Myungsoo, Sungjong, and Sungyeol arrived at the sidewalk in front of the church, the place where the dead girl had been found. Immediately, Sungjong went about to work sniffing the scene out. Well, he didn't literally  sniff, but with the way he was inspecting things, Myungsoo thought it wouldn't be too long before he actually did.

Sungjong carefully knelt down to examine a large, faintly brown stain in the cement. It took Myungsoo a minute before he realized it had come from the victim's blood.

"Describe to me again the position she was in when you found her?" Sungjong asked without looking up.

Myungsoo closed his eyes and pictured the oh-so pleasant scene in his mind. "She was lying on her back with her limbs sprawled out. Her legs were kind of twisted with each other, and her arms were in a 7:15 position. Her abdomen had been cut open, so a lot of her organs were spilling onto the ground."

He opened his eyes and glanced inquiringly at Sungyeol, who was watching the silent church. "Is that right?"

Sungyeol turned his head slowly and met Myungsoo's gaze. After a brief second, he gave a curt nod in response, not bothering to say anything.

"Okay, then," Myungsoo said, mentally reminding himself of his 'Be-Nice-To-Sungyeol' plan. He looked back at Sungjong. The latter male was still crouching down, eyeing the blood stain with a professional sort of fascination.

"Hey, Sungjong," the ravenet called out. "While you finish up here, Sungyeol and I will head inside the church. We'll see if we can find the minister there, or even some hidden clues."

"Yeah, I'll be there in just a minute," Sungjong murmured. He took a small notebook out of his pocket and began taking hasty notes. Myungsoo figured it would be more than "just a minute" before he joined them. Turning towards the front steps, he gestured for his other partner to follow him.

"Come on, the church won't wait forever."

Sungyeol started after him without a single word. It suddenly occurred to Myungsoo how- what was the word now- submissive  the newcomer was. Except for the occasional sarcastic remark, Sungyeol didn't really talk back to them at all. While it could have been the fact that he was the newbie on the team, Myungsoo suspected that it was more thanks to his personality.

There was a hushed air in the chapel when they entered it. The lights were dimmed, giving off a calming, yet eerie atmosphere, and the velvet-lined benches were all empty, too. No signs of life were to be seen whatsoever. However, Myungsoo could tell that there had been someone in here recently. A grand piano stood motionless near the altar. While it appeared to be untouched, the lid was flipped open, hinting that someone had been playing it quite recently.

The sleep-deprived agent supposed he should be finding the pastor of the church, but allowed himself a moment to admire the interior. It was actually a lovely picture to see. The glowing candles, the crystal chandeliers, and the beautiful stained glass windows gave Myungsoo a sense of peace and serenity. It was like stepping inside the chapel was soothing his mind- already he felt some of his exhaustion drain away.

Taking one last admiring look, Myungsoo turned to where Sungyeol was standing next to him. "So, should we search around for the minister or look for clues-" He broke off in mid-sentence when he realized what he was talking to was empty space. "Sungyeol?"

No answer. Myungsoo inwardly sighed. He hadn't mentioned this before, but wandering off during investigations was definitely a no-no for agents. He'd assumed that even the rookie would be smart enough to stay put, but... Well, looks like he was wrong.

Myungsoo swept his gaze around the seemingly-deserted room. Perhaps Sungyeol had gone off to the lobby area, or maybe even back outside to join Sungjong (those two certainly seemed to get along). Just when the agent was turning to leave, a dark figure sitting hunched at the front caught his eye. Ah... So that's where he was.

With quiet footsteps, Myungsoo made his way over to Sungyeol. He was slightly surprised to see the tall male was kneeling down, eyes closed and hands clasped tightly together. "You pray?" he asked, then wished he hadn't. In the silence of the room, his voice seemed to boom and disturb all things resting in the chapel.

Sungyeol, however, didn't seem to mind. He spent a few more moments praying before answering back. "Occasionally."

"What for?" Myungsoo plopped down on the bench beside him.

"My parents."

The ravenet hadn't known what answer to expect, but at any rate, he was certainly caught off-guard when he heard that one. "Ah..." he said quietly, unsure how to respond. "I see..."

Deciding he had prayed enough, Sungyeol stood up from the floor and dusted off his pants. He glanced over at Myungsoo and gave a dry, almost ironic, little smile. "You don't have to give me your sympathies or anything. They've been dead for quite a while now. At this point, I'm only doing this out of respect for them."

"Still, I'm sorry to hear that." Myungsoo shifted a bit on his seat. Subconsciously, he raised his eyes to where Sungyeol was. In the dim light of the chapel, his features seemed to jump out at him from the dark. He kind of reminded Myungsoo of the ivory statues he'd seen placed outside the building. With his impressive height, he loomed over all with a majestic sort of grace, and much like Michelangelo's sculptures, he looked so indifferent, yet so knowing  at the same time...

"You're staring again."

"W-What?" Embarrassment flushed through Myungsoo's face as he realized his companion was right. "I wasn't looking at you!"

Sungyeol's lips twisted into a faint smirk. "Who mentioned anything about looking at me? All I said was that you were staring." With an air of obvious amusement, he took a seat on the bench next to the fuming male.

"Don't you have anything you want to pray for?"

His question was enough to, once again, catch Myungsoo by surprise. "What do you mean?" he asked. He was so bemused that it was Sungyeol who'd asked something first that he forgot all about his irritation. "Should I be praying right now?"

The newcomer nodded towards the altar. Before them stood a large marble statue of the Mary. Surrounded by hundreds of lit-up candles, it almost seemed to smile kindly down at them, face illuminated by the flickering orange lights. "With your job, I doubt you can find the time to come here often. And I believe everybody has something they want to pray for, no matter how small. I suggest you take advantage of this moment now to do so."

Myungsoo stared at Sungyeol. Was this guy serious? He really wanted him to pay his respects to something right in the middle of an investigation? He eyed the younger male's expression. When he found nothing to give away the seriousness in his voice, Myungsoo sighed and did as he was told. He got down on his knees, laced his fingers, and for the next minute or so, simply prayed.

When he finished, he wordlessly seated himself again. Sungyeol was watching him with a neutral expression. He was quiet, too, and didn't seem like he'd ask what Myungsoo had thought about. It didn't really matter, because after a drawn-out pause, it was Myungsoo who broke the silence.

"I thought of my parents, too."

Still, Sungyeol said nothing. Myungsoo leaned back on the bench and closed his eyes. "Like you, my parents passed away a long time ago. I think I was around six or seven then. About twenty years ago. I don't know; it's been too long. I can't really remember them well, so whenever I pray, it's only out of respect and tradition. Like when you do."

Why was he saying all of this?  A voice at the back of his head mentally scolded him, telling him to shut up, but Myungsoo ignored it. He wanted  to ignore it. The agent couldn't remember the last time he'd talked about this to anyone, not even to Sungjong. And it felt good, actually, to let it out (even if the listener was an apathetic guy whom he'd known for only a few days). 

He continued, "You might call me heartless, but there were times when I thought about them and felt absolutely nothing. From what I can remember, they were barely around during my childhood, and on the rare times when we'd have dinner together, they were practically like strangers to me. So really, when I was sent to live at an orphanage after their deaths, I didn't make a fuss. I only thought of it as moving to a different house to live in.

"Actually, it was better than my old home," Myungsoo added after a second's thought. "I made friends, and the matron who took care of us was like a mother to me. That's where I met Sungjong, too. He came around the same time I did."

Just then, in the distance, the yell of a man sounded faintly in their ears. "Myungsoo! Sungyeol! Where are you guys?" Sungjong called, oblivious to the fact that he was disturbing a sacred and holy building.

Myungsoo stood up and jerked his head towards the exit. "Don't tell Sungjong what I just said," he said with a rueful grin. "He'd hate to know what I think about my parents, and even the orphanage. He hated it there."

Sungyeol mirrored his action and got up as well. "I suppose next time we should ask him to pray with us. It sounds like we have a lot in common with each other."

What a typical response. But oddly enough, Myungsoo didn't feel offended or even annoyed this time. When he rolled his eyes at the smirking newcomer, it was in a teasing, rather joking manner. Definitely more friendlier than before.  

For the first time since their meeting, he felt he was starting to understand the mystery that was Lee Sungyeol.

-----------

Back at CSI headquarters, Dongwoo was staring down at his examination table. Lying on top of it was the body (or pieces  of the body, more like) of Son Taehyun, the victim of Hoya's case. It was his turn for an autopsy today. But as much as he wanted to get started on it, the pathologist just couldn't bring himself to do it. Why?

Because, when he tried to do the usual search through Taehyun's clothes, the image of Lee Seonwoong's body would appear in his mind. And what had been found inside of his jacket pocket?

That's right. The bird.

Normally, Dongwoo didn't get creeped out very easily. He was a forensics agent, for goodness' sake! He couldn't afford  to get creeped out by things. But this bird... This dead animal found with Lee Seonwoong bothered Dongwoo more than a drunk Woohyun making greasy moves on the Bossman.

What meaning did it hold? Why had the killer put it there? He must have had some  sort of reason. Years of studying psychology told Dongwoo that these things weren't done just for the hell of it... Unless it had indeed been placed there out of the blue. But he was certain that there was a very special reason why the bird was there, and this reason would give a hint as to who the murderer was.

Now, if only he could figure out what  that reason was...

Dongwoo sighed. He decided to forget about these thoughts for the moment- there was no use in worrying about it now. Son Taehyun was waiting, after all. The sooner he got about finishing his autopsy, the sooner he could give Hoya the report and start on Myungsoo's case. Then  he could help out with putting clues together (but for three cases, all at the same time... Dongwoo couldn't help but wonder if this was a coincidence or planned amongst the killers).

Securing his medical gloves, Dongwoo began the standard search through the victim's attire. He had been killed inside of his home, which explained the ratty t-shirt and old sweatpants he had on. It was difficult, having been dismembered, but the pathologist managed to search through the clothes without making too much of a mess. Some old tissues in the pockets, a rubber band, a stiff, oddly rusty fluffball...

Dongwoo did a double-take. "Huh?"

In his hand lay the corpse of a tawny, delicate, little bird.

It was exactly like the one he'd found with Lee Seonwoong.

"What the hell?" Dongwoo's hands shook a little as he brought it to eye-level. That showed how shocked he was, because Dongwoo's hands were always  steady. The part of him that still had its wits noted that what he'd thought was rust was actually dried blood. The bird's blood or Son Taehyun's blood? He'd have to run tests to know that.

With slow, deliberate movements, the agent set the bird back on the table. His mind was running a mile a minute, not knowing what to think yet having a thousand questions fighting to be heard. Why was there a bird here? Why did Son Taehyun have one, just as Lee Seonwoong did?  This didn't make any sense. It was completely unexpected, and Dongwoo couldn't think of any explanation for it... Unless... Unless...

Dongwoo started thinking hard about the cases.

On the first night, it had been Lee Seonwoong with his bird. Two days later, Son Taehyun was killed and the same type of animal was put on him. And then there was Myungsoo's investigation about the church girl. He hadn't seen her yet, but maybe, just maybe... Could it be?

At that moment, the door to the examination room burst open.

"Sorry I'm late!" Amber hurried inside, clad in the same medical suit as Dongwoo was wearing. "I was talking with Chaerin about the new artillery she got. She promised to teach me how to use them, so I hope you don't plan on keeping me longer than usual..." Her voice trailed off as she noticed the strange expression on her senior's face.

"Dongwoo? Is something wrong?"

Hearing her question seemed to snap the man back to his senses. Moving as quickly as his suit allowed him to, Dongwoo all but ran towards the exit.

"Amber!" he yelled over his shoulder. "Which room did the girl from Myungsoo's case get put in?"

"Chamber Fourteen," she replied, furrowing her brows. "But why do you need to know? We're not doing her autopsy until after this one-"

"I'll explain later," Dongwoo interrupted hastily. "Give me two minutes to confirm something, and I'll be back!" He dashed out of the room towards Chamber Fourteen, leaving his confused assistant beside the corpse on the table. If this was right- if he  was right- then maybe he'd finally be able to find the reason behind it all.

[A/N]  Some stuff I thought I'd mention about the forensics division:

As you know, Dongwoo is the head pathologist there. He's currently in charge of doing all 3 autopsies. But since the agents obviously need to know the time and cause of death, the victims have to be examined as soon as they're found. So if that's the case, then how come Dongwoo's only discovered the bird pattern now?

That's because he's not the person who examined them before. Other agents of forensics did that little task at the scene of the crime. After, they give the info to Dongwoo, who double-checks and uncovers other details. So he only gets to see the bodies when it's time for examination.

(Of course, I'm completely bullting this, but I hope it seems legit enough that it doesn't ruin the story flow c: )