Their heads full of spinning and whirling thoughts, all about the events of today, the two of them drove back to Zhan's apartment building, where Yibo parked his car in the spacious parking lot and they made their way to the front entrance and then upstairs to Zhan's apartment. Arriving at his apartment door, Zhan was just about to open the door when his neighbor came out of his apartment and looked at them both in shock. "What happened?" He asked them.

Yibo leaned back against the wall, while Zhan slid into a crouch against the wall. "Nothing." Zhan replied, staring at his hands, on which the dried blood of Isla Isari was sticking. And he now saw the white shirt he had put on for work that morning. It was no longer white. There was a large round reddish-brown spot around the button placket and many small splashes of the same color. Dried blood. Disgusted, Zhan vowed to throw this shirt in the bin. He would never want to wear it again. Because it would only ever remind him of that day and how he held Isla Isari's hand as she lay dying, her conscience easing towards him.

Zhan had been wrong about her. Yes, she was a dangerous woman. And yes, she was a murderer. But she had never intended to do anything to Zhan. Rather, she saved his life as a baby, secretly accompanied him throughout his life, gave his parents money and even a country house. She guarded and protected him. And although Zhan felt deep gratitude for this, he still hated her. Because she was a ruthless murderer who tortured her victims and simply disposed of their chopped-up bodies.

And Zhan had overheard what the agents said about the basement whose door they had broken down. There were only two rooms there. One room was tiled from floor to ceiling. There was a drain in the floor through which any kind of liquid could drain. And in it was a chair like the ones gynecologists have. And a table with lots of small and large tools on it. Knives in different sizes. As well as pliers, from very small to large. And there was an electronic bone saw, rib spreaders and other instruments of torture. In the other room there was a shelf on which there were many bottles of strong and sharp cleaning agents. And in the middle of the room, on the floor, was a large square hole big enough to dispose of entire corpses in.

It was only when Zhan's shoulders were shaken vigorously that he was able to shake off his thoughts and stared at Wen Rouhan. "What happened?" The latter asked again.

But instead of answering, Zhan asked: "What do you actually know? How come your name keeps coming up in the stories I've heard over the last few days?"

"What are you talking about?"

"About Isla Isari. Of Isko. I think she gave him her last name when she took him in. Yes, I think his name is Isko Isari. And I'm talking about the fire in the birth house. And..." Zhan had forgotten what else was there. He was tired, exhausted and didn't even have the strength to think anymore. He needed a shower and sleep.

"I have to go to work now. We'll talk about it tomorrow. Do you hear me?"

Zhan nodded. "Tomorrow." He replied.

Yibo pulled Zhan back to his feet. "Come on, get up. Let's go inside."

Zhan's legs were so weak that they wanted to give way when he stood up. Wen Rouhan grabbed hold, pulled Zhan up to his feet with strong hands and looked at Yibo questioningly. "What happened?"

"Isla Isari is dead." Replied Yibo.

Wen Rouhan stared at him in horror. "She is dead? Who did that? Was it you? Did you kill her?"

"No, we didn't. We don't know who did it. Maybe a guy called Pete Kapajewski. We were just there and saw her die." Yibo said, also feeling that he didn't have much strength left and that his legs would soon give way too. That day had been an absolute horror for Yibo too. Nothing at the academy had prepared him for something like this. So many dead, so much blood, and then the sight of Mrs. Isari dying. Her wounds, but above all, knowing what she had already been through in her life and had freed herself, only to be raped again and then, two hours before her death, shot and left bleeding to death. This woman was a serious criminal and deserved a harsh punishment. But no one deserved to die like that.

"Hey you hear me? I want you to go into the apartment and not open it to anyone but me. Take a shower, put on clean clothes and get some rest. I'll go to the police station and be back soon. I'm taking this day off. I'll stay with you and look after you while you sleep." Said Wen Rouhan.

"That's all right. We're safe." Said Zhan.

"No one is safe if it was Pete Kapajewski." Wen Rouhan replied.

Zhan's eyes widened: "You know him?"

"Not him. But his victims. I can't tell you any more now. Not here in the hallway. Besides, you need to rest. Can you give me a spare key? Then I won't have to wake you up later when I come."

"Mhm. Good." Zhan said, unlocked his apartment door and took the spare key from the key rack next to the door. He gave Wen Rouhan the key and went into the apartment with Yibo. They took showers one after the other, changed their clothes and then sat on the sofa in the living room, wrapped up in woollen blankets, where they wrote their written statements for the agency while their memories were still fresh. Of course, they left out the most important things.

When they had finished their written statements, writing them on their laptops, Yibo emailed them both to the director of the agency. "What do you think will interest the director most about our statements? And will they believe us?" Zhan asked him when he saw how Yibo had waited hesitantly for a few seconds with the mouse pointer on send before sending their statements.

Yibo closed his laptop, sat back on the sofa and rubbed his eyes. He yawned and finally replied: "Just like Agent Lee, he will only want to know what we know about the whereabouts of the USB stick. Although Agent Lee didn't say so directly, he kept hinting that they were looking for a 'certain' storage device where she may have a list of her accounts and such saved."

"Do you think he's also on this list that Agent Nax made?" Zhan wanted to know.

"No, I don't think so. I suspect the director will put pressure on him to look for it."

"Mhhh, because he should be or is on that list himself. But hey, did you know that the Director is Agent Nax's father?"

"No, I didn't. But there were never any private conversations between her and me either. We were never that close. I don't think she was or is really close to anyone in the agency. And she and the director always address each other politely. Like employee and boss."

"Very strange."

"Not really strange, Zhan. It's not forbidden in the agency for relatives to work together, but it's still not welcome. And in the case of the director and Agent Nax, it's understandable that no one knows that they are father and daughter. That wouldn't go down well. Then every praise that Agent Nax receives would be questioned. It would then be said that she only got the praise because she is the director's daughter. However, it also seems to me that the two are not really close."

"Well, if you look at it that way, it's understandable that they make a secret of their family relationship. Who do you think is going to inherit all the money and businesses from this woman? Her children didn't even know her. And she wants Isko to return to his home country. So he won't inherit all her property either."

"So the inheritance she got when her third husband died, she's giving it to you, as far as I understand. But as for the rest, I don't know. Maybe it's up to the directors of the companies. I have no idea and don't know anything about it. All I know is that no one can forbid you from accepting the inheritance. In other words, her husband's money. Because she got it legally and not through her murders."

"Maybe." Zhan sighed. "I'm tired and want to sleep. But I'm afraid of closing my eyes and seeing the whole scene again. Besides, I spend all this time wondering who is behind the murder of my biological parents? And then I have a guilty conscience towards my parents, my adoptive parents."

"Why do you have a guilty conscience towards them?"

"Because when Agent Nax told me about my parents today, I was sad and angry because I never got to meet them and wished I could have grown up with them."

"I think it's normal to feel that way."

"Yes, I know. But I'm still bothered by thinking about this, since I had such a nice childhood and how much I'm still loved by my parents. I feel like I'm undermining their love by wishing I could have grown up with my biological parents or at least gotten to know them."

"I'm sure your parents would understand if they knew about your feelings."

"Yes, that's probably true. Mhhh, again about the money I'm supposed to get. I'm not sure if I can accept it. I mean, the woman she thought was the fire starter and murderer wasn't the perpetrator. She is dead. So there's no point in looking for her."

"But we have to find the person who is really behind the murders and the fire. Whether it's a man, a woman or more people. We have to find the perpetrator or perpetrators in any case. But because it was so long ago and there are no new leads, we can't run this through the agency. The director won't agree to us reopening the case. That in turn means we have to finance the search for the perpetrator ourselves. So you'll need the money."

"Yes, well, you're right. You know more about it. Mhhh, you know what? I think I'll turn on the TV now and just sleep here on the sofa. With the voices from the TV in the background, I'm sure I'll find it easier to sleep."

"That was my idea too."

"Well, then we'll share my sofa. It's wide enough. You'll lie at one end and I'll lie at the other. We should be fine that way."

"I think so too. But I'll get a thicker blanket. It looks like the weather has changed to suit our mood. It's raining heavily, very windy and has cooled down considerably."

"You can do that. My woolen blanket is enough for me." Said Zhan. Yibo went to get his comforter and Zhan switched on the TV. He searched for the documentary channel, set the sound to volume 15, which was neither too loud nor too quiet for sleeping, and went to the toilet again. He didn't want to curl up in his blanket and find the perfect lying position, only to have to get up again because his bladder was acting up and he had to go to the toilet.

When Zhan came back from the bathroom, Yibo was already waiting for him. He had not only fetched his comforter and pillow, but also Zhan's and insisted that Zhan take his pillow and the thicker comforter. As Zhan was too tired to argue with Yibo about it, he put the pillow on the armrest of the sofa, wrapped himself in the comforter and snuggled down on the sofa. Then Yibo lay down and said: "Zhan. I wanted to say... well... I'm sorry."

Zhan sat up again and looked at Yibo questioningly. "What are you sorry for?"

"That you were only dragged into this whole thing because of our mission, and that's why you had to experience this horror today."

"Yibo?"

"Yes."

"I know it was just as frightening for you as it was for me. I voluntarily agreed to help you. And yes, of course, the images from today will probably haunt me for a long time yet. But I don't regret joining you. I also enjoy being able to spend time with my idol. What fan gets that chance? Now go to sleep." Zhan said, winked at Yibo and lay down again. He quickly hid the red cheeks he had developed, under his comforter. He closed his eyes, kissed Yibo in his mind goodnight, and fell asleep immediately.

Yibo lay down as well. He could feel Zhan's legs at his back. But it didn't bother him. On the contrary, he enjoyed having Zhan so close to him. He would have liked it a little better if it hadn't been Zhan's legs that he could feel in his back, but Zhan himself. Because in his imagination, he thought that they could turn towards each other in their sleep and then perhaps, quite by chance, hold each other in their arms while they slept.

This idea made Yibo think of his embrace with Zhan. When he came out of the villa after taking his colleagues to Isko's room, he saw Zhan standing there and could think of nothing else but how much he wanted to hug Zhan. He had to restrain himself from running straight to him. Instead, he walked towards him very slowly. But as soon as he reached him, he wrapped his arms tightly around Zhan and could have stood there like that for hours.

Yibo realized one thing today, despite the terrible incident. Something he already knew when he woke up. He is about to fall in love with Zhan. Or rather, he is already in love with him. But what now? What happens next? What do you do when you're in love? Yibo has many talents and is a good agent, with a lot of knowledge about his job and everything around it. But when it comes to love, he has no idea. Perhaps, he thought, he should spend an evening with his best friend Seungyoun and ask him for advice. After all, Yibo knows from him that Youn is also gay and has experience in dating and relationships. But what if Zhan really only sees him as an idol and not the way he feels? Yibo asked himself. Then he shrugged his shoulders, at least in his mind, and told himself that it didn't matter. He knows that Zhan is gay. And if Zhan wasn't in love with him, he would do anything to make Zhan fall in love with him. How hard could that be?