plot recap (bc plot is peak)

Characters Index:
Cha Taekyung (Male lead, Jeongae’s former student)
Kwon Heeseo (Male lead, Taekyung’s sponsee)
Kim Eunseong (Heeseo’s friend & police officer)
Kwon Jeongae (Heeseo’s mom)
Han Seokju (Taekyung’s stepmom)
Han Jaewon (Taekyung’s step brother and Seokju’s son)
Jung Inbeom (Jeongae’s former student)
Kwon Jungwoo (Heeseo’s aunt & Jeongae’s sister)
Kim Taekwoo (Debt collector)
Han Sahee (Jaewon’s aunt & Seokju’s sister)

In 1996, Kwon Jeongae was teaching at Yewol Elementary School and helping Tae-kyung.
On August 11, 1997, Kwon Jeongae killed Kim Taekwoo on Migok Mountain and buried a "Caecilia" cross necklace nearby; Jung Inbeom recorded a video of the body being buried.
That same year, Taekyung moved from the Migok Orphanage to the House of Hope, and Kwon Jeongae moved away from Migok.
Between 2002 and 2004, Jung Inbeom repeatedly blackmailed Kwon Jeongae using the video and a letter containing evidence of the murder committed by Kwon Jeongae and Han Seokju.
It is estimated that in 2003, Taekyung entered his first year of high school and was in the same class as Han Jaewon.
It is estimated that in early 2004, Taekyung was adopted by Han Seokju (he reunited with Kwon Jeongae and told her he now had a family).
In February 2004, Han Seokju asked Kwon Jungwoo for Kwon Jung-ae's address, claiming he was investigating a dangerous case.
On February 10, 2004, Taekyung went to the police station to ask if there had been any recent deaths; upon leaving, he saw his adoptive mother's car driving out from the direction of Migok Church. Kwon Jeongae died in a fire, and Taekyung saved Heeseo.
On March 31, 2004, Prosecutor Hwang Jiyeon investigated the cause of the fire at Migok Church and privately assigned her junior colleague, Han Seokju, to handle the matter. Jung Inbeom was investigated for blackmailing Kwon Jeongae, and the correspondence between Kwon Jeongae and Han Seokju was not returned.
In 2007, the first murder in the St. Veronica Orphanage serial killing case occurred.
In the winter of 2014, Taekyung and Heeseo reunited. September 15, 2015: Han Seokju is diagnosed with breast cancer (though the diagnosis is questionable).
That same year, Taekyung learns of the existence of certain letters through a review of Jung Inbeom’s records and discovers an "Agatha" necklace and letters hidden behind a mural at his foster mother's home. Heeseo learns from Kwon Jungwoo that the prosecutor had been informed of her mother's whereabouts; meanwhile, a nun at Migok Church tells Tae-kyung that a man had once inquired about his mother while holding a "Caecilia" cross necklace—a name Tae-kyung later identifies as his stepmother's baptismal name via a church registry. Heeseo subsequently leaves.
October 7, 2022: Han Seok-ju has recovered and is a strong contender for a seat on the council. Taekyung arranges to meet Jung Inbeom , with Heeseo tailing him; after Taekyung is knocked unconscious, Heeseo grazes Jung Inbeom’s arm with a pistol.
Eunseong is assigned to the case; Jung Inbeom has been fatally shot by an illegally modified shotgun. Eunseong shares clues with Han Jaewon. Han Jaewon connects the dots—recalling the archery club, finding the club instructor, learning that Taekyung ran the "House of Hope" facility and was cared for by Kwon Jeongae before that, identifying her as Taekyung’s previous mother figure, linking Kwon Jeongae to St. Veronica High School, remembering the cross from childhood services with his mother, and realizing "Caecilia" is the password for Taekyung encrypted file. Han Jaewon discovers a group photo from Veronica Orphanage where most faces have been crossed out.
October 22, 2022: Han Jaewon tells Eunseong the computer contains data related to Veronica Orphanage. Eunseong reveals she is investigating a serial murder case linked to the orphanage; Jung Inbeom was the final victim, and Taekyung—the first witness—is suspected of being held captive by the killer. Eunseong asks for the file password, but Han Jaewon withholds it.
Han Jaewon finds a vehicle scrapping registration form for Han Sahee car on his mother’s desk—dated the day after Taekyung went missing—and discovers a photo of Taekyung with an "X" marked over it inside a picture frame. After November 16, 2022, Heeseo attended the acquisition of SH Cosmetic—a company in which Han Sahee held shares—as the legal representative for Gretel Partners. Taekyung discovered a secret room containing a video on a computer that showed Han Seokju being kidnapped on the very day he had met with Jung Inbeom.