes off. She sat idly, finger her phone as she slurped another shot of soju whole. "I got your call," she yelled obnoxiously, facing the young prosecutor who stood absently by the doorway. She glared at him, holding up her phone. "Got your message," she giggled fervently. "You're actually quite early; you told me to meet you here at 4.. it's only 3:30, Prosecutor," she slurred horrendously. "Did you get excited? I knew it -- you have the hots for me, don't 'cha?"

Yonghee laid her head comfortably on her sprawled out arms, her hair scattering across the sticky surfaces of the bar. Daehyun watched her carefully, slipping casually into the bar stool beside her, assisting her amiably as she tried to sit herself back up. Their eyes locked momentarily, and Yonghee giggled; consequently, as a result, the stench of soju reeked from her pink lips, wafting into Daehyun's nostrils bitterly. But he didn't falter. He simply cocked his head and tucked an extranneous strand of hair behind Yonghee. "What do you want, Cop?" she seethed impatiently, slapping away his warm hand.
"Your cooperation," the latter briefly responded. He held a stoic gaze, static in expression. He wiped a shot glass from her possession and downed it expertly, smacking his lips cockily as he brought the glass away from his lips. 
"And why would you need my cooperation?"
"Why did you come to meet me when you could've bailed?" Daehyun returned slyly in a whisper.

Yonghee was quiet, rotating her jaw as she beared her teeth at him. "We both have a hope in fixing you," Daehyun answered ambiguously. "You hate this side of yourself, don't you?" Daehyun's eyes looked past her head, narrowing as he caught side of his appearance. He ducked his head slowly, peeking secretively up at Yonghee from behind his eyelashes. "If you let me help you, we can --"
"I don't need your damn help," Yonghee grumbled incoherently. 
"You either accept my assistance, or I arrest you now for first degree murder --"
"Under what circumstances, Prosecutor?" Yonghee called loudly. "You've got nothing on me!"

Daehyun scoffed, feeling his impatience arise with her provoking antics. "You're a cold-blooded !" Just gotta take a different approach then.
Yonghee smirked, though, taking the elder aback with astonishment. Daehyun gaped as her lips twitched up into a sly smile, cunning and enticing in her own picturesque form. She sat there, soaking herself in his shock, presently enjoying the newfound glory arising inside her. "Funny," she remarked wistfully. "My last victim called me the exact same thing."

Daehyun rolled his eyes, gripping her wrist tightly. She glared at him from the corner of his eye, ing her wrist about in attempt to release herself; but to no avail. Daehyun had his fingers wrapped tightly around her slender wrist, unmoving. "Why would you do such a vulgar thing..?" Daehyun voiced desperately. "What.. what gave you the idea that killing would ever bring you peace and closure?"
"It's not something I resort to when I'm upset, Prosecutor." She had a cold look dancing across her dark eyes. "This isn't some CSI-show you can find on a local channel; it's not because I have some serious issues with my social life.. I'm just mentally deranged.. can't you tell?"

Daehyun loosened his grip, but his hands were still in tact, encasing her wrist firmly. "Yes, I can tell," he answered. "But because I can tell you're mentally deranged, I can also tell that I have a way to fix you."
"I don't want that!" Yonghee objected vehemently, bouncing off her stool. She stood defiantly, grounded, as she glared profusely at the male before her. "You only talk about how you can fix me, how you can cure me, and how you can help me. Why do you care so much!? You're just another sick bastard wanting another piece of me -- you're just like every other man in here; the same as the rest of the guys that have been undressing me with their eyes in this very bar! You're just like them!" she seethed ferociously.

She tore away her wrist and jabbed her finger into his chest, poking him harsly. "You can't fix me."

Daehyun caught her wrist, pulling her in close and leaning his head in to match her hardened eyes. "I can't?" he whispered harshly. The close proximity allowed his cold breath to hit her pale skin, warm and tickling down the side of her jaw. "You haven't even given me the chance, Yonghee," he coaxed slyly. 
"I don't need to," she scowled.
"I'm not here to hurt you --"
"But you sure as hell aren't here to help me either!" she argued angrily.

She ignored the stares she received from the surrounding onlookers, glaring madly at Daehyun's growing smirk. "Don't make me force you, Yonghee. I may be a good guy, but I can be just as bad as your father."
At this, the deliberate young woman froze, holding her place tightly as she stared tautly at Daehyun. "Don't you dare," she threatened lowly. "Don't you dare --"
"Then give me this one chance. If I can't fix you this one time -- all I need is another path to another possible theory to help your cause," Daehyun explained. "It's going to be just the same as last time," he whispered.

He glanced sincerely at her, releasing her gently. "Friends, remember? Outside the interorogation room, we can be friends.. as if we didn't know about each other's personal lives. Yonghee, the information I have on you is very critical. Not only is this my first case, but this will be the most crucial case I will ever experience -- I just know it. I know you'd hate it, but you have to trust me, okay?"

He earnestly gazed down at her, watching her eyes waver at the sight of his dark orbs observing her faltering presence. "Okay?" he murmured gently.

"Glad you decided to come," Daehyun chirped playfully, opening the door to his spacious home. He sighed happily, setting his belongings onto the couch, leading Yonghee to the center of the living area. "Just the same as last time," he reminded her amiably. He smiled anxiously at her, helping her sit down comfortably into the cushioned seat. Yonghee stared at him blandly, extending her hands for him to take. He returned her stoic gaze with apologetic eyes. "I know you're gonna hate me for this," he retorted softly. "But it's for the better, okay? I'm a cop because I like to help people.. just a warning though," he sighed. "This time, you're going to have to really think back into detail --"
"No," Yonghee objected immediately, shaking her dubious head. "I can't --"
"You did it last time --"
"I can't go anymore than last time; I can't think back that much --"
"Why not?" Daehyun huffed breathlessly, tightening his hands around hers. He gave them a reassuring squeeze, leaning over his chair to glance sincerely into her frightful eyes. "She's in there somewhere, dying to get out," Daehyun whispered. "Your disassociative personality disorder is at its turning point, Yonghee. You have to have faith in me."

"I don't want to! --"

"Please."

Yonghee shot Daehyun a scornful, doubtful look. "What are you going to do?" There was a flicker in her eyes, a sudden change in them that sparked an instant interest in Daehyun. He sat up, leaning in close to examine her wavering irises. "Yonghee," he whispered. "Yonghee...?"
Her face was blank, and confused, as if she were conflicted. He shrugged it off helplessly, readjusting their positions so that they were comfortable in their facing each other. He sighed heavily, clenching his fists assuringly around her hands. "Close your eyes," he ordered softly. 

Her eyes fluttered shut, and her breathing grew bated. Daehyun could easily detect the fear that was already arising within her; her hands were growing clammy and damp with an apprehensive sweat. "I'm right here," he told her in a gentle, coaxing voice. "Close your eyes and think back, Yonghee." His voice was just a soft murmur. "Look back.. think of who you used to be, what you used to do. Think... let's say you're at home right now. Pick any day, any hour -- what are you doing right now?" he whispered, prodding her softly, and easing her gently into her hypnosis state.

"Homework," she reported monotonously. She was void of any emotion, stoic in expression. She leaned her head back, resting her dark hair onto the wall behind her. "Oppa is.. he's not home... it's just me and Abeoji," she whispered. Her voice broke off uneasily at the end, trailing unsurely into a high-pitched squeak. Daehyun rocked her hands back and forth, giving them a tight squeeze as he felt her hands clamp down on his. "He's.. Abeoji -- he's..."
"What's he doing?"
"He's looking at me."

Yonghee's exterior was breaking, along with her voice and pores. Sweat dribbled down the side of her head as she began to grow more worrisome from her visions. Daehyun studied her meticulously, his lips slowly as he observed the way Yonghee was slowly transforming. It was first her lips that began to quiver; and then it was the tears that soon leaked from the corner of her eyes. "What is he doing now?" Daehyun murmured, gazing sympathetically at her desperate form.

She began to hyperventilate, and her feet were twitching. Her fingernails scraped the insides of Daehyun's arm as she moved her grip from his hands to his wrists. "Please," she begged in a merciless pant. "Please make him stop; it hurts! He's.. please!"
Daehyun held her forearms firmly, glaring sternly at her breaking exterior. "Just a little more, Yonghee," he prodded. "What is he doing, exactly?" Daehyun furrowed his brows impatiently. The more he got her to reminisce, the more vulnerable Yonghee would grow; the more vulnerability triggered within Yonghee meant prolonged times in which he would be able to interrogate the real her -- or so he thought.

He grasped tightly onto her. "Please, Yonghee, you need to tell me --"
"He's inside me, me; make it stop! Make him stop!" Yonghee's tears flowed madly out of her shut eyes; she squirmed, and thrashed in her seat as she found herself unable to wake from her trance alone. "Please, Prosecutor-shii, make him stop! It hurts; get Oppa! It hurts! Please, make it stop, I hate it, I hate it! Let me go! Please, Prosecutor-shii! I want Yongguk-oppa!"

Bingo.

Daehyun pulled himself out of her tight grasp and took hold of her shoulders. "Yonghee, wake up. On the count of three, you're gonna have to come to, alright. One, two, three! Yonghee-ah!"
Daehyun fell back, stumbling past his chair as he was attacked into yet another desperate embrace. He sighed out of apologetic relief, wrapping his tender arms around the sobbing female settled against his body. Yonghee lay, pressed up against his propped up chest, wailing vehemently into his chest, shaking her head. Awkwardly, he patted her head. "Can you fight it, if she wants to come out again?" he murmured. 

She shook her head unsurely, gripping the front of his shirt in a choke-hold, desperate for his attention. "Will you let me help you?"
She nodded, snaking her arms around his neck. "Prosecutor-shii, thank you," she sobbed, choking slightly on her profuse cries of anguish. Daehyun sat uncomfortably, holding her, rocking her gently. It was moments later when her tears had stopped; her cries were stifled now, reduced to mere sniffling and occasional grunts of embarassment.

Yonghee had a new look to her. There was a facade of innocence and loss of purity -- desperation has been met with a whole new level. She was fatigued and beyong exhausted; tired and frightened. She looked like the little girl she used to be, but just overgrown. She peered up self-consciously at Daehyun, who had, by now, released her. He settled his arms comfortably at his side, sitting with his legs crossed, staring back at her affably. A gentle smile laced his lips as she blinked at him curiously. No signs of menace, no signs of threat -- at this, Daehyun chuckled lowly, surely impressed with himself. He extended his hand for her to shake, grinning widely as he felt the warmth of her petite hand wrapping around his.

"It's nice to finally meet you on proper terms, Bang Yonghee," he smiled gently, brushing back a few tresses of her dark hair behind her ear. "My name is Jung Daehyun, the investigator of your case."