Ba Reum enlarged the picture on his PC. It was only a partial footprint in the blood, barely visible. One could easily mistake if for a bloodsmear, but it was there. He printed it. It seemed to be a small foot, but he couldn't be sure. Was this what they wanted to hide? He added to his evidence folder and hid it under a loose floorboard under his bed.
For now he would keep this to himself. Tomorrow he could get the CC-TV and perhaps then he would find the one who took the photographs.
He went to wash his empty coffee cup and then go to bed.
"Everything al right sweetie?" Soo Jin asked when she saw her son. He looked a bit lost in thought.
"Hmm." He looked at her. "oh, not much." Another pause and Ba Reum glanced sideways at his mum "I got into a fight with Bong Yi."
"Oh." Soo Jin and put the television on pause. She turned her full attention to Ba Reum.
"Care to talk about it?" Ba Reum looked at the empty cup in his hands and put it in the sink. Then he went to join his mother on the couch.
"She said she wanted to marry me." His mum almost choked in her tea when he said that.
"Out of the blue?"
"Yes. She asked me if I wanted to marry her. Then she offered to clean my house, to cook for me and to get a job if I wanted her to earn money." Ba Reum said. "I said I didn't want a maid…" he trailed off.
"How did she react?"
"I don't know, I got mad and left." He looked her in the eyes. "why would she want to do such a thing? Why would she put everything aside from her own personality and live like, like some kind of robot?" he asked. Soo Jin thought carefully.
"Some people, when they are in love, they would do anything for their partner. Even if it isn't healthy to do so in a relationship. Even if it means changing who they are." She said carefully.
"Bong Yi isn't in love with me." Ba Reum said in disbelief. Soo Jin snorted.
"Son, she has been in love with you from the moment she set eyes on you."
"Mom, stop that. She has always been this grumpy kid. When she sees me she's always annoyed." Ba Reum said.
"Yes, like I said, She's madly in love with you. But still, her offer was abrupt and showed some serious warning bells. She is just 19, she shouldn't be in a hurry to get married, especially before you even dated. Perhaps something triggered this?" she said. She saw Ba Reum look away. Ah, he knew something more, but he didn't seem willing to share it.
"For now, I think it's best that you apologize for being angry so quickly. And just gently tell her that you don't love her like that, unless you think that you might just like her a bit more then friends." She advised her son.
"I'll try to apologize, if she'll let me speak. Whenever we fight it always takes days before she stops giving me the cold shoulder." Ba Reum said and went to the kitchen to wash his forgotten cup and put it away.
The next morning he went to work, he could hear some woman gossiping.
"I heard that Kang Duk Soo was seen in the neighbourhood." One said to another. He hid behind a corner to eavesdrop.
"Really? I guess he visits his mother. Poor woman, to give birth to such a beast." The other women said.
"Do we say something to Bong Yi or her grandmother?"
"I don't think so, perhaps she's better of not knowing."
"You're right. It would just hurt them to hear about this."
They walked further away from him and eventually out of earshot.
So Kang Duk Soo moved back in the neighbourhood. Perhaps it was time to put some surveillance on him. He could easily check where Kang Duk Soo's mother lived. Then he could break into the house and install a tracking software on his cellphone. Then he could listen to all the phonecalls and track his location.
He wondered if that was why Bong Yi was so shaken when he saw her before she went into the gym. Perhaps she had seen him walking around in the neigbourhood.
Before he arrived at work he passed through security to get the CC-TVfrom last week. The first time he watched it through on fast forward, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but the second time he noticed that there was a timelapse.
So, someone is messing with the CC-TV as well. This will prove to be a challenge. A small grin escaped him. He always loved to solve a puzzle. This spices up the game a bit.
Soo Jin was just finishing up her breakfast and was just preparing to finish her work, read her favourite magazine and to binge watch her current Kdrama. Oh, how she enjoyed her days off.
A knock sounded on the door and she opened it to see Oh Bong Yi.
"Oh, miss Jung, I was searching for Ba Reum, is he here?" she asked.
"Aah, no. He already left for work, but why don't you com in." Soo Jin said and opened the door a bit wider.
Bong Yi looked around, but when Soo Jin turned around she followed in.
"Why don't you go sit down, I'll make you a cup of tea." Bong Yi looked around. It was actually the first time that she had entered Ba Reum's home.
Soo Jin put the cup of tea in front of Bong Yi, Bong Yi took it and sipped from the cup.
"Soo, my son told me he got a marriage proposal yesterday." Soo Jin said. Bong Yi snorted up the tea through her noise and started coughing.
"Here's a tissue." Bong Yi gratefully accepted it.
"He also said that the offer was accompanied by an offer of servitude." Soo Jin continued.
Bong Yi was blushing.
"Bong Yi, I don't mind that you are in love with my son, but why the rush?" Soo Jin said.
"I, I just." Bong Yi didn't really know what to say.
"He's not angry anymore, but he doesn't like it that you offered to not be yourself anymore." Soo Jn patted Bong Yi's hand.
"Now, I think it's best to not propose to him anymore until you figured out your own mind. And perhaps you should ask him for a date first." Bong Yi nodded, feeling to ashamed to speak.
"If you feel the need to ever talk to a psychologist, I have some colleagues who own me a favour. Or if you want, you can talk to me, but perhaps you'll feel a bit uncomfortable."
"I don't need a shrink." Bong Yi immediately said.
"It's nothing to be ashamed off. Sometimes just talking with someone can help you put things perspective. And don't forget, we are bound by our profession to keep secret whatever you tell us."
Bong Yi looked thoughtful, but she didn't accept the offer.
On his way home Ba Reum took a little detour. He had looked up the address of Kang Duk Soo's mother and decided that today was as good a day as any to pay a visit.
It was already reasonably late and with some luck they would be already sleeping. He had the tracker hardware with him to connect to the cellphone of Kang Duk Soo.
He was in luck. All lights were out, so he sneaked in , but when he entered the house he saw the choking form of Kang Duk Soo, together with a suicide note.
Ba Reum quickly read the note and saw that it was all about the regret he felt after his actions. Could it be true that this man regretted what he did to the extent of trying to kill himself.
Ba Reum used Kang Duk Soo's phone to call in the ambulance.
He installed the piece of hardware in the cellphone, just to be on the safe side. Regret is one thing, but he had done the deed once. Who could tell if he wouldn't do it again.
He stayed back a bit until he saw that the ambulance had taken the man with them.
The next day the gossip turned to the suicide attempt of Kang Duk Soo. The neighbourhood wasn't unified in their opinion and everybody tried to voice it loudly, unless either Bong Yi, Bong Yi halmoni or Kang Duk Soo's mum was around.
It was almost like watching a soap series, one camp said that he regretted it, one camp saying it was all an act. Someone even said that perhaps Bong Yi had been lying about being assaulted, but she got hushed quickly by all. They had seen the damage that was done and they knew it was true.
One rainy evening the tracker program activated, to show an incoming phone call of Kang Duk Soo.
Ba Reum put the earphones in and listened to the conversation.
"Yes officer.
"We are trying to locate you. Where are you now
"I'm at the pharmacy, I needed a refill of my prescription medication." The conversation seemed harmless enough. He put down the earphones again.
When he joined his mother in watching the news. He was startled when the reported Kang Duk Soo has taken of his ankle monitor and ran.
He waited until the news was over and then he made the excuse to his mum that he was tired and wanted to go to bed early. He hoped it was nothing, but he had let the man lived. He felt responsible for his actions now. It was best to locate him as soon as possible.
He sneaked out of the window and went to the last known location, the tracker showed where the cell phone had been before it had been discarded.
He walked around a bit, hoping to find a trace.
He was startled when he saw halmoni running around, holding something in her hands. She looked very focused, and she was muttering to herself. She didn't see him standing there.
She seemed to know where she was going, so Ba Reum followed her.
"Excuse me sir," a woman asked, standing between him and halmoni.
"I'm sorry, I'm busy." He said, and pushed past her. The woman looked offended, but he didn't care. He couldn't find halmoni anymore, but he followed to were she had been a moment ago. She seemed to be heading towards a reed field. He entered the reed field, finding some foot prints in the mud. It was dark and difficult to look around, but he heard some noise.
Halmoni was lying in the mud, struggling to breath. There were wounds on her face and she seemed to be bleeding.
"Please," she said to the dark figure above her, "we can't let him hurt anyone anymore." She pointed further in the reeds and Ba Reum picked up her cell phone and called the ambulance.
Then he entered the reed fields to seek out Kang Duk Soo.