Although he thought the cold water would make him shudder from top to toe, DooSan was eventually released, especially when he felt that the wounds, which had stung by then, were easier to bear. Then, a short period of calmness came down. This was undoubtedly due to the cold drops that were dripping on his back from the shower, running down his naked body after this. At that moment, DooSan was squatting in the tub, with the knees touching his chest, and waiting for the cold water to calm him down, wash him off pain and sins, blessing him.

This desire, to regain the inner balance, wasn’t at all random. Especially, it wasn’t random after all the stuff he found out that morning, confusing things that he was still processing. Things that at one point made him want to vanish for a while, feeling guilty for everything he did in time. Yes, he also felt remorse taking over him because he wanted to take revenge on her, although he hadn’t been sure she was guilty of what he accused her of. Even so, he wanted that because he needed someone to focus all the hatred from his soul on, considering her the only one to blame for the pain in his soul.

That’s why he was so furious with SolHi because „If she hadn’t kept silent about everything, nothing of this would have happened.” He kept telling himself that since he entered the tub, that, „If she had told me about what she lost that night, she wouldn’t have suffered so much because of me. Just as I wouldn’t have suffered so much.”

„If SolHi had told you what she lost that night, you wouldn’t have ever gotten to know her as you know her today,” he suddenly heard Kan’s voice in his ears, bitterly smiling. He didn’t do that because he was hallucinating. Yes, he was sure of this, just as he was sure that these words were just a memory of what Kan told him that morning. Kan had told him that after they cooled their souls, sharing kicks, slaps, and punches in that abandoned warehouse. After that, they went to the car. There, leaning against the car while sitting on the road between two lavender fields, they had a soul-to-soul talk about everything they knew.

„Maybe, Kan! Yet, if she had told me all this then, things would have been different,” said DooSan, staring at his hands that were resting on his knees. „Or, not knowing anything about that night, it would have been better for both of us.”

Kan looked at him, confused. „Do you think that not knowing anything about that night would have made you happier?”

„It’s not that,” DooSan rushed to answer. „No, I don’t think so. I mean, I’m not sure if it had been better not to know about that night or not. Still, I think that if I had known this right from the beginning, I could have gotten to love her earlier and we wouldn’t have wasted so much time in vain.”

„To love her?”

„Yes, Detective: to love her. Even if I had lied to myself so many times before, stubborn to accept the truth, I’ve been loving SolHi since long ago. I have probably fallen in love with her since I saw her on the first day.”

The detective smiled. „A lie known only by the heart. Your heart, Prosecutor Han.”

„Something like that because even if our mind invents the lies, we live them with the heart. Silently, most of the time.”

„Are you talking about SolHi now?”

„Not only about her. I’m talking about both of us because we’ve been fools eventually, keeping silent about many things, just not to let others know we suffered the same.”

„Still, her pain cannot be compared to yours.”

„What makes you believe that?”

Kan smiled again. „It’s not something I believe, Prosecutor Han. I’m sure of this because SolHi’s pain and your pain have been different right from the beginning. For example, when you suffer, you don’t hide it. You’ve always openly acted, even in front of her: showing her your hatred and desire to get revenge. SolHi is different though. She prefers to internalize everything, many times fighting even with herself just not to make others suffer, even if those others deserved to suffer more than she had suffered at that moment.”

„Are you talking about me now?”

„No. Well, not only about you. There are enough of those who deserve to have paid with suffering for her suffering. Yet… anyway, maybe it was better this way.”

„That she suffered?” Asked DooSan, confused.

„No, that she had you as her enemy. Thus, she felt stronger. Considering you her rival, she got the power to fight and move on.”

„Denying what she felt, just as I did. Yet, Kan: even if it seems to me that you are wrong, I still consider that SolHi has suffered even if she doesn’t deserve that. Mostly, because of me.”

„Allow me to think differently.”

„Why?”

„You aren’t the only guilty one for what has happened. It was normal for you to want revenge on the one whom you considered guilty of your brother’s death. I felt the same when my wife died. Yet, I didn’t hide what I felt, as you did. SolHi kept silent about many things though.”

„Do you mean the rape?”

Kan suddenly shook his head. „SolHi didn’t know about the rape. At least, she didn’t know about this until the trial.”

„What? What do you mean now? There is a forensic report, Kan. They checked her. It’s impossible, I mean… that she didn’t know that.”

„Of course, it’s possible because the medical investigation was done while she was still unconscious. They made it at Pack Mina’s request because she felt that something more than an attack happened to her friend. Also, doctor Pack asked me not to tell SolHi about this because… I was the first one who received the forensic file after the expertise.”

„Wait a minute! You said that SolHi asked for this report not to be presented in Court.”

„Yes, I said that. She somehow found out about this and didn’t want others to know too. Actually, she found out this while she was still hospitalized. Probably, the nurses talked more than they had to, what do I know?! Yet, it’s not important how she found out but that she found out. That day, when SolHi knew the truth already, Pack Mina called me and told me that SolHi wanted to see me.”

„This explains a lot of things.”

„Yes, you are right: this explains a lot of things, even if it shouldn’t have been like that. Honestly, when SolHi found out about the rape, she psychically collapsed. They got to force her to eat something, just as it happened after the attack. She was depressed, she didn’t talk to anybody, she was often closed inside, and she was afraid of people. She even got to sleep all the time at one point.”

„As it happened when her mother died.”

„Recently?”

„Yes. She slept for several days. Pack Mina told me then that’s not the first time SolHi did something like that. I didn’t ask her when this happened. If I had done this…”

„…it wouldn’t have helped you in anything. Why? Because, as long as SolHi refuses to share her feelings with others, keeping her problems only for herself, and living in her world, it’s impossible to help her.”

„Even so, Kan: I should have been more interested in her. To find out more about her, and not only say I like her and that’s all. This isn’t love. It’s exactly what you’ve told me before attacking me.”

„Actually, you punched me first.”

„Well deserved, accept that.” Kan burst into laughter. „What? Do you think I’m wrong now? Of course not. Not when we look as we look right now: like after the war.”

„I’d rather compare us with two high school students who fought for a girl. One that has no idea what we feel for her. And… I hope she won’t ever find out. Otherwise, if SolHi ever finds out the reason why we’ve been sharing punches, kicks, and slaps, I assure you that we’ll look worse than this. I’m afraid the paramedics and the firefighters will struggle to gather our pieces after she finishes with us.”

„You tell me this?!” DooSan said, suddenly bursting into laughter. „It won’t be the first time I’ll look like hell because of her.”

„Because of SolHi? What did she do?”

„The real question is what she didn’t do,” said DooSan, chortling. Then, suddenly turning seriously, he said, „Do you remember how I looked after the first night spent in her apartment? Well, I do because you asked me that day what „cat” scalped the hide off me. It’s when you saw me looking like after a real war.”

„Okay, and?”

„It was SolHi’s credit. The „reward” for appearing at her door at midnight, asking her to let me sleep there. No, it’s better to say that it was because „I dared to ask her to live with me.” Brr, I still shake each time I think about that awful night. I thought I wouldn’t see the light of day again. Even now I feel itches on my skin when I think about that night.”

„Well deserved seems to me!” Kan teased him.

„Yeah, I must accept that. Actually, I must accept one more thing: I feel cold itches on my skin each time SolHi has a thought. She has that ability to look good even after a fight while her rival looks damn bad. She really looks great after a fight as though she got out of a Jacuzzi.”

„Did you see her?” Kan suddenly asked, making DooSan stare at him, thunderstruck. „I mean… have you ever seen how she looks after she gets out of a Jacuzzi? I bet she looks great.”

DooSan showed his fangs to Kan. „Have you lost your mind?” When DooSan asked that, he looked like a mad cat about to start a fight.

Kan smiled. „Don’t take it personally, Prosecutor Han. I was asking you this because I’m interested in SolHi as a father, not because I’m trying to take her from you.”

„As though I haven’t known you. For a „daddy,” you have pretty good eyes,” growled DooSan.

„Now it’s my fault because I have good eyes? Well, maybe you are right: I have good eyes. Impossible not to have them after each fashion show with SolHi as the main model.”

„Fashion shows? What the hell does this mean?”

„Something you know already. If I’m not mistaken, the first time you saw her or saw her again, she didn’t wear too many clothes.”

DooSan scratched the back of his head. „Well, I must agree now. Yet, she wasn’t naked that day. At least, she hadn’t been so at first because… she had a towel or something like that covering her… certain parts. Yet…” Cleaning his voice, DooSan suddenly looked elsewhere.

Kan burst into laughter. „Judging by your reaction, I guess it’s not the first time she shows up like that in front of you. And, damn: you’ve seen each other again only for a few months. You don’t even imagine what we’ve been through in these three years since we worked with her. And… we not only live with that, but we also experience all this on our skin because… honestly, I didn’t run after her in the street when she wore something light on her only once. The last time I experienced something like that, she was only wearing Gi’s jacket. Another time… a two-piece swimming suit. Brrr, I’m still angry only thinking about the bastard who had the brilliant idea of stealing something from a woman’s purse while SolHi was at the pool. Oh, Captain told us so many things that day …”

„You at least would have had a chance to survive, even if your ears had been deaf after so many yells from your bosses’part. I, for example, am shaking each time I hear the shower. The reason? I’m afraid she’ll have the brilliant idea of forgetting I’m also living in that apartment and she’ll get out of the bathroom wearing… nothing.”

„This is an easy problem to solve,” said Kan, grinning. „Only by leaving that apartment, you are safe and with your heart healthy.”

DooSan showed Kan his fangs again. „Only in your dreams, I’ll cede my place to another one.” After that, both of them burst into laughter. Then, a long period of silence came, each of them thinking about his own problems. In front of them, the lavender blades kept dancing with the wind, making a pleasant melody all around them. A music that spurred the two to dream and deep meditation. Even so, it wasn’t the case for DooSan, who suddenly said, „Detective Kan, may I ask you a favor?”

„About?”

„Un. I’d like to know who his father was.”

Kan looked at the prosecutor, confused. „Why? To have one more reason to hate someone, knowing who was your worst rival? To SolHi’s heart, I mean, once she’s been ready to give him a child.”

„No. If I’m asking this, it’s for another reason.”

The detective looked at DooSan, even more confused than before. Then, he said, „Don’t tell me: are you suspecting him of being behind the events seven years ago?” DooSan nodded. „This is insane. As far as I know, he didn’t have a reason to kill Prosecutor Han. SolHi and Prosecutor Han had nothing at that time. They didn’t even know each other.”

„Even so, Kan: reading that report, something makes me think about all this.”

„What exactly?”

„That she was brutally hit in her stomach. As though he wanted SolHi to lose that child.”

Kan cooked his nose. „Honestly, SolHi talked to me about this.”

„SolHi? She also suspects her child’s father of being the guilty one for what happened then?”

„No. It is because of certain memories she got back the day you saved her from this place. She told me that day that she remembered that her aggressor kept repeating to her while kicking her belly, „His kid must die!”

„His kid? Must die?”

„Yeah, something like that. This makes me think that you might be right in saying that what happened to SolHi has something to do with her child’s father.”

„What about YuSan? He had nothing to do with her child. I’m sure of this: if that kid had been his, he would have told me no matter what. YuSan loved kids.”

„And I’m pretty sure Han YuSan wasn’t that kid’s father.”

„And this miracle?”

„SolHi told me about this. She asked Han YuSan if he was the father of that child.”

„What? SolHi asked my brother if he was the father?” Kan nodded. „Why?”

„SolHi… doesn’t know who’s her child’s father.” DooSan stared at Kan, eyes wide open. „Yeah, it’s like you think: a night in a club, with after-party surprises. She was drunk that night.”

„I got it now,” said DooSan, disappointed.

„What exactly?”

„Why she sent me to hell when I asked her who is Un’s father.”

„Did you dare that?”

„Yeah. Something I regretted after this because… I was about to spend my night in the street. Yet, returning to my request: can you find this out without SolHi knowing about this?”

„Well, I can try. To investigate, I mean. Yet, this „without SolHi knowing about this,” it’ll be a little hard. Why? Because, as I know her and her dog nose, she won’t be deceived if we tell her „this is an investigation you shouldn’t know about.”

„Not if SolHi doesn’t know that you are investigating something. How? Simple: I’ll keep her away from the office.”

„This will be even harder than defending the Pentagon. Why? She’ll find all this damn suspect and, if you lock her in her house, she’ll get out through the window just to make sure she finds out what we are hiding from her. Nea, the best solution and safer for everybody is acting like usual. This involves her presence in the office.”

„Maybe you are right. Yet, we still have to keep her away from Nam Yun Ho’s case. I’m not the only one who wants this. Captain Lee asked me for the same thing.”

„Did you see Captain Lee?”

„Yeah, this morning, right before telling you that I wanted to see you on the Prosecution roof. He told me that SolHi might be a problem if we let her be involved.”

„Because of Min SinJu?”

„Yes. But… how do you know that?”

„We poked our noses „in his business.” I and the boys entered his club.”

„Have you lost your mind?” DooSan hissed through his teeth. „If he had caught you there, spying on him, you might have gotten worse than SolHi.”

„Tell me something new! Anyway, if we hadn’t done this, we wouldn’t have found out that Min SinJu, with the help of his cousin, Ian Hion Uk, checked your past, looking for your weaknesses.”

„When did this happen?”

„Right before Ku SinHa’s death. I think that this might be the reason why Captain Lee thinks that the death of SolHi’s mother wasn’t random. And, speaking about Lee, let’s say I’ve suggested to him the idea of keeping both of you away from this case.”

DooSan glared at Kan. „Come on, Detective: I got the point why SolHi should stay away from this, but… what’s your problem with me?”

„With you?! Nothing out of the ordinary: I just want you free to keep an eye on SolHi. We both know she’s not an Angel and won’t stay quiet. You won’t be able to do that if you are caught in an investigation. Plus: Min SinJu also hates you. Let’s not forget the accident and Iun Dja Iun’s death.”

„I won’t forget this, ever. Even so, you forgot one thing - I’m the prosecutor here. You need me for this!”

„We have San DuSik for that!”

DooSan burst into laughter. „San DuSik? To help you against Min SinJu? Never! You rather count on Iun Min Hiok.”

„It’s a good idea too. Anyway, your job now is to keep SolHi away from this case. Further from Min SinJu too, if it’s possible.”

„For this, I have to wake up the clown that sleeps inside me.”

„Something I don’t think will help you too much. Yet, I must accept you’ll be giving a splitting headache to SolHi.”

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

„Have you ever doubted this?!” DooSan asked, winking.

At that moment though, under the cold shower, DooSan understood that maybe he rushed in saying that he could keep SolHi away from that case. Not that he couldn’t have sent SolHi to Alaska for example, but because he understood that it was damn difficult for him to have her close. Especially, he found it difficult for himself not to touch her, kiss her, or have her in his arms. Yet, he had to hold his emotions in check because this was the only way he could keep her safe. Yes, he had to protect her no matter what because he couldn’t allow anybody else to hurt her again.

***

Although DooSan had in mind to keep SolHi home that day no matter what, he couldn’t do that though. He couldn’t soften her heart not even using his feelings because he told her that his wounds hurt him and he needed her care. DooSan even begged her, telling her that he had taken care of her the night before and that it was SolHi’s turn to do the same. In response to his begging, SolHi cut him off by telling him in a stern voice, „If you are in pain, go to a hospital! I’m not a doctor!” Then, she left the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

„Heartless woman,” DooSan hissed through his teeth, suddenly sitting on the bed. He even had a temper tantrum because of his failure, crumpling the sheet and the blanket with which SolHi struggled for minutes to make them sit perfectly on the bed.

DooSan didn’t notice this new strange thing at her too. If he had noticed that SolHi started to hate the mess lately and that she was working a lot for everything to stay perfect, becoming irritated if things weren’t as she left them, he would have taken her to see Mina for sure. It wouldn’t have been for sure a social visit to a friend but to the doctor because that „everything must be perfect” was an alarm signal that SolHi’s mind didn’t have its finest hour.

Luckily, SolHi got rid of DooSan’s nagging about this aspect of her mental health. Yet, she didn’t get rid of him because, after that temper tantrum after being left alone in the apartment, DooSan ran after her, catching with her in the street. He even squeezed her hand, pulling her after him toward the car as though trying to tell her, „If you are so stubborn to go to work, let’s go together then!”

This new aspect of Han DooSan, of showing his attachment for her openly, hadn’t been something SolHi liked. That’s why, struggling to release her hand, SolHi said through her teeth, „Why did you stick to me like a bur?”

DooSan showed her his fangs. „Are you hiding something from me if you don’t want me to follow you?”

„Yeah, I’m a woman, remember? It’s proper for me to have secrets. Something I can’t do with you blowing down my neck. I can’t even freely breathe with you here.”

„If you had stood home, you would have been able to freely breathe. Yet, you no: stubborn like a donkey, you decided to ignore the doctor’s recommendation of resting and are going to work now.”

„Are you serious now?” SolHi furiously asked him. „To rest? I? When did you see me resting? Not even if death had come after me, I would have done this. Less I’ll do that for the jerk that has done that to me. What happened last night meant nothing to me.”

„Nothing? You’ve been about to throw yourself through the window, SolHi.”

„What about keeping your mouth shut and not yelling this?” SolHi growled, threateningly approaching DooSan.

He stood calm, staring at her with that serious look he had each time he wanted to let someone know that he wouldn’t give up on his ideas, although his first thought had been, „She’s so sweet when she’s angry.” Yet, he said nothing about this because he was aware that if he had said something like that, black clouds would have suddenly covered their clear sky. DooSan only kept looking at SolHi, who was boiling inside while staring at him.

Then, one step from him, SolHi whistled through her teeth again, „I wouldn’t have done this if you hadn’t come there.”

„Now it’s my fault that you’ve been about to try what a bird feels while jumping through the window of the fourth floor.”

„Of course, it’s your fault! I was quite calm until you entered that room.”

„SolHi, you were about to lose your mind! Why? You were speaking to the ghosts. And, speaking about ghosts: whom you were talking to there? With Steve Jobs’ghost? Were you asking him an advice to become a millionaire?”

„No,” SolHi calmly replied, weirdly grinning. This reaction made DooSan attentive. Moreover, when she said, „I was speaking to Death, asking her to come and take you away from me. Yet, from where should I take such a bit of luck? Never, because you not only freeze the water like the wizards, but you also have a deal with Death, who won’t come after you, ever.”

DooSan smiled. „If you wish for my death, it means you are desperate to get rid of me now. So, tell me: what are you planning? Not to see me around when you see the „cat” that did this to me?”

„Were you eavesdropping?”

„I? When exactly? Aaa, when I was in the bathroom and you were cursing everybody and saying that if you catch that cat, you’ll leave her furless? Well, yes. I also heard that you’ll cut her nails to the flesh. So, I admit that: I’ve been eavesdropping there. A little bit.”

„Not only a little bit if you know everything,” SolHi growled, turning her back to him.

DooSan right away followed her. Then, catching up with her, he suddenly wrapped his arm around her neck, chaining her to make sure she wouldn’t run from him. Not even when SolHi squinted at him didn’t convince DooSan to let her breathe. What he convinced himself of was to follow a strange impulse he felt so suddenly. Which one? To kiss her. Yes, he kissed her in the middle of the street, making SolHi widen her eyes, not answering that kiss. Then, she hiccupped.

„If you hiccup, it means my warning is working,” DooSan said, laughing. Then, touching her face with both palms, he stared into her eyes, kissing her one more time. „To be a pair,” he told her after that.

„You lost your mind for sure!”

„I? Well, you might be right. Anyway, I can’t be healthy mentally once I’m living with you.”

„For your general information, nobody keeps you close. You can look for another „asylum” any time.”

„Of course not! I’m okay living with you. So, baby: stop dreaming about getting rid of me today and follow me! If not, we’ll be late at work for sure. And, if this happens, who knows: besides letting others know that we’ve been living together for a while, we can even get to the Civil Registry later. So, don’t give me „ideas” and be a good girl. If not, you’ll be Han SolHi for sure, starting today!”

„In your dreams,” SolHi growled, passing by him. After two steps, when DooSan suddenly put her on his shoulder, heading toward his car parked not that far from them, SolHi finally understood she didn’t have the chance to be alone that day. That’s why she kept „blessing” DooSan with sweet words until they got to the car, as though that „psychopath” she told him before wasn’t enough.

***

After Han DooSan’s „bad joke,” which he made in the middle of the street where he kissed her and then made her enter his car, SolHi had another unpleasant surprise that day, this time at the office. Why? Because Han DooSan put a huge stack of papers in front of her when she was sitting at her desk already, papers he asked A Rim to prepare before they got to work. That’s why SolHi glared at him, telling him through her teeth, „You are looking for your death for sure today!”

DooSan smiled. „Don’t worry, baby: I’m not looking for my death for sure. What I’m looking for is for you to stay in the office and solve these cases. If not, you know very well what might happen to you.” After that, he slowly bent over her as though intending to kiss her. This made SolHi pull back and cover her mouth with both palms. Then, when DooSan burst into laughter, she frowned. Moreover, when she saw him at all bothered to see her anger and saying, „Only a warning! Yet, I see I don’t need it because you’ve learned the lesson. Well, I’m not even surprised because I know what a good teacher I am when I have to be. And, with such a method, more.”

„What you’ve done is to lose your minds completely, using a damn good algorithm,” she told him, furious.

„I admit that too. And, once I accept that I’m a psycho and I love tormenting you, I tell you this: don’t leave this office today before sorting those files alphabetically, then chronologically, and numerically. Later, we’ll see how you should put them.”

„Are you kidding me right now?”

„No, I’m just making sure you’ll be busy all day long.” Seeing SolHi standing up and ready to teach him a lesson of good manners, DooSan put his palms on her shoulders, forcing her to sit down again. After that, bowing toward her, he whispered again, „Are you looking for another round of my „special teaching,” Ian SolHi? If yes, I suggest you think twice because… baby, we aren’t alone in the office! I think this can wait until tonight. Yet, if you can’t wait, we can try this here! I’m only for this!”

„Damn you, Han DooSan!” SolHi shouted. After that, pushing him away from her, she started slamming the files on her desk.

Happy that he could „convince” her, DooSan smiled. „I thought so: that we could wait until the evening to be together. The romance will increase thus.”

„Absolutely! It’ll be damn romantic leaving you headless,” SolHi told him, opening a file. „Should I give you some details about that too?”

„Not necessary. As I know you already, I can imagine. And, by the way, you won’t leave this office today, not without asking my permission. Even for going to the bathroom, you should inform me.”

„This is tyranny already!” SolHi shouted.

„Denounce me then! Yet, I inform you that you’ll waste your time only. I’m your boss, remember? I can give you such orders!” After that, he went and sat at his desk.

While DooSan and SolHi had that argument, the „eagles” of their office, A Rim and SuJin, carefully looked at them. They even exchanged glances from time to time, looking at both DooSan and SolHi, as though they were watching a Ping-Pong game. How not to do that when the „romance tonight” sounded so tempting?! A Rim even pulled her chair closer to SuJin’s at one point to make sure they understood the gossip well, asking him, „What’s with these two and their romance in the daylight?”

SuJin showed her his fangs, damn nervous. He felt like that because of DooSan, who made him damn jealous that day. And, when A Rim asked him that, he had the perfect chance to get revenge at least on someone, growling through his teeth, „What about living your life, huh? If not, you’ll be an old unmarried woman for sure!”

„While you’ll be a jerk for the rest of your life!” For her remark, A Rim was rewarded with a pushing, back to her place, when SuJin slowly kicked her chair. Then, furious about her this time, SuJin put the headphones on and turned the music on to the maximum, writing the report DooSan asked him for so fast that the entire office resounded.

SuJin’s anger made DooSan happy. How not to feel like that when he looked for this since he came to the office that morning?! He knew how to take revenge on SuJin for all the times he heard „My beautiful Nuna” in that office. A trick DooSan knew that worked, seeing SuJin about to blow. That’s why DooSan kept smiling inside, happy that he could teach everybody a lesson that day.

***

„May I know what we are looking for here?” Inspector Yu asked, frowning because of the latex gloves, which he was trying to put on for a few minutes, but he couldn’t do that eventually.

He was with Kan when he asked that, in the club from where SolHi vanished that night. The club was empty at that moment, although only one night before it had been full, something that gave them some headaches because they had a lot of witnesses to interrogate later. At that moment though, nobody was there, just as the club seemed so clean as though the „cleaning team” had passed by there after they left, making sure no dust would be found there eventually. Cleanliness that made Kan angry, hissing through his teeth, „Zombies! This is what we are looking for here!”

„As sweet as always,” growled Yu. The inspector was right in being irritated because, since they entered that club, all he heard was Kan’s mumbling. Yet, not this irritated him more but the fact he had no clue of what they were looking for there, as though he was punished for bad behavior and forced to try to put a quart into a pint pot. Plus, he was damn tired because, instead of going home and sleeping next to his wife, Kan brought him there and forced him to work, just as Yu forced Kan to work the night before. That’s why he asked the detective eventually, „Are you looking for revenge right now?”

„For what?” The detective asked, confused.

„For the romantic night with Mrs. Oh that you missed last night because of me. You know, when I kept you at the office, looking for ghosts in a stack of files.” Then, playfully, Yu delicately touched Kan’s cheek, making that one jump to the side.

„Have you lost your minds in old age or what?” Kan hissed at the Inspector, seeing that one smiling. „It seems so, once you got to exchange camps at this age.”

„The one who is trying to take Ian SolHi’s man from her said that to me.”

„I? When exactly?” Kan asked, boiling inside.

„This morning. Or what, do you think nobody has seen you leaving together? Well, you are wrong because I’ve seen you and you looked so romantic. What was missing from there was you two holding hands.”

„You are nuts for sure. Otherwise, I can’t explain your delirium in broad daylight.” Yu burst into laughter. „Does this seem funny to you?”

„Of course! Or do I look like I’m about to cry?! More than that, I assure you I’m not delirious because I’ve clearly seen your love for Prosecutor Han and vice-versa. A mad love, by the way. A hot one, which left so beautiful marks on your face. Tell me, was it because of too many caresses between you two?”

„Hell no!” Kan whistled. „Let’s just say we have talked a little more intensely.”

„It’s what I said: intense caresses.”

„Don’t go around the bush, okay?! It’s been a simple talk, not what your sick mind can imagine.”

„Aha! And, tell me: does SolHi know about this?”

„About what?”

„That you are trying to take her place next to Han DooSan?”

Kan slapped his forehead. „I’ve said that old goats like you get to lose their minds in old age. Otherwise, I can’t explain why you talk nonsense now. Prosecutor Han and I? Not even in a thousand years and no, even if the world burns. I would rather be a monk. I told you that this morning, right?”

„Yeah, you told me, but I didn’t believe you. I’ve told you already that you are a „lover boy.” I was right: because of too many sweet caresses, your face swelled. Love is madness, right?”

„What about starting looking for things here?” Kan hissed through his teeth. „Or does it seem funnier for you kidding me?”

„I won’t deny that. I really feel good, seeing you burning, baby. Related to my work: I’ll do that, don’t worry! Why? Because, if I don’t do that, I know we can’t count on you! The same goes for Prosecutor Han, who was flying through the clouds lately. Something that started to preoccupy me because I couldn’t understand what happened to him. I got this now: it was because of the „love that floated through the air.”

Walking through that room and talking nonsense just to make sure he’d piss off Kan that day, Yu didn’t pay too much attention around. In particular, he didn’t pay attention to what his hand touched or what he pushed while „checking the things.” That’s why God punished him and he saw himself rolling on a few stairs eventually, so suddenly that Kan froze with his eyes wide open when he saw Yu turned into a donut on those stairs.

This turnabout left Kan speechless for sure. Yet, he didn’t stay with his mouth open for long but ran toward the „door” that opened in the wall, squinting his eyes while trying to see something through the thick darkness, which could be cut with a knife no other. Kan even squatted at one point, thinking that this would help him see something. Yeah, right?! He saw nothing there. He only heard a moan at one point, something that made him ask, „Are you okay?” Hearing no answer, Kan had the brilliant idea of turning on the lantern on his phone, thinking to use it and see what happened to Yu.

The detective suddenly fell to his butt, squeezing his phone in his hand, the moment a mummy appeared in front of him. A mummy that had a single name - Yu: with his hair a mess, with his nose bleeding, and even the hair on his arms raised a little like the fur of the animals before a fight. This new look of the inspector made Kan murmur, frightened, „The one with the scythe.”

Kan said that not as a joke but because he was damn frightened. How not to be so when he didn’t see something like that every day?! Yu instead, damn calm as if nothing happened, ran his hands through his hair first, trying to make it look presentable. After that, he arranged his clothes and took a kerchief out of his pocket, sticking two of its corners into his nostrils to stop the bleeding, saying, „Let’s go!”

„Where?” Came Kan’s dumb question. He asked that, feeling itches on his back, even if he didn’t know why.

„To see the other world,” Yu suddenly said. This answer made Kan swallow hard. Thus, seeing Kan about to have a heart attack, Yu grinned and said, „To see the basement, man! There is a basement there as SolHi said. We looked for one, right?”

Kan nodded. After that, he gave his phone to the inspector when he saw that Yu was trying in vain to turn his phone on. Then, after Yu grabbed his phone, Kan stood up and followed the inspector, although he was damn afraid to descend those stairs that led into deep darkness. He wasn’t afraid to measure noses with the one with the scythe but because he didn’t want to experience the same as Yu: he had enough with the blows received from Han DooSan that morning and did not need new ones.

Because of the same thought, Kan took very good care of descending those stairs. He even made a large cross before going to the basement, mumbling, „God, take care of me! Protect me, God! Protect me!” As though God didn’t have other things to do than watch his back and take care of Kan not to hurt his butt. Eventually, hearing Yu shouting from down the stairs, „Are you coming?” Kan finally started descending those stairs, one by one as though he would have counted them.

***

„Here are only mice and the underworld,” growled Yu, pulling the kerchief out of his nose, furious that they didn’t find anything there. They didn’t find evidence, not even in the booth SolHi told them about, where she saw the young woman unconscious - no trace of blood, which someone took care to clean so well.

Kan weirdly grinned. „They knew.”

„What exactly?”

„That we’ll finally get here. That’s why, while we worked up there, in the club, they worked here, taking care of the evidence, which they made vanish.”

„Maybe they missed something.”

„Less probably. These are professional, bro: like those from „The Night Sun!”

„Do you think so?”

„I don’t only think so, I’m sure of this,” said Kan feistily, standing up and looking around. Before that, he squatted, looking at the world from down. „Just as I’m sure that the fact we found Lee Da Hi in that dumpster wasn’t random.”

„They „gave” her to us, to turn Nam Yun Ho into the pasty,” said Yu, cooking his nose. „Actually, I’ve already heard that Captain Lee is interrogating him right now, trying to get from him everything he can, including the rape and Da Hi’s death.”

„Something I don’t even doubt he’ll make it. Yet, I still have the feeling that Lee Da Hi isn’t dead because of Nam Yun Ho.”

„No? Then?”

„We’ll see after the autopsy. Yet, I still think that an overdose killed her and not the wounds. Even so, Nam Yun Ho won’t get clean of this because… it’s a clear thing he brutally hit her. Plus, he’ll pay for what he’s done to SolHi.”

„Speaking about SolHi: how is she?”

„She’s fine. At least, this is what she tries to show to the others. Prosecutor Han will take good care of her. And, no word about this basement we’ve found and investigated or I’ll break your neck besides your broken nose. I don’t want her here, reliving that night. She lived enough with what happened yesterday.”

„Do you mean that she’s been about to throw herself through the window in that motel?”

„How do you know that? Aaa, your beloved son informed you already.”

„Who else?! And, if he knew that, it’s because Prosecutor Han asked him to take care of the „evidence” that others could have used against her. We know that there are lots that try to get her in trouble.”

„If you mean San DuSik, forget about him! He’s into something else now!”

„Like?”

„Waving his tail in front of the General Attorney. He’s looking for another warm place.”

„Don’t tell me: does he try to get a place in the Eastern Prosecution?”

„Something like that. What he doesn’t know is that there is already someone else assigned: Ko Man Shik.”

„That jackal?”

„Yep, himself! A good idea in my opinion - that he’s been hired there.”

„I also think so. I know him as a good guy, who knows his job. He’s not a corrupt prosecutor. At least he was. I haven’t seen him since Han YuSan died.”

„Speaking about Han YuSan,” mumbled Kan, trying not to waste that chance of finding out things. „Do you know if he was seeing someone at that time? Before his death, I mean.”

„Where should I have known this from?! I wasn’t his nanny. Even if he had a girlfriend, he didn’t tell us about her. Not after what happened with his ex.”

„His ex?”

„Yes, she’s also a prosecutor. And, from what I heard, that Mrs. was in love with Han DooSan and not with his brother. That’s why they canceled the wedding eventually.”

„What?” Kan shouted. „Han DooSan had an affair with his brother’s fiancée?”

„No! And stop yelling or you’ll scare the mice,” growled Yu. „As far as I know, Prosecutor Han hasn’t ever felt the same for his brother’s „fiancée.” More than this, he tried to make her change her mind. Yet, she wanted more than this and entered his bed. I don’t know how far they got that night. What’s a sure thing is that Yun Marie, the mother of the two Hans, found them in the same bed. After that, Han YuSan canceled the wedding.”

„Hul! This is something SolHi shouldn’t know about. Otherwise, she breaks Han DooSan’s legs for sure.”

„And she’ll leave us without tongue! Let’s not forget she hates everything that it’s related to Han DooSan.”

„It depends on the word „hates.” Yu squinted at Kan. „What?”

„What the hell are you planning this time?”

„I?”

„Yeah, you! And I also have the feeling that Han DooSan is also involved in this. So, until I don’t tell SolHi about your „affair,” talk to me about this.”

„Old goat!” Kan growled. „You don’t miss a thing.” Then, he turned his back to the inspector.

Yu happily growled: once again he reached his goal. Then, suddenly, he stopped when he saw Kan rotating on his heels and coming straight toward him. Seeing Kan doing this, poor Yu thought he’d feel sweet caresses on his skin for what he said. Instead of this, he saw Kan passing by him. And, instead of Yu, the head of a small teddy bear, forgotten there, fell off the toy’s shoulders. Kan simply broke that head as though the bear was his worst enemy and not a simple toy.

After that, squeezing the cloth of the bear in his hands, Kan looked into the toy’s eyes. In particular, Kan looked into its left eye, where he saw something blinking, a hint that the bear was „alive.” This made Kan growl eventually, „I see you keep an eye on us, dog! Well, be as you wish! You are clean, for the moment! Yet, I’ll put my paw on you one day and you’ll lose your head just as this bear!” Then, to show his anger for everything that happened that day, Kan tore the mascot’s eyes, which he trampled eventually, just to make sure he sent a correct message to the one that spied on them, „Be careful, bro! You’re about to die!”

***

Seeing the image of Kan losing his mind with the bear, on his mobile phone, and hearing the message the detective tried to send to him, SinJu smiled. After that, he lost the signal, a hint that the camera from inside the bear’s head was broken. Then, leaning on the back of the seat and making himself comfortable while deeply breathing in the steam of his ICOS, SinJu felt happy. How couldn’t he feel like that when he managed to hide any trace that could have eventually led to him?!

„Even so, I can’t deny the fact that they are good at what they are doing,” SinJu suddenly murmured. „Damn cop: nothing can be hidden from him lately. Not even in the snake’s hole.”

„I make a pardon!” The driver murmured, and the guilt was felt in his voice.

„For what?”

„It’s been our fault this time. Of Nam Yun Ho’s, it’s better to say. He used that basement to take Ian SolHi out of the club. He thought that he’d make himself invisible after this. What he didn’t take into account was that Ian SolHi would survive and tell others about him.”

SinJu cooked his nose. He was furious that he lost another business because of an idiot. Even so, he was calm because he thought, even if for a short time only, that he had a police rat among them. „Still, it’s fine!”

„What exactly?”

„That the police found out about that place because of him and not because of someone else. Related to Nam Yun Ho: make sure he’ll pay for his betrayal.”

„This goes without saying, boss. Yet, I don’t understand how to make him pay. From what Ian Hion Uk says, he won’t stay still until we take him out of there and as soon as possible. If not, he threatens us with telling others about what he knows. If he does that, he gets all of us in problems.”

„Not really,” SinJu calmly replied. „He’s not the first stupid that threatens us.”

„What do you suggest to do then?”

„Just… buy him the same ticket we’ve bought for the truck’s driver. He deserved that, once he’d been the one who helped us to get rid of Iun Dja Iun.”

„Mister Min, with all the respect, I consider this risky. If he dies, it’ll be suspicious.”

„It’s exactly what we are looking for. A genius idea, in fact, because… as simple things look as complicated they are. Like that game…”

„…if you want to hide something, do it on the sight.”

„Exactly. Thus, to have the freedom to move, as we want, give the police a bone to chew! Meanwhile, take care of the other thing! That one is more urgent!”

„Got it, boss!” The driver murmured, slowly bowing his head. After that, he turned the engine on and left the parking lot of Min SinJu’s club in a hurry. Which way? Unknown destination!