The doctor left the intensive care unit, unable to hide a faint smile when he saw Himi's face filled with anxious curiosity and tear-swollen eyes.
"He's awake."
"His condition is stable."
Himi wiped her tears, trying to control the trembling that had overtaken her body, but the slight shake of her fingers as she wiped her face betrayed her.
"Can I see him now?"
The doctor nodded.
"But don't talk too much."
"His body is still weak."
The moment he finished speaking, she could no longer control her feet. She ran through the corridor, her hair flowing behind her as if she were running for her life. When she reached the door, she paused and took a deep breath.
She whispered to herself:
"Himi… calm down… now."
She tried to fix her hair a little.
Then she opened the door and stepped inside. Her footsteps were heavy as she looked at Minsoo, still unconscious.
She approached slowly, step by step.
Everything she had gone through made it hard to believe he was finally coming back to her.
She stood beside the bed, staring at his features—his eyes, his nose, his lips, his black hair, his pale skin.
Without realizing it, in a childlike motion, she leaned closer to listen to his breathing.
And the moment she did—
A hoarse voice she had long missed surprised her.
"Did you cry a lot?"
She straightened up quickly and pulled back slightly, but Minsoo reached out and held her hand.
Their eyes met, saying what words could not.
A story of depths never spoken.
Himi broke down again.
"Minsoo… I thought…"
Despite his weakened state, his eyes felt like finally returning home.
He spoke in broken words:
"This time… I think… even death… rejected me… again."
She quickly covered his mouth with her hand.
"Shh… don't say that…"
"The past few days… I've lived the worst nightmare of my life."
"Minsoo… please… don't do this to me again… I almost died."
For a moment she realized she had said too much. Her eyes darted away in embarrassment, looking everywhere.
"The doctor told me not to stay long."
"You'll be moved to another room."
"I'll go home and take a shower."
She puffed her lips in a childlike expression.
"I really need to… I haven't showered in days."
Minsoo looked at her for a long moment, then smiled faintly.
"You've changed…"
"You've aged years because of me."
"You really care about me, don't you?"
Himi looked at him—and smiled from the depths of her heart after days of pain.
Minsoo was back.
In the morning, near the Han River, the scene was unusually crowded.
Divers were combing the riverbed carefully. Police boats moved across the water while the entire area was sealed off to keep away onlookers and reporters.
On the riverbank, Detective Kim stood in heavy silence. His face was stone-like, but his fingers betrayed him as he nervously bit his nails.
An hour passed… then two.
Finally, a diver surfaced and signaled to the team.
A body had been found.
A heavy silence fell before the teams moved quickly. The body was carefully placed in an evidence bag, lifted onto a boat, and brought to shore.
Detective Kim and the forensic examiner immediately approached.
At first glance, the body appeared to be the missing idol Sohwa. However, nothing could be confirmed until lab results arrived. No gunshot wounds. No stab wounds. No clear signs of strangulation. No toxins.
Cause of death: drowning.
Foam still clung faintly around the mouth. The hands were clenched around traces of aquatic plants, as if the victim had struggled until the final moment. Rigor mortis spasms were visible in the limbs. The face, abdomen, and limbs were severely swollen. Hair was beginning to fall out, and some nails had detached—signs that the body had been in water for nearly two weeks.
Detective Kim stood in dead silence. Around the yellow tape, reporters gathered, shouting and filming nonstop.
"Detective Kim!"
"Is it true the body is Sohwa?"
He did not answer immediately. He looked at the forensic doctor closing his report. One glance between them was enough.
"The report is nearly complete… I will send it once final confirmation is made."
Detective Kim stepped toward the press.
"This is an unauthorized area. There is no official confirmation of the victim's identity. The condition of the body makes visual identification impossible."
He paused.
"Spreading unverified information will result in legal action. Do not contribute to rumors."
He turned and left without waiting for a response, heading back to headquarters.
But driving was not easy. He could not see the road clearly; questions filled his mind without end.
Who was this man calling himself "The Purifier"? How could someone justify murder as if it were sacred duty? Did he truly believe he was cleansing the world—or was the evil inside him instead?
At headquarters, the report finally arrived. Kim sat before his tablet and began scrolling through the images.
His expression froze.
The body was completely naked. But the shocking part was not the nudity—it was what was written on the skin.
Fine, precise incisions formed words across the body like a horrifying inscription.
From neck to abdomen:
"I am Kim Ji-yoon… I was not a real sister; I sold my sister Sohwa to 'Woogin' for money. I pretended to love her, but I forced her into dirty work she never wanted, all for money."
On the back:
"I stripped her naked to show the world her filthy truth… the fraud."
Kim continued reading, his expression darkening further.
A strange fingernail found in Woogin's body belonged to this victim, Kim Ji-yoon. Tissue analysis confirmed the same method signature.
Cause of death: strangulation using a thin wire, likely fishing line.
The teeth told another story. They had been removed with precision, polished, modified, and reinserted neatly using adhesive. All belonged to the victim—except one lower front tooth, which belonged to an unknown person.
But the most disturbing discovery was yet to come.
Inside the victim's stomach, a small storage device was found.
Kim quickly connected it to his computer.
A video opened.
At first—silence.
Then violence.
Cold, precise, deliberate.
Woogin being torn apart while still alive.
Ji-yoon forced to watch her own collapse before death.
Her teeth extracted without anesthesia—she screamed until her voice disappeared.
Kim could not continue watching. He suddenly ran to the trash bin and vomited, while the images continued to burn into his mind.
Then—
He appeared.
A blue bird mask covering his face.
He stepped closer to the camera.
He laughed.
A long, hysterical laugh.
Then calmly:
"I should have been nominated for an Oscar…"
He clapped slowly, as if standing on a stage. Then he bowed to an invisible audience.
He lifted a glass filled with dark red liquid.
He danced.
Quietly… in horrifying ecstasy.
Then he spoke:
"I am the Purifier."
"I cleanse this world of criminals."
"And you should thank me… because I am doing your job."
He leaned closer.
"Listen carefully to the music; it fills the horizon."
Then slowly:
"Don't forget, Detective Kim… search carefully for the identity of the next victim. The countdown has begun."
"I will be generous this time."
"Fifteen days."
Kim looked at Sohwa's report—who chose to end her life and the life of the child growing inside her rather than face a world that had long abandoned mercy.
Then he looked at the photos of her sister's mutilated body.
The irony burned him.
Sohwa, who harmed no one, rotted silently in the river.
While the sister who sold her became a blood-written confession under the Purifier's scalpel.