It's been 4 days since he received a call from Jiwoon. It has been 4 eternal days since his younger brother disappeared, but no information or any kind was sent by his captor. Chief Hwang said that this is just an ordinary kidnapping case that asks for ransom after a few days, but it doesn't seem like that. He did not want to believe Hakyeon's words, but the words kept ringing in his head. What if it's true? What if his brother was really kidnapped by that cold-blooded serial killer?

This is frustrating. He couldn't do anything for this case. Despite his team is still investigating the case secretly, they often do not allow him to participate in the investigation. They said that this is for his own good, but Taekwoon does not feel good at all.

***

Hakyeon got a call from Minhyuk. He said there was a high school student’s body was found around Gaepo(2)-dong, Gangnam-gu. So he secretly sent a message to his team members – except Taekwoon – and asked them to leave immediately. They look at each other knowingly and worriedly. They were just about to leave when Taekwoon woke up, demanding to know where they were going.

“Uh, well... It’s nothing serious.” Hakyeon replied hesitantly.

Taekwoon raised an eyebrow, “What are you talking about? Why are you sending everyone outside if it’s nothing serious?” He fixed his position, staring at Hakyeon seriously, “What’s going on?”

“You know, there is a...  Gosh, just take some rest. You look like a panda now. Look at those dark circles.” Hakyeon sighed. Taekwoon still stared at him, still waiting for an answer.

“Just take a nap.” Hakyeon said before joining his other team members.

“What is it? Yah, Cha Hakyeon!”

“At least answer my question. You really ignore me these last few days.” Taekwoon sulked. He knew why his co-workers act that way, but they don’t have to go that far.

Moreover, they have become so quiet for the last few days, especially if there is Hakyeon among them. Even the usually noisy Jaehwan turned quiet as well. What did they hide from him?

“Excuse me.” Taekwoon was surprised by the presence of someone right in front of his eyes. He must have been lost in his daydreams until he did not realize that there was someone else in the room, waving his hand in front of him who was unaware of his presence.

“Uh-yeah, what do you need?”

“These are the copies that Cha Team-jang-nim requested by 11 AM, but he’s already left. So ... later could you take them to him? I have works to do.”

“Okay. Just put it there.” Taekwoon said, pointing towards Hakyeon's desk, not even interested to look at the direction he pointed.

Heeseok put the files on the table as Taekwoon ordered, excused himself to return to the investigation room, but ignored by Taekwoon. He had just reached the door when Taekwoon called him, “Corporal Yoon!”

“Yes?”

“Do you know where he is going?”

“Who? Cha team-jang-nim? I heard there was a body of high school student found around Gaepo(2)-dong, and they’re heading there.”

His eyes widened at Heeseok's answer, “Body? High school student?”

“Yes, right. Lieutenant Lee Minhyuk called him about 20 minutes ago to tell him about this case.”

No wonder they left without telling me anything. Damn it, Cha Hakyeon! Taekwoon silently cursed in his mind.

“Please send the address to me!” Taekwoon grabbed his jacket and ran hurriedly to where his car was parked and immediately drove at high speed.

When Taekwoon got there, the place was crowded by reporters and police officers. He struggled through the crowd to see the situation behind the police line. He scanned the faces of the officers one by one, looking for familiar faces, and he could see them not far from where the body was laying. Taekwoon watched their faces one by one, and all he could see was an expression of anxiety and fear. He tried to see the body but he was blocked by some forensic officers. He began to lose his strength at the thought of the possibility of the corpse being found belong to his one and only brother.

“Gosh, how did you find out?” Hakyeon noticed Taekwoon presence and briskly walked towards him, trying hard to stop him. Wonshik did the same thing a few seconds later, followed by Hongbin and Sanghyuk.

Taekwoon desperately trying to push past his co-workers at the crime scene so he can identify the body himself, but they refused to let him see the body.

“Let go of me. I need to see the body.”

“Hyung, why are you doing this?” Wonshik said as he wrapped his arms tightly around Taekwoon’s waist.

“What do you think, you punk? I’m a police officer, trying to identify the victim. Just let me see it.”

Hakyeon shook Taekwoon’s body, “Stop it, Jung Taekwoon! Come to your sense.”

“Let go of me. I need to see the body. LET GO OF ME, YOU JERK!”

“You don’t need to go there. Jaehwan is checking it out.”

“All I need is to see the body. I just want to make sure it’s my brother or not. So let go of me!”

“It’s not him. Aish I told you to take a nap but why are you coming? How did you find out about this?”

“It’s not him, right?” Taekwoon asked, half crying.

Jaehwan rose from his feet, drawing his mask town to his chin, “Hyung, I’m pretty sure that this is not Jung Jiwoon.”

“You're pretty sure? What is that? What do you mean by pretty sure? Give me a definite answer! Tell me that it's not him!” Taekwoon struggled with his remain strength, “Let go of me! I need to see him myself!”

“The body's already decomposed and it's hard to distinguish who it is. We'll need to do a DNA analysis. But it's impossible that this is your brother. Time of death estimated about 2 weeks ago, but this is only 5 days since the abduction of Jung Jiwoon.”

Taekwoon fell to his knees. He could finally relax in weeping relief that it’s not his brother, “It's not my Jiwoon. My Jiwoon is still alive. My Jiwoon is definitely alive.”

“Drink this.” Wonshik handed a bottle of water to Taekwoon, helping him to drink it properly.

“It's not my Jiwoon. My Jiwoon is still alive. My Jiwoon is still alive.” He kept repeating those words, fighting to hold back his sobs.

“Let’s go home. Jiwoon is definitely alive. We’ll find him.”

***

“I told you this case is different, Hyung. If this is the same case, then we’ll definitely find the victim’s body today. But there has been no news about the victim until this moment.” Hongbin said with a low tone. But still, got a death glare from Taekwoon.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to say that. I just... just...”

Hakyeon cut off, “You think I’ve never expected that this is a different case? I’m hoping half to death that this is a different case, that I might have misheard. But all I heard was his voice. I can’t explain it, but some of you already know the reason.”

“What reason? Who already knows?” Taekwoon asked confusedly.

“It has nothing to do with you.” Hakyeon snapped.

“This case involves my brother, so I have the right to know.” Taekwoon rose from his seat, pulling the Team Leader’s collar.

“It’s none of your business.” Hakyeon said with death-cold tone. Taekwoon could swear that this is the first time he caught Hakyeon’s expression turn out to be so scary and intimidating. Slowly, he released his grasp from Hakyeon's collar and slumped back again to his seat.

“And can’t you control your tone? Chief Hwang could be suspicious if we’re still investigating this case.” Hakyeon said after a long pause. He shot a death glare to Hongbin, making him swallow his saliva in fear. Sanghyuk in the other hand lowered his gaze, avoiding Hakyeon’s eyes.

“Is there no call or any message from kidnapper until now?” Hakyeon asked, trying to change the subject. But no one was going to speak up to answer his question. He got a nod from Taekwoon instead.

“So it's clear that the kidnapper does not want a ransom.” Hakyeon murmured. “What about the bullying case that involves him before?”

“The case is closed. The victim said that the culprit wasn't him. So there's no way he's still holding a grudge.”

Hakyeon let out a heavy sighed, “If so, let's get back to work.”

“Kim Wonshik, go to the Security Center and check if there is any suspicious car that recorded by security cameras. He probably already knew that his car was being caught by a security camera during a kidnapping incident, so he probably changed the color of his car or even used a different car. There will be Corporal Shin Donggeun that will help you. Lee Hongbin, go see the witness. I'll catch up after clearing something up. Han Sanghyuk, continue to visit the service stations that the kidnapper might have come to change the color of his car. And Taekwoon... just go home and take a rest. You look really... messy.”

“How can you tell me to go home and take a rest at this critical moment? Who do you think you are?”

“I’m your team leader, in case you forgot what my position is.”

“Aish, okay, I'll go home. Satisfied? But if anything happens, contact me as soon as possible.”

***

Hyundai Senior High School, 1 day before the incident

What’s wrong here? Why is it so quiet?

The man paced back and forth in front of the school fence, occasionally peering into the building across the fence. It’s almost 8 o’clock, so all students should have arrived. But he did not see a single student this morning. Even the school fence is still locked tight. Today is not even Sunday, so why could it be so quiet?

“Excuse me!” He was surprised by a sudden tap on his shoulder. He turned around only to find a middle aged man dressed in a construction worker.

“May I help you?” He continued after a short pause.

The man fixed his hat position, silently trying to hide his face, “Y-yeah, I need to meet a student, but why is it so quiet here?”

“Ah, there’s a problem with the construction of new classrooms, so this school is closed for a few days. The students will be back to school starting from tomorrow.”

“Oh, really?” The man scratched his head, Geez, why could I be so careless? “I’ll excuse myself then. Thanks for the information.”

It’s so frustrating. The timing should be perfect. But why is it so messed up? Should I change the plans? But it’s too late. Or should I just leave it that way?

***

So I've promised to update in a few days. But regretfully I broke the promise myself. But please don't blame me!! I really finished it in a few days but there was a problem with the internet connection so I was forced to break the promise (What the heck am I even talking about???)

Please remember that: Me Vs. Internet Connection = Late Update

So how was it? Who do you think the man who came to school? What was he doing there?

Till then, see you in next chapter.

.: 인형 :.