„Is it better now?” DooSan asked SolHi. Both of them were with their backs against DooSan’s car, which he parked not that far from the entrance to the park.

„Yes, it’s better,” SolHi drily replied, looking in the distance. She talked to him like that because she was still upset with him although she looked calm at that moment, and she looked so after many minutes of crying in DooSan’s arms. This was weird because she always considered him the „enemy,” the one she had to run away from because he had the power to destroy her. Instead of this, she ran into his arms and started to feel better after this, for an unknown reason even to her.

Realizing that she felt a real woman in his arms, it hurt like hell. Then, she felt sorrowful that she didn’t meet him when she was still a normal girl and didn’t have so many problems. Yes, she would have liked to meet him when she was a simple country girl, who came to the Capital City to chase a lot of dreams and a better future. She also imagined that if she had met him before those tragic events, her life would have been different. Maybe she wouldn’t have suffered as she suffered and maybe she would have been so happy in his arms. Yet, that „maybe” was just a „maybe” eventually and nothing more.

Suddenly, she winced, hearing DooSan saying, „SolHi, who are we for each other?” This made her wake up from her daydream and stare at him because his question confused her more than she was.

Only in the end when she could control her emotions, she responded, „Honestly, I don’t know! Are we… friends or maybe enemies? I can’t answer this question.”

„Why? Because of what happened seven years ago?”

„Does this seem insignificant or few to you? I don’t think so because… I consider what has happened then important. And it hurts… It hurts like hell, DooSan. Why? Because we hurt each other so much, we did everything to bring the other to his knees. These evidence and scars won’t ever disappear. Those wounds still hurt… It hurts so much.”

Her words hurt DooSan more than maybe she felt hurt by what happened between them. Yet, he knew that she was right because they hurt each other so much in the past. He hurt her more than SolHi hurt him, but even so, he couldn’t accept this in front of her because this would have meant accepting that he’d been wrong in making those decisions then. Yes, he’d been wrong in everything related to her, but he did that because he’d been blinded by his pain and by the mad desire to look for revenge for his brother. More than that, he wanted to make everybody pay for YuSan’s death, punishing them for their part of guilt and his part too. DooSan felt so guilty for not answering his phone that night when YuSan called him. Thus, as he didn’t answer that phone call, he kept blaming himself for this too because, if he had answered that damn phone that night, nothing of what happened after that would have probably happened.

DooSan didn’t answer the phone that night because he felt hurt and misunderstood by his brother. And, each time DooSan felt this, he was isolating himself from the rest of the world. That’s why he turned out his phone while he was drinking in the bar of a good friend of his father, and he drank because he felt bad after YuSan accused him of having an affair with his fiancée. Not an unfounded accusation this one because YuSan accused his brother of this after his fiancée told him that she had never been in love with him but with DooSan and that she’d been with him only because she hoped that DooSan would notice her one day.

That night, while drinking, DooSan thought a lot about his argument with YuSan and even found the evidence to demonstrate to YuSan that he’d been wrong in accusing him of having an affair with his fiancée because he was drunk the night she tried to take advantage of him. Even so, nothing happened between them that night. Nevertheless, although he wanted to demonstrate this, he didn’t have time to do justice to himself. Instead of making peace with YuSan, he found out that his brother had died, and this hurt him more. Because of this, DooSan turned in on himself and started to avoid everybody. He even started to avoid women, and this happened because of So Su Yon, YuSan’s fiancée, who made him look so bad in his elder brother’s eyes before his death - his best and priceless friend, whom he lost so suddenly, without being able to make peace with him. Because of her, DooSan even started to compare each woman who tried to approach him with So Su Yon, weirdly hating them and wanting them far from him.

This strange behavior of DooSan lasted until SolHi reappeared in his life. After this, he calmed down and started to look at the other women with other eyes. Even so, even if he stopped hating them, he still didn’t know how to love again or what to do just to make sure he wouldn’t suffer as he did in the past. What he knew was that SolHi wasn’t guilty of what he felt, just as he didn’t know what she felt for him. That’s why he asked eventually, „What about what we feel, SolHi?”

She smiled. „Do you mean hatred? If yes, do you think we will ever have the power to feel something more than hatred for each other?” A question that took DooSan by surprise.

DooSan looked at her for a long time, in silence. He had an answer to her question, but he couldn’t tell her that he stopped feeling hatred for her. For an unknown reason even to him, he stopped hating her, and this happened after they started to work together and he got to know her better. Then… he found out that she lost a child the same night he lost a brother. After that, weirdly, he felt the same thing she felt - emptiness inside as though the child SolHi lost was his, although he was sure that it was madness to think so.

„Or maybe…?!” DooSan shuddered the moment he remembered fragments from a night spent together, in a motel room. „No, it’s insane what I remember. This can’t be!” He told himself, insistently looking at her. And, for the first time, he realized that he probably knew SolHi longer than he thought, maybe even earlier than that night when he saw her on the stretcher on which the paramedics took her out of the warehouse where YuSan died. Yet, it was impossible that thought and DooSan was sure of this… that he didn’t see her before that night.

Nevertheless, even though he was denying this idea in his head, the memories of that hot night turned clearer and clearer with each breath taken in. This turned him confused and DooSan closed his eyes, trying to understand if it was real what he remembered or if it was only because of his imagination. Yet, the image of them, passionately kissing, on a night he didn’t remember, was so clear in his head. And, unexpectedly, even DooSan winced, surprised to hear his words, he murmured, „It can’t be… We had never had such a…”

„What exactly?” SolHi asked.

Her voice made DooSan wince and look at her, confused. Yet, although he felt that he shouldn’t have done this, DooSan still asked, „You and I… do we meet before YuSan’s death?”

„No, I’m sure of that. Why?”

„Because… I just…” DooSan stuttered, confused because of his own thoughts. Eventually, he kept silent just before telling her about his memories, those where he saw the two of them in a motel room, having a hot night together. In those memories, he saw that he didn’t hate her, just as she didn’t feel this for him. Yet, it was impossible what he remembered. It was insane for the two of them to have had such moments together, but none of them remembered this because… „The memory of the skin never lies,” the man said in his head. „If we had spent such a night together, I would have remembered this. I would have remembered her scent, her kisses, her touches. Yet, I don’t remember any of this, and this is too much already because…” Loudly, DooSan asked, „SolHi, who is the father of your child?”

His question enraged SolHi. That’s why, furiously looking at him, she told DooSan, „Stop this! These aren’t questions to ask even your friends, and we aren’t that close to asking them or talking about something like this. I won’t answer them, okay? And… I’ll take the rest of the day off. Consider yourself informed about this!” Then, without looking back, she turned her back to him and left.

DooSan looked behind her for a long while, minutes in a row, waiting for her to look at him. SolHi didn’t do that. She only walked away, proudly, heading away from him, and her coldness hurt him so much. DooSan didn’t know why he felt all this, just as he didn’t understand why he suddenly turned sad because of her indifference. Then, with those memories in his head, of them making love, DooSan closed his eyes and allowed himself to revive them again. He remembered that they were in bed, in a perfect union of passion and desire, kissing and caressing each other with their heart although they were in an unfriendly and unknown motel room.

Because of those memories, DooSan even felt the sweet taste of their kiss. Then, he touched his lips and murmured, „Now I’m sure that these are more than simple memories. I’m sure I didn’t imagine anything of this. Yet, she said we hadn’t met before. Why? Did she lie to me? I don’t think so. This is probably because she also doesn’t remember anything, just as I do. Nevertheless, I’ll find out the truth. I’ll find out what happened that night and, if it’s true what I remember, then… a lot of things will be finally explained.”

***

„Damn changeable weather,” DooSan mumbled, running through the rain toward the external stairs, those that were leading to SolHi’s floor after he parked his car down the street. „I’m sure they didn’t announce rain today. Yet, it pours from heaven as though the sky has gone crazy no other.”

Getting to the third floor, DooSan quickly shook the raindrops off his clothing and from his hair. He even shuddered when he felt the cold getting into his bones too. Yet, although he was so focused on those drops that were stubborn to get to his skin, DooSan still noticed SolHi in front of the door, changing the password to the electronic lock. Seeing this, DooSan cooked his nose, „You must be kidding me now! Ia, Ian SolHi, what the hell do you think you are doing?” Saying this, DooSan ran toward the apartment.

Hearing him calling her name and then seeing him running toward her, SolHi happily grinned. After that, shrugging, she closed the door behind her, right before DooSan. „Wow, I can’t believe this!” DooSan yelled, kicking the door. „You are a real witch, do you know that?” He yelled again. „Changing the password only to make sure you’ll keep me away from you, it’s evil, SolHi! Nevertheless, you won’t keep me away from you, just as you won’t chase me away from here, do you hear me? No, I won’t go. I rather break into your apartment again than leave. And… I don’t also think that the new password is something complicated. That’s why, just stay there and wait for me to go inside. After that, I’ll assure you that you’ll have a lot of things to explain to me!” After that, kicking the door again, he tried several codes, but nothing worked, making him rage like a lion in the cage, „Damn lock!”

„I also think so!” He heard SolHi’s voice behind the door. This made him stick his ear to the door and carefully listen to her. „And… I thought I made myself clear when I told you not to see you here again, DooSan. Yet, it seems to me that you don’t understand a good word, right? If it’s so, I’ll show you how wrong you are in not believing me, Han DooSan! And… what? Ian SolHi? Of course not! I’m Detective Ian and only Detective Ian for you! And… get lost from here before I have lost my mind and kicked you out of here!”

Her words bothered DooSan and enraged him eventually. He felt all this because he was as stubborn as SolHi was or maybe more. Thus, determined not to lose in front of her or leave that place, he yelled as loud as he could to be heard by everybody in that building, „Of course not! I’m not moving from here! And… Detective Ian, I see you like to play tough! Well, be as you wish, but I assure you I’m a real monster if others step onto my tail. And you… little cobra you are… I assure you that you have no heart! How the hell can you be so cruel and keep a man outside when it’s cold and it’s raining? Don’t you have a conscience or what?”

„Why should I do that? The only thing I did was to get back what was mine - this apartment. And, by the way, the shameless person here is you, who has come to my apartment and has taken my private space from me by installing yourself here. And now, what? Are you asking for mercy from me or what?”

„As though you know what mercy means.”

„Really?! If I hadn’t known what mercy means, you would have been on the street now, wet and when it’s raining, and not at my door. More than that, nobody keeps you there: when it’s cold and it’s raining. You can return to your penthouse at any time. I assure you that it is warm and comfortable there, even more comfortable than here. It can’t be compared to my humble hut. And, don’t worry about your things: I’ll send them tomorrow in the first hour. Beautifully packed and with a red bow above if it’s necessary. I swear: nothing of yours will be left here!”

„I have told you already that you are a cobra, right? Only cobras bite when they have the chance. And… what? To leave? Will you send my things? Yeah, sure! I’m not leaving, not even dead, do you hear me? I’ll stay here, right here, even if they take me from here like a frozen penguin in the morning. Anyway, I’ll get back into that apartment in one way or another, and… then, I’ll show you what Han DooSan can do when he’s mad.”

Pissed off, DooSan buttoned his coat up to the neck and sat on the floor, shaking like hell because of the wet clothing that stuck to his skin, something that made him feel covered by very thin ice. Because of this, he kept mumbling, „She has no heart for sure. I didn’t call her „witch” for nothing. I knew she was a witch right after I saw her the first time. And… wait for me to leave this place. I won’t do that. I’ll stay right here, next to your door, shaking like hell and slowly turning myself into an icicle just to make sure I’ll piss you off. And, Detective Ian, I assure you that you will pay for my death, do you hear me? When? In the morning, when they find me looking like a polar penguin, frozen for millennia at your door. When they see me, they’ll call the police and you’ll be punished for that. Then… you’ll cry and ask for mercy. You’ll regret my death because… I will be dead for nothing.”

„As though I have nothing better to do,” SolHi ironically replied.

This made DooSan stick his ear to the door again and listen. Then, he whispered, „She is still next to the door. This means my mumbling works.” Yet, seeing that even after minutes of waiting that door remained closed, he started to mumble again, „I would rather get mercy from a fox right before eating me than from her. And, Han DooSan, it seems that you are on your own. So, don’t just stay and wait, and do something to get inside that apartment again!” After that, rubbing his palms to warm himself a little, he knelt in front of the door and started to form code after code, „1405… error; 7865… error; 26121… error. Damn you… Ia, Ian SolHi, what’s the password?”

„The password? Guess it if you can, of course! I didn’t change it to tell you which one it is, right?”

„Give me at least a hint!” He begged.

„Yeah, right! I’m not stupid, okay?! And, if you are so determined to enter, use your brain! Yet, I’m sure you’ll get old until you guess it. Meanwhile, I go to bed because… brrr, it’s so cold when it’s so warm in bed. About you… good luck, Prosecutor Han! You’ll need it.”

„Yeah, yeah, nice of you. And, Ian SolHi, thanks for the hint. That password… it means that’s damn difficult to guess. I don’t think you used 0000 to piss me off. Yet, if I get in, I’ll tell you something nice for sure.” After that, DooSan sat by the door again, shivering, determined to wait there. Yet, something kept bothering him. That’s why he looked at the lock again and whispered, „Nea, I don’t think that she has used it. It’s too simple. And… she’s not stupid.” Even so, he still formed 0000, then 1111, and so on, but… entering was only a dream for Han DooSan at that moment, something that made him act like a spoiled child again.

Hearing him slowly mumbling and hitting the door with his head, SolHi reproachfully shook her head. Then, she went to the kitchen convinced that Han DooSan would stay by the door all night long, guessing the password. She was right in thinking so because DooSan didn’t give up. Only when he formed all the codes his mind could invent, he sat on the cold floor again and yelled, „Alright! I accept: you win! You used a damn good code. Are you happy now? Can I get in? No? Are you sure? Okay then, Detective Ian! We’ll see each other again tomorrow. Yet, are you ready for what you will see when you leave your apartment in the morning?”

„Ready for what?” SolHi asked, heading toward the bed with a mug of hot tea in her hand.

„To say hello to the polar mummy! The one with Han DooSan written on it! And, I’m telling you this now because I don’t know if I see you tomorrow: it was nice to meet you, Ian SolHi! It has been a real pleasure to meet you, by the way. Yet, if I had known you were a damn venomous cobra, I would have left you toothless instead of trying to train you. I would have made sure that you couldn’t bite again. And… you’ll cry for me, do you hear me? You’ll miss me because the stupid Han DooSan won’t be next to you anymore!”

Stopped in the middle of the room, SolHi squinted at the door, behind which DooSan’s mumbling was still heard. Then, hearing what he said, she whispered in a mocking tone, „Does he think I’m Mother Teresa or what?! To cry for him? I? For him? Yeah, right!” After that, sitting on the floor by the bed, she put the laptop on her lap and continued her work.

An hour later, looking at the clock, SolHi saw that it was 23.00 already, but nothing was heard behind the door. Except for the raindrops that were violently hitting the window, nothing else was heard. Because of this, the bad weather from outside was still well-felt inside too, where it was warm. Yet, not this amazed SolHi, but the fact that she realized that for about an hour Han DooSan hadn’t been heard begging by the door to be let in. „Did he leave? Nea, I don’t think so! As I know him… more stubborn than me, he wouldn’t have gone for anything in the world. And… ya, Han DooSan, are you still there?” Nobody answered. This made SolHi frown. „Well, I see we are playing the quiet mouse now. Be as you wish!” She whispered. After that, a little curious, SolHi stood up and approached the door.

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By the door, SolHi stopped and listened to what was heard from outside. Yet, nothing was heard in the hall. Even so, she felt that he was still there because she felt his presence behind the door. Because of this, and to make sure he was still there, SolHi barely opened the door and looked through it. Thus, she could see him curled up, still sitting on the floor and shaking like hell. Yet, although he heard the door opening, DooSan didn’t even look at her but played the upset guy.

This new DooSan made SolHi smile because it was something unexpected for her to find at him. Then, still smiling, she completely opened the door and waited. Only after a few moments, DooSan looked at her, playing the offended puppy this time. „What?” She asked, struggling not to burst into laughter.

„I want inside!” DooSan said in a begging tone. „Please! I understood my mistake! I swear! I won’t let anybody inside ever again. Just… let me in! Please?!” After that, he comically looked at her, still asking for mercy.

Seeing him acting like this, SolHi reproachfully shook her head. „If someone sees you now, your honor as a macho man is over for sure.” After that, turning her back to him, she entered the apartment, leaving the door open. This made him grin, satisfied: he won. Then, before SolHi could realize what he was doing, he changed the password. „Ia, Han DooSan,” she yelled at him when she heard the sound of the electronic lock. „What the hell do you think you are doing? And… when did you manage to save your fingerprint at the electronic lock?”

„On the first night here. I did that to make sure you wouldn’t let me outside. What I didn’t think about was that you’d change the lock before I could do something else to secure my back.”

„Something like what?”

„Come here and I will show you!” DooSan cunningly said, making SolHi insistently look at him. Something was making her curious about him, especially his grin, which told her that he was planning something evil for sure. Even so, she approached him determined to find out what he was planning and use it against him after this. She fell into her trap eventually because when she was a step from DooSan, he immobilized her from behind, and, struggling a little with her, he managed to delete her fingerprint from the electronic lock’s memory. After that, he changed the password again. „Now it’s good,” he said, satisfied, approaching the bed and wrapping himself in the blanket.

Extremely surprised but not in a pleasant way, SolHi looked both at the door and DooSan. Eventually, she hissed through her teeth, „Did someone tell you that you are shameless? I can’t believe this! I gave you a finger but you took the whole hand! Ia, Han DooSan, I’m talking to you!”

„And? I don’t get what you want from me! I also live here. It’s normal to do such things. Actually, I don’t understand why you reproach this to me when you have left me outside to freeze to death.”

„No, what you don’t understand is that such locks can be changed.”

„Try it! Of course, if you want to move to my place. If this happens, you won’t ever escape from there.”

„To your apartment? I?”

„Yeah, you heard well: to my apartment, and this will be your punishment if you do what you have just said. So, don’t provoke me, Ian SolHi! Why? Because you won’t ever win in front of me.”

„You are definitely an asshole! Anyway, be as you wish and tell me the password! The new one! What is it?”

„The password? It’s simple. The day we met,” DooSan calmly replied. Then he frowned when he saw SolHi’s eyes, which were sparkling because of hatred.

„You did what? Did you use as a password to my door the date when Han YuSan and I…?”

„Ia!” DooSan shouted. „Do you think I’m nuts or what? I meant the date we saw each other again!”

„Damn you… And yes, you are nuts! I think it’s because of the cold, you, polar frozen penguin,” she hissed through her teeth, entering the bathroom and slamming the door behind her.

„At least make me some tea!” DooSan shouted behind her, determined to drive her crazy and punish her for letting him wait by the door for an hour. After that, he sneezed. Yet, instead of making him tea or saying something, at least an „okay,” SolHi slammed the bathroom door again, hinting to DooSan that he was looking for the devil and to be quiet if he didn’t want to find him that night. DooSan, at all bothered by her anger, murmured, „Yeah, sure: who has lost the mercy for SolHi to find it?! Nobody! I’d rather warm myself in a fridge at minus 50 than Ian SolHi have mercy on me.” Then, he sneezed again so hard that even his ears started to buzz.

***

Laying on his stomach on the bed and covered with the blanket, DooSan pulled a little closer to SolHi, who was sitting on the floor by the bed. Then, peeping over her left shoulder, he looked at the screen of her laptop, trying to see what she was working on so intensely. Seeing nothing from that distance, he wrapped the blanket closer to his body and pulled even closer to her.

SolHi didn’t feel him at first. Then, when DooSan touched her shoulder with his cheek, she squinted at him because it was weird for her to see him looking over her shoulder and staring, as she thought, into her décolleté. Because of this, she suddenly hissed through her teeth, „What the hell do you think are you doing now?”

DooSan didn’t answer. He only pulled even closer to her, trying to sip from the cup of tea that SolHi was holding with her left hand. Only then did SolHi understand what he was trying to do and move the mug further from him. This made him furiously stare at her and say, „Don’t be stingy!”

SolHi showed him her fangs. After that, she pointed with her head toward the kitchen, mumbling, „If you want some, go and make yourself one!”

Yeah, right! Han DooSan wasn’t stupid to leave that bed and go to the kitchen. He even considered it a bad idea to leave that bed, afraid not to be kicked out of the apartment again. Instead of this, he preferred to beg, and, looking at her with those puppy eyes, he whispered, „I’m sick! Because of you! So, be human and accept your responsibility for letting me outside where it’s cold and raining. You are guilty because I have a fever now! If you don’t believe me, you can touch my forehead.”

„I say no to this!” SolHi growled and gave him her mug. Then, she went to the kitchen to make another tea for herself this time. While heading toward the kitchen, she kept mumbling, „You are worse than a child, do you know that? And… What are you doing in my bed? The sofa is yours!”

„The sofa? Since when? As far as I remember, I bought this bed. Today. So, it’s mine!”

„Who should sleep on the couch then? I?”

„You can sleep on the bed too. I don’t bite.”

„Aha, in your dreams.” After that, she sat on the floor again, but still furiously staring at DooSan, who was grinning, satisfied. This pissed her off more than she already was. That’s why she growled eventually, „Stop grinning!”

„Why? I enjoy my victory at least this way!”

„Really?! And… who told you that you won? You haven’t slept on the bed yet. I assure you that you won’t do that and, if you don’t like the couch, you can sleep outside. Any time.”

„You can’t chase me away! I know the password!” DooSan murmured, noisily sipping from his tea.

„Traitor!” SolHi hissed through her teeth, again turning on the video she was watching. Then, when she felt a little bit calmer, she asked, „Did you know that Park Yu Ra was discharged from the hospital today?”

„Mmm. Detective Kan told me after you left me alone in the park. Why are you asking anyway?”

„Because I’m damn curious to find out who helped her to leave the hospital.” After that, turning the laptop toward him, she let DooSan see the face of the same man who fought with SolHi after falling both off the roof. He wasn’t simply in the hospital, but with Yu Ra, who was holding his arm while leaving the hospital building.

„You must be kidding me right now.”

„Nop. I’m damn serious, by the way. Especially… after I found out that Park Yu Ra doesn’t exist. She is a ghost. Why? Because she was buried by her parents in her village a year ago.” After that, triumphantly grinning, she looked at DooSan, who was staring at her.

„Ya, SolHi, I understand that you and Yu SuJin go around the bush from time to time, more than ever now when I realize that you have this video because he entered the National Database again. Yet, a ghost?! Let’s not exaggerate, okay?! We all saw her alive… in her apartment when she was stabbed by that individual. That’s why I assure you that she’s as live as we are.”

„You should tell this to her parents. They won’t believe you for sure. Why? Because they buried Yu Ra a year ago, in her hometown.”

„Okay, let’s say it’s true what you say. Yet… what about her documents? We checked them and they weren’t fake. If she had been dead, we would have seen this in the database.”

„Well, I don’t know how she managed to keep her documents. Yet, I’m sure of a single thing: that everybody who has ever met her thinks that she’s dead. More than that, I found out that her name was listed twice in the database. The first time, it was listed when she was born, and secondly… it was after her alleged death. The reason she indicated the second time she asked for new documents was that she had an accident at her workplace, which erased her fingerprints. Thus, she got a new passport.”

„Wait a minute: what kind of accident can erase your fingerprints?”

„What do I know?! You should ask her. Of course, if we find her.”

„This goes without saying. Yet, to be clear for me too: what you say is that Park Yu Ra is not the same we saved that day?”

„I’m not the only one who thinks this. SuJin even tried to check her data but found nothing. She doesn’t have her fingerprints registered in the database, but her retina and this is…”

„SF.”

„Nop. A damn good method of avoiding being identified. Why? Because we don’t have such a method of checking the data. So, a person that doesn’t have his fingerprints registered in the database can steal, kill, kidnap, and do whatever he wants without being afraid that he’d been caught.”

„Smart. What can I say?”

„I must agree with you this time.”

„Then? How do we find her and find out who she is?”

„Simple: let’s dig her up!”

DooSan stared at her with wide-open eyes. „To dig her up? Whom?”

„Park Yu Ra. It’s the only way we can find out who is buried in her grave. More than that, checking Kim Ha Na’s social media, I saw these photos: of her and Yu Ra. And, under these photos, it is written that they saw each other again two months ago after ten years of absence. You can see this here.” Then, she showed DooSan a photo of the two girls hugging each other and happily smiling and, under the photo, it was written, „Sweet reunion.”

„And, considering that they haven’t seen each other in 10 years, it’s possible that Park Yu Ra has done some plastic surgery.”

„This is also possible.”

„Even so, SolHi, no matter how hard she has changed in these ten years, it’s not possible to simulate the memories. What if Park Yu Ra is real and she faked her death?”

„Are you talking about what Dja Iun said?”

„Yes. Let’s not forget that her boyfriend owed a lot of money, debts that he couldn’t pay. Thus, with Yu Ra’s „death,” they both won. And… if she managed to deceive the police by pretending that she’d been stabbed by the one who took her from the hospital after that, „dying” meant solving all her problems. At least… she wasn’t forced to pay for his mistakes.”

„SF seems this to me, DooSan. They are only children. They aren’t older than 25. Killing someone just to…”

„SolHi, listen to me carefully: we are talking about tens of thousands of dollars in debt and sexual slavery. Something that changed in a single day. This isn’t SF to me, but damn suspicious.”

He frowned eventually when SolHi murmured, „The date when Park Yu Ra was declared dead. Yet… how do we find out if she…?”

„Simple: let’s do what you suggest! Let’s dig her body up and ask for a DNA test. I don’t think her parents will oppose this if we tell them that it might be that not their child is buried there but someone else and they cried for nothing.”

„I hope you are right, DooSan. Otherwise, whom others will kill and bury will be us.” Even so, although she wasn’t totally convinced of their plan, SolHi was still convinced that what DooSan said made sense and that there were too many unexplained coincidences in that case.

***

On the second day, from the very morning, SolHi and the rest of her team went to Park Yu Ra’s hometown. Yet, although they had solid evidence, they needed some time to convince Yu Ra’s parents to accept the exhumation. Then, when the two spouses accepted, the forensic team started to exhume the body, using a small excavator for this.

While the forensic team was exhuming the body, SolHi stood a little bit further from the grave, with her arms folded on her chest, and carefully supervising the work. Then, when she heard DooSan’s car approaching the place, SolHi turned and looked at the car. Only when she saw DooSan heading toward her, she turned her back to him and waited for him to come.

„Did they start a long time ago?”

„A half an hour. They have to finish already. We are late because of Park Yu Ra’s mother. She, finding out about the possibility that not her child is buried there, had a panic attack. She even lost consciousness, and your friend, the lover of dolls, had to help her first.

DooSan reproachfully looked at her. „I know you don’t like GhiYon, but to call him „the lover of dolls” seems too much already. Even for you, SolHi!”

„If you say so! And, even if you defend him, I won’t change my mind.”

„Be as you wish! I don’t have time to argue with you. What about the shoulder?”

„It’s better now. The doctor said that I can stop using the arm sling and, if it hurts, I have pills.”

„Painkillers again?!” DooSan ironically asked. Seeing SolHi’s sour face, he changed the subject by saying, „Let’s go with the rest of the team! I think they have finished digging. There is the coffin.”

SolHi nodded and followed him. Yet, before approaching the coffin, the forensic team had to wait for a few minutes more until they could take Yu Ra’s mother from there. She, after the coffin was taken out of the grave, knelt by it and cried for long. Eventually, taken away by her husband, she cried a lot in his arms while GhiYon and his team took the coffin to the tent that was not that far from them at DooSan’s command.

Although he wanted to follow the forensic team right away, DooSan didn’t do that because he saw SolHi insistently looking at Yu Ra’s mother. This reminded him about the day before when SolHi cried in his arms before Un’s grave. And, touching her back to bring her back to reality, he told her in a sweet voice, „Let’s go with the others!”

„Ok,” SolHi murmured and followed him to the tent. They got there right after GhiYon finished the preliminary checking of the body. And, when he saw DooSan entering, he put an A4 sheet of paper in front of him.

„What’s this?” DooSan asked, curious.

„I have the same question for you, Han DooSan. What is this?” After that, seeing the confusion on DooSan’s face, he smiled.

„The autopsy report. Yu Ra’s autopsy report as far as I can see. Yet, I don’t see what’s wrong with it. As far as I can see here, it’s written that she died in a car accident after the steering wheel hit her chest. This provoked a heart attack. At least this is what is written here.”

„I also saw this. Yet, I still have this question in mind: since when do the steering wheels have axes attached to them?” SolHi and DooSan looked at GhiYon with wide-open eyes. „More than this, since when, if you died in a car accident, you have a huge hole made by an ax on the back of your head? This is a crime for me.”

„What the hell are you talking about, Park GhiYon?” DooSan shouted. „What crime? And… since when is a crime declared as a car accident?”

„You should ask such questions to the forensic doctor who signed this document. And, to finish amazing you more than this, she didn’t die in a car accident. I could prove that even if she died a year ago. How? Because she was the victim of the organ smugglers. What’s not missing from this body is the heart!”

SolHi shuddered when she heard that. She even staggered to her feet, forcing DooSan to support her not to fall. Seeing her so impacted amazed GhiYon a lot because he hadn’t ever expected that a criminal like SolHi would react like this, finding out about such a cruel death as Yu Ra’s. Then, when she could do that, SolHi murmured, „Do you mean that Park Yu Ra died after her boyfriend…?”

„Of course not!” They heard Kan’s voice behind them. Looking at him, they saw him entering the tent. „Park Yu Ra isn’t dead. It’s the same girl, whom we saw in her apartment when she was stabbed. Her parents confirmed this info. So, guys, we have to find out now not only where Park Yu Ra is, but also who the victim is and how she has been killed.”

„Sounds fair to me,” said GhiYon. „And… damn situation: you were trying to find someone that was missing, but found a cold-blooded crime instead. What can I say?! Congratulations, my dears! You managed to look for troubles again and find them!”

„Tell me something new!” DooSan growled. „And… this is not only about our ability to find the problems but about something that it is more than we can’t investigate alone. That’s why: I’ll make a phone call. Meanwhile, GhiYon: the body goes with you because, without an autopsy, this body won’t be buried again.”

„I don’t think the family will agree,” said Kan.

„They have no choice anyway. They accepted that Yu Ra was definitely their daughter. Thus, they lost any rights to this body. So, SolHi: take the parents’statement! We’ll need it because, no matter who is behind this case, I won’t close it so easily although the entire world will burn.” After that, DooSan left the tent, dealing a number.

„Let’s talk to Park Yu Ra’s parents, SolHi,” Kan said. „We’ll need steel nerves for this.” After that, Kan left when he noticed GhiYon and SolHi exchanging glances.

Seeing SolHi looking at him, GhiYon thought that she remained to ask for some explanation about what he had done the day before. That’s why he said, „Listen, Detective Ian, I just…”

„You did what you had to do, Doctor Park. Eventually, Han YuSan was your best friend. I would have done the same in your place if I had suspected someone. Even so, you went too far speculating that I’m losing my mind because of the guilt and the pain Han YuSan might have felt before his death. I assure you that’s nothing like that. What I feel aren’t fake illusions or feelings but reality. And, once DooSan knows my secret already, I’ll also tell you this: my pain isn’t a phantom one, but real because the night Han YuSan died, I lost a child. Yes, I was kicked in my belly, brutally and repeatedly until I lost my baby. And, although I don’t remember much about that night, I still remember something: Han YuSan and I were the only ones in the abandoned warehouse that night.”

„Listen, Detective Ian, accusing YuSan of…”

„Why not?! I’ve been accused of killing him only because we’ve been found there together. And, if it’s true and I killed him, it has been in self-defense because I clearly remember that he’s been the one kicking my belly. That’s why I suggest you don’t waste your time suing me again because I assure you that you’ll lose this time. Why? Because I won’t keep my mouth shut and I’ll splatter all over with mud, especially Han YuSan. And I’ll do it if I want to live. I assure you. Yet, if it wasn’t Han YuSan who killed my child that night and I didn’t kill him…”

„…a third person was there that night. Someone you don’t remember.”

„That’s right. And, as our objectives seem to coincide now or at least this is what I think, I consider that’s a damn good idea to investigate this case together. I’ll assure you DooSan will be involved or he’ll know everything about this case because I won’t hide anything this time. So, if you decide to help me, give me a call! DooSan can give you my number!” Saying this, SolHi left the tent and approached Kan, who was talking to Yu Ra’s parents.

GhiYon felt confused while looking behind her. Then he looked at DooSan, who was talking with someone by phone and seemed very upset although he was with his back to the tent. „Have we been so wrong, DooSan?” Doctor Park wondered loudly. „YuSan, friend, I’m sure you couldn’t hurt her. Yet, she says otherwise. Then… What the hell happened in that warehouse? More than that, why did nobody know you went there that night? Why?”

„Doctor Park, look here! It seems that…” one of his colleagues told GhiYon, making him turn back to reality and leave his thoughts for later. Before returning to work, he glanced at Yu Ra’s mother, who was crying in her husband’s arms while Kan helped him to take the woman to his car.