Chapter 7

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Numerous pictures were taped to the wall. The entire wall was covered with pictures of only one subject. It was the same girl, the same girl he had fallen in love with many years ago and yet never moved on from her. He knew that they were made for each other, he knew it since the first time he laid his eyes on her.

They were meant to be.

But she was stolen by him from someone and he wasn't going to let him have her all to himself. No, he was going to take back what was rightfully his in the first place. He wouldn't let anyone else have her.

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It was another day at the police station and Haeun (as usual) was the last one to leave her desk. Her laptop was open and she was reading the case file over and over again - she just felt like something wasn't adding up but she couldn't put her finger on it. She placed the file aside and turned her attention back to her laptop. It was the picture of the schools that the victims were abducted from, circled in red.

"A square..." she thought, "...Then, what's the middle of it all?"

Before she could research the landmark, a voice spooked her.

"What the hell are you still doing here?"

Taeyong had come back to the station after realising he left his phone at his desk. The station was empty except for the light emitting from their office. He wasn't at all surprised to see Haeun sitting at her desk, her eyes half-closed, reading the case file. He knew what had happened to her a year ago and he could see that habit of hers was still there.

He looked at his watch and sighed, "It's like almost midnight. You should head home and rest. You're wasting your time at this case." He grabbed his phone from his desk and began to walk away.

"What do you mean I'm wasting my time?" Haeun stood up from her desk. She didn't like his tone when he had said those words.

Taeyong sighed, how dense could this girl be? "The guy on the suspect list - you used to date him, right? Look, in my opinion, he's only back because he knows you'll help clear his name even if he really did it. He's only using you for his own gain."

Haeun felt her blood boil at his accusation. "Don't talk like you know who he is - don't talk like you know who I am," she glared at him, "I know who he is and I know for a fact that he would never do something like this."

Taeyong chuckled darkly, "People change, Haeun. What if he's not the person you think he is anymore?"

Haeun opened her mouth to speak but found no words could come out. With that, Taeyong left her.

Taeyong's words were replaying in her head while she was heading back home. Why didn't she say anything back at him? But some of it was true - 2 years was a lot of time to change for a person. But as Haeun slipped into bed beside Lucas's sleeping figure, she convinced herself this was still the same old Lucas. His long arm reached out to wrap itself around her waist and Haeun took one good look at his face before drifting off to sleep,

"He's your Lucas, Haeun. You've always known him."

Chief Kim suggested that they got Lucas's part of the story. She had turned to Haeun and asked, "Will you be questioning him, Haeun?" Eunha knew Haeun's skills at interrogating were good, she was able to pick up clues just by their words. To her surprise, Haeun shook her head to decline. She (along with the rest of the members) didn't miss the tension between Haeun and Taeyong. Haeun glared at Taeyong, "Have someone else do it. I'll go pick him up. Let's go, Mark." Grabbing Mark's arm, Haeun left in a huff.

Mark could sense Haeun wasn't in the best mood during their drive. She was muttering curse words under her breath and Mark was pretty sure he heard something along the lines of "-I'll fucking strangle you Taeyong-". Safe to say, Haeun was pissed at Taeyong for unknown reasons. Mark parked in front of her apartment and Haeun went up the stairs to pick Lucas up. Mark was pretty nervous himself considering he used to be friends with Lucas.

Mark watched as Lucas and Haeun headed to the car. Lucas was wearing a mask and had his hood up. Mark noticed Lucas was holding onto Haeun's sleeve as they walked. He couldn't imagine what Lucas went through, being treated like a criminal for something he didn't do.

"Hey, man..." Mark turned around to greet Lucas as Haeun got into the seat in front.

"Hey..." Lucas muttered. "It's good to see you."

Mark nodded his head, "Good to see you too. If it makes you feel any better, I'm on your side. If Haeun says you're innocent then you are." Though Mark couldn't see Lucas's face due to the mask but he could feel Lucas smiling at the statement.

Haeun watched as Lucas was seated in the interrogation room. He looked pretty agitated, fiddling with his fingers as he waited for this to be over. "Who's going in?" Haeun turned to look at Eunha. Just then, Taeyong and WinWin walked in. Haeun sighed, "Figures." She stood in front of the one-way mirror, hoping that Lucas would answer everything honestly and that her members would properly question him.

"Hey, Haeun. The autopsy reports just arrived," Johnny informed her and the two walked out of the room.

Haeun flipped through the file, reading the written report on their murdered victim; Lee Jaena.

"Small blunt force trauma on the head. Cause of death... multiple stabbings," Haeun looked at the photos attached. "I need to see the body myself."

That's how they ended up in the autopsy room. Haeun was examining the body and the stab wounds that were present. "Left-handed," Haeun spoke, her eyes still looking at the body.

"Y-yes," the person in charge spoke and he took out the clipboard. "The stab wounds indicate t-that the killer would be left-handed. As you can see here, the stab wounds go downwards from right to left."

Haeun nodded her head and thanked him for his time. It wasn't enough to actually catch the killer but it was enough to convince herself that Lucas didn't do it.

Lucas was right-handed.

After everyone went home, Mark and Taeyong decided to grab dinner together.

"You've known Haeun and Lucas for a long time, right?" Taeyong asked as he took a sip from his drink.

"A few years."

"I know that I shouldn't be saying this but doesn't Haeun realise how much of an idiot she is? Working on a case that involves your ex, that's just low and shallow. I can't help thinking that he's just using her or that she hopes this will patch things up between them."

Mark chuckled, so this was what Haeun was so pissed at. Taeyong must have called her out about it and she didn't handle it so well.

"Haeun... She's a really good person, Taeyong. I don't think there's a single bad bone in her body, honestly. She's working on this case because her best friend can't even step outside without covering his whole face, she just wants him to be able to be himself again," Mark explained to Taeyong. Might as well help the two get along somehow. "You've only met her for a few weeks but trust me, once you get to know her and trust her - she'll be the best person to have your back. Haeun's the type to sacrifice everything just to make sure her friends will be alright. She helped me with my dad's case and Jihyun's case even when we didn't ask her too.

"Lucas has been the person who was always with Haeun when she went through a rough time in high school. I shouldn't be saying this but she was once accused of sleeping with some guy and got really badly bullied for it even when there wasn't enough evidence to say it was her. But, Lucas stuck by her side and made sure she came out of it alive and stronger. She's just doing what best friends should do - stick by their sides when no one else is there."

Taeyong didn't know what else to say. "I... I didn't know..."

Mark waved him off, "Dude, it's fine. You guys just met anyways. Just give it some time and she'll start to grow on you. Now, eat up and think of apologising to her."