When news that Do Jaebum, the presumptive next victim of the serial killer that Sooyoung saw in her vision, was definitely dead, they all thought they were faced with the nth dead end of the case.

But when the corpse came in whole and fully intact – save for the gaping bullet wound hole at the center of his forehead – instead of the charred, barely existing remains they were expecting, they knew that things had just changed drastically and everything just went into overdrive from then on.

The corpse had since been whisked away to the laboratory with Yuri taking the helm of whatever work that needed to be done, once again taking Donghae with her for the whirlwind of tests and microscopic evidence gathering. They knew they were pressed for time, especially since it went without saying that Do Jaebum’s body would like his remains to be released immediately, and it would do no one any help delaying everything.

While even more possibilities opened when they’d found the body, the fact that they’d found the remains of someone who once lived instead of finding him alive and breathing had its consequences. The victim count had risen yet again, which meant that the public concern over the matter and the pressure from the powers that be in the government to solve the case as soon as possible grew along with it.

Beyond all those, however, there was one most immediate development that needed to be addressed.

“What do you make of this, Chief?” Sooyoung asked the older one of the two men in the closed door meeting with her. “Why do you think we found this victim whole while the others had been burnt to a crisp? He was shot in the head too, which is consistent with the rest of the victims, but he’d been left whole.”

“I honestly think it all boils down to one of two reasons.” Chief Ahn pursed his lips in thought. “And those reasons are polar opposites.”

“Polar opposites?” Sooyoung repeated. “How so?”

“It’s either the killer knows that we’re on his tail and he’s either getting clumsy or he finds the time it takes to burn the body very risky.” He replied. “Or he’s simply beginning to get too cocky for his own good.”

The brunette couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “If I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t afford to be too cocky.”

“Yeah, well, serial killers aren’t really known for having a sound mind.” Chief Ahn smiled wryly, shifting his gaze to Siwon. “Any updates on tracing the victims of these ual offenders?”

“We haven’t gotten any leads, Chief. The alibis are solid, though many of the ones we’ve contacted so far honestly don’t have any feelings of pity or anything like that for these ual offenders. They have that ‘they deserve it’ mentality.” Siwon frowned a touch. “I honestly can’t blame them.”

“Neither do I.” Chief Ahn let out a sigh. “But if there’s one thing we know for certain, it’s that he’ll eventually strike again. Hopefully we can beat this in time.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Kris looked up from his laptop when he heard a knock on the door of his office. “Come in.”

“Kris.” Changmin nodded to the man in greeting as he stepped inside. “Am I disturbing anything?”

“No, not at all. I was just rereading some articles on the murders in case we missed out on something.” The blonde man lowered the monitor of his laptop. “Weren’t you heading out with everyone else to conduct the séance again?”

“I was.” He nodded. “But they had it under control so I headed back here. There’s something I want to ask you about.”

The healer made an open gesture with his hands. “What’s up?”

“Are Occlumency and Legilimency real?”

“I…” Kris blinked in surprise and then blinked again. “What?”

“Occlumency and Legilimency.” Changmin repeated. “Harry Potter!”

“I know it’s from Harry Potter, thank you very much.” The younger man made a face at him. “What I didn’t expect was that you asked if they’re real. You do know the difference between fiction and reality, right?”

“Hey, anything can be real these days. It was a perfectly valid question.” He moved from where he stood, opting to perch himself atop Kris’s table, careful not to sit on anything as he kept on foot firmly planted on the crowd. “I just had to ask.”

An eyebrow rose. “Pray tell… why?”

“It was an idea that came to mind while I was thinking about Sooyoung and the last vision she had.” Both men winced at the memory. “I was wondering if there’s a way that she can remain conscious of her surroundings while having her vision… like some control over her body so that she doesn’t lose consciousness every time.”

“I haven’t come across anything like that yet.” Kris frowned in thought, resting his elbows on the table and clasping his fingers together before pressing them against his lips.

“Or maybe a way that can keep her visions from repeatedly assaulting her mind.” Changmin added then. “I get that they’re useful for our cases but it’s already enough that she sees them once. She doesn’t need to–”

“Wait, repeatedly assaulting?” The blonde healer straightened up, a look of confusion crossing his features. “What do you mean… oh, .”

“She dreams about them, her visions.” He folded his arms over his chest. “That’s why I was asking about Occlumency.”

“Occlumency’s the ability to