"You did what?" Minhyuk was the first to ask.

"Why do you look so surprised?" Ilhoon turned around with a smirk on his face. "You didn't really think that some random serial killer killed Lee Jaeho, did you? Don't be ridiculous."

Minhyuk clenched his fist in anger and disbelief.

It probably never crossed his mind that Ilhoon would kill someone with his own hands. But he was definitely a man capable of doing so.

Ilhoon turned around and ignored Minhyuk.

"Jaeho-hyung..." Jaehwan's feelings were mixed now that the truth was out. Every one of them knew that there was no way the real White Rose Killer would kill his brother, not since that person is Hakyeon. But he never thought it'd be someone this close to him.

"Blame yourself for having parents such as Lee Jinhwan and Lee Bora. How many lives have they destroyed at this point because of their greed," Ilhoon said. "My father was an admirable man who not only worked diligently but honestly all his life. He trusted your grandfather and all the things they could do within the organization for an unrealistic dream of peace. Peace was never an option. I still remember the many nights after the fall of Lee ChangIn that my mother would beg my father to stop looking for the old man. But he was just as stubborn and was still hopeful."

Jung Hyungjoon, a man who was not only loyal but was a man with dreams. Even when the man he looked up to disappeared, he still sought for peace and hope for the future. He thought that as long as he didn't give up, justice would be brought back and the corruption caused by the higher society would cease to exist. Even though Ilhoon was only a child during that time, he still remembered his mother and father arguing about this unrealistic dream.

"There's still hope, he said," Ilhoon scoffed. "How absurd."

Eventually, even a hopeful man's dreams shattered. Not only did his wife leave him behind but being framed for a crime he did not commit, left him nowhere to go. Ilhoon, who was only thirteen at the time, was taken everywhere to hide with his father. There was no way that Hyungjoon would leave his son out there alone for who knows what would happen if he wasn't around. Yet, it was a more foolish decision made by him to kill himself and his son to end all of their misery.

"He's always been so hopeless," he sighed as he looked back to the past. "And all of this... is because of your parents. So tell me, Lee Jaehwan, who else can pay for the sins they've committed if not for their children? People like them don't deserve to have kids, to begin with. They've ruined the lives of others and they want to be happy themselves? Don't be ridiculous."

"Do we look happy to you?" Jaehwan asked. "I never asked to be born. If we were as happy as you think, then would I have chosen to resurrect the Apostles in the first place? But Jaeho-hyung had nothing to do with it. He promised to help us too. So why... he was innocent."

"Innocent?! He's the last person I want to hear about being innocent! He knew exactly what Lee Jinhwan and Lee Bora were doing yet he never stopped them. He did everything they asked him to like a lifeless puppet. When your parents didn't want to get their hands dirty, they would make him do all the dirty work instead. He had a choice to say no but did he? Even with how your parents used underhanded methods to kill your grandfather. Lee Jaeho knew all about it."

"And he regretted it," Jaehwan told him. "Jaeho-hyung regretted everything he has ever done for my parents. Especially after losing his sister-in-law, he questioned all the decisions he made in the past. That's why he came back to Korea in the first place. He wanted to make amends and reveal the things my parents did. We even have some of the records we can use to turn their crimes in. If it wasn't for Jaeho-hyung's help, we would have never gotten this far. What if he did do bad in the past? Shouldn't he deserve a second chance?"

At that moment, Jaehwan's words seemed as if they were speaking to Hakyeon as well.

A second chance, those words rang in Hakyeon's head at that very moment.

"And this is why you're naive, Lee Jaehwan," Ilhoon continued. "If people like Lee Jaeho deserve a second chance, then what about my father, huh? Did my father ever get a second chance!?"

"So, you thought that copying a serial killer's methods to dispose of Lee Jaeho was a good idea?" Hakyeon was curious about something.

"Why not?" Ilhoon said as he walked over to somewhere in the room and grabbed something out from one of the cardboard boxes. "It's clean and painless. You see, I'm not some kind of barbarian who would just hack and slash. It's quite grotesque and I'd rather not. It's quite undignified."

As Ilhoon spoke, he took a small briefcase from the box. He brought it over and when he opened it, there was a whole set of needles and tubes inside. Everything he needed to be the "White Rose" himself.

"I've studied this serial killer's method and to be honest, it was quite straightforward and it wasn't hard to imitate. You just need a few steady hands and you'd be all set. Several years ago, the White Rose killed a doctor, Song Yejin. She was a renowned surgeon and funny enough, I've had a few dealings with her in the past. She wanted me to invest in her research. I've heard of her research and I've also seen what she could do. I thought it was quite a pity when she died though, it would have been perfect if she could've carried on her research and methods."

Ilhoon took out some of the equipment as he spoke and approached the two slowly. Neither of them was particularly afraid but there were many uncertainties as Ilhoon approached them... Rather, they wanted the many questions in their head to be answered.

"But her research was far from perfect. She still had much room for error and she was very careful of the extraction process. She was making money off extracting blood from her patients, tricking them into thinking that it'd help them. It wasn't until after she died that the person who killed her ended up using her own methods and making it even better. While Song Yejin still had blood left in her patients, this killer didn't. Every ounce of their victims' blood was drained completely from their bodies which were fascinating. Whoever killed her wasn't just some rough and idiotic killer who'd leave a trace behind for the police to follow. It was quite... impressive."

"Hah," Hakyeon couldn't hold out his laughter. The irony of the situation they were in made him laugh and Jaehwan, who knew exactly what the older was thinking, couldn't laugh at all.

"You think it's funny?" Ilhoon asked curiously.

"You talk about this killer as if you know them well," Jaehwan interrupted. "As I thought, you also know someone from the inside."

"I do. But don't worry, it's not Jung Eunji. There's no way she'd ever help me. She's only ever had a soft spot for you. After all, you're Lee ChangIn's grandson."

Jung Eunji? The name rang a bell for Hakyeon. The older glanced at Jaehwan for confirmation. Is that...?

Jaehwan noticed it and nodded.

The female psychiatrist at Gangnam Police Station who was also in charge of Badam's therapy sessions. But one day, she suddenly resigned and not a word was left behind during her departure.

And to think, Jaehwan knew of her since long before Badam's trials.

"Regardless, it's not like she can help you anymore. She's gone into hiding after killing off Park HaeJin. The police have already issued an arrest warrant for her so there's no way she can show her face now," Ilhoon continued.

"And what do you think the killer did with all the blood he's extracted from his victims?" Hakyeon was carefully leading Ilhoon on.

"Who knows? Throw it in the ocean for all I care. After all, his victims were all those who deserved it. Nothing to pity about and they were all well-deserved. Including someone like Lee Jaeho."

"You say that, but it sounds like you idolize this serial killer quite a bit. If I was him, I guess I should be honored," Hakyeon continued boldly.

"Hyung," Jaehwan's face was obviously worried and asked him to stop the provocation in silence.

"I guess so, huh?" Ilhoon simply responded as he started to tie one of the tubes around Hakyeon's right arm and another in his left. He prepared the long needles for the extraction process.

"What are you doing?" Jaehwan was anxious and almost wanted to throw himself over to stop Ilhoon but he was completely tied up and the chair was not budging a bit. "Stop it right now."

"A demonstration," Ilhoon said. "I was going to get rid of you two in the ugliest manner possible but that would be beyond my character. I thought if the two of you are going to be the last ones, I should see you off beautifully. Every artist has their own perception of beauty and grace, though your drawings itself are far from graceful, Lee Jaehwan. Pitches of black and ravens, violent and destructive. It's so obvious that that heart of yours can never do anything glorious. You're like an open book. You'd be caught before you can achieve anything. A true artisan would never reveal their secrets and gracefully paint their pieces to perfection until the last stroke. And this is why you've failed."

Hakyeon sat still as Ilhoon pierced the needle into his veins. He didn't struggle at all as he heard Ilhoon's nonsensical speech.

"You're not afraid?" Hakyeon's calm demeanor left Ilhoon questioning. "But then again, you've watched your father kill your mother in front of you. So, of course, you wouldn't be afraid. It's not like you're going anywhere anyway."

"I agree with you," Hakyeon suddenly said.

"What?"

"A true artist would never reveal their secrets so easily and would definitely not leave any evidence behind. And the same for their techniques. Looking at what you're doing, it seems like you're copying Song Yejin's method more so than the White Rose," Hakyeon simply suggested. "Don't you know that the White Rose never left his victims sitting? Nor would he ever run his mouth like yours. It's our first time meeting but you're quite talkative and annoying."

"You-!" Ilhoon almost lost his cool at Hakyeon's provocation but he took a deep breath and calmed down. "You make it sound like you know it better than me. What are you implying?"

"What do you think?" Hakyeon continued.

Angered, Ilhoon tightens the tubes around Hakyeon's arms and jabber the needles deeper into his veins. This time, blood oozed out, dripping slowly down from Hakyeon's arms. Nothing was clean about this death.

"Someone like you, dare to challenge me?" Ilhoon threatened him. "Then I'll let you die pathetically after a-"

At that instance, before anyone could react, something pierced through Ilhoon's chest from behind. When Ilhoon could finally make sense of what was happening, his blood had already fallen all over Hakyeon.

"Lee... Minhyuk," Ilhoon glanced from the side, angered but injured at the same time. His grip loosen around the needle and eventually, he let go. But being unable to stand still, he leaned over against Hakyeon.

And at that moment, Hakyeon whispered to Ilhoon.

"A true killer never reveals their secret but for you, I'll let you know one thing. I never extracted their blood through their arms. It's too obvious," Hakyeon said as he brushed Ilhoon off from his shoulders.

At that moment, as Jung Ilhoon lost consciousness, he saw the smirk on Hakyeon's face. Realizing too late who the true artist was.

"Minhyuk-hyung?" the sudden turn of events left Jaehwan in shock. "What are you doing?"

"Don't misunderstand. I'm not doing this for you. I can't just leave Jung Ilhoon running his trap and ignoring the fact that I'm standing right here," Minhyuk commented as he untied the slightly filled tubes around Hakyeon's arms. "Beautiful? What a bunch of fucking nonsense."

Minhyuk pulled one of the needles from Hakyeon's arms but he didn't do it slowly or carefully. Leaving Hakyeon a slight sting in his arms as he watched blood drip down slowly.

"I don't get it, hyung. How did you ever meet Ilhoon-hyung? You introduced me to him because you said he had the resources and evidence. But even you've been left in the dark all this time, weren't you?" Jaehwan questioned as Minhyuk slowly unties him.

"A common interest. We met again in high school and to be honest, neither of us cared about each other enough. But we realized that we wanted one thing and one thing only, the downfall of both Lee Jinhwan and Lee Bora. We never questioned anything each of us did as long as it didn't get in the other's way. When I met you again, I thought it was a golden opportunity to finish things up. But..."

"What?"

"That bastard wanted to take things slow. He was the one who told me to get close to you. So I played along," Minhyuk then let out a sigh. "Now that I think about it, I was an idiot."

"And what are you going to do with his body now that you've killed him?" Hakyeon asked as he took a glance at Ilhoon's body, lying there on the floor and bleeding away.

"Who knows?" Minhyuk said as he also starts to untie Hakyeon from the chair as well.

When he said that, Jaehwan noticed an empty gaze in Minhyuk's eyes. Leaving him anxious.

"Come with us, hyung. We can change. We have more than enough evidence against my parents. That should be enough, right?" Jaehwan sounded desperate yet earnest at the same time as he spoke those words.

"Do you even know what you're saying?" Minhyuk looked at Jaehwan pitifully. "You've always been like this. I thought you changed after your grandfather died and found out the truth about your parents. Yet, you're taking pity on me too? Don't forget, I can still kill you if I want," Minhyuk said but not a threat in his tone.

"But you didn't. You're even saving us. Doesn't that mean you're moving on too?" Jaehwan grabbed onto Minhyuk's arms. "You always told me that there's no turning back, but you're wrong. There's still room for forgiveness and redemption. As long as you want it, we can still help you," Jaehwan said as he looked at Hakyeon at that split second.

"Redemption, hah. You're really so dumb sometimes, Lee Jaehwan. I don't even know if I should laugh at you or pity you at this point," Minhyuk could only say.

"Isn't that why you fell for him?" Hakyeon interrupted. "This idiot."

"Guess you're not wrong," Minhyuk found himself chuckling at the nonsense. "Anyways, let's go before-"

Minhyuk's eyes widened and rushed forward as he pushed both Jaehwan and Hakyeon aside.

"Watch out!" he yelled.

Bang!

A sound of a gun pierced through the entire room.

In that instance, Hakyeon and Jaehwan turned around to see the commotion. Everything happened so quickly, none of them knew how to react. And by the time their senses came to them, Minhyuk had already fallen onto the ground. Whereas Jung Ilhoon, who was supposed to have been killed, stood up swaying with a gun in his hands.

"This is why you've always been an idiot, Lee Minhyuk," Ilhoon said with barely any breath left in his voice.

"Minhyuk-hyung!" Jaehwan shouted and ran towards Minhyuk. He couldn't believe it as Minhyuk fell onto the floor. "Hyung! Stay strong! We'll get you to a hospital right away!"

"Forget about it," Minhyuk said slowly. "You know... he's always wanted to meet you."

"Huh? Who?"

"Minhyun. My younger brother."

"A bunch of idiots," Ilhoon pulled his entire body up to stay standing. He raised his gun once more to aim at Jaehwan this time but before he could pull the trigger this time, Hakyeon grabbed his hands to fight back. "You-!"

"Not only are you talkative but you just won't die, would you?" Hakyeon said as he tried to disarm Ilhoon's guns and fight back.

"Hakyeon-hyung!" Jaehwan panicked as he saw the older fight and struggle against Ilhoon. He wanted to get up but Minhyuk was already dying in his laps.

"Forget about me," Minhyuk said as he slowly brushed Jaehwan's hands off to the side. "Go..."

Amidst the struggle between Hakyeon and Ilhoon, Hakyeon was able to push Ilhoon away but never did he imagine that a frail-looking man like Jung Ilhoon had such strength in him even though he was already injured.

Then, as the two continued to push and pull, Ilhoon suddenly grabs onto Hakyeon and looked directly into his eyes.

"You were laughing at me the entire time, weren't you?" Ilhoon was pissed. "Cha Hakyeon or should I say, White Rose Killer?"

And then...

Bang!

Another shot was fired.

✣

"Hyung," the young boy called out. "You should go out and play more. Don't worry about me."

The pale and fragile boy, who was only around nine said as he sat on the bed with his back against the sheets. He looked sickly but he didn't forget to smile.

"It's fine, I'm done all my homework already anyways. I rather spend time with you," his twin older brother said as he smiled back playfully and ran around the room to entertain his bedridden younger brother.

"Minhyuk-hyung..." the younger one was happy but also felt bad at the same time.

"And you see- I totally beat all the other kids during P.E today. Trying to win against the Lee Minhyuk? Dream on!" the young Minhyuk ran back and forth in the room, demonstrating all the crazy moves he pulled during the class dodgeball game.

He was active, cheerful and confident. No one can defeat him! And when his younger brother gets better, the two of them would be undefeated.

That's what Minhyuk has always imagined.

"Lee Minhyuk," their mother suddenly appears in the room. She looked at her two sons and let out a defeated sigh. "Stop bothering Minhyun. He needs to rest."

"Eh? But I just started talking about-"

"You can do that tomorrow," his mother insisted. "He needs rest."

She repeated herself. This made Minhyuk twitch a little in fear. Their mother wasn't particularly cold or scary but her tone was definitely serious.

"Okay mom," Minhyuk lowered his head in disappointment and headed out for the door."

"Tell me more tomorrow, hyung," Minhyun said in an adorable tone that perked Minhyuk up again.

His mother closed the door and escorted Minhyuk downstairs with her.

"Mom, when is Minhyun going to get better? I want to play soccer with him!" Minhyuk whined a little.

"I'm sure he'll get better soon. Your father and I are doing our best to get him the best doctor. Just be a little more patient sweetie," she told him.

"Okay..."

Minhyuk was obviously not convinced. His younger brother, although they were born on the same day and have the exact same face, has always had terrible health since they were young. He was suffering from some sort of heart condition that Minhyuk can never remember the name of. But as of late, his brother's condition seemed to have worsened.

Minhyuk knew well that his parents tried their best to find a cure for Minhyun but at the same time, he also knew that despite what they told the brothers, neither of the adults were confident of a happy outcome.

"How was work?" Minhyuk's mother asked her husband one night while everyone else was supposed to be asleep already

Mom? Dad? Minhyuk overheard his parents talking as he went to get a glass of water. When he peaked quietly into the room, he saw his parents talking seriously amongst themselves.

The middle-aged man sat in his chair