catch me if you can. 

"so it is him. ji-tae." 

lalisa stared at the letter now crumpled between her fingers, unable to muster up a reply. catch me if you can, he knew it. somehow, that she'd be at the gala and willingly showed himself to her before jumping off the balcony. 

the smile was just his way to prove a point. that he could easily slip past her fingers without her doing much to prevent it. 

"he wants to be caught." she concluded after what seemed like an hour of silence and paced from one side of the room to the other. but why now after almost a week since the event? a warning to his next move or a mere bluff to drift them away yet again. no one was sure of it. 

"what would he gain by allowing that to happen?" lalisa didn't turn around at the sound of jungkook's voice but the tone coating his words was enough to expose his hesitation. his and everyone else's in the room. so far, all they knew was that he killed lalisa's parents and managed to get away with it. 

he was strategic and meticulous. careless enough to leave a note behind but careful as to not let himself be caught so easily. it annoyed lalisa and encouraged her as well. to drag him behind a cell and end the bloodshed. 

but there was no clue as to where he might be aside from the picture of what seemed to be an old house. and after half an hour of trying to search for a clue, anything that could close the distance between them and ji-tae, lalisa was still unable to find any. 

"maybe it's something related to him." jisoo reached for the picture and surveyed it with pinched eyebrows. not that she could be of much help since it was far from her knowledge or area anyway. "his home perhaps?"

jungkook sneaked from behind the brunette and snatched the picture in one swift movement. 

"what type of criminal would leave a trace behind?" jisoo rolled her eyes and inched closer to lalisa's frame now slumped in one of the chairs. he was right, it would be a rookie mistake to let something as crucial as a clue behind. 

"the type that enjoys being chased." hyun-tae detached himself from the wall and leaned over to stare at the picture. something about the way his forehead creased gave away that he might know which house it was but he remained silent regarding that matter. 

the possibilities were endless and judging from the way he carelessly showed himself that night, it could or not be related to him. a childhood house, his current home or a place meaningful to him. 

"do you know that place?" lalisa questioned with a tilt of her head and her eyes fixed the middle-aged man standing in front of her. hyun-tae never lied to lalisa but it doesn't mean he can't possibly omit something. even if it was a necessary form of protection towards her. 

"i suspect. but there's someone able to verify it."

- 

"this was your house, dear. your deceased mother gave birth to you here."

lalisa could barely process her aunt's words as tears prickled her eyes. it all made sense now. ji-tae was trying to force a reaction out of her by bringing with him memories to torment her. first, her childhood house that she had no recollection of. what next?

"are you sure?" she sniffed and swallowed down a sob that threatened to slip past her lips. her aunt always told her about the times she'd come by to have dinner with her parents so of course she'd vividly remember their home. it sounded absurd to doubt her but still, lalisa clutched to the hope. 

the hope that it would be nothing but a foolish misunderstanding. 

"i'm sure. the details are the same, but how do you have this picture with you? the police officer assigned to your parent's case mentioned that every album was missing." lalisa didn't have it in her to tell her aunt about it. what could she say anyway? that her parent's murderer was on the loose and sending her notes laced with threat? 

for now she was anticipating his next move and until then, she'll probably rent a hotel room just to keep her aunt out of it. lalisa couldn't risk to have another family member brutally murdered and stolen away from her. 

"someone found it and kept it on my parent's archive case." it seemed plausible, and for now, it would be. not that it gave her aunt much time to question because lalisa had to bid goodbye and go back to orpheus to meet up with the lab team. 

the possibility was zero to none, but they might be able to find a fingerprint or spilled contents around the picture's edge. something that could hint them regarding where ji-tae could be hiding. 

"do you think he's there? at my parent's house?" hyun-tae spared her nothing but a shrug of his shoulders. he was initiating his detective career when it happened so he wasn't sure himself. the only thing he was sure of, was that some divisions of the house remained intact even after the fire. 

if it were true and he was really hiding there, lalisa was a step closer to facing her past. one she so desperately tried to bury. 

"he might be anywhere, lalisa. you need to be cautious."