Villain Episode 7: Lost Peace
#1 Lost Peace
January 21, 2023, Saturday evening, Seongwun Special City.
[Voicemail: The person you are trying to call right now is unavailable, please leave a message after the beep. BEEEEEEP.]
Lee Yu-na took a deep breath and pressed the call button once more. For some reason, she couldn't get through to her mom. Her heart pounded with fear.
"It's no use."
Lee Yu-na sprang up from her bed. Her boyfriend, Kim In-jung, was absorbed in a mobile game, oblivious to what was happening. This made her even more irritated.
"I'm going home now."
Lee Yu-na spoke firmly out of spite for her indifferent boyfriend.
"Going home now? It's already dark out."
Kim In-jung asked with a surprised look. Lately, she hadn't been home much on weekends because of her new boyfriend.
"Yes, I think I need to go."
Lee Yu-na replied firmly.
"Oh, why~? Let's stay together until tomorrow. Okay?"
Kim In-jung persisted.
"No. My mom's not answering her phone."
"She might be busy. Don't go now, wait till tomorrow~"
"I said no. If it was someone else it wouldn't matter, but my mom's not answering, that means something happened."
Her dad and brother usually didn't answer their phones either, so she didn't worry much when they didn't pick up.
But her mom was different. She always answered her phone, no matter the situation. Even if she was busy, she would answer, ask what was needed, and if it wasn't urgent, she would promise to call back later. The fact that her mom wasn't answering filled her with unease.
Lee Yu-na held her boyfriend's hand, looking dispirited.
"I'm sorry. I really think I need to go."
"Alright, it's your choice, I guess…"
Lee Yu-na decisively left her boyfriend's apartment. She called over a taxi to go home, but her uneasy premonition did not subside. Barely keeping herself together, she arrived at her home and took a deep breath.
As soon as she opened the door, Lee Yu-na had to stop breathing. The foul smell in the air powerfully stung her nose. She immediately realized something was terribly wrong.
The light entering the dark living room revealed a shocking sight. The living room and walls were stained with red bloodstains, and long streaks on the floor indicated something had been dragged. Lee Yu-na's heart raced in the face of this unbelievable reality.
Her hands trembled. Yet, she followed the bloodstains on the living room floor to her parents' room. As she opened the door, her legs gave way, and she collapsed. On the cold floor lay her parents' bodies, horribly mutilated. Lee Yu-na was frozen in front of the scene, struggling to accept reality.
"Oh, mom… Ah, dad..."
Lee Yu-na cried out, but of course, there was no reply.
Confused about what to do next, Lee Yu-na shakily called her brother. At that moment, a popular song from the radio started playing from her brother's room. It was his phone.
She quickly realized what that meant. She had just stayed out for the night, and in that short night, her world had crumbled. Her Heart frozen with grief and shock, the happy moments with her family had now turned into cold shadows of death.
"What should I do now?"
Even in her sorrow, Lee Yu-na began to focus on what she needed to do next.
"This is the 112 emergency service. How can I help you?"
"Here… my entire family…"
Lee Yu-na's voice trembled violently, and she couldn't continue.
After that moment, Lee Yu-na had no memory. She wandered between reality and dreams, tormented by fragments of memories with her family. The voices of her family had become a distant and blurry past, no longer reachable.
"How am I supposed to live now?"
***
#2 Guardians
Yoon Seong-ho sat in the lab, staring intently at the screen. The news was covering a shocking incident in Seongwol Special City, which he was already aware of.
"On the night of the 20th, a shocking incident occurred in Seongwol Special City. Five residents of an apartment were found murdered in a single night."
Yoon Seong-ho's eyes were glued to the screen, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the table.
"They haven't identified the suspect yet... interesting."
His brain was quickly processing and analyzing the information. Facing such a complex case, his curiosity was clearly piqued. His mind was filled with thoughts of deciphering the criminal's psychology, motives, and behavioral patterns due to his occupational hazard.
"If I could directly analyze the brain of the perpetrator behind this case, it would make for a great experimental subject..."
His voice was laden with deep curiosity and endless thirst for exploration, though he soon felt disappointed.
"How can I seize this opportunity?"
Yoon Seong-ho wanted to take on the case for the Guardians, but as there was yet no request for assistance from the police, he was unable to do so.
"Goodness, look at the time already."
Yoon Seong-ho muttered, surprised as he checked the time.
He grabbed the remote and pressed a button, causing a large screen to descend slowly from the ceiling of the lab. It was preparation for a regular video conference with the Guardians team.
As the screen lit up, the members of the Guardians team appeared all at once. Choi Hyun-woo immediately expressed his displeasure at Yoon Seong-ho's tardiness.
"What's going on, Doctor? Why are you so late?"
Choi Hyun-woo rebuked Yoon Seong-ho.
Yoon Seong-ho, chuckling, waved his hands dismissively.
"Ah, I got caught up in the news. Sorry."
His voice carried an apology tinged with regret.
Kim Su-hyun and Park Hye-jin watched the exchange between the two men calmly. Meanwhile, Jung Young-min received the situation positively, smiling brightly through the screen.
"It's okay, Doctor. Everyone can be late sometimes. Isn't that right, everyone?"
Jung Young-min seemed to be trying to ease the tension in the room.
"Thank you for understanding, Young-min. Let's start the meeting then."
Yoon Seong-ho continued the conversation.
"You all are aware of the recent incident."
"The one where five people were killed?"
Choi Hyun-woo interjected.
"Yes. The murderer who killed five people. Who wants to catch him?"
"Has a request for cooperation come in?"
Park Hye-jin asked.
"It should be coming soon."
"So it hasn't come in yet? How do we start the investigation?"
"We'll make them send it if they haven't. We want to take this case."
Park Hye-jin nodded slightly. She seemed to have great faith in Yoon Seong-ho.
"If we get to handle the investigation, I'll do it."
Kim Su-hyun volunteered quietly but with determination. Choi Hyun-woo looked surprised at her unexpected willingness.
"Oh, what brings this on?"
Choi Hyun-woo asked.
"I want to."
Kim Su-hyun replied coolly, though her expression remained indifferent.
Doctor Yoon Seong-ho began to wrap up the discussion.
"Alright, then Su-hyun will take on this task. And Hyun-woo, any new information on 'The Fracture'?"
"Not yet. We don't know when or where it'll appear, so we need more time."
"Understood. Then, let's conclude today's meeting here,"
Yoon Seong-ho ended the meeting.
After the meeting, the lab was momentarily quiet, and Yoon Seong-ho was deep in thought. Though his eyes were still on the screen, his mind had moved on to the next step.
He stood up and walked to the window. Looking outside, his gaze was filled with resolve. Then, leaving the silent lab behind, he took out his personal cellphone.
The phone had only one number saved.
Yoon Seong-ho lightly pressed the call button.
"Hello, Chairman? How have you been?"
"Doctor Yoon, what do you want this time?"
Beom Ho-jin's voice exuded an air of knowing everything. Yoon Seong-ho laughed for a moment before responding.
"Hahaha. You always see right through me, Chairman."
"Cut the flattery. Get to the point."
"I'd like to have the brain of the criminal who killed five people. Is that possible?"
After a brief silence, Beom Ho-jin asked cautiously,
"Why?"
"Of course, for research. And to satisfy my personal curiosity."
There was a moment of silence as Beom Ho-jin seemed to ponder.
"Alright. I'll see what I can do."
"Thank you, Chairman."
"But you'll have to commit to making South Korea safer."
"I always keep that in mind."
"Then, I'll let Director Do Yeon-ho inform you of the outcome soon."
Just as he was about to press the end call button, Beom Ho-jin's voice came through again.
"Oh, by the way. The Guardians will soon start operating officially."
"Already?"
"Even if we don't want to, it's going to happen."
Yoon Seong-ho slightly curled the corners of his lips.
"Something's going to happen, then?"
"Just keep that in mind."
"Understood."
After ending the call, Yoon Seong-ho turned his gaze back outside. The view from the window remained the same, but his eyes were filled with new possibilities.
"I was getting restless, body and mind."
The reflection of his face in the window looked quite different from usual.