Kim froze in place.
His eyes widened, his lips slightly parted as a sharp breath escaped him from the intensity of shock.
He took a slow step forward… staring at the victim's face as if searching for a mistake—an illusion that could save him from this brutal reality.
He turned toward his assistant.
His eyes spoke what words could not.
We failed…
We did not do our job the way we should have.
He dropped to his knees, struggling to keep his trembling body steady.
His hand reached toward the covering… hesitating for a moment before lifting it.
He needed to confirm it.
Was this failure truly real?
The world… was far crueler than he had imagined.
The forensic expert stepped closer, tilting his head slightly before whispering in a calm yet disturbing voice:
"Keep the cover in place… the body is completely exposed. There are… disturbing details."
He paused for a second, then added:
"The body must be transferred to forensic examination. I will send you the report as soon as possible."
Kim remained standing, unable to fully process what was happening.
A crime scene officer approached, holding a transparent evidence bag containing a storage device, and said seriously:
"Detective Kim… we are most likely dealing with the same killer."
He continued:
"No fingerprints… no footprints… no physical evidence. But we are still searching."
The forensic expert shook his head and added heavily:
"I have never seen anything more horrifying… we are dealing with a butcher."
Then he pointed at the bag:
"We found this storage device… inside the victim's mouth. The same method used in the Woo Jin case."
Kim tightened his grip on the bag, as if holding onto his last thread of hope.
"What is the time of death?"
The forensic expert replied: "Between 9 and 10 PM."
Kim stepped back, as if dragging his failure behind him.
Inside, a faint voice whispered in blame:
He killed her after the week ended…
He kept his promise.
Guilt devoured every part of him, yet the body remained there—unchangeable, irreversible.
He exhaled, then said firmly:
"I want the report within hours."
He did not wait.
He drove straight home, unable to bear the thought that he had become nothing more than a pawn in the hands of a deranged killer… someone who enjoyed tormenting them.
He sat in his living room, his hand trembling as he pulled out the storage device.
He inserted it into his computer… and slowly put on his headphones.
The video began.
High quality… not a phone camera.
A distant angle… then it slowly zoomed in.
A girl standing on a bridge overlooking the Han River.
Time: 3 AM.
She climbed over the railing.
Then… a voice.
A deep male voice, laced with a disturbing sense of pleasure:
"You were wrong…"
Kim's pulse quickened.
"Did you think I was unfair?"
"I am executing the justice you failed to deliver."
The camera moved closer.
"You were getting too close… so I decided to reward you."
"Look closely… the girl on the bridge."
A short pause… then:
"Isn't that So Hwa?"
Kim froze.
"She is weak… a victim."
"I do not harm the weak… I cleanse the world of the corrupt."
The voice exhaled slowly, savoring every word:
"She was pregnant… with that bastard Woo Jin's child."
"And he refused to acknowledge it."
At that moment…
The girl jumped into the river.
Silence.
Then the voice returned—calmer… and far more terrifying:
"You see? So Hwa chose death…"
"She could not bring herself to kill the innocent life inside her… and she had no one to support her."
A pause… then a whisper:
"I… cleanse this world."
Then suddenly, the tone changed:
"The evidence is in front of you."
"Can you find it?"
A brief silence… then:
"They are criminals… unworthy of life."
"But the world sees them as innocent… as always."
A faint laugh.
"Search for the truth… and prove their innocence."
"In my court… I am the judge."
"My name… is The Purifier."
The video ended.
Kim sat in absolute silence…
His eyes fixed on the screen.
This time…
it was no longer just a killer.
It was something that saw itself as justice.
Kim muttered under his breath, as if trapped in an endless loop:
"The Purifier…"
"The Purifier…"
He was spinning in a void with no end.
And the undeniable truth was this:
He now carried a crushing burden.
If he failed…
another body would inevitably appear.
He found himself trapped between two fires:
Either become a puppet in the killer's hands…
or risk everything… to stop him.