Chapter One: Easier Said Than Done

The office was a scene of chaos when she arrived. A asive fog of tired desperation clung to the stale air like an odourless plume of toxins. She noted a few of her men hadn't left the place since yesterday and were still hunched, bodies folded over themselves and stationed at their desks.

Silently, she watched them like this for a while. Watched as they sort through a mess of reports and piles and piles of evidence—new and old alike looking for something, anything that would shed any light on what little they did have. A grim weariness had taken a hold of her officers, settled into their bodies like an ugly parasitic being, slowly sapping at their life forces and leaving behind dark eyes, gaunt faces and a sluggishness of the body and mind.

She shook her head sadly, then continued on. There wasn’t much she could do. It was either this, or be called out in the pitch black of the night to deal with more cold, lifeless bodies.

A few heads shot up as she passed. She waved to them, offered them a nod of her head—a form of subtle encouragement, perhaps reassurance too.

At her young age, the sparkling lieutenant badge she wore above her left chest pocket almost seemed deliberately boastful in nature. An open display of yet another characteristic that set her apart from the rest of the crowd. Krystal Jung, or Soojung—to those who knew her well—was as bright as they came, and she was, no doubt, on her way up. Well-liked by her superiors, she moved through the ranks swiftly—thanks to a combination of her work ethic and aptitude.

Krystal had been with the homicide division since her entry into the force, but her freshness still barred her from experiencing the terror a serial killer could reign, on both the general public and those here at the station. And now, she was unfortunate enough to see that terror firsthand.

“Good morning, Lieutenant.”

Whilst she would have given the other grievances for addressing her so formally on another day, Krystal merely frowned at the greeting. Her eyebrows drew together slightly and her lips were pulled tight at the corners, but her countenance did not break from its bleak grimness.

“Is it really?”

She said as she nodded to the tense atmosphere outside her private office. Brown eyes followed the robotic like back and forth movements of her officers. An underlying edge, unrelated to the frosty bite of the cold weather was visible in the stiff way half the station carried themselves about.

Her companion came up beside her and joined her in silence and too, stared at the tense commotion of the station.

A shrug, then a sigh followed. It was enough to break the mutual silence.

“Not really, but what can we do? It’s a race against time out there."

Krystal turned and found that her companion, Seulgi, had ambled over to her desk, and having disregarded the various files on its surface, was now leaned against its edge, her slender arms and legs crossed in front of her.

Seulgi had been Krystal’s old partner, technically still was , but now, Krystal served one rank above her as her superior as well. It was safe to say that they were familiar with each other, friends even. Krystal definitely considered Seulgi to be one and she was sure the sentiment was returned.

Krystal raised an eyebrow expectantly.

“Seul, what is it that you want to tell me?”

Seulgi’s face broke out into an easy grin, “How’d you know I had something to say?”

“I’ve know you long enough, plus, you have that look.”

“Fine, fine.” Seulgi said with a wave of her hand. She motioned for Krystal to come closer and Krystal did. “Have you heard of Kim Taeyeon?”

“What about her?” Krystal returned blankly, unsure what all this fuss was all about.

Krystal had heard the name being thrown around every now and then by a few of the older detectives. It was often accompanied by anxious, paranoid glances around the room, as though this ‘Kim Taeyeon’ would appear at a moment’s notice. She’d heard of Taeyeon alright, she just wasn’t sure why the name was whispered like it was cursed, belonging to that of a ghost or a demon; to be spoken with an paranoid sort of fear. Maybe she wasn’t around long enough to be privy to the station’s superstitions yet.

“They’re thinking of bringing her in to assist with your case. Word’s out that she’s a retired profiler or something. She was really good too.” Seulgi said, her voice so low that Krystal almost had to strain to pick out the individual syllables. “But the details of it all are being kept under wraps. I only know because I convinced Joohyun that you deserve a heads-up if someone was going to come and steal your case.”

“What’s with all the secrecy?” Krystal asked, bringing a hand up to rake through her long brown hair. She would be lying if she said that the arrival of this profiler—experienced or not—did not irk her. And even though, she felt as though she was in way over her head, her pride made her reluctant to relinquish her leadership on this case. It would be seen as incompetence. She couldn’t risk her superiors getting that impression.

“Joohyun didn’t tell me. She says you’ll meet with the Chief later this morning.”

With a sigh, she reassured herself that the news didn’t come as all bad; she could use an advisor. If Taeyeon was indeed what Seulgi had told her.

The material of her jacket creased as Seulgi clasped a solid hand to Krystal’s arm and offered her a look of sympathy.

Krystal just shrugged.

If her superiors were involved and committed to this matter, there wasn’t much she could do. She had to grin and bear it. That was the way of a hierarchical system.

“Alright, thanks for the heads up. I owe both you and Joohyun one.” Krystal said with a small smile.

“Nah, all good.” Seulgi grinned again, her mono-lidded eyes curving into half crescents in mirth. “I’m just trying to get into your good graces since you’re my boss and all. I’d say Joohyun’s the unfortunate victim in this.”

Krystal rolled her eyes, used to hearing these types of comments from her friend. She reminded herself to get Joohyun a coffee or something the next time she visited the older girl’s office.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever Seul.” Krystal dramatically waved her hand in mock dismissal, “Get to work before I put you on probation for wasting my time.”

Playing along, Seulgi dramatically snapped to full attention, her spine pulling into a perfectly straight line, her shoulders squaring and even gave Krystal a salute too. Seulgi's signature grin was on her face again. Somehow, Krystal felt just a little bit more reassured.

“Right away, Lieutenant Jung!”

Krystal couldn’t help but to grin at her friend's antics.

--

A knock came promptly at 3’o clock on her office door. Krystal looked up from her stack of paperwork. She had the blinds drawn up so she could not see whom it was who was on the other side. The door knob turned and the door opened. It revealed a clean-shaven man with sharp, bright eyes and a solid presence. If Krystal didn’t already recognise him as Jung Yunho, the Chief, the badge that hung around his neck would have certainly told her of his importance.

“Lieutenant Krystal Jung? Come,” Yunho said and had stepped back out the doorway. It was a clear directive for her to follow. Putting on her coat, Krystal hastily swiped a pen and notepad off her desk. She jogged to catch up to him and followed him down the hallway.

“I hope I did not interrupt anything.” He added as she fell into step beside him. It was more out of politeness than anything else.

“No, Sir.”

“Good. This might take a while.” He did not say anything after that and a grim expression crept up onto his face.

"May I ask what this is about?"

"The recent deaths."

Krystal fell silent at the reply.

Seulgi had been right then. It was something related to her current case. So, was her prediction about Taeyeon also correct then? Was this a meeting to replace her with a more experienced officer? Had they noticed her nerves? Questioned her competency? The questions swirled around in her head and distracted her, up until the point where she was staring blankly at the door and had not realised that they had arrived at their destination.

The Chief called her name once, drawing her out of her reverie. Embarrassed she fumbled around for an apology.

He barely acknowledged it.

Cheeks tinted with a touch of pink, she was quick to turn and knock on the door and waited until she heard a muted ‘come in’ before entering the room. Yunho followed her in then and shut the door firmly behind them. Her ears pricked at the sound of the lock clicking into place. It was as though he wished the conversations within the room to remain strictly locked in its confines. A sense of unease came over her with the thought, but still, duty called and so she ventured further into the room.

“Lieutenant.”

“Chief,” Krystal gave a respectful bow to each of the seated occupants in the room. “Deputy.”

There were a lot less than she anticipated—just her, Jung Yunho, Bae Joohyun and two others she only knew by a name and a title. Kwon Yuri. Shim Changmin. Both higher ups, like Joohyun. It seemed that this was indeed to be kept under the radar and low-profile if she had to receive instructions from the Chief and Deputies directly.

A throat was cleared and a slide flickered to life on the projector screen.

Krystal saw the reports that she'd been working on come up onto the big screen.

The old contraption whirred nosily in the silence.

“This is about the recent murders. We’ve seen you and the other officers work tirelessly and yet we still have no leads.”

A click. The slide changed.

Crime scene photographs. A gruesome collage of the killers works.

“The killer is