The next day rolled around, and we successfully were able to contact An Won-Shik to meet us at a store near the crime scene at 10:00.

“Hello, Hwan,” a relatively tall man called out as he approached us. Hwan is about 174 centimeters tall, but he still only went to the man’s mouth.

“Hello, Won-Shik,” Hwan replied as he ran up to him. 

They stopped and chit-chatted to each other for a while.

“Wow, this is the first time I’ve seen An Won-Shik in real life, I didn’t realize he was that tall,” Eunkyung whispered as she leaned over to me.

“Yeah, on the news, he didn’t really seem that tall,” I whispered back.

Hwan turned around and gestured toward us.

“These are my friends, Jin Youngjae and Lee Eunkyung. They're searching with me for BHK.”

I extended my hand and offered him a handshake. 

“Nice to meet you, An Won-Shik.”

He took my hand and shook it. Although I didn’t think too much of it, he gripped my hand kind of hard. I must’ve not been an experience hand shaker.

“Nice to meet you, Jin. Is it okay if we drop the formalities?” he asked.

“Sure.”

He nodded, before turning to Eunkyung.

“Nice to meet you, Lee,” he said while offering a handshake.

Eunkyung shook it.

“You can drop the formalities with me too if you feel like it.”

Won-Shik nodded.

“Alright then, we’ll drop the formalities for everyone,” he remarked. “Let’s find somewhere we can eat or drink and chit chat about what's going on,” Hwan suggested.

“Sounds good,” the rest of us exclaimed.

We walked to a nearby coffee shop and all took a seat at a table with two seats per side, but only two sides had seats. Eunkyung and I sat together while Hwan and Won-Shik took the other side.

“So, you’ve guys headed to Busan to investigate the crime scene?” Won-Shik asked.

Hwan nodded.

“We decided to meet with you since you’ve had many experiences in investigating crime scenes, and maybe we’re able to get a lot of detail.”

“I see,” Won-Shik said while seeming in thought.

“How long have you been working in this area?” I asked, feeling curious to learn more about him.

“Well, a little over a decade now,” he replied.

“So you’ve been on cases other than BHK?”

“Yeah, though those cases feel like centuries ago… I feel like those cases were so much easier…”

He thought for a moment, seemingly to take a quick glance at the lights above us, before turning back to us.

“Have you guys found anything on BHK?” he asked us.

Eunkyung shook her head.

“We’ve found the same amount of information as you.”

Won-Shik tapped the table, before letting out a nervous laugh.

“Man, I’m surprised the investigation department hasn’t replaced me as the lead investigator yet, everyone around me like the protests are all demanding for the government to change and put even more resources into this. I’ve been trying to find him for 8 years and have nothing.”

“Man, that’s a tough situation to be in,” I remarked.

“I mean, it’s hard to replace my brother because back before BHK cases, he would gather all the details needed for a lawyer to convict the criminal of a crime in a couple of days. Won-Shik was really good at catching criminals back in the day,” Hwan said.

“Wow, to think that BHK is on a completely different level than all those criminals,” I said, pondering on the thought. 

“It’s either that, or I’m getting old,” Won-Shik replied, before letting out a laugh.

I chuckled, before returning to my serious demeanor.

“So today, I guess we’ll be checking out the crime scene?” I asked.

Won-Shik nodded. 

“After we review the details of it first. After we investigate, I can tell you everything I know, as long as it’s not illegal.”

“So, he’s just as kind as Hwan predicted,” I thought.

Won-Shik took out a map of the city, with an X labeled on an apartment with some the numbers 462 on it..

“This is the place where someone was murdered happened in, while the numbers indicate which room it happened in. I believe this information has already been posted online, and there is a policy at that apartment that doesn’t allow you to enter just for the sake of it. You must either be a resident or an official.”

I nodded. Hwan already informed us about this information. We were planning on using his police badge to get in.

“Although this place has been inspected by visitors, no investigator has done an inspection yet, so there’s a possibility that this place may be lurking with clues. It is, however, now closed off to normal eyes. Since it’s relatively safe, there is no need for any of us to be armed. Maybe be a bit careful around things. So, just go in there and search. Try not to tamper with anything without me checking on it first.”

We nodded.

“Alright, so let’s head over there.”

It felt weird that we went in without ordering anything, so we just ordered four cups of coffee on our way out. 

When we entered a tall building full of glass panes that were the same color as the sky, just maybe a bit darker. As we approached the reception office, Won-Shik walked to the desk and showed them his badge.

“Hello, I’m An Won-Shik. Can I have the keys to room number 462?” he asked.

The lady at the desk scrambled, her eyes conveying her disbelief that Won-Shik was actually here. After a moment, she went back to the room behind her.

“Do people usually not expect you to show up?” I asked Won-Shik.

“I mean, right now, since I’m leading BHK’s case, I’m kind of famous/infamous at the same time. It’d be kind of surprising if a renowned person suddenly showed up at your home right?”

“Still, shouldn’t they be expecting you?”

Won-Shik shrugged. “I called them a few times but they never picked up.”

The lady returned with a card.

“Here is the room card for 462,” she said, handing him the cards. “I’m assuming the other three are affiliated with you?” 

Won-Shik glanced at us, before nodding his head.

“They are,” he replied.

“Alright.”

“Thank you,” Won-Shik said.

We walked to the elevator and pressed the button. They had 3 elevators, which was quite a lot for a hotel. A few seconds later, the door opened and two people left. We got inside the elevator and pressed the fourth-floor button. The door slowly closed behind us and with a thump, the elevator started to move to the fourth floor.

After another thump, the elevator halted to a stop and the doors opened, revealing a corridor of rooms. 461. That’s quite a way to walk. After walking for 5 minutes on the carpet floor and making a couple of turns, we arrived at a room with an out-of-order sign strapped to it. Won-Shik scanned the card and the door opened. 

Although yellow tapes surrounded the scene, a lot of the mess was already cleaned up already. Of course, there were blood stains, but definitely not much blood. 

We carefully stepped over the yellow straps before entering the crime scene.

“So, the body has already been taken away for autopsy,” Won-Shik noted as he studied the blood stain around the carpet the body presumably was in.

I glanced around the room, trying to make any observations. The only thing noticeable was how messy the room was; the lamp was broken, drawers were all turned and searched, the bedsheets were a mess, and nothing was in place. 

“This definitely seems like a murder,” I muttered.

“How do we know if there really was a murder, or that it was done by BHK?” Hwan asked.

Won-Shik stood up.

“Well, from the testimonies that we’ve received from witnesses, and we’ve found BHK signatures in here. Furthermore, BHK is the one operating all the crimes now. Most crimes now are caused by BHK or his minions. From our statistics, any criminal only lasted at most one week before we found them dead, regardless of if they were affiliated with BHK or not. Most criminals have lost the will to commit crimes because regardless of if they can run from the police or not, they can’t run from BHK.”

Won-Shik glanced at us.

“Sometimes, I disclose information that might not be legal, so if you guys don’t disclose it to anyone else, I’m fine with telling you guys more information. I can slightly bend the laws you know?”

I nodded and made a zipping gesture with my hands.

“I won’t tell anyone.”

Eunkyung echoed after me.

Won-Shik nervously glanced around the room, before looking at us in the eyes.

“You see this room? It’s a huge mess, right? But, you can tell this crime scene was staged,” he concluded.

“It’s staged?” I asked confused. “Why would it be staged? Shouldn’t a huge mess mean an actual crime?”

 “Technically yes. But as an investigator, you must be able to think from the criminal’s mind. You’re the best at catching people you understand. So if you were a criminal, after a murder, would you purposely flip the drawer, break the lamp, or knock a bunch of things over? No right? Because you’re only objective is to kill and get out of there. Why would you purposely make a huge mess? You don’t want people to be thinking you murdered people right?”

“That makes sense,” I muttered. 

I glanced around the room again, unable to see the room as a criminal do that. The only reason you would make such a mess is if you wanted the police or other people to think there was a crime…

“So if it was stagged, what would it mean?” Eunkyung asked.

“There are only two possible answers. One, he staged his own murder and then killed himself. Two, someone he knew killed him and staged a murder. Two can be eliminated because according to our police data, nobody was around. However, if someone killed him and staged a murder, but then fled, he would be the most suspectable to be the murderer, regardless of whether he staged the crime or not. That wouldn’t make any sense on his behalf, why doesn’t he stay? Hence, one is the most viable answer.”

“Why would he stage a murder and kill himself? That option doesn’t make much sense either…”

“Normally, I wouldn’t consider that as an option. But given the current circumstances, I would probably infer that he wanted himself to be seen as a victim of BHK and hope that the police would take BHK more seriously. And given the protests, I do indeed remember seeing him on the news on the front line of the protests.”

People are desperate enough to start taking their own lives.

“BHK is getting out of hand,” I muttered.

“He’s been out of hand years ago. It’s definitely time for us to start investigating more seriously. Won-Shik pulled out a document from his bag, glancing at the records. The police found no source of any other person other than the victim, so I would presume that he was always alone in this room.”

Won-Shik glanced around the room once again, probably making sure he didn’t miss anything.

“Well, that’s probably all for this case. Looks like I’ll have to file another dead-end report,” Won-Shik said with a sigh.

We left the room and went back down to the bottom floor of the apartment. The lady’s shift must’ve ended because there was a different man waiting instead.

“Where do we return the keys?” Won-Shik asked.

“Just put it on the desk,” he instructed, without even glancing up from his phone.

Won-Shik put the card on his desk and we left the apartment.

“It’s 14:12 now, “ Won-Shik said, “ do you guys have anything else to ask or check out? I do need to return back to my office by today. Ever since the protest started, I’ve been given less and less time for every investigation case. This time, I only got a single day.”

“Well,” Eunkyung said, before glancing at me and Hwan. “I don’t have any, but maybe you guys do?”

I shook my head. “Not really.”

Hwan nodded. “Make sure you take care of yourself, Won-Shik. Don’t get caught up in BHK’s mess.”

He nodded. “I’m only an investigator, not a police officer like you. I wish I could be that brave.”

Hwan smiled, before waving to him.

Won-Shik glanced at me and Eunkyung.

“Very bold of you two to be involved in such mess at such an age. I have hopes that if I’m unable to solve this case, or if Hwan isn’t able to, one of you two will definitely solve the case and end BHK forever.”

I nodded.

“We’re definitely not capable yet, but with some luck and faith, it’s definitely possible.”

“I like that attitude. Keep it up, and I’m sure you will.”

Won-Shik gave us a wave before leaving for the transit.