The next day, Minseok woke up earlier than Luhan but he could hear the younger groaning in his room. He guessed Luhan was having a hangover. He went ahead and decided to eat breakfast outside, maybe at the nearby café because they have the best Americano he has ever tasted. He doesn’t care if it stops his growth in height, he already gave up on that when he was 21.

He was on his bike when he went there and as expected, only a few people were in the café. It was still early in the morning after all. “Ah, Mr. Kim, it’s nice to see you here,” a deep husky voice came from behind Minseok that made him jump from locking the chain on his bike. He turned to see the tall smiling man he just met last night.

“Chanyeol-ah, what are you doing here?” Minseok asked. “Just resting after a morning walk, Sir,” Chanyeol answered, his smile not leaving its place. “Where’s Minseul?” Minseok asked. “She’s still sleeping,” Chanyeol bit his lower lip.

Minseok observed his movements. Chanyeol suddenly avoided his gaze at the mention of Minseul’s name and his feet can’t stay still. “Are you hiding something?” Minseok raised an eyebrow. “A-Andwae,” Chanyeol stuttered. “God, you’re such a terrible liar. Let’s go in first and tell me what happened last night,” Minseok said as he rolled his eyes and went in the café. Chanyeol followed behind even though nervous.

“What kind of drink do you want?” Minseok asked as he looked at Chanyeol. “Hot chocolate, Minseul told me to avoid coffee,” Chanyeol answered. Minseok was suspicious at the mention of his sister’s name but told the waiter what he and Chanyeol wanted without questioning his statement. “Anyways, what happened last night?” Minseok asked when the waiter left.

“At an unexpected turn of events, Minseul got stabbed by the abdomen,” Chanyeol answered, looking like he’s confessing to a crime. “I knew what she was dealing with was dangerous,” Minseok groaned. “And what else?” he asked as he raised an eyebrow. “Elaborate what happened,” he commanded the profiler.

“The suspect brought Minseul to Han River where he usually dispatches his victims and tried to make her strip but Minseul was stubborn and signaled me to come over. When the suspect saw me, he immediately tried to stab me but Minseul tripped him. While I was trying to call the police, Minseul was combatting with the suspect and luckily she won the fight. The sad part was during one of her attempts to dodge his attack, she failed and got stabbed. She’s being treated at the hospital right now,” Chanyeol explained.

Minseok massaged his temples and cursed under his breath. “She’s still stubborn until now… Chincha… Does she not know criminals like that want dominance? She should’ve…” He muttered to himself. Chanyeol chuckled a bit at his reaction. “I see you still see her as your sister, officer,” Chanyeol said. Minseok’s face grew red and slightly nodded. “I guess that’ll never change, Chanyeol. I’ve been with her almost all my life after all,” Minseok said, exaggerating a bit.

“She still sees you as her brother by the way. She’s been telling me about how she looks up to you when we were in Europe,” Chanyeol informed him. “Didn’t expect that. But I think she still hates my guts,” Minseok noted. “It’s normal, officer. She’ll warm up to you soon. A siblings’ bond is something not easily broken,” Chanyeol reassured him.

“But not easily healed,” Minseok reminded him. Chanyeol shrugged. “Maybe that’s the case,” he told the older. “Speaking of cases, any leads to who killed father?” Minseok asked. “I’m sure she already told you she thinks the killer is manipulated. That may be the case since we’ve seen murders like this before. Psychos may hate being manipulated but if someone agrees with them, they tend to be submissive sometimes and we know someone who can talk anyone to do anything,” Chanyeol explained. “If you know someone, why didn’t you arrest that mastermind already?” Minseok almost lost his cool.

Chanyeol smiled sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck. “Not exactly know, officer. We have tried tracing who this is but that person is such a genius. Most likely, he is male and likes taunting Minseul into dangerous crimes. All of his activities suddenly stopped in UK but we’ve collected enough information to say he transferred here in Korea,” he explained.

“We think he has a hatred for women like most serial killers but he doesn’t like getting his hands dirty except if necessary. He usually kills his accomplices before they lose control and tattle tale,” he elaborated. “We think he’s sane but chooses to be evil but we’re not really sure about that. All of the possible suspects ended up dead in the end but the killings continued so we don’t really have a concrete lead, officer.”

The drinks of the two arrived and Chanyeol continued explaining each murder they knew surrounding the mastermind. “He doesn’t have a standard for a target so he kills at random to confuse the police,” Chanyeol said. “Enough of that for now, how’s Minseul as a detective? Um, like who are her clients before she arrived here?” Minseok asked. “Well there’s Mr. Hamilton who ordered for Minseul to investigate who stole his precious vase and then there’s Ms. Brewer who asked Minseul to search for her brother’s kidnapper,” Chanyeol began to list every client Minseul had that came in his mind.

“How did you meet then?” Minseok asked. “I feel like you think I’m criminal,” Chanyeol laughed a bit. “Do I come off like that?” Minseok blinked. “A little bit, sir but that’s fine. I’ll tell you everything I can say,” Chanyeol said with a toothy grin. “I met her in Spain and it’s because of this mastermind we’re dealing with. Dozens of lives were taken, mostly of matadors back then. Minseul and I had the same suspicions but then the next murder was different from the others. Mr. Malvo was dismembered and his head was found where the bulls sleep. We thought it was a different murderer until someone sent us a letter. The mastermind called himself ‘Master Ripper’ and he thinks he can be more historical than Jack the Ripper,” Chanyeol shared.

The two told each other some funny stories after that. Minseok discovered Chanyeol was really a cheerful man with a good family background. He appeared like a clueless goof but Chanyeol was a smart man.

Chanyeol discovered Minseok was a man deserving of his respect. He discovered the older was from a family filled with law enforcers, his father being a police officer and his mother being a lawyer. But Minseok always tries to dodge the question if it’s about what happened before Minseul left and what happened to their mother.

“Officer, I guess I have to go. Minseul is waiting for me, I’m sure. She can’t leave the hospital without me,” Chanyeol said as he stood up. “It was nice talking to you, Chanyeol. I hope we can do this again,” Minseok smiled at him. “I hope so too. Keep doing a good job, sir,” Chanyeol bowed before leaving.

As Minseok watched him walk away, he thought Chanyeol might not be a bad guy for his sister.