CHAPTER 1: LOVE, SOUL

"There were a lot of things that had been offered towards you Irene." The voice of her friend echoed throughout the halls of her office as she walked in. "Bad night? Again? As usual, you've always been living that life for years yet you still chose to stick with it? You insane, baby?" Jennie rolled her eyes as she put a pile of folders at the top of the woman's table.

"Good morning to you too." She answered sarcastically as she fixated herself to her swivel chair. Irene Bae, status? Married, occupation? A prosecutor. She might be known as a powerful woman to her field but that doesn't mean that she have an enough voice to say the things that were happening inside her marriage life.

But until when?

Until when she was going to keep shut?

Irene, herself, did not know either. After all she loves him.

Silly.

"Let's not just talk about it, I know that you were used to it." She said abruptly as she focused her gaze back to the pile of folders she needed to review, another case to be exact. "What's with this? Was this the woman?" She asked pointing out the crime scene that her friend's team had managed to unveil earlier. "Any leads or something?" Irene took the pictures as she started studying by bringing up and down to the light.

"Well, the autopsy said that there were no signs of laceration, but there were signs that she was struggle to death before she was buried, they wouldn't be able to get an extraction of her DNA to her nails since the leather gloves that she owned were glued to her hand." Jennie started as she showed the picture of the woman's hand. "There were no things stolen inside her house, everything were kept intact we also conducted a search inside her house and the only thing we found interesting was a picture of her and victim B. Lee Sun-mi"

"Victim B? Lee Sun-Mi?" Jennie nodded her head. "Were there be enough evidence for them to have a close bond, I mean some sort of communication? Aside from those photo you've got, anything?"

"Well, about that, we were trying to revive the case of Lee, I've already sent two of my detectives to search Sunmi's area again." Jennie scanned the photo of the victims to paste it later on the crime scene board. "Investigations were made around the area where her body was recovered, there were no footprint-"

"This wasn't just some type of usual murder, it was all planned, at the very first glance, why would someone glued her hand to her gloves if they were just planning to kill her in the usual way?" Irene cut her friend's words casually, her eyes were still fixated to the documents she was reading. "If there would be any ways to start the investigation, then we should begin with Sunmi, especially we already have leads about the suspect."

Jennie became silent after what did the woman had just said, her orders will always be the first priority after all, this was her guild and she, the only thing she needed to do was to follow her orders, at this point, this was the part were Kim really don't like the idea of having her friend as a prosecutor, sometimes she just doesn't like the idea of following her orders.

But Irene held a lot of powers than her. That's it, that's the idea.

She have to follow.

"Was Soul really her name?" Irene asked as she looked read the background info of the victim. Age? Just a year younger to the prosecutor, too young to die, too unholy to suffer. "I don't think so."

"Well, people around the area said that she had occupied the place for not that long, they really never got the chance to know her, her name was the only details we've got so far."

Feeling satisfied with the woman's answer, she nodded her head and stood up. "If Sunmi was a close contact with the victim, there would be a chance that this would be a love triangle." The prosecutor said out of nowhere as she looked at the crime scene table that Jennie prepared for her. "After Sunmi was killed, we found out that she was having some mutual understanding with one of her co-workers, there would be also a possibility that her girlfriend knew about Soul. Both of their death was done mysteriously, almost as the same as this her. Besides it was also just only a few weeks apart after Soul was noted missing plus the picture that you found wasn't just a usual picture, it seemed like..." She scanned the photo by looking closely into it only to find the victims' hands intertwined to each other, a ring attached to Sunmi's ring finger and they were seemed too close to each other to be considered as friend. "they were engaged. The ring." Irene sighed and turned to face her friend.

"Call Mr. Wang, he better got to know something about them."

--

"Prosecutor Bae," The woman showed her badge in front of the woman's face who was in charge as they stood in front of a the securities who blocked them from entering the high rise building owned by a known Chinese business tycoon who had been staying in the country for too long. "We have some business with your boss's grandchild with regards about the death of their company's employee and to his associate, friend perhaps." Irene said with her head held up high, not minding those eyes, the erted eyes of the securities who seemed to try to undress her even she's wearing her casual working clothes.

It's just a usual thing for her, nonetheless that they would do something wrong with her sudden appearance in front of them, the jail bars will be waving in front of them, she meant, just right before their eyes could see the light.

The woman standing on her side faked a cough making the delusional and unholy thoughts of the two to disappear. Jennie talked. "Are we just going to stand here and forget the fact that we still have to talk with your boss?" The guards automatically unblocked their passage forgetting their main job that they needed more proof of their sudden arrival when the detective turned around and cat called them, the men pointed to themselves whilst the woman nodded her hand and motioned them to come over.

She smirked, looking at the heights of the two had made her looked a lot smaller than she already was but it would stop her there, she motioned them to lean towards her as she whispered, "If you wanted to catch someone's attention just like hers, make sure to be as good looking as her husband was. Stop being so dreamy, ."

"Jennie."

"I'm coming!"

The sound of busy people and the tapping of keyboards were the only thing that two could hear as they walk to a department filled with professionals doing their job properly, a usual morning atmosphere for everyone of course.

"Ma'am, you weren't supposedly be entering the office." A man around Irene's age spoke up as he walked towards them but the woman's eyes remained roaming around as she looked for a familiar person she needed to talk to, when her eyes landed to a specific back, it was him, Jackson.

"Mr. Wang," She said leaving the man who warned her from infiltrating completely inside their department, everyone inside the room looked towards her direction as she abruptly walked towards the man's place, on the other hand, Jackson remained standing there wondering what he had done wrong that the prosecutor had to come there once again followed by the death of his co-worker.

Wang knew it was just about some stuff related to his workmate but at least, he needed some time to warm up from those as that woman had already found her place to rest in peace.

"We need to talk."

--

IRENE'S POV

It wouldn't be going this far if only the crime scene were done unplanned at the very first place but this, of all of my entire career as an attorney and into a prosecutor, there was something really going off with this that would probably co-relate about the two victims existence. All of their criminal records were clean and there were no signs for them to have such a huge problem with their peers yet their death remained unclean and suspicious.

The two of them were too young to die and to suffer in such a wrath of an anger, a pure one.

"Tell me about Sunmi." I asked as I the recorder to start an interview. I don't feel like this man is a least of a suspect nor a victim, he's in between the two, it is either he is one of it or a both of it. Considering he had been in to a direct contact with Sunmi before her death remained mysterious and I wouldn't be able to erase that fact especially the idea that he might be in a love triangle between those two. "I know you know a lot about her."

He put both of his hand at the top of the table while looking straight into my eyes. Earlier, he remained composed and serious after our arrival to his office, now, he looked colder and fiercer, I would bet that this man would give such a huge help to this investigation nonetheless he would have some plans to roll away from this crime scene.

"I've already told you about her, prosecutor, I would appreciate if you stop getting into my way, you already knew that your sudden appearance on my family's private event had caused such a huge scandal on my name." Jackson said with his voice obviously collecting the slightest of respect towards me. Wang Ka-Yee, born with the nationality of Chinese, he can also spoke with multiple language from Cantonese to English, obviously, it is one of the perks of having a multi-million company that is always ready to save him from everything he does, from good to bad. Criminal record? Well, for the last five years he kept his name clean from public eye aside from the year 2014 where he was sentenced not too long for reckless driving under the influence of an alcohol, nothing much.

"I just need to know more things about Sunmi's existence Mr. Wang that is the least thing you can do to help the soul of your friend, if that's what you guys are." I still can't exclude that fact of having him as the head of this crime. Everyone was a suspect that's the exact thing I can easily say.

He remained silent as he pushed his back to the chair while his fingers were tapping the table. A sigh escaped from his lips as he looked at me in surrender obviously aware that I am warning him with just a single glance, this wasn't a joke, and would never nonetheless he would have got the plan to play around. Who am I to refuse to play with his wicked games right? "Let's be straight to the point, are you guys dating? You and Sunmi."

The man chuckled. "Us? Dating? I mean, yes, Lee Sunmi was a hell of an attractive persona but for Pete's sake I would never dare to date someone older than me, she's a sister for me." Jackson said with his voice obviously stating the real answer to my question giving me a hint of satisfaction to turn down the idea of him and her having a love triangle to that woman named Soul.

"Did you perhaps know someone related to her for the past months before she was murdered? Was she dating someone?"

"I don't really have that character to interfere with someone's business, prosecutor." He answered. "But I knew that she seemed to be interested to her ex's acquaintance, I spotted them hanging out frequently to a café not that far from the company."

A new suspect. "Do you perhaps get to know about that person's name?"

He shrugged his shoulders and answered no. "The only thing I knew about that person's identity was she's a close friend with Sunmi's ex-girlfriend and is a Thai who recently been promoted from her work abroad."

Sunmi seemed to get a lot of love interest to woman. "You can go now Mr. Wang." I said as I turned off the recorder and stood up when he suddenly spoke.

"Aren't you going to ask me about your ex lover's sudden death, Irene?" He said and smirked while looking at me.

"Love, Soul."