The following day, Minhyuk, Hyunwoo, and Yura made their way to the police station with the evidence in hand. The gravity of what they were about to do hung over them, but there was also a sense of relief. This was the final step toward exposing the truth.
At the police station, the officers immediately took charge of the evidence, and they began questioning Mr. Chae Jinsoo. It didn't take long for him to be arrested. The walls had finally closed in on him.
In the midst of the commotion, Minhyuk and Hyunwoo waited outside the interrogation room. They could hear the faint sounds of Mr. Chae being taken into custody, but the full weight of the moment still hadn't quite hit them. Yura stood quietly beside them, her gaze distant but resolute.
Meanwhile, Chae Min was sitting in a small café, his mind swirling with conflicting emotions. On one hand, he was thankful that the truth had been exposed and his father would finally face justice. But on the other hand, he couldn't shake the sadness that weighed heavily on his heart.
As he sat there, memories of his childhood flashed through his mind. He remembered the harshness of his father's words and the physical punishment he had endured. His father, once a man who had seemed invincible in Min's eyes, had turned into someone he feared and resented. Yet, as Min thought about everything that had happened, he realized that it wasn't too late for his father to change, even if it meant accepting the truth and confronting his own demons.
Lost in thought, Chae Min didn't notice Hyunwoo approaching until he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Hyunwoo standing there, his face filled with both concern and understanding.
"You're not alone in this, Min," Hyunwoo said softly. "The truth's out now, and it's time for everyone to face what they've done. But it doesn't mean you have to carry the weight of it all on your own."
Min's eyes welled up slightly, a rare vulnerability showing on his face. He looked away for a moment before speaking.
"It's hard, Hyunwoo," he whispered. "I feel like I've been living in the shadow of my father's choices my entire life. But... maybe this is what I needed to see. Maybe this is my chance to start over, to help him change, to make sure no one else suffers the way I did."
Hyunwoo squeezed his shoulder, offering him comfort. "You've already taken the first step by seeing things clearly. You don't need to carry that burden anymore, Min. You've done what's right."
Chae Min closed his eyes, taking in Hyunwoo's words. For the first time in a long while, he allowed himself to believe that there might be a way forward, not just for his father, but for himself too.
Later that evening, Minhyuk, Hyunwoo, Yura, and Chae Min gathered at a small, quiet park, the weight of the day still fresh in their minds. The arrest of Chae Jinsoo marked the end of one chapter, but the beginning of another.
Minhyuk, ever the optimist, spoke first. "We've won this battle, but it's just the beginning. We need to keep moving forward, making sure justice is served, and that everyone gets what they deserve."
Hyunwoo nodded in agreement. "And, we need to stay strong for each other. The truth will always find its way to the surface. We just have to keep pushing for it."
Yura smiled softly, her eyes glistening with gratitude. "Thank you, Minhyuk. Hyunwoo. I don't know what I would have done without you both."
Chae Min, still lost in thought, finally spoke up. "I'm sorry… for everything. For the pain my family caused. I'm not sure if I can ever truly make up for it, but I want to try. Not just for my father, but for myself, too."
Minhyuk smiled warmly. "You don't have to make up for anything. You've already taken the hardest step, and that's what matters. Now, it's up to all of us to rebuild what's been broken."
Chae Min looked up at his friends, a sense of peace starting to wash over him. "Thanks, guys. I won't let you down."
As they stood there together, a quiet sense of unity settled among them. They had faced the darkness, fought for the truth, and in the end, they had emerged victorious. The road ahead wouldn't be easy, but with each other's support, they knew they could face whatever came next.
And for Chae Min, for the first time in a long time, he felt like there was hope for a new beginning.
As they walked back to Seo Yura's house, Minhyuk's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. The weight of everything that had transpired—the arrests, the revelations, and the truth finally coming to light—still hung heavy. But something else was nagging at him, a thought that had been building ever since the night before.
He couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. The more he thought about it, the clearer it became. His mind kept circling back to the same question: Why did he go back to the past?
The memories of that fateful day, the train crash, the fire, and his father's disappearance resurfaced. Minhyuk had always believed that he went back to save his father, to prevent that tragic event from happening. But now, he couldn't help but wonder… what if his father had never died in the first place?
As Minhyuk pondered this, his mind flashed back to a conversation with Director Choi, who had mentioned something cryptic: "What if your father is still alive? What if he never died that day?"
The question echoed in his mind. What if his father had never died? The thought was both a relief and a terrifying possibility. If his father was alive, why had he disappeared? Why hadn't he come back for Minhyuk all these years?
The more he thought about it, the more questions piled up. Had his father been involved in something dangerous? Had he left on purpose to protect Minhyuk, or had something happened to him that Minhyuk didn't know about?
His heart raced as he realized that there were still so many unknowns. And as he walked beside Yura and Hyunwoo, trying to focus on the present, the voices in his mind grew louder.
Suddenly, Minhyuk froze. A voice seemed to echo from nowhere, cutting through his thoughts with chilling clarity.
"Your time is up..."
The words were faint at first, almost like a whisper on the wind, but they grew louder with each repetition. Minhyuk's heart skipped a beat, his breath catching in his throat. He looked around, but there was no one in sight.
"Your time is up..." The voice repeated again, as if it was coming from all directions at once, surrounding him.
Hyunwoo and Yura, walking ahead of him, turned around in confusion when they noticed Minhyuk had stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide with a mix of fear and confusion.
"Minhyuk? Are you okay?" Yura asked, her voice laced with concern.
Minhyuk barely registered her words. His mind was still reeling, the voice echoing louder in his ears.
The voice continued, relentless and haunting, "Your time is up..."
Minhyuk's hands trembled as he clenched them into fists. The world around him seemed to blur, as if the air itself was growing thick, pressing in on him. For a moment, he couldn't tell what was real anymore.
"Your time is up..." The voice continued, its words growing more insistent, more threatening.
Minhyuk's mind raced as he struggled to make sense of what was happening. The voice, the strange feeling in the air—it all felt connected to something much larger than he could comprehend.
He thought back to everything he had experienced since he came back to this time. The mysteries surrounding his father, the cryptic warnings from Director Choi, the strange events that had been happening ever since his return—it all felt like pieces of a puzzle he couldn't quite put together.
But now, with the voice haunting him, it was as if the puzzle was beginning to form a clearer picture. Was this part of his mission? Had he been sent back for a purpose greater than saving his father?
"Your time is up..." The voice echoed once more, and this time, Minhyuk felt a chill run down his spine. There was no escaping it. The message was clear, but the meaning was still beyond his grasp.
Yura stepped closer to Minhyuk, her hand gently resting on his arm. "Minhyuk, talk to us. What's going on?"
Minhyuk shook his head, trying to shake off the feeling of dread that had gripped him. "I... I don't know. There's something I need to figure out. Something I still don't understand."
Hyunwoo, noticing the intensity in Minhyuk's eyes, stepped in. "Whatever it is, we'll help you. You're not alone in this, Minhyuk."
Minhyuk looked at them, his mind still racing. The voice continued to repeat in his mind, growing louder, more persistent. But for the first time, he realized something: He wasn't alone in this anymore. He had his friends by his side.
With a deep breath, Minhyuk turned away from the path they had been walking and looked ahead, determined.
"I don't know what's coming next, but I'm going to face it head-on. I have to figure out the truth, no matter what it takes."
As Minhyuk, Yura, and Hyunwoo continued walking, the voice faded, but the feeling of urgency remained. Whatever awaited Minhyuk in the days ahead, he knew that he couldn't do it alone. The answers were out there, waiting to be discovered—and he would stop at nothing to find them.