09; Wake-up call

‘Assuming from the lack of alternate entryways or exits into the vicinities, we’ve come to the conclusion that the perpetrator is someone closely associated with the school.’ The male officer explained.

The woman on his left picked up where he left off expertly. ‘And our prime suspect at this stage would be Mr K, the supposed school janitor. From what I’ve observed of the man thus far, he fits the profile of a possible threat.’

The latter cleared his throat uneasily. ‘Well, we’re still investigating how true this is of course…’

‘Indeed. I’ve arranged for a profiling of his identity prior today’s meeting, but until then, he’ll be under surveillance. With the possible suspect in mind however, the next victim has been determined.’

The two nodded at the large room watching them against the backdrop of two large boards; each decorated with an array of colourful thumbtacks, images, newspaper cuttings, and various other details of the school. They each began pointing to the drawing boards with a pointer each in different directions, jumping from one area to the next as they spoke.

‘According to numerous other students that I’ve questioned…’

‘And the supposed hierarchy the kidnapper’s made a trend of, I’ve noted…’

‘Times they were out—’

‘Groups they were in—’

‘The next possible victim is…’

The two concluded in unison: ‘Bmyouonn Jbiaheykehyun.’

A look of pure alarm crossed both officer’s faces at that moment as they stared at each other in horror and disbelief. The room filled with less than a handful of police from their own department began murmuring in confusion, save for the commissioner whose face accommodated a glare so fierce that the two felt him practically threaten to skin them alive the moment they didn’t clear the blunder, and clear it fast.

Jimin’s hands quickly flew up in front of his face in a panic; the pointer flying out of his clammy clasp. He juggled with it for a moment before the metal rod eventually clattered to the floor. Quickly retrieving it and returning to his initial position next to the woman, he felt his face burn red with embarrassment. He didn’t even have to take a look at Kyungja to feel her entire being resonate killing intent, because it was a given his stunt just made things all the worse.

And if that was the way she reacted, Jimin didn’t even want to think about Yoongi’s state at this point.

‘I apologize for the hiccup. The name we meant to present was Byun Baekhyun, possibly the next wealthiest candidate from what we’ve gathered.’

Jimin covered his mouth with the side of his fist, stepping further against the board to stand in line with her. He whispered, eyes still darting around the crowd who glanced back with recovering faces from his earlier stunt.

‘I thought we decided on the girl.’

Kyungja threw him a look of strained composure. ‘I think you’re mistaken. We decided on the boy.’

‘No way, it was the—’

‘Alright!’

The commissioner grunted, startling the two who quickly pulled away from their side conversation and faced the room again.

‘That’s enough. Briefing adjourned.’

Jimin breathed out a heavy sigh of relief at the room that gradually emptied; his shoulders visibly falling underneath the white shirt he wore, and out of habit, he fiddled with his black tie. He couldn’t have been more grateful to leave unscathed, considering what just—

‘You two,’ the commissioner’s deep voice interrupted the latter’s relief, and the pair of officers looked up expectantly in response.

‘You’re going nowhere.’

Jimin’s relief quickly took a leap into panic. And Kyungja could practically feel the anxiety he oozed from where she stood, much like the day they were enrolled at the high school but with a tangible heaviness. Hell, even she felt a prickly heat make its way all over her arms and neck as she stood beneath the unreadable look the commissioner offered.

She imagined he’d be furious. And she readied herself for their impending doom, straightening her back and steeling her dark eyes; the complete opposite of the man beside her who let out a puppy-like sound of utter distress.

‘Come on closer. I want to have a good, long, pleasant chat with you.’

Neither of them liked the tone he used. It was so cool and composed that it was actually frightening. Even his demeanour was perfectly controlled; not a shred of any alarming emotions on his face save for the dreadful smile he offered.

Unwillingly, they obliged. Jimin gulped so loudly he was positive it echoed in the room. ‘Please – one of you – give me a good reason for this.’

Jimin responded incoherently. ‘Um—uh—w-well, we… we’re just touching the surface here, um, at this…’

Noting his struggle to form a significant statement, Kyungja intervened. ‘Point. At this point,’ she continued. ‘The information we were presented and what we’ve gathered thus far is still expanding, and I believe time is…’

‘Time?’ the blonde’s head suddenly rose, staring at them with his mouth agape and eyebrows furrowed.

‘Woon, time is a luxury here. It’s only a matter of time before Jabberwocky or whoever the hell you mentioned gets kidnapped and wow! A third victim! With cops in the damn school!’

The chief at this point had kicked himself off his chair, pacing back and forth in deep thought and an incredibly peeved look on his face. The latter bowed their heads in shame, unable to do anything but accept his criticism… not without exchanging irritable glances at one another as they did. Kyungja didn’t even have to see his lips moving to know what Jimin was mouthing disbelievingly.

Seriously? You didn’t even tell me about the guy!

Well you didn’t even tell me about the girl, she mouthed irritably in response with a deepening frown.

And quickly taking note of the tiny argument the two were engaged in despite the situation, the commissioner stopped pacing. He cocked his head to one side with a look of disgust; one hand in the air towards them and one on his hip, indicating how genuinely irked he felt at the time.

‘Are you two even working on this case together at all?’

‘We’re trying, sir…’

‘Trying’s not good enough,’ he snapped, reaching back for his blazer draped over the folding chair and faced them again with a look so stern Jimin never felt more fearful for his life even when a gun was pointed at him.

‘Listen, you’re both damn good officers. One of my best. I didn’t just assign you this mission for the perks, I assigned it because I trust the work you do. Park,’ he turned to Jimin who watched him with a combination of fear and expectation.

‘You’re a cop for God’s sakes, not a clown! Work on keeping that clumsiness to yourself when you’re home alone. And Woon,’ he turned to the latter, who glanced back at him with unease. ‘You’re no better than him. Working in the force means you work in a team. You don’t have any people skills because clearly, there’s a big lack of communication between you, and what did that do? Cause complications. Dammit, it’s like there’s some kind of language barrier between you potatoes. Do you have any idea how childish you two looked back there?’

There was a long awkward silence that followed and both Jimin and Kyungja hung their heads in shame