The plane touched down at Gimpo Airport just after midnight. Dae-hyun was off before the seatbelt sign fully clicked off, Min-jun and Seo-ah hurrying behind him. They moved through the terminal in silence, past sleepy travelers and blinking departure boards, out to the parking lot where Dae-hyun's SUV waited.
Min-jun took the wheel. Dae-hyun sat in the passenger seat, his phone already pressed to his ear.
"We're landing now. What do you have?"
Jin-young's voice came through, tight with excitement. "Everything, Captain. I've got everything on Kang Young-soo."
"Talk."
The drive to Yongsan was a blur of streetlights and traffic, but Dae-hyun's focus was entirely on Jin-young's voice in his ear.
---
They burst into the bullpen at twelve forty-five. Every light was on. Every monitor glowed. Jin-young stood before the whiteboard, which had been completely transformed.
Hae-rin sat at her desk, notes spread before her. Shi-eok stood by the window, but his eyes were on the board. Soo-ah bounced on her heels, unable to contain her energy.
Jin-young gestured dramatically at the whiteboard. "Captain. Meet Kang Young-soo."
The board was covered in information. A photo dominated the center—a man in his forties, hard-faced, with cold eyes and a cruel mouth. Around him, a web of connections, dates, locations, and evidence.
"Kang Young-soo," Jin-young began, pointing at the photo. "Forty-three years old. Born in Busan. Father died when he was young, mother worked multiple jobs to support him. Dropped out of school at fifteen."
Min-jun moved closer, studying the board. "And the gang connection?"
"Here." Jin-young pointed to a section marked Geomdong Pa. "He was never an official member—too young, too low-level. But he ran errands for them starting at thirteen. Delivered messages, collected payments, did whatever they asked. His mother worked as a cleaner in one of their buildings. That's how he got connected."
Dae-hyun's eyes moved across the board. "The tattoo?"
"Confirmed. Multiple sources from that era remember him getting it at fifteen. It was a rite of passage for the younger guys—they'd get the bear tattoo even before membership, as a show of loyalty." Jin-young pulled up a zoomed image. "We don't have a photo of his tattoo, but every description matches. Forearm, black ink, bear design."
Hae-rin spoke from her desk. "I've been building a timeline. After the Geomdong Pa was destroyed in the crackdown, Kang Young-soo disappeared. No record of him for almost two years. Then he resurfaced in Seoul, working odd jobs, staying under the radar."
Soo-ah pointed at another section. "Look at this, Captain. The Busan murders started three years after the crackdown. That's when he would have been in his early twenties. The perfect time for a killer to begin."
Jin-young continued. "He's been in Seoul for over fifteen years. Multiple addresses, always cheap, always temporary. He's worked construction, factory jobs, night shifts—anything that keeps him out of the spotlight. No criminal record. No arrests. No nothing."
Shi-eok spoke quietly. "He's been hiding in plain sight."
"Yes." Jin-young turned to his monitors. "But here's the best part. Three months ago, he quit his last job. Stopped showing up, stopped answering calls. His landlord says he hasn't seen him in weeks. And his last known location—" He pulled up a map. "An abandoned factory in Guro District. About forty minutes from here."
Dae-hyun's eyes sharpened. "He's there now?"
"I don't know for sure, but—" Jin-young pulled up satellite images. "Three nights ago, a light was seen in that factory. Local kids reported it, but by the time police arrived, no one was there. It's the only lead we have."
Min-jun stepped forward. "Captain, let's suit up. Get a team together, surround the place, bring him in."
Dae-hyun was quiet for a moment, staring at the photo of Kang Young-soo. At the cold eyes. At the face of a man who had killed eleven women. At least eleven.
Then he spoke. "No."
Min-jun blinked. "No?"
"No suits. No team." Dae-hyun turned from the board. "Jin-young, you stay here with Min-jun. Monitor everything. If anything goes wrong, you're in charge of backup."
Min-jun's face tightened. "Captain, you can't go alone. This man has killed—"
"I know what he's done." Dae-hyun's voice was flat. "That's why I'm going alone."
Seo-ah stepped forward. "Then I'm coming with you."
Dae-hyun looked at her. For a long moment, their eyes met. Then he nodded once.
"Fine. You and Shi-eok. But you stay back. You watch. You don't engage unless I tell you."
Shi-eok straightened. "Understood."
Soo-ah's voice was small. "Captain, what should I do?"
Dae-hyun moved toward the door. "You're going to start a livestream on your phone as soon as we reach the factory. Use the police department's official channel. Let the whole city watch."
Soo-ah's eyes widened. "A livestream? But why?"
"Because he's been hiding in the dark for too long." Dae-hyun paused at the door. "It's time the world saw what happens to men like him."
He walked out. Shi-eok and Seo-ah followed.
The bullpen was silent for a moment. Then Soo-ah grabbed her phone and ran after them.
---
The abandoned factory loomed out of the darkness like a sleeping beast.
It had once been a textile mill, judging by the rusted signs and broken windows. Now it was just a shell—crumbling brick, gaping holes, weeds pushing through cracks in the pavement. A single light glowed from somewhere deep inside, casting faint shadows through broken windows.
Dae-hyun's SUV pulled up fifty meters away, engine cutting to silence. They sat for a moment, studying the building.
Shi-eok spoke quietly. "There. Second floor. The light."
Dae-hyun nodded. He turned to Soo-ah. "Livestream. Now."
Soo-ah's hands trembled slightly as she unlocked her phone and navigated to the Seoul Metropolitan Police official channel. She pressed the button, and the stream went live.
"T-this is Assistant Inspector Kang Soo-ah of Team Zero," she whispered, her voice shaky but determined. "We have located the suspect in the serial killings. Captain Kang Dae-hyun is entering now. Please... please watch."
She angled the phone toward the factory, toward Dae-hyun's figure moving through the darkness.
Dae-hyun walked toward the building alone.
---
The door was metal, rusted, hanging slightly askew. Dae-hyun didn't bother with stealth. He kicked it open.
The sound echoed through the empty space—a crash of metal against concrete that announced his arrival like a declaration of war.
He stepped inside.
The factory floor stretched before him, vast and shadowed, filled with the ghosts of old machinery. A single bare bulb hung from the ceiling, casting harsh light on a scene that had been waiting.
And there, in the center, sat Kang Young-soo.
He was in an old wooden chair, leaning back with the casual arrogance of a man who had nothing to fear. His arms rested on the chair's arms, and on his left forearm, unmistakable in the harsh light, was the tattoo. A bear. Black ink. Crude but clear.
He smiled.
"Finally found me," he said. His voice was calm, almost amused. "Took you long enough. I was starting to think you'd never—"
Dae-hyun moved.
There was no warning. No shift in posture, no tell. One moment he was standing ten meters away. The next, his fist connected with Kang Young-soo's face.
The impact was brutal. Blood sprayed from the killer's nose, painting his lips and chin red. The chair tipped, and Kang Young-soo crashed to the concrete floor, shock replacing arrogance in an instant.
He stared up at Dae-hyun, blood dripping into his mouth, and then something strange happened.
He smiled again.
"Finally," he breathed. "After all these years, after all those women—finally I can fight."
He lunged.
---
The battle that followed was unlike anything the viewers on the livestream had ever seen.
Kang Young-soo came up fast, swinging wildly, years of rage and violence unleashed. He was big—taller than Dae-hyun, broader, with the kind of strength that came from decades of physical labor. His first punch would have shattered a normal man's jaw.
Dae-hyun wasn't there.
He flowed around the strike like water, his body responding without thought. His own fist drove into Kang Young-soo's ribs, not hard enough to disable, but hard enough to hurt.
Kang Young-soo grunted but didn't slow. He grabbed for Dae-hyun's throat, murder in his eyes. Dae-hyun caught his wrist, twisted, and the killer howled as his arm bent at an unnatural angle.
But he didn't stop.
He kicked out, catching Dae-hyun's knee. It should have been debilitating. Dae-hyun's leg buckled for just a moment, then steadied. He released Kang Young-soo's arm and stepped back, assessing.
"You're strong," Dae-hyun said quietly. "But strength isn't enough."
Kang Young-soo spat blood onto the concrete. "I've killed twelve women. I've outrun police for fifteen years. I'm not afraid of you."
"You should be."
Dae-hyun moved again.
This time, he didn't just fight. He played.
He circled Kang Young-soo like a wolf circling wounded prey, striking where it would hurt most but not where it would end. A punch to the kidney made the killer double over, gasping. An elbow to the spine sent him staggering. A kick to the back of the knee dropped him to the ground.
But each time, Dae-hyun let him get back up.
Outside, Soo-ah held her phone with shaking hands. The livestream numbers had exploded—hundreds of thousands watching, comments flooding the screen.
Who is this man?
He's destroying him.
That's the killer? He looks like a monster.
Captain Kang is a legend.
Shi-eok watched with professional appreciation. "He's not just fighting. He's punishing."
Seo-ah's voice was quiet. "He's making him feel every woman he killed."
Inside the factory, the fight continued.
Kang Young-soo's face was a mask of blood. His ribs screamed with every breath. One arm hung useless at his side. But still he came, driven by something beyond reason—pride, maybe, or the desperate need to prove himself.
Dae-hyun met him again and again.
A punch to the jaw. A knee to the stomach. An open palm to the chest that sent him flying backward.
And then Dae-hyun stood over him, breathing evenly, not a scratch on him.
Kang Young-soo stared up at the ceiling, blood pooling beneath his head. His chest heaved. His eyes were wild.
"Why?" he gasped. "Why didn't you just... finish me?"
Dae-hyun knelt beside him. His voice was low, meant only for the killer to hear.
"Because you don't deserve a quick death. You deserve to feel every moment of pain you gave those women. Every second of fear. Every last breath." He leaned closer. Twelve women. Twelve lives. And you wanted to fight me like it was a game."
Kang Young-soo's eyes filled with something new. Not pain. Not fear.
Understanding.
"You're not here to arrest me," he whispered.
"No." Dae-hyun stood. "I'm here to make sure you never forget what it feels like to be helpless."
He turned and walked toward the door. Behind him, Kang Young-soo lay broken on the concrete, alive but wishing he wasn't.
At the entrance, Dae-hyun paused. "Shi-eok. Call it in. Tell them we have the Busan Serial Killer."
Shi-eok nodded, already on his radio.
Soo-ah's phone was still streaming. The comments had become a roar.
HE'S ALIVE.
They caught him.
Team Zero.
CAPTAIN KANG.
Dae-hyun walked past them toward the SUV, his face unchanged, his hands steady.
Inside the factory, Kang Young-soo began to cry.
---
The ride back to the station was silent.
Soo-ah ended the livestream with a shaky breath. Shi-eok drove, his eyes on the road. Seo-ah sat in the back, watching Dae-hyun's reflection in the window.
Finally, she spoke. "Captain."
He didn't turn. "Yes."
"What you did in there... that wasn't procedure."
"No."
"It wasn't legal."
"No."
A pause. "Do you regret it?"
Dae-hyun was quiet for a long moment. Then: "He killed eleven women. He hid their bodies in a mountain. He made their families wait years for answers." He turned to face her. "I don't regret anything."
Seo-ah held his gaze. Then, slowly, she nodded.
"Good."
They drove on through the night, toward a precinct that would never be the same.
Team Zero had caught their monster.
And the world had watched.