"Why don't you go and live with Jisoo and your parents?" Haneul asks, folding his legs and sitting in Indian style.
"I may sound ungrateful but I feel uncomfortable if I stay for long. It's just that they want Han Heesoo, the son they lost to the ocean waves, not someone like me, a criminal and awkwardly disoriented son. I know they're a bit careful around me when I visit." Dae Ho confesses, his eyes trained on the empty lunch boxes placed on the coffee table. His parents are wonderful people, there's no denying it but he couldn't form a bond with them as he did with Minji's family or even Haneul's, an emotional connection. He feels incomplete or that he's been accepted because of the blood they share. But if ever a time comes where he'd have to put his life on the line for them, he'd do it without much of a thought.
"Oh, no I understand."
"And I don't have an aim and reason for living. Yeah, finding Vee and whoever was involved in causing Minji's death has been my goal for years but it's just an excuse for my helplessness, to suppress the nagging voice that I'm quite useless. After it's done, I don't even want to think about the future. There isn't anything for me."
"Then we find it."
"Find what?" Dae Ho questions the determined look Haneul is wearing.
"We'll find a reason for you to live, together. You're not alone. After you're done with putting Vee in his place we can do that."
The idealistic and adequately put together words manage to create a ray of hope in Dae Ho, but he has learned to put a lid on it before it reaches far. Expectations don't bode well with him nor does he want to look forward to something normal when he's not sure if the voices in his head will let him be at peace. It's beyond him as to why Haneul tries, after all that's been happening between them. It's a constant push and pull, their thoughts and emotions all over the place.
"Are you not going to stop me?"
"That piece of shit killed Minji mercilessly so why should I care if whatever you're going to do to him is right or wrong?" Haneul says with finality, his hands balling into fists, knuckles turning white.
"Will you hand me over to the authorities for my crimes after that?"
"What!" Haneul's head snaps to the fighter, his eyes wide. "I-I don't k—"
"But that is the right thing to do." Dae Ho adds.
"I-I just want you to...heal your scars before anything."
Dae Ho needs to hear an affirmation to ground himself. He needs to remind Haneul he is sitting next to a man who has the blood of many on his hands, someone he must be wary of instead of welcoming him like an old friend. It's a constant conflict not giving in to his self-destructive urges and being reeled into what Haneul wants. It's frustrating how the doctor still knows him inside out.
"I'd probably get a life sentenc— no, I'd be hanged for the numerous crimes I committed. Then there's no need for healing then, is there?" Dae Ho speaks truthfully with nonchalance.
"Dae Ho," Haneul warns in a stern tone, a brow raising and eyes hard. "Don't spout shi—"
"I'm just giving you a reality check, Haneul. I'm showing you what you're putting on the line by being here and acquainting yourself with me. Don't taint yourself by being a part of whatever I'm doing. You don't deserve it. Don't waste your time on a lost cause."
Haneul fiddles with his fingers, lips pressing into a slight grimace, gaze flickering every now and then. He becomes quiet as if he's trying to gather his words the next time he speaks. He plays with the lapels of his jacket, his blue hair falling over his eyes when he dips his head. He has no rebuttal for Dae Ho as he expected. Haneul could forget it all and move on, separate their paths just as they have been through the years. A series of different emotions cross his face, ending in one of dismay.
"You can lea—"
"No! You listen to me, Park Dae Ho," Haneul yanks the neck of the younger's hoodie with a scowl, taking Dae Ho back by the action. "I'm done listening to you and letting you play with my head! I'm doing what I want and you'll let me. And if you get arrested before asking me, I'll kill you myself. Do you understand?"
"Wha—"
"—are we clear?" The doctor stresses again, tightening his grip.
"Alright, alright." Dae Ho raises his hands in surrender. "Geez, when did you get so aggressive?"
"You'd know if you didn't disappear for years," Haneul bites back and pushes him away.
Then they fall silent, the tension dissipating into thin air, Haneul's features resting back to their original form slowly. He is a man that's not easy to aggravate but Dae Ho has been effortlessly stepping on his nerves. Even though the doctor may understand his intentions, good or bad, his hero complex holds him from just abandoning his former friend. An attribute that is both a blessing and a curse.
"You didn't have to clean my apartment and patch me up." Dae Ho says, standing up and stretching his limbs.
"Yeah, definitely didn't have to but it was a garbage can more than a place to live. Better keep it this way the next time I visit."
'Next time, huh,' Dae Ho chuckles shaking his head. "Tell your eomma the food was delicious, thank you."
"What about the gratitude I deserve?" Haneul grumbles putting a hand forward.
"Kim Haneul, I'm thankful for all you've done, cleaning my home, patching me up, and bringing me food. How much do I owe you for your services?"
Although there's a playful tone in the fighter's voice and words, he's truly grateful for all Haneul has been doing in the past months. Reaching out, holding on to him even when he pushed him away, and aiding him in any way he could. The guilt Dae Ho has for threatening the doctor increases with every act Haneul does.
"Since I'm already loaded with cash, I'd like to be paid in some answers." Haneul muses arching a brow.
"When do you not?"
"Maybe I'll stop when you start telling me things without me asking you." Haneul rolls his eyes at the other with a click of his tongue. "I want to know how far you've reached in finding people responsible for Minji's death."
Dae Ho sucks in a breath, his lips pressing into a slight scowl. He glances at the man beside him and casts his gaze back to his folded legs. "Haneul, I don't think you shoul—"
"I'm already involved in this so it's better you let me in on the details too."
"But—"
"No, Dae Ho. As I said, I'm done listening to you."
"Fine," the fighter relents with a sigh, not like he has a choice, Haneul is a persistent man and Dae Ho is used to giving in to him. "I...I really don't know the whole thing myself. We just know that the man who Vee is working for is searching for some research project."
"Research project?"
"Yeah. And after digging more into it, we found that Minji's mother was a Chinese immigrant and worked at a lab for that project. I don't know what really happened but Seonho hid the files somewhere and left it with me." Dae Ho scoffs at the last sentence, his brows drawing in together. He still hadn't figured out the phrase the man had riddled him with. "He said, 'it's yours but not yours, hidden in its heart is the key to unending power'. I have no idea what it means, searched every place and thing I own." If his adopted father was a sane man, he'd have told him where the documents were hidden and Dae Ho could've saved Minji's life. It wouldn't have mattered how important these files were, but it's too late now.
Haneul wears a pensive face, eyes concentrated nowhere, in particular, zoned out taking in the information. "Do you know the place the mother worked in?"
"Yeah, at Seoul Army Hospital. But the hospital b—"
"—burned down more than twenty years ago."
Dae Ho snaps his head, mouth falling open. "How do you know that?"
"I can't believe you didn't come to me when this was medical-related," Haneul says instead, rolling his eyes. "My grandfather used to work there but quit sometime before the gas leak accident."
"I don't think it was an accident."
"Why?"
"Just a hunch. And Park Juri died in the fire too."
The missing link is the documents Seonho stashed away and Dae Ho knows Vee will come for them as soon as he finds them. And he does not want to think about the next person he'll come for even though there's a high possibility of it.
"Let's meet my grandfather, I'm sure he must know something." Haneul cuts into Dae Ho's thoughts. "I'm sure he'll know something about whatever you're searching for."
"I don't know...." Dae Ho says shutting his eyes and letting out a sigh. The more he learns of something, the deeper Haneul is getting involved and the fighter doesn't want something like this but he can't help the feeling of a leaning shoulder that weasels its way in. "What...what will it take for you to leave me on my own and completely detach yourself?" Dae Ho is a hypocrite, he wants nothing more than someone to be by his side yet he pushes the one that keeps holding on to him. And why would Haneul expect honesty from a man who lies to himself?
The doctor furrows his eyebrows together, not expecting the question. "I'm not giving up until there's only one of us breathing. And now you're going to say you'll just go and die somewhere, let me stop you there. I'll chain you in a dungeon before the words leave your lips."
Dae Ho snorts loudly, shaking his head. "I'm not an animal."
"Yeah, you're worse. An untamed beast of some sort." Haneul pushes himself up with a scoff and reaches for his overcoat once again. "I'll be going now. Pick up my calls or else I'll break the door down myself next time."
"Wow, that care and concern are overwhelming," Dae Ho muses with a short laugh, shuddering and rubbing his hands over his biceps in mockery. Haneul throws him a dirty look and leaves with a loud thud of the door.
❛ ━━━━━━✦❪✥❫✦━━━━━━ ❜
"How many years has it been and you still didn't managed to crack Park Dae Ho!" The white-haired man slams his hand over the wooden table and crosses it to strike his cane against the back of the man on his knees. "I even had to rescue you from them!"
"I'm sorry, master." Vee grits his teeth when another blow hits him. "But I know I'm close, it won't be long till Dae Ho hands us over the files himself."
The half-bald man scowls. "That's what you said the last time. I want results in a week or else you're done for real this time, Vee." With a final kick to the said man's chest, the master turns away. "Now get out of my sight!"
"As you wish." Vee bows and exits, hands curling into fists. He glances at the woman standing outside the door and motions her to walk with him.
When Vee kidnapped Dae Ho, he didn't expect the model to put up a fight. But the man's unwavering eyes birthed a new desire in him, a challenge. He wanted to see the fighter break down and beg him to spare his life. But nothing of that sort happened, the fierce front stayed intact. It was not until he involved Minji, did Vee taste his first victory. The want to shatter Dae Ho into smithereens grew, so he let him live even after killing Minji. A true beast would be created only after losing everything one loved and it worked out in his favor. Dae Ho started hunting him and the man who never must have killed people did so without a thought. Vee then knew he had found the excitement he'd been searching for.
Vee worked under his master since he didn't have resources and wasn't financially stable. He needed to be an underling to make his place. It was boring to be someone's lapdog but the Chinese man decided to wait.
"I want the old fart dead ASAP. He's lived for too long."
"Of course, rest assured," the maid replies with a smirk, fingers drumming on Vee's shoulder. "You'll hear the good news soon."
The previous anger he possessed is replaced by a cocky attitude, snorting before he leaves the mansion.