[Miyawaki Log 2: A week later in Korea and so far it has gone rather well considering the language barrier. Chief Park herself had been the one to introduce me to the sector and briefed me on the current state of the situation.]

Back rigidly straight and staring intently at the photo the Chief held before her, Sakura listened to each word spoken. The simple sight of the Chief her higher ups had sang praises about evoked nothing but respect, maybe a smidge of fear as well.

“As of now, we’ve only recovered one picture of the culprit however, try as we might, we were unable to discern any distinct features other than the fact that the culprit is slim, leaning towards a female build, and roughly 160 to 170 centimeters. Here are the additional files we were unable to send over to you.”

The Chief handed Sakura the folder containing the picture as well as other documents concerning the paintings stolen. She held the picture up to see the shadowy figure against the light. Chief Park was right; nothing else could be found other than the fact that the thief had a penchant for wearing hoods and dressing in dark colors. The image quality of the security cameras weren't exactly the best but she wished that she saw more than just a blop of darker black against darkness.The shadowy figure looked to be running yet her head was tilted to presumably make eye contact with the overhead camera; could it be intentional? To mock them? Or was it a genuine slip up?

She would have stared at the masked figure for an eternity more, scrutinizing the conniving human being underneath, if the Chief hadn’t cleared to bring her back to reality. 

“It’s a lot of information to digest, I know. I don’t expect you to catch them overnight. These types of crimes are...rare, frankly speaking. Even more peculiar that they remain at large, however I can say that, after reading your reports and your records, this case is in capable hands with your involvement. Myoui Mina was the one who vouched for you, quite adamantly might I add, and I trust her decisions. I believe in you, so do not disappoint us, Detective Miyawaki.”

Deeply touched by Chief Parks words, she stood up and bowed lowly. “I will not let you down, Chief Park.”

Park Jihyo smiled at the young woman, so determined to prove herself in front of her, and saw a glimpse of the potential that Mina rarely saw in anyone else. 

“I know you won’t.”

Sakura nodded her head and then another woman entered the room, garbed in the deep blues indicative of the South Korean police force.

“You wanted to see me, Chief?”

[I was then tasked under Inspector Kwon’s squadron. Before I was assigned, they were responsible for investigating the thief they deemed the “White Feather." Thankfully Officer Honda spoke Japanese was able to translate. Inspector Kwon informed me that I will be working closely with her team and proceeded to introduce them to me. They are...]

Inspector Kwon led her through the winding corridors to a room where, she proudly deemed, the magic happened. The room itself was a suffocating four-walled space that swallowed sunlight as it’s only light source. Paint was peeling from the walls and the dustiness of the storage cabinets irritated her nose, however there was a messiness to the room indicative of progress so she could have faith in their hard work. 

The thing that caught her eye was the old fashioned cork board mantled at the farthest wall, completely empty besides the blurry picture of the thief tacked at the center with strings attaching it to the pictures of the stolen pieces. Although it was barren, Sakura’s eyes still twinkled with excitement at the potential strings she could make, all the evidence hidden away somewhere waiting to be found. Plus, she always wanted to use one of these! They never let her have one in Japan because it took too much space, but here it was! Not taking too much space at all! She needed to remember to speak with Chief Myoui once everything was resolved.

A mess of people were huddled around what seemed to be a map from the small crevice Sakura could spy. Two were arguing while the other two watched the back and forth like one would watch a tennis match.

A woman who had a donut in one hand and a red marker in the other passionately retorted, “Hear me out, hear me out!”

The person adjacent to her snatched the marker and sighed, “For the last time, Feather is not a ghost and that’s that, Hyewon.”

“But can you explain why they were able to be in one room for a second and then be in—”

“Ladies,” Eunbi called and five heads, including Sakura’s, snapped to attention. “This is our newest addition we had been briefed about weeks prior. Detective, would you like to introduce yourself.” She motioned for Sakura who thankfully got the hint.

“Miyawaki Sakura of the HKT Precinct. It’s a pleasure to be working by your side.”

All heads turned to the shortest member of the squadron who panicked momentarily at the attention. Her shaking eyes traveled to Eunbi who gave her a sympathetic look. 

“She can only speak Japanese so we may be needing your assistance, Hitomi.” 

“Okay, I’ll do my best then.” The short one, Hitomi, stepped forward. “Detective Miyawaki, I’m Officer Honda, though please feel free to call me Hitomi. If I go too fast, stop me anytime.”

Hitomi then translated her introduction to the rest of her team who nodded with approval. One by one they introduced themselves. 

The one from earlier with the donut introduced herself as Kang Hyewon and the one with the marker was named Kim Minju; from their chemistry alone, it was evident they were partners. Hyewon was the more eccentric of the duo, offering her a donut from a box she produced from no where, while Minju, who proceeded to snatch the box from her hands, was the one with a sensible head on her shoulders. Though the partners were dysfunctional, she could tell from the closeness that the two shared a deep trust forged from years and years of having the other’s back in the worst of times and best of victories.

A third woman, Jo Yuri, walked up and shook her hand, happily speaking in rapid Korean about something that failed to translate in her mind. Hitomi had gotten lost in the middle of Yuri’s spiel, but she assured Sakura that the gist of it was that she was excited to work with her. Her boundless energy was either going to be a blessing or a curse in the late nights she anticipated in the office. She was an individual that reminded her of a dog, or rather a puppy, and the Detective was left to wonder how an individual like her faired in this vocation. 

Eunbi added that two were missing, Lia and Yeji, since they were tasked to investigate a potential connection between paintings and had yet to return, but she assured that they were irreplaceable members of their rag-tag squadron. 

Finding herself in the middle of the chaos, a hurricane of introductions and conversations, Sakura awkwardly shuffled to the corner and observed the nature of this team. Having only experienced a small stint in her career in a team, she was nervous about how they were able to cooperate with the clear language barrier but they were happy to communicate with her by gesturing or asking Hitomi how to say a certain sentence in Japanese so she wouldn't need to feel awkward. Sakura never would have expected these people to be her new teammates but they were welcoming and just as invested in this case as her, and that was more than she could ever ask for.

[Peculiar to say the least. However our operation heavily relies on our ability to communicate with each other, so I must become more comfortable with their idiosyncrasies. Though I foresee a crucial complication in the near future if I do not find a reliable translator soon. As for personal matters, my new acquaintance friend Chaeyeon had been most accommodating and absolutely delightful. Maybe Chaeyeon can teach me.]

Her fingers left the keys as she pondered her new friend. Their date was something that could hardly be classified as a date; it was simply a whole day of Chaeyeon guiding a clueless Sakura around the city, from the multiple train stations to the local food trucks, and telling her about where to go and where not to go. It was the most walking Sakura had done for the entire year, but her aching feet was not what her mind focused on when Chaeyeon's calming voice recounted a particular adventure in that part of the city. 

Sakura would not mind it if it happened again, aching feet it entailed.

“Chaeyeon can teach you what?”

Sakura felt a chill run down her spine as she flicked around to see Chaeyeon leaning over her shoulder, innocently tilting her head as her eyes over the computer screen. The blonde traded her apron and dirtied button up shirt for a warm coat and a muffler wrapped around her neck.

After sitting in the cafe for a majority of the day, she had almost forgotten that she invited her to come.

Strange, even without her headphones on, she didn’t hear a single footstep at all. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Only about a minute or two.” She held up her beverage, a cup of milk tea to compliment her refreshing personality. “You looked like you were busy so I got myself a drink.”

With a flick of her wrist, Sakura closed the laptop and gestured to the empty seat in front of her. She had been saving her that seat for her ever since she sat down anyway. “You’re early. I thought said you were working for a few more hours,” she inquired.

Chaeyeon winked at her. “The perks of being an owner is that I can ask other people to do things for me, so I forced my sister to do it. Plus, my goal is for you to go to bed at a reasonable time.”

The rose-haired woman could only roll her eyes at her aforementioned ‘bedtime’. Her job often prevented her from getting a wink of sleep at night and Chaeyeon quickly caught on to her manic schedule after hours of late-night phone calls and texts. Since then, it became her self-appointed mission to get Sakura to sleep for at least five hours compared to her usual three, though she elected not to mention that Chaeyeon’s cute good night messages did more to keep her awake than any amount of caffeine she inhaled. 

“You’re a horrible sister, “ she joked, taking a sip of her watered down iced coffee.

“I know, she tells me that everyday,” Chaeyeon laughed, a melody that made Sakura’s heart giggle in turn. “So how are you doing in your new job? Comfortable yet?”

“A little bit but...”

Sakura twiddled her fingers nervously and from the corner of her eyes Chaeyeon rested her head on her hands with a sigh, though it was more amused than exasperated.

“You’re having trouble with Korean,” she offered, already knowing the answer to an untold question. “And you probably want someone to help you, like say a nice flower shop owner you met on your flight?”

“I mean, if you’re not busy...”

“If it’s you, I’ll make time.” Sakura looked up to see Chaeyeon’s kind eyes smiling at her. She wandered the depths of those brown jewels and knew that it was her second favorite thing in the world; the first being their owner's laugh. “I know you told me to meet you here, but do you want to go somewhere else? I think a change of place would suit you well.”

“Your place or mine?” A split second after the words left , she instantly regretted it; she hadn’t meant it to be so suggestive.

To Sakura’s relief, the comment flew over her head. “Your place is better. If Chaeryeong finds out I returned earlier than I said I will, she’ll scold me.” Getting up from her chair, Chaeyeon scowled at the angry grey clouds overhead. “We should get going before it starts raining.”

Sakura nodded her head and packed her belongings, trashing the coffee on the way out. The two left the warmth of the cafe and felt the strong chills of a storm soon to come—sooner than Sakura had predicted. Under the canopy, she held her hand out to feel the small droplets hit the palm of her hand. If they ran for it now, they could possibly make it to her apartment before they get soaked but that also meant endangering her laptop, the thing that contained hours of work and research. 

Tapping her on the shoulder, Chaeyeon snapped her out of her reverie and waved a compact umbrella playfully. “Don’t worry, I’ve got us covered. But wait,” Chaeyeon paused as she unraveled the sky blue scarf from her neck and loosely wrapped it around Sakura, earning a gasp in surprise.

“What are you doing?” She squeaked.

“You looked cold.” Chaeyeon eyed her outfit and Sakura had to look down at her ensemble to see what was wrong, however the biting chill that seeped inside the thin fabric was enough of an answer. She moved to shrug her coat off but Sakura grabbed the lapels, adjusting it back to place. 

“I think the scarf is warm enough, Chaeyeon. Thank you.” She closed her eyes and nestled into the tenderness of the fabric. It was soft and warm and exuded security she only ever felt when she was with the soft-hearted Korean woman.

Chaeyeon unfurled the umbrella and Sakura laughed at the cartoonish foxes that designed the outer screen. 

“Cute,” Sakura cooed as she pointed to one particular fox, grinning widely in laughter, that reminded her of her companion.

“I borrowed it from Wonyoung.” Holding the umbrella over their heads, Chaeyeon shuffled closer until their shoulders touched.

“Lead the way, Kkura-chan.”

Their walk was quiet, calming with only the pitter-patter of rain and the splashing of puddles as their music. Sakura, actively sensitive to their rhythm, slowly distanced herself to prevent any more stray touches or awkward shoulder bumps, however not a single drop hit her as she expected it would. 

She averted her gaze from the wet sidewalk to her companion who held the childish umbrella squarely over her head. When she tapped her on the arm, Chaeyeon held that stupidly sweet smile on her face while paying no mind the rain pummeling her damp shoulder. I don’t mind the rain if I’m with you, that smile said to a flustered Sakura.

In the stillness of life amidst the stormy weather, it would have been a perfect time to practice, learn a word or two in Korean, but the two held an unspoken rule between them—while the world roared, they would remain silent. The reason? Sakura didn’t know, but her company was enough to fill the emptiness of something that she never knew was missing.

Instead of scrounging for an answer, Sakura moved closer and placed her arm around the younger woman’s waist, looking for any signs of rejection but there was nothing else other than an bashful smile that she attempted to hide inside her collar. She tugged her closer until their sides molded together while in their reverie, they walked in perfect sync.

For that moment alone, silence was the most comfortable thing for the two of them.

The building she resided in was simple, not too luxurious yet not too shabby; just as she likes it. It did require to travel two flights of stairs but that was alright. Nothing could beat her second case where she had to go up and down eight flights of stairs everyday for a month.

“Feel free to make yourself at home,” she said as she opened the door to reveal her humble abode.

Sakura’s rented apartment was barren and barely lived in, not something akin to a home. It was quite sad, but she believed that there was no reason to settle comfortably in a temporary space that will eventually become empty once she finished work. No permanence, no point, she often said but if she had the chance or the energy, she would have thrown that hideous couch in the living room after a second of laying her eyes on it.

Chaeyeon however observed the minimalist style with a careful eye, taking in every detail like a critic analyzing a timeless painting. “It’s cozy, I like it.”

The Japanese woman hummed in response, neatly placing her wet boots at the front door step and grabbing the fluffy slippers that waited for her arrival patiently. Chaeyeon followed her example, tailing Sakura in small steps like a lost puppy looking for their owner while the owner tidied any imaginary messes that caught her eye. Sakura had to force her to sit down on the couch or else she would have ended up making herself stressed from Chaeyeon’s constant presence.

“Sorry, I had to go to work early so I forgot to clean up.”

“Don’t worry, I’m the same except my home gets a lot messier than this with how many people stay there.”

“Oh? Big family?”

“You can say that, but it’s more like I have a habit of adopting strays and they have a habit of crashing my place.” Chaeyeon looked over to Sakura. “How about you?”

“I live alone so I don’t worry too much. But enough about me, shouldn’t you be teaching me Korean?” she deflected with a chuckle, not wanting to open the Pandora’s box that was her personal life. 

“You’re right! Where should we start,” she wondered, rubbing her chin in thought. 

“The basics would be preferable.”

The Korean woman was clearly excited to teach, the sparkling eyes was an obvious tell, yet she remained patient with Sakura, always there to help her pronounce an incorrect syllable. Sakura, a prodigy in her own right, never needed tutoring nor had she ever experienced it, but this arrangement with Chaeyeon was as close as she was going to get after years and years of gliding through academics with her intelligence and tenacity alone. And she couldn’t say she hated it at all, actually she liked it a lot. 

Chaeyeon was intelligent, that much she understood. She would have assumed that she was a teacher in the past with how well she able to communicate the concepts to Sakura. Maybe she had prior experience before her? It wouldn’t be too far fetched since Chaeyeon was all too confident aiding a foreigner with language lessons, almost knowing what words were going to confuse her before she did.

While she talked grammar and vocabular, Sakura couldn’t help but admire her pretty face from her long eyelashes to her fluffy cheeks that puffed up whenever Sakura jokingly mispronounced a word. 

She was a magnificent person, truly she was. Who would go out of their way to help someone they barely knew? To go so far as to introduce her to all the nooks and crannies of the city and now teaching her a whole language, she had never met someone like Chaeyeon nor would she think anyone else possessed a heart half as large as hers. 

Her kindness was a welcome warmth from the world she knew. She was sunshine incarnate. She was one in a million.

By the time a yawn left Sakura’s mouth, the sun made its bed among the mountains and the moon was raised to the top of the sky—in less poetic terms, it was incredibly late. She had attempted to keep her head up but her chin unconsciously met her chest, and then she was out like a light for a few minutes. Her teacher poked her awake each time, asking if she wanted to stop, but the student refused, not letting simple fatigue defeat her from her learning. 

After the ninth time she poked her awake, Chaeyeon glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed. “It’s getting late. I think that’s enough for tonight.” She crouched down and rubbed Sakura’s arm for comfort. “Go to sleep early, ‘kay? You look like you’re going to collapse any minute.”

“I’m okay, don’t worry,” she replied in shaky Korean, but her droopy eyes and unfocused gaze were clear enough signs that caffeine was wearing off in her system.

Lightly slapping her cheeks to dissipate the fatigue, she lifted herself to feet and, to Chaeyeon’s amusement, wobbled on the balls of her feet. Leaning too forward, she toppled over and found herself burying into the crook of Chaeyeon’s neck while was held up by arms she didn’t expect to be so toned. 

She chuckled, a low rumbling sensation that Sakura felt under her lips. Though her eyes were closed, she knew Chaeyeon was looking at her with utmost softness that reflected in her voice. “C’mon Kkura-chan, let’s get you to bed.” 

Chaeyeon practically swept her off her feet and carried her to her room where she was gently tucked to bed. Sakura’s sleep-deprived brain felt all the movements but lacked the energy to protest; she hardly had the energy to open her eyes, how could she possibly scrounge enough will to refuse the opportunity to be pampered by the alluring stranger she had grown fond of.

Had she been conscious for a second more, she would have felt a brush of hair followed by a sweet 'Good night, Sakura.'

The next morning, Sakura woke up to the morning sunlight instead of her usual alarms. Lifting herself up from her mountain of pillows, her eyes caught a small one note that was most definitely not written by her if the neat Korean letterings at the back were anything to go by.

In Japanese, the letter read:

[Good morning, Kura-chan~ You were fast asleep so I turned off the lights before I left. Don’t worry, I locked the doors on the way out; I don’t want any unwanted thieves stealing from you hehe]

She flipped it to the Korean side and it read:

[You can’t lie to me now~ You do sleep with your eyes open, but don’t worry, I still think you’re the cutest stranger I’ve ever met on a plane]

Sakura laughed, a light and airy sound that was much like the writer of the adorable letter in her hands. Truly, it was difficult to not adore someone like Lee Chaeyeon. How could she not be falling for her.

She moved to find her phone within her mess of sheets so she could reply to the Korean woman, but instead noted the notifications that streamed endlessly down her lock screen. Each second, there was a ping and then another and then another. Messages, a majority in Korean that she could understand with a bit of a struggle and a few in Japanese, came from multiple numbered phones but all of them screamed the same aura of urgency.

[Go to the station]

[QUICK]

Her eyes fell on the one message written in kanji that had her throwing the sheets off her legs and sprinting to her bathroom.

[We've discovered a lead.]

Sakura threw on her uniform and traveled to the station as fast as she could, at one point jumping out of a taxi in the middle of stagnated traffic to run down the street to the station. 

She opened the doors, meeting a flurry of bodies moving around and a multitude of voices speaking all at once. The relaxed atmosphere of the prior meetings was nonexistent as everyone paced back and forth to the map and the cork board, adding a multiple pictures and potential connections. It was cacophonous and rambunctious but that was the atmosphere Sakura thrived in the most after years of working in the chaos of HKT station.

Suddenly an arm was slung around her shoulder and a coffee cup was passed to her as Hyewon started to explain the contents of the documents in her hand, not skipping a second to breathe oxygen as she excitedly regurgitated information to Sakura. She was led over to Hitomi who filled her in on the missing pieces while she maneuvered around the women who busied themselves with work.

“According to the curators Lia and Yeji investigated, there is a connection albeit very loose. All the artifacts in the museums were donated by an anonymous party during a specific point of time between the years 1977 and 1979.”

Sakura tapped the map as the gears in her head worked on overdrive. “Are there any existing documents that report the transfer? Is there information regarding the anonymous party? There could be different parties that coincidentally donated at different times, so what makes these paintings stand out from the rest?”

A new woman possessing cat-like eyes, Yeji Sakura had deduced, stepped up and pointed at a red circle with the words WM Gallery written at the top. “The curator tried to look for the documents, however there was nothing she can find that can lead to one specific source. The only reason we found that an anonymous person donated it was because an older custodian at WM reported finding a letter taped to the back during installation, and then when later asked, other curators from different galleries agreed to seeing the letters always attached to whatever was being given. Though we could not find the contents, the shared link was something that was too strange to be just coincidence.”

“Yes, that is strangely specific…” The detective rubbed her chin. “But what did those letters say? If there is a connection, then those letters must answer something. It could be clue to why they picked those specific artworks.”

“That’s one possibility,” Yeji agreed. “Unfortunately, none of my witnesses were able testify what the letters contained and, strange enough, were unable to find them in their database. They seemingly disappeared overnight."

“Then how many of these paintings exist?”

Hitomi shook her head and looked down at the map. “We don’t know. But we do know that Feather does not make repeat visits, nor do they work outside the city so we can cross out these eight museums and every museum outside of this specific region.”

“Do we have museums one or two specifically in mind?”

Hitomi answered, looking up from her written report, “That’s still up for investigation. Eunbi will be giving our assignments after the reports are done. For now, we’re speculating possible artist relationships and historical context. Not that exciting, but Hyewon over there is having the time of her life making theories.” She pointed to Hyewon conversing with Minju who was hardly paying attention to her partner.

Standing in front of the map, she surmised that the crossed out landmarks were museums already hit and the circled one were museums in the vicinity that had the potential to be targeted. Interesting, Sakura mused, eight different museums, eight different artifacts, and eight different letters that were unable to be recovered. And all of this happened only in the city of Seoul and no where else. 

A grin creeped up on her lips as she stared at the map and all of its interlocking streets and buildings, seeing not a city but a web that contained many lies and many secrets. 

She glanced at the picture at the center of the cork board, the faceless person at the center of all this madness whose existence was akin to a phantom. The dark figure taunted her with their overgrown game of cat-and-mouse, but Sakura was not one familiar with losing.

Let’s play, Feather. Let’s see who will win in the end.