Chapter 9 - {Carlos Gonzalez My Saviour Their Murderer}

The door clicked shut behind him. He didn't turn on the lights. Didn't take off his shoes. Just stood in the dark, the echo of Carlos's touch still clinging to his skin like cigarette smoke something that shouldn't be there, something that seeps in anyway. He sat on the edge of the bed. Slowly. Like his body had finally caught up to his conscience. "You'll never escape me." Soo-jin pressed his palms against his face. His fingers trembled. He could still taste Carlos on his lips. He still felt the way that body leaned into his. How willingly his own hands had clutched back. There had been no fight this time. No excuses. Just need. And now…He looked up at the window dim light crawling across the wall as morning crept in. The city was waking. But inside him? Silence. I kissed him. I wanted it. I let it happen. His phone buzzed. A message from Chief Kang. "Come in. We have another body." Soo-jin stared at it for a long time. Another victim. Another crime. And all he could think about was how warm Carlos's mouth had been. How his voice had whispered, "Let it destroy you." And he had. Soo-jin shoved the phone off the bed. It hit the floor with a sharp crack. He curled forward. Tears didn't come. Just the weight of it. The betrayal. The craving. The hunger. The shame. And the terrifying realisation that if Carlos asked him to come again, he would. Soo-jin stood over the new victim's file. Another man. Another grotesque scene eyes gouged out, mouth sewn shut, the word "LIAR" carved into his chest. But what hit harder? He recognised the man. A former superior from Soo-jin's early years a manipulative officer who'd humiliated him in front of others, blackmailed him into silence when he tried to report misconduct. He ruined me. Soo-jin swallowed, throat dry. He flipped through the file. Cause of death: asphyxiation. Time of death: two nights ago. The night after Soo-jin had visited Carlos. No. No, it's a coincidence. But his chest said otherwise. Then another file landed on his desk. Victim: Lee Seung-hwan. A journalist. His stomach dropped. Lee had outed Soo-jin to the press years ago during an internal scandal, twisting the story to paint him as unstable and unfit for the force. Dead now. Tongue cut out. Fingers broken. Soo-jin's hands shook as he picked up his phone and called the prison. "I need to speak to inmate Carlos Gonzalez. Now." Carlos entered, hands cuffed, expression unreadable. Calm. Composed. Soo-jin was already waiting. "You said you loved me," Soo-jin started, voice quiet, sharp. "Did you mean it?" Carlos tilted his head. "With everything I am." Soo-jin slammed a file onto the table. "They're dead. All of them. Every person who's hurt me. Bullied me. Betrayed me. Did you do it?" Carlos didn't blink. Didn't flinch. "I told you," he said softly. "I would protect what's mine." Soo-jin stared. "You're not protecting me. You're turning me into you." Carlos leaned forward, his smile gentle. "No. I'm setting you free." Soo-jin's voice shook. "You're not protecting me. You're killing people." Carlos didn't deny it. Didn't gloat. He just stared eyes soft, almost hurt. "They hurt you." "It wasn't your choice to make." "But it was the only one anyone ever made for you." Soo-jin stood. Angry. Frantic. "You're not a saviour, Carlos. You're a murderer!" Carlos leaned back in the chair, cuffs clinking faintly. He didn't look offended. "Then why are you trembling again?" That stopped him. Because he was. Shaking. Sweating. And he hated that Carlos noticed it every time. Carlos's voice softened. "You've been wronged your whole life. Shamed. Used. And when it happened, no one stepped in. Not your friends. Not your superiors. Not even you." Soo-jin's jaw clenched. "I survived." "You endured, Soo-jin. That's not the same."