"Alright, I got a third board sent in by the chief earlier. Shall we start connecting the dots?" Youngho asked.

"You guys… do your job. I'll head to the morgue and see if I can help Dr. Do with anything," Yerim stood up and waved her hand before going out of the room.

She entered the elevator that took her down to the morgue and find the morgue empty. Dr. Do was kind enough to leave a note in front of his office, notifying Yerim that he had to teach a lecture in the police academy and he'd probably head straight home after it so Yerim had the morgue to herself. She put on her coat and gloves before approaching the drawers, taking the three bodies and hauling them into the examination tables side by side. It's quite heavy but she's getting used to it.

She felt the need to take a closer look. What does the victims have in common? The three of them all had black hair. But that's supposed to be normal right?

Yerim reached into a folder placed on a nearby table, containing the victims’ profiles. She looked at the third victim, Son Yiho's, latest photo they found on his Instagram. It was taken a few days before the accident. She stared at his light brown hair curiously. Did the victim dye his hair a day or two before the murder?

Yerim went to the head position, carefully examining the head. She noticed that there are still a few light brown strands. The victim didn't get his hair professionally done in a hair salon. He must've did it himself since the dye job is obviously sloppy. She felt her instinct kicking in, driving her to check the other two victims' hair as well. Both victims had a bad dye job for sure. The first victim original hair color is blond, and the second victim had reddish brown hair. It's weird that all of them had black dyed hair—a badly dyed one too.

"Is it possible that their hair is dyed after they died?" She talked to herself as she read Dr. Do's reports on the first two victims.

The first victim is 24 years old. And he had a tattoo on his wrist that read Serenity. She checked his wrist and confirmed it. She moved to the second victim. She apparently also has a tattoo on her left ankle. It's a small tattoo of a flower. The third victim had a tattoo on his back. A pretty big one of intricate design she couldn't decipher. She grabbed her notes and start piecing some similarities that all three victims had.

Newly dyed black hair and tattoo. It's not specific but it's better than nothing. She felt like it's a quite important clue. She spent the next three hours or so re-opening each body while reading Dr. Do's notes and reports, trying to see if there's something she missed. Dr. Do was a very meticulous person, he got almost everything written down on the reports, down to the littlest details.

Yerim sighed as she plopped down on the swiveling chair. She dragged the chair near the table and laid her forehead on the cold metal surface. Her head is wrecked from all the thinking and memorizing she did today. She closed her eyes and without realizing, she fell into sleep.

__

"My back hurts," Youngho groaned as he stood up and stretched.

"Me too. Can we just finish thinking at your apartment? I need to lay down on some carpeted floor. I don't feel like driving home today, please let me crash at your apartment," Doyoung pleaded.

"That sounds nice. Let's order some spicy jjamppong for dinner," Jaehyun grinned.

"Why are we all crashing at my place?" Youngho groaned. Spending the night with two adult males doesn't sound too inviting.

"Do you want me to recite my supporting arguments on why your apartment makes a great base camp? Okay! One, it's only like a five-minutes’ drive from the precinct. Two, your floor is carpeted. Three, the Chinese restaurant near your apartment tasted bomb," Doyoung grinned as he lifted his fingers for every reason why they should be allowed to use Youngho's place as a base camp. It's not like they haven't done that before, so Doyoung was pretty sure his idea would work.

"I still have to drive my sister home you know," Youngho reasoned back.

"She should just come with us! She can take your guest bedroom, we can crash on the couch," Jaehyun exchanged high fives with Doyoung.

"Speaking of which, she's still cooped inside that morgue. Isn't it cold and creepy down there? It’s evening now and she has been there for God knows how many hours," Doyoung commented.

"Well, I need to see the chief first to report back, can you give her a call? It's number 3 on my speed dial," Youngho tossed his iPhone towards Jaehyun who catches it well.

"Who's number 1 and 2 then?" Doyoung teased.

"My parents, ," Youngho rolled his eyes before grabbing his files and standing up from his desk.

Jaehyun pressed the number 3 and waited for the call to connect. Youngho saved Yerim's number as Katie with a bunch of purple colored emojis next to it. Probably the girl likes purple.

"Huh, she didn't pick up," Jaehyun muttered when the call went into voice mail immediately.

"Why don't you go down and fetch her then?" Doyoung asked without turning from his computer screen.

"Okay." Jaehyun stood up before walking to the elevator that brought him to the basement. He entered the Forensic department, feeling his goosebumps raising. It's a place filled with dead bodies and had the temperature set at the coldest temperature the air-con allowed for God's sake!

He stopped in front of Dr. Do's office, noticing the note the man left on his door.

"She's here alone for hours? Wow," he muttered.

He saw the door next to it slightly ajar, which was Yerim's office, and it was empty.

"Where is she?" Jaehyun walked further into the morgue, shaking his head when he found her sleeping near three opened dead bodies. He didn't know whether he should be amazed or scared.

"Dr. Kim? Dr. Kim?" He tapped her shoulder. "Yerim-sshi?"

Yerim jolted awake when she felt her shoulder being repeatedly tapped.

"Oh my world! What time is it?" She blinked her eyes opened in shock.

"It's nearly seven. You've been here for five hours."

She fluttered her eyes open, slowly regaining her consciousness.

"Oh, Detective Jung! Wow, I fell asleep. Is my brother looking for me?" She asked.

"He's talking with the chief right now. We were all going to his apartment to discuss the case over dinner. I think your brother wants you to come along," Jaehyun explained.

"Oh? Okay. Let me just… return the bodies back to where they belong first," Yerim grinned sheepishly as she went to the fridge shelves and began opening them.

"Need help?"

"I'm going to appreciate it if you do. Grab some gloves," she smiled as she pointed to a box of latex gloves.

Jaehyun put on a pair and approached her. He watched her wheeled one of the metal tables nearing the shelves.

"Do you usually lift each body by yourself?" He asked.

Yerim nodded. "Yeah, but it took a lot of effort and a heck load of time since I'm weak," she sheepishly smiled.

Jaehyun helped her lift the edge of the metal tray to slide the body into the shelves. "It's quite a terrifying place to be at night," he commented.

"I'm used to it," she shrugged as they finished putting the last body in. "You can throw the used gloves here," Yerim said as she disposes her used gloves into a trash bin before approaching a sink to wash her hands.

Jaehyun copied her actions and she smiled at him.

"Let me just grab my things first, I'll be really fast," she smiled again before jogging to her office.

Jaehyun followed her and leaned against her door frame as he watched her stuff into her bag.

"Done?"

Yerim nodded and the two of them left to take the elevator up. When they arrived upstairs, Youngho is conversing with Doyoung by the water dispenser.

"Oh, there you are guys. Shall we go back now?" Youngho asked.

"Let me grab my files and laptop first," Jaehyun said before going to his desk and taking a laptop bag which contained his belongings.

"All done. We're hitching your car again, okay?" Jaehyun grinned which Youngho replied with a groan.

Doyoung ordered 4 spicy jjamppongs on the way home and they stopped by a convenience store to buy some Chilsung cider and Coolpis. By the time they arrived at Youngho's doorstep, the delivery man was just arriving as well so they went inside with food in their hands.

"Gaaahh, I'm so hungry," Youngho groaned as he changed into his house slippers, followed by the three other people.

"I'll get the glasses, let's eat quickly. I want to say make yourself comfortable but I guess you guys are comfortable enough, huh?" He grinned as he watched Jaehyun and Yerim immediately plopping themselves at the couch and Doyoung lying flat on the carpeted floor.

Youngho came back with 4 glasses and Yerim straightened herself to help her brother.

"Come, let's eat fast and talk about this case. We don't have that much time before this sick bastard plan his next murder," Youngho clapped his hands.

The four people ate their spicy jjamppong deliciously with the night news playing on the TV.

"I met the chief earlier," Youngho said after taking a gulp of the cold Chilsung cider to ease the spiciness.

"And?"

"He said we need to move fast. The media had covered the story of the three killings. It's dangerous since it could potentially trigger copycat murders. The precinct is also under heavy scrutiny for not being able to cover this case. If all things fail, the Seoul Central Police Station might take this case from us, or even worse, the prosecution office," Youngho sighed.

"Things were never good when the prosecutors got involved," Doyoung mused.

"Don't take it too hard on you, John. We're all here to help. Things had been on the brighter side too after your sister joined, right? We've discovered so many pieces of information," Jaehyun smiled and patted his friend's back.

"I got some more clues as well after locking myself with the dead bodies for three hours. Don't be all gloomy, it doesn't suit you, oppa. Let's finish eating this spicy noodle and then get to discuss, okay? And speaking of which, who the hell ordered these noodles? They're too spicy!" Yerim gruntled.

Doyoung grinned as he downed a cup of Coolpis to ease the burning in his mouth, sighing as the cool peach flavored drink washed down the spice.

"Drink some Coolpis, or eat some danmuji," Jaehyun said softly as he pushed the Coolpis carton towards Yerim and also the plate containing the yellow radish slices.

"Thanks," Yerim smiled as she took a slice of the cold side dish, chewing it quickly.

The four of them finished their hot dinner quickly, and after glasses of Coolpis and cider, they cleaned the coffee table and got ready to discuss.

"Oppa, I'll go get changed first, okay? My clothes smelled like formalin," Yerim stood up as the three guys formed a circle on the floor.

"Did she take a bath with the formalin? How can she smell like it?" Youngho muttered.

Jaehyun grinned, "You told me to call her but she wasn't answering so I went down, and I found her sleeping near the bodies. It was like freezing cold there and she slept like a log."

"My sister is a unique species," Youngho shook his head.

Yerim emerged five minutes later in a sweatshirt and some leggings.

"I'm glad I left some clothes here," she mused as she flopped on the couch. "Anyways, where are we in the case currently?" She asked curiously. She watched as Doyoung rolled around on the floor.

"Well, we got more info regarding our second victim. Apparently, she used to live in the States too, like our third victim. She used to live in Iowa for four years. We didn't find any relation between her and the Son Yiho though," Doyoung answered.

Jaehyun shrugged out of his leather jacket and rolled the sleeves of his long-sleeved t-shirt. "The common similarities of Sung Yoonhye and Son Yiho is that they both used to live in the States and they're in their twenties," he added.

"I found more similarities between the three victims. It might not be that important but I think it might serve as a pattern also," Yerim said as she turned to face the three detectives.

"Shoot," Youngho nodded.

"One, they don't have black hair originally, and two, they all have tattoos."

"Huh?"

"I don't know but all of them seemed to have a really bad dye job before they died, or after. I'm not too sure. Son Yiho was originally brown haired."

"Ah, yes! The guy from the publishing company, the junior who ordered the driver service, he said that when we showed him the picture of Son Yiho's body!" Jaehyun snapped his fingers.

"Our first victim, Shin Yunho, he was originally blonde. Sung Yoonhye originally had reddish brown hair. I examined their head and the roots weren't properly dyed. There's two possibilities: either the murderer dyed the victims' hair or they were just too broke to afford a proper dye job," Yerim shrugged.

"The second possibility should go because Shin Yunho is well-off. His father had a flourishing business," Youngho countered.

"Our second victim came from a middle-class family and lived comfortably, but she's a fresh graduate and she hasn't had a settled job. She could be broke. But I like the first option better because that means we have a pattern," Doyoung added.

"About the tattoo?" Jaehyun inquired.

"They're all different. Shin Yunho… He had a small tattoo of a word in his wrist. The second one, Sung Yoonhye, had a tattoo of a flower on her ankle. Son Yiho had like a huge fancy tattoo on his back. It's honestly a great design," Yerim shrugged.

"What's up with people and tattoos?" Doyoung muttered.

"I have a tattoo," Youngho and Jaehyun said simultaneously.

"Heh? What? Wow, you foreigners are sure wild," Doyoung shook his head.

"Does the first victim used to live in the States too?" Jaehyun suddenly said.

"Oh, you're right! That could be a pattern!" Yerim nodded excitedly.

Youngho opened his notes and nodded. "He lived in Minnesota during middle school."

"It's a pattern then," Jaehyun nodded.

"Speaking of the States, where do you guys used to live?" Doyoung asked.

"We live in Chicago after our parents got married," Yerim answered in Youngho's stead.

"We moved to New York when we were still little but quickly moved back to Chicago. Our parents liked Chicago better. After my enlistment and Yerim's decision to go to college here, the whole family moved back to Korea," Youngho added.

"And you, Jay?"

"I was born in San Francisco, stayed there until elementary school, moved to Florida for High School and moved back to Korea for enlistment and then stayed back because I joined the police academy," Jaehyun answered.

"How about tattoos? Do you all have them?" Doyoung asked curiously.

"I have one on my hip, covering my huge birthmark. It was a drawing of a falcon," Youngho laughed.

"He was an emo teen when he made that," Yerim added as she chuckled.

"I have one on my lower back," Jaehyun shrugged.

"Another big emo drawing like John?" Doyoung teased.

"Nah, it's not that big, but you might think it's a bit emo. It's a cross and some sappy quotes in Latin," he chuckled.

"Oh, that's cool! I have two, both with a Latin phrase too," Yerim grinned as she showed them the one on her left wrist which was usually covered by her watch.

"Non….sibi...sed...omnibus?" Doyoung read.

"Not for myself but for all. I got it after I was sworn as a forensic specialist. And the other one here," she showed them her right wrist.

"Primum non nocere," Jaehyun read softly.

"First, do no harm. It was the first tattoo, I got it after getting my MD," Yerim smiled as she softly caressed it.

"Wow, I am surrounded by feisty foreigners," Doyoung chuckled.

Youngho rolled his eyes and threw a pillow towards Doyoung's direction. “Let’s get back to the case. so, what have we got?” Youngho said.

The other two detectives flipped through their notes but Yerim beat them to it.

“All victims had lived in the States, are in their twenties, had a bad black dye job, and had some sort of tattoos. The date they were murdered and sent to the precinct had a pattern as well. And if we want to push our luck, I just figured that their age could be a pattern as well,” Yerim recited fluently.

“Damn you and your crazy memory. Good to know we have you in our team,” Youngho shook his head and Jaehyun silently admired the petite lady who was lounging on the couch.

“The age could be a pattern you said?” Doyoung asked curiously.

Jaehyun glanced at his notes. “That is possible. Shin Yunho was 22, Sung Yoonhye was 26, and Son Yiho was 28.”

“The gender too. Male, female, male,” Youngho added again.

“So we could guess that the next victim would be a 30 years old female, sent to our precinct three days after being murdered, on June sixth. So, the murder will most likely happen on June third," Yerim spoke up.

"We have less than a month to stop it from happening. The killer must be stopped," Youngho sighed.

"It's going to be difficult to round up the possible victims. We need to look into people who used to live in the States and had a tattoo, and is 30 years old," Doyoung said.

"All victims lived around Yongdeungpo area, so we could narrow our search there," Jaehyun said.

"And then what? Are we going to put them in a protection program? I don't think the higher ups are going to allow that. They're going to think that it's a waste of resource," Youngho groaned.

"But it will definitely help. Most serial killers had some sort of psychiatric problem. Their psycho for a reason. And usually they have an inclination towards pattern in their subconscious. By keeping their potential victims safe, we're making it difficult for our killer to act. And if he failed to murder his target and broke out of his pattern, it'll tear him apart," Yerim said.

"We got a slightly OCD and totally psycho guy out on the run. I think trying to find the possible victims and warning them would be useful. We could try," Jaehyun nodded.

"I'll try talking with the chief. Tomorrow I'll ask Jeno and Jaemin to run the system for us and get us a list of all 26 years old female in Yongdeungpo that we can interview. We'll have a long week tomorrow, let's just go to sleep. You two, make yourself comfortable here. I'll go fetch some blankets and extra pillows. Kate, you can take my guest room," Youngho stood up and said with finality. .