Jinki turns around when his phone starts ringing. His wife groans next to him and rolls onto her side, away from him. He fumbles for his phone on the night stand and only when he picks it up does he start looking for his glasses.

“Mmh,” he says into the receiver as he finds his glasses. He nearly pokes himself in the eye as they slide on. “Now?” he asks and removes the blankets from around him so he can sit on the edge of the bed while he listens to the person on the other end. “Are you sure?” 

He groans when he hangs up with a promise to be there in 10 minutes and then he turns around to press a kiss on his wife’s shoulder. 

“Who was it?” she murmurs, half-asleep. Jinki smiles a little at the sound. 

“Kibum. Murder. I’ll see you later, sweetheart.” 

She hums and goes back to sleep and Jinki gets up from the bed so he can get dressed. He’s sleepwalking through his routine but the cold night air wakes him up as he steps outside their small house and locks the door. 

 

As he arrives at the scene, he finds his partner, Kim Kibum, talking to an officer. He joins the two of them and tunes in on their conversation. 

“When was the call received?” Kibum asks and the officer relays what he knows about the anonymous call that has led them to the dead body. Jinki tunes out the conversation again as they continue talking and walks towards the forensic medical examiner instead. 

“So,” Jinki says and startles the woman that is bend down in front of the body.

“Geez, you scared me, Mr. Lee,” she says but then sends him a smile. “He was stabbed multiple times in the chest and there’s a gunshot there as well. I’m pretty sure you can say this was a crime. I’ll be able to say more when I finish the autopsy.” 

Jinki nods a little and looks at the body on the forest floor. The stab wounds make it look rather messy but Jinki suspects this was not as messy as it looks. He doesn’t tell anyone about his suspicions, however. Kibum puts an arm on his shoulder a few minutes later.

“Looks like it might be related to Lee Taemin and his drugs,” Kibum says and Jinki nods a little.

Figures that it wouldn’t be a simple murder. 

 

They arrive back at the station around 7 am and it’s bustling with life like usual. Jinki and Kibum both only briefly enter their office to put down papers before they head to the office kitchen to get a cup of much needed coffee. 

“Hey Minji,” Kibum greets and nods towards the woman sitting at the table. She looks up and nods a greeting towards him as well. He goes to fix himself a cup of coffee and Jinki flops down in the chair next to her and rests his head gently on her shoulder.

“Hello to you too, Jinki,” she says and he smiles a little.

“Would you mind getting me a cup of coffee?” he asks and she scoffs and returns to her papers.

“I’m not your assistant,” she says and Jinki shrugs a little, almost causing her to spill some of her tea.

“No. But you are my wife,” he says and Kibum laughs from where he’s standing near the coffee machine. 

“It’s too early for this. I’ll be at the office. Join me soon." He turns around to address the woman. "Minji, we might need your expertise on this case. I don’t know if they found a gun, but there were gun wounds on the victim, so anything you can give us will be appreciated.” 

Kibum leaves the kitchen with a cup of coffee, Jinki whines again and Minji whips his head with her stack of paper before she forces him off of her with a small laugh. 

 

“I don’t get it,” Jinki says. His desk is a mess of papers and old stained coffee cups. He scratches his hair and only causes it to look like more of a mess. “What did Taemin want from this guy? What was it that he couldn’t do? What caused his death? Everything we’ve gathered so far only proves that he was low-ranking drug dealer. What could he possibly have known that was so important?” 

He sighs and ruffles his hair some more. Kibum enters the office with his 8th cup of coffee. It’s only 3 pm but they both need the amount of caffeine they're getting, even if it should count as too much. 

“The tox screen showed he was clean. No drugs, no poison, no nothing. He wasn’t a dealer using the drugs instead of selling them.” 

They both sigh this time and Kibum plops down into his chair. 

“It makes no sense,” he says and Jinki agrees. Then they return to their array of papers with chicken scratch notes and none of it makes sense. 

 

They have been looking for Lee Taemin for months. The man is practically a ghost but still he runs the biggest drug ring in the Seoul area and they need him busted. The drugs are no longer only being distributed in poorer parts of society and the occasionally rich part of society but is making its way into the middle class and that’s bad. That means that media has started reporting on it and they are pressured to catch the bastard and end the ring as soon as possible.

The problem is, that Taemin doesn’t want to be caught and has delinquents to do everything for him. Every time they’re close to catching someone, they die. No ends left, no disloyal servant coming forward to stab his back. There are layers upon layers in the organisation and it makes it almost impossible to infiltrate. Kibum did suggest they sent people in to infiltrate but the upper boss had disregarded that idea. He wants them to get Taemin without getting involved - and that’s practically impossible. 

 

This murder, however, is out of the ordinary. This is panic. This is someone who knew something he shouldn’t, this is someone who shouldn’t have been involved in whatever he overheard. And Jinki is wrecking his mind and finding nothing. The murder itself was planned, but the guy shouldn’t have been a part of whatever he was a part of to begin with. 

 

Kibum looks up from his computer screen a quarter past 5 pm and groans. Jinki raises an eyebrow towards him. 

“What?” he asks and Kibum just shakes his head a little before he turns back to the computer. Jinki eyes him curiously from behind his own desk. Minji walks into their office then, demanding Jinki’s attention at her mere presence. Kibum hasn’t looked up from his computer again. 

“I found something. Minjung found a bullet buried in the victim’s chest and handed it to me. I’m 100 % certain it was a semiautomatic gun based on the scratches on the bullet and it’s a 9 mm Luger. I think I have narrowed it down to a Springfield Armory, but I haven’t been able to track the exact model yet. At least you can work with that, look for stores that sold Springfield Armory semiautomatics and who bought it. I think you have to look farther than Seoul, though. Maybe try Mokpo or Busan as well.” 

Kibum looks up then and sends her a smile. 

“Thanks,” he says and Jinki nods a little.

“Yeah, thanks darling.” 

Minji just rolls her eyes but she leaves them with a smile.

 

Kibum calls it a day 6.30 pm when he stands up from his desk and stretches his back. Jinki looks at him.

“Are you okay?” he asks and Kibum nods a little.

“Yeah,” he says.

There’s silence between them for a few seconds.

“Still single?” Jinki asks then and Kibum grimaces. 

“You would like to know, wouldn’t you? How can I date when people keep getting murdered? Nobody wants to date an agent like me when I keep getting summoned to this hell hole,” he says. Jinki raises an eyebrow and is about to argue back when Kibum raises a hand. “Don’t tell me about Minji, okay? She shoots guns better than you do, Jinki. And you met her at work. There aren’t a lot of single women here in case you haven’t noticed.” 

“Point taken,” Jinki says after a few seconds. “I’ll stay a little longer. Get some sleep and come back early tomorrow with a brilliant idea on how to catch this bastard, okay?” 

Kibum just chuckles and grabs his jacket. He leaves Jinki alone a few seconds later. 

 

Jinki is still hunched over his computer when Minji enters his office at 8 pm. 

“Oh, my poor husband is working hard to catch a murderer.” 

At the sound of her voice, he looks up. He rubs his eyes tiredly and his glasses end up askew. Minji walks towards him and gently reaches over to place them right. 

“You need sleep too, you know. You can’t think if you don’t listen to your body,” she says. Jinki frowns.

“I can’t let this bastard get away again.” 

“And you won’t. I promise. You still need sleep. Come. I’ll drive home and you’ll let your car stay here. I’ll drive you to work tomorrow.” 

She sends him a gentle smile and Jinki sighs a little.

“You’re right,” he says and she nods.

“Of course I am. Now come on, lets go home.” 

She reaches a hand out towards him and Jinki grabs it and squeezes it a little.

“Hang on, I just need to read this.” 

They’re still holding hands as Minji leans over his desk so she can look at his screen. The text is small and almost unreadable upside down but she still manages to catch serial numbers of Springfield Armory semiautomatics. 

“Jinki…” she says and he hums a little while he lets his eyes run over his screen with renewed energy at her presence. “That’s my job. Stop wanting to do everything yourself. We’re a team. Come. I’m not letting you read more.”

And with those words she tugs him out of the chair. He stumbles a little, reaching back towards his computer, complaining that he didn’t get to finish the sentence, but Minji ignores his complaints and pulls him with her out of the office. 

 

Minji sinks onto the couch and hands Jinki a cup of green tea. The TV is on in front of him but she knows he isn’t really watching. Jinki frowns when he takes a sip of the tea. 

“I thought it was coffee,” he says and Minji shakes her head and leans into his side.

“Not this late. You won’t be able to sleep.” 

Jinki just smiles a little and places his hand around her shoulder and pulls her impossibly closer. 

“What do you think about this case?” he asks after a minute of silence. He reaches out towards the remote control so he can turn off the TV and Minji sighs a little.

“I think it’s odd that it’s related to the drug case. The past murders weren’t done with semiautomatic guns. They were deliberately planned and the bodies were mutilated as if the person had been tortured beforehand. The stab wounds on this victim is obviously made to conceal the gun wound a little and make it seem like the gun wound was made after the stab wounds, not before, but no doubt the gun killed him. The person who shot is a great shooter.” 

Jinki hums a little and nods a little.

“I don’t think this was planned,” he says. Minji keeps quiet. “I’m almost positive our victim overheard something he wasn’t supposed to overhear. He gained knowledge he shouldn’t have. He was nothing but a dealer around here. Nobody should have cared about him, at least not enough to kill him. He didn’t take the drugs himself. He was a diligent dealer if everything in my notes are correct, of course. So I can’t figure out why he had to die.” 

They sit in silence while they think. Then Minji yawns and retracts herself from Jinki’s side. 

“We’re going to bed,” she says and pulls Jinki with her. 

“But my tea?” he says and gestures to the cup he has sat on the coffee table in front of them.

“You know that if I don’t drag you with me, you’ll stay up all night speculating. You also know that I can’t sleep without you, so hurry up. Leave the tea. We’ll clean the cup tomorrow.” 

Jinki considers for a few seconds before he lets Minji drag him away and into the bedroom. 

 

 

“Good morning,” Kibum says, chipper and bright the next morning as Jinki walks into the office, carrying his second cup of coffee. 

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” Jinki asks and Kibum sends him a brilliant smile.

“A good nights sleep. You seem like you could use one.” 

Jinki grumbles and waves his hand dismissively towards Kibum and Kibum laughs a little before he dives into his papers and research for the day. 

 

They do a lot of interviews, ask around in the neighbourhoods and when they arrive back to the station they’re nowhere closer to catching Lee Taemin. It’s getting frustrating. While the murder was sloppy, it was still efficient enough to not leave any trace behind and the DNA they did find on the victim proved to be a e he had visited a night before. She isn’t able to give out more information on the man, however and she doesn’t know how her hair ended up on his shirt. Jinki thinks he can think of possible way. Kibum certainly can as well. Neither detectives say anything, however. They’re back at square one, putting papers onto their black board and hoping that they will be able to make sense of it all, one way or another. Minji joins them around 7 pm in the evening so she can drag Jinki home with her. Kibum stays behind. 

 

Jinki still doesn’t understand the case when he falls asleep. Shortly after he’s awakened, however. 

“What?!” he shouts and sits up in the bed in a flash. Minji groans next to him. “Are you kidding me? How did you do that?” 

Jinki almost stumbles over his slippers when he gets out of bed. He rushes into the bathroom to get dressed.

“I’ll be on my way!”

In his hurry he manages to turn his T-shirt inside out but doesn’t notice as he throws on his uniform jacket and hurries out the door. He arrives to a small apartment in a fine neighbourhood. The SWAT-team has been called as well and Kibum is standing in front of the group in a bullet proof vest. He gestures towards Jinki, who reaches out to get a bullet proof vest himself. They both pull their guns before they break down the door. In the middle of the living room sits a young man on a couch and looks at them with a smirk. 

“Hello,” he says. “What can I do for you?”

 

Kibum is pacing in the interrogation room, obviously agitated. Jinki sits in front of the young man. Taemin is fumbling with his thumbs as much as he can with his hands in handcuffs. 

“Why did you kill that man?” Kibum asks. Taemin raises an eyebrow towards him.

“Who?” he asks. Jinki feels shivers down his spine. Taemin is young, but without any emotions. The only thing he has been able to read off of his face is amusement and it confuses Jinki. 

“You know damn well who!” Kibum says and slams his fist in the table. Taemin doesn’t flinch. Jinki just observes him. “You think we don’t know you run a drug ring? We’ve been on your tail for months! We have enough to prove everything and get you death sentence. Spill.” 

Taemin cracks his neck and looks towards Kibum without any emotions. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about?” 

Kibum is fuming, but that’s not unusual. He always gets agitated during interrogations. Something about Taemin is off, though. Taemin knows something. He isn’t afraid of a death sentence. He isn’t afraid of going to jail. Because he knows it won’t happen.

The thought strikes Jinki as a lighting from a clear sky, but that’s it. Taemin knows that whatever Kibum threatens him with isn’t going to happen. That’s why he doesn’t react to the physical violence Kibum displays, that’s why he doesn’t react emotionally whenever he’s called out on his lies.

Jinki can’t leave the interrogation room without Kibum, however, not without raising suspicions. So he stays where he is, observes both of them and soaks up information like a sponge. There are many things he can suddenly tell now that he is face to face with Taemin. 

 

“Minji, do you know where the records of the guns we have are?” Jinki asks his wife when she comes back from lunch. He’s looking through her desk, messing her papers up in the process.

“What are you doing, Jinki?” she asks, precaution in her voice.

“The records,” he repeats. Minji slowly makes her way to the shelf behind her desk.

“What do you need them for?” she asks and Jinki just takes the papers when she hands them towards him.

“Thanks darling,” he says and kisses her cheek before he leaves her office. She looks after him confused.

 

Jinki works overtime the next couple of days. He doesn’t tell Kibum what he’s doing, but Kibum is busy interrogating Taemin most of the time, hoping to get him to spill evidence so they can put him away for good. Jinki hasn’t bothered with observing them more. He knows what he needs to know. The more he digs into old memories, the more everything makes sense. He’s a fool for not noticing before. Everything falls into place a Thursday at 1 am. He’s overloaded on coffee and his body is protesting, but this is it. This is his evidence to finally bust the drug ring. He smiles happily as he compiles all his evidence. He did it. 

 

“Kim Kibum, it’s 7.12 AM and you’re under arrest for drug dealing. You have the right to remain silent. Everything you say can and will be used against you.”

 

Kibum looks at him with a dead look. 

 

“Ten years, Jinki. It took you ten years.”

“But I did it, Kibum.”