Please…

Her arms were wrenched sharply behind her back and her whimper was silenced by the gag in . Tears rolled down her cheeks and dripped onto the floor.

Please don’t hurt me…

Her head was yanked back; she was seated in some fake leather chair. The padding was lumpy and her skin stuck to the surface with sweat, making every movement painful. It only added to her fear and discomfort as she finally faced the man who had dragged her off the street on her way home.

"Scared, sweetheart?” he asked. She whimpered again and this time, managed to make a small squeak through her gag.

“Don’t worry.” His voice was practically a purr and she flinched as he cupped a hand around her face. Her nose wrinkled at the smell of his latex gloves and she roughly jerked her chin away. “It won’t hurt too long, I promise.”

Her eyes widened even further at that and he smiled, his teeth glimmering in the single lamp hanging above her hand. Too dark to see her surroundings, too light to prevent her from seeing him. “Perfect,” he whispered. “Just like that…” A cold metal clamp forced her eye open, preventing her from blinking and something clamped itself around her neck, keeping her head in place.

She stared in horror as something metal neared her eye. Get it away from me! No. No. NO!

Name: Lee Jieun

Age: 18

Victim was found dead at the scene of the crime. The only signs of external injury were bruises around the right eye. There were no signs of ual assault.

Autopsy revealed that the cause of death was extensive damage to the brain. The murder instrument appears to be a sharp object with a flat edge, like an ice pick-

Police chief Park Leeteuk threw down the case report and rubbed his forehead in irritation. It was way too early for this crap.

The door opened and one of his principle investigators entered. He smiled at her as he gathered up the papers and tucked them back into the folder. “Morning, Haruki.”

“Morning, Chief,” Morita Haruki replied with a playful salute. “What have you got for me today?”

In response, he handed over the files. She skimmed over them, wrinkling her nose subconsciously as she read the cause of death. “Second one this year,” she murmured. “Serial killer?” She pulled out the photo of the body at the crime scene and scrutinized it.

“It’s possible,” Leeteuk replied. “Anything’s possible. I want you on this case with Lee Donghae as your partner.” Haruki made a noise of protest, but Leeteuk held up his hand. “He’s the only one who doesn’t have a case right now and if this is a serial killer, he appears to be targeting young women. I want you to be safe.”

She nodded. “Understood, chief.”

Leeteuk smiled. “Dismissed, then. I’ll let you brief Donghae on the case.” One of the best things about Haruki was that she always let her personal feelings come second. She was always professional on the job.

The moment she exited, Haruki sighed and leaned against the wall opposite the chief’s office hard. It wasn’t that she disliked Donghae. He was just so…

Immature? Unfocused? There were plenty of words to describe Donghae and none of them were very positive.

“Good morning, Haruki.” A young man approaching in the other direction beamed at her, holding out a cup of coffee, which she accepted gratefully. “Two sugars and a generous dose of cream.”

“Thanks, Sungmin,” she grinned, taking a sip. “I’m going to need the caffeine.”

“New case?” he asked.

“A homicide,” she replied.

Sungmin’s eyebrows rose. “Nice. I’m still working on that arson mess. Haven’t gotten a lead in weeks.”

She winced sympathetically. “You’ll figure it out. Don’t worry.” He smiled. Lee Sungmin was her best friend in the entire Foresnsic Investigations Division. The others (immature brats that they were) liked to tease the two, saying that they made a cute couple, but Sungmin always protested such statements.

Haruki couldn’t deny having feelings for him (he was a very attractive man) but she wasn’t about to admit them out loud.

“Have you seen Donghae?” she asked.

“I think he’s in Siwon’s office,” Sungmin replied. “You’re working with him on the case?”

Haruki grimaced. “Unfortunately.”

Sungmin smiled and squeezed her shoulder. “You’ll be fine. Now go get that son of a .”

“You too,” Haruki laughed and she walked down the hall grinning. Lee Sungmin. Every encounter with him usually left her in a good mood.

Unlike her encounters with a certain other Lee…

She knocked on Siwon’s office door and entered, ducking the paper wad that missed her head by mere millimeters. “Haruki!” The relief in Siwon’s voice was clear and it wasn’t too hard to determine why. Donghae was perched on the edge of Siwon’s desk, shooting hoops into the wastepaper basket with the other man’s old files.

Haruki could feel Siwon’s migraine being transferred to her. “Come on, you,” she growled, grabbing Donghae by the wrist and yanking him off the desk. “We have a case. See you, Siwon.” The older man waved and mouthed an apology.

She let go of Donghae’s arm the moment they were outside the office and began talking. “The victim’s name is Lee Jieun. She was eighteen-years-old, found dead in the alley behind a grocery store-” She broke off when she realized Donghae was no longer behind her.

Retracing her steps, she found him at the vending machine, lips pursed in a pout as he tried to decide what to get. “Were you even listening?” she demanded.

"Chips or animal crackers?” he asked in reply.

“Donghae!”

“Animal crackers, then.” He fed a dollar into the machine and tossed her the bag of animal crackers that came out.

Haruki’s eyes widened as she fumbled to catch it. “W-wait, these are for me?”

“You’re too serious,” he replied. “Lighten up. Those are fun to play with.”

Haruki whapped him over the head with the files. “It’s a murder! We might have a serial killer in our city! This is serious business!”

Donghae’s face changed instantly. “My office,” he said. “Let’s go. You can brief me on the way there.” He set off walking at a brisk pace and she shook her head. She really didn’t understand that man.

The woman who opened the door when Haruki knocked on it looked puzzled to see them there. “Are you Lee Jieun’s mother?” Donghae asked. The woman nodded and he flashed his badge. “Police, ma’am. I’m Detective Lee and this is Detective Morita. We have a couple questions to ask about your daughter.”

“Why?” the woman asked. “Did something happen to IU?”

“IU?” Donghae frowned.

“It’s her stage name,” the woman replied. “She insists that everyone call her that.”

Donghae glanced at Haruki awkwardly and the girl took a deep breath. “Ma’am, can we come in?” she asked.

The woman nodded, still looking confused and opened the door, allowing the pair to enter and shutting the door behind them.

Down the street, a figure watched the scene through a pair of binoculars. “So glad you’re the one they sent, my little Haruki…”

Seated side by side in plush chairs, the two investigators faced the woman sitting on the couch, though they were actually engaged in a silent battle with each other.

Donghae nodded his chin towards her. You tell her.

Haruki narrowed her eyebrows. No, you.

He pouted slightly. Chief gave you the case. You tell her.

The woman finally shifted uncomfortably and spoke up. “What is this about?”

Fine. Haruki stopped glaring at Donghae and turned to the sofa, fiddling with her thumbs awkwardly. “Ma’am…your daughter’s body was found today. We’re investigating the case.”

The woman’s mouth moved as if trying to speak, but no sound came out. She went rigid, her hands frozen, eyes gaping in shock. Haruki jumped up. “I’ll make some tea,” she blurted out, before dashing out of the room.

“Wait!” Donghae cried. He looked between the doorway and the woman, who didn’t even seem to be registering his presence.

His partner returned a few minutes later with a mug and glared at him. “You didn’t even try to do something?” she hissed in disgust. She sat down besides the woman and handed her the mug. “Here you go, ma’am. Take a deep breath, now. Whenever you’re ready, could you tell us about your daughter?” She murmured soothing words as she rubbed the older woman’s back.

With the mug of hot tea clutched in one hand and Haruki gently holding the other one, the woman finally seemed to calm down. Squeezing Haruki’s hand so hard the girl winced, she began in a slow, toneless voice. “I…I haven’t seen my Jieun in years. When she was little, I made a bad decision…it caused us to fall into debt. My husband left and she went to live with her grandmother. I tried to call her a few times, but she wouldn’t answer me.”

“I’m sorry,” Haruki murmured as the woman took a shuddery breath. Donghae said nothing.

“I saw her again after I paid off the debts. She’d become an actress and singer, performing on local stages,” she continued. “She looked so beautiful now, but she was still cold to me. She insisted I call her IU, like everyone else and told me she wouldn’t forgive me. I said…I said…”

Haruki handed her a tissue to wipe her face and the woman nodded gratefully, before blowing her nose. “I said that any daughter who would treat her own mother so badly deserved to be shot. That was the last time I spoke to her.”

“Ma’am, that wasn’t your fault,” Haruki said gently. “It was just something you said.”

“And she wasn’t shot, anyways,” Donghae piped up. Haruki threw him a dirty look and he clammed up.

“I wish I could’ve told her…I still love her…because she’s my child,” the woman sobbed. “Please…please find the person who did this and make them pay.”

"I promise you,” Haruki said firmly, “we will do everything we can to nail the bastard.”

Donghae sighed and stretched his arms above his head. “Well, we didn’t learn much there.”

Haruki whacked him across the head with her hand. “Couldn’t you have been a little more sensitive? I know you’re a guy, but even a blind person could tell that the woman was in pain!”

“That hurt,” he complained.

“You’re such a baby!” Haruki hissed. She flipped open her file as they headed towards the car. “The next place we’re checking out is Last Fantasy Theater, the place where she worked.”

“That sounds like a sketchy name,” Donghae commented as he climbed into the driver’s seat.

Haruki slammed the passenger door shut and glared at him. “Donghae…”

“I’m just kidding!” he replied as he pulled away from the curb.

“Well, can you stop kidding? Homicide is serious business!” she snapped.

“I know that, Haruki,” he retorted, all traces of humor gone “I know that better than anyone.” Haruki fell quiet, knowing that she had gone a bit too far, and they drove off in silence.

“IU’s dead?” gasped a girl who had introduced herself as Kota. “B-but how? I just saw her two days ago!”

“She didn’t come to work yesterday?” Haruki asked.

Kota shook her head. “No, yesterday, me and some of the others were working on a musical number. It’s called Sunny Hill. IU wasn’t part of it. She had her solo act. She was supposed to come in to rehearse that later today.”

“I see.” Haruki frowned and tapped her pen to her chin. Seemed as if the killer had picked a time to strike when he knew she wouldn’t be missed. Maybe he had been stalking her for some time? It could just be a coincidence though…

“Detective Morita?” She jolted and saw both Kota and Donghae staring at her strangely.

“Sorry, I was just thinking,” Haruki replied. She shook her head and pocketed her pen and notebook.

“Can you show us her dressing room or something?” Donghae asked. Kota nodded and beckoned for them to follow her backstage.

“Hey, Kota!” called one girl as they passed her. “Who’s the cutie?”

Haruki rolled her eyes as Donghae smiled at the girl. “This is Detective Lee and that’s Detective Morita,” Kota explained. “Jubi…IU’s been murdered.”

Jubi’s eyes popped open and she raised a trembling hand to . “Our little IU? But why? How?”

“That’s what we’re here to find out, miss,” Donghae told her in a very different voice from the one he normally used with Haruki. “We’ll find the killer. Don’t you worry about it.” The girl blushed slightly and beamed up at him.

“Can’t you be professional for even one moment?” Haruki snapped as they entered IU’s dressing room and shut the door behind them, promising Kota that they’d let her know if they needed anything.

Donghae laughed. “You’re too serious! And besides, being this charming puts the witnesses at ease.”

She shook her head in disbelief and turned to the vanity, raising her eyebrows when she saw the hearts and flowers drawn all over the glass. “Wow…this girl really liked cute things.” She pulled open the desk drawer and whistled. “That is a lot of makeup.”

“She’s a performer,” Donghae replied. “They all use lots of makeup.”

“Somehow, I feel like those lines should have been switched around,” Haruki murmured. “Check her closet, would you?”

Her partner opened the door and stepped back as piles of costumes came tumbling down. “I don’t think we’ll find anything in this mess. What are we looking for, anyways?”

“Anything that will let us find out what kind of person our IU was,” she replied. “Her own mother didn’t even know where she was living, much less who her friends and enemies were. Honestly, this girl…”

“Maybe she was hiding something,” Donghae replied. “The quiet ones always are.”

Haruki frowned. “Why are you looking at me?” She tugged at another drawer, but it was stuck shut. “I think it’s locked.”

“I’ll go ask Kota for the key,” Donghae announced, standing up.

“No need,” Haruki replied. She took a clip out of her hair and stuck it into the lock. After a few moments of wriggling, the drawer popped open.

Donghae raised his eyebrows. “What else don’t I know about you?”

Haruki didn’t answer as she opened the drawer. Reaching inside, she pulled out a framed photograph or several girls. “That’s her,” she commented, pointing at the beaming young woman in the middle, with her arms around another girl’s shoulders.

Donghae glanced at the picture over her shoulder. “She’s pretty.” Haruki glared at him again before turning back to study the photo. She recognized Kota and the girl named Jubi among the crowd and stood up, heading for the door. Poking her head outside, she spotted Kota stretching her arms and went towards her.

“Kota!” The girl looked up and nodded.”Can you tell me who these girls are?” the detective asked, pointing to the photograph.

The girl nodded. “That’s me…that’s IU, of course. Jubi…” She went through, naming several of the girls, and explaining that all of them were part of the theater.

“What about the one IU’s hugging?” Donghae asked.

Kota frowned. “I don’t know…she was IU’s friend, visiting the theater that day. I think she may have been in college. SeungA? Misung?” Two girls who had been passing by stopped and came towards them. Haruki recognized both of them from the photograph as well. “Do you guys remember who this girl is?” Both girls shook their heads.

“Her name’s Sulli,” a voice answered from behind them.

“Janghyun,” Kota greeted with a nod.

“IU invited her over to see the show when she was back from college,” the young man named Janghyun explained. “She said she wanted a picture with all her friends. Where did you find this?”

“In the locked drawer under her desk,” Donghae replied, casting an odd look at Haruki, who hadn’t spoken since Janhyun showed up.

Janghyun frowned. “I was sure IU kept this at her apartment…and she never locked any of her drawers. She wasn’t a very open person, but she wouldn’t do that.”

“Do you have the address for her apartment?” asked Donghae, pulling out his notebook quickly. The young man nodded and scribbled it down.

"I hope you find the bastard who killed her,” Janghyun said darkly. “IU was like family to us. Losing her is like losing a younger sister.”

“I’m sorry,” Donghae murmured. 

“Janghyun,” Haruki said suddenly. “Do you happen to know what Sulli’s full name was?”

Janghyun frowned. “I think her last name was Choi? Choi Sulli. Yeah, that’s it.” The detective inhaled sharply.

“Haruki?” Donghae asked, sounding worried. She didn’t even hear him, nor did she notice the fearful glances the theater girls and Janghyun were giving her. She was barely aware that she made an strange sight, standing there with hanging open, arms hanging limply by her side, her notebook dropping unnoticed to the floor.

Choi Sulli. Choi Sulli.

The first girl to be murdered with an ice pick to the brain.