Five

He liked to think of himself as a perfectionist. No, he knew that he was a perfectionist. In the good sense, definitely. He liked it when everything was perfect, when things happened the way he wanted them to. Sure, he might have pissed off quite a few people with his entire – one could call it an obsession, but it felt like such a negative word to him – habit of making things perfect. Even then, he was aware that the definition of perfection differed from person to person. But his definition? It was the best. The easiest, the one that made him the happiest. The utter joy he felt whenever things went according to his plans could not be explained in words. It felt like he was on cloud nine. A feeling similar to the one a drug addict might feel upon finally getting his first fix of the day.

Unfortunately for him, people failed to notice the amount of hard work and dedication that went into his efforts at making things as perfect as he could. They mocked him, threw insults at him, called him a loser and a narcissist. No one knew just how talented and clever he was. He was never appreciated enough.

Well, that was going to change soon.

It had become more of a habit for him now than a thing of caution. If only travel costs were a little lower, he thought, sighing softly to himself as he leaned against a tree, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. The sight a few metres ahead of him was something he had gotten used to over the past few weeks. Yellow police tape cordoned off the area where the body had been found, and local officers were scattered nearby, questioning the residents of the area. He didn’t need to be able to hear them in order to figure out what the policemen were asking the citizens. After having travelled over to the previous two crime scenes multiple times, he had learned all the basic questions by heart. He could probably pose as a police officer himself and no one would suspect a thing, he was that confident.

Nothing out of the ordinary, I guess. It was starting to get a little boring just staring at the people, and he didn’t think he’d need to waste any more time on the current location at the moment. He also needed to check out the first two crime scenes; who knows what the police might uncover in a span of around two weeks?

Cracking his neck, he was about to leave the place when the sight of a guy made him freeze. He looked... different, to say the least. He seemed quite out of place in the whole scenario, almost as if he was an outsider barging into unfamiliar territory. He was definitely a police officer, though. The way he carried himself was proof enough of that. However, he wasn’t wearing the local uniform – what was more, he had turned up in casual clothes – which was slightly worrying. It had barely been a day since the third victim had been found in this very small town of Yeongyang, yet they had already called in help from outside? It felt unnatural. Unnatural, and very, very suspicious.

He had changed his mind. He wasn’t leaving. Not right away.

He began walking towards the unknown man as casually as he could, trying not to draw any attention to himself. As soon as he got closer, he could see the determined glint in the other’s eyes as he talked to one of the residents. There was something strange, though. This man had not talked to any of the officers ever since he had walked in on the crime scene, and even now, he was maintaining quite a good distance from them. It was as if he was trying not to be noticed by any of the local policemen.

He narrowed his eyes, watching as the police officers – save for the new guy – left, which made the latter visibly relax. He slowed his pace, getting as close to the dark haired man as he could while still staying out of his line of site. The officer had now started talking to another one of the residents; most of them had just stayed back, probably gossiping about the murder. He cursed under his breath for missing quite a bit of their conversation; after all, he could have at least gotten the man’s name.

It’s decided, then, he though. He would follow this unknown man. He realised how important it was to know who all the guy met and what he talked about to them. Gauging from the current conversation he was having with the person, he was quite experienced at interrogating people. That, or he was a clever one. It was going to be of utmost importance for him to know exactly what information the man would receive from all the interrogations, and where exactly he was going to head to in order to receive it all. He could not leave a single stone unturned at this point, it would be careless of him, and he might lose all the progress he had made.

He wasn’t a perfectionist for nothing.

It’s no use, Inseong thought dejectedly, thanking the third person he had questioned since entering the city of Yeongyang. No one knew the victim at all, ruining any possibility of a connection between the crime scene and the place he vanished from. This was one pattern of the murderer that he hadn’t been able to figure out yet; why were the locations changed for every victim?

He sighed softly, placing his notepad and pen back in one of the pockets of his long beige overcoat. Anyway, while he was still in Yeongyang, he could visit the first victim’s family. He took out his mobile phone, scrolling through the notes till he found Song Youngji’s address. Something tugged at the back of his mind as he realised that one of the victims had disappeared from the same city in which another was found, but another part of his brain forced the thought away. It could have been a coincidence, after all. Unless he had any solid proof, his ‘the universe is rarely so lazy’ theory wouldn’t be of any use. One thing was for sure: if he needed to visit all the places where the victims vanished from as well as where they were found, he would have to do a lot of travelling. There would be a lot of ground to cover, and he would have to hurry if he wanted to get it done within the two days’ leave he had been granted for ‘tending to his ill mother’.

Inseong smirked to himself; he had never said this was going to be an easy task.

Okay, so far so good. All this Jeong Inseong guy – apparently, he was from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency – had done was visit the victims’ families and friends and ask them the basic questions. Whether the victims were having any troubles in their personal or professional life, if they had received any threats from anyone, did they have any enemies or possibly any stalkers? Nothing too out of the ordinary.

However, he was beginning to get worried. All this while, he had gone to such lengths to establish the ‘fact’ that the murders were the work of the organ traffickers, yet why were the officer’s questions making it seem like he didn’t believe it? In the two days he had been tailing the man, Jeong Inseong had travelled to all six crime scenes of the three victims, and had interrogated literally every person he met that could be connected to the crime – heck, he even talked to those who weren’t connected by a long shot. He is an intelligent, meticulous man, someone who could be a big threat to everything I’ve achieved so far. He knew he would have to follow the man even after he went back home to Seoul, it was necessary to find out as much as he could about the other guy. He was pretty good at talking to strangers, if he could say so himself, and it wouldn’t take him much time to know more about the officer from his neighbours and other acquaintances.

It would be an added task, but it was an unavoidable one, and it was for his own good.

“Ah, you’re back,” Chief Han said as he met Inseong at the entrance of the police station the next day. “How is your mother now?”

Inseong blinked at the older man, slightly surprised at the hint of concern in his voice. He nodded with a small smile. “She’s feeling a lot better now, Chief. It was just a case of the flu, and she just needed someone who would look after her. My father is rarely at home because of his work,” he added, his gaze lowering just the slightest. The latter part was true, after all.

He felt a light pat on his shoulder, and looked up to see the Chief smiling at him. “I’m glad. Come on now, get back to work,” he said, nodding towards the inside of the building. Inseong smiled again, bowing to the other before rushing inside. He had told Jiho to leave without him that morning, and as he reached their floor, he saw his partner already seated at his desk, fingers furiously tapping on the keyboard as he typed.

“Good morning partner,” Inseong all but shouted cheerfully as he patted the other guy on the back, laughing to himself as he felt the latter jump slightly.

“How many times have I told you not to scare me like that?” Jiho complained, a hand on his chest as he watched his partner sit down in front of him. He waited for his heart to calm down, studying the other’s face. “So? How did it go?”

Inseong shrugged, casually leaning forward as he spoke in a low voice. “Not much progress, I didn’t really find out anything more than what we already know from the case files,” he said, face falling as he rested his chin on his palm.

Jiho frowned, sighing under his breath. “Does this mean that your whole trip was of no use?” He asked, biting his lower lip. His frown deepened when the other guy shook his head, and he arched an eyebrow, silently asking for an explanation.

“Not really, something seemed unusual,” the dark haired junior detective said, blinking as he thought about it. A small smile made its way on his face, his eyes lighting up as he looked up at his work partner. “I think I was being followed.”

The other’s eyes widened, and he raised his hands questioningly, staring in disbelief at Inseong. “And you think that’s a good thing?”

Inseong leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest. “Of course it is. I wasn’t sure at first, but everywhere I went, I could smell the same cologne around me, and I even caught a glimpse of a man near me more than once,” he explained. “I don’t think he realised that I had noticed him, but this can only mean one thing: I’m on the right track with my investigation.”

“Are you out of your goddamn mind?!” Jiho hissed, leaning closer to Inseong as his eyes flashed angrily. “Do you have any idea how risky that is? What if he does something to you, huh?” Inseong blinked, opening his mouth, then closing it without a word as he shook his head. He had definitely not expected such a strong reaction from the other guy. Noticing his silence, Jiho continued speaking, now having calmed down a bit.

“And even if nothing happened to you, what makes you so sure that he was the culprit? He could have been anyone. A thief, stalker, or maybe even a kidnapper. He could have done anything to you, what if you were badly hurt-”

“Hey, hey, chill,” Inseong interrupted, holding his hands in front of him in a calming motion as he sat upright in the chair. “I’m pretty sure he was related to the case in some way. Otherwise, there was no reason for him to tail me as I visited every single crime scene. If he was a thief, he would have stolen something from me or harmed me in some way, which did not happen. Also,” he added, “you seem to forget that I’m a police officer, I can take care of myself,” he said reassuringly, watching carefully to see if he had convinced his partner.

Jiho sighed, running a hand through his short brown hair as he shook his head in defeat. “If you say so,” he said resignedly. “But I’d still watch my back if I were you.”

“Roger that, boss,” Inseong said, saluting the other man mockingly, grin widening as he saw the latter finally smile.

Jeong Inseong was going to regret meddling.

He smirked as he caught sight of the tall figure exiting the building. Even worse, Jeong Inseong was going to regret having friends.

It was a little past nine when Inseong walked out of the police station with Jiho, stretching his arms above his head as he yawned. “I’ll be off now, I have some work to do before going home. Be safe,” he said as he began to walk away, waving goodbye.

“You too,” Inseong called out, waving back before turning around, making his way home. He shoved his hands inside the pockets of his overcoat, thinking about how cold it was as he walked. He was about to round a corner when his eyes fell upon a shop three blocks ahead of him that had still not closed for the night. Seungjun hyung’s café? He thought, brows furrowing in slight concern as he decided to head over. The café owner hardly ever kept the place open after eight, which worried Inseong. Why was he still in there? More importantly, was he alone?

It took him a couple minutes to reach the café, and he opened the door, taking a deep breath as he let the homely warmth and the ever lingering delicious smells embrace him. At the counter, Seungjun had been talking to Heejun, and they both turned their heads towards the door, waving at the detective as he smiled at them. He noticed how they didn’t smile back, however, which made him frown. I should just get straight to the point, he thought with a soft sigh.

“Isn’t it past your closing time, hyung?” Inseong asked, and as Seungjun sighed deeply before meeting his eyes, he could see the worry in the older man’s eyes. “Is... is everything okay?” He asked further, glancing at Heejun to see him mirroring Seungjun’s worried gaze. With a start, he realised that one person – who should have been in the café – was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Jihun?” Inseong was surprised at the amount of waver in his voice.

The chef opened his mouth to speak, but the youngest of the three beat him to it. “We got a call from him at a little past seven in the evening, saying that he would be a bit late, but...” Heejun trailed off, taking a deep breath before continuing. “We expected him to be here by eight, but he still hasn’t come. We even tried calling him numerous times on his phone, but he has switched it off.”

Warning bells rang off in Inseong’s mind. Now this was definitely weird. Jihun was known to be one of the most responsible among their little group of five housemates, and he always made it a point to let at least one of his friends know where he was going, as well as keeping track of where everyone else was, too. Even if he was the second youngest of the group, he would sometimes act like a mother, so for him to act so unlike his usual behaviour was definitely something to be worried about.

“Well,” Seungjun cut in, placing a hand on Heejun’s shoulder to calm the boy down. “It could also be possibly nothing, like for example, maybe his phone is discharged? He might be too busy to inform us about it. Anyway, we decided that we would just wait for him here. As long as none of us is alone, there won’t be any problem, right?” He said, giving the two his signature soft smile, although he couldn’t quite fool Inseong. The police officer could clearly see how upset the other was by just looking into his eyes.

“We have told Youjin that we’ll be a bit late, so you don’t have to worry about that,” Seungjun said as an afterthought, and Inseong merely nodded in reply. He didn’t know what else he could do at this moment except wait with the two.

Barely fifteen minutes had passed since Inseong had entered the café. His hand went to his phone as he thought of trying to call Jihun, when he heard a thud from somewhere nearby, followed by what seemed to be the sound of tyres squealing against the road. He knitted his brows in confusion, the other two bearing similar looks on their faces.

“That sounded like it came from outside,” Heejun said, his voice dropping to a whisper without him realising it, and Inseong caught a glimpse of the café owner’s expression before turning on his heels, darting towards the door. The lights inside the café weren’t bright enough to light up the road outside, and he raised an arm to stop the other two from going out in the dark. He hurriedly fished around inside his coat and took his gun out of its holster, cocking it as he swung the door open. He moved ahead with caution, looking around the area with alert eyes. The smell of burnt rubber and exhaust smoke lay thick in the air, but there was no vehicle in sight.

The junior detective stumbled when his foot hit something on the ground, and he steadied himself before he could topple face-first on the road. He looked down, narrowing his eyes as he willed them to try to get used to the darkness, and was soon joined by his two flatmates as they all stared at what seemed to be a dark lump on the ground. Wordlessly, the three of them dragged it closer to the café’s door, and Inseong froze as he realised what it was.

A big, black polythene bag. Similar to the ones the dead bodies were discovered in.

He gulped painfully, his throat going dry at the possibility of finding another victim of the copycat serial killer, the idea of Seungjun and Heejun seeing a dismembered body even more unnerving to him. With shaking hands, he untied the knot at the top of the bag, his blood running cold at the sight of the soft, light blond hair.

Kim Jihun.

Author’s Note:

I’M BACK! Well, kind of. I still haven’t gotten rid of the writer’s block completely, but I’m getting there bit by bit. To those who have been patiently waiting for me to update this story, thank you so much!

Back to the story, though *ahem* I know I should probably apologise for the cliffhanger, but I won’t lol. This was one of the very few plot points that I had thought of at the time of getting the idea of this fic, and no way was I going to drop it. That being said, my heart was beating wildly while writing the last part.

You guys are free to curse me and yell at me while I begin working on the next chapter XD hope you liked it!