Chapter 1

Severed

A/N: Just a little warning. There might be parts where you feel uncomfortable. And thanks for all the comments, I'll try to keep up to expectations! 

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It turned out that Solar’s room was just a few rooms down the corridor, and so were her crews’. Fate could be such a funny thing sometimes.

Moonbyul threw her luggage on the bed and stared blankly at it. Jet lag. She shook her head. Something felt weird. Where did she put her phone? She dug through her bag and fished it out. The phone buzzed as soon as she turned it on, revealing messages after messages that she missed on the flight.

“Call me back when you see this message!” Similar messages rolled down the screen. So much for a vacation, she sighed inwardly.

She pressed her phone against her ear as she listened to the cheerful dial tone, clearly not amused.

The line went silent for a moment and a voice, almost as cheerful as the dial tone, screamed in her ear, “Byul! You’re alive!”

Moonbyul rolled her eyes. They always had so much faith in her.

“I got your message. What’s up?” She sat on her bed, opening her luggage.

“We found another body,” the person on the other end broke the news to her, her voice sounded throughout the room as she put the call on speaker. The silence in the room suddenly felt eerie. What a way to start her vacation.

“Severed?” Moonbyul asked, feeling a lump in .

“Yes, like previous cases. At the head.”

Years of working at the station did not build up her immunity for such reports, instead, it made her sick. She thought dealing with death would get much easier but it did not.

“Do you need pictures?” It did not sound like a joke, sadly.

Moonbyul put down the clothes in her hands and massaged her temples. The new information definitely did not come at the correct time.

“Jung Wheein, are you forgetting something?” Moonbyul picked up the phone and walked to the window. In front of her was a beautiful scenery but all she could think of was… that. “I’m on a vacation which you insisted I take.”

“Oh. Right.” Wheein came to a sudden realisation. She chuckled an apology, “I’m sorry. How’s your trip so far?”

Moonbyul thought of the moment she saw Solar on the plane and smiled to herself. “Great,” she said, but some things just had to intrude that beautiful moment. “Until someone spoiled it.”

“Hey… I’m sorry. You’re my boss and I’ve to report to you, right?” Wheein defended. “I’ve sent you what we’ve found so far, but don’t worry, Hwasa and I got it covered.”

Moonbyul nodded to herself. “I’ll take a look. Keep me updated.”

Wheein laughed. A workaholic would always be a workaholic. “Aye, inspector! Enjoy your vacation!”

A small ‘ding’ sounded as soon as she hung up. An email from the station. Her thumb hovered over the email. To open or not to open, that was the question, but a knock at the door answered it. She guessed work could wait.

She opened the door, revealing Solar in her casual wear – a blue button up and a pair of jeans. She let down her hair, flowing over her shoulders. She blinked. How could she look so beautiful in such a simple outfit? And most importantly, why was she standing at her door?

“Uh, hey, just checking if you have time to spare now?” Solar smiled, rubbing her hands together.

Moonbyul looked at her watch on reflex. She had time, right? No work. Yes, her work could wait, definitely.

“I do, what’s up?” Moonbyul stuck her hands into the back pockets of her jeans, trying to look as relaxed as possible but of course, she was not.

Solar looked around nervously and took a small step forward. “I’m thinking… if you want to go for a walk?”

Judging from her actions, Moonbyul thought Solar was troubled by someone but she was just asking her… on a date? A date? “I’d love to.”

Solar was slightly taken aback at Moonbyul’s answer. She half expected her to decline because of reasons like, “Oh, work cropped up” or even “I have to rush back to Korea right now”. Their last vacation together was a disaster because of those reasons.

“That’s great. I’ll wait for you at the lobby?” Solar gently touched Moonbyul on the elbow before turning to leave.

Moonbyul stared at her elbow, still feeling Solar’s lingering touch. A year had passed and she still made her feel the same way each time she was near.

It was Moonbyul’s first time in Madrid but Solar had been here a few times.

“Shall we go Puerta Del Sol?” She asked, eyes gleaming.

Moonbyul nodded. How could she say no? For one thing, she had never been there before and for another, it was Solar who was going with her.

When Solar liked something, her eyes would be gleaming, so she guessed she must really like the place.

“It’s very relaxing, just strolling and looking at the architecture you’ll never get to see back in Korea,” Solar explained. She had always been a romantic, and Moonbyul was not. She would never understand, of course, how could she when she had to deal with death every other day?

It was just a short walk away from Plaza Mayor, where their hotel was located. The place was beautiful, needless to say, with family and couples happily spending time together.

It was indeed relaxing. Thoughts about work that clouded her mind seemed to have disappeared and the air was somehow fresher.

“I like it,” Moonbyul blurted out with a smile on her face.

Solar grinned. Her romanticism finally rubbed off her.

Moonbyul realised Solar was glancing at her every five seconds and she raised an eyebrow at the latter. “What?”

Solar shook her head and laughed. “You never liked strolls.”

“Oh.” Clearly, she never knew that and she struggled with an explanation. “Well, I, uh-“

“You never had time.” Solar finished her sentence and there was nothing to add on because it was true. “I never had time either.”

Suddenly, Moonbyul felt a sense of guilt in her.

“I’m sorry.” Sorry for all the time wasted not doing something together.

Solar smiled sadly. “You don’t have to apologise, Byul. I didn’t put in a lot of effort either.

The atmosphere was heavy when the past was brought up and in an attempt to lighten it, Solar hooked her arm around Moonbyul’s. “So how’s everything so far?”

Still a bit flustered from the contact, Moonbyul could not register Solar’s question. “Wha… What?”

Solar giggled at Moonbyul’s stumble and repeated her question. “How’s everything?”

“Uh, good.” Moonbyul answered. She had not been good actually, with the severed heads case still unresolved. “Just a little busy with work.”

“And you’re here on a vacation?” Solar asked, curious why Moonbyul would leave her work behind.

“Wheein and Hwasa.” Moonbyul gritted her teeth. Those two booked the ticket without her acknowledgement.

Solar nodded in understanding. It seemed like something both of them would do, and that would probably be the only way to get Moonbyul away from her desk.

“It’s because they care, Byul. I heard the case isn’t going too well?” Solar pointed to the phone in Moonbyul’s hand. “You’ve been looking at it every ten minutes.”

Moonbyul quickly stuck it in her back pocket and rubbed her hands sheepishly against her legs. She did not even notice that, but Solar was right, the case was not going too well. They had no lead.

“It’s… tricky yea, but we’ll bring an end to this,” Moonbyul said with conviction. That was something Solar liked about her. She was always so dedicated and focused.

“I’m sure you will.” Solar turned to her and smiled in encouragement but something struck her and she could not quite pinpoint it. Solar looked at her, tilting her head slightly. “Is there something wrong?”

Her face… Something about her face… Moonbyul looked harder, but the more she looked, the more confused she got. She turned away, shaking her head and the broken pieces of thoughts away. “It’s nothing. Sorry, I was just thinking.”

Solar patted Moonbyul’s shoulder and continued walking, with her arm hooked around the latter’s. “Since you’re on vacation, just free your mind for a bit, hm?”

Solar was right. That was the purpose of the vacation, but the two idiots who sent her on this vacation seemed to have forgotten all about it.

The sound of a snapshot went off in front of them and Moonbyul froze.

“Hello!” A man appeared in front of them, a dashing young man, clearly not a local. He had neatly gelled hair and a camera around his neck. He looked just like the friendliest stranger around but somehow, Moonbyul felt threatened.

“Sorry, you are?” Solar asked with a polite smile, the smile she always put on while she was on the plane.

“I’m the passenger who sat beside her on the plane to Madrid, you don’t remember me?” The man sounded a little disappointed, all this while having his eyes on Solar even when pointing at Moonbyul.

“Sorry, I don’t,” Solar replied, with the same smile.

“Ah, I’m Ahn Hun Sang, nice to meet you.” He introduced himself and held out his hand.

Moonbyul did not remember who he was but she sure remembered the smell of hibiscus.

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ninecube
It has been a while since I've last written and been on this site so I've missed Severed being featured. I'm really surprised it got featured after 2 years. Thank you so much for the kind comments. It makes me really happy to know that people love the story even till now, really thank you :)

Comments

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adelliew1919 #1
Chapter 18: Nice story, love the plots!!!thks
a_disappointment #2
Chapter 19: Reading this for the second time now and it’s still as good as i remembered it!
MrPurple_567
#3
Chapter 19: This is soo cutteeee huhu <3
girlofeternity_ss #4
Chapter 19: Thank you for the bonus.
girlofeternity_ss #5
Chapter 18: They're married! Yey!
girlofeternity_ss #6
Chapter 17: She's awake! Who pinched Moonbyul though?
girlofeternity_ss #7
Chapter 16: What just happened?
girlofeternity_ss #8
Chapter 15: Cue dramatic music. If he had ask for help, would the killing spree be prevented?
girlofeternity_ss #9
Chapter 14: I knew it! He's the scary and creepy kind with the way he acts around Solar.
girlofeternity_ss #10
Chapter 13: Who is she again?