Chapter 52 - It's not her

Half a year later, Do Sejin is sitting across Jung Kwang-soo. They are looking at the pictures of a woman who looks similar to Ahn Hana. The picture is slightly blurry and taken at a jewelry store. Only the side of her face is shown.

He takes a long look. "It's not her."

"How do you know?" Jung Kwang-soo protests. "Look, she is 75% similar to her according to some AI. I think that it is her. It's taken in Spain. It's a perfect vacation spot."

Two weeks before the disappearance, Ahn Hana transferred all of her funds in a secret account. She took care of loose ends secretly. She seemed prepared to leave on the day of hearing to the place where Ji-Won went for a honeymoon with her husband. Though her passport is still at her house along with other crucial documents required for traveling abroad, they can never be sure.

"I just know that it is not her." Do Sejin rests his elbow on the table and leans forward. "It's the vibe of this woman. Ahn Hana didn't own much jewelry. I rarely saw her wearing any ornaments on her body. She was the type who found these things bothersome."

"She might have changed." Jung Kwang-soo utters weakly. He knows that Do Sejin is right. "The whole nation believes that she is dead. They light candles on her grave that relatives built for her. I am tired of seeing these things. Ji-Won is also breaking and thinking that she is truly gone."

Do Sejin looks at the picture of the woman again. It has been a year. If she has been alive, she would have given birth to his child. The child would have been 4-5 months old. Ahn Hana would have fiercely protected the child at any cost. It seems plausible that she would disappear like that. She wouldn't trust anyone after what happened to her at Jung Kwang-soo's house.

If it's the killer who took her away, he is more afraid. He doesn't know if his child would have lived. The killer might have killed both of them by now. Worse, she could be alive and tormented each day.

Then, she also had the illness. Would the killer take her to the hospital? Her illness is not something that is cured in one day or one visit. No hospital in the country has seen or reported Ahn Hana. Her face is famous throughout the world because of the nature of the crime.

If she ran away and hidden somewhere, he is still afraid. What about her illness? Where would get she get treated? If she is in the country, he would have found her. He is sure.

Where could she go if she escaped the killer's clasps?

First, explore the possibility of her escape.

"Jung Kwang-soo," He exhales loudly. It's difficult to talk about that night. "They found the pieces of her clothes at the crime site. If she escaped, she wouldn't run out nȧkėd. Was any of your clothes missing?"

Jung Kwang-soo hasn't been in his house much after that day. That place feels haunted to him. He is living in a different apartment. "I don't know. I didn't check. I have a lot of clothes. Unless it is my favorite, I would not notice if anything else is gone."

Ahn Hana, if she wants to disappear, won't take anything obvious. She would take something that Jung Kwang-soo wouldn't even remember that he ever had. In any case, those are men's clothes.

Still, Do Sejin is gloomy. "You are not helpful, are you?"

"I know." Jung Kwang-soo knows that a bit too well. "If I hadn't drunk that juice, I would not have slept. This wouldn't have happened."

Do Sejin doesn't blame him anymore. The killer is cunning and calculative. He is sure that the killer had a plan B to take care of Jung Kwang-soo. In the worst-case scenario, Jung Kwang-soo would have died. He didn't like this man once, but he is the biggest support right now. He is the only other person who still believes that Ahn Hana is alive.

"Don't think of what-ifs. The killer would have found another way."

Jung Kwang-soo looks away. "She told me the same thing before that. I promised her that I would keep her safe. I hate myself, Do Sejin."

Do Sejin also hates himself. He knows the reasons behind her outbursts now. She was pregnant and ill. A crazy killer was chasing her. Her pregnancy provoked the killer. What did he do to her that night at Jung Kwang-soo's house? He is terrified. He cannot imagine. The sight of blood won't disappear from his mind. He is afraid that she will never be the same even if he finds her.

"She was acting strange. She put the knife on her belly," Jung Kwang-soo recounts her strange actions. "Did she want to kill herself and her child before the killer?"

She might have. Ahn Hana was afraid. She was bȧrėly clinging to the last strand of her sanity. The killer took away Seol A's internal organs. He might have wanted to do the same to Ahn Hana and take away the fetus.

Last scenario: She could be alive. The child might be alive too. They might be living with the killer. That night, she might have given into her obsessive lover. The illness? She could have left the country to get it treated secretly. If she didn't want to leave the killer, she wouldn't come back to this life. There was nothing here for her.

He is sure that she wouldn't come back for him in any of the scenarios.