Chapter Text
Book cover by me on Tumblr.
Bak Yerim sat down on the sofa, arms crossed as she stared at the USB sitting on the table. On her right was Han Yoohyun, farther to the right sat Noah, and on her left, alone on the single sofa, was Sung Hyunjae. Song Taewon was off getting a laptop to use the USB with.
How it had come to this was that Yerim had found a USB under the sofa while fighting with Yoohyun when Ahjussi wasn’t home, it wasn’t either of theirs, and as far as they knew, Ahjussi didn’t use things like this.
They were curious enough to check what was inside, and it just happened that they ran into Noah, who had nothing better to do. They found someone old enough to know how to use a USB, and Song Taewon was the best fit for that requirement, and since they were about to use an unknown USB, going to him was the safest option. Unfortunately, Hyunjae happened to be at Taewon’s place too. And so, they ended up like this.
A few minutes later, Taewon came back with a laptop and plugged the USB in.
After a few adjustments, he successfully projected it onto the TV in the middle of the room, then sat down in the empty space left on the sofa, to Yerim’s left.
He clicked on a file and was greeted by a screen full of image and video folders.
“Wait wait, that is-”, Yoohyun recognized it even before Taewon clicked on the first photo. There was no way he wouldn’t recognize that face.
The photos were all of teens smiling and enjoying the best time of their lives.
There were different settings, with many different faces of teens, sometimes in a classroom, between trees, in a place that looked like a repurposed warehouse, or sometimes in an empty lot that seemed abandoned.
Among all the faces in the pictures, eight appeared the most often. And one of them was Han Yoojin.
“Oh shit!”
Yerim shouted when she saw a photo of Ahjussi back when he was her age. No, he looked even younger than her? Probably a freshman in high school?
“This is Ahjussi, why were you saying he didn’t have a USB!”, she said, turning to her right.
“I didn’t know he had one!”, Yoohyun shot back.
“We should turn it off and put it back where we found it..”
“We found it under the sofa though, and it was dusty enough to guess it had been there for a while”
“True, but then hyung would still be looking for this”
Interrupting the two of them with a clap, Hyunjae drew everyone else’s attention.
“In that case, we can just put it back after we’re done looking. Say we found it by accident”
“Come on, aren’t we all curious about the secrets our Yoojin-ya is hiding?”
Everyone went quiet. It was true, they wanted to know more about Yoojin..
They were standing between respecting his privacy and knowing more about him.
Yoohyun stared at the TV screen, his hand gripping the fabric of his pants tightly. In response, a photo appeared of five teenagers smiling brightly, Hyung along with two others making a big heart shape with their hands, the person standing beside Yoojin that it took him a moment to recognize was Baek Seungjae, their former neighbor, who used to look after Yoohyun when he was little while huynh go to work, the one below wore square glasses, the glare making it impossible to see his eyes. Behind the three of them were two more people standing at either edge of the photo, one wearing a cross necklace and posing like an eagle, while the other was posed like he was running.
“You know, young master, wasn’t Yoojin-ya drop out of high school?”, Hyunjae asked with a smile.
Yoohyun glared at him but still answered, “Yeah, he dropped out halfway through 12th grade”
“Usually when someone gets that far, they try to finish high school.” Taewon pointed out.
“So you’re saying Yoojin dropped out halfway for some reason?”
Noah, though he did not exactly agree with the idea, was slowly being convinced.
“If that’s the case then… I mean, we can learn more about Ahjussi, he never really talks about himself!”, Yerim had already been won over by curiosity.
“...at least with me,” she added, glancing at Yoohyun.
“...”, Yoohyun pressed his lips together, his eyes fixed on the TV.
“He always avoids talking about himself. Even when I ask him about his work or what job he does, he avoids answering…”
“So we all agree then!”, Hyunjae motioned for Taewon to keep going.
The picture shifted to the next one, the bespectacled teen changed the position of his hands to point straight down, stretching the heart shape into a dick-like shape.
Yerim snorted at that picture, everyone ignored her.
In the next one, everyone see the shift. Yoojin was throwing an unimpressed, almost judgmental look toward the bespectacled teen, while the other one raised an eyebrow. In the background, the teen wearing the cross necklace lost his balance and fell, while the other one tried to hold back laughter.
“I’ve never seen Yoojin with a face like that before”
Noah looked between this younger Yoojin and the Yoojin he knew.
“Ahjussi’s friends look fun”
“Do you know them, young master?”, Hyunjae asked, earning a glare from him.
“That one is Baek Seungjae. Our old neighbor, he looked after me in place of my brother when I was little, he moved away about a week before hyung dropped out”
Now that Yoohyun thought about it, the timing was pretty much the same. It could be a coincidence, but he couldn’t rule out the possibility that Baek Seungjae had something to do with the reason his beloved brother dropped out.
He held himself back from burning this whole place to the ground; he still needed to know more about his brother.
“I don’t recognize the other three”
Another picture showed eight students in uniforms, five of them on a tree and the other three around it.
A photo of a red-haired girl on the stairs. The photo had been edited.
“This is..game?”
Taewon raised an eyebrow.
“It minecraft”
Noah stopped when he noticed the three looks from the others in the room.
“Sung Hyunjae and Song Taewon, I get it, but why you too?”, he said, looking at Yoohyun.
“Because he’s too dry”, Yerim stuck her tongue out at the younger Han.
“Keep scrolling, I want to see more”
“They’re pretty creative”
Noah had to admit, this actually looked pretty fun.
A photo of three girls. The red-haired girl from before, a girl with round glasses, and a girl with a ponytail.
Leaving that photo behind, they could see that the number of images saved in this drive was in the thousands, along with a huge number of videos. They were neatly sorted into separate folders.
Yerim glanced across the screen, her eyes stopping on one with an interesting title, ‘Delayed-action Time Bomb’, “that one”
“For real?”, Noah raised an eyebrow.
Taewon clicked on the file, opening up a series of videos. He clicked on the first one.
“OIIII! Jin, seen my shit anywhere?”, a girl's voice rang out.
Walking into frame was a teenage girl with a ponytail, a pill bottle in one hand while the other held the burnt-out stub of a cigarette before she casually tossed it into the trash can in the corner.
On the old couch sitting in the middle of the warehouse, a teen was seated with a table pulled up beside him for homework. The bespectacled teen from before was lying with his head in Jin's lap, furiously typing away on a laptop.
“Which one?”, the teenager looked up. Yoojin kicked the guy using his lap as a pillow off without much thought, then turned around and flipped up one of the couch cushions.
“Xanax! Oh and one of the new ones too”
The spot was hidden from view, so it was hard to tell what he was doing, but it wasn't difficult to guess there was a hidden compartment inside the couch.
A second later, Jin tossed two pill bottles toward the girl in quick succession.
“WAIT- hey!! I'm gonna sell those! They're expensive as hell!”, the girl yelled as she scrambled to catch the pills.
Jin let out a snort, looking not the least bit apologetic, though curiosity flickered across his face.
“So where'd you get this one from? I know the other one's Duloxetine, but I don't recognize this one.”
“I dunno. Mum gave me it as pocket money.”
“Should we try it then.”
The bespectacled teen suggested it without looking up, fingers not slowing down as he continued aggressively hammering at the keyboard.
The girl shrugged. “Why not? I've still got another bottle.”
“You're sounding more and more like Heon, Min,” Jin commented absentmindedly as he stuffed the pile of homework on the table into his backpack.
“It isn't every day Seo's mum brings something back from overseas.”
Min set the laptop aside as he finally sat up.
“Plus, we get to try it first.”
Seo handed a few pills to the two boys before taking some herself.
Jin wrapped them in a piece of paper, crushed them with a ruler, then snorted the powder straight off the paper.
He leaned back against the couch again.
“Maybe I should try snorting it sometime. You always do it. Is it just your preference, or does it actually get you higher?”
Seo dropped down beside Jin, waiting for the thing to hit.
“It feels better because it hits faster... and wears off faster too- too... fuck, this hit way faster than I expected.”
Pressing a hand against his forehead, Jin frowned deeply as the drug kicked in.
“You literally just snorted it.”
Min dropped onto the remaining spot beside Jin, tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling.
“Hey, what about your siblings?”, Seo asked out of nowhere.
“Yoohyun's away on a three-day school trip, so I can squeeze in a few extra jobs until Thursday.”
Even when exhausted and already high, Jin still smiled fondly at the thought of his little brother.
“Bro, this shit's strong as fuck...”, he muttered as he slumped against Min's shoulder, the taller teen resting his head lightly against Jin's.
“I asked Jae to pick the kids up.”
Min half-closed his eyes, waiting for the drugs to kick in. Probably another five minutes.
“Wait, how'd you even afford that school trip?”, Seo asked, absentmindedly picking at her nails.
“I've got my ways,” Jin answered with a sly grin.
“...Is that camera still on?”, he asked, looking straight into the lens. It had been recording for a while now.
Heon had set it up to record for five minutes whenever someone came through the group's hub entrance, though Jin wasn't exactly a fan of the idea of it turning on while he was is high.
Seo got to her feet, swaying slightly. “I'll turn it off. You guys carry on, idk, cuddle or something.”
Min immediately leaned over to hug Jin, only for Jin to dodge him and shove his face away.
“Fuck off.”
The recording ended there.
The room fell so silent they could practically hear the heartbeat of all people present.
“Uh…”
Noah stared at the screen. He didn't think he wanted to process what he'd just witnessed.
“This is... something..”, Yerim wasn't sure how she was supposed to react.
Hyunjae still wore the same faint smile, his expression perfectly neutral, but something in his eyes had changed.
He turned to Song Taewon.
“What? Nothing to say?”
Taewon narrowed his eyes. “They haven't seen the whole story yet.”
Yoohyun didn't even realize how tightly he was clenching his fists until his knuckles had turned white.
He genuinely had no idea how he was supposed to react.
There were plenty more videos inside the folder, and the next one sat right beside it.
The video started. It looked like it'd been clipped from a longer recording. Two teenage boys were sitting off to one side of the frame, playing chess.
One of them was Baek Seungjae. The other was the boy wearing the cross necklace.
The camera was pulled back enough to reveal the rest of the room. Behind them, a group of teenagers were gathered around the sofa. It was still that same renovated warehouse.
Han Yoojin sat on the far left, aggressively tapping away on his phone. Beside him was Min, still buried in his laptop.
Next to him sat a girl with bright red hair and have a lot of piercings, she have them on her nose, eyebrow, lip, and both ears. She was braiding Seo's hair while the other girl sat on the floor, painting her friend’s toenails a hot pink.
Sitting beside Seo was another girl wearing round glasses, working through homework spread across the low table beside her. Sharing the table with her was another student, one of the boys who'd appeared in the background of the earlier photo, scrolling through his phone while jotting something down into a notebook.
“Oi, I picked up another contact over in Kyungnum, but getting there crossing three red zones,” Seo complained.
“Isn't there some kind of shortcut??? The cops have been breathing down my neck lately.”
“What-”
The girl sitting beside her whipped around, eyes wide in utter disbelief. “Shin Minseo, what the hell??”
The rather delinquent-looking boy beside her casually patted her on the back. “You'll get used to it eventually, Ha Oksun.”
“It's Sun here though.”
The red-haired girl teased, poking Sun in the back.
“It's tradition. There's no Ha Oksun here. When you're here, you're Sun, got it? You're one of us now, so drop the formality.” She turned toward Seo.
“Btw, babie. Give me a slack too.”
“Yay, sure. I've got a few boxes. Though you'll have to work more than your share this time.”
“Deal.”
Ignoring the two of them, Sun let out a sigh.
“I know that already, An Sunhee— I mean, Hee. Gosh, I'm still not used to calling you that.”
“Seriously though, who even came up with this nickname thing anyway?”
“Jae's idea.”
Jin then answered Seo.
“Also. There's a shortcut that goes straight from the dam to the abandoned building three blocks away from Kyungnum.”
“Isn't that Red Hand territory?”
Hee frowned. Her group had clashed with those guys more than once already. Anyone who stepped onto their turf, they act like rabid dogs.
“Used to be.”
Jin corrected her.
A shit-eating grin spread across his face as everyone immediately turned to stare at him.
“I have my ways~”
The two boys playing chess promptly fell onto the floor, chess pieces scattering everywhere. The boy wearing the cross necklace shot upright from the tangled pile of limbs, “YO!!!”
“WHAT— Actually, you know what? I'd rather not know.”
Seo decided she absolutely did not want to hear what Jin had done.
“For that, I'll give you a cut then.”
“You're genuinely terrifying sometimes, bro.”
The boy beside Sun sighed.
“Tell me the details later. I wanna know how you dealt with those bastards.”
“If I'd actually killed them, I would've called you and Heon.”
“Besides, that's classified military information.”
Completely ignoring the disaster on the floor, Heon walked behind the sofa and slung an arm over Yoojin's shoulders.
“Aww, come on, Jinny. You know Yun and I have a shit to give with those assholes~”
“At least let us have so fun too.”
“I thought you guys only dealt with rival cults after they fucked with you first?”
Min raised an eyebrow, folding his arms.
“Well yeah. We've got our own standards too. But those idiots have been acting rabid lately. They keep pushing their luck, and they've even started wandering into other cults' territory.”
Yun grumbled the moment they were brought up again, sounding genuinely fed up.
“Yup! So we figured they needed a reminder of where they belong.”
“Nah. I'm better off staying out of cult business.”
Jin waved the invitation away.
“Yo loss then.”
“Oi! Help me clean this up, you bastard!”
Jae shouted.
“I'm going, I'm going. Not sorry.”
Heon turned around and started helping Jae clean up the floor.
He reached for a few chess pieces that had rolled away and accidentally knocked into the camera.
“OH SHIT!”
The video ended there.
Everyone looked at one another, none of them quite knowing what to say.
“Uh… how about we try that one?”
Noah pointed at a random video file, hoping they'd find... something else.
Taewon clicked on it without another word.
“The fucking bitch!!”
Seo stormed in through the door.
She hurled her backpack toward the trash can, knocking it over and sending its contents spilling across the floor into a complete mess.
She threw herself onto the sofa.
Screaming into the cushions, punching and kicking at them. An endless stream of insults poured from her mouth, every single one aimed at some woman.
She cried openly as she curled up on the black couch.
Her sobs lasted for the entire five minutes before the recording came to an end.
“That is... something.”
Yerim felt genuinely bad for that girl, Shin Minseo.
She'd cried her eyes out like that... she must've been absolutely devastated.
“I feel bad for her.”
Taewon narrowed his eyes as he scrubbed back through the video. He paused at a particular frame and zoomed in.
“...”
He stared at the zoomed image. The teenage girl was covered in bruises, ranging from faint discolorations to severe ones, and there were rope marks around her wrists.
“That girl... she-”
Noah didn't want to say the word out loud, though the context was becoming painfully obvious.
“Not yet though, try the video next to it first.”
Now Hyunjae was intrigued.
“...”
Yoohyun didn't care much about the girl. All he wanted to know was why his hyung had dropped out of school halfway through.
Another video was opened.
It was the same place as before, only this time, Seo was lying face-down against the sofa cushions, quietly sobbing.
Two other people walked in.
Hee leaned against the back of the sofa while Jin took a look at the situation before heading back outside.
Looking down at the crying girl, Hee draped her jacket over Seo, covering her completely.
“It's past midnight,” she began.
“What did she do this time?”
“...”
Seo's sobs only grew louder beneath the fabric.
Hee seemed to understand the answer with a single glance.
“They didn't lay a hand on you, did they?”
She was met with a shake of the head, and let out a sigh.
“Your mom's a fucking bitch.”
“Don't say that about her.”
Seo's voice came out shrill.
“She just— just…”
“Just what?”
“Shin Minseo, that woman sent you there to be a punching bag for her clients!”
Hee rubbed at her temple as the girl broke down even harder.
“Jin's out working. He stopped to pick up some meds while he was at it, so just stay put, alright? They won't find you while you're here.”
Her gaze shifted toward the camera, a frown crossing her face before she walked over and switched it off.
“I hope she's okay..”, Yerim said quietly.
She couldn't imagine what kind of mother would do something like that to her own child. What she found even harder to understand was the way Shin Minseo still defended the woman, even after everything she'd done to hurt her.
Taewon's gaze hardened as he stared at the TV screen. His knuckles had gone white from how tightly his fists were clenched.
He drew in a slow breath before moving the cursor to the next video beside it.
“Guys! Guys! Guess what kind of job we just pulled off!!”
Seo burst into the room, positively buzzing with excitement, bouncing around like an overexcited kid.
Hee came in after her, closing the door behind them.
“You guys should've seen how much there was. I was literally sweating by the time we finished delivering all of it.”
She grinned from ear to ear.
“Damn, you two actually pulled it off.”
Jae looked up from his phone.
Min smirked as he held out a hand toward the other teen.
“20.000.”
Jae rolled his eyes as he pulled out the money and handed it over.
“Money-grubby asshole.”
“Heh. You'd be the same if you had three kids to raise.”
“True.”
Jin agreed from where he was sprawled across the sofa, his legs draped over Jae's.
Jae turned to him with the look of someone who'd just been personally betrayed.
“You were supposed to back me up.”
“Not sorry, bro, you know I have a kid at home too.”
“YEAH!! Now catch me!”
Seo yelled before throwing herself onto the sofa.
“Wait wait wait!”
Min reacted just fast enough to save the laptop. And only the laptop.
“SHIT!”
Jae shouted as he realized there was no way he could dodge the impact.
Jin climbed over the backrest and escaped.
“You bitch..”
He beamed while the other three shouted over each other on the couch.
“Oi!”
“Who said you were getting away?”
Hee grabbed Jin from behind and threw him onto the other end of the sofa before jumping into the remaining space between him and the other three.
“That’s better.”
“My, my, what did we miss?”
Heon walked in, stopping behind the sofa as he watched Seo and Min wrestling on top of Jae, who had already given up resisting.
“Hahhh...”
Sun sighed at the sight unfolding before her. She poked Jin right where she knew he'd be sore after Hee had thrown him.
“You look dumb.”
“You look stupid.”
Jin shot back before throwing one of his slippers at her. He missed.
Yun snorted as he snapped a picture.
“That was pathetic.”
“We're celebrating, my treat!”
Seo shouted after finally pinning Min down.
“FUCK!”
The two of them yelled when Jae shoved them both off the sofa.
“You guys are such a pain.”
“Jeez, sometimes I can't tell this place apart from a zoo.”
Heon burst out laughing.
“There is a difference. These idiots aren't kept in cages.”
Sun pointed out while trying to yank Jin's sock off.
In response, Jin lunged forward and dragged her down with him.
“Well, all of you belong in cages!”
Hee snorted, scooting backward to avoid Sun falling into the spot she'd just been sitting in.
“I don't think one cage would be enough to hold those two.”
Yun crossed his arms, looking down at Seo and Min.
“So when are you treating us?”
“When's everyone free?”
Seo climbed off the floor and flopped into Hee's lap, who caught her without much effort.
After checking his schedule, Heon answered.
“Next weekend.”
Yun nodded as well. Their schedules lined up pretty closely.
“Works for me.”
Hee said, gently squishing Seo's cheeks in congratulations for winning.
Arms crossed, Jae thought for a moment. “I can make some time.”
“I'm free whenever.”
Sun struggled upright on the sofa before reaching a hand toward Min.
“Help.”
Min pulled her to her feet before sitting down on the floor beside Jin. “Can't promise anything, but I'll try.”
He looked at the other teen expectantly.
“What? You lost.”
Jin sighed, complaining as Min leaned so close their faces were practically touching. “Too close. Back off.”
He ruffled the other's hair once Min actually listened.
“I can clear up my schedule a bit, but that means I won't be around on Thursday. You okay with that?”
“I can fill in for you.”
Hee offered.
“Then you can take the payment too.”
Jin handed her the deposit he'd already received.
“Sweet.”
“OK! Then it's settled!”
Seo giggled.
“Anyone who doesn't show up is an asshole!”
The video stoped there.
“That was nice.”
Noah found himself oddly pleased to see Shin Minseo looking that happy. “They were really close.”
“Now I want to meet Ahjussi's friends! He looked so fun whe he was young, what happened to that judgmental, utterly unimpressed expression?”
Yerim giggled. She hadn't known Ahjussi could be that petty.
“...I don't know, I've never seen hyung like that.”
Yoohyun stared thoughtfully at the screen, especially at that Min. The guy was uncomfortably close to hyung even when his dear hyung clearly didn't seem all that interested. It was almost like he was harassing him... that bastard. Just what kind of relationship did he have with hyung?
His gaze dropped to the floor. “He... never told me anything about this... I knew something was up but... Baek Seungjae too, never answered whenever I asked him...”
Noah hesitated for a moment before reaching over to pat the young master's back gently.
“Well, this isn't exactly the kind of thing you can just... tell someone about,” he said, trying to comfort him.
Taewon remained silent. Instead, he selected the very last video in the folder. It looked to be the most recent one, uploaded on ‘Dec 27, 2013’.
“Alright, alright.”
Seo stood in front of the camera, her hair hanging loose in a messy tangle. She was dressed entirely in black, covering as many identifiable features as possible.
It looked like she was recording this in a public restroom with her phone.
The young woman took a few seconds to steady herself.
“I don't have much time, so I'm gonna make this quick. After this, this phone's going out.”
“Listen up, Jin. I know you're watching this, fuck you, bitch. I know you're feeling like shit right now, snap out of it, this isn't your fault. Got it?”
“None of us could've predicted things would end up like this, so quit blaming yourself.”
“You know damn well I'd hunt you down and beat the shit out of you even if you were on another continent if you keep this up,” she smirked, one hand resting on her hip. “Anyway, Mum take me away, so don't worry about me, okay? I know you don't trust my mum, but listen... she's still a mother at the end of the day, alright?”
“I know myself. Trust me, I'll be fine. And send this to the others too, you bastard.”
“If this video made it to you, then that means we made it, so take proper care of yourself. You still have a kid to look after, don't you? What's his name again... right, Han Yoohyun. Tell the little guy the nonna who always sent him candy says hi from Australia!”
“This one's for An Sunhee. You know I love you, don't worry too much about me, honey. You're strong enough to take care of yourself.”
“Remember you're my dearest darling, got it? I'll always love you, even if we never see each other again. Don't you ever forget that. And treat every girl after me the same way you treated me, you hear me?”
“To Yi Changmin, you asshole. Always after my ass every chance you got. I wish I could kick your ass one last time before I leave.”
“I know you don't need any last words from me, so just remember this—if you idiots are really going through with it, treat Han Yoojin right. I'll be watching you even after I'm dead!”
“Ha Oksun, you're the best friend I could've ever asked for. I would've died back in tenth grade if it weren't for you. You're the best!”
“Don't forget everything Sunhee and I taught you. Punch the teeth out of anyone who dares mess with you, girl! You're amazing! Never forget that, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!”
“Oh Hakyun, you smug bastard. I still haven't forgiven you for using my lipstick to make a fucking bomb!”
“So blow those sons of bitches to pieces. I don't care if they die—they deserve that much anywway! Finish them off for me! I'm entrusting my dignity to your bombs so it better do a good job!”
“Yoo Kiheon, you weirdo. I still don't understand half the ideals you keep preaching about that cult you and Oh Hakyun are building, but if that's what you want to do, keep going.”
“You've always been damn good at whatever you do anyway. I trust you'll turn out the least fucked up out of all of us. So you'd best live up to my expectation!”
“Baek Seungjae... I don't have much to say to you. Just know that I won't judge you, no matter what you choose. Okay? Just... don't be too hard on Han Yoojin. You know it was either her or those kids.”
“I hope you get your revenge. But please... don't let it swallow you whole.”
“I know what that feels like. Trust me. I've always felt that way toward the filthy piece of shit who helped create me.”
“Whatever you do, remember you've still got so much to lose. I know Ha Oksun will keep an eye on you, and Han Yoojin will handle everything as best as he can, but they're still kids, just like us. They look out for you, you know that. So don't be too much of a fucking bastard, or I swear I won't forgive you!”
“...”
Seo smiled.
It was a mixture of countless emotions—grief, bitterness, regret, relief, comfort.
She pulled on a baseball cap before slipping a face mask over her face.
“I hope you all make it. I'll know if any of you die, so don't you dare!”
She tugged the brim of her cap lower and gave a crisp Marine salute.
“Shin Minseo. Certain Victory!”
Video over.
Silence settled over the room.
“That.. came out of nowhere. What-”
Noah stared at the TV.
“Now I'm confused. Why would Shin Minseo have to go on the run? And a bomb?”
Yerim frowned.
“This was... unexpected.”
Hyunjae stroked his chin. Things were becoming far more complicated than he'd anticipated. “Do you know anything, young master?” He folded his hands over his lap, genuine concern flickering across his face.
“I do recognize this time period...”
Yoohyun admitted, his unwavering gaze fixed on the girl on the TV screen. Now that he looked at her more closely, he recognized her. Hyung would sometimes bring him candy, saying it was from some noona who had asked him to give it to him.
“Back then, hyung was always on edge, and around that time there were rumors about a terrorist attack in our neighborhood. But nothing ever happened.” His eyes dropped to the floor, his jaw clenching as the memories resurfaced. During that period, hyung had become like a completely different person. Yoohyun had barely recognized his own brother. It was as if someone else had been wearing his face.
Taewon stood up and left the room.
A short while later, he returned carrying a stack of documents.
“Please don't disclose anything you've seen in this room today.”
“Of course, officer.”
Hyunjae smiled as Taewon set the files down on the table.
Sighing as a headache began to creep in, Taewon flipped through the pages one by one.
“In 2014, an attempted terrorist attack was officially recorded. The investigation was unable to determine whether the individuals involved belonged to an organized group or were simply a local cell. Every trace had been erased—too cleanly. The investigators couldn't recover a single piece of useful evidence. The case was eventually closed under the conclusion that an unidentified third party had prevented the attack using an explosive, then disappeared along with every piece of evidence, including the terrorist group itself and the intended target of the attack.”
He let out another sigh before continuing. “This case has remained closed for nearly a decade. It's considered one of the country's greatest unsolved mysteries and has never had a definitive answer. To think a new lead would come from Han Yoojin...” He tapped the folder lightly. “This still doesn't give us enough concrete evidence.”
Yoohyun shot to his feet, his sharp glare locked onto the stoic man.
Taewon simply crossed his arms and looked back down at the younger Han.
Before either of them could say anything, Hyunjae smoothly cut in.
“Now, now... we still don't have enough evidence to jump to any conclusions.” He smiled. “It'd be a shame if we ended up fighting here and the drive got destroyed, wouldn't it?”
Yerim nodded in agreement.
“I want to see more of Ahjussi. There are still plenty of videos left, right? I'm sure we'll find more information. This has already been one huge lore drop.”
“While you guys were talking, I already checked.” Noah exited ‘Delayed-action Time Bomb’ and clicked on another folder labeled ‘Bear Spray’. There weren't nearly as many videos this time.
“I don't think there's anything else particularly useful left in the previous folder. I'd suggest we move on to another one.”
The two men continued staring each other down until the officer finally sat back down. After a brief pause, the young master followed suit.
“Then I suppose there are no objections,” Hyunjae said with an amused smile. “Mister Luire, would you kindly began?”