Here I Lie // ATEEZ ✔

- 15 -

Dowoon peeks at the clock, yawning. His eyes are red from staring at the board for too long, his mind running around in circles. Younghyun had left him, claiming that he is off to find more information regarding all the victims and suspects. The hacker or their team's 'information-finder', has always preferred to do his job alone in a locked dark room, where he can concentrate and not have anyone bothering him. He will always come back maybe one or a few hours later with a bunch of new information, some with acceptable methods and some with questionable ones. Nevertheless, he always comes up with something new to the cases they work on.

Of course there is an unsettling feeling, knowing that the suspects could strike anytime, and that they are possibly holding Song Mingi hostage. They are untraceable for almost two days now; phones off and- how do you even track down a ghost? He is still slightly disturbed by the fact that they are dealing with three peculiar suspects - one a director that has managed to fool his employees, one a missing person that turned up after four years and one, a freaking ghost. This case definitely tops the list of the most bizzare cases he has ever worked on.

If Younghyun's theory is correct and that the victims are all linked to Choi San's suicide, they need to find the missing gamepieces. Who will be the gamepieces? Will it be the same victims again? It's always the same question that has been bothering him, and it further annoys him that he still cannot arrive at an answer for that.

"If they are indeed aiming for the same victims, why would they let them go and then try to attack again? For the thrill of it? Or to catch them when they're off-guard? If that's the case, they're too confident that we won't get to them first before they're able to strike," he says to himself, his voice bouncing off the walls in the meeting room. "Choi San's suicide... what made him do it?"

He picks up the paper containing the information regarding the suspect - if he can even call a ghost that - again, and studies. It was said that before he decided to take his life away, he was already mentally unstable. However no details were stated on how or when he became mentally unstable.

"So maybe instead of them becoming the direct cause of his suicide, the link between all the five victims was that they were somehow the cause of San's mental unstability? So they blame the victims which caused this and which eventually lead to his death. That is why they are trying to get revenge." He knocks a fist on the table, frustrated. "But when? When it happened could be the definite link between all five. The problem is, not even one is connected with each other. Different hometowns, different high schools and universities. They don't even share the same hobbies, or frequent the same shops and restaurants. Their lifestyles are completely different. They seem like parallel lines that do not meet, yet at some point they happened to intersect."

Preoccupied with his own theories, he gets startled when there is a hurried knock on the half-frosted glass door. He sees one of the younger officers, his right hand banging on the door like it could not wait while his left is gesturing towards somewhere behind him. His mouth is moving impatiently, urging the detective in the room to give him permission to enter. Dowoon nods slightly, eyebrows lifted as the officer stumbles into the room, face eager to deliver the news.

"Sir, the final victim is here at the station."

He stares at him for a second before replying, "Final victim? Who are you talking about?"

"Song Mingi! The one that has been missing and you have been looking for. He showed up at the station just a few minutes ago. He arrived here after hitching a ride from someone at the highway."

He gives a good look at the clock again. It's nearing 5 p.m. "Where is he right now? How does he look?" He immediately stands up before putting up a hand. "Wait, no, don't answer. I'll go meet him myself."