The next morning, right after receiving the preliminary results of the tests he asked for, GhiYon went to see DooSan at his office. The forensic doctor asked his friend to summon all the people involved in this case to his office. By doing this, he hoped that SolHi would also show up there and thus he’d have the chance to convince himself that what he suspected was true and she was alive. Yet, entering Iun Min Hiok’s office and seeing him there, along with HanSol and DooSan, GhiYon frowned. He was a little pissed off, thinking that the rest of the team considered him a fool for hiding SolHi. Even so, he didn’t mention anything about her but said, „The Three Musketeers at work! And, honestly, it’s not what I’ve expected.”

„What I haven’t ever expected is seeing you in the role of the clown,” Min Hiok teased the doc, smiling. For his joke, GhiYon rewarded him with a growl. „Yeh, Yeh, I know you also can bite. Did you learn this from Han DooSan?”

„Don’t involve me in your mad romance. The reason? I love… a little different?”

Min Hiok grinned. „Yeah, we also know about your „different” romance. Even so, my friend, I have to mention that you swim in the same puddle as we do. So, knowing this, I assure you that, sooner or later, we will also find out about your „secret love.” I only hope she doesn’t have a beard and… baldness.”

His friend’s hint drove DooSan crazy. Yet, although he had a mad desire to pounce at Min Hiok’s throat and show him that he wasn’t the kind of fool who tasted that kind of joke, DooSan stood still, particularly after spotting HanSol smiling. „What now?” She asked when she noticed the three men staring at her. „I think it’s a normal feeling for me to be amused by a love triangle. Yet, I must also accept that I haven’t expected that it’d be formed by three „he,” and not „she and he.”

„Funny but not that much,” growled GhiYon again. „Why? Because… there’s nothing like that between the three of us. I mean… there’s no feeling between us like those a woman feels for a man and vice versa. Something I can’t say about a „ghost” and a „prosecutor.”

Hearing the forensic doctor saying this, both HanSol and DooSan winced. They even exchanged glances on the sly, looking at Min Hiok eventually when this one asked, „A ghost? Who’s… that?”

„Only a… stupid joke of a forensic doctor that is tired of playing with his „dolls” and started talking nonsense,” growled DooSan, a hint to his friend to keep his mouth shut.

„Yeh, Yeh, I got that. I mean, I got that… I have to keep my mouth shut. Yet, I won’t do that. I’ll talk, about the case, I mean because… you’ve been right in saying that they are connected. What none of you suspected though was that the victims were someone we know. Better said, they were Prosecutor Han’s friends.”

DooSan winced for the second time, pulling the file from GhiYon’s hand. „Tak Kyung Mi and Hon Su Ho?” He asked, staring with wide-open eyes at the information he found in the file. „To be damned!”

„Do you know them?” Inquired HanSol, seeing DooSan so confused.

„He not only knows them but… damn well,” said Min Hiok, smiling. „Actually, the victims weren’t only DooSan’s „friends,” but someone the three of us knew very well. To be more precise, we’ve investigated all the cases they’d been involved in. Great parts of those cases are related to fraud and money laundering. We also suspected that they were involved in human trafficking but…”

„…you couldn’t prove that,” said HanSol, browsing the file. „To be damned: they were really spouses.”

„I told you that they had a relationship. And… Do you know how I found out about this so easily?”

„The wedding rings. You mentioned something like that this morning.”

„Yes, I mentioned. What I didn’t tell you was that not the rings convinced me to follow this track but your beloved ghost, Ian SolHi.”

HanSol swallowed hard while DooSan furiously looked at his friend. „What about not talking nonsense, huh?” He growled through his teeth. „Yes, SolHi is dead, but… she doesn’t deserve to be called a ghost. So, stop it!”

„I’m not the one who named her a ghost but your new „friend” over there. So, if you want to blame someone for this nickname, you can start with her.”

„Don’t spur the bulldog to bite my neck for that,” said HanSol, clearly bothered by GhiYon’s commentary. „Why? I didn’t say that the „ghost” was about SolHi but about one of my agents.”

„Of course, it was about one of your agents: someone you took care to work for you, I mean,” said Min Hiok, making the three attentive. „What?”

„How the hell did you find out that?” HanSol asked, confused. „That the ghost and…”

„…Ian SolHi are the same person?! Simple: the show the two of you played in the DOC parking lot was a damn bad one. Besides, five bullets to defend yourself? Come on, Chief Kim: this is candy for kids. Why? An agent of your caliber doesn’t shoot five bullets in self-defense, not at someone whom she wanted to catch. You could do that though if you needed the „ghost” for something in particular. And… let’s say that you aren’t the only one who has connections inside DOC. Let’s say I also have them, and they told me about certain… details about the case.”

„You are lying through your teeth right now, Iun Min Hiok,” HanSol snapped at him. „The reason? Only three people know about this case: my assistant Hyun Shik, our boss, and me. Yet, I’m pretty sure that none of us opened his mouth to tell you about this.”

„You are actually right: I didn’t find out about this from those you involved in this case but from another reliable source,” said Min Hiok, smiling while showing them a video he had on his phone. It was a video of HanSol firing her gun at SolHi when Moon Joon Won showed up in the parking lot. Then, they saw how Moon Joon Won tried to kill HanSol while she pulled SolHi to a safe place, forcing her to lie down after SolHi came back to her senses.

Seeing the video, HanSol frowned. „Did you hire someone to follow me?”

„Of course not! Let’s say that, a day before the incident, I participated with your boss at an important conference and I left my car in the DOC parking lot. Why? Your boss insisted on using only his car. Why? He wanted not to waste fuel and protect the ecosystem. So, if you want to blame someone for this, you can go with your boss. By the way, he’s already aware of that!”

„That you have a video with SolHi’s „death?” HanSol asked, eyes wide open.

„That too. Besides that, he also knows that I took care to gather the rest of the evidence that could have given your fake show away. What kind of evidence? The memory cards of the dash cams, something that could have registered your crime, Chief Kim. Yet, not this is important now but to solve this case. So, let’s turn back to business!”

„What I say is that you are scarier than death,” DooSan hissed through his teeth, snatching the phone out of Min Hiok’s hand and deleting the footage. Then, giving him his phone back, DooSan said furiously, „If you have copies of that video, you should get rid of them before I find out about that! If not, I swear you’ll see what kind of bloody bulldog I am.”

„Tell me something I don’t know,” replied Min Hiok, smiling and allowing his phone to slide into his pocket. „Now, it’s your turn, Pack GhiYon.”

„My turn to what?” The forensic doctor asked, widening his eyes.

„To tell us how you identified the ghost for example?” Min Hiok asked in a playful voice, making GhiYon smile.

„It wasn’t difficult anyway,” he said, looking at HanSol. „Why? If you wanted this to be a state secret, you should have kept your mouth shut about the „lover of dolls.”

HanSol frowned. „May I know why exactly?”

„Because SolHi was the only one who talked like that about him,” explained DooSan.

„Maybe she told others about this too and I could have heard from them, don’t you think so?”

„Neah! Why? SolHi talked like this only when we were alone or when GhiYon was there. For the rest, I’ve never heard her talking like that about him, particularly with strangers.”

HanSol cooked her nose. „Then… I’m screwed!”

„Damn hard, by the way,” Min Hiok teased her. „Even so, this might be a good thing for all of us.”

„What the hell are you talking about this time?” Inquired DooSan.

„That a good police dog is behind those we hate? I was talking about SolHi in case you didn’t know. And… she has a damn good nose for finding new tracks because… she found the murder weapon, right?”

„Yes. In fact, everything started with Min SinJu.”

„Something that doesn’t surprise any of us,” said Min Hiok. „Why? Because… as far as I know, both DooSan and I already knew that Ha Rin kept an eye on that rat.”

„And you knew that because…?”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

„…we also have spies around that club? Come on, Chief Kim: did you really think that you are the only one interested in catching such a big fish as Min SinJu? Of course not! We are also interested in bonuses and good jobs.”

„Maybe you are interested in this, Min Hiok. Others are more interested in finding out the truth.”

„I’ve never said that I’m not interested in this or bringing justice to my good friend YuSan. Yet, once I’m still alive, I should try to reach other goals too, right?”

„Iun Min Hiok is eventually right,” GhiYon cut them off. „There are more goals to target in this story and not only revenge. Which ones? Finding out the truth, for instance. So, if we want to use our „ghost” for this, it should be by the book. First, I say to get some „autopsy results” with her name on it, Chief Kim. Otherwise, others can find the truth very quickly.”

„For this to happen, we’ll need a body, something we don’t have. Besides, we can’t take the risk of falsifying a result like that, Doctor Park. Only if you insist on risking your reputation.”

„No, thanks: I have a family to feed. Now, let’s return to the case: I can confirm that’s the same assassin.” After surprising both Min Hiok and DooSan, GhiYon showed them another file with multiple photos of the hammer SolHi found.

„The weapon we didn’t find eight years ago.”

„You can say it so. Yet, it’s not the same weapon, DooSan.”

„Do you mean that not this hammer was used eight years ago? They look the same.”

„Now you are right: they are similar but only in size and form. Yet, this weapon was found only yesterday, something that tells me that…”

„…the killer uses similar weapons, and this might be a pattern.”

„Something like that, Chief Kim. Not only can the weapons be considered a pattern but also the manner of getting rid of the victims: with a precise hit on the back of their head. Just one hit. Then… the madness starts, something that hints that our „friend” is nuts.”

„This already goes without saying,” said Min Hiok, walking up and down his office. „If he wasn’t crazy, I’m sure we wouldn’t have ever found his victims. Now, let’s talk about the murder weapon: do we know when or where it was manufactured or maybe bought?”

„Honestly? No idea. About where it was manufactured or bought, I mean. Yet, I can tell you when it was manufactured: two years ago.”

„Similar cases registered in the system?”

„None as far as I could find out, Prosecutor Iun. Either the victims weren’t found or our friend was a good boy all this time.”

„This makes him really dangerous,” whispered DooSan, making everybody wince. „It also makes our investigation difficult because this means a bigger area to check.”

„Most probably yes,” said HanSol. „For starters, I say we should check the former sawmill.”

„Do you think that we can find something there?”

„Yes, I think so, Doctor Park. Even if we don’t find victims there, the killer might have left at least a small piece of evidence behind. Eventually, only the building of the former sawmill burnt, not the rest of the area.”

„Sounds logical,” DooSan interfered in their talk. „Even so, I have the feeling that if the individual is as meticulous as I think he is, he could have asked someone to clean the area so as not to give us the chance to have a case against him. Let’s not forget that we couldn’t find any evidence against him, even though we checked more than three places where we know for sure that he’d been.”

„The sawmill, the warehouse where we found SolHi and YuSan eight years ago, and the warehouse we checked a year ago.”

„A year ago? What you want to say is that you’ve made the connection with another case?” HanSol asked, staring at both DooSan and Min Hiok.

„No. We are talking about what happened eight years ago to SolHi and my brother,” replied DooSan. „Who found that place was SolHi. How? I guess it is something related to the memories she still has in her subconscious.”

„Memories that have suddenly surfaced,” said GhiYon. „Yet, as I said, we didn’t find evidence to connect that bastard to any of the places we checked, and this makes me think that he doesn’t work alone.”

„This is already something we’ve convinced ourselves of,” said HanSol, showing the three men some photos of Hamster and Jackal. „These two are only part of those we think are involved with Scar. Particularly this one, Hamster, he’s the one who lured SolHi and Ha Rin last night to the former sawmill.”

„What? Did SolHi see Scar?” DooSan shouted.

HanSol sighed. „She not only saw him. She’s been the witness of the crime and the one who filmed it, gentlemen.”

With a shaking hand, HanSol took her phone out of her pocket and showed them the footage SolHi sent to her email. „To be damned!” Growled Min Hiok through his teeth after finishing watching the horror. „He’s the spitting image of YuSan.”

„Yes, they are like two peas in a pod,” said HanSol, hiding the phone in her pocket. Then she looked at DooSan, who had sat on the couch and buried his face into his palms. „It’s how we made the connection with the case eight years ago.”

„SolHi told you about the fact that she’d seen two YuSan that night, right?”

„That’s right, Prosecutor Han. SolHi told us about this and the crime last night.”

„Something she shouldn’t have ever seen again,” murmured DooSan, sighing. „She saw enough terrible things eight years ago. Yet, this life is so stubborn to take her to the same places repeatedly. Why?”

„Only life can answer this question, DooSan,” said Min Hiok, sitting by his side and resting his palm on DooSan’s shoulder. „And… let’s not forget that SolHi is a strong woman. If the event eight years ago didn’t knock her down, I doubt that she’d be knocked down by what happens now.”

„You forget one thing, Min Hiok: she’s also human!” DooSan hissed through his teeth. „She’s a woman, one who should have received flowers and love, not slaps.”

„Still, she’s a woman that handles all this and she’ll do that up to the end,” said HanSol. „Not alone but with all of us by her side. And, even though it’s difficult even for me to admit that, we’ll have to fight eventually.”

„This goes without saying,” GhiYon told her. „YuSan and the rest of the victims deserve that. Yet… we are back to the starting point eventually.”

„I think differently though,” said Min Hiok confidently, making everybody attentive. „I think that last night’s event and the fact that SolHi saw him while committing the crime might have made the criminal insecure. Why do I think so? Because… no fire was registered after any of the crimes that we think he committed. All he did before that was a general cleaning. Yet, last night, right after SolHi had left that place, flames surrounded the building. Did this happen instantly, Chief Kim?”

„At least this is what we suspect because SolHi visited me about an hour after the crime. And, five minutes after she entered my apartment, we received a phone call and Hyun Shik informed us about the fire.”

„Something that makes me suspect more that he could have been inattentive and left evidence behind. Eventually, the fire destroys even the most solid evidence, right?”

„Perhaps,” said GhiYon thoughtfully. „Yet, I still think that…”

„That?” Insisted HanSol.

„That… the criminals always return to the crime scene?”

„And this means that our criminal might still be around,” HanSol hissed through her teeth. Then, she headed toward the door to make a phone call and tell Hyun Shik to put someone to keep an eye on the former sawmill.

Looking at the door that closed behind her, GhiYon asked, „Do you think that we might be right about this?”

„About what? That the criminal might still be around?”

„Yes, Min Hiok. And… I hope we are right because… if it’s true that he’s insecure now, he might feel the urge to kill again.”

„Damn it!” DooSan whispered, covering his face with his palms. „If you are right, SolHi might be his next victim.”

„What makes you say that?” Prosecutor Iun asked.

„The fact that she filmed him committing the crime?”

„We don’t know that, DooSan,” replied GhiYon instead of Min Hiok. „Chief Kim said that SolHi wasn’t alone there. Min Ha Rin was with her. So, if the individual realized that they were there and filmed him, he might not have understood who filmed him.”

„Maybe, GhiYon. After all, I still think that DooSan is now right: the fact that they’d been there last night might turn them into his next victims. And… if it’s so, I think that they should leave the streets for a while.”

„I share your idea, Min Hiok. Yet, I don’t think SolHi will accept this. As I know her, instead of leaving the streets and sheltering herself, she’ll intensify the searching.”

„Not if you keep her busy, DooSan. Eventually, you can find a way to keep her with you, right?”

„I can try, GhiYon. Yet, as it didn’t work before, I don’t think that this will work now.”

„At least you can try it. For the moment, Min Hiok, can you connect us with a profiler?”

„What do you need him for?”

„To avoid a headache in the future. Why? Alone, we are powerless. Besides, I need him for the two victims and the tattoo I’ve mentioned you about.”

„The snake?”

„Yes, DooSan. I’m talking about the same snake Oh Yoon Suk’s witness saw at the individual who was looking for So Ari. It’s the same tattoo the two spouses had.”

„When exactly did you find this out?” Asked Min Hiok. „As far as I remember, there isn’t too much left from them now.”

„Yet, they’d been involved in other cases. He might have photos of them from there.”

„DooSan is right. When I identified them, I also remembered the cases they were involved in. Thus, I found photos of them and of the tattoos they had. As you can see, the tattoos are similar. We can even say that they are tattoos for lovers, and this makes me think that they’d been also involved with those that killed So Ari.”

„It might also be that they were involved in Ari’s death too,” said DooSan. „It’s the only way I can explain why they’d been killed so fast. Eventually, Chief Kim is right when she says that their death isn’t random. Besides, why exactly did he use the former sawmill that is so close to the town? They could have used an abandoned warehouse as it happened in the previous cases: far from the city and unwelcome witnesses.”

„Do you think that the place is somehow connected to their business?”

„It can be, Min Hiok. That’s why I think we should start our investigation from there. So, before this case isn’t assigned to someone else, you should get it. If I go with such a request to the General Attorney, he might suspect something.”

„I agree. Particularly, if it’s true what we suspect and Min SinJu watches out his back.”

„Something that still surprises me,” said GhiYon, making his friends attentive. „I’m talking about Min SinJu, who might also be controlled by Scar.”

„They are rather allies than the master and the servant,” said DooSan confidently. „At least this is what my gut tells me. So, once this story has made everybody attentive, I say we should check it fully. Who knows?! We can catch the golden fish eventually!”

Saying this, DooSan smiled. Yet, he did that sadly because he felt worried about SolHi. Eventually, she’d been once again through hell, and he didn’t know that. He hadn’t been there for her, and this killed him inside - slowly but surely.