Jungsu walked through each room with Choco following close at his feet. She was no longer barking at him. For lack of a friend for the day she spent by herself, Jungsu earned her trust just by giving her food.

The first room was empty of any furniture. A floor-to-ceiling mirror lined one side of the room.  Four small speakers were mounted high at the corners. Jungsu opened the closet doors. There was a large stereo on the closet floor and a couple of foam mats rolled up on the top shelf.

The second room in the hallway was the guest bathroom. Everything he’d seen so far was meticulously kept. The bathroom was no exception.

He opened the medicine cabinet. There was a first aid kit and an unopened bottle of hand soap.

The cabinet under the sink contained extra toilet paper and cleaning products.

The third room was the master bedroom. The bed was made. It looked ready to be photographed for an interior design magazine. Jungsu found this impressive, especially for a man. Hyukjae was particularly stylish and clean. His own room looked nothing like Hyukjae’s.

He opened the closet and found it was just as perfectly organized as the rest of the house. All of the clothes were hung on wooden hangers. Small bags of cedar hung on the bar, spaced out evenly between hangers to keep the clothing from acquiring a musty smell. The drawers contained socks and underwear, rolled up perfectly and separated by drawer dividers.

‘So much attention to detail. It’s like a hotel in here.’

Jungsu walked into the master bathroom. The medicine cabinet in the master bathroom had a lot more supplies. In addition to the first aid kit, there were vitamins, painkillers, a bottle of liquid cold medicine, and topical muscle relaxant. 

Jungsu picked the bottles up one by one and shook them to get an idea of the amount consumed from each one. Most of the bottles were full or almost full except for the painkillers. He rattled the bottle and only heard a few pills hitting against each other.

He was just about done with his inspection of the bathroom when he noticed something strange. The paint on either side of the mirror was a different shade of white. There was a faint, but noticeable difference. It looked like the mirror had been replaced but the new mirror was not the same size as the previous mirror. The height was the same but it was narrower in width.

Jungsu went back into the bedroom. He picked the laptop up from the nightstand and wound the charger into a loop. He put it in a plastic bag to take with him for analysis.

Jungsu was done with his search. He turned to leave but stalled at the door. ‘For good measure.’ He bent over and lifted a section of the area rug. ‘Nope. Not a spec under the carpet either.’

Generally, if there had been a break in, there would be evidence. The homeowner’s belongings would be out of order, broken, or missing. Aside from where Youngwoon had broken in and the dog’s mess, everything was in pristine condition. As far as Jungsu could tell, nothing was taken out of the house. All of the valuables were still present.

On the other hand, it seemed like Hyukjae was not the type to put up with disorder and uncleanliness. Yet, he chose one of the messier ways to commit suicide. The almost empty bottle of painkillers and the replaced mirror raised a red flag in his mind also.

There were two options. Hyukjae killed himself or someone else did and they made sure not leave a single trace that they were ever there. It was eerily clean in Hyukjae’s house.  Jungsu would have to look elsewhere for his answers.

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“So what’s…” Donghae checked the dog’s backside, “her name?”

“It’s on the tag, Donghae,” Jungsu answered. He hadn’t bothered to look up from his paperwork. He hadn’t bothered to look at the dog’s nametag either but he didn’t want to admit that to Donghae. Jungsu was only aware of the nametag because he had heard it jingling as Choco followed him throughout the house.

“Uh, oh yeah.” Donghae answered sheepishly and checked the dog’s tag. “Choco.” The dog’s ears perked up. “Cute name you got there, Choco.” He scratched her chin.

“Don’t get so attached. They’re coming to pick her up in a little bit.”

“Who?”

“The mother.”

“Her mother?”

Jungsu chuckled. “No, Hyukjae’s mother. I asked her to come pick the dog up. I have a few questions for her anyway. In the meantime, I need to get a hold of Miss Kim from dispatch.” He dialed the extension number. Donghae nodded and leaned in closer to the phone. Jungsu smiled at Donghae’s innocent curiosity and pressed the speaker button to let him listen in. “It’s still early. She might not be-“

 “This is Taeyeon Kim.”

“Hi, Taeyeon. This is Detective Jungsu Park.”

“Hi, Detective. It’s been a while. What do I owe this too?”

“Well, I’m looking into a suspicious suicide. Do you remember radioing for a possible suicide attempt last night?”

“I do.”

“Could you tell me about the call?”

“The call came in towards the end of my shift. I’ll have to get the log to tell you the exact time. Hold on a sec…” Jungsu heard her rapidly typing away at the keyboard on the other end. “Here it is. The call came in at exactly 1:09A.M. last night, or this morning I should say. The 911 operator connected us a few seconds later (still 1:09 at this point). I immediately sent the call out to the guys on duty.”

“What about the person who called it in?”

“The caller said he was from the Crisis Hotline. He had just gotten off the phone with the suicidal man and he gave us the address.”

“Did he give you his name?”

“Yes, I have him down as Kyuhyun Cho.”

“He stayed on the line?”

“Yes. He stayed on the line and told me about their call. He was pretty cooperative, although a little shaken up, if I remember correctly.”

“Could you get me the audio please?”

“Sure. I’ll send it over.”

“Thanks, Taeyeon. That’s it for now but I might call you later if I have any other questions.”

“No problem.”

“Take care.”

“You too. Bye.”

“Getting somewhere.” Jungsu stated as soon as he got off the line with Taeyeon. “Now I just have to wait for the-“ Jungsu’s e-mail notification pinged.

“You got it already?! That was fast,”  Donghae exclaimed.

Jungsu listened to the audio recording of Kyuhyun’s call to nine-one-one. The first time he played it, he focused on the content. Just as Taeyeon had described, the caller was cooperative. He answered all the questions without hesitation. He even urged the first responders to be quick.

Donghae watched Jungsu listening to the audio with the utmost concentration. He held it in for as long as he could but he was just too curious to contain his questions anymore. “What exactly are you listening for?”

“Just getting the facts lined up for now.”

He played it a second time. He wanted to get a feel for Kyuhyun’s emotional state.

There was a nervous edge in Kyuhyun’s voice. It shook slightly but as far as Jungsu could tell, Kyuhyun was worried about Hyukjae’s well-being. He didn’t hear any traces of false concern laced in his voice.

Donghae watched Jungsu’s face for a reaction. “So?”

“He didn’t sound overly dramatic. He wasn’t too calm either. That’s a good sign. Still, I have to get this Cho guy in for an interview.”

A knock came at the door. A young police officer opened the door and peeked in. “Detective Park, Mrs. Lee here to see you.”

“Yes. Thank you. Send her in, please.” Jungsu stood to greet Mrs. Lee.

Donghae cradled Choco under one arm and stood to bow once Mrs. Lee entered the detective’s office.

“Good evening Mrs. Lee. I’m Detective Jungsu Park.” Jungsu bowed deeply. “My condolences.”

Mrs. Lee only slightly bowed her head.

Jungsu turned to Donghae. “Donghae, thank you for watching over Choco.”

“Not at all.”

Jungsu cleared his throat then remembered it was Donghae he was dealing with. Instead of asking Donghae to leave like he had intended, he introduced him to Mrs. Lee. “Ma’am, this is Officer Donghae Lee.”

Donghae bowed deeply. “Ma’am, I’m very sorry for your loss.”

Mrs. Lee’s downcast eyes moistened. “Thank you.”

A lump formed in Donghae’s throat. He didn’t know how to comfort her and, really, it didn’t seem like his place. He extended his arms, holding Choco out for Mrs. Lee. She took the dog and hugged her close to her chest.

Jungsu waited for Mrs. Lee to compose herself before continuing. “Ma’am, I have a few questions to ask while you’re here, if you don’t mind.”

“That’s okay.”

“Please have a seat, Mrs. Lee.”

Just as Jungsu had expected, Donghae didn’t have any intention of excusing himself. He occupied the same seat to the side of Jungsu’s desk that he was using earlier. Jungsu turned to Mrs. Lee. “What was your son like?”

A nostalgic smile formed on her face. “Hyukkie was sweet, very sweet. He was funny. Liked to dance. He worked hard too, though. He was smart.”

 “Mrs. Lee, did Hyukjae have any self-image issues?”

“Well… no, I don’t think so. My Hyukkie was really strong. He worked on his body a lot. He was handsome in my eyes. His friends would joke around with him about his appearance. But that is all it was, a joke.”

“They would about his looks?”

“Yes but I thought he took it in stride. Hyukkie was very gracious.”

“It was just verbal teasing? They never took it to a physical level?”

“No, I don’t think they would.”

“He never mentioned having any problems with friends or acquaintances?”

“No.”

“Was he open about his emotions with you or anyone else, as far as you know?”

“No, he wouldn’t or couldn’t tell me about his problems. Sometimes I could tell something was bothering him. I would ask him about it and he would brush it away and change the subject and go back to being unusually quiet and pensive. ”

“Did you notice him being quiet and pensive recently?”

“I hadn’t seen him in a few weeks but he called. He seemed alright.”

“Thank you for your time, Mrs. Lee.” Jungsu stood and extended his hand to the mourning woman. Donghae followed suit.

Mrs. Lee shook their hands. She turned back to Jungsu before she exited. “Why all the questions, Detective?”

“Just for the police report.”

Mrs. Lee nodded and exited slowly. The emotional strain of her son’s death was apparent in her movements.

“Where’s her husband?” Donghae asked as soon as Mrs. Lee was gone. “She still has him, right?

“Yes but I don’t know where he is.”

“When I’m married, my wife won’t have to go through something like this by herself. I’ll make sure of that.”

“Everyone’s different, Donghae. I’m sure he’s having a tough time too.”

Mercury says 61° F

Feels colder to me.