“Why do I have to do this again?” Haeun sighs as she walks into the department. Mark had called up earlier about an interrogation with one of the victim’s friends – and for some reason, Chief Kim had her to the questioning. “I really don’t want to,” she takes another sip from the can of coffee Mark gave her. Her hangover was still there even after taking some aspirins to decrease its effects. They stopped in front of the two-way mirror and Haeun watched as the school girl picked on her fingers, clear that she was nervous.

“Because seeing how nervous she is,” Mark points to the girl, “Chief thinks you’ll have a better chance of talking to her than anyone else.” Haeun drinks down the rest of the coffee and hands the empty can to Mark. The woman wipes with her sleeve before she tied up her hair, “Hopefully we’ll get a description of him or something useful.” She checks her wallet and heads to the vending machine.

“What’s that for?”

“Just a way to help her calm down,” she buys two cans of some kind of juice, “Don’t want us to scare off our only lead. What made her decide to come down?” She squats down and holds out the two drinks and walks towards the room. Mark just gives her a shrug, “She won’t say anything.” There’s a mischievous look in his eyes as he blocks her from entering.

“Are you and Taeyong… a thing?” he raises his eyebrow at the end of the question.

“What do you mean by ‘a thing’?” she tilts her head, “We just got drunk – that’s it.”

“And just happen to fall asleep in each other's arm in the sofa?” he chuckles seeing her surprised reaction. “WinWin told me – he said he nearly got a heart attack. Are you sure you guys aren’t –”

“Mark, shut it,” she placed a hand over his mouth, “I rather interrogate her than deal with your questions right now.” She lifted his arm and quickly made her way inside. Her presence was quickly caught on by the girl as she turned to face the detective. Haeun gave the student a smile before she sat down on the opposite side.

The school girl’s name was Kim Minji and she happened to be a friend of Ji Yooji, the second victim.

“You’re Minji, right?” Haeun asked, sliding the can towards her. “I’m Detective Yoo,” she introduces herself as she opened the can for Minji. “My partner said you had a few things to tell me, is that true?”

Minji nods her head but her eyes are still stuck down to her lap.

“Minji, you don’t have to be afraid,” Haeun tries to calm the girl down, she knows how scared she must be in this cold room. “There’s no one here to harm you and I reassure you, I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe.” Her hand reaches out to hold Minji’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “Any information you can give will be helpful so please, Minji, help us take down the person who did all that to Yooji.”

At the mention of Yooji does Minji begin to sob. “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have let her meet up with him in the first place,” she cries, “But she was so happy – so happy to meet someone who just swayed her like that. It’s all my fault, I didn’t protect her like I should have.” Haeun doesn’t say anything and lets Minji take her time to calm herself down. Minji continues to cry, letting the tears flow – feeling regret take over her.

“Yooji… Yooji was my best friend – we’ve been together since preschool,” she explains just as Haeun takes out her handkerchief. Minji takes it with her shaking hands and dabs it on her wet cheeks. “Minji and Yooji, the Jiji twins,” she chuckles at the memory, “We were like sisters. Sleepovers nearly every month, same fashion sense, same taste in every single food – everyone said we could read each other’s mind.

“But then… Yooji changed when she bumped into that guy. She met him when she was at the convenience store – she always visits there when her dance classes end. She… She said the guy just paid for her drink and didn’t say anything else,” Minji lightly shakes her head and wipes her nose. “Then, she met him again and this time she said thank you. She didn’t go into detail but… Yooji was so ecstatic when she was talking about him. She said they would sit down at the convenience store and talk. Yooji doesn’t really get along with a lot of guys so she was really happy when this guy expressed his interest in her.”

“Did Yooji ever say who his name was? Or how he looked like?”

Minji shook her head, “No, she never mentioned a name and I just saw a glimpse of his once.”

“Can you recall details?” Haeun asked, leaning forward – her anticipation rising.

“A few? I’m… I’m not sure,” Minji goes quiet for a while before her eyes snapped back to Haeun, “He had a tattoo somewhere around his left wrist! I remember seeing it when he waved at Yooji – it was some kind of flower? I can’t tell what kind it was though…”

“Anything else you remember? Like the way he spoke? A scar?”

“He…He had dimples – Oh, and he had a mole below his right eye,” Minji pointed to her own face to indicate where it was.

Haeun nods her head and jots it down into her notepad, “I’ll get a sketch artist for you later, any detail you can remember will prove to be a huge help. Do you remember anything else about the guy in how Yooji spoke about him? Was he wealthy? Or someone of status?” 

Minji slowly nods her head, her memory coming back to her one at a time. “Yooji got some gifts from him, not a lot but they were pricey. Bracelets, earrings, necklaces – I think she still keeps them in her room.” Haeun made a note for them to visit Yooji’s house again to gather all the jewellery, maybe they could track down the buyer. Haeun taps her pen on her notepad, taking a second to think of another question.

“Minji, I know this might be hard for you to answer but do you remember any details Yooji told you before she went missing?”

“She… Yooji told me she was going to out to see a movie with him. She had me over the night before to help pick out an outfit for her,” her eyes look up to gather the image of Yooji’s last outfit, “Mulberry coloured shirt and a pair of jeans… and this necklace.” Minji takes reveals the necklace under her shirt, “It’s a friendship necklace we had made a few years back. We never leave home without it.”

“Is it alright if I take it? I’ll give it back to you once I’m done,” Haeun asks and Minji takes it off, dropping the metal accessory into her hands. Haeun didn’t remember seeing any necklace reported when Yooji was found – if they could find the neckl