Chapter 36 - Are you hiding something else? (1/2)

She sees him bolt out of the door. She isn't pleased with her circumstances. Why is he acting as if she wronged him by not telling him? She turns to Jung Kwang-soo. ”Kick them out. Both of them. They add to my headaches. Literally.”

”Alright.” Jung Kwang-soo doesn't need Eun Min Ah anymore. Even if he did, he doesn't plan to keep them if Ahn Hana doesn't want it. ”Let's stop this. You need to get your treatment. I am guessing that Ji-Won has prepared everything for you during her honeymoon?”

”She has.” Ahn Hana is starving. ”I trust that she will do her best. She planned to tell you if I didn't leave after the next hearing.”

”Are you hiding something else?” Jung Kwang-soo's gaze is penetrating. ”Ahn Hana, if you are, I will never forgive you.”

”Cook something delicious for me. Then, we have to prepare for the hearing.”

”Screw the hearing. I will call back Ji-Won and you are going to the hospital.” He gets up and goes to the kitchen immediately. His eyes are misty. He doesn't want her to see his tears. Stupid woman! Life is more important than a case. He can't even scold her in case she gets a headache.

Ahn Hana leans back in the chair. The vague pattern is becoming clear now. All the dates have an order. He must have chosen the victims carefully.

The killer has been preparing for a long time. Her parents were murdered to fuel her into becoming who she is today. They haven't been a part of the pattern. Noe Kyung-Hee. Another special person in his life. He loved her, but not in the way he loves Ahn Hana. He wants to claim Ahn Hana's soul, but he freed Noe Kyung-Hee's soul from his grasp.

That girl was his confidante. His student. He was rearing her to become like her, but she fell in love Ok Min Ji and failed to claim Ok Min Ji's soul. She willingly chose death over letting the weakness take over her.

Ok Min Ji lived. Noe Kyung-Hee didn't.

***

Do Sejin slurps down the soju. His friend, Kim Dong-woo, looks at him pitifully. He looks at his friend's phone. Eun Min Ah has been calling nonstop. He wonders if his friend has had enough of this girl. He is surprised that Do Sejin is following the terms of agreement diligently. His friend didn't go to the twins' parties again and rejected all the invitations from other girls.

”Sejin, what's wrong?” He asks him after his friend picks up the fifth bottle of Soju. ”Tell me.”

”Dong-woo, I am a horrible man.” Do Sejin leans toward him. ”I want to turn back time. She didn't tell me that she is sick. I did all those horrible things. Tell me how to turn back time. I want to save her, but I don't know how to. She won't even let me stay beside her. It's so difficult to breathe. Each day feels heavier than the last one. I tried everything. I slept with Eun Min Ah, but I feel nothing. I thought about going to the parties, but I remember her eyes. Dong-woo, why? I don't understand. Tell me why does my ċhėst feel heavy?”

Kim Dong-woo doesn't know what to say. His friend is suffering for an answer, though the answer is obvious. If he tells him, his friend will be in the worst condition. If he doesn't, this guy will continue to suffer like this. He has seen fools, but this is a high grade one. He knows that the woman is none other than Ahn Hana.

”If she disappears from the world, what kind of world will it be?” Do Sejin asks him with pain in his eyes. ”I don't want to know.”

”Sejin, are you in love with her?”