Experiencing Love & Lies [Jeong Jaehyun FF]

Chapter 6- A life of lies

[The basement]

Jaehyun's POV:

Locking the door securely, I looked around the basements. Old books, furniture, Ji-hun's baby walker, and many other such old items lay there, covered to prevent dust from falling on them. I walked to an old cupboard and upon shifting it, with the pair of keys I had, I opened the small door which was hidden behind it. I walked down the stairs and entered the room where I had tied him. Switching the lights on, he opened his eyes and looked in my direction. 

Taking a stool, I kept it in front of him and sat in front of him. I put the bag on the floor and took out the rope from the bag. His mouth was taped so he couldn't say anything but from his expression. I could say that he was scared. He looked terrified.... of me. 

"Why do you look so scared? I'm not a monster" I said and stood up from my seat and walked to a desk nearby that had my old surgery tools. Taking the scalpel from the tray, I traced my fingers on its edge till I was on its handle which had the initials "Jeong J" engraved on it. 

"This used to be my favorite scalpel... because my wife gifted it to me when I was about to perform my first surgery... it was like a lucky charm for me but then one day... I almost killed someone during the surgery but somehow managed to save that person... since that day, I've kept it here because after that day whenever I took this in my hands... I always had the urge to kill someone" I said turning toward him

"Even now when I'm holding this... I have an urge to slit open your throat with this" His eyes widened at my statement. He tried to get rid of the rope with which I had tied him to the chair but everything was in vain. I chuckled and sat in front of him, the scalpel still in my hand. I removed the tape from his mouth and said,

"You wanted to yell and scream all this time right? Go ahead... try it" 

"Yun-oh... Why are you doing this? Why?" He yelled making me chuckle 

"Why are you asking me? Isn't it your fault that you recognized me? Even after 10 years, how can you recognize me? If you had not recognized me and just left after I was done treating you... you wouldn't be here like this... and you are blaming me for this? How pathetic" I said but to my surprise, he started laughing. 

"Yun-oh... aren't you proving it yourself that you are a psychopath like your dad? You know, the other day, I was walking on the streets when I saw a wall art with a text written on it and it said, once a monster always a monster. At first, I didn't understand what that meant but after seeing you... I think I finally know the meaning" He said and his eyes went to an old photo of me, Y/n, and Ji-hun when we first moved in here.

"And now you are married and you have a kid? You are unbelievable you know that? A psychopath living a happy life with his wife and kid after he helped his father murder his mother and brother... It's not a happy life... but you are living a life of lies" I smirked at his statement and leaned closer. Poking my cheek with my tongue, I said,

"Taeyong... I hope you didn't forget that everyone in the village still fears me... because I murdered two people after my father got shot by the police" 

End of POV

[Meanwhile: Gyeongju Police station]

"So... what you and your team are trying to say is that... there is a psychopath who is copying murders that were previously done by Jeong Min-ho and he also has a blog account dedicated to Jeong Min-ho. Tell me one thing, Seong-hoon... does any of this even make sense?!" The chief almost yelled 

"Yes, sir. I understand because none of this makes sense to us either" Team leader Cha said

"But, chief... these are the only evidence which proves that Jeong Min-ho isn't the killer" Minjun sunbae said

"Why are you all so desperate to prove that Jeong Min-ho isn't the killer? The media, the people, everyone believes that he is back so why don't you all try to catch the killer, and then we'll see if it is Jeong Min-ho or not?"

"But chief... we are not the media or the people... we don't want to believe that Jeong Min-ho is back because if he is really in Gyeongju... I'm afraid something similar to the Yeongam Gurim serial murder case will happen again" I said. It was three in the morning and almost the entire police station was empty except for a few officers on night duty. The chief massaged his forehead for a moment and sighed before he said, 

"What is it that you propose to do?" 

"For now, we'll study the Yeongam Gurim serial murder case file and try to find about a common link that Jeong Min-ho's victims had because if this killer is copying him... then there must be something common among the victims" 

[Time skip: 4 am]

Yawning for the nth time, I flipped through the pages. Jaemin was close to passing out, team leader Cha somehow managed to keep his eyes open after drinking coffee for the fourth time and Minjun sunbae was already half asleep. I checked my phone and thought of calling Jaehyun but then I remembered that he must be asleep, moreover, he has a surgery tomorrow. I kept my phone, not wanting to disturb him, and threw the papers in annoyance as the three of the flinched in their places.

"Now it really doesn't make any sense! Why would the investigating team stop their investigation once Jeong Min-ho was shot?! What if there is something that was never revealed just because the case was closed?" I groaned

"Officer Hwang.... the investigating officer of the Yeongam Gurim serial murder case... maybe he'll know something which was not revealed?" Team leader Cha said

"Isn't he retired now?" Minjun sunbae said

"Yes but I know where he lives. I'll visit him once it's morning" Team leader Cha said

"But... what was Jeong Min-ho's profession?" Jaemin question 

"He was a neurosurgeon" I replied and opened the bottle to take a sip of water, team leader Cha proceeded to drink his fifth cup of coffee and Minjun sunbae leaned on his chair, closing his eyes.

"What if the victims were his patients?" Jaemin said as I choked on my water, team leader Cha ended up spitting out his coffee, and Minjun sunbae fell from his chair. Jaemin looked at the three of us confused before covering his mouth. Without saying anything, we looked through the information of the victims from 10 years ago.

"The first victim had a brain tumor removal surgery... the second victim had blood clot removal surgery.... the third victim had laminectomy... each victim has had one or the other surgery related to the brain or spinal cord and these surgeries can be performed only by a..." 

"A neurosurgeon" I completed Minjun sunbae's sentence 

"Call Jang Soo-hee's mother and ask if she has had any minor or major surgeries or not" 

Minjun sunbae immediately took out his phone and dialed the number. While he talked on the phone we waited patiently and that's when I noticed the expression on his face change and I'm sure everyone noticed it as well. When he disconnected the call, he looked at me with an expression that I couldn't read.

"Sunbae, what did she say?" Jaemin asked

"3 months ago... Jang Soo-hee had surgery to remove a blood clot," He said still looking at me

"And who was the doctor? Or which hospital?" Team leader Cha questioned 

"The surgery was done by Y/n's husband... Jeong Jaehyun"