lalisa eyes him down with a blanket of fury draped across her contorted features.

each day rolls faster than the previous one and she realizes that her patience has slowly crumbled along with it. she's aware of two things; that time is but a mere notion behind these four walls but outside? outside, a second can lead to perpetual disaster that she might not be able to prevent if she keeps waiting. for him to crawl out of his refuge and hand himself willingly. 

ji-tae is always three steps ahead, seemingly to know even the things that are yet to happen, and that reality has lalisa gritting her teeth and slamming the gun atop the wooden table. 

"i'm trigger happy, dohyun. my friendly advice is— she paused and her fingers traced the barrel of the gun in a silent threat. "—to cooperate otherwise i'll be adding another hole to your anatomy." 

lalisa watched him tremble upon her words and reach to rub his chin. he's yielding to his silence, good. 

"where is he?" dohyun arched an eyebrow ensued by a flash of his crooked smile. "who?"

lalisa inhaled sharply before bolting from her seat and walking past the table until she was facing him. her hands gripped the both arm chairs so harshly her knuckles turned white but she couldn't give a damn about the sharp texture pocking her flesh and leaving indents. 

"didn't i say to leave your play-dumb antic outside this room?" she spat, nostrils flaring with bubbling rage. "where is ji-tae? you're one of his henchmen." 

"everywhere." he whispered and the words that rolled off his tongue weren't exactly what she expected to hear. her eyebrows pinched as if urging him to further elaborate and he did, something she was grateful for.

"he's lurking behind every corner and waiting to pounce." his eyes shone with amusement, fighting her flaring one with no ounce of prudence. lalisa gasped when he gripped a strand of her blonde hair and rolled it around his thumb and index finger. watching as it glimmered underneath the sunlight that poured through the small window. 

"you have to play his game." she blinked, processing his words as they echoed inside her ears and reclined when he tilted his head in silent taunt. "you're a pretty face and quite violent. what a shame."

she observed him in settled silence. watching as he picked up a piece of paper and began folding it so many times she thought the mere sight of it would make her go insane. but then she understood. it wasn't just a folded piece of paper. it was a bird. perhaps a hint to ji-tae's whereabouts or a futile decision to squander his time before one of the police officers came to drag him back into his cell.  

she bit back a smile and pursed her lips instead. it was humorous to watch dohyun cease to fight his fate, allowing the smallest perceptions of madness to crawl up his spine and settle deep inside his brain.

"freedom is something we crave but only few can attain."

----

"i need a scan from dohyun's previous locations and a list of everyone that came within his circle or breathed the same air as him. check cctv's if necessary but have the files handed to me after the sun sets."  

jisoo poked her head from behind the huge computer screen, eyes wide while facing lalisa from under the glasses. 

"uh, why?" she dithered, rubbing her temples, and swirled in her chair to face the blonde girl as she rummaged through the drawers. 

"because he's hiding himself and any—every—hint is helpful." lalisa pointed out and flashed the brunette a sided glance from above her shoulder before heading for the door with loud stomps of her boots. "i also need you to check the archives for anything related to birds. it can be a location, a book or something else."

jisoo's eyes flickered with confusion and lalisa quirked her lips before disappearing into the hall. but not before catching the faint baritone of her assistant as he whispered something along the lines of you heard her, let's get the job done. 

----

"sloth." lalisa and hyun-tae turned around to face jungkook as he sauntered into the office, breath shallow while his chest heaved up and down rapidly. "the victim was tied to the bed for one year. his body was rotten when the forensic team came to the crime scene. his skin peeled off."

they had sent the photos of the scene earlier and bile crawled up lalisa's throat as she watched the gruesome sight. dohyun was their most ruthless criminal so far and her body trembled with sheer frighten to witness just how worse and graphic his next executions are bound to become.

"straight to the point, jeon." hyun-tae whispered, followed by a low grumble that emerged from the back of his throat as he tapped his feet impatiently.

"he's punishing them for the sins they committed." jungkook asserts and folds both arms across the expanse of his chest. "dohyun perceives himself as the punisher and cleans their souls from the respective sin they practiced by taking their lives. there's a pattern he follows as well. there was a crucifix found inside their bodies and the hours always match. 11:11:01, meaning soul purification if you take away the null digit."

lalisa slumps into her seat, processing every bit of information with low exhales of breath. 

"dohyun is religious, he's following the seven deadly sins as they're addressed in the bible." he racks one hand through his strands of hair and his eyes connect with hers. "and if my suspicions regarding his pattern are correct—"

"then what?" lalisa breathed, eyes flitting across the room to avoid his burning stare, and her lips quivered. 

"there will be another death in less than two hours."