An apple, Seung Woo, would have appreciated Doctor Baek to be more precise as he stood in front of all the varieties available at the lotte Markt. Seung Woo decided to pick his favorite traditional Korean apple, foreigners preferred to say it was a pear, yet many Koreans like Seung Woo liked to say it was an apple.

Unsure, he decided to choose a few other varieties, Granny Smith, Golden, foreign apples were expensive Seung Woo thought.

Seung Woo could not get by the fact the woman he saw was Dr. Noh. His mind already portrayed a middle-aged, gray-haired man like any many raised in a patriarchal society. Professor Baek fitted the descriptive he created, but he wasn’t the man of the situation.

Never would Seung Woo have imagined a woman in her thirties, not to mention the swiftness of her movements. Seung Woo knew men in the army who did not possess Dr. Noa Noh’s efficiency.

Despite all the recommendations, there was something strange about Dr.Noh.

Many questions came to mind.

Why was the doctor in a room like the patients?

And what was the thing about the time? Everyone at the hospital appeared obsessed with hours as if a significant person would arrive?

At the counter, as he waited to pay, Seung Woo’s thoughts strayed away and floated back to Stein’s modus operandi.

First, the psychopath killed twelve women, then nine men.

Now, it appeared to kill regardless of gender, and he was obsessed with these bizarre brain operations.

Psychopaths were like fetishists; they always opted for their favorite victims. History showed other killers who multiplied types targets, but it was rare. Most of the time, serial killers went after one profile.

What was Stein playing?

What message was he trying to deliver?

Of all his rituals, he kept the brain surgery. Some victims had their brain switched with other victims. The grief the families felt was tremendous.

None of the victims nor men or women were sexually assaulted; this added more mystery to the cases. Most serial killers suffered from sexual frustrations, which they displayed on the victim’s body. It was impossible to apply general theories to Stein. His murders were clinical, like scientific experiments.

For Seung Woo, this was worse; Stein saw people as his Guinea pigs.

The thought made the inspector’s appetite diminish.

Seung Woo cleared mind, and there she appeared. Doctor Noh spun around like a disc on repeat, which invaded his thoughts. There was much about the woman. Most of the articles he found were from foreign websites. In Korea, Dr. Noh was almost anonymous. It was strange to think someone recognized by a renowned profiler was not a reference in her own country.

Something was odd about the doctor. Apart from her violence, too many things didn’t stick.

First, there was the room, did she live there?

Second, why did professor Baek observe her?

People seemed to respect her, but at the same time, they appeared afraid.

Seung Woo had to admit the woman gave him cold sweat. Dr. Noh was no ordinary practician, thought the man as he left the supermarket, and drove home where no one waited for him.

Being alone was not a bother, with no girlfriend or hobbies; only memories haunted and occupied him. Seung Woo slept with ghosts, images that erupted whenever. Sometimes in the most intimate moments cutting short to scenes of heated passion.

Women desired the tall and slender mysterious inspector, but they quickly fled the man who would start to tremble and scream in his sleep. Seung Woo held no memory of himself standing in the dark, watching his girlfriends sleep. Nor did he remember how they sometimes woke in fright as he trimmed their nails or combed their hair.

All he knew was women loved him one day and left him the next.

The sound of his phone vibrating halted his thoughts.

“Yeobosyo, ah Dong Geun.”

“Ya, the superintendent is waiting for your list.”

Seung Woo had to give a list of the officers to join his team. Where teams were usually handpicked beforehand, in this situation, the heads left him the choice. They did not want to force officers who were overworked and stressed to become part of the task force.

Many made it clear that they did not wish to be part of it. The new chief did not have many options, or the right thing to say was Seung Woo had none. The competent officers were categorical. Even Dong Geun begged Seung Woo not to appoint him.

Seung Woo sighed, “I’ll see that tomorrow.”

“Hurry, you know the superintendent hates to wait.”

Who was he to choose?

Seung Woo wanted the best, and the best refused.

He said tomorrow, he would see to it then. For the time being, Seung Woo stared at the bag of apples and took one out. He liked apples so much they were so ordinary yet so superb.

He walked to the kitchen and turned on his kettle to prepare a cup of ramyeon; the man didn’t eat well. Most of the time, Seung Woo felt no hunger. Still, he ate, for it was a necessity. If his mother were there, she would scold him. His mother acted a though he was still eight, she was over-possessive, and she moaned like no one else. Seung Woo remembered how he looked up to see if complaining was a criminal offense when he was little. Young Seung Woo would have had his mother arrested if it were the case.

The man forgave her; he was the only child she had left.

Seung Woo wondered why his mother had not called; she was a professional wake-up-caller. She waited for the moment you were sound asleep, and there she struck.

The ramyeon ready Seung Woo opened a small pot of homemade kimchi, took a packet of Seawood laver, and went to sit down on his couch to eat. Quick and efficient five minutes later, with his glasses on his nose, he plunged into his files.

It was only around 2 AM the man closed his eyes only to be awakened by a nightmare where doctor Noh strangled him.

Nightmares weren’t rare; they were even routine; it started with his sister’s death. The doctors his parents consulted said the dreams were a manifestation of his guilt. Seung Woo punished himself in his sleep. As a result, the inspector’s nights were short. It was either the nightmares, sleepwalking episodes, or his mother who woke her him up with her warnings.

She, too, suffered. To find peace of mind, Seung Woo’s wandered off to meet any shaman who told her things she wanted to hear.

Seung Woo went and drank some water and tried to sleep again. In a few hours, he would face his new nightmare, doctor Noh.