章 45: Chapter Twenty Three - Horrifying Human Being (Part 3)

Chapter Song Suggestion - "The One by Jorja Smith"

— Kang-Dae

I arrive at the crime scene to the sight of bodies littering the warehouse, the floors painted red with their blood. It's like a massacre. My strides slow to a stop when I see the woman responsible for everything — my dead wife. Her vacant eyes stare into nothingness, her lifeless body crumpled on the floor like a broken doll, bullet holes in her chest.

I feel absolutely nothing. No pity, no sorrow.

It doesn't matter that she was the mother of my child. If she weren't dead, I'd bring her back to life just to shoot her between the eyes. She reaped what she sowed, and if I'm honest with myself, I am relieved she's gone. And I don't fucking care if that makes me an evil man.

"Breathe!" A roar snaps my head around.

On his knees, a paramedic is desperately pumping his hands, trying to save a life. "Come on! Don't give up on me!" I move closer, an invisible string tugging me forward.

Everything inside of me comes to a standstill when I see her pale, icy face. Aera's lips are a shade of dramatic blue, her body corpse-like. The worst-case scenario hits me, and I sink to the ground, trembling violently.

No! No! NO! The words keep repeating in my head.

The paramedic performs CPR again, quickly pumping onto her chest.

"It's been a minute, sir. She's not waking up." His partner tells him, his voice hinting that it's too late.

"No! There are seconds left. I will not give up!" The paramedic retaliates, sweat dripping off his face as he performs another round of CPR. And then, miracle of miracles, at least a gallon of water spurts from Aera's mouth. They abruptly roll her to the side, so she won't choke. "Hurry! Get the stretcher! We need to get her to the hospital!"

I scramble out of their way, letting the paramedics do their job. Detective Cha comes up from behind, his expression bleak as he takes in the situation. "Go with her. I'll find you once I wrap up the scene. It's a fucking mess."

"Thank you, Cha." I almost break down, the words lodged in my throat. "If you hadn't suspected about my wife…we would have been too late. We nearly missed them by seconds."

Cha clamped a hand on my shoulder. "We made it on time. That's all that matters."

I watch the paramedics load Aera into the ambulance before jumping in, wasting no time to cocoon her cold fingers in mine. I need to touch her, to feel for myself that she's really alive. Though she's unconscious, the barest warmth of her skin tells she's going to be alright. "Thank you, Aera. Thank you for being alive." Only then, do I allow myself to weep with relief, in the quiet confines of the moving ambulance.

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Aera doesn't gain consciousness until the third day, her memory hazy after the near-death experience. Needless to say, she had been through one traumatic event after another. I can't ever apologize enough for what my dead wife had inflicted upon an innocent woman. It's my fault. If I never met Aera then she would be spared all this — she will be safe. And those other women too.

After the rescue, Detective Cha sits me down and gives me the entire report he submitted about Mun-Hee's case.

It's a mindfuck to discover that the person you think you knew, harbored darkness within. The fact that my dead wife was a murderer? I shudder intensely. To think I left my son with her. All these years, how could I have not seen through her façade?

"I've put a tail on your wife for years." Detective Cha confesses solemnly. "My suspicions began after your engagement. I doubt you remember but, there was a woman you were seeing before you got married. She was killed a week after your engagement party, and there were several other cases that led back to you. Initially, we suspected you of those murders and had you investigated but, due to your high profile, we needed solid proof to conduct an arrest. But then, the killings stopped for a year. However, there was one final case that cleared your name because you were overseas, and we spotted your wife dealing with shady criminals who were involved in narcotics distribution and prostitution."

"That's when I knew she was the killer. Furthermore, the one-year break makes sense now. During that time, your wife was pregnant. She probably didn't want to risk the baby's life. To summarize it all, we couldn't find solid evidence against her and we only arrested her lackeys and pawns. No traces of money exchanges were recorded. Not even a single phone call. She had everything planned down to the littlest details."

"How many?" I force out the question. It won't assuage the guilt but, I need to know.

Detective Cha appears reluctant to tell me. "Not including the cases we couldn't solve…I'd estimate about eighteen women who were brutally murdered."

Painfully, I squeeze my eyes shut. "It's all my fault. They were killed for being involved with me."

"Don't beat yourself up, Kang-Dae. No one suspected a thing. At least now, there will be no future casualties." Detective Cha gets up and presses a button on the vending machine. "Thanks to Minister Wang Won-Shik, we got lucky this time."

My head lifts. "How is he involved in this?"

"His man was following her the day Ms. Yang was kidnapped. As expected of a retired KNP officer, he managed to pull off a crazy stunt like that. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have located the crime scene and closed the seven-years' murder cases for good." He shakes his head, cracking open his coffee can. "Maybe not even five years down the road."

I should have known Wang Won-Shik had a shadow on Aera. This time, I'm glad it saved her life.

"Joo Mun-Hee was a monster who preyed on the weak." Detective Cha declares intensely. "I know you didn't marry for love and you don't live together. She was practically a stranger to you. But she was obsessed with you. Based on my experience, a person with an unhealthy obsession like hers will do anything to keep what they consider is theirs. When that happens, they have no moral compass, it doesn't matter what they do, how they do it or who they will hurt in the process for them to achieve their goals." He pauses to take a sip. "Unfortunately, our nation is crawling with people like her, some just hide it better than the rest. For what it's worth, at least she was a good mother to your son, though I know I have no right to judge on that."

"You know this can't get out to the public." Our eyes clash. "You need to make sure this news stays under wraps." A healthy dose of menace in my voice. "Not one word."

"Triple on the usual and I'll get it handled." He bargains casually.

My gaze hardens on him, but he doesn't back down. There's a reason why I keep him on my payroll. He's neither a clean cop nor a pushover. That's what I like about him. "I'll double on the triple if you destroy all evidence tying back to the Yun family. Not a whisper, you understand. If I hear just one, then you know what happens. No second chances."

Unperturbed by my threat, Detective Cha salutes me. "You got it, boss. Everyone's lips are sealed." Draining his coffee, he tosses it into the bin. "Then I'm off to clean. Tell Ms. Yang I said hello and I hope she recovers soon."