Ch.90Chapter 90. Suture

# 28 Minutes After the Incident

Only after the LAPD SWAT team arrived did police attempt to enter Saint Catalina School.

They secured what appeared to be the perpetrator’s gasoline vehicle and confirmed he had broken into the administration office.

The gunshots had come from the cafeteria building.

The SWAT team quickly surrounded the building and moved in to clear the interior.

“Don’t move!”

“Freeze!”

“Hands in the air! Hands…”

The police who entered the fourth floor of the cafeteria were taken aback.

The man who had trespassed into the school earlier was casually sitting on top of the perpetrator, having a phone conversation.

He held out his hand to the police as if asking them to wait a moment.

“What? What was that sound just now? Oh, no. I was just watching a movie. Yes, yes, Ms. Juliane. Right. Oh, you’ll be returning to LA soon? That’s wonderful news.”

Bullet holes scattered across the wall.

And a man calmly sitting on top of the perpetrator.

The scene was so incongruous that the officers momentarily lost their focus trying to assess the situation.

“Okay. I’m done now.”

“Ah…”

Only after Jinsoo hung up did the officers regain their senses. They rushed forward to search both the perpetrator and the man.

After confirming there were no homemade bombs on either of them, they roughly grabbed Peter from both sides and lifted him up.

“…Tsk.”

As Peter was being dragged away, he looked back to see Jinsoo waving at him with a friendly smile.

I’ll definitely get my revenge.

You’ll regret letting me live.

Peter made this vow to himself.

How hard could prison life be anyway?

It couldn’t possibly be worse than my miserable life of walking on eggshells around my father for twenty years.

Peter snorted derisively as he allowed himself to be taken away.

“Nngh…! Can someone help open this door?”

“Oh, yes!”

When they opened the bullet-riddled door to the faculty cafeteria, two teachers emerged safely.

Despite the extensive gunfire, there were miraculously no casualties inside.

Except for Teacher Weiss, who had fallen while moving a desk and bruised his knee.

Now it was time to speak to the most awkward person in the room.

“I don’t know how to express this… but first, I want to sincerely thank you…”

“Never mind that. Just hurry up and open all the other doors.”

“Yes. We’ll open them one by one to rescue those trapped inside. In the meantime, please get checked for any injuries and provide a statement about how you subdued the perpetrator…”

“My daughter is trapped in there. I’m not going anywhere until I confirm she’s safe.”

“…”

When Jinsoo firmly stood his ground, the police officers exchanged uncomfortable glances.

In such a dangerous situation where explosives might be present, civilians should be evacuated immediately.

They could even handcuff him and drag him out if necessary…

But they couldn’t treat someone who had disarmed the perpetrator with his bare hands that way, especially after he’d been shot at from close range.

“Sigh… Once we find your daughter, you must leave together immediately.”

“I will.”

Ring ring ring.

The dial tone quietly echoed through the hallway.

It would cut off, then start again repeatedly.

Meanwhile, the police and Jinsoo moved from building to building, opening doors one by one.

Each time people emerged from inside, Jinsoo would flinch, but his expression never brightened.

He could only watch from a distance as the trapped students and teachers were released and embraced their families in reunion.

Ring ring ring…

“…”

“…”

The final building.

When they reached the freshman building, a heavy silence fell over the group.

He had been calling for ten minutes straight, but there was no answer from the other end.

Had she lost her phone?

Or if not that, then…

‘Damn it. This is driving me crazy.’

He had to push away such thoughts.

Jinsoo felt his breathing becoming increasingly labored.

They had searched from the top floor down, opening doors on the first floor, but there was still no sign of Cuss.

Only the storage room and supply room remained.

Surely Cuss wouldn’t be there.

As Jinsoo’s fists clenched, the watching police officers tensed up and swallowed nervously.

They needed to leave soon.

Otherwise, they might have to use a taser to subdue this man if he went berserk.

“This is the last door…”

“…”

The officer solemnly held the electronic key to the door.

There was dead silence from inside.

Everyone closed their eyes tightly at that moment.

“Jinsoo!”

“…!”

Jinsoo’s mouth fell open.

From the supply room—that cramped space—a silver-haired girl threw aside a cardigan and rushed out, crashing into Jinsoo.

She hugged his waist tightly and rubbed her cheeks against his stomach as if she would never let go. The police officers smiled warmly at the sight.

“…”

While gently stroking Cuss’s hair, Jinsoo’s gaze remained fixed on one spot.

His furious eyes were directed at the supply room—at the boy sitting in the corner, trembling.

“Who the fuck are you?”

“Ah, aah… sir… you see…”

Jake felt the fear of death that day.

***

“Huh?”

Crash.

The cup fell to the floor and shattered.

Juliane walked unsteadily toward the television, not even noticing the ceramic shards piercing the synthetic skin of her foot.

-Saint Catalina School shooting…

“No… this can’t be happening…!”

Unbelievable news was streaming in.

She had just spoken with Jinsoo moments ago.

And now, shortly after, news broke about a shooting at Cuss’s school.

Juliane quickly opened multiple holograms in the air, gathering information from various sources.

“Over 100 shots fired… Oh my God.”

After seeing the photos, Juliane covered her mouth.

Black dots densely covering the walls.

Those were all bullet holes.

Then what about casualties?

“Casualties… zero?!”

She had to doubt her eyes.

A school shooting in broad daylight with over 100 shots fired, yet no casualties?

How was that even possible?

For a moment, Juliane suspected it might be a cover-up attempt by LA authorities.

“A parent rushed in and subdued the perpetrator with bare hands…?”

It was an incredible claim.

If true, it would have been a massive story.

The article didn’t mention the parent’s name or show any photos, but such information should have appeared on social media.

Quickly searching through social media, Juliane easily found videos taken at Saint Catalina.

“Hmm?”

There was footage of a man jumping over cars one by one, crossing the police line, and rushing in despite police firing warning shots.

“Hmmmm?!”

But that back view looked strangely familiar.

Wasn’t that the casual suit Jinsoo wore to work every day?

“What? That doesn’t make sense!”

This made even less sense.

The video was taken 30 minutes ago.

She had spoken with Jinsoo 20 minutes ago.

Jinsoo had talked as if nothing had happened.

So what was this…?

Ah. Now she understood.

“This man, seriously…!”

She’d been deceived.

Realizing this, tears suddenly welled up.

As the tension abruptly released, her legs gave way, and Juliane collapsed onto the sofa behind her.

“Hehehe… hic…”

Though her mouth was smiling, tears kept flowing.

Jinsoo must have lied to reassure her.

His voice had been so cheerful that she couldn’t even suspect it was a lie.

That meant both Cuss and Jinsoo were truly safe.

Feeling relieved yet still shivering all over, Juliane couldn’t stop her tears.

“How could he play such a prank…”

Wiping away her tears, Juliane quickly made a call.

She wanted to confirm everything.

The anxious dial tone soon cut off, and then:

“Ah, yes, Ms. Juliane. What’s up?”

“Jinsoo!”

Soon came that welcome voice.

“Is that Juliane?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“…!”

When another voice, just as welcome as Jinsoo’s, followed immediately after, Juliane’s heart swelled and she had to hold back tears again.

Thank God.

Though not particularly devout, in that moment Juliane repeatedly expressed her gratitude to God.

“Yes, Ms. Juliane. Why did you call…”

“I saw the news.”

“…”

The other end went quiet.

Juliane immediately hardened her expression and entered interrogation mode.

“You lied to me, didn’t you?”

“Ah. Well… you see, Ms. Juliane.”

Jinsoo’s voice was trembling severely.

This was the voice he used when not necessarily guilty but greatly flustered.

To Juliane, who knew Jinsoo’s speech patterns inside out, everything was transparent.

***

“Oh my God. My back. Ouch…”

After returning home, my back started aching terribly.

Maybe from being tense for too long.

“Ahh. Home sweet home…”

“Is that so.”

I sighed watching Cuss throw herself onto the sofa.

I almost died because of you, you little brat.

But I couldn’t bring myself to say that.

She was still trembling, clearly shaken by the experience.

“Why didn’t you answer your phone?”

“I put it on silent. I was afraid of being discovered.”

“Did that guy tell you to do that?”

“…”

Cuss nodded cautiously.

I had to declare Jake or whatever his name was innocent.

Apparently, he had taken Cuss in and protected her when she was wandering the hallway.

But damn, why was Cuss wearing that guy’s cardigan?

I sent him home for now, but I’d need to hear the full story later.

With Ms. Juliane, the interrogation expert, present too.

I was worried he might have noticed something about Cuss’s tail.

Nothing else, just that.

“Now that you’re home, go take a shower first.”

“Mmm… don’t want to.”

“Shower, kid. Don’t spread outside dirt all over the house.”

“I’ll shower if Jinsoo comes in with me.”

“…”

I was a bit tempted.

It had been a long time since father and daughter had taken a bath together.

This was perfect timing.

“Go in first.”

“Okay!”

As Cuss dashed into the bedroom, I took a moment to look around the house.

The quiet home bathed in warm sunlight.

It seemed we had finally regained our peace, which was reassuring.

“What’s this now? Geez…”

I picked up a shark plushie rolling on the floor and found it was torn at the edge.

So that’s where those strange cotton pieces around the house had come from.

The shark plushie had become quite thin, having lost more than half its stuffing.

I took out the sewing kit from the living room drawer.

Carefully stitching the wound with thin thread and pulling it tight…

“Done.”

The torn part disappeared seamlessly.

Now the stuffing wouldn’t leak out anymore.

“Jinsoo! When are you coming?”

“Coming now!”

I tossed the plushie aside and headed to the bedroom.

It was time to share some warm father-daughter bonding.