GASLIGHTING

3 PM in Hannam Dong, Seoul,

The curtains of the dimly lit medical room fluttered as Hong Siwoo swung open the glass window. A brisk wind swept into the room, causing the frail, bedridden figure of old man Hong Yushik to shiver beneath his covers. Pretending to be asleep, he kept his eyes shut upon sensing his son's presence.

"Stop the act, Father. I won't eat you," Siwoo said with a smile, approaching the bed and gently patting his father's head.

Yushik's ears recoiled at these words; he opened his eyes wide, fixing a dark, anguished stare on his son. "Or do you fantasize about me roasting and consuming your flesh, just as you did with my mother? Hmm? Is that what you want?" Siwoo brought his face close to Yushik's, staring deeply into eyes now filled with fear, replacing the earlier anger.

"Don't worry, you won't meet such an easy end. You'll beg for death. So quit throwing tantrums at my servants and eat whatever is served," Siwoo declared in a cold tone, well aware of Yushik's psychopathic tendencies that drove away household staff.

He would suddenly start screaming in the middle of the day, and throwing things to bang on the door, pushing away the served food as the maids approached him. 

Yushik erupted, sitting up on the bed, shaking his son's shoulders vigorously. "JUST KILL ME, YOU BASTARD!!! KILL ME!!!"

"Bastard? Think before you speak, or I might cut off the tongue that tasted the blood of those victims!" Siwoo shot back with equal intensity.

Amused, Yushik chuckled at his son's outburst. "Siwoo-yah, my dear Siwoo, if I'm tainted by those sins, so are you, my son. Didn't you also feast on your loving mother's flesh? Remember? Or have you forgotten?" He continued laughing maniacally, gazing up at Siwoo, who lost control and yanked Yushik off the bed, revealing his amputated legs below the knees. Yushik lay on the floor, laughing loudly, his dark eyes fixed on Siwoo.

"YOU FORCED ME! YOU ANIMAL!!! No, not even an animal— A MONSTER!!! My mom was raising me peacefully until you barged into our lives! You brutally killed her, dragged me to Damyang!" Siwoo screamed, haunted by past memories. His traumatic childhood experiences, the reason for his clinical psychopathy, flooded his mind. The day his own father, Hong Yushik, compelled him to consume his mother's flesh was a nightmare that continued to plague his life.

The horrors of that day flashed before Siwoo's eyes, and in a fit of rage, he ordered the servants to place Yushik back on the bed before bolting down the staircase. He rushed into his room and slammed the door shut. The memories of being coerced into chewing his mother's flesh overwhelmed him, causing nausea and blurred vision. Siwoo stumbled inside the bathroom, vomiting out the blood mixed with saliva. Turning on the tap as water mixed with blood flowed across the tiles. Seating himself in the bathtub, he doused his face with cold water, attempting to regain his senses. The screams of his mother echoed in his ears as he submerged himself in the water, seeking solace from the haunting past.

...

7 PM, National Intelligence Center, Seoul

Kim Haneul scrutinized the table strewn with photographs of victims, each featuring Kang Chaewon at different occasions over the past few years.

"Are you sure about it?" Haneul inquired, bending down to examine the pictures.

"Yes, sir. According to these pictures and details from respective events, the needle of suspicion has again pointed towards Kang Chaewon," Minjae, his confident assistant, remarked.

Haneul closely examined the scattered photos. The first one captured Kang Chaewon having dinner with the first victim found in Damyang's forest a month ago. In the second, she handed a glass of wine to the old lady killed in Jinhae. The third depicted Chaewon and her nephew outside the bar where he later met his demise, and the fourth showed her at her daughter, Kang Jurin's, 23rd birthday celebration. All the victims were connected to Kang Chaewon, both in business and personal life.

"Do you think someone is seeking revenge on her? It seems implausible for Chaewon to kill all these important people in her life," Minjae questioned.

"Who knows? Maybe she didn't need them anymore, or perhaps they were becoming a hindrance in her illegal activities," Haneul replied, still engrossed in the pictures.

"But still, killing her own daughter..." Minjae hesitated, considering that possibility.

"Keep a close eye on her activities. Kang Minseok is pressuring the department to arrest Lee Hangyul, but since it was already cleared that he was innocent in the Yoon couple's murder, there is no point in arresting him and wasting our time. Instead, I want you to dig up information on Dr. Danny Park and his unethical experiments. Also, there is a new person on my radar these days," Haneul paused, deepening Minjae's curiosity.

"Who is that?"

"Jung Bomin, the son of Jung Jonghyun, the running candidate for parliamentary elections."

"Why him? Isn't he also Yoon Seong-ah's cameraman?" Minjae asked.

"Yes, which makes him more suspicious due to his connection with Hong Siwoo, the rising business tycoon of South Korea," Kim Haneul said with a serious face, recalling seeing Bomin exit the BlueChip Investment office in Yongsan.

Kim Haneul and Minjae were on a secret undercover operation for the past few days, unbeknownst to Yoon Seong-ah. They had followed her to the interview with Hong Siwoo while keeping tabs on her plans with Bomin. They closely observed the Kang family's mansion with Minjae's assistance and gathered information in Dr. Danny Park's hospital.

"Presently, Kang Chaewon, Park Danny, Jung Bomin, and Hong Siwoo," Haneul wrote the names with a blue marker on the whiteboard, "are the main suspects in this killing spree, where one of them is copying the method of a past serial killer. But for me, these murders might be either from a revenge standpoint or due to a threat of a shift in power. Whatever the reason is, it definitely has roots in current politics. Someone certainly wants the downfall of Kang Minseok in politics and Kang Chaewon in the drug business."

Haneul stared at those names for a long time, then closed his eyes to contemplate if he was missing any details. Suddenly, something sparked in his mind, and he opened his eyes. "Minjae, take out the car. We are heading to Jinhae."

9 PM, Jinhae

Winter blanketed the coastal town in a crisp tranquility. The air held a chilly freshness, occasional snowfall adorning the landscapes in a serene white veil. The dropping temperature rendered the town quieter and still. Yoon Seong-ah, wrapped in her arms against the cold, stepped down from the car.

"Why did you get down, Seong-ah? We still have a long way to reach grandma's house," Lee Hangyul called her inside the car.

"Shut up! Let me click the pictures quickly! Look at how beautiful this coastline has turned with the snow all over the sand—such a rare sight," Seong-ah, being the stubborn girl she was, was in no mood to heed her newly recruited boyfriend's insistence.

"Just get inside the car for god's sake! It's going to snow soon! I want to reach home quickly," Hangyul grumbled from inside. Seong-ah turned around, shooting him an annoyed glance. She had suggested the visit to Hangyul's grandmother after their teary confession to each other, hoping for some sweet moments before life became too complicated.

"Mr. Lee, you're more stubborn than me!" she exclaimed while sitting inside the car.

Hangyul turned towards her, buckling up the seatbelt and spreading a woolen blanket over her legs, exposed by a half-naked skirt, to keep her warm.

"Don't you think I'm sweeter than you too?" He stole a kiss from his already-pouting girlfriend, surprising her with his sudden affection.

"What the hell? Doing that with your blank face!" Seong-ah was taken aback by Hangyul's silly actions.

"Do you find it hot, Miss Yoon?"

"Stop… stop it… Please start driving your car," Seong-ah pleaded, struggling to handle this newfound sweetness from Hangyul, whose behavior had changed overnight after their confession. She looked outside the window, trying to calm herself, as he pulled the car over by the beach.

They arrived at the tteokbeoki shop run by Jeong Suhyeon, Hangyul's grandmother. Behind the shop stood a large bungalow where she lived alone after the death of Hangyul's parents. The shop was closed, and Seong-ah and Hangyul walked behind it, entering through a small gate. Jeong Suhyeon sat on a wooden swing in the bungalow's lawn. Seong-ah and Hangyul approached her with smiles of happiness.

"Grandma!" Hangyul called out loudly as they neared the swing.

There was no response. Grandma sat still, leaning on the backrest of the wooden swing. An eerie feeling crept over Seong-ah since stepping into the bungalow area. Hangyul grew nervous, realizing that even after calling her twice, Grandma hadn't turned back. His feet remained fixed as he sensed the situation. Instead, Seong-ah went in front of the swing and stepped back in shock, eyes wide, observing the lifeless figure of Jeong Suhyeon. A screwdriver was stabbed into her heart, her eyes closed, the pain of her final moments still vividly displayed on her face.

"Hangyul…" Seong-ah stuttered as her thoughts struggled to form words.

Lee Hangyul sat down quietly on the cold grass, witnessing the passing away of the last member of his family. Seong-ah ran to him, pulling him into a tight embrace as she sobbed heavily. Hangyul, silently patting her back, looked towards the dark figure walking out of the lawn.