I’m hungry…

The thought vaguely floated into the girl’s mind, dispersing as quickly as it came.

How long had she been lying there? The question didn’t last long enough for her to answer.

So hungry…

The call that Haruki had been hoping she wouldn’t receive came weeks later, while Haruki was discussing Leeteuk’s surprise birthday party with Taeyeon, saving her from coming up an excuse for not attending. She apologized quickly and fled the room, pulling her phone from her pocket as she went.

“Morita.”

There was no answer.

“Hello?” she asked. “Who’s there?”

"D-detective Morita?” came the hesitant whisper.

Haruki felt her heart almost stop. “Luna? Is that you? What’s going on? What happened?”

“I…”

“Luna? Are you alright?” she pressed the phone harder against her ear, as if that would make the other girl speak up again. “Lu-”

“I’m okay,” Luna finally answered.

Haruki let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Oh. Okay, good. For a moment, I thought-”

There was a gasp from the other end of the line, like the other girl was holding back a sob. “It wasn’t me. I wasn’t next.”

The world seemed to slow down around the detective as she froze, the phone numbly pressed to her ear, waiting for the explanation she didn’t want to hear.

“It was Krystal.”

Leaving her partner to comfort Luna and Krystal’s crying roommate, who had been introduced as Amber, Haruki slipped inside the crowded hospital room. Doctors and nurses were running about frantically, attempting to restart the young girl’s heart.

Haruki didn’t have to be a doctor to know that it was futile, and presently, the emergency personnel in the room gave up one by one. As the room cleared, one exhausted doctor finally turned to the detective. “I’m very sorry for the delay, officer. Can I help you with anything?”

“It’s alright,” Haruki said softly, but her eyes were trained on the girl’s skull-like face. The skin was taut over her cheekbones, her hair had fallen out in clumps, and every trace of fat was gone. The detective remembered the photograph that she had found in Sulli’s drawer. Krystal had once been so beautiful.

“What happened to her?” she finally asked.

“She starved to death,” the doctor replied, shaking his head. “Girls these days, trying to be thin, thinking that it’s pretty.”

But Haruki, who had been carefully scrutinizing the dead girl’s face, finally found what she’d been searching for: the bruises around Krystal’s eyes.

“Doctor,” she began hesitantly. “If it’s not too much trouble…could you give her a CT scan?”

The doctor’s eyebrows shot up. “Why would you ask that?”

“I don’t think she was anorexic,” Haruki replied. “I think she got a lobotomy.”

“She got a what?” The doctor stared at her.

“I…just….just give a CT scan, would you? I need to know! Please!” Haruki stamped her foot in frustration. Didn’t this man get it? This girl might be another one of the killer’s victims! She had to find out!

Donghae heard his partner’s raised voice and rushed into the room. “What’s going on?”

“I need to know,” Haruki repeated. “Just…please…”

The doctor frowned at Donghae in confusion. “What is she talking about?”

As Donghae explained the situation in a much calmer fashion, Haruki obeyed his suggestion to stay in the waiting room, where she plopped down beside Luna, who was comforting a still sobbing Amber. It seemed that only tragedy could mend broken relationships and reunite estranged friends.

“Amber,” Haruki said softly, once the crying had been reduced to soft sniffling. “The doctors say Krystal starved to death. That means she’s been missing for weeks.”

“S-she’s been studying ab-broad this s-semester!” Amber protested. Haruki noticed the surprise that flickered over Luna’s face, but chose not to comment. “S-she…I-I didn’t know she was gone!”

The killer had chosen the perfect time to strike again. Krystal’s absence wouldn’t have been noticed by any of her classmates because they were all expecting her to be away. Haruki cursed under her breath. She didn’t know how long it took for a person to die of starvation, but she had the feeling that the timing would fall within the range of Krystal’s time “abroad.”

Just then, a young woman barreled into the room, dressed in a long expensive coat, talking loudly on her cellphone as she headed straight for Krystal’s room.

“Excuse me, you can’t go in there,” a nurse protested, but the woman brushed right past her. As her loud voice rang through the door, shrilly accusing the doctors of not even trying to save Krystal’s life, the doctor Haruki had been speaking with earlier and Donghae entered the waiting room.

“This is Dr. Han, Haruki,” Donghae explained. “He’s the head of the emergency department. Doctor, this is my partner, Morita Haruki.”

The two shook hands and Haruki smiled in embarrassment. “I’m so sorry for earlier, Dr. Han.”

“Please, call me Hangeng,” the man replied. “Everyone else does.” She nodded. “Donghae explained the case you’re working on to me. I have to say, I find the notion quite disturbing. And yet, it would make sense, given the circumstances under which she was found.”

Haruki didn’t need to ask to know he was referring to Krystal. “What circumstances?”

Hangeng glanced over at Luna and Amber, who were watching them warily and gestured for the two police officers to follow him to his office. “A security guard found her lying in an abandoned warehouse,” the doctor explained once the door was shut. “She was completely filthy and at first, he mistook her for a homeless person. When he told her to leave, though, she just stared at him blankly, like she didn’t understand him.” He sighed. “The poor girl.”

“Doctor, could a lobotomy cause that to happen?” Haruki asked hesitantly. She didn’t really want to hear an answer; she didn’t want to imagine how Krystal had suffered the past few weeks before she was finally found.

“It’s possible,” Hangeng replied. “I’m an emergency room doctor and I see patients with brain damage quite frequently. Most of them have frontal lobe damage, which results in impaired executive function. For the impairment to reach that extent though…” He shook his head.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what’s ex-”

The door to Hangeng’s office slammed open and the woman Haruki had seen earlier barged in. “Nobody in this place can give me a straight answer!” she snapped angrily. “Are you in charge here?”

“Who are you?” asked Hangeng.

“Jessica Jung,” the woman replied. “Krystal’s sister. Are you in charge or not?”

“Well-”

Jessica huffed in frustration, pulling out her cellphone and tapping in a number. “Sunny? Cancel my appointments for this afternoon. I have to deal with something.”

 “'Deal with something'?” Haruki repeated indignantly as the other female clicked her phone shut. “Your sister just died! What is wrong with you?”

“Haruki,” Donghae protested.

Jessica raised her eyebrows. “Well, don’t we have a temper?”

Hangeng cleared his throat. “Ms. Jung, is there anything I can-”

“Yes,” snapped Jessica. “You better answer my questions right now, or I’ll-”

“I have other patients to attend to-”

“What, you’re going to ignore me, too?” Jessica scoffed. “Honestly! The incompetence of this place-”

The doctor sighed, defeated. “Detective Lee, Detective Morita, I’m really sorry, but-”

“We’ll wait outside,” Donghae said quickly. “Come on, Haruki.”

Jessica curled her lip. “Haruki? Isn’t that a boy’s name?”

Donghae grabbed his partner by the arm and dragged her out of the office. “That woman is-” Haruki began.

“Forget it, okay?” Donghae replied. “Not everything is worth a fight, you know.” His partner sighed and nodded.

After only a few minutes of waiting, the door burst open again. “Whatever, I’m leaving,” Jessica snapped as she stomped out of the office.

The detectives exchanged glances, before poking their heads through the door. “Thank you for your time,” Donghae blurted out.

“Yeah, and let us know if you find anything else that might be useful,” Haruki added. “Bye!”

Both rushed out of the office, ignoring Hangeng’s puzzled response and chasing after Jessica, who was rapidly storming down the hallway, heels clicking loudly on the tiles.

“Ms. Jung!” Donghae called out, but she didn’t even turn around.

Haruki finally caught up to her, grabbing her wrist. “Ms. Jung, we need to talk to you.”

“I’m busy,” came the retort as Jessica yanked her hand out of the detective’s grasp.

“You just cancelled all your appointments,” Haruki reminded her. “I think you have a few minutes.” Jessica glared at her, a contemptuous look crossing her doll-like features.

“How about a cup of coffee?” Donghae blurted out, hoping to defuse the tension. “My treat.”

She glanced at him, huffing and crossing her arms. “Fine. Whatever.”

Fifteen minutes later, Haruki found herself seated in a booth at Heartquake Café, playing with a packet of sugar, while Donghae and Jessica chatted as if they’d known each other for years.

“I work as a model for Mirotic,” Jessica had explained. Donghae had been impressed, while Haruki had no clue what that meant. It wasn’t hard to figure out which detective Jessica would prefer talking to after that.

Now, they were talking about TV dramas that both enjoyed watching. Haruki shot her partner a glare. Stop wasting time. Donghae nodded to show he understood.

“It’s so sad how they weren’t close, even though they were sisters, isn’t it?” he asked, referring to yet another show that Haruki hadn’t even heard of, much less watched.

“Oh, you know, those things happen,” Jessica replied, suddenly finding her stirring stick very interesting. She drew a figure eight on the surface of her coffee.

“Were you and Krystal close, Jessica?” Donghae asked softly. Haruki frowned. So they were on a first name basis now?

Jessica hesitated, looking warily at Haruki, who felt a flash of irritation at being dismissed during an investigation. She stood up abruptly, banging her knee against the table in the process. “I have something to take care of. You two have fun.”

“You look angry,” Seohyun said softly as Haruki approached the counter, where the server was making drinks, and sat down with her arms folded across her chest.

“What gave it away?” Haruki asked sarcastically. She felt a pang of guilt as Seohyun flinched from her harsh tone. “Sorry, Seo, I didn’t mean to snap. I’m not mad at you.”

“I know,” Seohyun replied with her gentle smile.

The guilt only increased as Haruki attempted to return the smile. This girl, while so much younger than her, was more mature in many ways. The detective glanced over at the table, where Donghae was now gently squeezing Jessica’s hand as the latter, wiped her tears with a napkin. “How can she be so pretty even when she’s crying?”

Seohyun laughed. “Are you jealous of her? You’re pretty too, you know.”

“Thanks for trying,” Haruki replied, cracking a tiny smile.

“Do you like Donghae, Haruki?” asked Seohyun.

“What? No!” Haruki snapped. “I just…” She sighed. “I don’t like being told what to do during my investigation, Seohyun. It’s frustrating enough not being able to find any information, and then I can’t even run it the way I want to.”

“Nothing goes the way we want it to,” Seohyun replied. “I guess that’s something we learn to live with.”

Haruki smiled slightly. “Thanks. I needed someone to remind me of that.” She watched as Jessica and Donghae stood up, the former giving her partner a quick hug before bidding him good-bye and leaving. Donghae sat back down at the booth and stretched his arms above his head.

The detective slid into the seat across from him, eyebrows raised. “So, aside from getting another pretty girl’s number, did you learn anything actually useful?”

“You sound jealous, Morita,” Donghae laughed.

“Donghae-”

“Okay, okay.” He sat up and leaned forward, eyes serious. “Jessica says that she and her sister weren’t very close, not since their parents divorced. The whole family’s kind of estranged from each other. She says she got a call from the hospital about Krystal’s condition and rushed over. And now that her sister’s dead…”

Haruki felt a twinge of sympathy for the model, smiling wistfully. “She feels guilty that she didn’t contact her earlier. Doesn’t that happen to all of us?”

“Donghae! Haruki!” a voice called the moment they returned to their department. Siwon, one of the senior detectives, waved to them as he passed by, calling over his shoulder, “Chief was looking for you earlier.”

Leeteuk looked troubled as the two detectives entered his office. “I got the report about Krystal Jung,” he said, skipping straight over the greetings. “I, uh…maybe you should both sit down.”

Haruki frowned, but did as she was told. “Are we in trouble?” Donghae asked, only half joking.

“You’re not,” Leeteuk replied. “But, uh, you’re not going to like this.” He chewed his lip and shuffled through some papers on his desk. Haruki forced herself to sit back and calm down, rather than demand an explanation from her superior.

“Krystal Jung,” Leeteuk finally began, after much hesitation, “marks the third girl to be murdered in such a brutal fashion. The time span is greater than a month and now, officially, we have a known serial killer in our city.” Both detectives nodded; they had already come to the same conclusion earlier. “Therefore, with a serial killer, the jurisdiction of this case is being taken out of my hands.”

“What?” gasped Donghae.

“The FBI is taking charge of this investigation.”

Haruki jumped up from her chair and even Donghae had a hard time hiding his frustration. “Chief, you can’t do this!” she snapped.

Leeteuk was shocked by her outburst- Haruki had always behaved so professionally- but managed to hide his surprise. “Do you think I’m happy about this?” he barked. “The order comes from higher up! I can’t do anything about it! Protocol dictates that cases involving serial killers be investigated jointly with the FBI.”

“Change the protocol then!” Haruki hollered.

Leeteuk slammed his hand down on his desk. “Have you lost it? I can’t do that, Morita, you know that!”

Haruki bit her lip and sat back down. The chief sighed as he appraised her. “Haruki, why is this case so important to you?”

"No reason,” she mumbled. “I just like to see a case through once I start an investigation.”

“You’ll still be working on it,” Leeteuk replied. “You’ll be cooperating with an agent from the FBI, that’s all.”

“But Krystal starved to death,” Donghae said suddenly. “She died of natural causes.” Both his boss and his partner looked confused. “If the official cause of death is listed as starvation, then she doesn’t count as a murder victim, right? Then, we only have two potential victims, and no official serial killer.”

And that way, we can keep investigating the case.

Leeteuk looked amused by his explanation. “The public may be stupid enough to fall for that, Donghae, but it won’t work. Shindong looked at the body, too- the damage done to her brain is what really killed her. Even her friend, Luna, knew that, didn’t she?” Donghae slumped back, defeated, but Haruki gave him a small smile, thanking him for trying.

The door opened and a tall man with dark reddish hair entered. “Ok Taecyeon. Special agent from the FBI.”

Leeteuk came over to shake his hand. “Park Jungsu, but everyone calls me Leeteuk. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” the man replied.

“These are two of my detectives, who were investigating the case,” Leeteuk explained. “Lee Donghae and Morita Haruki.” The two nodded politely. “I’ll let them explain the details to you.”

“No need,” Taecyeon replied. “I have already reviewed the case report.”

“But we haven’t written a case report,” Haruki said slowly. Donghae hushed her.

“Anyways, I’ll leave you three to work,” Leeteuk replied. “Thank you again for coming to help us, Agent Ok.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” Taecyeon replied. He followed Haruki and Donghae out of the chief’s office, but the moment the door closed, his pleasant manner changed. “Let’s get one thing straight. I’m in charge of the investigation now. You two are following my orders, got it?”

“We’ve been working on this for weeks now,” Haruki protested.

Taecyeon smirked. “Yes. You’ve done a great job, haven’t you?” Donghae threw his partner a warning glance before she could retort and the FBI agent smiled in amusement. “Way to put a leash on your dog…Donghae, was it? I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Haruki glared as the agent swaggered away. “I’m not working with him,” she spat, and Donghae couldn’t help agreeing with her.

The shattering of glass and a panicked scream greeted Haruki the moment she arrived at work the next day. As she headed towards her office to put away her coat and laptop, she suddenly found herself swept along with the crowd of her coworkers, all heading for their coffee room.

“Sungmin,” she called, upon spotting her friend. “What’s going on?”

He shook his head. “I’m not quite sure,” he replied, craning his neck to see over Siwon’s broad shoulders.

Ducking around the other officer, Haruki carefully pushed her way through the crowd until she managed to reach the very edge.

The rookie, Taemin, was standing in the doorway, frozen in shock, a broken pot of coffee spilled around him. The brown liquid spattered along the floor, mixing with red and forming a trail along the tiles. Haruki’s eyes slowly followed it, stopping when they found the clearly dead body of Ok Taecyeon. His eyes were still open in surprise. The blood dripping down his jacket was drying, but still partially wet. He hadn’t been dead for long.

Something white poked out from his shirt pocket and Haruki slowly approached the corpse. Bending down, she pulled out the slip of paper and turned it over.

“‘Don’t interfere’,” she read, turning to face the members of her department. She found Donghae standing among the crowd, his brow creased as he stared down at the body.

Don’t interfere.

“It’s from him,” she said softly, and her partner’s jaw clenched.

Don’t interfere.

The killer wanted them to chase after him.