Chapter 1: A Candle Against the Dark

Her slow footsteps came to a halt only when she reached the statue of the Virgin Mary, set deep within the cathedral.
The candles embroidered beneath it shimmered like lamps lighting a blue dawn.

Approaching the altar where light glowed softly, Soo-young opened the box of matches prepared there and drew out a single stick.
She struck the red strip, and the spark flared briefly before shrinking, igniting the pure white wick.
Shielding the fragile flame with her hand so it wouldn’t go out, she carefully set the candle down.

Beneath the wick, now darkened, red wax slowly began to pool.

She came here every year to light a candle in remembrance of someone whose death no one mourned.
She didn’t even know where or how the body had been buried—no, whether it had been properly buried at all.

The anniversary was still nearly two months away, yet she had come anyway, because something had happened that made it unavoidable.

–“The prosecution stated that although they launched an investigation based on the complaint filed by the Coalition of Former Saecheonmyeong Believers against Mr. Lee, the case has been closed with a final decision of no charges due to insufficient evidence to prove the allegations.”

Her eyes, which had been fixed on the flickering candle, slowly closed.

‘They say that if you close your eyes in front of a candle and make a wish, it’ll come true.’

‘Will the Lord grant it?’

‘No. That won’t happen. Because……’

Every memory remained intact in her mind, not a single one missing.
Yet helplessly, there was nothing she could do.

If a crime could not be proven, then the crime itself could not be punished.
And for that reason, the very root of evil had been allowed to walk free as if nothing had happened.

She crossed herself and brought her hands together neatly, offering a sincere prayer.
But whenever she prayed, nightmares from that place often resurfaced.

‘This is!’

At the memory of a voice so sharp it felt like it pierced her ears, the thumbs crossed in the shape of a cross began to tremble.

‘An act that proclaims His glory!’

The words shouted in unison by countless voices were nothing more than a justification for violence.

‘You shall do this with joy!’

They had committed unforgivable acts in the name of hollow faith.
Even after all these years, the cruel faces that felt no guilt were vividly etched before her eyes.

They were people who had fallen into evil.

And so, whenever she prayed while thinking of the one she missed, she ended by reciting a line from the Lord’s Prayer.

Deliver us from all evil.

With the desperate hope that she would never again be swept up by such evil.

The hands she had been pressing tightly together fell.
With fingers trembling, she traced the sign of the cross over her body.

“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit…… Amen.”

The thoughts that had been clamoring in her head gradually settled, and her erratic heartbeat, once seized by anxiety, returned to its rhythm.

Staring at the candle swaying in the wind, she let out an empty sigh—

“Michaela?”

A voice called from behind her.
When she turned around, she saw Sister Veronica in her habit.

Walking over with gentle steps, Veronica’s gaze soon drifted toward the altar.

“……Did something happen?”

Veronica was family to her—someone who had shared her childhood at Eden House.
She knew that Soo-young came here every year on her sister’s death anniversary to light a candle.
But seeing her here on a different day, lighting a candle all the same, had filled her with worry.

“……No, nothing happened.”

Yet no matter how close they were, secrets still existed.
Veronica did not know what had happened to her as a child, nor the family history she carried.

Not wanting to cause unnecessary concern, Soo-young spread a smile across her lips as if nothing were wrong.

“My sister appeared in my dream last night…… so I stopped by while I was thinking of her.
There’s really nothing to worry about.”

“That’s a relief, but……”

Even as she said that, the shadow on Veronica’s face did not lift.
Seeing that expression, Soo-young sensed that a certain name would soon be mentioned.
She hurriedly checked the watch on her wrist and spoke first.

“I should get going now.
I need to leave before traffic gets bad.”

Avoidance wasn’t the right thing to do, but even without that, her head felt like it might burst.

“Uh…… Michaela!”

The voice calling her made her stop in her tracks.
When she looked back over her shoulder, Veronica parted her hesitant lips.

“Sister Marianna’s condition has worsened even more than before.”

Her gaze dropped.
She clenched the fist she had been holding loosely.

“I know you’re busy, but…… you should visit her at least once.
The last time I called, she kept asking to see you.”

Sister Marianna was the one who had given her the baptismal name Michaela.
More than that, she was her benefactor—the one who had given her a new life as Han Soo-young.

And yet, at some point, Soo-young had begun to distance herself from her.
She had plenty of excuses—studying in her childhood, work now.
But the real reason she kept pulling away was because she knew what Sister Marianna had done to protect her.

“You should see her while you still can.”

Like Veronica said, Soo-young knew all too well that there wasn’t much time left.

Sister Marianna, who had been frail even in her youth, now lived in a care facility after developing Alzheimer’s before she even turned fifty.
Everyone grows weak with age, but her time had moved a little faster.

Unable to bring herself to lie, Soo-young could only offer a faint smile.

After exchanging a silent greeting with Veronica, she turned away, erased the lingering smile, and strode forward.

Part of what she said had been an excuse to avoid the conversation, but it was true that she needed to get to the office quickly.
A request for investigative cooperation had come in regarding a murder that occurred last night at Jongno Police Station.
With a series of murders recently taking place in Jongno, the case needed immediate review.

Click. Click.

As her pace quickened, the sound of her heels grew louder.
She took her access card from her jacket pocket and held it in her hand.

When Soo-young paused and scanned the card, the tightly shut glass doors slid open.

KCSI (Crime Scene Investigation Center).

Within the rough, desolate gray building, this stark white space was set apart by necessity.

That was when—

Bzzzt.
Bzzzzzt.

Her phone vibrated inside her bag.

“Yes, Team Leader.
I’m right in front of the office.”

No sooner had she spoken than the door, previously shut tight, opened with a click.

At the presence of another person, her gaze lifted—and the moment she saw the man stepping out of the office, her feet froze.

“…….”

Today was truly not a good day.

As if hearing bad news the moment she woke up wasn’t enough, she now had to run into someone she still didn’t welcome.

The large hand that had been gripping the door handle dropped, and he walked toward her.
As the distance closed, Soo-young’s gaze slowly lifted.

It was the first time she had seen him since their chance encounter in front of the agency some time ago.
She offered a brief nod in greeting.

“You come in early,” he said.

“Yes.”

He was probably here because of the case.
Something unrelated to her.

Soo-young subtly tried to step around the man blocking her path.
But just as she moved, his large shadow blocked her again, forcing her to lift her lowered gaze.

“Excuse me, could you step aside?”

At her polite tone, his brow creased faintly.

Meeting his downward gaze, Soo-young lightly bit the inside of her lip, careful not to show it.

It might have been insecurity, but standing in front of him always made her feel smaller.
Was it because he was so much taller, or because of the way he had once treated her like a clueless rookie?

Then, in that moment—

“Isn’t it about time you let go of that anger?”

At his words, the pointless worries swirling in her head vanished.

Let go of her anger?

There was only one moment that could possibly justify him saying that to her.

“I’m not angry.”

It wasn’t an emotion that could be summed up as anger.

He tilted his head slightly and slowly met her eyes.
Under the persistent gaze, just like the day they met outside the agency, Soo-young swallowed hard.

“Inspector Han.
You don’t like me very much.”

That was…… not entirely wrong.
Still, she feigned calm and asked,

“Why do you think that?”

“Because you look at me like that.”

He wasn’t someone who could be easily fooled.
It was an occupational hazard earned from arresting countless criminals—the ability to see straight through people.

Fine.
She admitted it.

The discomfort she felt toward him was not something that could be erased as easily as words suggested.

‘You just sit there and talk like you know everything.
Investigation is my job, not yours.’

The words she had heard while working a case with him still burned vividly in her mind, refusing to fade.