One Wish

Chapter 16

"The police questioned me." Handong continued to explain. "But they concluded that I'd been hallucinating when I'd seen Daniel. The doctor had also diagnosed me as hysterical and suffering from stress as a result of studying hard." She scoffed. "I seriously can't believe Daniel's surfaced again. He should've been found long ago if he murdered two people when he was thirteen, someone when he was fifteen and someone when he was eighteen!"

Yoobin shook her head in shocked sadness. "I can't believe...my God...I'm -- I don't know what to say."

"Not many people do. I think Minji dealt with the shock the best."

"How did that lead to you barricading yourself in the flat?"

"The doctor was right about one thing - I was definitely suffering from stress. But I never liked being social and after the incident I always felt I was being stared at. 'Oh look, there's that girl', 'Poor girl', 'She must be so sad'. I couldn't stand the pity I was wallowing through every day and one day...I'd had enough. I bought several padlocks, put all my cash into my bank account and locked myself in my flat where I've lived all my life. There are six different locks on my door. I order everything online and found I could get money by hacking. Then Leader Mon contacted me and everything changed." She sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"So you have these panic attacks..."

"When I suddenly think of that or when my emotions build up. I usually have my lavender oil at my desk, but I accidentally smashed the bottle this morning." Handong paused. "You're all going to make me leave here, are you?" She seemed genuinely afraid that Yoobin would.

Yoobin shook her head. "No. I would never force you out of here. Of course I want you to try and face these fears, but I can't force you." She smiled wanly. "You may've acted like a bitch towards me. I don't care. I'm quite impervious to insults."

Handong returned her smile and checked the CCTV. "You should leave now. The police haven't come yet, but we've got to play it safe. It's no use if you get arrested before Daniel is."

***

As soon as Yoobin parked the motorcycle outside of the house, Minji rushed out. "How's she doing?"

"Much better." She replied warmly and handed the helmet to her. "I'm sorry for taking your motorbike without asking."

"That's fine, you had a reason to." She turned and they went back into the house together and back to Jimin's room, where Jimin and Jin both looked relieved at Yoobin's appearance. "She's better then?"

"Yeah. She told me some things too, about herself." Yoobin tried to hint at what Handong told her. Jimin's face immediately soured up jealously and the others understood with a nod.

"That's good." Jin smiled in relief. "But about what you did to get into her room..." He frowned in disapproval, but couldn't keep the relieved smile of his face.

"I did what I had to." She replied and gripped her police ID in her pocket. "He was drunk anyway. I'm sure my identity wasn't compromised."

Jimin checked the police files. "There's nothing recent in here about you. We're good so far." He switched to the left computer and pulled up the local news website. Jin left the room silently, holding hands with Minji. Yoobin went to leave too.

"Wait." Jimin said to her and she did. He re-read the article he was looking at, but she couldn't read the small lettering. "I think you'll want to see this."

He moved up slightly and she sat on the edge of his chair.

'Prime suspect in cold murder case escapes on way to prison.'

"What?" Yoobin exclaimed and leaned in closer to the screen.

'Park Woojin of Busan, who recently turned himself in for the murder of a store manager several years ago, has escaped from the police while being transferred to a long-term to wait for trial. Mr Park had reportedly turned himself after he claimed to be blackmailed by an anonymous person. He also appeared to be guilty for the crime and was interrogated by a police officer who has become very well-known to the public - Lee Yoobin. Yesterday, Mr Park was being transferred via a police van to a long-term prison to wait for trial. While passing through a residential road, [See image below for the location] it appears that he unlocked his handcuffs and used them as weapons to attack the police officers beside him and left the van via a key stolen from one of the officers. He also appears to have had access to the handcuffs key, leading police to suspect that there could be an insider within the force. Many of the public have speculated that the insider could be the police officer turned fugitive Lee Yoobin. The police have refused to comment further and the search for Park Woojin continues.'

She gaped at the screen. "This can't be an accident. Jinki doesn't want to be discovered."

"I agree. See, there's no mention of him at all, nor the details of his case. Jinki may've bribed the newspapers. They all report the incident in a similar way, and there's no mention of Jinki."

"That bastard!" She cursed and thumped her fist into her thigh. "I can't believe he can get away with this."

"This is why we're trying to expose, Yoobin. I'm sure I could hack the newspapers' emails easily enough, but I wouldn't I wouldn't find an email from Jinki. He seems to be very good at covering his tracks."

Yoobin felt extreme frustration as well as pent-up anger inside her that begged to be released. "What can we do?" She ready knew what his answer was going to be.

Jimin sighed. "I don't know." He took out his phone and tapped in his code slowly.

She watched him play idly with his phone and an idea lighted up in her mind. "Jimin? Can you check Siyeon's list of possessions obtained by the police?"

"Sue." He agreed in a bemused tone and tapped away at the keyboard as he scrolled down the middle screen. After at few minutes, he nudged her and she read the screen.

"Hair bands...gum...lipstick." She read out several of the items. "School uniform... trainers... pens... paracetamol." Yoobin re-read the list. "Her phone isn't here."