CHAPTER 63

Dae Hyun sat in his office, resting his palm lazily on his chin as he listened to the audio on his laptop, connected to the ear pods in his ears.

"Why did you stop Jisoo from helping?" He could hear Cha Eun asking Yoo Na. He wanted to stop listening and do something else since their discussion bored him but he wondered who Jisoo was, so he listened more intently to the conversation.

"She doesn't have any help to offer." He heard Yoo Na's hard voice say and he listened more attentively.

"That's not true, she's been determined to help us catch the killer as much as we do, so why?" Cha Eun asked again. He didn't hear anything for a second.

"I have no use for her, I would have worked alone myself but I need your connections that's why I chose to work with you, besides why do you care so much if she's no longer helping? Do you like her already?" He heard Yoo Na ask with a flat uninterested voice and he could feel the intensity from his office. A sarcastic smirk came on his face. He knew Cha Eun liked her, it was obvious but he pitied the young couple because they won't be any happy ending for them.

"No!" He heard Cha Eun's voice strongly defend.

"That was a rhetorical question." He heard Yoo Na's blank voice say. Dae Hyun could tell from her eyes when he stared into it that she didn't live like a human anymore. He knew she was dead inside and she wouldn't be able to reciprocate Cha Eun's feelings back if he confessed. He knew she wasn't afraid to die and it was her biggest strength but her weakness was that she was afraid to watch the people she cared about die just like Bae Ra, no wonder she was so broken, so dead.

"Anyway, Jisoo told me you made her stop helping because you thought getting rid of the killer is too dangerous." He heard Cha Eun say and Dae Hyun pictured their expression in his head as they spoke. Yoo Na would have a poker face on while Cha Eun would have a curious look.

"So what? Am I wrong?" He heard Yoo Na question.

"We haven't even gotten a lead yet and we don't even know who the killer is or is there something you're not telling me?" He heard Cha Eun say with a suspicious tone. It didn't take Dae Hyun to figure out what was going through her mind. He could easily figure out what was going on. He knew she had suspected him as the killer and she was probably scared he'd get rid of everyone helping her and it seemed like she was trying to protect her dear friend to prevent her from ending up like Bae Ra but she obviously didn't tell Cha Eun about her suspicions towards him, probably because they were too close and she knew he would doubt it when she had no critical evidence against him to support her claims.

"If I'm keeping things from you, I must have my reasons and you must have your own secrets so why can't I have mine?" He heard Yoo Na asking rhetorically and a wicked grin cut through his lips.

"If it's about the killer, you can tell me anything." He heard Cha Eun say in a calm voice persuasively.

"You won't understand." He heard Yoo Na say firmly.

"Try me." He heard Cha Eun say and it was quiet again. Yoo Na didn't see any harm in telling him about her suspicions about Dae Hyun even though they were slowly disappearing.

"I suspected Dae Hyun as the killer." He heard her blurt out and he listened with a blank expression.

"What? Is it because he's left handed?" He heard Cha Eun ask in disbelief.

"No, there's something about him. All the deaths at his workplace were connected to him, even the last death that happened at the event." He heard Yoo Na explain.

"Those deaths were coincidental and what do you mean by the last death was connected to him, it was stated as a suicide." He heard Cha Eun say defensively.

"At the event, I saw her leave after him and his fiancee and ten minutes after they walk in, she's dead, isn't it suspicious? They didn't state the cause for her suicide but I bet it has something to do with them." He listened to Yoo Na as she supported her motion.

"Maybe she committed suicide because she was in love with Dae Hyun and she jumped when she saw him proposing to someone else." He heard Cha Eun say in a logical sense.

"It sounds logical, but we know it's not a logical thing to do and for someone who's incredibly afraid of height." He heard Yoo Na explain and Dae Hyun figured she might have gone to the Inspectors for more information again.

"It doesn't make any sense if you're right and Dae Hyun is the killer. No, he's not that type of person. I've known him for eight years and he doesn't behave in any way like a psychopathic serial killer." He heard Cha Eun defensively say.

"Don't you think that's exactly how a psychopathic killer would want the public to see him as?" He heard Yoo Na ask. Dae Hyun thought he had cleared her suspicions about him but it seemed like she was smarter than she looked and she still had her doubts about him.

"That..That's impossible, it's hard to picture him as the killer, he wouldn't hurt my mom, he knew how much I loved her." He heard Cha Eun say in a low disbelieving voice.

"He easily charms people and he's very generous and kind, he's a perfect gentleman to the core and he's a genius too. Cha Eun, it's been right in front of us the whole time." He heard Yoo Na say firmly, like she had a strong lead she could count on.

"What do you mean?" He heard Cha Eun ask.

"He's been exhibiting traits of a psychopath but to everyone, he was born a perfect man." He heard Yoo Na say and he wondered where she got the information from.

"What? That's baseless. So does that mean everyone who's charming and a gentleman are psychopaths?" He heard Cha Eun ask in doubt.

"No, that's not what I mean. A doctor explained it properly to me. They come off as manipulative but they mask their manipulations with their charms and believing words, it hard to decipher their truths from lies, that's why I've been so confused about him lately, I don't know if he's lying or not, he's good with his words and his actions, he easily makes anyone fall in love with him and his personality and he makes everyone believe exactly what he wants them to." He heard Yoo Na explain and he was perplexed that she even paid a visit to a psychiatric doctor just to get more information on psychopaths. He was perplexed at how far she'd go for her revenge.

"Let's say you're right, why was he close to my family for eight years then? Why did he kill my mom? I doubt he had any unsettled dispute with my family because we've never met before until then. I'm trying really hard to believe you but..." He heard Cha Eun trail off, Dae Hyun knew it would be hard for anyone to persuade Cha Eun that he was the killer. He had made a big impact on his life positively.

"Maybe he has a hidden agenda, a calculative plan and he's taking it slow." He heard Yoo Na say with uncertainty.

"We shouldn't Jump into conclusions and start pointing fingers at anyone who matches your description of a psychopath. We should wait until the footages arrives and investigate more, so please stop suspecting Dae Hyun or you might end up disappointed when you find out he's not the one." He heard Cha Eun say with confidence and he chuckled darkly.

"When are we getting the footages?" He heard Yoo Na ask inquisitively.

"They're a lot, maybe two months from now." He heard Cha Eun say.

"Alright, I'm going home now." He heard Yoo Na say with a flat tone and he clicked a button on his laptop, making the audio stop playing as he took off his ear pods and relaxed back on the chair. He sighed heavily and a dark grin appeared on his lips.

"Jisoo, Cha Eun, Yoo Na..." He murmured their names. He thought of killing Yoo Na but then, his plans changed. She wasn't afraid of death, so he'd give her a lifetime of torture by taking the life of everyone she cared about one by one, immediately they found out the truth. It would certainly be fun for him, but as at that moment, he was bored and he anticipated when the real excitement would begin.