CASE 17 - The Forbidden Apple (Part II)

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(Warning: Mention of suicide)



Back at the Gangnam Police Station, Wonshik and Hongbin later joined by Taekwoon, finally gathered together to share the things they found out about each victim.

"What did you find out about Alex Kwok?" Wonshik asks Taekwoon.

"I checked with his musical academy and managed to ask one of his previous instructors about him. According to them, he went missing on the day of his musical audition. He sounded keen on debuting in the musical and was rehearsing really hard for it but he never showed up on that day or even his following classes. It seems that he did talk to his instructor the night before to ask for some advice," Taekwoon said. "So, this means that he went missing even before his aunt or sister filed for a missing person report."

"Did you find out about anything on how he went missing?" Hongbin asks.

"I wish I did but unfortunately nothing. Except there is one person I believe to be a suspect. Here, take a look at this photo," Taekwoon said as he took out one of the photo albums he had borrowed from the academy. "This guy here is Choi Hyungjun. He and the victim were best friends as well as rivals when they attended the academy together. Apparently, the victim suggested to his friend that the two of them should try to audition together for the same role as their debut stage but after finding out that Alex never came, he also didn't attend the auditions and later on, stopped going to the academy."

"Do you know the reason?"

"No. It was sudden and the strange thing is, I did a background check on this Choi Hyungjun but he didn't show up in any of our records. I wasn't able to identify this person at all in our database as if this person never existed."

"What? How can that be?" Wonshik turned around to check his computer just to confirm.

"Right now, I don't think there's anyone else as suspicious as this Choi Hyungjun. Alex Kwok's instructor told me that they were best friends and whatnot but I just can't get the feeling that he's related to this case somehow. It's just too much of a coincidence to ignore it," Taekwoon said as he refers to his investigation instincts.

"We'll definitely need to dig into this more and especially this person. We'll run a facial recognition program on him to see if we can find anyone with the same face," Wonshik said. "He could be using a fake ID."

"Good idea. So, did you guys find anything out about the other victim, Emma Kwok?" Taekwoon redirects the subject to the main victim found in this case.

"Only a few things. Too few to conclude anything."

Wonshik and Hongbin gave a quick briefing on what they were able to find out about Emma Kwok to Taekwoon and even showed him the manuscript the victim was working on before she was murdered. At first glance, Taekwoon didn't think there was much to look for in the draft but as he continued to read through the plot, he noticed that there was something awfully familiar about the story.

"Ring any bells?" Hongbin asks Taekwoon, trying to see if Taekwoon understood the references in the story.

"Now that you mentioned it... where have I seen this before, though?" Taekwoon tries to recall.

"Here, take a look at this," Hongbin gave Taekwoon some documents and references found from the internet, all of it were stories taken from the Joseon Era. "It's related to a pair of siblings during that time in history who were really famous amongst the nobility for their stages and stories. The names of the characters in the victim's script match those in the history books."

"You're right," Taekwoon recognized the names right away. "Heo Song-gye and Heo Jaejin?"

"Also, look at this too," Wonshik pulls out one of the photos from the crime scene of the tomb where the murder weapon was found. "Look at the names on the grave."

"The same?"

"That's right.

"But, where's the third one? Heo Hyungjun? I see three names on the tombs and from the historic resources but in the script, there are only two names?" Taekwoon noticed it immediately.

"That's the weird part and it's not like we can ask Emma Kwok either since she's dead," Hongbin said. "I mean, she wrote her script exactly like history, yet she took away that name? Was it an accident or deliberate?"

"She didn't write her script exactly to history," Wonshik corrected him. "From history, the two brothers created a unique chemistry on stage and performed side-by-side as both rivals and brothers but in the victim's script, she only wrote about the fact that Heo Jaejin was able to shine on stage even alone."

"What a strange alternative. I mean, wouldn't two be better than one? I think it's more interesting to hear about a friendly rivalry and aiming to stardom together than trying to do it alone," Hongbin commented.

"Heo Jaejin, Heo Hyungjun..." the names were starting to ring an eerie tone in Taekwoon's mind. "Jaejin... Hyungjun..."

"What's wrong?" Wonshik notices Taekwoon's muttering.

"The names..." Taekwoon almost found himself stuttering as he realized another odd similarity. "The other victim, Alex Kwok. When I went to the academy earlier, his instructor told me that Alex went by another name at the academy. It was his Korean name which was replaced by his English one after moving to the states and changing their citizenship."

"What do you mean?"

"He has a Korean name. Kwok Jaejin."

"J-Jaejin? That's the same one as in history," Hongbin said as he felt the shivers down his spine.

"Yeah but that's not all. In history, both Jaejin and his brother, Hyungjun, were both rivals and best friends, right? And so is our victim and this Choi Hyungjun, who's gone missing as well. Don't you think this is a bit too freaky? How can this be all a coincidence?"

"You're right and whoever killed Emma Kwok, left the weapon at the tomb, must know this fact then. As if... everything was planned," Wonshik said. "But how are the Kwok siblings and Choi Hyungjun, related to the Heo family in history?"

"Two killed and one missing..." the three of them looked at the sources together once more and each was just as puzzling as the rest.



Wonshik looked through the case files over and over again. Everything was too out of place for him to be able to draw any conclusion from just looking at the references placed all over his desk. Not only that, now they have another mysterious person, whose name and identity couldn't even be found on their database as if he was an imagination.

Choi Hyungjun... Wonshik repeats the name in his head repeatedly and looked at all the photos once more. Both Alex Kwok and Choi Hyungjun looked like they had a really good relationship together back at the academy. Exactly what happened? Is he really the suspect? Did he kill the Kwok sibling but why? Does he know the sister too? Have they met before, enough to want to kill her?

Things just didn't make sense.

Knock. Knock. Someone knocked on Wonshik's desk as he tries to focus only on what was in front of him.

"Earth to Wonshik-hyung," that someone said.

"Huh?" Wonshik finally realized that someone was standing next to him the entire time as he was staring at the evidence. "Sungjae? What are you doing here?"

"I heard you and Hongbin-hyung have been working on a really hard case or something and thought you guys might need some help," Sungjae said.

"Sorry to be bothering you about this too but I don't think that it's something that easy to figure out. Even I don't know what to make of all this," Wonshik said truthfully.

"Wow~ even you can get stuck on a case," Sungjae said jokingly. "Actually, at times like this, I think I can really be of help."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, remember back at the Royal Tombs, there weren't any CCTVs or recordings around that location, right? So, it was hard for us to find any suspects aside from those that worked there the next morning or the week before we found the victim. But a few days ago, there was a car accident nearby and one of the owner of the cars came in to bring his dashcam as an evidence. Through his dashcam, we found out that his car was actually parked near the Royal Tombs at the other entrance where usually the staffs use," Sungjae said briefly as he took out a USB to show Wonshik what he found. He rewound the video exactly the morning when the victim was murdered and through there, they saw a man running frantically out from the Royal Tombs, with blood all over his black hoodie.

"Well? Think we got the guy?" Sungjae asked.

"Can you zoom in a little on the face?"

"Sure thing."

As the video zooms in on the suspect's face, Wonshik's eyes widened as he recognized the face immediately. He was horrified to see the face of a dead man.

"What's up?" Hongbin came in just in time along with Taekwoon after the two went out for lunch. "Sungjae, you're here too?"

"Yeah," Sungjae said.

"What's wrong?" Taekwoon notices the silence and heavy atmosphere around Wonshik.

"Look at this," Wonshik points to his screen. "Doesn't this guy look familiar?"

"Hmm?" Hongbin also leans in to see the person. "Wait. What? Isn't this...?"

The man who ran out of the Royal Tomb in a hurry, blood stained all over his black hoodie and face completely pale. A man with a face of someone who had gone missing for several years and supposedly dead. The man who is also the brother of his dead sister - Alex Kwok.



"Well, talk about freaky and unexpected," Hongbin sighed as he took over the steering wheel and drove. "The one we thought was dead is actually alive. Then, who's the one we found dead?"

"I've sent in a report to forensics for a final check. We assumed the skeleton we found was Alex Kwok at first because of the similarity in their bone structures and past surgical records. But it seems, we'll need to also reconstruct the face and mold it through a program to see exactly who the skeleton belongs to," Taekwoon said. "But I heard that this process will take at least a week or two."

"This is becoming more of a headache than I thought," Hongbin said. "The one who we thought was dead is actually alive and running around killing his own sister. But then, who's the one we found buried in the tombs? And the Royal Tombs of all places?"

"Just drive," Wonshik said. Even he was starting to feel a bit agitated from the case.

The three of them followed the trail they were able to find after the dashcam sighting of Alex Kwok. With the help of Sungjae, they had a specific target to track down after that morning of Emma Kwok's murder. When they came to an end, they were able to find the whereabouts of Alex Kwok.

As they traced the trail left by the security cameras all around Seoul, they found themselves all the way in the outskirts, east of the city. The area was completely quiet, abandoned and mostly in rubbles. There were many hills along with the neighborhood and only a few homes still remained. It was a perfect place to remain hidden forever and away from eyes of the society.

"I'll head this way, you two search over there," Wonshik instructed. "If you find the suspect, don't act rash and contact us right away. Got it?"

"Shouldn't we be saying that to you?" Hongbin said to Wonshik and even Taekwoon glanced at him for a second.

"Just do it," Wonshik sighed in defeat.

Wonshik walked up to the uneven pavements to the top of the hills while searching each house carefully from the bottom. Unfortunately, most of the homes were vacant and left in a rubbled state. It seems that no one has been around the neighborhood either to care enough to fix the cameras above the light poles so, there was no way to pinpoint the exact location of their new suspect. Although some of the homes did have people living in them, it was no one that Wonshik was looking for. But what Wonshik couldn't understand as he made his search is that, why would the suspect go through such lengths to come out from hiding just to kill his own sister? Weren't they on good terms? At least that's what everyone who they have interviewed said. After their parents passed away, they could only rely on each other, right? Wonshik wasn't able to understand it and he found it almost frustrating to know that the older brother killed his own younger sister.

With just that thought, Wonshik took out the locket from his sister and thought about her since she passed away so long ago. Even though Wonshik have already apprehended the killer, he found it hard to forget.

If you were here, what do you think of all this, Jiwon-ah? Wonshik wondered.

Wonshik eventually made his way up to another house and knocked on it impatiently.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" Wonshik shouts.

There was no response just like all the other homes he passed by so he decided to turn back and go onto the next search. But just as he did, he heard a loud crash coming from inside. Out of instincts, Wonshik forced himself inside the place and when he did, he saw signs of someone living here. There were lots of things scattered messily in the room and when he took a glance at the dining table, he noticed a cup of coffee, still hot with steam coming out.

Someone's here, Wonshik immediately thought and took out his gun just in case.

He searched the rooms from downstairs but no one was there but he definitely heard it, there was a slight creaking sound coming from the floor above. Carefully, making his way up, Wonshik began to search the rooms upstairs as well.

No one? Wonshik didn't see anyone in the bedrooms above but as he carefully looked around, he saw a large wardrobe in the master room and clothes hanging out from the doors. He approached the wardrobe cautiously, step by step, getting ready to open it. But as soon as his hands reached the handles on the doors, the doors burst open and a man rushed out in a hurry. That man is Alex Kwok.

"Stop right there!" Wonshik shouts and ran after the suspect.

Alex Kwok sprinted out of the house in a hurry but only to run straight into Hongbin and Taekwoon, who helps him up just in time.

"Hands up," Hongbin points his gun at the suspect. "There's nowhere to run now, Alex Kwok."

"Alex Kwok, you're suspected for the murder of your sister Emma Kwok. You'll be coming with us," Wonshik said and cuffed the suspect immediately.



Back at the station, they placed Alex Kwok in one of the interrogation rooms, ready for questioning but unlike how he had initially tried to run away, Alex remained cooperative and quiet the entire time in the station.

"Where have you been all these years?" Wonshik asks as he placed a missing person report in front of Alex.

"..." he didn't say a word but didn't react surprised either to see it.

"To go missing all these years, not contacting any of your friends or family, and living all the way outside of Seoul, you could have stayed hidden for the rest of your life. But you chose to come out suddenly, just to kill your own sister?" Wonshik said as he slammed the desk. "Why?!"

"According to your aunt, it seems that you and your sister was in a good relationship, weren't you? The two of you got along well, didn't you? So, why did you kill her?" Hongbin asks too. "We ran through a DNA test of the knife we found on the crime scene and even the fingerprints left on the handles, they matched yours perfectly. There's no point in denying it, right?"

"Or, were you trying to get caught?" Taekwoon asks and looked at the suspect.

"Why did you leave the knife by the tombs?" Wonshik also continues to question. "If you hid it or even brought it with you when you ran out, we'd probably have never found you. So, why?"

"Did you see the names..." Alex finally spoke. "On the tombs?"

"We did. The siblings of the Heo family. Why did you leave it there?"

"Officers, do you believe in reincarnation? Pure coincidences?"

"What?" the three of them looks at each other as if the topic was almost too absurd to be mentioned.

"Heo Song-gye, Heo Jaejin, and Heo Hyungjin. Those names... " Alex mutters. "Do you know of my Korean name?"

"Kwon Jaejin, isn't it?" Taekwoon said. "I asked your musical academy mentor and he told me that that's what you went by when you were still a student there instead of Alex Kwok."

"That's right. But on my passports and everything, that name has already been erased by my parents after going to America. When Emma was born, she was registered as Emma Kwok on the birth certificates but did you know? My sister also has a Korean name."

A piece of new information.

"Kwok Song-gye. The name sounds familiar, right? Kwok Song-gye," Alex repeats. "Heo Song-gye."

"What are you trying to say here? We're asking you why you killed your sister. Not what her name is supposed to be. The two of you were supposed to be close, weren't you? Why did you kill her? Don't you love her?" Wonshik was starting to lose his temper at the suspect.

"I did love her but she's crazy. She killed Hyungjun!" Alex shouts in anguish.



"Jaejin-ah, come here," his mother said with a weak smile on her face after a successful operation. "This is your sister. Say hello."

The four-year-old boy walked up to his mother and his newborn sister nervously. He tiptoed up to her bed and took a peek at the baby in his mother's arms. She had puffy round cheeks and marble-like eyes, it was adorable. She even giggled a little when her older brother poked her cheeks a little to make sure she was real. Eventually, his parents decided to name the baby 'Emma' and their oldest son 'Alex'. Her name was meant to bring 'wholeness' into the family while he 'protected' the family.

Emma followed Alex around a lot and really looked up to her older brother since their parents were too busy with work to take care of the two of them. She was shy with a stranger but she wasn't emotionless. She smiled from time to time but it was mainly whenever Alex came back home after school. Alex, on the other hand, was far from being shy. He was sociable and loved making friends, playing sports and just going out but he always made sure that his sister was his priority especially after their parents passed away due to an unfortunate car accident. After the accident, Emma grew even quieter and attached to Alex but Alex didn't mind it. They only had each other left and so, Alex thought it was his duty to protect his litter sister. But at the same time, there was something unsettling about Emma... she was changing.

Emma's reliance on her older brother wasn't just out of selfishness but more so, an obsession. Whenever Alex told her that he was going to meet up with his friends, she would always try to find ways to stop him - even if it meant attempting suicide as a threat. Was it because she was lonely? Since mom and dad are gone? Alex wondered at first. He became a little terrified at being around his sister but he had no choice because he knew that if he took his eyes off her, she might really just kill herself one day.

It wasn't just herself that she was willing to hurt as long as Alex stayed by her side but also those that surrounded her older brother. Whenever Alex found a girlfriend, Emma would find ways to chase the girl away.

"Is she really your sister? That bitch is crazy!" one of Alex's

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