CASE 49 - Being Human

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Hakyeon couldn't hide the scowl on his face as he heard his father's name come out from the police officer.

"So, I'm under suspicion for killing my old man?" Hakyeon asked to confirm.

"Cha Yoojae was both killed and burned in your apartment unit. If it wasn't you, can you explain why he was at your place in the first place?" Taekwoon asked. "And don't tell me you didn't meet him. We already have CCTV evidence that you entered your apartment unit not long after Cha Yoojae broke into your place."

"He broke into my place. That's what I'd like to know too, why he suddenly showed his face in front of me," Hakyeon said. "After all these years..."

"So?"

"It wasn't me," Hakyeon stated firmly. "It was Jung Ilhoon."

"What do you mean?" Taekwoon asked further.

"You just said that you have the CCTV footage of my apartment, right? Then, did you not see that there was another unwanted visitor who came into my apartment and also kidnapped me? That was Jung Ilhoon. He killed the old man before I blacked out," Hakyeon told the officer.

"The recordings were tampered with not too long after you entered your apartment, so we couldn't find any other evidence that someone else entered your apartment aside from you and Cha Yoojae."

"And you don't think that's suspicious? You think that I'd kill the old man, leave him at my place and burn the place up and then get kidnapped right after that?" Hakyeon looked at Taekwoon, finding the interrogation rather ridiculous.

"With both Jung Ilhoon and Lee Minhyuk dead, you can say whatever you want. How can we trust your words?" Taekwoon asked back.

"And who are the ones who killed Jung Ilhoon? The police. If you guys weren't so trigger-happy, maybe you would've caught the real suspect and questioned him instead of me."

"You-"

Taekwoon, knowing who pulled the trigger on Jung Ilhoon, felt irritated at the young man's bold remarks. He didn't know what to really say.

"You and Lee Jaehwan could've been killed if we didn't come in time," Taekwoon reminded him.

"And? I'm even surprised that the police found us in such a dumpster. Jaehwan's grandfather's old art gallery... of all places."

"So, why did Cha Yoojae look for you?" Taekwoon was trying to get back on the topic. "He snuck out during parole to look for you. Have the two of you been keeping in contact?"

Hakyeon looked at the officer for a moment, and it suddenly clicked.

"And you're the one who lost sight of him, weren't you?" Hakyeon asked. "This isn't the first time we've met, is it? We bumped into each other that day when the old man suddenly showed up at my apartment. You were looking for him, huh?"

Though it was a short moment that day, Hakyeon can remember it since he panicked for a second knowing that he ran into a cop.

Taekwoon didn't know how to come back from that.

He was panicking inside since it seems like Hakyeon was aware of the police's presence, and not only that, Hakyeon remembers him.

"So, the reason he suddenly showed up at my place, then got himself killed and me getting kidnapped... don't you think you hold some responsibility too? Officer Jung?" Hakyeon said sarcastically.

"... You're right," Taekwoon couldn't deny it. He's been regretting his negligence since that day. His head was in such turmoil after bumping into Cha Hakyeon that day, that he lost sight of everything. If he didn't lose sight of Cha Yoojae, the man might still be alive. "But I still don't understand why he'd suddenly decide to look for you. He was almost at the end of his sentencing. If he just waited a little longer, he could've easily been released from prison. He was behaving well so that's why he was given time out briefly. Yet, why would he be so foolish to run away?"

"Maybe he's been waiting for the right moment to come back and ruin my life again," Hakyeon said.

The young man looked at the officer skeptically for a second. There was a slight hesitation before Hakyeon spoke again.

"You probably know about me and him, don't you? If you've been keeping an eye on the old man and you mentioned that you're in the Homicides Investigations Department. There's no way you wouldn't know or have looked up beforehand."

"Your father, Cha Yoojae, killed your mother when you were only nine years old. He abused you and was not only violent but also an aggressive alcoholic. Because of him, you were sent to an orphanage and were eventually taken in by the Lee family. Right?"

"And not once did I care to look for him. He deserved it. But he was released so quickly for murder and abuse because he was under influence and wasn't sane at the time of his crime? When I heard about it... do you know how angry I was?" Hakyeon asked.

Taekwoon could definitely imagine it.

The justice system back then was not as strict now, and after their investigations too, they realized a part of why Cha Yoojae was released so early was due to Lee Bora and Lee Jinhwa's influence. But does Hakyeon know about this?

There was some doubt.

"So, when he came to you, you killed him?" Taekwoon tried to bait out an answer from the young man.

"Are you stupid?" Hakyeon boldly said to the officer. "I'm a Crim. major. I'm sure you know that already. If I really have to kill a man, do you think I'd just do it at my own house? Also, after everything he's done, shouldn't he also be afraid of what could happen if we came face to face?"

"When the two of you met, what did you guys talk about?"

"A tearful reunion?" Hakyeon scoffed this time. "I couldn't wait to kick him out but the old man said something ridiculous."

"What do you mean?"

"He mentioned something about The Apostles."

"What?"

"They're the reason why the old man came looking for me. Trying to explain and tell me that he was running away and that his life was ruined because of this damn organization."

"What did he tell you about the Apostles?" Taekwoon asked with his eyes widened and anxiety growing.

Hakyeon looked at the officer for a second, he understood that look immediately.

"So, the police know about them already," he said.

That made Taekwoon flinch.

Cha Hakyeon was sharp.

"We've been investigating them. So, we'd appreciate it if you can tell us what you know," though Taekwoon was trying to collect himself, the anxiety was something even his usual poker face couldn't hide.

"Lee Minhyuk and Jung Ilhoon are a part of it. He held a grudge against the Lee family because of what happened to them where they were young, so they wanted revenge. I guess I should be surprised by now that the rich and the powerful are also the ones fighting, grabbing each others' necks and trying to stay on top while stepping over others' lives," Hakyeon seemed indifferent.

"And that doesn't bother you?" Taekwoon looked at him for a moment. He was having a hard time reading into the young man now that he's finally facing Cha Hakyeon in person. "You're a part of the Lee family too, have you forgotten? Did Lee Jinhwan or Lee Bora ever mention anything about the Apostles to you before?"

"Adopted or not. I'm an outsider. They would never let me get near the family's business. I might have been registered as the fourth son in that family, but I'm nothing but invisible there. What goes on in that family, I never realized until recently how fucked up everything was..."

Hakyeon clenched his fist as he spoke.

Taekwoon, who noticed it, continued to ask," what do you know? What did you find?"

Hakyeon looked at the officer again, his eyes felt hollow and empty. The change in his expression shocked Taekwoon as well.

"You wanted to know why my old man came to look for me, right?" Hakyeon said. "He told me that he used to work for Lee ChangIn. He was invited into the Apostles as a member. He said that everything that they ever wanted was to correct this society so divided by class and wealth. But suddenly, the entire organization was thrown upside down by their descendants, controlled by Lee Jinhwan and Lee Bora. My old man said that both of them conspired not only against the organization but everyone with even the slightest connection to it. They framed one member after another, driving them insane and my old man ended up being framed for embezzlement too."

"What?"

That was something the police didn't know about. And if that was true... then all those years of suffering Cha Yoojae went through were because of the Lee family's feud? Though the police had a hunch, they were not certain which parts were true and which were just assumptions.

Taekwoon gulped nervously as he waited for what else Cha Hakyeon knew about.

"The old man lost everything. Went insane and ended up in the rubbles," Hakyeon's frustration could be heard as he spoke. "But it gave him no right to treat us that way... And you know what's worse? The only reason why Lee Jinhwan and Lee Bora agreed to adopt me is so that they could use me as leverage for my old man to spill whatever other dirty secrets he knew of the family. They knew who I was all along. All those years, I couldn't understand why they adopted me in the first place. Now, it makes so much sense. The apathetic looks on their faces every time I see them..."

Hakyeon's anger made him clench his fist even harder, his nails dug into his palms and causing him to bleed. But it was not as painful as the truth.

"Are you..."

Taekwoon paused. What was he about to say? As he heard Cha Hakyeon speak, he felt his heart sink. He almost blurted out words as if he wanted to comfort the broken youth. But he hasn't forgotten, that Cha Hakyeon is the White Rose Killer. No matter what kind of evidence they found at the gallery, no matter how much others are trying to play off with Jung Ilhoon being the infamous killer, Taekwoon knows better than anyone who the true White Rose is.

However, although Taekwoon came to interrogate Cha Hakyeon about the White Rose Killer, he found himself hesitating to ask further.

He got more than he asked for and that itself was already too hard to digest.

"Why did he have to come looking for me?" Hakyeon murmured to himself. "Just when I was ready to move forward... why?"

Move forward? Taekwoon heard it. What's he talking about?

"What do y-"

"Where's Jaehwan?" Hakyeon interrupted suddenly.

"His family came for him and took him home," Taekwoon responded without thinking.

"What?" Hakyeon became alarmed and looked concerned. "How can you guys just let him go with them?"

"Huh?"

"Didn't you hear what I just said? His parents are a part of the Apostles. They conspired and were willing to throw anyone under a bus to get what they wanted. If it wasn't because of this power struggle, Lee Jaeho wouldn't have been killed by Jung Ilhoon in the first place. Do you really think that Jaehwan would be safe with them?!" Hakyeon yelled in anxiety.

"We couldn't do anything. By the law, we couldn't keep Lee Jaehwan for questioning even if we wanted to."

Hakyeon's complexion turned pale as he thought of the younger's safety. Worried about what his parents would do to him. But being handcuffed in this wretched place, there was no way that he could call or make sure that Jaehwan was safe. But his heart was racing anxiously as all of the worst possible scenarios played in his head.

"Calm down," Taekwoon noticed. "We'll send someone to keep an eye on him and make sure that Lee Jaehwan is safe. So, you need to calm down."

Taekwoon never knew that Cha Hakyeon could look this panicked as if he could not think of anything, or hear anyone talking to him.

But he could also understand what the young man was thinking of at the time. Especially if what Cha Hakyeon told him was true, and based on what they've dug up about the Apostles, the chances of Lee Jaehwan's life being in danger were high.

"For now, you need to calm down. You'll be here for the time being since you're still under suspicion," Taekwoon reminded him. "We'll send someone to make sure that Lee Jaehwan is safe. After all, we need to question him too since it seems like he's quite involved in this whole fiasco."

Taekwoon tried to collect himself, he knew that he was becoming too emotionally invested with the suspect at that point. He needed to take a breather and step out of the room. But when he turned back to see what kind of expression was on Cha Hakyeon's face, he could see that the young man was far from being calm.

All these years of chasing after an infamous serial killer, Taekwoon was sure of Cha Hakyeon's character. But he never knew that Cha Hakyeon could have those kinds of expressions too.

Lee Jaehwan... Cha Hakyeon... What the hell have you two gone through?

"Shit," Taekwoon blurted out loud as he ruffled through his hair in confusion and walked away.



He opened his wallet and scrolled through his phone as he was wandering about. Jaegwan actually left him in the middle of nowhere with just a key in his hands.

"I can't go back to my apartment now. They definitely sent someone there to keep an eye on me. Dammit, where do I go?" Jaehwan sighed as he dragged his feet along the open roads.

Dammit, I can't even go to the hospital to visit hyung. I wonder if he's okay, Jaehwan was getting worried. Although the police told him that Hakyeon's operations were successful, Jaehwan wanted to make sure with his own eyes. But knowing his family, visiting Hakyeon was also not safe, especially since he blurted out Cha Yoojae's name in front of his parents.

"Honestly, how did Jaeho-hyung and Jaegwan-hyung hide behind a poker face all these years? It drove me nuts just pretending to be K," Jaehwan signed again.

He dug into his pockets and looked at his phone. The key Jaegwan gave him was a key left behind by Jaeho.

What did hyung leave behind? Where... That's where it clicked.

"That sneaky Jaegwan!" Jaeho looked at his phone again and figured out his location. He wasn't really in the middle of nowhere, but somewhere that's more suburban Seoul. He remembered that there was a bank around here somewhere and it was a place where Jaeho wanted to buy a house with his late wife.

Jaehwan scrolled through his phone and headed straight for the bank, hoping that his instincts were correct.

And it was.



"You must be Lee Jaehwan," one of the managers recognized Jaehwan immediately as he walked into the quiet bank. "Jaegwan told me that you'd be stopping by. Please follow me."

I knew it! He dropped by out here on purpose! Jaehwan was a little irritated at how much he was played by his brother. He won't even let me breathe for a second.

"Did you bring the key with you?" the manager asked.

"Uh, yeah. This one, right?"

"That's right."

The manager opened up a small vault room with many metal boxes inside, all of which were securely guarded in the bank.

"Here it is. This is your brother's safe," he said.

"Um, how come..." Jaehwan was curious.

"I met Jaeho when he was studying in the UK. I knew him and his wife, how they met and also all the things that happened after he came back to Seoul. He told me about your family, and he opened this safe with his wife as their savings for their future. But after she passed away, he never came back to visit until his incident not too long ago."

"What do you mean?"

"He never really told me in detail about your family but he was always uncertain about the family business. He suddenly came to me one day, knowing well I worked at this bank too and told me to keep things secret about this safe from your parents. He said something really strange when he came. He told me that aside from his brothers, no one is allowed to have access to this safe. I didn't ask in detail of course but he looked serious. Not only is he a client but he's also a good friend, so I never questioned him further. I just couldn't believe that not long after he came to me that he would get killed."

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"Well, I went to your other brother, Jaegwan and passed on the keys to him. But he never came to see what was in the safe or retrieve anything. So I thought maybe he didn't care or simply forgot about it."

"So that's why hyung had the keys."

"I guess so. But I'm glad at least you came. I'm sure Jaeho has been waiting. I'm sure whatever he left behind for you guys, you will know what to do with it. He's always told me how much he cherishes his brothers no matter how drifted apart you guys were."

"He even told you that?" Jaehwan felt a little awkward.

After all, no one in Seoul didn't know about the feud between the Lee Brothers, especially the youngest leaving home and refusing to take over the family business.

"Don't worry, he loves you guys and no matter what the media says, I only believe what I hear and see from Jaeho. Anyways, I'll let you be in the other room so you can check the box," he said as he escorted Jaehwan to another room safely.

After Jaeho's friend left, Jaehwan took the box into the other room and inputted the key. But what Jaeho didn't leave behind was the password to the safe. Not only did you need the key but also the code to open the box.

"Are you kidding me? How am I supposed to know?" Jaehwan said as he stared at the box. "Is it hyung's birthday? No, it can't be something so generic, especially knowing hyung, he probably put something else as the code."

What could it be...

Jaehwan thought for a while, and his ego thought it was his own birthday at first, April 6th. But that didn't work.

"And he said I was important, che~" Jaehwan sulked to himself and laughed a bit.

That's when he realized, another person who was just as important to Jaeho as his brothers were.

"What was it again? August something..." Jaehwan punched in the numbers 0 and 8 first, and paused at the third number.

As he slowly remembered and recalled all the things his brothers told him, he eventually punched in the remaining code.

Beep.

The safe opened.

"Yes! Thank you, sister-in-law!" Jaehwan said, knowing that the person that Jaeho cherished the most after his brothers was his beloved wife. "August 28th, sister-in-law's birthday. Of course!"

Jaehwan took out the things that were in the box which contained a lot of Jaeho's memories with his wife such as an old notebook and diary, several photos the two took together, a bunch of letters and a USB.

There were three letters written to three different people: Lee Jaegwan, Lee Jaehwan, and Seo
Jihyun.

Jaehwan didn't touch the letter to Jaegwan, he knew that his brother would appreciate it more sending it to Jaegwan the next time he meets his brother. But Jaehwan opened the one to his sister-in-law. At first, he hesitated to read something not directed to him but he wanted to read it out loud, hoping that it could be heard.

"Dear Jihyun,..."


Dear Jihyun,

I never thought that I would be writing a letter to you. I thought that we could have a lifetime together, but you left too soon and our time together was too soon. All my life, I never made any decisions on my own and everything was centered around my parents. I was anxious and nervous, inferior to my younger brothers. But you knew that, right? I thought studying in the UK was just an excuse to leave home for the time being, but meeting you made me realize that it was the best

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