"Yahh! Be careful!! Can't you see we're rushing towards the hospital?", Ambulance driver shouted as a mysterious figure stood right in middle of the road.
Song-ah got startled with a sudden noise outside the ambulance, Jehoon had received the first aid and still unconscious. She tried calling the driver inside from the window, "Ajhussi! leave it, we need to rush!!"
"How could I move the vehicle when that man has left this big boulder in front of our ambulance?", he complained.
"What?? you should've told me earlier!!", Song-ah stepped out and helped the driver to push the boulder away from the road.
"Ajhussi, how can a person randomly come and stand here suddenly? I cannot see a single human habitation anywhere in nearby vicinity here.... and by the way, why did you come alone? gave the first aid alone too?", Song-ah shooted out her questions one after another.
"tsskkkkk.... so many questions at a time?? you sure are a reporter!!! You know right this is a crime scene? why would anyone risk to come here in this dangerous place?"
"Then why did you risk to come?"
"Because I have been delivering dead bodies from here for past 10 years", he said while staring at Song-ah.
She got chills all over her body and without uttering a word she sat inside the ambulance.
They reached hospital within next 45 minutes, Jehoon was taken into intensive care immediately.
Song-ah waited outside in the waiting room, her phone battery was drained out completely.
"Excuse me? could you please charge my cell phone for an hour at least? please", she requested the lady at hospital reception. That lady recognized Song-ah, "Ohhh?? you're the same reporter from CBS tv right?? You were the one reporting that murder, right?"
Song-ah nodded in yes and placed her index finger on lips indicating her to keep it low profile.
"You seem quite interested in that case, don't you?", Song-ah asked the over excited reception lady softly.
"Obviously, this is the most infamous case from my teenage years.... a psychopathic serial killer assassinates over 15 people in two days, his sudden disappearance, case shut down even with enough of witnesses and proofs? whole of the Damyang was discussing the same topic for next few months, like... can you imagine how dramatic it was for the residents? And we high-schoolers were going nuts that someone might actually kill us while returning back home!!! Those days were insane...", she blurted out everything from her past days.
"Yeah.. yeahh... and people actually forgot about it in next few months too... did no one ever thought about why the case was closed so abruptly?", Song-ah tried to extract some more information
"What could we do even if we knew something? the investigation was closed and we had to move on with our lives pretending as if all those incidents were merely a nightmare.", she said as her excited tone turned deep as if residents were actually forced to keep quite over something.
"Are you Kim Jehoon's relative?", a nurse called for Song-ah
"Ahh... yeahh I'm his friend, is he alright now?"
"Yes, he has gained consciousness, you can meet him"
"No, I've called his relatives they'll be here by 7AM, I'll have to leave now, please take care of him until his relatives arrive", Song-ah walked outside the hospital. Her cab was already waiting outside, she had to leave for Incheon... she had to meet someone urgently...
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Gloomy autumn morning with no sunrays covered the neighborhood in darkness. Only the newspaper boy was roaming over the streets to deliver the newspapers as the town of Jinhae was still in deep slumber.
Grandma swept the fallen dried leaves in her backyard as she heard soft sound of steps at the main gate. She called out loudly, "Who? Wait there!!", she would never let anyone enter her house unless it was someone she personally knew. As she approached the main gate she could see no one standing there and kept wondering if she was hearing sounds due to her old age. But still, for once she went inside the house to check; Yet, there was no one to be seen inside her small cottage.
"Grandma!! pick your newspaper!!", newspaper boy threw the paper inside.
She picked up the newspaper, squinted her eyes through the circular glasses and read the main headline.
"Appearance of serial killer in Damyang-gu. Delivery man killed brutally. Has the killing spree returned after 10 years?", her face fell into the shadow. She searched for her wooden chair and sat down as if she carried a heavy load for a long time.
"You were here.... you came back... why..... Did I call you back? No... Han-gyeol!!! Stop hiding from me!! I know you are still here listening to me!!! Just go back!! Did you listen to me? I said GET OUT of my house and from my life!!! Let your grandmother die peacefully you ungrateful jerk!!! GET LOST!!!!"
Grandma was breathing heavily in cold sweats, she could hear the steps approaching her. She closed her eyes and rested her head back on the chair as a male figure stood in front of her.
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Professor Sungtae Seo was about to eat big bite of his sandwich but out of nowhere Seong-ah shouted at him loudly and his sandwich was flat down the floor.
"Seong-ahhhh! What's wrong with you?", he fired at Seong-ah who sat in front of him crossing her legs.
"What is wrong with YOU professor?? Didn't you see the news headline? You really feel like eating in this situation??", she banged the table startling the whole café.
"Will you please calm down please, I have blood pressure issues!! So what if there is return of that serial killer? If I don't take my medicines, I'll die now!! Because of your temper! No need of that killer!", he ordered for other sandwich
"Listen to me professor... this is an emergency okay? It's not a joke! He's back!!"
"So, what do you plan to do? All you can do is report the news..."
"No, I want to investigate this case."
"How?"
"You will help me, We will find it out together!!!"
"Me??? No, not at all my girl... sweetie, I have a family to earn for... you want me to abandon them or what?"
"Professor please..."
"Seong-ah, please for god's sake stop it now. It's already been 10 years my dear, move on... live your life peacefully..."
"How could I live my life peacefully? That fucking monster... he... he killed my whole family that day in Damyang!!!!! I'm living this lonely life for ten years, struggling to handle my trauma everyday!! What do you expect me to do, Professor? Sit quietly and watch all of his monstrous deeds amusingly, again??? We both know he is a psychopath.... you've studied about criminal psychology for past 25 years... can't we just try to investigate?", the burning passion in Seong-ah's eyes made Professor speechless for a few seconds.
"I know, I can understand your pain; but the thing we lack is power. We don't have enough power to investigate such a high profile case."
"Don't worry about that, I've handled it already.", Seong-ah said while sipping on her americano silently.
Two minutes later Professor Seo got a call from an unknown number, "Yes, Seo Sungtae here... When?.... Okay, I'll be there tomorrow.... thanks"
Seong-ah smiled at him slyly, "I've got you in the official investigation as a medical advisor, so it's your turn to help me now"
"How do you even manage such people? You have links inside the intellegence department??", He was amazed at Seong-ah's reach inside the system
"I will do anything to find that jerk out. This is a do or die situation for me, I'll make sure that psychopath rat suffocates inside his own burrow and come outside for air, just to get burned in my hands."
Suddenly the door of café was banged to close and a man in dark brown leather jacket with black cap and black mask covered his face walked out. Seong-ah looked at him through the window as he passed by the footpath beside the café.
She rushed out of the café and ran behind him. But he disappeared as soon as she reached the cross walk, she breathed heavily and held down her knees.
"You saw me, right? You ran away... you rat... I know you're stalking me since last night.... just wait until I lay my hands on you.... you bastard... I'm here waiting for your appearance, how long will you hide in your rat hole?"
A hand pulled Seong-ah away from the cross walk and she screamed loudly!
But it was Professor who had ran behind Seong-ah, "Hyaa!! are you crazy? Why did run away from the café?"
"Yes, I've gone crazy!!! He was right behind us sitting there!!! Ahhhhhhh!!!"
Seong-ah walked away in agony... she was just angry at herself... for losing everytime he appeared in front of her... But she was going to risk her life to see his face... it's gonna be the dead end... either for him or her...