Donghae’s jaw tightened so much, his teeth were grinding as he listened to the message. “I’m calling Chief and telling him to take you off the case.”

“No!”

He just ignored her, muttering, “I should’ve done this a long time ago, the moment he sent you that message." 

“You can’t!” She leapt forward and grabbed his hand as he was beginning to dial. “Donghae, please!”

“Are you insane? Do you have a death wish? You’re the killer’s target, Haruki, and I’m just trying to keep you safe!”

“I don’t need you protecting me!” she snapped. “I know the killer’s after me and that’s why I want to get to the bottom of this! I’m responsible for those girls dying. IU, Sulli, Krystal, Hyorin…it’s my fault they were murdered!”

“Haruki…” Donghae was surprised to see tears in his partner’s eyes as she looked back up at the giant photograph of her sister’s face.

Then the moment passed again and her eyes were dry as she looked back at him. “You’re not taking me off the case, Donghae. No one is.”

Except the killer. Donghae tried to ignore the thought as his partner tore down the picture and stalked out of the room.

“Find what you’re looking for?” Kevin asked, eyeing the paper bag in Haruki’s hand that was overflowing with photographs.

“More or less,” Donghae replied. They hadn’t bothered to patch up the wall- clearly, the killer had been expecting them to pay his lair a visit, so there was no point in hiding the fact that they’d been there. While Haruki copied the files from the computer onto a device for Jiyong to look at later, Donghae had cleaned out all the photos in the safe, to take them back as evidence. He had blushed upon accidentally picking up the shower picture and dropped it as if it had burned his fingers.

“How did you know the combination to the safe?” he’d asked as Haruki disconnected the memory device and straightened up.

“It was my birthday,” she’d replied quietly.

“What exactly is the case that you’re working on, anyways?” Kevin asked.

“A murder,” Haruki answered quietly.

“You came all the way here to investigate a murder?” The man’s eyebrows rose in disbelief.

“It’s complicated,” Haruki replied in a voice that left no room for further discussion.

“How’s the car?” Kevin asked after a while.

Donghae had forgotten about his car the moment he’d walked into the living room and found Haruki staring up at the giant haunting picture. “The mechanic says it’ll take longer to fix than she thought. The earliest they’ll be done with it is tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow morning?” Haruki repeated.

“There’s a nice motel in town. You two could rent a room there and stay in Falls Park for the night,” Kevin suggested as he rounded a corner and pulled into a parking lot. “We’re here.”

Kiseop climbed out first and opened the door for Haruki, accepting her quiet “thanks” with a polite nod. “Oi! Boss!” Kevin called, waving as a man holding a giant mug of coffee passed. “The officers from the city are here.”

The man smiled at the detectives as he approached, holding out his hand to shake theirs warmly. “Welcome to Falls Park. I’m Chief  Shin Soohyun.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Chief Shin” Donghae replied. “I’m-”

“Detective Lee and Detective Morita. I know,” the man replied. "Please, call me Soohyun." The smile fell from his face and he gestured for them to follow after him. “That’s the reason I wanted to speak with you. Come with me. Thank you, Kevin and Kiseop. You’re free to go back to your work.”

Exchanging confused looks, the detectives followed him to his office.

“How is Chief Park doing?” Soohyun asked after he’d closed the door behind them. “I hear his birthday is coming up. How old is he now?”

“Too old,” Donghae replied with a half-smile. “If you don’t mind telling us what this is all about…”

Soohyun looked dead serious as he reached into a drawer and pulled out a slip of paper. “I’ve been in contact with your friend Kwon Jiyong. He’s the one who told you to come here, right?”

Rather than explain the complicated story, Donghae just nodded.

“At his request, I’ve been helping him do some investigations on that apartment and its previous owners. Most people who live there stay only a month or two, at most.”

“Is it haunted?” Donghae asked, trying to make the situation a little more light-hearted.

“Not exactly,” Soohyun replied. “The current owner hasn’t lived there in years; he just sublets the place to people who temporarily need a place to stay. In the past year, though, he hasn’t sublet the place to anyone.”

“We saw the apartment,” Haruki said. “It was empty. There’s definitely no one staying there.”

“I don’t understand it either,” Soohyun admitted. “None of the guards could confirm if they’d seen him or not, and none of them would tell me if anyone ever went to that apartment.”

“Who is this person?” Donghae asked. “The actual owner, I mean.”

In response, Soohyun held up a photograph, with a short biography attached. “Recognize this man?” he asked.

Haruki’s eyes widened, while Donghae merely looked confused. She couldn’t blame him for that; after all, he rarely ever went to the Digital Forensics Department…

“Daesung,” she murmured.

“He used to work for us, before I came here,” Soohyun replied. “He left several years ago, but he kept the apartment, as I’ve said.”

“It’s true, then,” Donghae said quietly. “Someone in our department is involved.”

Haruki wanted to protest; Daesung couldn’t be a killer, but the evidence was staring her right in the face.

“I’m sorry, Donghae, Haruki,” Soohyun said softly. “I wish I’d found better news for you.”

Jessica was brushing her hair when she heard her phone beep. Setting the brush down on the edge of the bathroom sink, she headed towards the living room, digging it out of her coat pocket.

It was a text from Haruki, telling her that she wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. She and Donghae had had a little car trouble and they were currently stuck in Falls Point.

As soon as she finished reading that one, a second message arrived, warning her not to touch anything in the bedroom or the kitchen.

Jessica rolled her eyes and stretched her arms over her head. Without Haruki around, there was no way she’d be sleeping on the couch tonight. It’s not like the detective would notice.

She opened the bathroom door and shrieked.

Scrawled across the broken mirror in her favorite lipstick were the words: “Get out.” The cracks of the mirror surrounded her horrified expression, and the bright red smears looked like bloody gashes across her face.

Jessica dashed for her phone and dialed her roommate’s number without thinking. “Hello?” came the confused answer.

"Haruki! Someone broke into our apartment! I can’t stay here by myself, I can’t! You have to come home!”

“Jessica, calm down! I can’t understand what you’re saying. Someone broke in?”

“Yes! I turned away from the mirror for, like, two seconds and-” She whimpered.

“What? Jessica! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, but…oh my god, what if he’s still here?”

She heard Haruki curse. “Jessica, call the police, right now. They’ll take care of you. Hurry, okay?”

“Aren’t you coming back?”

“I can’t! I’m stuck here. Just hurry up, okay?”

“Okay,” Jessica whispered.

“Be careful,” Haruki murmured, before she hung up.

“Be careful.”

Haruki sighed as she stuck the phone in her pocket.

“What was that all about?” Donghae asked as she rubbed her temples and began pacing in the middle of the parking lot. The call had arrived just after Kevin had dropped them off at the motel.

"Someone broke into the apartment while Jessica was still there,” Haruki replied. “You thinking what I’m thinking?” Donghae nodded. “Ironic, huh? You asked me to let her move in to keep her safe-”

“And now she’s in more danger than ever,” her partner finished. He flinched. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way.”

“But it’s true,” Haruki replied. Her phone buzzed again and she picked up. “Hello? Jessica?”

“Nope, it’s Taeyeon,” came the voice on the other end. “Just wanted to let you know that your roommate is okay. The Kibums are driving her to the station right now and Yuri and I are checking out your apartment.”

“What did the perpetrator take?” Haruki asked.

“Nothing,” Taeyeon replied. “All he did was smash your bathroom mirror and write ‘Get out’ across it.”

“Please make sure nothing happens to Jessica,” Haruki said softly.

“Nothing will,” Taeyeon promised.

“What’s going on?” Donghae asked.

“They’re taking Jessica to the police station. She’s safe for now,” Haruki mouthed.

Donghae’s eyes widened. “Wait, the station? But what about-?”

Crap. “Taeyeon, wait!” But the other woman had already hung up. “Oh my god, what have I done? What if she’s in even more danger at the station?”

“Relax,” Donghae replied, though he looked worried himself. “Daesung wouldn’t try anything if there are other officers with her.”

“Let’s hope you’re right,” Haruki murmured, wrapping her arms around herself. “Is it…cold out here, or is it just me?”

“It’s just you,” Donghae told her. “You’re shaking again.”

“It’s nothing…”

Donghae wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gave her a small hug. She pushed him away. “Come on. Let’s go check in. See if they have any rooms left.”

The receptionist smiled as they entered. “Hi! Welcome to Falls Point Motel. My name’s Chorong! How may I help you?”

“Two rooms, please,” Haruki replied. She was still scowling, busy worrying about her roommate.

The receptionist glanced at her, then over her shoulder at Donghae, who was glancing around the lobby. “Oh, I’m sorry. We only have one room available. This is our busy season, you know.”

“What busy season?” Haruki snapped. “The parking lot’s practically empty!”

Chorong flinched, but smiled apologetically again. “I’m really sorry, but it’s the best I can do.”

“Fine, whatever. We’ll take it.” The detective sighed. This would be the longest night of her life.

“Hot chocolate?” Kibum offered with a smile, offering a styrofoam mug to the shivering model.

“Thanks,” Jessica replied, taking the cup and squeezing it in her hands. She didn’t feel like drinking it.

The other officer, who was also named Kibum, apparently, now entered the room. “Taeyeon and Yuri are back,” he announced.

Sure enough, the two women who’d tried to calm her down at the apartments entered the conference room. The taller one, who had introduced herself as Yuri, smiled at Jessica. “The perp’s gone, but I don’t think it’s safe for you to stay there tonight. You can stay at my house for the night.”

“Did they steal anything?” Jessica asked.

“None of your things,” Yuri replied. “Just a chip in the bathroom window, which is apparently how he got in. You’ll need to replace the mirror, though…”

“Why do you say ‘he’?” asked the model. “Do you know who it is?”

“We have an idea…” Taeyeon said hesitantly.

“Well, catch him then!” Jessica snapped. “He could have killed me!”

“We don’t know exactly who it is,” Taeyeon argued. “We can only assume it’s the man that Haruki’s been chasing. The one who…”

“The one who murdered my sister,” Jessica finished flatly. Her voice was defeated as she mumbled, “What does he want with me?”

“To scare you away from Haruki,” Taeyeon replied. “We’ve found-” Yuri coughed and shook her head.

“Tell me,” Jessica demanded.

“Classified information, miss,” one of the Kibums told her. “It has to do with our investigation. This isn’t something we can just share-”

“This guy killed my sister and now he’s targeting my friend?” growled the model. “This has everything to do with me. Tell me, right now!”

She crossed her arms and glowered at the four officers, simultaneously catching them all in her angry glare. Finally, Yuri shook her head. “It’s better for you if you don’t know anything about it, Jessica. The further you stay from Haruki, the safer you’ll be.”

“You know what I think happened?” Donghae asked, when Chorong had finally left after showing them to their room. “She thought we were a couple and assumed we’d gotten into a fight or something.”

“We’re not a couple,” Haruki snapped. “Geez, even those mechanics thought we were together.”

Donghae just sighed. “You take the bed. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

Haruki nodded, kicking her shoes and socks off. She tossed her jacket over the back of a chair, before padding over the closet to retrieve a blanket for Donghae, who was attempting to make himself comfortable.

“Thanks.”

She said nothing as she headed back to the bed and slid under the covers. After a few moments, she spoke up. “Donghae?”

“Hm?”

“Do you really think Jessica’s alright?”

“I’m sure she is,” he replied. “Taeyeon and Yuri are with her, right? They’ll be fine. All of them.”

“I hope so…”

They lapsed into silence again, broken only by the ticking of the clock hanging above Donghae’s head. Haruki tossed and turned uncomfortably. Clearly, both of them were too worked up to be getting any real sleep tonight.

Finally, Donghae couldn’t take it anymore. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a sister, Haruki?”

“No one here knows,” Haruki replied. “She died a long time ago.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“I hate it when people say that.” Her reply was a mumble, but in the quiet of the motel room, she might as well have shouted it.

After a while, Donghae spoke up again. “Tell me about her.”

“Why?” Haruki snapped.

“Because neither of us are tired, and being silent is awkward,” he replied. “What was her name?”

“Rina.”

“Why don’t you ever talk about her?” asked Donghae.

“Because she ruined my life.” Haruki rolled over to her other side with her back facing him. “She tried to kill me.”

“What?”

“Rina was seven years older than me, and I looked up to her. I foolishly believed everything she said, because I thought she was so…perfect.

“When I was in fourth grade, she got a boyfriend and I hated him instantly. I believed something was wrong with him, but my parents assumed I was jealous she was paying less attention to me.”

“Did you tell your sister?”

“I didn’t want her to think I was stupid,” Haruki replied. “But it turns out I was right after all. They stayed after school one day and he…he assaulted her.” There was a rustle as Haruki buried her face in her pillow.

“I’m sorry,” Donghae said again.

“Unni was never the same after that. Even though my parents got the story out of her and told the police, nothing happened. That…that bastard was let go, because the police claimed they couldn’t prove it was . And afterwards, he taunted her about it. When she tried to break up with him, he threatened to ruin her reputation and forced her to stay with him. He’d say it in front of me, too, threatening to hurt unni even more if I told anyone.”

Donghae was quiet as she took a long shuddery breath. Everything was starting to make sense now; Haruki’s emotional attachment to the case, her merciless quest for justice, even her reason for becoming a police officer in the first place.

“March 17^th. My birthday.” Haruki rolled over to face him again and smiled ironically. “My sister told me to get into the car and said she was going to take me on a short trip. There was a nervous excitement about her that I had never seen before, but I ignored it. Because I was an idiot like that.

“The moment she pulled onto the highway, she started speeding. She was barreling down the highway at ninety miles per hour and I was screaming at her to stop, and that whole damn time, she just smiled at me and assured me that everything was going to be okay. When the car reached a hundred, she swerved into the fast lane and crashed into the railings.

“I woke up in a hospital bed. Found out she’d died instantly. She hadn’t been wearing a seatbelt. They found a suicide note in the car. She’d tried to take me with her, saying the world was too dangerous for girls like us and that she had to protect me, being my unni. Because of her, my family fell apart and I haven’t talked to my parents in years.”

“You don’t blame them or your sister and you know it,” Donghae said quietly. “You still blame that guy.”

She just sighed. “Stupid, huh?” she murmured. “I heard he died a few years ago. And at the time, I felt that he deserved it. I still do, actually.”

“He did,” Donghae replied. “And the Lobotomist will get whatever he deserves as well.”

Haruki smiled slightly. “Thanks, Donghae.”

“I’m just telling the truth.”

“I know. I just needed to hear it. Good night.”

“Yeah. Good night.” Donghae tucked his hands behind his head. Presently, he heard Haruki’s even breathing and smiled at the sound. She was asleep, but he still didn’t feel tired at all. He was still thinking about everything he’d just learned about his partner. He was probably the only person she’d told her story to…

But somehow, the Lobotomist knew as well. And he was using it to get her to chase after him. 

A/N: WHY Are these so many characters? *sigh* 

Anyways, I have a favor to ask of all of you! The wonderful iD0RKIE and her friends at her shop have made these gorgeous posters for this story...but I can't decide which one to pick? Could you guys help me? 

Here is the link to the shop: http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/175406/o------e---------e---request-shop-graphics-request-review-shop-superjuniorm-graphicreview-storyreview

The posters for my story are Chapters 5, 6, 7, 10, and 11. ^^ Please leave a vote in the comments here or on my wall for the one you like! 

Also, you should request from her shop. Because she's that amazing.