Jinro became Korea's so-called national liquor because of its low alcohol content and cheap price—hence its nickname, "poor man's drink."
Jack had the disgusting, watered-down Jinro taken away and replaced it with a more common Chinese baijiu available in Korea—"Hai Zhi Lan."
Neither he nor Ma Seok-do were particularly heavy drinkers, but since Jack had promised to treat him to Chinese liquor, he intended to keep his word. The two hostesses' eyes immediately lit up with dollar signs—this brand was not cheap in Korea, especially in a nightclub, where it went for nearly $300 a bottle.
Ma Seok-do took a sip, grimaced at the strong taste, and then broke into a grin as he put down his glass.
"Since that bastard might not be the real killer, I might have a lead for you."
Jack raised an eyebrow. This guy had bailed before noon—where the hell did he suddenly get a lead from?
"Ah, come on, man! What's with that look?" Ma Seok-do's face turned red—not clear if it was the alcohol or Jack's skepticism.
"I told you—I was going to ask around for you!
I spent the whole afternoon wandering around Itaewon!"
"Alright, let's hear it. If it's useful, I owe you one."
Jack's interest was piqued. He hadn't expected the big guy to actually do his homework.
Leaning in, Ma Seok-do lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper.
"Lately, there's been an urban legend going around in Itaewon.
They say that at midnight, people have seen a ghostly woman wandering the streets—long hair, white dress, the whole horror movie setup.
I asked some of the patrol officers, and someone actually saw her.
They say she lifts her hair to reveal a terrifyingly disfigured face."
"Wait, what? A ghost?"
Jack was completely baffled.
"Are you seriously trying to tell me ghost stories right now?"
One of the hostesses giggled.
"Oppa, you're so bad!"
"You're just trying to scare us, aren't you? I have to go home alone tonight!"
"Ah, knock it off!"
Ma Seok-do pushed the two clingy hostesses aside and turned back to Jack with a serious expression.
"At first, I thought it was just nonsense.
But one of the patrol officers mentioned something interesting—
Every time someone sees this 'ghostly woman,' she's pushing a supermarket shopping cart."
Jack's eyes lit up.
"You think the killer might be pretending to be a ghost?"
Ma Seok-do grinned and shrugged.
"I don't know.
But don't you think it's way too much of a coincidence?
This 'White-Clad Woman' legend just happened to start spreading this past month."
—
Jack didn't stick around.
Now that they had a lead, he had zero interest in staying for drinks.
He left Ma Seok-do to enjoy his hostesses and headed straight back to the FBI's temporary base.
By the time he arrived, everyone had just fallen asleep—
Only to be woken up again by Jack, reeking of alcohol.
After hearing about the "urban legend" from Ma Seok-do, Jubal rubbed his chin and thought for a moment.
"Ninety percent of serial killers are male.
And since the dump sites suggest a level of organization, we never considered the possibility of a female perpetrator before."
"But if you combine the messy crime scene with the more carefully staged dump sites…" Aubrey added, "then a disorganized female killer suddenly becomes a viable theory."
Criminal psychology isn't gender neutral—
Male and female serial killers have very different motives and very different methods.
Women are more likely to kill for money or power, or as revenge.
Men, on the other hand, are far more likely to kill for sex, control, or dominance.
When it comes to methods, women tend to poison their victims.
Men? Violence.
Jessica nodded in agreement.
"But when a female serial killer does use violence, her crime scenes tend to be chaotic.
However, her body disposal will usually be carefully planned, regardless of how disorganized she is otherwise."
"That means we shouldn't be interpreting this through a sexual psychology lens," Clay said, turning to Jack.
"Exactly." Jack nodded.
"We already know Lee Geon-woo is a dominant personality.
In his relationships, he demands control—he even pressures his girlfriends into getting plastic surgery.
That's a classic 'PUA' tactic.
So what if the real killer is one of his exes?
One he pressured into surgery?
And if we connect this with the "White-Clad Woman" legend, she might be someone who was abandoned after a failed cosmetic procedure.
The victims—all disfigured—could be surrogate targets."
As Jack spoke, Alice's fingers were already flying across her keyboard.
"Give me a sec—
It shouldn't be too hard to find…
But pulling medical records will take some time.
That scumbag has way too many exes.
I'll start with the most recent ones and work backward."
Hannah pulled up a chair beside her and opened her own laptop.
"Lee Geon-woo had several fiancées, right?
Wait—here we go. Liu Soo-bin.
She was a real estate agent.
They were engaged about two years ago."
A few minutes later, Hannah let out a cheer.
"Bingo! Guess what I found?"
Everyone crowded around her screen.
Jubal, closest to her, read first.
"Liu Soo-bin used to work for a real estate company.
And that company was the one that sold Lee Geon-woo that Itaewon office."
Aubrey's eyes widened in excitement.
"As a real estate agent, she could have had a spare key to that office.
She'd know how to get in and out without being noticed."
Jack then looked over at Alice's screen.
"Alice, can you find where she lives now?"
Alice rolled her eyes at Aubrey but still answered.
"No idea.
She moved out of her apartment over a year ago.
And right after breaking off her engagement with Lee Geon-woo, she deleted all her social media.
I can't find any work records for her either.
It's like she disappeared."
"I found something else!" Hannah raised her hand like an excited schoolgirl.
"Lee Geon-woo's American fiancée, Lauren Barrett?
She started dating him right around the same time he broke up with Liu Soo-bin."
"So there's our motive." Jessica ruffled Hannah's hair in approval.
"They got engaged just a month ago.
And the first victim was killed two weeks ago."
"Lauren is a blonde American beauty.
Exactly what Lee Geon-woo wanted his past girlfriends to surgically become.
Liu Soo-bin must see her as the ultimate rival."
Jubal suddenly realized something.
"What if… the three victims weren't just stand-ins?"
He turned to Jack.
"Remember the autopsy?
What if those mutilations weren't just rage-fueled attacks?"
Jack's expression grew serious.
"The killer's technique was evolving.
She was practicing.
For her real target.
Lauren."
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