Chapter 5: In the Dark Alley

Just past midnight.

The residential neighborhood they had been watching for days grew so quiet at this hour that not a single passerby could be seen.
Quiet enough that even the slightest sign of someone would be immediately noticeable.

“…….”

Si-eon shifted in the driver’s seat and leaned his head back against the headrest.
He pressed his stiff eyes with his fingertips, then released them.

The slightly blurred focus snapped back into clarity.

“……!”

A silhouette entered his field of vision beyond the car window.
From head to toe, the figure was clad entirely in black—unmistakably human.

Si-eon moved his gaze from outside to the side.
He looked at Sooyoung, sleeping quietly, then adjusted the handcuffs and reached out.

“Detective Han.”

When he shook her slender shoulder, she woke immediately.

“Yes, Team Leader.”

“Kang Young-hoon’s here.”

“……What?”

Her eyes, which had been closed just moments ago, widened dramatically.

“I’ll chase him.
Call it in immediately.
Sadong, Seowang-ro 23-gil.”

“T-the riot unit—”

“No need to request riot police support yet.
Contact the team first.”

With that, he opened the car door.
Sooyoung hesitated, stopping the hand that had been about to grab him, and followed the man outside with her eyes through the window.

“Kang Young-hoon?”

At the faintly carried voice, Sooyoung’s gaze tracked its direction.
Soon, the suspect came into view.

“Kang Young-hoon!”

Sooyoung pulled out her phone and immediately called Detective Woo Seong-min.
As soon as the short ring tone cut off, she relayed exactly what Si-eon had told her.

“Han Sooyoung here.
Kang Young-hoon has appeared near Jeon Seul-gi’s residence.
Sadong, Seowang-ro 23-gil.
Team Leader Baek is in pursuit!”

–Y-yes! Understood! We’re heading out immediately!

After ending the call, Sooyoung stared out the window before finally opening the door and stepping outside.
Si-eon, who had chased after Kang Young-hoon, was nowhere to be seen.

The neighborhood was a maze of alleys branching endlessly into one another.

Sooyoung turned on the navigation app on her phone.
After locating an alley connected to the one where the two had disappeared, she hurried forward.

As her pace quickened, her breathing grew ragged.

“Hah… hha….”

She stopped to steady her breath.
Her narrowed eyes scanned the surroundings.

This wasn’t the route she had expected.
Sooyoung moved deeper into the alley.
Sparse streetlights lined the low walls, casting dim light over the dark passageway.

“Hah….”

Kang Young-hoon’s appearance here likely meant that, contrary to her initial assumption, the victim’s movement routes had been limited.
He may have already scouted the area in advance to commit the murder.
If so, the probability that he was carrying multiple weapons was low.

Regulating her breathing, Sooyoung slowly closed the distance.
The footsteps she had been hearing from afar suddenly stopped, and Si-eon came into view.

“Team Leader.”

When he spotted her, his brows knitted sharply.

“Han Sooyoung, why are you—!”

His words cut off abruptly as his eyes widened.

“Han Sooyoung!”

At his shout, Sooyoung turned—and came face-to-face with a man vaulting over the wall.
The man failed to land properly and rolled across the ground.

Dodging aside in haste, Sooyoung lunged toward him as he dropped the knife he had been holding.
She pinned him down with her body weight and turned her head.

“Team Leader!”

Watching Sooyoung straddle the man without a hint of fear, Si-eon strode forward.

That was when—

“Let go! f*ck, let go!”

The man, who had been groaning in pain moments earlier, suddenly thrashed violently.
The hand that had been groping along the asphalt froze.

“……!”

The body pinned beneath her twisted, throwing Sooyoung off balance.

“Die!”

Somehow, the knife was back in his hand as he thrust it down at her.

“……!”

Sooyoung’s eyes shook violently as she looked up.
Her eyelids fluttered, unable even to squeeze shut.

Drip.

Drip.

Blood slid down the blade and fell from her sight onto the asphalt below.

“Ha, shit.”

Si-eon spat a short curse and put all his strength into it.

“Aaagh!”

Kang Young-hoon’s arm twisted unnaturally, and the knife clattered to the ground.
Suppressing his scream, Si-eon forced him aside and subdued him.

Freed from the shadows of the two men, Sooyoung pushed herself up from the ground.
In the meantime, Si-eon pulled out handcuffs from his pants pocket.

“Let go! f*ck—f*ck you, you piece of shit! Let go—!”

Ignoring the man’s hysterical shouting, Si-eon pressed him down with all his weight and snapped the blood-smeared cuffs around his wrists.

“……Kang Young-hoon, you are under arrest as a suspect in the Jongno District serial murder case.”

The man, his chest compressed, let out choking sounds.

When Si-eon loosened the pressure on his legs slightly while holding the restrained arms, the man finally gasped for air.
Looking down at him, Si-eon continued in a dry tone.

“You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say from this point forward may be used against you in a court of law.
You also have the right to an attorney.”

As he recited the Miranda rights, Si-eon’s gaze shifted to Sooyoung.
The way his eyes swept over her from head to toe made her clench the hand braced against the ground.

“Are you okay?”

That wasn’t something he should be asking her right now.

Who was the one bleeding so heavily?

Sooyoung lowered her gaze.
Blood soaking her palm came into view, one spot after another.

“Team Leader, you’re the one who—”

Just then, noise echoed from afar, drawing her attention.
The sirens stopped, and a patrol car came to a halt at the end of the alley.
Letting out a short sigh through lips that had failed to finish their sentence, Sooyoung relaxed the tension cracking her expression.

Si-eon hauled Kang Young-hoon to his feet.
Seong-min and Jin-hee rushed over the moment they got out of the patrol car, their faces stiffening at the sight of blood-soaked clothes.

“Team Leader!”

“D-Detective—are you injured?”

With a frown, Si-eon handed Kang Young-hoon over and gestured with his chin.

“I’m fine.
Take him to the station.”

“f*ck! W-what did I even do wrong! Let go! Let go of me!”

Still raving incoherently, Kang Young-hoon was taken into custody by Detective Woo.

“T-then what about you, Team Leader—”

“I’ll take him to the hospital.”

At the voice from behind, Si-eon glanced over his shoulder.
The woman who had been sitting on the ground stood up.

His eyes were drawn to her hand dropping limply by her leg.
Perhaps because of what had just happened, the fist she had clenched was trembling faintly.

The bloodstained hand gripping the steering wheel trembled slightly.

“…….”

She had witnessed countless crime scenes over the years, but seeing someone injured right in front of her like that felt unfamiliar—so much so that her heart refused to settle.

Screech!

The car came to a stop as the light changed from yellow to red.
After squeezing her eyes shut and opening them again, Sooyoung checked the passenger seat.

The roughly torn cloth wrapped around him was soaked red with blood.

Her gaze lifted, and she studied his face—calm, as if nothing were wrong.

Then—

“Your courage in subduing him was admirable.
But you left too many openings.”

The man spoke in a low voice, a faint smile spreading across his lips.
In a situation that was anything but funny, Sooyoung frowned, wondering what there was to smile about.

“You should’ve restrained both arms first.”

It was a mistake she couldn’t deny.
But the same applied to him.

Normally, she would’ve swallowed the words rising in her throat.
But emotions she wasn’t used to feeling boiled over and forced them out.

“You didn’t do so great either, Team Leader.”

At that, Si-eon’s lofty gaze fixed on the driver’s seat.

“No matter how urgent it was, using your bare hand like that—”

The image of his large hand gripping the knife and the falling drops of blood flashed through her mind, making her squeeze her eyes shut before reopening them.

“…Do you even think before you act?”

At her sharp question, Si-eon tilted his head, the faint smile not yet gone.

“…….”

Sooyoung bit down on her lower lip.

She knew his reputation well.

The youngest and fastest promotion to inspector from patrol officer in police history—an unprecedented case.
A veteran detective who had served in violent crimes ever since completing his probation.
But no matter how capable he was, that didn’t mean he couldn’t get hurt.

“Why are you so reckless?
Without protective gear, going straight at an armed suspect—”

“You’re one to talk.”

“…….”

“Who runs straight at a knife-wielding suspect without fear?”

At Si-eon’s reprimand, Sooyoung tightened her grip on the steering wheel even more.