Chapter 36: 18.1

Knock, knock.

“Are you there?”

Yoo-hwa stopped what she was doing at the knock on the door. People came to this house from time to time. Either looking for people who had moved out, or to look at her home, although very rarely, or they were inspectors or government officers.

But Yoo-hwa knew intuitively that it wasn’t any of those people. The voice coming from outside reached her.

“Hey. Is anybody there? Hello?”

The voice got higher. Yoo-hwa stepped back without even realizing it.

Bang!

The door slammed open at the violent knock.

“Kim Yoo-hwa!”

Yoo-hwa stopped moving at the yelling voice. The stampede of footsteps continued around the corner. The two men grinned when they found Yoo-hwa frozen in the middle of the yard.

“Why didn’t you answer if you were here? Miss Kim Yoo-hwa? You’re actually prettier than the photo. Puts me in a good mood.”

“…”

“It won’t take long.”

“…”

“Will you find Kim Yi-woon? Or will you pay me back, noona?”

The grinning man asked. The man’s front gold teeth shone in a yellow tone.

A violent wind blew in her heart, which had barely relaxed.

***

It was around the end of her mother’s funeral that the police came to visit her. Their visit was surprising, as they said they would postpone the witness investigation because of the funeral. Yoo-hwa sat next to them, in a place a little away from her mother’s funeral parlor.

Afterwards, the police unilaterally asked some questions, and Yoo-hwa answered in silence. Yoo-hwa wanted to ask, ‘What are you talking about?’, to the police officer who was looking at her as if asking why she wasn’t saying anything.

“You really don’t know anything?”

At the officer’s question, Yoo-hwa nodded slowly. Then, after looking at each other with a troubled expression, one of the officers, who looked a little older, opened his mouth.

“Don’t be surprised and listen. I don’t know if you heard about it since you were here, but Kim Beom-sik is considered one of the suspects in the serial murders that happened around here this year.”

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She felt her heart dropping at the officer’s words.

“…”

“We found evidence while checking the house because of what happened to your mother.”

The police said it was evidence, but Yoo-hwa realized it was underwear. Every media outlet reported that this serial killer would only take a woman’s underwear after killing her. This story could be heard everywhere, so even Yoo-hwa, who was indifferent to everything, knew about it. Yoo-hwa’s lips curved as if she was dumbfounded. It was so ridiculous that she let out a burst of insincere laughter.

When she heard that a serial killer had appeared, she wanted him to kill her. She wanted him to kill her in one go, so that it wouldn’t hurt… And that killer was not far away. Above all, he really tried to kill her and her mother.

Did her wish almost come true?

Yoo-hwa looked blankly at the floor and thought, mocking herself.

Thinking that Yoo-hwa wasn’t saying anything because she was shocked, the police comforted her, saying that they would try hard to arrest Kim Beom-sik, and that she should go to the police station soon for the witness investigation. And to ensure Yoo-hwa’s safety, they said they would introduce her to a women’s center where there is a security guard at all times.

When they asked her to stay there until it was safe, Yoo-hwa thought, ‘Is it okay to stay there until Kim Beom-sik dies?’, but she didn’t ask. After saying everything they had to say, the officers stood up and glanced at Yoo-hwa.

“Miss Kim Yoo-hwa.”

Instead of answering, Yoo-hwa raised her head slowly and looked at them.

“I’m not sure, but… As I stamp my feet on this floor, I get a feeling.”

“… Sunbae-nim.”

The younger man called him out as if telling him to stop.

“Kim Beom-sik, I’m going to find him. Definitely.”

However, the older police officer spat out what he had to say without hesitation. When he said ‘definitely’, there was a sparkle in his eyes. Because of that, it seemed as if what he was saying was a prophecy and not conjecture.

“At times like this, you need to get a hold of yourself. We’ll help you, but you have to try to protect yourself too. Stay in a safe place as much as possible.”

After saying that, the officers left. They gave her a business card, telling her to contact that number at any time because a police officer was working undercover in front of the funeral parlor. Yoo-hwa looked at the business card poking into her palm and put it away.

As the police said, Kim Beom-sik went to look for Yoo-hwa at the women’s center only two days later. She lost consciousness while waiting for the police officer who was going to pick her up in front of the center building.

When she woke up, she could see a familiar ceiling. On top of the dusty basement smell, which didn’t disappear no matter how much it was cleaned due to being a semi-basement, there was the smell of old blood.

It should be prohibited to come here as it was the scene of the incident, so she wanted to know why she was here.

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