Chapter 66: something about us

“Ah, you’re here!”

When I arrived at the meeting place on time, Kang Sun-ah, who was waiting for me, waved her arms cheerfully with a happy expression.

Her expression was as bright as a dog greeting its owner, as if she had forgotten everything that had happened in the past, while my expression crumpled.

I barely managed to stop myself from turning around and leaving right then and there.

“What are you doing there?”

Unable to approach her, I stood there motionless, and soon Kang Seon-ah came toward me.

With each energetic step she took, her pure white dress fluttered like a poodle’s tail. The lace at the hem caught my eye.

The outfit suited her slender figure perfectly.

Under normal circumstances, I might have said something like, “That looks good on you,” but now, I just feel repulsed.

I turn my head away without thinking.

“You’re dressed like a slob again? Since it’s a special occasion, why don’t you wear the clothes I bought you?”

“Huh? Are you stupid? Why should I?”

“But…”

“If you’re going to say something stupid, can I just leave?”

“Ah, it’s nothing!”

The conversation continues as before. The only difference is that my attitude has become noticeably sharper.

I suppose to others, I look like the bad guy and she looks like the good guy.

Thinking about that makes me angry, but not to the point where I can’t stand it.

“So, why did you call me?”

“I told you earlier. It’s a date.”

“…A date?”

It wasn’t my fault that I couldn’t help but laugh.

The fact that our relationship is broken is something you know, I know, and our older sister knows.

Haven’t we already crossed a river too far to return? Yet now, you want to do something that only lovers would do.

I stare blankly at Kang Seon-ah standing in front of me. A pure white dress, pure white skin. Everything is as white as a blank canvas, but what comes to mind is the image of her covered in blood.

Rather than pretending to be innocent, a more fitting appearance would be one of corruption.

A person who has stained their hands with blood countless times before killing their senior.

Once, those hands even touched my body. I don’t have the mental capacity to go on a peaceful date with such a person.

“Are you kidding me? After doing that to me, you dare to…”

“I’m sorry.”

I glare at Kang Seon-ah, my lips twitching. But suddenly, her face disappears. I lower my gaze and see her shoulder blades, bent over at the waist.

A resolute voice cuts me off.

“I know I’m being bold, but this is really the last time. So…”

Her vulnerable appearance causes my heart to flutter uncontrollably.

We’ve already witnessed each other’s darkest sides, haven’t we? I don’t know what the true purpose is, but there’s no need to be surprised by such things now.

She’s the kind of person who hid her true nature from the start and befriended me.

“…This is the last time.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Yeah, this is the last time. If I just endure one more day, I won’t have to see that annoying face anymore.

I nodded as if I had no choice.

“Detective Cho, we’ve arrived.”

“…Huh? Oh, good job.”

While I was dozing off, the car had pulled over to the side of the road.

The man opened the car door abruptly at the words of the young man in the driver’s seat, who was neatly dressed in a police uniform.

At the same time, the humid air tickled his lungs. He wondered if he was breathing in oxygen or fine dust.

The man frowned, his already grim expression becoming even more severe, and stepped onto the asphalt pavement.

Soon, the young man in the driver’s seat also got out of the car, following the man.

“Is that the apartment over there?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, that apartment is amazing.”

While some people are dying from the sudden rise in rent prices, they’re building such a luxurious apartment in the heart of Seoul.

Just looking at it makes me feel sick. Is this why the communists were once so powerful? Whistling cheerfully, the man chewed his rough lips.

Suddenly, he felt like smoking a cigarette, so he searched his jacket pocket, but all he found was an empty cigarette pack.

He emptied his pockets, but all that came out were brown filter crumbs.

“Damn it, do you have any cigarettes?”

“Damn it, do you have any cigarettes?”

“Huh? No…”

“Really? What if you find some?”

“No, I really don’t have any!”

“Is that so?”

It seems he really doesn’t have any.

Without even glancing at the young man standing stiffly at attention, the man strides away.

Of course, his casual gait leads him to the entrance of a luxury apartment complex, which is completely out of place with his shabby appearance.

“Excuse me, what can I do for you?”

“Yes, we are these people.”

As they approached the neatly maintained main gate, a security guard in a blue uniform blocked their path.

Even in Gangnam, this apartment complex, worth hundreds of millions of won, had ironclad security.

The security guard’s expression hardened slightly, and the man immediately took out his police ID from his pocket.

“Oh, you’re a detective? What brings you here?”

“We received a report. We’ll just take a quick look around and be on our way.”

“Yes, go ahead. If you need the gate opened, please contact the security office and I’ll open it for you.”

After smoothly passing through the security guard, they proceed toward their destination, passing through the meticulously landscaped garden within the complex, which is as well-maintained as a natural park.

As he walked forward without hesitation, he suddenly turned around.

Sure enough, there was a young man standing stiffly, moving his legs like a machine.

“Kid, are you nervous?”

“No, I’m not!”

“Don’t beat around the bush. Tell me the truth.”

“Well, actually, a little…”

“Well, that’s understandable.”

Just a week ago, this young man had been urging drunkards to blow into straws.

If he had maintained a calm posture, the man would have looked at him strangely.

That’s because they were on their way to the scene of a murder report.

And it was a voluntary report from the serial killer who was currently causing a stir in the public.

“Don’t worry, man. A corpse is no different from a living person. Just think of it as special makeup.”

“But it’s a serial killer, right? Officially, he’s killed 21 people…”

“That’s why you shouldn’t worry. Do you think there are only one or two crazy people in the world who are addicted to crime? If the report hadn’t been from this kind of neighborhood,

we wouldn’t have even bothered to respond.”

As he tried to calm his naive junior, the automatic door of the apartment building opened.

The man entered and pressed the elevator button with his lightly hairy fingers.

Even though he was responding to a report of a murder, the man’s expression was indifferent.

The first confirmed incident was about a year ago. A couple was found on the beach with their eyeballs gouged out and their skulls crushed.

Since then, he has officially been confirmed to have killed 21 people, but his whereabouts remain unknown.

This is the biggest reason why the police department is being criticized and the biggest headache.

Not long ago, there was a lot of commotion because the victim happened to be the heir to a large corporation.

The man is also familiar with the case as a detective. No, even if you stop a random child on the street and ask them, there won’t be a single child who doesn’t know about it.

I know it’s a serious case. However, crimes are often foolish objects of admiration because they are so famous.

Obviously, the serial killer wouldn’t have reported himself, and it was probably just some crazy woman’s prank.

All the man wanted was to get this over with and go back to the police station to slack off.

The elevator arrived at the designated floor. Standing in front of the door of the reported apartment, the man pressed the doorbell button.

“This is Detective Cho Dong-hyuk from XX Police Station. I’m here in response to a report. Can I investigate now?”

But there was no response. He pressed the doorbell again, but still heard no voice from the owner of the apartment.

Could they be away? He pounded on the door with his clenched fist,

but still there was no answer.

“Damn it…”

What’s going on?”

Unable to control his temper, he yanked the doorknob, and the door opened with a clatter.

Not only the man, but also his junior standing behind him,

widened his eyes in surprise.

“…Let’s go inside first.”

“Is it okay to go inside?”

“Or do you want to keep standing outside?”

“No.”

Since it was someone else’s house, he couldn’t help but act cautiously.

The man opened the front door as gently as possible and looked around.

The neatly organized shoe rack was the first thing he saw, followed by the spacious living room.

There was a pair of speaker cabinets on both sides and a large cathode ray tube TV that took up most of the wall.

An ivory-colored torso with an eerie aura.

“Is no one here?”

“Shh.”

He closed his mouth tightly and listened, but he couldn’t sense any human presence.

Did they call the police and then call the police again? Finally, the man let out a sigh.

But at that moment, an inexplicable chill ran down the man’s spine.

“…Damn it, wait a minute.”

Standing still, the man sniffs like a dog. Then, he smells a pungent odor more clearly than before.

It’s a musty smell, like rummaging through an old closet. So, it was what people commonly call déjà vu.

Although faint, this smell was definitely it.

“Detective Cho?”

“Shut up.”

Quietly, trying not to make any noise, the man took out his gun from his pocket and entered the front door.

Then, the smell grew stronger

.

His steps move involuntarily toward the source of the smell.

Passing through the beautiful living room, he stops in front of a room, where the fishy smell begins to linger near his nostrils.

The young man also seems to have noticed something strange, his face stiffening.

He hoped it was a mistake, but at this point, there was no room for doubt.

The man kicked the door open with his boot and aimed his gun straight ahead.

“…Shit.”

His premonition was confirmed. In the center of what appeared to be a study, a middle-aged man with a hole in his head was dripping milky-white brain matter.

Fire.

“Detective? Ah… Ugh…”

The young man, who had witnessed the tragedy too late, covered his mouth with his hands.

However, stomach acid flowed out from between his fingers. It was a rather disgusting sight,

but the man had no time to blame the young man either.

Judging from the honeycomb-like skull and the bullet casings scattered around, the weapon must have been a gun.

How many shots had been fired?

A middle-aged man.

The man bent down and examined it closely.

“This…”

A square piece of paper was stuck to the corpse’s open mouth. The man carefully pulled it out.

As he did so, the corpse’s head snapped back.

He tried to calm his heart, which had skipped a beat.

It was a photo of a girl’s face. The girl had striking red hair, which looked dyed, and contrasting white skin.

She was

She was quite pretty, looking like she could easily beat up most idols. If the situation had been different, the man might have looked at the girl warmly, as if he were looking at his own beautiful daughter.

That is, if the girl hadn’t been hugging the corpse’s face to her chest.

The girl was holding the blue-tinged face of the corpse tightly, her smile as bright as a sunflower basking in the sunlight. And below that,

a string of red, smeared text.

[Please don’t disturb us. We’re on a date nearby.]