One Step At A Time
None of the team members got enough sleep that night. Those who were able to go to the scene tried their best to process everything from eyewitness accounts to CCTV videos while the rest waited restlessly, standing by in case something else happened. Yuri was an exception since she had to stay at the hospital as a precautionary measure thanks to the injury caused by the accident.
Taeyeon stayed up with the help of endless cups of coffee. Even when Tiffany accidentally fell asleep next to her due to exhaustion, her anxiety and fear kept her awake. She had changed into a pair of jeans and t-shirt with her gun safely holstered at her side, her car keys always in her pocket and her phone fully charged. The device's ringer was left on so she wouldn't miss any calls or messages. She also kept checking on Jiyoon, secretly glad that there was no window in that room.
By sunrise, the team had managed to identify the three cars used in the attack thanks to Juhyun and the eyewitness accounts. All of them had fake license plates, taken from other vehicles that had been reported as stolen.
Yoona and Sooyoung had spent all night interrogating Shin Harang with Himchan's help. Haejoon watched over the whole thing and even tried to talk to Harang himself but the man remained silent as stone. They couldn't get a word out of him, not even after Himchan's endless pleas.
"Good morning!"
The girl's loud cheerful voice rang across the quiet and somber workspace, making heads turn and smiles reappear on tired faces.
"Good morning. Did you sleep well, buddy?" asked Jongin who had just walked out of the pantry with a cup of coffee in his hand.
"Yes, I did, buddy," replied Jiyoon as she ran towards the young man, hoping to get a pat on the head like she always did. She noticed the exhaustion and frowned. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm okay. Just a bit tired," said Jongin who squatted down. "My hands are kinda full so how about a hug?" he asked, showing the cup in one hand and the other hand that was still bandaged.
The girl gladly obliged then went around greeting and hugging everyone because they all looked tired to her.
The mood instantly improved thanks to the cute innocent act and Tiffany found herself smiling when she saw Jiyoon drawing yet another random picture on Joonmyun's cast as per his request.
Taeyeon had gone inside Yoona's office with Haejoon and Himchan the moment she arrived, closing the door behind her.
"How bad is it?" Tiffany asked Sooyoung.
"Yul will need to wear a neck brace for a couple of days so that would be quite fun to tease," said Sooyoung with a weak smile. "I spent the whole night trying to get Harang to talk but he wouldn't so much as open his mouth."
Tiffany went to Taeyeon's desk and sat down, switching the computer on. "There must be something behind that 'Emperor' clue he left us. I have a feeling that he left that for me so I should be able to understand it, shouldn't I?"
"Maybe but it was too cryptic even for you so don't pressure yourself about it," Sooyoung replied as she leaned back in her chair. "I think that it's already amazing that you were able to find the pieces of the puzzle."
"Yes but it's a useless feat without knowing what it actually means." Tiffany accessed the case files and retrieved everything related to that symbol. "Emperor," she mumbled. "King?" she said the word in English then searched for an online dictionary.
Meanwhile, the four people in Yoona's office had reached a point where they were seriously considering joining the raid to Yongbak's warehouse in order to catch Seungjin.
"Will our case stand? I mean, we can't even tell whether the man in that car was indeed Seungjin," Haejoon said. "It's our words against his and he might not even be at Yongbak's warehouse."
"Oh he'll be around. He has nowhere else to go," said Taeyeon.
"I agree with Taeyeon," remarked Himchan. "He could go into hiding but knowing him, he has no other means besides his uncle. Whatever amount of money he had managed to set aside had probably run out since he had to pay for his surgery and those thugs he employed to stalk and attack your team. Not to mention that whole prison riot and hospital escape plan. Nothing comes free or cheap these days. I think it's also why he resorted to use Doctor Kang and Shin Harang. He didn't have to pay them, at least."
"So can we join the raid?" Taeyeon asked Yoona. "Let's just get him first then let Doctor Kang and Shin Harang testify against him."
"I can testify too although I'm not sure how much my testimony's worth," said Himchan.
"You might go to jail for impersonating a nurse," said Yoona to Himchan.
The man only shrugged. "I'm prepared to live with the consequences to my actions, Captain Im. As long as those bastards are in jail, I don't mind serving my time. I have nothing else to live for anymore anyway." He smiled sadly.
"Convicts don't take kindly to undercover cops or snitches, you know," warned Haejoon. "Your time in prison might be a life-threatening one."
"Like I said, Inspector Kim, I'm prepared to accept the consequences to my actions," replied Himchan firmly. "Now let's just get this show on the road."
"Alright. I'll arrange a meeting with the Commissioner and the task force leaders as soon as possible," said Yoona. "In the mean time, the Commissioner suggested that the three of you stay at our house. At least until we get Seungjin," she told Taeyeon, referring to Tiffany and Jiyoon.
"That would be too much of an inconvenience. I can't possibly do that to your family."
"It's not an inconvenience to us. We have a guestroom and an extra mattress so the three of you can stay in one room."
"Yoong..."
"It's safer, Unnie. There's always a uniform around and everything."
"I'll think about it, okay?" Taeyeon tried ending the talk.
"Another option is to place extra security at your apartment if you don't want to stay with us."
"That might be better. I'll take that option for now." Taeyeon took a deep breath. "So I assume we all agree that the next target might be me or Tiffany?"
No one dared say yes although they were indeed thinking that.
"Just be extra careful, Unnie," Yoona finally said. "My house is always open for you, okay?"
A knock from the door stopped Taeyeon from replying.
"Come in," said Yoona.
The door opened and Sooyoung appeared. "Fany found something that I think all of you should know." She gestured outside, towards the conference room.
The four people in the room went out, following Sooyoung into the conference room.
"Where's Jiyoon?" asked Taeyeon once she had scanned the room.
"She's with Juhyun. I don't think she should hear this," answered Tiffany.
"What did you find, Unnie?" Yoona stood near the blank screen, crossing her arms.
"Sooyoung told me that your talk with Shin Harang amounted to nothing but I think we should try talking to him again," began Tiffany. She then pressed a button on the tablet, displaying the Chinese character 皇 for everyone to see.
"Emperor. You've discovered its meaning?" asked Yoona.
"I have a hunch. This word is used in both Chinese and Japanese so I tried searching for their meanings or origins. The most interesting find is in its pronunciation," explained Tiffany. "It's pronounced as Huáng in Chinese."
Several people's eyes widened while others held their breaths.
"Huáng as in... Hwang?" asked Taeyeon carefully.
"Yeah. As in my name," replied Tiffany. "Apparently, the Korean 'Hwang' originated from this exact Chinese word and symbol. Huáng or Emperor. I think Harang was trying to tell us who Seungjin's real target is. Me."
"You're not the only Hwang in this country, you know," said Taeyeon. She refused to accept this no matter how much it made sense. "And there is still a possibility that it means star instead of emperor."
"I tried searching more on the star meaning but it led nowhere. This makes more sense," said Tiffany. "I'm the only Hwang in this team and the only Hwang that played a huge part in sending him to jail. I think it fits. The attacks on you were just threats. He was trying to send me a message."
"What message? If he's really after you then why didn't he just attack you from the start? Why did he have to attack Chanyeol and Jongin first before attacking you and Joonmyun?" argued Taeyeon. "And what about last night? Why did he go after Haejoon oppa's car and not ours?"
"I think I understand her point," Himchan carefully spoke. "Seungjin is arrogant. He thrives on intimidation. To go straight to her would take the 'fun' out of it - excuse my wording," he apologized to Taeyeon, knowing how much this affected her. "He wants her to cower in fear by showing her what he's capable of. That he can even take out police officers if he wanted to."
Taeyeon let out a scoff. "He didn't take anyone out."
"I hate to say this but he could have," said Haejoon. "If it weren't for the backup last night, I honestly don't know how we would have ended up."
"Oh come on! We're trained officers here! We're a special force! We're better than him! He's just a bully!" Taeyeon finally raised her voice.
"Inspector Kim," warned Yoona.
"What? I'm telling the truth. We're better than him. I know we are."
"Maybe when we're together but he caught us off guard and always when we were alone or defenseless," said Sooyoung. "In a fair fight, yes, we'd win hands down. But he's not playing fair, is he? He never plays fair. So in that case, I think he could've finished us if it weren't for luck and help from others."
"This is nonsense," grumbled Taeyeon, clenching her jaws and crossing her arms. "There has to be another explanation." She then straightened up. "I'm going to talk to that arrogant man," she said as she rushed out of the room.
"Damage control. On it," Sooyoung told Yoona before anyone else could react. The tall inspector ran out of the room with Haejoon and Himchan behind her.
Tiffany pushed her chair back, ready to join the others who went after Taeyeon.
"I think it's better if you stay hidden, Unnie." Yoona moved to block Tiffany's path. "Stay here with Chanyeol and Joonmyun, okay? Let them take care of Taeyeon unnie."
--
The man looked up when the door opened with a bang and in rushed a fuming Taeyeon.
His expression didn't change even when the inspector pulled the empty chair and slammed it against the wall.
"Inspector Kim!"
Sooyoung and Haejoon burst into the room but Taeyeon held up her hand, stopping them before they could get any closer. Her eyes never left the man's.
Himchan quietly stepped inside the interrogation room and closed the door, standing next to it.
"What does 'Emperor' mean?" asked Taeyeon, nostrils flaring in suppressed anger.
"Judging by how you're behaving right now, I think you've already figured it out somehow."
"Huáng. Hwang. Is that it?"
He said nothing but the twinkle in his eyes told Taeyeon that it was indeed it.
She let out a curse and punched the table. "So your boss is after Hwang Tiffany? Hwang Miyoung?"
"..."
"Then why attack the others? What is he up to?"
"..."
"Talk, dammit!" Taeyeon yelled straight at his face, leaning forward, leaving barely any space between their faces. She was not going to take silence for an answer.
"You, out of all people, should know why I can't say another word," Harang calmly said without even blinking. "Kim Eunjung. We've known each other since we were just neighboring kids. She was my first love. Shin Dohyun. Eight years old. Twice as old as that little girl of yours."
Taeyeon could feel her anger receding just a little bit as her fist on the table began to slacken.
He noticed it and smiled sadly, not arrogantly or teasingly, but with genuine sympathy. "I'm sorry, Inspector. We're in the same boat right now. I've done what I could. I've already endangered their safety enough. He won't be happy if he finds out about the clue I've left you."
With that, he leaned back in his seat and calmly clasped his handcuffed hands on his lap.
"Hyung, come on," Himchan addressed Harang from where he was standing. "Just a yes or a no. Is Hwang Miyoung really the target?"
"..."
Taeyeon knew that she probably wouldn't be able to get anything else out of him but decided to try anyway. "You said you changed your ways then why can't you prove that? Why can't you just tell us what Seungjin's really after? You're here already anyway. What's the difference?"
"..."
"Do you want me to force it out of you? I won't hesitate to do so, you know." She lifted her hand but someone caught it before she could swing it.
"I think we're done here, Inspector."
Taeyeon turned her head to see Haejoon holding her arm. She yanked it free and stomped out of the room, past Sooyoung and Himchan and everyone else.
She didn't stop until she reached Yoona's office.
Yoona was already waiting for Taeyeon. She didn't even need to witness the interrogation because she trusted Haejoon and Sooyoung to keep Taeyeon in check. She was also sure that Harang wouldn't say another word.
"Please tell me that you didn't punch him again this time?"
Taeyeon slammed the door and threw herself on the empty chair in front of Yoona. "Can't we do something to make him talk? Pick up his wife and son and get them here? Under our watch?"
"You know that would only piss Seungjin off and, in turn, might put them in more danger. At least this way, Seungjin would think that Harang hasn't said a word to us."
Taeyeon cursed the situation out loud, fighting the urge to shoot something.
"Do you need some time off, Unnie?"
"No. No time off. I need to get to the bottom of this."
"This is clearly affecting you-..."
"Isn't that expected?!"
"Yes but-..."
"No, Yoong. Not when we've come this close. Let's join that raid and get him. After that, you can even fire me. I don't care. I just want this to end. I want him to end. To disappear from the face of the earth."
"Unnie..."
"Not again, okay? I couldn't do anything back then but now, now I can do something about it and I'm not backing down. I won't let history repeat itself. Seungjin is going down and Yongbak is next."
"Okay. I'm willing to let you stay on the team but you have got to stay cool, Unnie. I know it's not easy at all but please, let's not let this slip because of our own mistakes, okay? Can you at least do that for me?" asked Yoona. "I want the old cool, reasonable, smart Inspector Kim Taeyeon back. The one who could get her emotions under control both in the interrogation room and in the courtroom."
"That old Inspector Kim Taeyeon had nothing to lose, Yoong. This one has everything to lose."
"I understand, Unnie. But try? For their sake?"
Taeyeon took a deep breath and let out another curse before standing up to leave.
--
The rest of that Sunday was spent in a somewhat tense atmosphere.
Taeyeon kept to herself and spent most of her time down at the lab with Juhyun, going through the evidences that they had managed to gather and analyze ever since the first attack on Chanyeol.
Since it was Tiffany's day off from Sunny's restaurant thanks to the new bride's honeymoon, she spent the day at the station accompanying Jiyoon.
The girl was bored by the time lunch ended and started to whine so Yoona suggested they all went to get an early dinner together with her parents to relax for a bit after work was done, under the condition that Jiyoon would be patient just a little bit longer.
Taeyeon couldn't refuse the excited girl who immediately agreed on meeting the older couple so she went along.
The meal went on just like any other meal they had had but Yoona's parents didn't fail to notice Taeyeon's unusual quietness. They said nothing about it until Yoona offered the girl to get ice cream at the small store across the street from the restaurant.
Taeyeon was about to object but Yoona assured her that there was another plain clothed officer there that would go with them. Add Jiyoon's puppy eyes to that, Taeyeon had no choice but to let the girl go get her treat.
"Yoong told me that you refused my offer to stay at our house until this blows over," said the Commissioner once Jiyoon had left the restaurant.
"We don't want to inconvenience you, Ahboji," said Taeyeon.
"You're never an inconvenience, Taeyeon. I thought you knew that," said the Commissioner's wife.
"Thank you, Omoni, but three people is a lot."
"We have a spare room and I can use the company."
"Thank you but it's already too much for you to agree to let Miyoung stay with you once we start the adoption process."
"Safety first, Taeyeon-ah," said the Commissioner. "Our house is safe. No one is stupid enough to attack the Commissioner and the Captain's house. And there's always at least one officer on duty at all times."
Taeyeon shook her head. "I'm sorry, Ahboji, Omoni. Not this time."
Tiffany listened without saying a word. She didn't know what to say so she chose to stay quiet. It was indeed safer, in her opinion, to stay with Yoona's family but she understood Taeyeon's choice. If they were to enjoy every moment to the fullest, it would be much better to just be the three of them.
"What do you think, Miyoung? Our house is much safer, you know," said the man, asking for Tiffany's opinion on the matter.
Tiffany smiled politely. "That is true, Samchon, but I'm letting Taeyeon decide. I trust her."
"Why are kids these days so stubborn?" said the man with a sigh and a shake of the head.
"Besides, the target is me this time and I'm old enough to be aware and cautious of everything so it's going to be okay," continued Tiffany without wavering.
Taeyeon stealthily placed a hand on Tiffany's thigh under the table, silently telling her that she wouldn't let anything happen to her.
"It's okay, Taetae." Tiffany placed her hand on Taeyeon's and smiled to her. "It's okay. I won't cower in fear like he wants me to. I have faith in you and our friends," she said, trying her best to sound convincingly strong.
Taeyeon said nothing. She wanted to hug and kiss Tiffany and comfort her but since she couldn't, all she could do was hold Tiffany's hand tightly.
The older couple understood and changed the subject into a lighter one, hoping that they could help the two forget about this even only for a while.
--
"Okay so we're clear on our objectives here?" asked the Commissioner as he looked around the table where Yoona, Taeyeon, Yunho and Changmin were sitting. "There will be no changes go the current plan, we'll just be adding Captain Im's team whose objective will mostly be apprehending Seungjin. We know that he has altered his looks so there's a chance that we won't be able to recognize him. Thus, we must not let anyone, no matter how insignificant he or she looks, escape."
Everyone nodded.
"Good. It has been a quiet couple of days and I'm relieved for that," continued the Commissioner. "Let's get the whole team together tomorrow morning and brief them thoroughly. We have less than a week to prepare. I want no mistakes so make sure everyone's up for it or just leave them out of this one. That would probably include Inspector Kwon Yuri and Assistant Inspector Kim Joonmyun."
Yoona and Taeyeon nodded once more.
The Tuesday afternoon meeting continued while on the other side of town, Tiffany and Sooyoung were rushing to pick Jiyoon up. They were running slightly late thanks to a sudden commotion at the station, caused by none other than the Suncheon hospital director and Doctor Kang's girlfriend.
The woman had barged in, demanding to have her boyfriend released, insisting on his innocence while accusing the police of harassment. The officers at the station directed her to Yoona's team and since Sooyoung was the one left in charge, she had to talk to her and reason with her with Jongin's help.
Tiffany wanted to leave alone but since Taeyeon had strictly ordered her to go pick Jiyoon up with Sooyoung, she had to wait for the tall inspector to finish dealing with the yelling woman.
Once they reached Jiyoon's school, there were not many children left on the playground.
Tiffany rushed to find Jiyoon's teacher whom she had notified regarding her situation. She saw her talking to another parent and quickly approached her, asking for the girl.
"Jiyoon? But her grandfather already picked her up."
"W-what?! What grandfather?!" Tiffany felt her heart stop beating and her breath left her chest. Fear began to grip her and she struggled to keep her composure.
"Your father, Miss Hwang. He came to pick her up in your place and since Jiyoon recognized him and was willing to go with him, I thought..." The woman saw the color draining from Tiffany's face and realized her mistake. "Oh no."
Tiffany turned around and ran out of the playground, followed by a confused Sooyoung.
"What's wrong, Fany? Where's Jiyoon?"
Tiffany took out her phone and dialed Taeyeon's number while running up and down the street, turning her head in every direction to look for the girl in uniform.
"Hey," Taeyeon finally answered her call. "I'm still in-..."
"Jiyoon's gone!" said Tiffany. "She's gone, Taetae!"
"Whoa whoa. Calm down. What happened?" Taeyeon tried not to panic. "Where could she be?"
"Call my father! Now! Her teacher said that my father picked her up. Call him!"
"Okay okay. I'll do that. You stay with Sooyoung, okay? Talk to you later." Taeyeon quickly hung up, excusing herself while running out of the room to call Tiffany's father.
The number was unavailable.
Taeyeon cursed and dialed again and again. Every call she made went straight to that automated voice telling her that the phone was either switched off or out of range.
"What's wrong, Unnie?" Yoona walked out of the room.
"Jiyoon. He took Jiyoon," Taeyeon answered breathlessly. "I gotta go, Yoong. Tell your father I'm sorry."
"Unnie!" Yoona called out but Taeyeon had already run towards the staircase. She quickly dialed Sooyoung's number.
"Hello?"
"What's going on? What happened to Jiyoon?"
"Fany and I are searching for her. We were a bit late to pick her up and the teacher let Fany's father take Jiyoon, apparently," explained Sooyoung.
Yoona face-palmed. "Dammit! Go find her. I'll notify the rest." She ended the call and went back inside the meeting room.
--
Taeyeon never stopped cursing all the way to the small guesthouse. She parked her car haphazardly and ran inside, slamming her hand on the reception desk while flashing her badge, making the woman there jolt in her seat.
"Room 7. Where is it?"
"It's down the hall to the right but it's vacant!" the woman shouted after Taeyeon who had run off in the middle of her sentence.
Taeyeon halted her steps and turned around. "What?!"
"The occupant checked out last week. Saturday, I think." The receptionist began searching in a large book she had open on her desk. "Yes, Mr. Hwang checked out last Saturday morning."
"Where did he go?"
"I have no idea."
"Did he leave a phone number or an address?"
"There's a phone number here but he paid cash," said the woman, showing Taeyeon the guestbook.
Unfortunately, it was the same cell number that he had given Taeyeon.
"He said he was a friend of the owner here. Where is that owner? Let me talk to him."
"Um... I don't think he's a friend of the owner. He paid for this room just like everyone else. You can ask the owner yourself if you want." The woman pointed at the door behind Taeyeon marked 'Office'. "She's in there."
"Thank you." Taeyeon went to the door and knocked impatiently.
"Come in."
She opened the door and saw a middle-aged woman sitting behind a messy desk. "Are you the owner of this guesthouse?"
"I run it, yes. But it belongs to my sister, actually. You are?"
Taeyeon showed the woman her badge. "I'm Inspector Kim Taeyeon from the Seoul Police. I'm looking for one of your tenants who claimed to have been your friend. He rented room 7."
"Ah. That kind man. He checked out last week but he's not my friend."
"Your sister's maybe?"
The woman shook her head. "He's just a regular guest. Is he a criminal?"
"He's a kidnapping suspect," said Taeyeon. "Can you please call me should he return here?" She took out her card and gave it to the woman.
"O-of course!" the woman said as she took the card, looking bewildered.
"Thank you."
Taeyeon ran out without giving the woman another look. She cursed herself as she raced through the afternoon traffic, blaming herself for not listening to Tiffany, for letting that man come too close.
Her phone rang and she answered it while keeping one hand on the wheel, not even caring about breaking rules. "Yes?"
"Please tell me you've found her?" came Tiffany's pleading voice.
Taeyeon gritted her teeth. "I haven't. He's not at the guesthouse." She could hear Tiffany starting to break down and cry. "Hey hey, calm down. He might have just taken her to eat ice cream or to the mall or something. Let's wait while we keep looking, okay? Stay with Sooyoung. I'll be right there. Okay, Fany?"
The only reply Taeyeon got was sobbing and sniffing.
"Fany-ah," she gently called, feeling tears of fear begin to seep through her eyes as well but she held them back, "it's going to be okay. Jiyoon is alright. We'll find her soon enough."
"H-hwang..." stuttered Tiffany.
"What?"
"H-hwang Jiyoon. I'm n-not the only Hwang, T-taetae. We f-forgot that I'm not the only Hwang."
Taeyeon's eyes widened in shock. It hit her so hard that she almost rammed her car against the vehicle in front of her. Thankfully, she managed to snap out of it on time and stepped on the brake with all her strength.
The cars behind her honked angrily but she didn't have time to apologize. She dropped her phone and quickly turned the wheel, switching lanes and pressed her foot onto the gas pedal, racing to where Tiffany was without even caring about the other motorists around her.
There was only one thing on her mind and that was to find that little girl no matter what.