LOVER

Chapter 8

"I asked you a question."

Felix looked around the room, his heart pounding so hard he was certain Booi could see it.

"Felix?" Booi called out. Felix took a deep breath, trying to come up with a plausible lie.

"Sorry, it's just that the commander asked me to bring him a file. A closed case file, but he asked me not to say anything to anyone." He lied.

"What file?"

"Uhm... like I said he asked me not to tell anyone. But, between me and you, it's one of Jeon's cases. Apparently he botched it somehow and now it needs to be fixed." He said. He wasnt sure if Booi was buying his lie but he knew giving out too much info could be suspicious.

"Okay, maybe I can help you look." Booi offered.

"Thank you." Felix said. They went through all the different filing cabinets, but Lwandle made sure to keep close to the one filing cabinet that held the one important file.

"You know you need to be specific about this file before we start chasing ghosts." Booi said. Just then the door opened and another officer came in.

"There you are. I've been looking all over for you. Commander is looking for you?" The officer said. Felix and Booi looked at her, neither one of them moving.

"Who are you talking to?" Booi asked her.

"You, jeez. Commander wants to leave so hurry up. And why are you not answering your phone?" She asked. Booi pulled out his phone and realised he had a lot of missed calls.

"s**t, my phone is on silent. Let me go, I'll come back and help you." He said to Felix. As soon as he walked out the door Lwandle pulled out the file and waited for a bit. He peeked out the door, looking up and down the passage making sure Booi was nowhere in sight. Once he was sure Booi was gone he slipped the file under his jacket and hurried out.

He got into the parking lot, sweat dripping down his back. He drove out as quickly as he could. When he was far away enough from the police station he pulled out his phone and called Jaekyung.

"Felix. What's up?" Jaekyung answered.

"Hey, I need your help." Felix was trying his best to keep calm.

"With what?" Jaekyung asked. He could hear the panic in his voice.

"I think I an paranoid. I don't know. I keep thinking someone is following me. I gave the commander the file. He looked through it and then said I shouldn't tell anyone until he talks to you. Now my brain seems to be on overdrive. I keep thinking everyone is out to get me or something. And I did something stupid. I took the file out of the station." He rambled on.

"Okay, you need to calm down. Where are you right now?"

"On my way to my apartment."

"Don't go there. I'll send you to the location for my apartment. The security will let you in. He has an extra key. Get inside and stay there. I am two hours out of Busan. We will figure this out once.i get there." Jaekyung told him. Felix nodded his head before Jaekyung asked him to confirm that he heard him. Once he gave him a verbal reply he turned the car around and made his way to Jaekyung's apartment.

Sure enough when he got there the security was expecting him. He showed him to Jaekyung's garage and opened it for him to park before taking him up to his apartment.

"Thank you." Felix said. The security nodded and went back to his post. Felix couldn't get his paranoia under control. He kept peeking through the windows as if someone was outside watching him. His phone was on silent and he made sure to not even turn the tv on. He sat on the couch, his body exhausted as sleep took over.

He woke up to the sounds of a key in the door. The room was already dark. He grabbed the file and quickly disappeared to the bedroom. He could hear voices coming from the lounge.

"Felux?" Jaekyung called out. Felix came out slowly and almost turned back seeing the triplets together. It was weird for him.

"Hey, you look s**t scared. What happened?" Jaekyung asked. Lwandle made his way back to the couch, although his eyes kept darting from Zhou to Xin Xi. If it wasn't for them wearing different clothes he could have sworn he was dizzy.

He sat down and narrated everything that happened. His phone lit up on the coffee table. He picked it up and saw Booi's name on the screen.

"Its him." He told them.

"Do you think Booi has anything to do with this case?" Zhou asked. "I mean, the man has an impeccable record. He has convictions under his belt. This is the one case he couldn't solve. Why?"

"I don't know. I never looked into him. Even with him refusing to acknowledge anything brought to him. But there is nothing tying him to Eunsoo." Jaekyung answered. Felix's phone rang again. This time Tae's name was on the screen.

"Tae, this is not a good time." He answered the call on loudspeaker.

"I'm sure. Your boss is here. Apparently he can't get hold of you. Where are you?" She asked.

"My boss?"

"Yes. Detective Booi." She clarified and a chill ran down Felix's spine. He stood up with the phone in his hand. He heard shuffling before Booi's voice vibrated over the speaker.

"Felix. You're a hard man to track down." He said.

"Well I'm off duty." Felix replied, completely oblivious to Zhou clenching his jaws in anger.

"I figured. Anyways I need that file. The one you were supposed to give to the commander. I'll be right here with your sister so you can bring it here." Booi said. Although his voice seemed calm and friendly, it was hard to miss the silent threat in his words.

"I left it at the station." Felix told him. He chuckled.

"You have thirty minutes." He hissed. "Your sister has to be at work in about 45 minutes. We don't want her getting there late right, or worse, her not getting there at all." He whispered.

"I'm going to kill him." Zhou mumbled next to his brother.

"The file is at the station. We can meet there and I will give it to you." Felix countered trying to buy time.

"You will go get it and bring it here. You have twenty eight minutes." He said before hanging up.

"Now what?" Felix asked.

TAEGYEOM

I had to be at work in a while but Booi didn't look like someone who was prepared to leave. I couldn't hear his conversation with Lwandle but it sounded serious. I just hoped my brother was not in trouble. I left him in the lounge and went to the bedroom to get dressed, making sure to lock the door behind me. Something was off about him being here. I didn't even know how he made it past security. I figured I should lodge a complaint with the body corporate because this was not on. It was compromising my safety.

I changed into my scrubs and put on some sneakers. I made sure to get a coat for the chilly nights. I grab my bag and made my way back to the lounge. He was still here. I looked at my watch hoping he would get the message but it was futile. Instead he turned on the tv and changed the channel to some soccer.

"How many channels do you have here? Which bouquet do you have?" He asked. His presence was unsettling, and how comfortable he had made himself made it even worse. He was bordering on stalking to be honest.

"Premium." I answered. He whistled changing into another channel.

"Your family is rich, Princess." He said. I guess my salary was doing Jack s**t then.

"I'm actually paying for myself." I corrected him. He turned to look at me, a creepy smile on his face.

"Being a doctor must pay pretty good then."

"I guess." I picked up my coat and bag. "Speaking of being a doctor, I need to go and be one. So if you don't mind." His face quickly changed from creepy to downright scary. I was close to the door, I could get away. But that would require opening the burglar door. And I knew he would catch up to me before I could stick the key in the lock.

"Sit down. You'll go when your brother arrives." He ordered. I looked at my watch again.

"Yeah I can't stay that long. I don't want to be late. I have patients to see before they sleep." I said. I looked up and his gun was now on his lap. My heart went from 0 to 100 in 0.5 seconds flat. Things were more serious than I thought.

"Sit down. In fact, come sit next to me." He said patting the couch next to him. There was no way I was going to sit next to him. He was creepy and scary enough from here. I placed my bag and coat on the counter and took a seat on the chair instead. He laughed looking at me, his one arm resting on the armrest, cradling his cheek.

"You know you and I would have made a great couple." He noted. Did I mention the man was creepy? I'll repeat it again. He was creepy. He pulled his feet up and placed them on the coffee table. Not only was it unhygienic, it was one of my pet peeves.

"Please get your feet off my coffee table." I hissed. He looked at me, then down at his feet and laughed, completely ignoring me.

"Do you have anything to eat in this house?" He asked instead.

"No. I haven't gone grocery shopping." I lied. He laughed and got off the couch, making his way to the kitchen. I mentally calculated how long it would take me to get to the door until I realised the keys were not behind the door. The sliding door going to the balcony was another option. Except I was on the fifth floor. Jumping down would be equivalent to committing suicide.

He returned to the lounge with a pack chips and an energy drink.

"I found something." He said stuffing his face with my chips.

"When is Felix supposed to get here?" I asked. He looked at his watch and smiled.

"Two minutes." He answered. A knock on the door made his smile wider. It had to be Felix. I said a silent prayer, hoping that both of us come out of this in one piece. I didn't know why I was calm. But then again I had come face to face with a suspected serial killer and didn't blink. Either I was too naive and trusting or just plain stupid. Either way, it wasn't good.

He got up and made his way to the door pulling the key out of his pocket. He opened the door and peeked out before fully pulling the door open. Felix walked in and looked around, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw me.

"Are you Okay?" He asked. My poor brother, he looked like he hadn't tasted sleep in a long time.

"I'm fine."

"Come on, you know your sister and I are friends, I wouldn't hurt her. But I see you don't have what I am looking for." He said.

"I told you it was at the station." Lwandle replied. I could see the fear in his eyes. I wasn't sure what was going on, but I knew it wasn't good.

"Can I go now?" I asked standing up. I quickly sat back down as Booi pointed the gun at me.

"The file?" He said staring at Lwandle.

"Why are you so interested in it? You never wanted anything on it when Jaekyung brought it to you. So why now?" Felix asked. Booi chuckled.

"Eunsoo is innocent. He is not the serial killer. We had the serial killer and we let him go. Now you think I will just sit back and let someone else take the fall for this? Never!" He hissed.

"How do you know Eunsoo?" Felix questioned. All I gathered was that all this was happening because of the serial killer case. But now who the heck is Eunsoo.

"He is my brother in law. He is half brother to my wife." Booi volunteered the information. "I've also been doing my own research. You know what I found, Jaekyung and that stupid Xin Xi guy we had at the station, they are brothers. Triplets in actual fact. I dont know where the other one is. Now, you're smart, think about this. Jaekyung gives you a file with all the serial killer information and everything points to Eunsoo. Meanwhile we have a sketch from a victim that points to Jaekyung's brother. The same Jaekyung we have been working with to solve this case. Ever wondered why the serial killer was always a step ahead? He had an inside man. His own brother." Booi said.

I knew his version made more sense but i still didn't want to believe Ghu He Zhou had anything to do with this case. I'd asked him and he had never given me a definite answer. But did that mean he really was the serial killer? Which one of the two was the one doing the killing.