Exsanguination- The action or process of draining or losing blood

Unsub- A person of unknown identity who is the subject of a criminal investigation
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"Vernon! You got a call!"

The young boy rolled out from underneath the car he'd been working on. He cleaned his greasy hands on his jeans and pressed the phone to his ear.

"Where is my money Vernon! I've tried to be patient with you. I've given you the befit of the doubt because you're my son but this can't go on any longer. I need the money today."

"Mom, calm down. The money should be coming in soon I promise. I've even taken up another clean job and I'm really close to getting all of it." Clean. As in no shady business which had gotten him into this situation in the first place.

"No I can't have soon I need it today."

Vernon rested his head against the wall. He took a breath and ran his fingers through his brown hair in frustration.

"I'll bring by some today. I just need a little more time and I'll have everything I promise."

"No! All of it or don't even bother calling back because I'm done with you!" The line went dead.

He slammed the phone against the receiver. Damn it! He cursed silently. He tried everything he could to get that money. He'd had three years to do it but for a kid without even a GED 80,000 dollars was hard to come by.

He pounded his fist into the wall then let out a deep sigh that sounded more like a growl. He turned his body away from the phone and looked up. His boss and the customers were all staring at him. It wasn't something unusual. They always stared. They always judged, silently or aloud, his prominent western features. He wasn't one of them even though he'd grown up as such.

He uncurled the fists that had been forming. His rather long nails punctured his skin only slightly. However his jaw was still clenched and muscles still stiff out of frustration.

"You should learn to tame your employees Ahjusshi." A man in a navy blue suit scoffed. His thin nose was held high in the air as his dark eyes skimmed over the boy in disdain.

Tame. Like an animal. That's  what everyone saw him as and he knew it.

Before Vernon could scowl at him or make a remark the man shoved his coffee free hand in his pocket. The action reviled a holstered gun. An arrogant smirk was plastered into his face. He enjoyed the fear he could almost see pulsating through Vernon's body.

"I'm sorry about him sir." The owner of the shop bowed to the man in the suit. "You're done for the day." He nearly yelled with a look on his face that could kill.

"But-"

"Out!"

Great. Now how was Vernon supposed to get that money?

He threw his greasy clothes into his locker, changed, and then slung his bag over his shoulder. He was frustrated and beyond pissed. With how little his jobs payed and what little he was educated he could barely make money to live off of.

There was only one thing he could think to do. It was dangerous and illegal but it was the only option he seemed to have.

~~*~~

"Twenty three potential victims in total. Jungkook can you tell me how I've connected them all?" Detective Kwon asked as soon as the man in question opened the door. He set the doughnut he'd been trying to eat on a napkin on the meeting table.

He'd spent this second morning setting up his desktop with IT. He wasn't expecting to get into the case straight away. The surprise and challenge was something refreshing to him.

Jungkook took a moment to scan the white board before him. Twenty three pictures were taped to the board with names scribbled beneath them. They were a mix of genders and one couldn't just made these things on family names. Was this perhaps a test? He wanted to start by telling the senior detective how honored he was, but if this truly was a test he didn't want to mess up.

"Well you see detective Kwon-"

"You can call me Ji Yong if you'd like." His smile was brief.

"Ji Yong, I don't have enough information. All I have are names and faces. And they are so diverse that I can't really make a connection. I need ages, how they were killed, and other personal details to connect them all."

The smile on Ji Yong's face returned revealing his pearly white teeth.

"I knew you were the right person for the job." He laughed. "If I had chosen someone like... Say Sungri, he would have already given me more than just connections. He'd give me the murder weapon, mo, and hell he'd probably label me as the killer!" His laugh before was just sound and with this new comment his body visibly heaved.

"Is he that arrogant?"

"You wouldn't even believe it but arrogant doesn't even scratch the surface of that egotistical idiot." He lightly slapped the younger boy's shoulder and smiled. "It's nice to meet you Jungkook." 

They shook hands and Jungkook rambled just a little. He told him what he's heard and just how honored he was to work with him.

"Just wait till you close your first case. You'll be on cloud nine. Trust me."

Ji Yong sat the boy down and put the twenty three files down on the table in front of him.

"I've got some paperwork to do from an old case but I'd like you to try and figure out how they're all connected. I want you to be involved in every aspect of this." He walked towards the door and just before he opened it he turned back. "I'll give you a hint, not all of them are our guy's victims." A smirk spread across his face.

Jungkook pulled a small notebook from his pants pocket. Fresh, unmarked, uncreased pages. Not all were from this case. He opened several folders and looked through every aspect of the profiles with this fact in mind. He went back and forth simplifying all the information given to him and comparing that to each of the other victim's. He began by looking at each person's age. The information gave no insight seeing as how the ages ranged from fifteen to fifty. Next he examined how they were murdered. That would surely weed out the people who didn't pertain to the case at hand.

The common cause of death was exsanguination. No pictures however the coroner gave a few details. Hanging and multiple entry wounds caused by a knife were a major note added to the small list given. Maybe they'd go over this in more detail later on. This information alone narrowed it down to eighteen people. Fifteen of which were of mixed race and the remaining three were fully Korean.

Jungkook chewed on the end of his pen. So many things unsettled him. For starters the amount of mixed people had his mind traveling back to his daughter. The victims weren't nearly as young as she was but what would stop the killer? That led to another issue he had. If the killings weren't spontaneous, which was highly unlikely due to the almost ritualistic method he used, why was each victim so different? Their ages were all over the map as were their races. There was no pattern when it came to the other half's of the mixed people. Some were African, European, American, Hispanic, and so many others it made his head spin. And what were with the three full Koreans?

"You're still at it?" The new yet now familiar voice came from the door way. Jungkook immediately stood and bowed as Jiyong walked into the room.

"How long were you gone?" Jiyong smiled and shook his head.

"I was just like you when I first started. Put everything I had in right away. The secret is to continue to put that energy and excitement In Each new case. It can be a little difficult sometimes." He smiled and sat down in the warm chair that Jungkook once occupied. "I've been gone for at least three hours. It's almost eight."

"R-really?"

Jiyong smiled and flipped through the small open note book. "So you've narrowed them down. Show me what you've got." The older man gestured towards the white board.

Jungkook picked up a red dry erase marker. He crossed out five names.

"Tell me how you've decided they aren't the unsub's victims."

"Well," Jungkook took a breath, "The majority were hung and killed with a knife. Two of the extra five were shot... one fell from a four story building and the last two were just stabbed."

"So is the method of murder the only connection you've made?" Jiyong asked? His warm attitude from earlier was replaced with something more cold and calculating. It was almost like a switch in him had just been flipped off.

Jungkook explained his findings and all the older male did was slowly nod as he stared the uncomfortable newbie down. He his dry lips after he finished. He just had to wait on what his partner had to say about this. His finger skimmed the top of the files and his already small eyes narrowed. Creases formed between his eyebrows. Was Jungkook wrong?

"Pyo Cheon Seok, Choi Yoonsi, and Lee Namji? Do they confuse you as much as they confuse me?" The younger man sighed in relief. He was right.

"Yes sir. They're nothing like the majority but their deaths are just the same as everyone else. I was thinking... maybe they were just to throw things off the unsub's trail. Make him seem unpredictable."

"Yes... That seems plausible. I'm glad I'm not alone in thinking this." Jiyong nodded absentmindedly. "There is still plenty to learn before we can accurately profile this person." He bit his lip before looking up and smiling. There was a small satisfied glint in his eyes, "Good job detective." He stood and stretched his arms. "Get a good night's sleep. You're gonna need it."

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I feel like I forgot something...........
So I am so excited for this story you have no clue. Like Criminal Mind's, Law & Order (SVU), and CSI are like some of my favorite show's. Like its an obsession. What do you think so far?
I hope this isn't as y as I think it is.

I always manage to make the first chapter super long and then I stress when the others aren't the same length. I need to calm myself down. Haha.

Rina💜