Chasing Complex Shadows
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It had been a week since the leak, and Jimin had not seen Eunha at his house since. She remained at Sunggyu's house, waiting for Jiyong to call, but no such luck. She had only given him a week, and she was sure he had not done what she had asked him for. She couldn't find his sister at the hospital anymore, and there was suddenly no record of her anywhere. Jiyong had paid to get the records erased from existence.

Regardless, Jia had changed names and was in a place far from danger. Jiyong, however, returned to Seoul to drop out of SNU. He had to transfer as soon as possible and couldn't wait until the semester finished. Even if he had to pay extra for the classes he had taken already and for the hassle he was causing his professors and the faculty. He had to leave quickly. At the end of the day, he was running for his life.

He thought about the money day and night. All he wanted to do was transfer his sister to somewhere safe before he did anything. He wanted to make sure Eunha couldn't find her anywhere she was. He couldn't forget Eunha's orders. They lingered in his head for days before he returned to Seoul. He felt scared, terrified. However, he had to finish his pending business in Seoul before disappearing completely.

Ara was curious as to why he had suddenly vanished out of existence. He wouldn't answer her calls or messages, which left her worried. She never saw him on campus again. Maybe something happened to his sister? Ara thought. She wasn't sure of anything anymore. She thought they had something special, whether it was as friends or something more, and it hurt that he had disappeared and never told her anything. It left her heartbroken. She thought maybe he would've called if he had planned on leaving, but he didn't.

At Minji's house, Ara was studying for her exams as she recalled Jimin's confession. It was sudden, and she never gave him a proper response. She didn't know what to tell him, so she felt thankful that Yoongi called just in time. It bothered Jimin, but he couldn't think of Ara when he had a problem to solve. He did mention he would ignore his company when it came to who he wanted to be with, but things were different now. It wasn't about marriage, but about the company as a whole. He couldn't turn his back on his company when it needed him the most. The company that gave him absolutely everything.

His associates were all reunited in one of the bigger meeting rooms in the building as they discussed the leak. Jimin stayed silent as he thought about Baekhyun's words. What if there was a mole? He couldn't just announce it publicly. If there was a mole, the mole could be anywhere. Perhaps in the same meeting that he was in. Perhaps—closer than he thought.

"Mr. Park, other than Mr. Byun and Officer Min, who else had a complete copy of the packet?" one of his associates asked. "Was there someone else who knew of this case?"

Jimin looked his way and then took a glance at Dongwoo. He looked directly at Jimin, knowing that Jimin didn't have the heart to mention him in front of the committee. He didn't have the heart to get him in trouble. Dongwoo knew Jimin suspected him, even if it was a slight suspicion.

The associate noticed how they looked at each other and asked, "Mr. Lee, you were aware of the case? For how long?"

Jimin turned to face the man and said, "I told Mr. Lee. He was aware because I told him about it."

The room went silent, but there were whispers here and there between the multiple associates that were present. Dongwoo was nervous, and Jimin noticed, so he stood up and said, "I want the camera footage of this entire week as soon as possible. I need to see who entered my office. The meeting is over."

He walked out of the meeting as the others walked outside as well. Dongwoo remained sitting down as the associates looked at him with a disturbed look. Later that day, the same thing happened. The entire building knew the committee suspected him, so everybody also suspected him. Wherever he walked, he would get stares. In the bathroom, other colleagues would confront him, but he remained silent. At that moment, he became scared of the people he worked with.

The camera footage was ready two days after the meeting, but the complicated part was gathering every associate again, as they had their own meetings to attend. Jimin anxiously wanted to see the footage, but he had to wait for the new meeting at the end of the week.

Every time he walked into his office, he felt frustrated. As he typed on his computer, his mind trailed off, leaving his body present but his soul elsewhere. One day, he thought about Dongwoo, and the next day, Ara. Whenever Ara appeared in his mind, he would stop typing and glance at his phone. There were multiple missed calls, but none from her.

Dongwoo, on the other hand, couldn't wait any longer. The day before the new scheduled meeting, he was trapped in the bathroom as his own colleagues assaulted him and labeled him a traitor. He was hurt. Emotionally and physically. He had bruises all over his face as he cried on the floor. Jimin never knew about the incident, as Dongwoo hid from him after it.

He finally couldn't take it anymore. The stares, the abuse, the pain. It was ongoing for a full week. He went to Jimin's office and left his resignation letter on the desk. Jimin wasn't in the building, and soon enough, Dongwoo wouldn't be either.

+

Yoongi sat in his office as he looked at the papers in front of him. He was trying so hard to think of a way to find more solid evidence, but nothing came to his mind. It was a disturbing feeling. He felt like he knew everything, but he knew nothing. He then recalled his conversation with Siwon and thought of something.

He had denied ever meeting with Eunha or her mother. If only there were a way to associate him with Sarah, then he could see if the anonymous letter was true or not. The letter that had remained in the back of his mind for weeks. He could open an investigation on Kang Eunhyuk's death and possibly see any resemblance to the Byun Haneul case. That was because he knew that there had to be a resemblance. He knew that there was something in common. It was strange.

That was when he leaned forward and started typing on his computer. Kang Sarah. He started looking for that name in any record of existence, and when he found it, it said that she had disappeared a few years before. It also said that she was deemed dead. He looked for information online and saw headlines that said Sarah had disappeared, and because of that, Kang & Co. decided it was best to hold a funeral for her. They presumed her dead as soon as she had disappeared. Not even a week later.

That was when Eunha took over.

Yoongi laid back in his seat as he looked at the headlines. Everything seemed suspicious. Sarah suddenly disappeared, then presumed dead, and finally, Eunha took over. It perfectly benefited Eunha. She could have done it. She could have been at fault for her mother's disappearance. But then again, why? Just for the company?

He then looked at the letter again.

If Sarah had bribed a doctor to murder her husband, then it had to be by some drug injected through the IV. If that was the case, there had to be something suspicious in the report. Yoongi quickly reached for the autopsy report from Kang Eunhyuk that he had requested and looked around for anything that would highlight a specific drug found in the system. That was when he saw something strange.

"Unusual, increased levels of potassium chloride," Yoongi read. He turned to the section of medical history and found nothing related to high potassium levels throughout Eunhyuk's life. He then looked at Byun Haneul's report. The same thing, but with a different wording.

"Unspecified levels of potassium chloride."

Only Byun Haneul's autopsy was done by Dr. Choi. Eunhyuk's report had more detail, and Haneul's report missed a lot of information. Both, however, mentioned potassium chloride with no history of health problems related to it.

That was when he grabbed his phone in order to look for a second opinion. When he dialed the number and the person on the other side of the phone answered, Yoongi said, "Taehyung, I need your help with something. Let's meet up."

At that moment, an older man in his mid-forties walked inside the station. He was limping with his leg as he walked to the front desk. Yoongi finished his call and was about to head out when he heard the man say, "I witnessed it. I saw the man who killed Byun Haneul. I saw his face."

Yoongi stopped his tracks immediately and turned to the older man. He rushed his way and asked, "You saw who killed Byun Haneul?"

The older man turned to him and nodded.

"Please, follow me. I'm Chief Officer Min. I'm in charge of the Byun Haneul case," Yoongi said. "Come to my office so we can discuss the matter."

The man hesitated, but followed Yoongi into his office. Yoongi couldn't bother texting Taehyung to tell him he couldn't meet up with him. There were more crucial situations at hand, and he was sure Taehyung would understand.

The older man sat in front of Yoongi and looked to the sides to make sure he was safe enough to talk. He looked at Yoongi and then looked down.

"I would like to keep my identity hidden for now. I don't want them to find me," he said as Yoongi nodded.

"I can reassure you that your identity will be protected," Yoongi said. "We just need your name and contact information to contact you later on. The information you give us will be safe with us."

He looked at Yoongi and said, "My name is Seo Jisung."

He reached inside his pocket and took out a card to give to him. "This is where I work, the auto company. There's my number if you need to contact me."

Yoongi nodded and thanked him as he typed the information into his computer. He then turned to Jisung and said, "Mr. Seo, if you don't mind me asking, who is 'them'? Who are you hiding from?"

"Kang & Co."

"Kang & Co. is going to harm you?" Yoongi asked.

"I don't know, but I can't risk it," he said. "I know too much, and you know what happens to those who know too much. After all, it's their hospital. I was there. I saw that man, and I am extremely sure that he murdered Mr. Byun."

Yoongi sat back in his chair, confused, as Jisung continued, "I was taken to the hospital—the Kang Hospital—because of an accident I had on my motorcycle a week before Mr. Byun's death. I came alongside him to the hospital. My room was on the same floor, too. Yeah, he was rich, but apparently, his son didn't want to make a big scene and take up an entire floor. He didn't want the reporters to know he was there. That morning, I saw Ms. Kang—the current CEO. She was there and even gave a speech to the important doctors of the hospital—you know, those with high status and all. She said she was inviting them to stay at a luxurious hotel—the Kang Hotel—as a 'thank you' gift that she was giving them. I remember she said she wanted to see what her special doctors thought about the new hotel opening. The reservations were for that night, and she said she would bring substitute doctors to the hospital. Everything was paid for by Kang & Co. Everyone was excited. However, the hospital remained empty at night."

"The hospitals were left empty?" Yoongi asked, confused. Eunha never brought the substitute doctors to the hospital. She wanted the hospital to be empty on purpose.

"I remember when I woke up from a midday nap and walked around the halls of the hospital. No one was there," he said. "I saw two doctors at the front desk. One threw papers at the man and yelled at him, so I walked away. On the way back to my room, I saw Kang Eunha again, but she didn't see me. She walked inside a room that said 'security'. I didn't give it much thought since she owned the hospital. I waited outside, but she never came out."

Yoongi stayed quiet as the man talked. He was thinking of all the things that could have happened. According to Jisung, he had seen the murderer, and he had also seen Eunha in the security room. It contradicted the Kang & Co. statement that the leaked information was false. There were now two witnesses from that night who had seen the man, and one of them had seen Eunha. She was deeply involved.

"At night, I got bored and walked around again," he continued. "My family had not visited me as they lived far away, so I had no way of entertaining myself. Those shows on television had me tired, so I decided it was best to go for a walk. No single substitute doctor had arrived. It was so empty. I walked around my floor to get some steps in when I heard a noise coming from the right corner of the hall. I knew it came from Byun Haneul's room. When we were both taken there, I would walk by his room a lot after my surgery to get some exercise. I saw his son once, too. I knew damn well it was his room. However, I didn't get near it because I thought I was probably hallucinating since I had been in an accident and I had just gotten out of surgery the day before. I just looked at the room from the corner of the hall as I saw a doctor walking toward it. Since a doctor was there, I thought everything would be fine, so I started walking back to my room."

"And you saw this mysterious man?" Yoongi asked, and Jisung nodded.

"I saw him," he said. "I was walking to my room when I saw that the bracelet my daughter had given me was not on my wrist. That led me to look for it, thinking I had dropped it somewhere, so I walked back towards Haneul's room as a man ran in my direction. He took off his mask, and I saw his face completely. I think he was hyperventilating. I froze for a second until he saw me. Then I ran, and he went after me. I couldn't go straight to my room because he could follow and kill me right there, so I ran to one of the intern rooms. I hid under a desk, and he never found me."

He remained silent for a few seconds until he leaned closer to the desk and whispered, "I know that the Byun and Park Corporations lied about the leak being false. I know those documents were real. Trust me, I saw that man with my very own eyes, and his face is still very clear in my mind to this day. I know Kang & Co. lied about that night. I know the footage they provided is fake."

Yoongi suddenly felt relieved. There was still a bit of hope left in the investigation. With a detailed drawing of the mysterious man, they would be a step closer to finding out who killed Haneul. Perhaps even a step closer to finding out if Kang & Co. had anything to do with it.

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• 2700 •
Update #2 for Jan. 17.