Now With U (Living In The Past - Book 2) (WheeByul)

AFTER 7 YEARS (Part 14-END)

WheeIn turned her head in surprise when she heard the beeping of the apartment lock, not expecting Byul to come home so soon.

She switched the TV off and stood up to walk towards the door. "Star?"

"Hm?" Byul didn't look up, too busy taking off her shoes and jacket.

"I thought you wouldn't be coming home until morning."

"Xiumin oppa let me go," replied Byul, giving WheeIn a brief peck on the cheek as she made her way to the kitchen. "Why are you still up?"

"I couldn't sleep," WheeIn said. "Yong briefed me over dinner. You caught her?" She followed Byul and sat on the counter while she watched her rummage in the fridge for a drink and a snack.

"Yeah. I had to shoot her though. She was holding Xiumin oppa hostage."

"She did what? How?!"

"We caught her while she was about to toss the gun into this huge pond at the park." Byul poured herself a glass of water and took out one of Ha-eun's cupcakes to eat. "She's at the hospital now and Xiumin oppa said he'd bring her down to Seoul first thing in the morning." She peeled the paper and started munching on the treat. "This is not bad at all. Especially when you're starving like I am right now."

"Want me to whip up something for you? Instant ramyun maybe?"

"Nah. I'm too lazy to eat ramyun. This will do," Byul said, taking another bite from the cupcake.

"Too lazy to eat ramyun but not a cupcake? I don't think I'll ever understand you, Moon."

"That's a good thing because it means you'll never grow tired of me or get bored."

"You know that won't happen."

"I know. Just saying."

WheeIn watched Byul finish her cupcake then followed her to the bedroom, lying down on the bed while Byul took off her blazer, getting ready to shower.

"How did the birthday party go?" asked Byul.

"Pretty good, I think. That girl was all smiles when I picked her up. She kept on rambling about how impressed that boy was with you. You showed him your badge and your gun?"

"I even let him touch my badge. That boy better be nice to our baby girl or else."

Byul then took out said badge and her phone, placing them in the nightstand drawer. She sat down on the bed to remove her spare gun and store it away safely.

"Where's your other gun?" WheeIn noticed the empty holster hanging from Byul's side.

"Somewhere at the bottom of the pond in Deokjin Park, Jeonju," said Byul as she took off the holster as well. "Courtesy of Miss Obsessive Killer."

"She made you throw your gun into the pond?"

"Something like that."

"Did you cry?" WheeIn teased, inching closer towards Byul to let her fingers playfully crawl up Byul's back. "Like a kid that has to part with her favorite toy?"

"How old do you think I am? Five? I'm totally-... Excuse me. What are you doing?" asked Byul when WheeIn's hands crept around her torso from behind and began unbuttoning her shirt.

"Helping," whispered WheeIn as she leaned her chin on Byul's shoulder.

"I'll be very honest with you. I am very excited with your help and what might follow once you're done helping me but I'm exhausted and I stink," Byul said, leaning back against WheeIn.

"You don't have to do anything." WheeIn pressed her nose against Byul's neck and sniffed. "And you're not that stinky," she mumbled, placing a kiss on the warm skin.

"WheeInie, please don't do this to me. I have a suspect to interrogate and a case to wrap up tomorrow," pleaded Byul as she swallowed and clenched her fists to stop her hands from doing anything she might regret.

WheeIn laughed, kissed Byul's cheek then withdrew her arms, moving back to her side of the bed. "Was just teasing you."

"I will make you pay for that tomorrow." Byul stood up and quickly escaped to the bathroom before she changed her mind and gave in to temptation.

She came back to see WheeIn still awake, sitting on the bed, under the blanket with the tablet on her lap. "You're not tired?"

"Not at all."

Byul threw her wet towel onto a chair, set her alarm, turned off the lights and closed the door. "Are you coming to the station tomorrow?" she asked since WheeIn only spent three days a week helping the team now. Unless she was urgently needed, of course.

"Yes. I want to see how this case ends." WheeIn set the tablet aside and lay down.

"Okay then." Byul got under the blanket, kissed WheeIn goodnight and got comfortable before she fell asleep.

The incessant ringing of her alarm woke her up the next morning and she bolted up, eager to go to work.

WheeIn groaned from next to her. "Why so early?"

"Because I don't want to miss anything." Byul checked her phone to see messages from Xiumin and Solar, telling her that Hee-yeon had been safely transported to Seoul and was in the holding cell, awaiting interrogation. She scooted off the bed, got ready as fast as she could then walked out to see Ha-eun sluggishly walking to the bathroom with her eyes still closed.

Byul chuckled at the sight. "Good morning," she said as she kissed the girl's head then let her be on her way.

She came back to the bedroom after grabbing a piece of toast from the kitchen to see WheeIn still curled up under the blanket.

"I'm off," she said, bending down to kiss the only visible part of WheeIn's head. "See you at the station. Better hurry or you'll miss the grand finale."

When she arrived at work, she found Solar and Xiumin waiting for her along with Sandeul and Hwasa.

"Your replacement gun will be here by tomorrow," Solar said.

"Good morning to you too. Xiumin oppa told you what happened?" replied Byul as she went to her desk to store her things.

"Yes. There will be some questioning, the usual investigation and paperwork to fill but I'm sure we can move it along with a good word from the Commissioner," said the captain. "You'll get a new toy soon enough."

"Nice but no need to rush. Remember that leave I requested? I plan to take it as soon as we have everything wrapped up and I won't need a gun on my day off so let's not bother the Commissioner on such a trivial matter."

"Suit yourself." Solar then checked her watch. "The Commissioner and Senior Inspector Jung said that they would come watch the interrogation. Let's wait for them before we do anything."

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The small viewing room felt stuffier than normal thanks to the presence of the man they awkwardly kept their distance from - with the exception of Byul and WheeIn who were comfortable around him.

On the other side of the mirror was Ahn Hee-yeon, wearing a sling, sitting next to her lawyer. Xiumin and Solar were tasked with the interrogation as the rest of the team looked on.

"Let's get this over with. Our case against you is solid," began Xiumin. "We found Zo In-sung aka Yoo Jun-sang's wallet and phone inside your purse. You were about to toss them into the lake along with the murder weapon that has your fingerprints and Kim Rae-won's on it. Four rounds have been fired from that gun recently, corresponding to the murders of Eun Won-jae aka Shin Sohoon, Yoo Jun-sang aka Zo In-sung and the attempted murder of an officer of the law just yesterday. All we need now is motive," he said.

"You can't prove that my client has fired that gun prior to yesterday," said the lawyer.

"On the contrary. We found GSR on the Yonsei jacket we found in your client's apartment. It was all wrapped up, ready to be sent to the dry cleaners. So unless your client has been to a firing range recently, I'd say that she fired a weapon while wearing that jacket," argued Xiumin. "And before you accuse us of not being able to prove that your client shot Yoo Jun-sang, we also found traces of his blood on the sleeve of her jacket and under her sneakers in addition to capturing her on the train station's CCTV, arriving late in Seoul on the night of the murder." He took out a piece of paper from the folder in front of him, filled with screen shots of text messages. "These text messages in his phone, the one you nearly tossed into the pond, show that you asked him to meet you on the night of the murder. That's your name and number right there."

"That's all circumstantial," said the lawyer. "You have no proof that my client did meet that man that night and that could be anyone wearing a Yonsei jacket and a hat." He gestured at the picture.

"Really? Have you stepped in a dead guy's blood lately, Counsel?" asked Xiumin. "Because I don't think that's circumstantial."

"She could have just been walking past the crime scene that night."

"And not alert the authorities when she saw a dead body?" Solar spoke. "It was right there, out in the open."

"It was covered with cardboard! How do you expect me to see it?" blurted the woman.

"Funny you should mention that because we never told anyone about the cardboard thing. Not even the press who only knew that we found a dead man in a random alley and assumed that it was just another hobo," the captain calmly said.

The woman shut her mouth and her lawyer looked lost for a second before he whispered something to her.

"We know that the ten million won you withdrew from your account was given to Kim Rae-won as payment to kill Eun Won-jae. The money binders matched the ones used by your bank and we found your fingerprints on them along with Kim Rae-won's." Xiumin slid forward a picture of the assembled paper. "And we know that you spilled your perfume in that bag. We matched the chemical trace to the bottle we found in your apartment."

"Again, circumstantial. There must be hundreds of women in Seoul alone who wear the same fragrance," argued the lawyer.

"Do they happen to leave their fingerprints on the money used to pay Eun Won-jae's murderer as well?"

The lawyer said nothing.

"We have a confession from Kim Rae-won, entailing how you approached him one day when he was stalking Won-jae. You knew who he was and offered him money to kill the person he loathed," Solar said. "You gave him the gun and asked for it back after you told him to briefly describe what he had done with Won-jae's body. I guess that's how you managed to reenact the second murder, making it look like Rae-won has killed two people instead of one."

"His words against mine. He's a crook. No one will believe him," said Hee-yeon.

"That's up to the judges, not us," replied Solar.

"It's funny how you two seem to be forgetting the murder weapon," Xiumin said in amusement as he leaned back and crossed his arms, looking at the lawyer then at Hee-yeon. "Ever heard of ballistic analysis? I'm pretty sure you have with the amount of crime series on TV these days. The striations on the bullet we found in Eun Won-jae's skull came from the gun you almost threw away yesterday. Nothing can refute that. And before you argue that she didn't kill the second guy," Xiumin pointed his finger at the lawyer, "we went to the meeting place mentioned in the text. We asked around, retraced their footsteps... then voila. We found another alley not far from where the body was dumped, right behind a noraebang that was fortunately closed for the night. The owner said that one of his hand trucks was stolen thanks to his reckless new employee who left it right in that alley. And upon further inspection, we found a .22 bullet and a puddle of blood under a stack of old boxes and trash bags, Yoo Jun-sang's blood. Someone took the time to conceal it. Someone who accidentally stepped in that same blood."

"The cover up was done in a hurry but it worked. Temporarily," added Solar.

"Anyone could've done that," argued the lawyer.

"Argue all you want, Counsel. You know your client will be proven guilty. Now I'm just curious to why you took the effort to kill that man, that Yoo Jun-sang. You got your revenge. You got rid of the person who didn't love you back, making sure that no one could have him if you couldn't. Your threats made it obvious that you were obsessed with him so I understand that one. But why that man?"

"You don't have to answer that, Miss Ahn," advised the lawyer.

"He's right. But I'm gonna say it anyway." Xiumin unfolded his arms and leaned forward. "He told Eun Won-jae where to find his old girlfriend and daughter. He was the reason Won-jae was leaving you."

The woman didn't respond but Xiumin noticed the slight flaring of her nostrils and her tensing jaws. He knew that he had touched a nerve.

"How long did you wait for him? Six years? You've liked him since university, right? I can't imagine such patience, really. Quite admirable. But you began to grow tired when he kept pushing you away. What excuse did he use? That his life was complicated? That it was better for you to not be involved with him?"

"..."

Xiumin leaned another inch forward and lowered his tone. "That he could never be with anyone anyway? That was your consolation, wasn't it? He never dated or showed any interest in other women but he stayed close friends with you. You must have felt like you won, that you had him." He backed away. "Until you found out that he was making secret trips to Seoul. You got curious, stalked him, probably hired someone to find information about who he contacted and where he went because you never skipped work to support your alibi, just in case anyone suspected... then flipped when you found out that he was going to live with another woman in Seoul. That's how you knew that he was meeting Yoo Jun-sang too."

"Pure speculations," interjected the lawyer. "You're just weaving tales now, Inspector."

Xiumin ignored the man and continued on. "You confronted and threatened him, using the information you had. He probably thought that you had a right to be angry so he followed along, doing everything you asked him to do. One day you followed him yourself and watched him meet his daughter in Wonju then noticed the girl's uncle following him back to Seoul. You took that opportunity and offered him money in exchange for Eun Won-jae's death. He accepted and you began planning."

"That's enough, Inspector. That is pure speculation and I won't let you spit lies at my client. We're done here." The lawyer moved to stand but Xiumin didn't budge.

"You told everyone about the fake date and acted the part of an innocent, madly in love girl. Won-jae probably didn't mind. He felt guilty so he let you have your little fun. We all know what happened after that week. You carried out your plan, told Kim Rae-won to follow Won-jae and get rid of him, took care of Yoo Jun-sang yourself then framed Kim Rae-wonfor both murders."

"Let's go, Miss Ahn."

"She's not going anywhere. We're officially charging her with the murder of Yoo Jun-sang and as an accessory to the murder of Eun Won-jae," stated Solar.

"Then take her back to the holding cell because she will not stay here and listen to your ridiculous accusations for another minute," retorted the lawyer.

"We found the private investigator that your client hired to follow Eun Won-jae and to find out about his past. He told us everything he knew," countered the captain. "We're not making ridiculous accusations against your client. We have evidence to support everything we just told you and her."

"Too bad, Miss Ahn," Xiumin calmly said, ignoring the lawyer and Solar's banter, keeping his eyes on Hee-yeon who hadn't said a word or moved an inch. "If you hadn't flipped, you could've had that happy ending you wanted after waiting for so long."

The woman's eyebrows rose in question but she kept her silence.

"Won-jae told me about you, back when you two were still students," said Xiumin. "He was considering dating you but he said his past was too complicated. He had too many secrets and he didn't want to burden you with it. What he did, trying to bring his daughter and his ex girlfriend to Seoul, was simply something to make up for his mistakes. He wasn't in love with that woman anymore. He shouldn't have had any relationship with her in the first place. It was a huge mistake, an unintended fling. He didn't have a chance to take responsibility for it back then so now he just wanted to be a good father for his daughter."

Hee-yeon kept her eyes on Xiumin but didn't react to his words.

"His ex girlfriend rejected his idea and he nearly cancelled the whole thing. But his daughter wanted to know how it felt to have a father so he went ahead with his plan for her sake, preparing for a transfer to Seoul," continued the inspector. "He probably knew that he was being followed so out of fear, he hid the address of the goshiwon where he was going to temporarily house his daughter inside his shoe."

Xiumin then took a piece of paper out of the folder. "We found this in the draft folder of his email. It's his letter to you, explaining everything. He must have planned to send it after his transfer to Seoul is confirmed." He gave the paper to the quiet woman who began to read.

"He wasn't even bothered by the threats you made. As you can read in his letter, he found it cute. He thought it was your way to be bolder, to finally take the first step and he didn't mind it one bit. In fact, he felt guilty and sorry to have pushed you to behave that way. He never suspected what you were capable of, I guess. He didn't know the extent of your jealousy and possessiveness. And he had to pay dearly for it."

The woman's eyes widened as she slowly let the words on the paper sink in.

She read his apology for having made her wait for so long and for asking her to wait just a little bit more. He told her about his past and his plan with his daughter, and how he wanted to wait and see whether the girl could really live with him before asking Hee-yeon to move to Seoul so they could finally start that relationship they both had secretly wanted for so long. Should things with his daughter don't work out, he planned to go back to Jeonju, to her. It was time to be happy, he said, and he wanted to be happy with her.

Once she was done reading, she couldn't stop the tears of remorse that flowed down her cheeks.

Xiumin stood up and gathered the papers. "You have destroyed your own future and that of others, Miss Ahn. Had you waited just a bit longer to let Won-jae explain himself, I'm sure you two would've been happy together. After all, he had always dreamed of finding love and settling down."

He left the room, followed by Solar, and took a deep breath once he was outside.

"The end, Oppa," Solar said, patting the man's arm. "Case closed."

"Yeah. Ironic. Won-jae survived years of dangerous undercover operations but not the wrath of a jealous obsessive woman. Such a shame."

A door opened and they turned their heads to see the Commissioner and Yunho walking out of the viewing room. Behind the two men was the rest of the team.

Xiumin straightened up when he saw the Commissioner and nearly bowed to him when the man grabbed his hand and shook it.

"Well done, Inspector. Wasn't expecting the woman to be the mastermind behind these murders but I guess hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

"Thank you, Sir. I guess so."

"Maybe you should consider moving back here since there will be no need for you to stay in Jeonju anyway. The restructuring's almost complete."

"Y-yes, Sir. I'll think about it."

The Commissioner smiled at Xiumin knowingly. "You should really do so. Senior Inspector Jung here could use your skills in his team. Isn't that right?"

Yunho nodded. "Most definitely. Especially since Inspector Lee Donghae has just been transferred to another unit."

"I'll think about it, Sir," said Xiumin before bowing for real until the men had walked away.

"Good job, Oppa," Byul said, hitting him playfully on the arm. "Won-jae would've been proud."

Every member of the team began complimenting him as they walked back to their desks.

"I think this calls for a celebration! Lunch is on Xiumin hyung!" shouted Tae Hyung.

"Hey hey hey! When did I ever agree to that?" protested Xiumin.

"Thank you, Oppa," said Seulgi as she sat down at her desk to start on her report.

"Hey, wha-..."

"You should buy Bo Mi lunch every day for the entire week," Byul suddenly said. "That girl has barely slept since this case started."

"Don't worry, she's on mandatory leave until tomorrow," Solar said. "Thanks in advance for lunch, Oppa!" she told Xiumin before she laughed and went inside her office, followed by Byul.

Xiumin spent the next few minutes talking to Jimin and Sandeul before he felt a tap on his shoulder.

He turned his head to see WheeIn smiling at him.

"To reward you for your hard work, I've taken the liberty to book you a table at the restaurant tonight. Dinner for two, on the house. 7PM. Take whoever you want to take." She gestured with her head towards Hwasa who seemed to be working at her desk. "And Doctor Shin said that you could come by the morgue before lunchtime. He'll clear the place so you can have a few minutes alone with Won-jae. I bet you have a lot to tell him."

"Whee, I-..."

"You're welcome," WheeIn interjected before rushing away towards Solar's office.

Xiumin took a deep breath and smiled at his friends' effort. Thanks, guys.

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Solar stopped talking to Byul when the door was knocked and in walked WheeIn. "Don't worry," she told her. "I'm a woman of my words so yes, Byul will get that leave starting tomorrow."

"Great! That means I'm on leave too, right?" WheeIn said.

"Of course."

"Awesome. But there's something else I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh? What is it?"

WheeIn took a seat next to Byul. "Let's go on a triple date."

"Huh?"

"Ah. You and me with Yong and Mister Mayor's Son?" Byul asked WheeIn. "Who's the other pair? Xiumin oppa and Hwasa?"

"Oppa has a name you know and it's (put the name you wanted to pair with Solar)" argued Solar.

"But I like Mister Mayor's Son. Sounds... dignified," teased Byul with a smirk.

"Byul, I-..."

"I like the idea. Let's! I'll leave Ha-eun at your parent's house so our dinner will be parents free and kids free," Byul exclaimed, not letting Solar finish her argument.

"I am suspicious." Solar squinted her eyes at them. "Are you guys still playing cupid? I don't need cupids, you know. Everything's just fine," she told them. "Oh! I know! You're gonna play cupid for the other pair, aren't you? Who are they anyway?"

"I haven't asked them yet so I can't tell you anything. But it's not Xiumin oppa and Hwasa. They need to get back on track slowly, privately," said WheeIn.

"Who then? Yeri?" asked Solar.

WheeIn shook her head. "Last time I checked, she was doing fine with her boyfriend."

"Irene?" asked Byul.

"Why would she need our help? She's married."

"Wendy then? Wait. She's married too."

"Not Wendy. And not Sandeul or Bo Mi either."

"Then who-... Oh! Did you talk to her?" Byul asked WheeIn, suddenly realizing her wife's plan.

"Better. I ran into her last night. Well, we ran into her," WheeIn pointed at Solar and herself, "after the family dinner."

"Who-..." Solar's eyes widened. "Seulgi?"

"Uh huh."

"But she was with her friend! A woman!" Solar then gasped. "Are you telling me-..."

"Although she introduced that woman as her friend, while stuttering and blushing, I might add, there's no mistaking that body language," WheeIn said, grinning to herself.

"Give her some personal space, WheeIn-ah," Byul said, recalling Seulgi's plea for privacy. "She'll tell us when she's ready."

"I think she's ready."

"Why?"

"She texted me after I got home last night, asking whether we could find some free time and have lunch together."

"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Byul.

"You were exhausted and preoccupied with the case," replied WheeIn. "Anyway, the triple date doesn't have to be tonight. We can do it over the weekend, after I talk to Seulgi."

"This sounds exciting," Solar said, grinning. "Let's do it!"

"Yay!" WheeIn clapped her hands happily.

"You should open a relationship counseling service or something," Byul teased WheeIn on their way out of Solar's office.

"Why not? Cupid for hire. Or... love consultant?"

"Silly." Byul looked around and when no one seemed to be looking their way, she stole a kiss then quickly ran off to her desk.

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Sorry guys, I really wanted to put a name on that Mayor's son just that I've been turn to a lot of choices... So You can put your choice name for him....

Thanks to all that have commented on the previous chapter... I've enjoyed reading and replying to them as well....

Hope for more interactions with you on my next stories to come..

Thank you again.....