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Jeonghan got out of bed, his body drenched in sweat once again. He'd had another nightmare. It was starting to get bothersome.

Usually he only had nightmares three or four times a month but now they were reoccurring every single night.

As if to act as a constant reminder that he had a demon as a father once and that he looked exactly like him.

He looked like his father. He looked like that demon.

Jeonghan trudged to the bathroom with his towel hung over his shoulder, exhausted grunts releasing from his mouth as he took each step.

Even his house started to feel like a prison or confinement. The walls closed in each day he spent in his home. Maybe it was time to move again.

But to leave everything he'd ever worked for? He would never.

He'd also figured out that Seungcheol knew about his website because a strange username logged in yesterday, the day after his visit to Seungcheol's house.

He expected Seungcheol to come to his house soon to ask him questions, it had to be his favourite pastime. Or no, it was his job.

How ironic was it that a criminal like Jeonghan was utterly enamored by the very entity that went against him. His complete opposite.

Light and darkness. Good and evil.

He didn't know how long he had left until Seungcheol somehow managed to figure it all out and identify him as The Justice Killer but he knew he had to continue avenging the users of his website.

That was his goal in life.

No one deserved to live in a world with their very own rapist and Jeonghan's job was to make sure of that.

He was going to kill Hwang Jinhyung. No matter what.

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Seungcheol scrolled through the website checking all the stories while he made his photo cutouts for his crime board.

He'd decided to do a crime board just to help him connect it all. This case was a whirlwind and it was taking him on a hell of a spin.

But he knew his prime suspect was now Yoon Jeonghan. Not only did he own the website that connected all the victims, although Seungcheol had not revealed that information to any one else, he also fit the description of the murderer Seungcheol had made.

Not able bodied.

There was no way Jeonghan was winning any of his victims in fights and so Seungcheol assumed he was instead relying on bondage methods.

In all, Seungcheol still didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to believe that the killer was Jeonghan and he didn't want to believe that Jeonghan was killing people just because some random Internet users mentioned them.

Upon finishing his crime board, Seungcheol put an extra pin on the person he assumed to he the next victim. Hwang Jinhyung.

If his guesses and intuition were right, Mr. Hwang would be the next person to go and Seungcheol had to stop that.

But no assumptions because there was still no proof that the killer was Jeonghan. It couldn't be. This was all just a coincidence.

Or at least, that was what Seungcheol was desperate enough to believe.

Seungcheol got out his phone, dialing Chan's number. He promised to reach out to the man for more information about Jeonghan if he ever became a prime suspect and here he was, at the top of Seungcheol's board.

The line rang for a while before Chan answered the call, a shakey voice exiting the phone as Seungcheol put the device to his ear.

"Hello?" Chan's voice rang out. "Hello Chan, it's Detective Choi, I need all the information you can give me on Yoon Jeonghan."

Seungcheol waited for Chan's response while his fingers tossed and tumbled over his keyboard, eventually exiting the website.

"Can we meet at the local library? I'm currently there right now." Chan requested and Seungcheol agreed immediately, ending the call with an "Okay" before packing his notepad and crossbody bag and leaving.

Not Yoon Jeonghan. Anyone but him.

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"Are you asking me out? We are in the middle of solving a case Mingyu-ssi!" Wonwoo's deep voice increased in volume as he stared at Mingyu who stood in front of him.

"Not a date, just a friendly outing." He clarified but Wonwoo remained in disbelief, his hands crossed as he sat in his chair. "Don't you think we need some bonding time, that will help us solve the case?"

Wonwoo shook his head, standing up, "No I don't think so. I think we should head on over to our second search and find Lee Hyein. That's what I think, Kim Mingyu."

He dashed out of the office, his book bag hung over his shoulder and his left hand in his pocket. Wonwoo wasn't interested in being close to his colleagues.

They had to pass through too much traumatic events together and he was very serious about separating his work life and environment from his regular, day-to-day routine.

So even if he found Mingyu to be a teeny weeny bit attractive, it was not the time or place and it would never be.

Wonwoo and Mingyu got to the site, the woods some feet away from Haeun's house. In the first search, nothing was found but this time, they were able to get a wider audience to help after advertising the search on TV.

Mingyu might've had a special connection to the case because of his past but Wonwoo wasn't a robot, he also felt emotions and he really wanted to find Hyein.

The more he thought about her disappearance, the more he realized how unfair it would be for such a young girl to go missing forever or be found dead.

After about two hours of a search, a loud scream was heard from deeper into the woods. Mingyu glanced at Wonwoo worriedly before the two rushed towards the noise.

As they got there, they saw one of the searchers holding a piece of a torn shirt and completely ripped jeans.

Mingyu closed his eyes, hanging his head over while Wonwoo gritted his teeth, angry.

The whole place went silent, with people either in shock, preparing to cry or paying their respects already.

Wonwoo didn't want to believe it. She wasn't dead. She couldn't be. She was alive.

She was alive and he was going to find her.

"Ma'am, I need you to hand that over to me." Wonwoo instructed and the lady nodded, her jaw still dropped open as she gave Wonwoo the clothes.

Wonwoo started to search the outfit for any blood stains or any other type of stains but he found nothing, apart from the sand it had been laid in, the outfit was completely clean.

"Detective Kim, store this in one of the bags for me." Wonwoo passed the clothes over to Mingyu who nodded, his eyes twinkling under the sun showcasing the tiny tears hanging on for dear life.

Wonwoo refused to believe it. It wasn't the truth. She was alive.

"Sir, she could still be alive." He heard a tiny voice from behind him which made him turn around immediately.

As he turned, he saw the three friends behind him, their hands held together and their faces covered in specs of hope.

Wonwoo tilted his head as he asked, "What do you mean?" Haeun took a deep breath before answering.

"Those weren't the only clothes she brought to the sleepover. She also brought pajamas which she was actually wearing while she left and she brought another pair of clothes. Those were what she came in." She explained and Wonwoo's surprise was evident in his face but he didn't want to show any signs of emotion so he nodded with his usual stoic expression.

"Thank you girls."

If those were the clothes she came in and if those weren't what she left in, then what were they doing out in the woods, covered in heaps of sand?

"Also Sir." Dain's voice stood out this time. "Yes?" He looked at them.

"Her boyfriend's house is just down the woods, on the other street." Dain pointed at the street which could be seen through the scanty trees.

Wonwoo's eyes widened as he turned, seeing cars passing, people walking and various houses on the other street.

Right! Her cheating boyfriend!

"Excuse me everyone! I and my Detective partner have another place to search for Hyein but we would like you all to continue to search the woods and whatever you find, please properly store them and give them to the officers, thank you!"

Wonwoo bowed, making his voice his voice as loud as possible while Mingyu ran up to him.

"Where are we going?" He asked, obviously confused. Wonwoo pointed to the street at the end of the woods. "Her boyfriend's house."

Mingyu's brows furrowed. "Do you know the address?" He questioned and Wonwoo pointed to the three girls.

"They're following us."

"...We're what?!"

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Seungcheol arrived at the library, spotting Chan at one of the tables closest to the entrance with a laptop and some books on it.

He walked in, signalling Chan with a wave before moving towards him. Chan stood up, bowing before sitting down and Seungcheol bowed in response before also sitting down.

"Last time we talked, you said you've always had a weird feeling about Jeonghan, could you go into detail about any other abnormal or irregular traits of his?" Seungcheol questioned, not wanting to waste any more time.

He'd already spent almost three weeks on the case.

"Well, people say he never goes out but I swear he does. One day Mrs Woo asked me to deliver him some food and I did but when I went there his door was locked so I knocked and knocked and the TV was left on and I could hear him gaming in his room but he wasn't there. So strange." Chan explained and Seungcheol nodded, jotting it down.

Maybe that was how he had fooled the neighbourhood into believing he was always at home when instead he was always outside.

Killing.

Seungcheol shook his head. It wasn't Jeonghan. It wasn't.

He didn't know why it mattered so much to him if it was Jeonghan or not but he knew what he didn't want and he didn't want it to be Jeonghan.

"Chan, did your father-in-law have a violent nature outside of his home?" Seungcheol asked, crossing his legs as he leaned forward.

He needed to make sure that there was a possibility of Mr. Min being a rapist like he had been accused of on the website.

If that was the true connection between the victims, if truly they were all rapists then Seungcheol had already began to lose respect for them.

Chan nodded slowly, avoiding eye contact as he answered. "He sexually assaulted someone a few years back and even went to court for it but he won the case, thanks to his top notch lawyer." He explained and Seungcheol's face contorted, an apparent disgust in his expression.

"Do you think that may be the reason for Jeonghan's dislike towards Mr. Min?" Seungcheol pondered but Chan remained silent, speechless even.

As if he was slowly beginning to realise what an asshole his father-in-law was.

Seungcheol sighed, leaning against his chair. Now he needed to confirm that the other victims were indeed rapists and if they actually were, this case had become something else to him.

A test of morals vs rules.

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Joshua knocked on the door before waiting for a response. He needed Soomin's phone to confirm who exactly she was running away from at the party.

He had gotten the guest list from Yunjin and he had checked every single guest who happened to be students of the school they all went to.

The door opened and stood behind the threshold was Seokmin, with his shirt off hanging on his shoulder and blue pajama pants on.

Joshua swiftly turned away, his cheeks heating up while Seokmin wore his shirt hastily. "Sorry, I didn't know it was you." He scrambled for an explanation.

"That's... fine." Joshua coughed, slowly facing the man in front of him. "I'm going to need your sister's phone." He informed Seokmin whose face scrunched up.

"Why?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"Your sister was running away from the party that night and I think whoever she was running away from is the person who killed her." Joshua disclosed and Seokmin's jaw immediately hardened, a new type of fury shining in his pupils.

"So may I come in? Seokmin?"

Seokmin moved aside, letting Joshua into the house before closing the front door. He felt his heart shatter over and over and the anger in him build up.

His sister tried to stay alive. She fought for her life and someone desperately tried to take it away from her. It was unfair. It was extremely unfair.

Seokmin pointed to the couch in the living room as Joshua turned to him. "You can wait there, I'll bring the phone." He said, his tone somewhat mysterious as Joshua walked over to the living room.

He ran up the stairs to his sister's room, opening the door and as he stepped in, he broke down completely. He hadn't entered her room since he found out she was actually gone.

She'd left him here, all alone.

Seokmin fell to his knees, his face in his palms as he sobbed. The sight of her room, all her pictures, all her awards and certificates, her whole life she'd stored in here.

Everything was useless now. Everything she'd worked for.

"I'm sorry Soomin." He apologized repeatedly until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He lifted his face up, turning to see Joshua behind him.

"It's not your fault Seokmin. She did her best, okay? Because of people like you who gave her so much joy, she did her best to live for you guys. Don't blame yourself, okay?" Joshua rubbed his shoulder, offering as much support as he possibly could.

Seokmin sniffled before nodding as he looked into Joshua's eyes.

"She wouldn't want you to." Joshua pulled his sleeve down to his hand, using it to wipe Seokmin's tears.

"She really wouldn't want you to."

Seokmin calmed down slowly as Joshua's words soothed the aching pain in his heart and in his soul and yet the strangest thing was that, in that moment, his heart skipped a beat.

Ⓒ︎OHWAYOHWAYOH
𝕾𝖙𝖆𝖗𝖙𝖊𝖉 - 11/11/2024
𝕰𝖓𝖉𝖊𝖉 - N/A

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