Yerim placed the spatula she’s holding down when her phone vibrated against the kitchen counter. She picked it up without glancing at the caller ID, as she turned off the stove.

“Dr. Kim Yerim speaking.”

“Oh, well, good morning then, Dr. Kim. This is Detective Jung Jaehyun speaking.”

Yerim laughed, “Oh, oppa. What’s up?”

“I’ll be passing your house at around… 8.15. Is it possible for you to be ready by that time?”

“Sure, I’m already prepared. I was just making breakfast right now,” Yerim answered as she plated the fried leek pancake into a plate.

“Who’s that?”

Yerim turned to her curious mother, “It’s Detective Jung. One of oppa’s friend from our team.”

Her mother raised her brows mockingly and Yerim rolled her eyes, “He’s picking me up to go to work. He has to pass this area anyways to go to the precinct. I’m not passing out on the offer. I hate the subway during the morning,” she shrugged.

“Invite him for breakfast, then! Show him some gratitude, won’t you? Was he the nice boy who fixed our faulty sink that one time?” her mother said.

“Yeah, that’s him.”

“Oh, then ask him to come over! Tell him I’m not taking no as an answer!”

Yerim giggled, nodding to her mom.

“Hello? Earth to Yerim?”

“Oh, sorry, oppa. My mother was talking. Anyway, can you be here before 8?”

“You do notice that it’s already half past seven, right?”

Yerim sheepishly grinned, “My mother said to invite you for breakfast. She wanted to thank you for bringing me to the precinct, and for fixing our sink back then.”

“What? Ya... Yerim-ah, I don’t want to trouble your mom!”

“Eyy, chill. She’s not taking no as an answer! Be here before 8, okay? And plus, I’m the one in charge of cooking today, mostly. So, you’re not troubling my mom! Alright? Be here! Bye!” Yerim chuckled as she turned off her phone.

Exactly twenty minutes later, the bell rang and she could hear laughter from the doorway as she put four servings of rice into a tray to bring to the dining table.

“Princess! Come here! Detective Jung is here!”

Yerim could see her father patting Jaehyun’s back as he led the tall man inside.

“Hi!” Yerim cheerily greeted the man as she went back to the kitchen to bring more food.

“Jaehyun, son! Come sit down! We’re really thankful you’ve been taking care of our two children well. How’s work? Is it really that busy? Yerim and Youngho were both always occupied!” Mrs. Kim said.

“Ah, we’ve been very busy indeed, ma’am. We haven’t got any more leads so it felt like we’re hitting a dead end,” Jaehyun answered politely as he sat down.

“No wonder Youngho is always stressed out. Oh, my poor son. My poor daughter too. She’s always staying at her oppa’s apartment now,” Mr. Kim sighed.

“Yerim can go home here now more often, sir. She could ride with me since I have to pass your residence to and from the office,” Jaehyun smiled.

“Thank you so much, son. We really appreciate it. Yerim hates to commute in the morning, and she said everyone’s been going home late and it’s not safe for her to go back here alone.”

“It’s okay, sir. It’s nothing big!”

“Just call me uncle and my wife auntie, son! You’re Youngho’s friend, and also Yerim’s too. You’re essentially a part of the family!”

Jaehyun blushed and smiled shyly.

“Are you living with your parents?”

“Huh? No, ma’am—I mean, auntie. My parents are still in the States. They’re still living in San Francisco.”

“Oh, Fresco! Our family used to stay in Chicago. I bet Youngho and Yerim had told you that. Must’ve been nice there, huh?”

Jaehyun chuckled, “That’s right. They loved Fresco more. Most of our relatives live abroad, that’s why my family felt reluctant to go back to Korea. My grandparents from both sides had passed away as well, so there’s not really any reason for my parents to stay here.”

“So, you live here alone? Poor boy. Come often here, okay? Since our own son preferred his own apartment anyway, I don’t mind taking you in!” Mrs. Kim joked.

“Eomma…” Yerim rolled her eyes.

“Sit down, Yerim! Jaehyun-ah, Yerim cooked most of these by herself!” Mr. Kim smiled, glancing at his daughter proudly.

Jaehyun smiled as well. Mr. Kim seemed to love his children a lot.

“Dig in,” Yerim passed Jaehyun his bowl of rice and cutleries with a small grin.

“Thank you. I’ll eat well,” Jaehyun bowed his head in gratitude.

___

“Guys! We brought food!” Yerim giggled as she entered the meeting room.

“Kate?”

Yerim put the lunchbox she had at the table.

“Did you guys have breakfast yet?” Jaehyun asked.

“Sadly, no. I was thinking of asking someone to go to the convenience store to buy an egg sandwich for me,” Doyoung grumbled as he sipped his coffee.

“Fear not, I brought food from home!” Yerim giggled.

“Oh, those looked good,” Doyoung grinned as Yerim opened the food containers.

“Believe me, they tasted as good as they looked,” Jaehyun grinned.

“How could you know?” Youngho raised his brows.

“Your parents invited me to join them for breakfast when I picked Yerim up this morning,” Jaehyun shrugged nonchalantly.

“You picked her up?”

“Yeah. I mean, I have to pass your housing complex to reach the precinct. Making a stop meant nothing.”

“Whoa, Yerim! This taste so good!” Doyoung exclaimed as he took a bite of the leek pancake.

“I know, right?” Jaehyun chuckled.

“I made it myself this morning,” Yerim boasted.

The four people joked as they enjoyed their morning, not knowing the surprise that awaits them.

___

“Detective Seo! Detective Seo!”

Youngho looked up from the case file he was reading when he spotted Mr. Han, the middle-aged janitor, running towards his desk with a panic-stricken face.

“What’s wrong, Mr. Han? Take a seat,” Youngho said, and Jaehyun stood up immediately so the man could sit on his seat.

“T-the blue box! The one always sent to you…”

“Yeah?”

“There’s one on the basement parking lot…”

Youngho stood up abruptly, running for the elevator.

“Oppa!” Yerim exclaimed.

“Stay here. I’ll go with him. Jay? You know what to do,” Doyoung said as he brought several latex gloves with him.

Jaehyun nodded before turning to Yerim, “Hey, Rim? Can you call the Lee twins for me? Ask the CSI to go to the basement parking lot now. I’ll talk to Mr. Han.”

Yerim bit her lips nervously and nodded before dialing the speed dial to the CSI’s famous twins.

“Mr. Han, can you tell me what happened?” Jaehyun asked as he took out his notepad.

“I was sweeping the outdoor parking lot when I saw a man bringing a blue box walking into the basement. I thought he was a courier worker but then I recognized the box. I ran to the basement but he was already running away.”

“What time was that?”

“Just then, Detective Jung. Maybe around 09.50? I didn’t dare to open the box. But just like the previous boxes, it was addressed to Detective Seo. And judging from the smell… Oh, God,” Mr. Han sighed, clearly traumatized.

“Here. Have some drink first, Mr. Han,” Yerim said as she handed a mug of hot tea to the man.

“I’ve notified the twins. Officer Lee Donghyuk said he will head down with Officer Lee Minhyung now,” Yerim turned to Jaehyun.

“Good. Mr. Han? I will have to report to the Chief after this. You may rest first; I have written your testimony. Thank you very much,” Jaehyun patted the older man’s shoulder.

“Thank you so much, Detective Jung,” Mr. Han said weakly.

“It’s okay, Mr. Han. Rim? I’ll go talk to the chief. After this, we’ll go to the basement.” Yerim nodded and fidgeted on her brother’s seat, using her free time to calm Mr. Han down as she waited for Jaehyun to come back.

Jaehyun came back in less than five minutes with the distraught looking Chief in tow.

“Let’s go.”

The elevator ride down to the basement was nerve-wracking. Yerim bolted out of it as soon as it stopped at the basement.

“John?” Jaehyun asked. He could see his best friend visibly trembling, a piece of paper held firmly between his fingers as CSI officers fussed over the blue box.

“He’s breaking out of his pattern, Jay,” Youngho said lowly.

Jaehyun froze.

The pattern…

It’s not yet July 4th. The murder wasn’t supposed to happen yet. No victim was supposed to be sent today.

Jaehyun gulped as he noticed the haphazardly positioned corpse inside the blue cardboard box. As usual, the bones were broken to made the body fit. But judging from the condition of the body, it hasn’t been left to decay like the previous bodies. Jaehyun squatted down to examine the body closely, crouching next to Officer Lee Minhyung who was taking pictures. The deceased woman looked oddly familiar.

“Let me see the body too,” Yerim said as she put on a pair of latex gloves. She squatted next to Jaehyun and she shrieked immediately when she noticed the dead body.

“Rim?” Jaehyun turned to his left immediately.

“O-oppa... Seol Yehwa! It’s Seol Yehwa!”

“Who?” Doyoung raised his brows in confusion.

“Remember Seol Hari? We interviewed her around the same time as Shim Yonghee. Seol Hari was out and her cousin was the one who answered the door. Seol Yehwa was the cousin,” Yerim sighed. Her fingers trembled as she touched the body.

Jaehyun paused, racking his brain.

Seol Yehwa…

“Ah, right!” Jaehyun remembered the female immediately. She was painting when they were interviewing Seol Hari.

“Bring the body to the morgue then. I… I’ll do the autopsy,” Yerim said, her voice nearly breaking.

Meanwhile Youngho glanced at the piece of paper on his hand.

Hello Detective Seo Youngho.

Surprised? I thought I’d give you a little treat to keep you motivated to find me.

Aren’t your hands itchy to slap those metal handcuffs around my wrist?

I’ll tell you what, my hands are also itchy to go back into action.

I hope I’ll see you soon,

That, if you could catch me😊