Chapter 135: Do You Read Faces Now, Too?

TL: Aniea

"...Just how the hell did you pull this off?"

Kim Hee-tae, sitting across from me, spoke with a voice tinged with suspicion.

Of course, from his perspective, this situation had to be suspicious. Understandably so, since there were no barriers whatsoever between me and Kim Hee-tae at the moment.

Not only was there no glass partition, but there were also no guards watching over us. There weren’t even any recordings allowed. It was practically at the same level as a ‘legal counsel visitation.’

"Is that really what's important here?"

"It is important. No matter how deep you dig into the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Execution of Criminal Penalties and Treatment of Inmates, you won’t find anything like this."

"Oh ho, seems like you know the law pretty well?"

"Well, it’s better to read something than just sit around. Even a dictionary is a blessing in here. If you were locked up in here too, you’d realize it soon enough."

"Then I guess I’ll go my whole life never realizing it."

I shrugged with a mocking nuance, and Kim Hee-tae glared at me with a crooked gaze.

Yet when I showed no reaction, like a broken machine, he kept his suspicious eyes on me as he spoke.

"...Anyway. Just how many people in South Korea can pull something like this off so casually? I can’t shake the feeling that you’re a snitch working for the cops."

"So what?"

"...?"

At my short retort, Kim Hee-tae tilted his head in confusion. So I kindly added a bit of interpretation.

"What difference does it make if I am a snitch?"

"Well, obviously..."

"You're already on death row. What difference does it make if one or two more victims get added to the list? What are you so scared of?"

"The pigs will ruin my work."

Kim Hee-tae didn’t even try to hide his displeasure. This crazy psychopath killer gets endlessly serious when he talks about his ‘work.’

Thanks to that, I was certain. This wasn’t just some lie to get attention.

That there really was an ‘eighth victim’, the true one, completely forgotten from the public’s memory.

The filthy truth gave me goosebumps, but I responded without showing it on the surface.

"Can you really call something a ‘work’ if no one but you knows about it? I mean, does it even really exist?"

"You come all the way here just to doubt me?"

"Honestly, I think it’s more likely just a delusion. Human memory is easy to manipulate. Especially in mentally pressured situations like yours."

"......."

As I calmly delivered my pre-written line, Kim Hee-tae swallowed his silence.

Before coming here, I had already gone through every profiling report on him. He’s the kind of guy who believes he’s superior to everyone else.

Even during the investigation, he acted like he was toying with the prosecutors and cops, trying to manipulate them. He even carved his own unique marks onto the corpses as if to flaunt it.

‘His mouth must be itching.’

A ‘perfect crime’ that no one but him knows about. The only flaw in that is Kim Hee-tae himself.

It’s too perfect, so much so that there’s no way for it to ever be revealed to the world. Unless he brags about it himself, it’ll remain an eternal mystery.

The only ways to preserve that perfection are to take it to the grave or to take his own life.

‘But Kim Hee-tae is an extreme narcissist.’

The idea of suicide doesn’t even exist in his mind. Of course, his obsession with his ‘work’ is even greater than that, but still.

Which is exactly why he can’t die.

Because he hasn’t completed his ‘tenth’ yet.

-I was planning to get at least ten.

Even the ‘eighth one’ that he’s dying to show me isn’t a work that completely satisfies him.

But there’s absolutely no way to break out of prison, so he’s been living each day just barely surviving.

And now, right in front of him, appears someone just like him, or maybe even worse. For Kim Hee-tae, it must feel like meeting a savior.

‘He has no other choice.’

His patience must already be worn thin from the long wait. It’s obvious he’ll pounce even if I give him just a small opening.

"Kim Hee-tae. Use that brilliant brain of yours. Do you really think the police would want to personally reveal a victim of an unknown serial case?"

"......."

Kim Hee-tae's brow furrowed. Inwardly, he must have judged that the possibility of me being a government agent was low.

It was a case that had already been closed long ago. A record-setting serial murder that publicly exposed the police’s incompetence to the entire nation.

Now, just as it was finally beginning to fade from people’s memories, no one would want to come out and declare, “Actually, there’s one more victim.”

‘Kim Hee-tae must know that too.’

It was just a faint hope.

As I held my silence, thinking through it all, Kim Hee-tae chewed on his lips as if debating something, then finally opened his mouth.

“…Park Ga-eul.”

Only three syllables came out of Kim Hee-tae’s mouth, but it was enough to excite me.

But I must not be satisfied here. A name alone yields far too little information.

Kim Hee-tae is a suspicious bastard. He might have just thrown out a random name to test me.

Until I’ve extracted all the information I want from him. At the very least, until the victim is returned to her family, I must maintain this relationship with Kim Hee-tae.

‘What reaction should I show?’

For a brief moment, my mind tangled in thought. What does Kim Hee-tae want to see from me right now?

Should I ask what he means?

Should I remain silent?

‘No, that won’t be enough.’

Kim Hee-tae is still fighting for dominance over this conversation. He only threw out a name to try and pull me into his rhythm.

If that’s the case.

Then the action I must take-

“…!?”

Kim Hee-tae visibly flinched as I stood up from my seat. He clearly hadn’t expected me to end the conversation first and get up.

Maintaining the same emotionless expression, I straightened my disheveled clothes and spoke.

“Do you have anything else to say to me?”

“N-No… That is…”

Kim Hee-tae couldn’t hide his flustered expression at all. He must have thought we were playing some kind of deduction game together. Ridiculous.

“I’ll first verify if what you said is true.”

“What the hell do you think you can do with just a name!?”

“That’s for me to figure out. However, if it turns out what you said is a lie, we won’t be seeing each other again.”

“W-Wait!”

As I turned to leave the visitation room, he suddenly grabbed my hand.

I looked down at him with an icy expression. The discomfort I felt in that moment was not an act, it was close to my true feelings.

“Let me give you a warning.”

A voice cold enough to surprise even myself filled the visitation room. For the first time, the many strong-willed personas I had played all came together.

[Kang Joo-heon], who as a first-class chaebol sees others as insects, and [Kang Ba-ram], who doesn’t even consider criminals as human beings, both spoke in unison.

“Don’t lay your hands on me without permission.”

“…….”

Gulp-

Kim Hee-tae flinched hard and quickly loosened his grip. I could clearly see him swallowing dryly.

Leaving Kim Hee-tae frozen in place with a stunned expression, I walked out of the visitation room without the slightest hesitation.

***

“I got the victim’s name.”

“…….”

Haa-

Watching events unfold exactly as they had yesterday, Kim Eun-ha sighed inwardly. She had no idea how to interpret any of this.

She felt sorry for the victim, but truthfully, she had hoped Kang Woo-ju would fail.

She didn’t like the fact that he was having one-on-one meetings with a psychopathic serial killer to begin with.

‘…Too many tangled interests involved.’

From the prosecution and police to those who quietly approved the meeting with Kim Hee-tae behind the scenes, it was clear all of them would be affected.

In short, the moment this case becomes public, all of the above would turn against him.

‘There’s no real benefit compared to the risk.’

Kim Hee-tae is already on death row.

No further punishment is possible.

At most, the only benefit would be to ease the resentment of the victims and their families.

‘…Even that isn’t certain.’

It’s a case from quite a long time ago. Would it really be right to deliver such a cruel truth to a family that may have long since come to terms with it?

They might be barely holding on, clinging to the hope that ‘maybe she’ll return someday’, and we’d be ripping even that away from them.

Even setting aside any financial considerations, this might end up being nothing more than self-gratification.

“Woo-ju ssi. I’ll be honest.”

“By all means.”

“The police won’t cooperate so easily. The current Chief Prosecutor is already being tapped as the next Presidential Secretary. He won’t want any noise around this.”

“…….”

“No matter who I am, there are limits. If we push through, we might uncover the truth, but we’ll be hit by a massive backlash afterward.”

Kim Eun-ha looked at Kang Woo-ju with a calm, settled gaze. Facing those unusually unreadable and quiet pupils today, she spoke.

“It may be a bit late to say this, but I honestly hope you’ll stop getting involved in this case. Even so, do you still feel the need to uncover the truth?”

“Yes.”

Haa-

At his answer, delivered without hesitation, Kim Eun-ha let out a short, hollow laugh. She had somewhat expected it, but not with such firmness.

There was something bitter about it, and yet, for some reason, it also brought a strange sense of relief.

‘…He’s always been this kind of person. Really.’

The kind of person who stubbornly walked freshmen home even while getting cursed at by seniors or classmates.

The one who didn’t hesitate for a second to carry her on his back when she collapsed in an elevator.

He calls himself selfish, but to someone watching from the side, he was a person so kind it was almost frustrating.

“What if I said I won’t help you?”

“Are you not going to help me?”

“Don’t answer my question with another question.”

“...Well then, I guess it can’t be helped.”

She thought he would at least try to persuade her like always, but surprisingly, Kang Woo-ju didn’t say much.

“You plan to do it alone anyway, don’t you?”

“...Who knows?”

“It’s written all over your face.”

“Do you read faces now, too?”

With an out-of-place playful smile, Kang Woo-ju shrugged. When she gave him a sharp glare, he averted his gaze awkwardly.

Honestly, this troublemaker...

If she could, she’d lock him up somewhere.

“Haa... So? What’s the name?”

“Oh, are you helping me?”

“Shut up.”

Pfft-

Kang Woo-ju suppressed a laugh as if he had expected her reaction. Kim Eun-ha’s eyes grew sharper, not missing that expression.

“You didn’t get hit enough yesterday, did you?”

“No. My ribs still ache, actually.”

“Sigh. If only you couldn’t talk. Maybe I should just sew your mouth shut.”

“Ahaha. You’re joking, right?”

“.......”

“...You are joking, right?”

Zzzzt-

Kim Eun-ha replied with a silent, piercing glare. In response, Kang Woo-ju raised both hands in immediate surrender.

Haa-

Another sigh escaped Kim Eun-ha at his innocent expression. As she quietly watched him, Kang Woo-ju called to her in a low voice.

“Eun-ha ssi.”

“Don’t call me that. I’m not going to listen to anything you say anymore. I’m only helping because I promised yesterday.”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Hm?”

At some point, his lips dropped their smile, and a serious expression took over. For a moment, even Kim Eun-ha flinched at the cold glint in his eyes as he continued.

“I have a way to persuade the prosecution, the police, and even the bereaved families.”

“......!?”

Kang Woo-ju slowly began to explain his thoughts, and as the conversation went on, a smile gradually began to spread across Kim Eun-ha’s face.

*****

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