Chapter 77 - I will see whether you have the guts

Ahn Hana doesn't move out of Do Sejin's apartment. She resumes going to the office and handling minor cases as if nothing happened to her. Do Sejin keeps her eyes on her while investigating people on the list. There is silence between them even at work. She's not warm or cold. At home, she would rarely utter a word to him. She leaves before he wakes up and goes straight to her room after coming back. She would eat food outside.

Do Sejin is used to this silence. In this chamber, he is looking at the list carefully. He has a feeling that the killer is not anyone among them. The person who can help him the most is Ahn Hana herself. He wonders if he should talk to her about this. Is there any way?

He has visited the library. He has taken the book that the killer read to her when she was in a coma. The book has a haunting message. The killer has aesthetic senses. They have caught him on the camera, but it's useless. Aside from his shoe size, height, and body shape, he doesn't know anything. Still, it's a start. Most people in this list cancels out after checking. Then, who is it?

His head is hurting. It's not possible to check all the men in the city.

Bo Ji Won is dead. Jung Kwang-soo nearly died. What does the killer want from him? When will this be over?

His daughter is with the killer. There's not even a picture of her. Ahn Hana has nothing of her.

That woman... he doesn't know what to say to her. There are times when he wants to shake her awake and say that she should trust him and give him a chance. She should talk to him. But, the woman is stubborn.

He walks to her chamber in frustration. How could she be this calm after everything that happened? It's not only about this woman anymore. It's about their daughter. He can't accept that a murderer is holding his daughter somewhere.

"Hana." He slams the list in front of her. "It's enough. Tell me who you are suspicious of. You must have someone in your mind."

She scans the list with a poker face. "None of them."

He could guess it already. "Who is it? Tell me the names of people who could be the magnolia killer."

Who? Ahn Hana is not 100% sure. There is someone in her mind, but she can't find the connection between them. She's still looking. If her doubts are correct, then they would only know the person. They have zero evidence against the person.

Before she finds out what he wants from her, she can't make a move.

"There's no one in my mind." She looks up at Do Sejin. "If you stop being so emotional, you might be able to find something."

"Blaming me for being emotional..." He grasps her shoulder and glares at her. "Damnit, woman! He has our daughter."

Ahn Hana's shoulder hurts. She doesn't react to the pain. "Our daughter won't be harmed."

"How are you so sure?" He can't believe what he is seeing. The woman is really a mother? A mother can't be this calm. "How are you sure that she isn't already dead?"

"Because he loves me. He wouldn't hurt her because he thinks that she's his daughter. She came from me." She grabs his collar and pulls him closer. "You also love me, don't you? Your love is nothing compared to his. Stop haggling me now. If you want to find her, go find her yourself. I will find her in my way."

"What will you do when you find her?" Do Sejin smiles at her scornfully. "Will you go to him and become his? Playing a happy family with him somewhere?"

He can't forget how she declared that she loved him. Now, she's demeaning him by comparing his love with that killer. This woman might have gone insane. It's not her fault. But he can't accept her falling deeper into the darkness willingly. To save her and their daughter, he will do anything.

"Ahn Hana, you will only belong to me. I am the father of the child you bore in your wȯmb for months. Nobody can change that fact." He leans closer to her. "I won't let that killer take you away. I will find him and bury him with my own hands."

Ahn Hana stares at him without any change in her expression. One can't tell whether she hates him or admires him for his declaration. Suddenly, there is a shadow of a smile on her lips.

"When the moment comes, I will see whether you have the guts."