#2. Suspect

Blood sprayed in every direction.

"Hey! Miss! Are you all right? The ambulance will be here soon! Just hang on a little longer!"

"He's… he's dead. I… I killed him."

Was it the relief of finally seeing another person?

Words I never meant to say spilled from my mouth before I could even think.

I wanted to scream at him to find Min-gyu, but my body was already acting on its own, beyond my control.

I have to find him. Yet I couldn't get the image of the blood-soaked vacation house out of my head.

The horror of all that blood drained the warmth from my body. My mind filled with images of crimson, and my consciousness slowly began to fade.

"Miss! Stay with me! Miss! Good heavens, what on earth happened?"

***

I slowly opened my heavy eyelids.

Harsh fluorescent light flooded my vision.

I blinked against the brightness, my eyes struggling to adjust as I looked around.

Where am I…?

A faint smell of antiseptic reached my nose, bringing a wave of nausea.

A white ceiling. White curtains. The quiet beeping of machines. People moving busily around me.

A hospital.

My throat felt painfully dry with every breath. I tried to move my arm, but I had no strength.

Then someone approached and spoke in a carefully measured voice.

"Detective Choi Seo-wan, can you hear me?"

Detective Choi Seo-wan.

It had been so long since I'd heard myself addressed that way.

Me. Detective Choi Seo-wan.

"Where…?"

My voice came out so faintly that I wasn't sure he'd heard me.

The doctor paused to check my pupils before continuing.

"You're in the emergency department at Jungsan Hospital. You've regained consciousness. We've contacted your family, and…"

Why did he hesitate?

"The police are already here."

The police?

At that word, my heart seemed to miss a beat before starting again.

A word that felt both familiar and frightening.

It was the very word that had once defined who I was.

So why did it suddenly fill me with shame and fear?

I had so many questions, but I couldn't bring myself to speak.

I was conscious again, yet my mind remained clouded, as though I were wandering through a thick fog.

I turned my head and caught a blurry glimpse of the chart in the doctor's hand.

[Severe dehydration and malnutrition / Evidence of stab wounds / Drug screening required]

Just then, the curtain was pulled aside.

A man wearing a neat black polo shirt stepped inside, his footsteps heavy and deliberate.

His face was expressionless, his eyes sharp, his lips dark.

There was something intimidating about him.

"I'm Inspector Park In-su from the Violent Crimes Unit at Jungsan Police Station. Has she regained consciousness?"

I swallowed a dry cough and nodded.

"Detective Choi Seo-wan, you've been missing for the past three months."

Missing? Me?

But I'd only been spending time with him.

"Two days ago, a local resident found you unconscious near Jungsan Bridge. You were covered in blood.

"We've identified Mr. Seo Min-gyu's vacation house as the crime scene, and we're currently investigating it."

"The… vacation house."

My voice cracked. My throat felt so dry that the words scraped painfully on their way out.

"Mr. Seo Min-gyu's vacation house. You're not going to tell me you don't know it, are you?

"We found what we believe to be Mr. Seo's severed right foot at the scene.

"Bloodstains. An axe. A stun gun. Signs of restraints.

"But no body."

"......"

Fragments of memory began to surface as he spoke.

His expression remained unreadable, his cold eyes fixed on mine.

"According to your medical records, you were suffering from severe exhaustion and a state of panic brought on by psychological trauma.

"You don't have to answer my questions right away.

"But I'd like you to tell me what you remember, as slowly as you need to."

I said nothing. No. I couldn't.

My memories were in pieces, and all I could offer was silence.

I killed him? Then where is he?

His terrified face that day. His screams.

The sight of him running away from me.

And my own hands, covered in blood.

The images were returning with terrifying clarity.

Maybe what the inspector said was true.

"Detective Choi, let me ask you one thing. Can you tell me what happened that day?"

I squeezed my eyes shut. I'd stabbed him.

That much had to be true.And then another memory surfaced.

Me, holding an axe. Walking toward him.

"Ugh!"

Pain tore through my head.

I clutched my skull and curled in on myself. My body began to convulse.

"Detective Choi! Are you all right?"

Medical staff rushed toward me.

Needles pierced my skin, and machines were connected to my body. Gradually, the trembling subsided.

Blood. Screams. The weight of the axe in my hand. But nothing was certain.

There was only one answer I could give him.

"I… don't remember very well."

The inspector's sharp gaze was filled with suspicion.

He stared at me as though he could force the truth out of me with his eyes alone.

A cold silence followed, heavy with accusation. But it didn't last long.

"I thought so. That's what suspects always say."

Thud- My heart seemed to drop. Me?

I'm…

A suspect?