“Well, at least…I’m still still his biological child.”

“Can you imagine what they would do to both of you after knowing about this?”

Evelyn whispered something into her ears, she jolted.

“I’m not giving you another chance, mother…”

“Think about it again.”

Those words are still ingrained in Yoonseo’s mind. None knows about the secret unless she and Evelyn’s father. They agreed to pass it over without giving due attention. That was her first and last mistake she would never dare to remember again.

The phone ringing at the side table wakes her up from the muse. As she picks it up fast, the voice from across the line sounds trembling, “Mom, help me… I’m in trouble…” Hayeon’s quivering wimps could tell her instantly that her son has been caught in a funny act again.

***

About a week after that drunk night Daehwan has no courage to show his face there anymore. So today he plans to come and visit Evelyn’s apartment. There he is now, ringing her doorbell on Sunday morning.

Mrs. Kim is quite surprised by his presence, but she lets him in. As soon as he saw Evelyn was sitting in front of a turning on television. She turns her gaze into him who’s approaching her and inviting him to have a seat.

He doesn’t know what to say first, so he just asks her how she's doing while bowing politely. She smiles and turns down the telly’s volumes.

“I’m good, how’s about you, Mr. Yeon?” She looks at her side as Daehwan sits there awkwardly.

“I’m good too. Are you free today?” He’s still stuttering and flushing.

“Uh-huh.” She nods and locks her eyes into him who’s avoiding eye contact.

“It took you one week to come here, Mr. Yeon.”

“I’m sorry, Miss Evelyn. I was so busy with a case.”

“I see.” She nods again.

“Have you had breakfast?”

He answers with a nod.

“Then let’s eat lunch together here, would you?”

“If you don’t mind.” He bows politely.

“Are you free today?”

“Yeah, I took the day off.” He answered awkwardly.

Then the elephant’s entered the room. She leaves him silent to watch the television sunday’s news.

As she turns up the volumes again, there's a clip of that reporter who interviewed Daehwan a few days ago. She blurred his face but narrated the news like what he’d imagined. Said that he’s too ignorant for a case that has been talked about all over the nation.

By the look of it, Evelyn doesn’t know it was him. However it’s still shocking to him suddenly that he appeared on local television’s news even just for split seconds.

“Will this case be considered trivial as a normal teenage quarrel? Cases of bullying have not only brought death to their victims, but have caused incurable trauma for those who are still surviving. Many children lose their lives because they can not thrive through the phase, coupled with the absence of psychological support and weak legal protection. Will the accused teenagers get the punishment they deserve even though there is no strong evidence yet that would  put them in jail?”

“Will our country remain indifferent to cases of bullying of teenagers in the surrounding environment? We are the only hope to convey the unheard voices. They are oppressed and silenced, expecting a helping hand from us….”

As the narration ends with closing from the news, Evelyn stands up from the couch and walks to the kitchen table. She offers Daehwan a cup of hot fresh-made coffee from Mrs. Kim.

“Is this the case you’re talking about?”

“Yeah.”

“What would you do?” She asks him while handing him the saucer and  the cup.

“We don’t have enough evidence. The kids' lawyers said we should let the case go if we can’t find anything to charge them within two weeks.”

“And you didn’t find anything?”

“The body was decomposed by the river water. His belongings as bags and the items inside it were gone and we still couldn't find them. He was found only with his summer uniform and one of his shoes also gone.”

“There’s a micro-SD card found near the body. But since it can’t be retracted, we don’t know if it belongs to the victim or not.” His stare went into the air.  Wandering off as his mind.

That reminds him, the case was already six months allegedly. The only proof they have is eyewitness testimony as he’s also one of the group members that assumed to assault the victim before he’s reported as a missing person.

***

“There are four people related to the incidents.”

“Kang Dong Il. As the victim whose body was found at the crime scene.”

“Woo Pilsu, said he was witnessing and admitting as one of the perpetrators.

“Last two are Sang Yoon Sik and Rim Yoo Hee. The two students suspected pushing the victim down into the canal which resulted in his death.”

“The timestamps of the accident were on 8 August when the victim was first reported as missing, then on 26 August the body was found as specified in the report.”

Yeon Daehwan presented his case for the first time to the team members. This is also the first step of the investigation to bring to the legal actions against the defendants.

“I hope everyone will work hard and give our best in this case. Now I’m going to start with the evidence found on the spot where the body was found.”

He goes on with the presentation as his investigation team members immerse into the details he delivered. 

One week ago, Gimpo police and residents were shocked by the disappearance of a high school student who lives in one of the Gimpo's Abandoned Child Protection and Care Center. Kang Dong Il is a quiet and calm boy.

Although his grades are average, he has no history of delinquency in school. In the orphanage, he is a child who is full of affection for his younger siblings, he is even often scolded by the head of the orphanage for being caught working part-time at a street food stall.