Two girls were walking to school, talking about how handsome their idols are in their latest music video. They even forgot to do their homework and were just watch their idols on TV. Although they had time off because there was a problem with the construction of new classrooms, but they haven't done their math task yet. That’s why they deliberately come to school early so they could copy the vice class president’s math task, as they usually do.

As they headed for the entrance, they noticed something sticking out from a patch of weeds. The skinnier girl reached out to touch it, only to recoil when she realized it’s a hand. The taller girl hesitantly peeked through the weeds, stumbled back and fell to the ground when she recognized it, “J-jung Ji-woon?”

***

Hakyeon rushing to park his car and briskly ran to the crime scene. Minhyuk tried to stop him from seeing the corpse, afraid something bad happens because of his PTSD, but he insisted that he is fine.

Freed from Minhyuk, he was greeted by the sad face of Eunkwang. His brain slowly digested every word that goes into his ears. Wanted to make sure with his own eyes, he got rid of Eunkwang from his way and went straight to the area surrounded by police lines. He could clearly see when Sungjae passing evidence – a black joker card – to Hongbin. And right in front of his eyes was a body that was laying stiffly lifeless, neck almost severed and chest full of stab wounds. Hakyeon knelt to examine the victim's finger, and sure enough, there are only three fingers left.

Hakyeon screamed in frustration. At the same time Taekwoon arrived at the scene and demanded to see the body.

“It’s not him, right?” Taekwoon asked, but no one dared to answer.

“It’s not Jiwoon, right?”

“TELL ME!” Taekwoon cried out. But still, no one dared to open their mouths. Everyone remain silent, trying to avoid his gaze.

“Hakyeon-ah, tell me that it’s not him.” Taekwoon asked once he found Hakyeon among the crowd, hoping to die for him to answer his question, but he was too much in expectation. Instead of answering, he looked at him sadly.

Taekwoon turned around and found Eunkwang, “Seo Team-jang-nim, tell me! Seo Team-jang-nim!”

 “I’m sorry, Lieutenant Jung. But it’s him.”

“What are you talking about? Jiwoon’s not dead. He’s not dead!” Taekwoon fell to his knees. He buried his face with his hands, his body starting to tremble as he starting to cry even harder. Wonshik tried to soothe him as he pulled him to his embrace, but he pushed him away.

This time it’s Sanghyuk who tried to hold him. Taekwoon struggled to escape from Sanghyuk’s arms, but Sanghyuk was too strong for him, “Let go of me! That bastard’s lying. Why would Jiwoon be dead?”

“LET GO! Why would Jiwoon die? WHY? Jiwoon is not dead. It’s not him. My brother is not dead!”

Taekwoon stared at Hakyeon, Taekwoon stared at Hakyeon sharply, partly out of anger, and partly disappointed, “Hey you bastard, you've promised me to find Jiwoon. But what is this? I told you to find him alive. I never told you to find his lifeless body.” He looked at his teammates in turn, “you all promised to find him alive but you only found his corpse.”

“You’ve promised me.” Taekwoon fell to his knees, again, right in front of his brother’s lifeless body. He grabbed his brother’s cold hand, shook it gently, “Jiwoon-ah, let’s go home. I promise to accompany you today wherever you want. I will not go to work today, so let's go home, hm? No, I also will not go to work tomorrow, and so on, so you don’t need to make any trouble again just to see me. Deal? I’ve promised you, so please open your eyes. I know you’re just pretending to be dead, aren’t you?”

“Taekwoon-ah,” Hakyeon patted Taekwoon’s shoulder slowly.

 “Don’t touch me, you fuc**ng LIAR.”

***

The atmosphere became deserted when Taekwoon left the scene. Jiwoon’s body has been taken by the forensic team for autopsy.

“Corporal Han, look at this!” A police officer called. Sanghyuk immediately headed to the place the officer referred to, put on his gloves back on. About 5 meters away from the scene, they found a small object – a necklace – with blood stains. Sanghyuk took the necklace carefully and bagging it up, and then handed it to the other police officer, “please send it to the forensic team.”

Sanghyuk then stood up, walking towards Hongbin who was leaning against his car. From a distance Sanghyuk could see Hongbin's frustrated face as he stared at his phone screen, then brought it back to his ear. He did it repeatedly.

Sanghyuk leaned beside Hongbin, glancing at the older ones for a moment.

“Taekwoon hyung still doesn’t answer my calls. I’m afraid he’ll do stupid things.” Hongbin sighed.

“Maybe he needs time for himself. He is not ready to accept the fact yet. He will accept it sooner or later.” Minhyuk said, suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Hongbin and Sanghyuk bowed at him.

“Hakyeon hyung?” Hongbin asked, after recalling that the last time he saw his team leader – who looked depressed – was talking to Minhyuk.

“I told him to go back to the station. He knows what to do.”

“Does this have anything to do with Hong Yiseul?” Hongbin guessed, “I mean, what’s their relationship?” He continued. After he recalled, Hakyeon's face a few minutes ago looked sad and dismayed, his mood ed.

“Hongbin hyung, you also know about it?” Sanghyuk’s jaw dropped open.

“What do you mean by ‘you also’? You already know about it?”

“Uh? Yeah, I already know. Hakyeon hyung left his phone a few days ago at the office. The phone kept ringing so I checked it out. I read the messages from Lieutenant Lee, and I saw Hong Yiseul’s picture. I mean, Hakyeon hyung wouldn't have set it as wallpaper if she's not a very important person to him.”

“She’s Hakyeon’s fiancée.” Minhyuk interrupted.

Their jaws drop the whole time they listen to Minhyuk's explanation. Now Hongbin understood what the medicines mean. Now Sanghyuk also understood why Hakyeon's face changed every time they mentioned Hong Yiseul’s name.

***

Hakyeon left Chief Hwang’s office with a sluggish move. If only he had persisted in his opinion, and if only Chief Hwang would believe him even once, this mess wouldn’t happen. The sibling of one of his team members even became one of the victims, and they couldn’t prevent it. So what have they been doing all this time? What’s the point of forming this special investigative team if they can’t find the culprit?

Hakyeon wiped the sweat on his forehead. How will he meet Taekwoon? He had promised to find his brother, but he found his brother’s corpse instead.

“Hyung, look at this!” Wonshik showed a video that he got from the school’s security room to Hakyeon. In the video, they could clearly see Yoo Changseon was peeking from behind the school fence, occasionally looked to his left or right side.

“Isn’t it Yoo Changseon?”

“It’s absolutely him.”

Hakyeon tilted his head to face Hongbin, “What about the necklace?”

“About the necklace—” Hongbin hasn't had time to finish his sentence as the phone rang, interrupting their serious conversation. No need to be told, Sanghyuk answered the phone call, listening carefully to the every word spoken by the caller and the corner of his lip rose as he heard the good news.

“Hyung, the result is out. The DNA that found in the necklace matches with Yoo Changseon’s DNA.” Sanghyuk said cheerfully. Finally, after months of wandering around, the evidence finally comes to them on their own.

“But...” Sanghyuk hesitated to convey the further information.

“But what?” Hakyeon urged.

“There is another DNA found in the necklace, and it doesn’t match the DNA of the suspect or the victim.”

Hongbin shifted his chair backward, preparing to stand up, “we can find out about it once we catch the culprit. We already have strong evidence. What else is needed? An arrest warrant can be taken care of later.”

Wonshik stood up, “I agree with Hongbin. We can take care of it later.”

No need to be commanded, they took the necessary equipment and rushed to the suspect's house.

Hakyeon was already in the car. Wonshik, Hongbin, and Sanghyuk followed almost a minute later, while Taekwoon has not been seen since he left the scene, no one knew where he is going.

***

“Yoo Changseon disappeared?”

“He hasn’t gone to work since yesterday. He also can’t be reached. His car was last recorded on CCTV cameras after he left Hyundai Senior High School.”

“Nor is there any sign of him coming home.”

Hakyeon ruffled his hair in frustration. What kind of misfortune is this? Obviously, they already have strong evidence to catch the culprit. But their movement is too slow. The culprit has even escaped since yesterday.

Hakyeon pulled out his phone to call Minhyuk, telling him about the disappearance of the suspect. He also called Heeseok, asking for their team’s help to track down the suspect’s whereabouts. This time he did not want to miss the chance to catch that cold-blooded serial killer.

***

Sorry for killing Jung Jiwoon in this chapter. If I keep him alive, then they will find out who is the real killer and the story would be end soon, HEHEHE.

Hope you enjoy this chapter.

.: 인형 :.