Tiffany went straight to her desk and her friends looked disappointed by what happened. She knew the reason well and she was also sad because of it. They sure lost their focus when they needed to prioritize the other case. Of course, Jessica received all the blame for their shortcomings especially because the Commissioner was her father.

Now, they were all paying for that mistake they’ve done. Aside from that woman whose name was Taeyeon, Agent Lee and Agent Choi looked intimidating. It was as if they were both judging the Seoul PD from head to toe. Yuri, who hated losing, surely took this as a competition instead of teamwork. Hyoyeon would also think that too.

“Hey, cheer up.” She sat down, swirling her chair.

“This isn’t a good idea. We all knew that.” Hyoyeon said. The squeezes she made to her stress ball were more forceful. “Why did Jessica agree to this?”

Tiffany sighed. “You know her father.”

“Right.” Yuri scoffed. “I can’t deal with this.”

The copper-dyed woman took Yuri’s pen away from her and started playing with it using her fingers. “They don’t look too bad. I mean, they could help us.”

“With that high school teacher?” Hyoyeon sarcastically asked. “Of course.”

“College professor.” She corrected her friend. “Stop bullying her. She looks the nicest among them.” She didn’t know but she felt like defending the woman she knew earlier that day. She was nice and it was her first time working with a case so maybe she should give her that.

Yuri took her pen back from Tiffany’s grasp. “Great. Even you believe this is a good idea.”

“Give them a chance. We should accept the fact that we were wrong in the first place.” And that shut both her co-workers’ mouths. She was right. They should face the consequences of what they failed to do.

***

“Hey.” Jessica saw one of the NIS staff sitting alone on a chair near the conference room. She was just done talking to Sunny and Sooyoung wasn’t around. “What are you doing here? Where are the others?”

The woman looked up from reading a novel. “Hey.” She greeted softly. She put back her book inside her bag and moved to the next chair, giving the young captain a seat.

“Thanks.” Jessica sat down. “So, what are you doing here?”

“I am still not talking to Sooyoung.” She admitted. “I was made fun out there.”

The brunette scratched the top of her brows. It was her team who ridiculed her. she felt sorry for that. “I’m sorry for that.”

“Nah, it’s okay. They were right.”

“Of course not!”

Taeyeon looked at Jessica with wide eyes. “Do you know my role, Captain Jung?”

“Ah, no.” Jessica giggled when she realized even she didn’t know why Taeyeon was there. “Tell me.”

“May I look at your handwriting, please?” She pointed at the papers Jessica was holding.

The other woman hesitated but gave in sooner. “Why?”

Taeyeon didn’t bother answering her as she stared at the paper filled with Jessica’s writing. “Captain, you tend to write in a left slanted way, you have a wavy baseline and small sized writing. It meant that you’re emotionally withdrawn, in a rollercoaster of emotions right now and that you focus on work.”

Jessica was taken aback that what Taeyeon said was true. “And you knew those by my writing?”

The psychologist nodded. “That’s what I do. Profile criminals by the way they act, speak and how they do their crimes.”

The former smiled. “Then prove to them that you’re useful. You are great, Taeng.”

“Taeng?” She tilted her head at the side.

“Sorry, I had a high school friend whose name was Taeyeon too. We call her Taeng.”

“No, it’s okay. I think it’s nice. People call me Taeyeon or Dr Kim and it is refreshing to hear someone calling me something else.”

“Okay, good. Don’t worry, if people wouldn’t believe, I’d be here.” Jessica smiled. She took back her papers and stood up.

For the first time, Taeyeon felt appreciated.

***

"You should've addressed me with special agent too!"

Tiffany was at the pantry, getting her most wanted cup of coffee when she heard the familiar voice. She peeked through the slightly opened door. A grin crept on her face as she saw this Dr Kim Taeyeon to Agent Choi.

Sooyoung laughed quite hard. "Hey high school teacher is better than preschool. People see you as the latter. And how can I do that, call you agent when you dress up like a teacher?"

Taeyeon groaned. "I am gonna hate you for this." She retaliated. She pushed back her eye glasses. Tiffany giggled. This woman really was something.

“Oh come on, don’t be such a baby now. It comes with the job, you know, being bullied for a while.”

Taeyeon only heaved a deep sigh. The woman went to the pantry and Tiffany was able to put up a nonchalant face before she could see her eavesdropping.

"Hi." Tiffany said. She stirred the hot water together with the coffee powder until it turned black. She added a bit of sugar and cream.

"Hi." The professor greeted back without looking at Tiffany.

"You were at McDonald’s this morning.” The cop remarked, waiting for Taeyeon to finally meet her eyes. She saw the woman looking up and her eyes widened. “So, you're a doctor?"

"Yes. But Ph.D not M.D. M.D is for medical doctor. Ph.D on the other hand is for philosophy. "

Tiffany's mouth opened wide with raised brows.

"I have a doctor’s degree in psychology, physics and I also studied relevance of biomechanics and pathology. But I am more inclined to my first course, which is psychology."

"Hey, hey. I am just asking if you're a doctor." Tiffany said when she gathered herself together. She wasn't prepared for this. "No need to explain."

Taeyeon inhaled. "Right, sorry. Yeah, I am a doctor."

"Okay." Tiffany replied. She was done stirring and she was ready to go back to her desk and work. But she chose to stay.

Taeyeon turned to the water dispenser and Tiffany watched her. She pulled her own cup from her bag and placed it slowly over the counter. She filled half the cup of hot water. Then she pocketed out a sachet of powdered milk, poured them in the cup, mixed, and poured more water, cold this time.

"Wow, badass." Tiffany let out a chuckle. She never knew a grown woman would enjoy a lukewarm milk.

"What?"

"Milk? How old are you?" She leans back to the wall, amused, really amused by this NIS employee. She thought the Intelligence only hired big, brute people. And in that case, Taeyeon would never be hired. But then, she was wrong.

"How many cups did you already drink?" Taeyeon pointed at the cup of coffee Tiffany was holding with both hands.

"Since morning?"

"Yes. Since morning." Taeyeon nodded. She took in a big gulp of milk that brought her milk moustache. Tiffany would've offered the woman a napkin or something bit Taeyeon it afterwards.

Oh, interesting. Tiffany smiled. Her child-like behaviour gave justification to her child-like appearance.  "This would be my seventh."

"Oh." Taeyeon shook her head. "You know what, caffeine is a CNS stimulant. Having it in excess could cause you insomnia, palpitations, tachycardia, it could make you jittery. I bet you can hear your own heartbeat right now."

Tiffany just looked at Taeyeon with a face of contortion. She really wasn't prepared for someone like Taeyeon. "Okay, I get it. I just needed something to wake me up. God, I can't believe I was able to stay here for more than a minute with you. I didn’t notice that earlier. I thought you were normal." She backs up to the door. "I am Inspector Tiffany Hwang by the way. Nice meeting you, Kim Taeyeon, a doctor, in a Ph.D way." She chuckled.

Taeyeon frowned. “I am normal.”

“Really?” Tiffany smirked and went out the door. And Taeyeon knew she would be bullied since then. Inspector Hwang would be the end of her.

***

"Okay, good evening." Sunny, as usual, flashed a smile to everyone. "So, are we all cool now?" She asked the team. Everyone bowed their heads like little kids who got into a big trouble. "You see, we are trying to solve a possible murder here, so we might as well try and work together. That's the only choice we got. We have a long night ahead of us."

Jessica nodded in agreement. "If you don't like each other, then you should now. As team leaders, we have to set the rules. Whoever we see potential for wrecking this ship because of an incapability of getting his or her self together, will be out of the case." She said with authority and her staff knew she meant business. "Are we clear?"

"Yes." Everyone in the room answered.

"NIS first?" The blonde asked the brunette. The latter nodded. "Okay, Agent Choi, tell me what you think." She sat down and gestured Jessica to sit too.

"Okay, within two weeks, we have two female victims. Yes, victims. "She looked at the Seoul PD staff. “They are victims unless proved to be not." She posted the pictures of Park Soyu and Ahn Sohee on the board."Sohee died first, found inside her apartment, unconscious. Her neighbours brought her to the hospital but nothing was done because the poor girl was already dead. No further investigation was done also."

Taeyeon handed Sooyoung another folder. "Soyu, on the other hand was found this morning inside her house. According to forensics, patient might have died two to three hours before finding her, considering how humid the summer air was. She was seen sitting on the table." Taeyeon started acting what Sooyoung was saying.

Tiffany pursed her lips while the two other inspectors started to giggle. Taeyeon looked stiff when she tried re-enacting how the victims were found.

"Dead. An empty cup  was there on the table. Traces of arsenic were found on that cup and in her blood."

"Can't we retrieve anything on Sohee?" Tiffany asked out of curiosity.

Sooyoung scoffed. "Ask yourselves." Tiffany turns away and Taeyeon held Sooyoung's hand to calm the girl down.

"Agent Choi." Jessica called out with potency.

"Sorry." The tall woman mouthed. "Anyway, I am sorry no, we can't. Unless we can ask the ashes."

The people around her silenced in consideration of things. Others whispered and others just kept to themselves. If only they could trace anything back to Sohee's case, at least they could find something that would stand out on the two.

Tiffany stood up, asked for the pen which was held by Sooyoung and scribbled. "Female, early twenties, inside their homes when found dead. Are we suspecting murders with one suspect here?" She asked, looking from one person to another. "There both no foul plays, ? Is there?"

"None and none." Hyoyeon pushed her chair a bit and played with her tickler notebook.

"Sign of forced entries?"

Yuri shook her head. She looked at the tall agent beside Tiffany and heaved a deep sigh.

"Same M.O, huh? They could know their killer, then?"

Taeyeon, who was watching the woman she knew earlier, was clearly surprised that this cop had what it takes, unlike some police officers who only knew how to slack on their jobs. But it didn’t change her impression that this cop is a bully. "Most probably." She muttered to herself but everyone heard her.

Tiffany's brows raised. "Finally speaking, Dr Kim?" She smiled in a taunting manner. She started to like provoking Taeyeon.

"I uh-" Taeyeon straightened up.

"That reminds me, what is she doing here?" Yuri asked. She was pointing at Taeyeon.

Sunny clasped her hands. "We will be the how, where, when and what of the investigation." She pointed at each one except for Taeyeon. "Dr Kim will be the why. Add them all up and they will eventually lead us to who."

"How's that?"

"You'll see." She smirked. The blonde leaned her elbows over the table as she analysed the board.

Jessica stood up and tried to link everything she saw. "Talk to Sohee's neighbours. Did she have parents?"

"Yes, both resides in the same district." Sooyoung flipped the first page of her files.

"Siblings?"

"None."

"Talk to them then too." She turned to face the people. "Donghae and Heechul are in Soyu's residence right now. Talk to the family, friends. Ask if they know someone who would want to kill the girls, or who has motive at least. Find all connections."

"Yes ma’am." Everyone started packing up, having no idea what to do and when to start.

"Hey, hey." Jessica pressed both her hands down. "Where are you going?"

"To where you told us to go, Captain." Tiffany said, creasing her forehead.

"Do both parties remember that this is an inter-agency investigation?" Sunny stepped closer to Jessica. "Choi with Kwon, you both go to Sohee's. Fund anything there, and then go to her parents'."

"What?!" The agent and the inspector cried.

"Go." Jessica crossed her arms. Both women glanced at each other and heaved sighs. "Inspector Kim with the lab technicians, find whatever it is we can find in her logs. Lastly, Doctor Kim would be with you, Hwang. Go to the crime scene this morning."

Tiffany eyes shot open. "Are you sure? Does she even hold a gun?"

“She need not a gun, Hwang. She has you. You are the best we have.” Jessica proudly smiled at her best friend.

Tiffany nodded quietly. She looked at the quiet woman who was sitting at the far side of the table. Meeting her this morning and being partners with her was totally in different level of coincidence. "Okay, come on."      

****

Taeyeon was the last to go out and she silently walked through the door. She stopped on her track when she heard her friend, Sooyoung and Inspector Kwon as her superb mind remembered, quarreling. She looked up and watched them.

"No, let's use our vehicle." Sooyoung said, flailing her hands. "This is better."  

Yuri shook her head. "Your SUV looked like we're raiding. We're just there fir a plain interview. You'll scare the people out." She explained.  

The former rolled her eyes, slamming her hands on her waist. "Fine! But I will drive."  

"What?!"  

"Reciprocity."  

"Fine. Whatever." Yuri resigned. She threw the car keys to Sooyoung and the latter grinned when she caught them. They hopped in the dark sedan. And the car roared off.  

"How about you, want to drive?"   Taeyeon got startled a bit. She turned around to find Tiffany smiling at her.

"Hey. I, whatever. You can drive." She scratched her nape and lifted her eye glasses back to its right position.

"My car?"  

"Sure." Taeyeon didn't really what to or say. It was the first time she actually worked with someone besides Sooyoung and Sunny and worked out of her desk. She was a teacher, now not anymore. She applied for a resident psychologist position at NIS after teaching at Yonsei University for a few months. Going outside and seeking other people were already some sort of action for her, so this was the first. She bet Tiffany and the others found interviews boring.  

"Wait, that’s boring. Let’s do paper rock scissors?" Tiffany asked Taeyeon before they leaped in the car.

The woman’s jaw dropped. This was an important and investigation and they needed to play a game just to determine who’ll drive. “You can drive.”

“No, come on. Let’s play.”

They had three sets and Tiffany won. Taeyeon thought it was a waste of time and energy. She sat down and shifted to a comfortable position.

“Can you calculate the time we’d get there if my speed would be 90kph?” The cop asked.

Taeyeon’s calculator in her brain started doing its job. “In accordance to the distance, the traffic, the lights-”

Tiffany snorted. “I was just kidding. You take everything seriously.”

Taeyeon deflated. And there she thought Tiffany was a nice person when she met her at McDonalds’. She will never understand this woman.

 ****    

"Good evening ma’am, sir." Agent Choi and Inspector Kwon greeted the two old couple who opened the gate for them. Both showed them their badges.  

"We are from Seoul PD and the Intelligence."Sooyoung sid, a bit hesitant since the couple didn't welcome them warmly. "We are here to ask about Sohee's passing. I know it isn't the good time, I mean there will never be a good time but, this is important."  

"What about it?" Old Mr Ahn asked curtly. He still wasn't letting the two in.  

Yuri glanced at Sooyoung then to the couple. "Someone died early this morning and there are similarities with happened to her and to your daughter. We believe that,"  

"I asked the police to investigate further but they said it was suicide. I never believed that my daughter would do such thing! Now you are asking us to help?" The man raged while his wife wiped her tears.  

 Yuri looked at the ground and Sooyoung could clearly see how her jaw clenched. "We are very sorry, sir. We may be too late but, let's solve this for them to find peace and justice." She sadly pleaded. "If they are both killed, let's keep other people from suffering what you've suffered." Sooyoung held on Yuri's arm. The latter looked at her, surprised and she smiled a bit for reassurance.  

Mrs Ahn stepped forward. "Will you find the suspect?" She sounded hopeful.  

"We will never stop until we do, Mrs Ahn." Sooyoung urged.  

****

Taeyeon stood near the table where Park Soyu was seen dead. She held a photo of it and stared at it for a while. She circled around the dining area-slash-crime scene trying to look for something. Something was definitely something missing.  

 Tiffany was talking with Donghae and Heechul when she noticed the odd behaviour of Taeyeon. She excused herself and went to the area. When Taeyeon straightened up, she closed her eyes and ran her fingers over her forehead. Her nose was scrunched up and with a loud exhale of air, she shook her head.   Tiffany raised her brows at her just when the woman walked passed her. Something was up, she knew. And Taeyeon dismissed it.  

"Inspector Hwang, the parents and her best friend are here." Heechul announced from the living room and it snapped her out of her daze.  

"Sure." She said, started walking towards the people they needed to talk to. She smiled weakly at the couple. For her, it wasn't the run, the chase or the choosing that's the hardest to do. It's this. Parents, siblings, friends lost their loved ones and they, the police officers need to interrupt their grieving to ask more than what they could answer.  

Taeyeon came after Tiffany, still studying the crime scene. They took their seats and when the parents looked a little bit more comfortable and relaxed, it was their cue.  

"I am really sorry for your loss, Mr and Mrs Park." Tiffany said, aldo nodding to tge quiet girl beside the couple.  

"My little girl is gone." The woman sobbed against her husband's shirt. Mr Park soothingly rubbed her back.  

Tiffany exhaled and waited a bit more before speaking. Taeyeon find it odd. All she knew about police interviews and interrogations was force.  

"This is a hard for you but," The woman paused. "We needed to ask you some questions regarding Soyu. Would that be alright?"  

None of the three answered the question right away. Tiffany expected that, of course. But she waited until the victim's best friend spoke. "Go on, Inspector."  

"Okay." Tiffany breathed in. She looked at Taeyeon with eyes that said, go ask.  

Taeyeon wasn't hailed a genius if she didn't get that. "Has anyone of you talked to her hours before she died?"   The best friend shook her head. "I wasn't able to. I was busy with my on-going thesis."  

"Last night, she called." Mr Park admitted.  

Taeyeon nodded and leaned forward. "How did she sound? Was she upset? Sad? Happy?"  

The man closed his eyes with a frown, trying to remember everything. "She sounded her old grumpy self. She was sulking about her new job." Mr Park smiled a bit. "She was always like that. She calls us whenever she hated things. Nothing was unusual."  

"Did she tell you anything other than work?" It was Tiffany's turn to ask. There should be something last night.  

Mr Park shook his head. His wife wiped her tears and started talking. "Last night, no. But two days ago, she talked to me about her boyfriend, but is now her ex."  

"Ex?" The inspector and the doctor chorused.  

The couple and Soyu's bestfriend nodded. The youngest among them pursed her lips. "They dated for almost a year but that douche cheated on her. I told her that he is bad news but she didn't listen."  

"The uh, girl she he cheated with, do you know her?" Taeyeon asked.  

"No, I am sorry." The woman hung her head low.   Tiffany and Taeyeon glanced at each other. But their eyes said something between them.

"Was Soyu upset with the break up?" The former inquired.  

"Who wouldn't be?" Mrs Park asked back. "If she killed herself for this, I-I don't know what will I do."  

"That's what we needed to find out, Mrs Park." Tiffany said in calm voice. She had practiced this for the years she worked as a police officer. She cried during an interview with the loved ones for her first murder case. During her first year on the job, all her decisions were blurred because of her naturally caring heart. It caused her and her seniors a lot of trouble. Commissioner Jung almost fired her. If not because of Jessica's effort to save her, she'd be jobless right now.  

But then, after all these years, she learned to stop being so attached with the victims and their families. She stopped going beyond her professional work. "We all have yo ve strong and hopeful to find peace for your daughter."  

"I hope her soul would help us before she goes to heaven." Mr Park said quietly, his voice trembled.   "We hope so too." Tiffany placed her hand on Taeyeon's arm and looked at her. "Right, Dr Kim?"  

Taeyeon was taken aback; she almost budged at the contact. She gets uncomfortable by this gesture especially with someone she doesn't really know. "Actually, until now science could not explain what soul is. From the time of Socrates until now, no one could prove this. Having a soul is a theory. Some people who claimed to see their souls when they were at the brink of death were believed to be hallucinating. Brains lack with oxygen and sugar that's why we see things, unreal ones so-" She said nonstop. Her hands were flailing in the air to explain what she was saying.  

The four other people in the living room dropped their jaws like they were hearing a horrible news on the radio.  

"Okay!" Tiffany finally said when she gained her composure. "Dr Kim, may I talk with you for a sec?" She glanced at Soyu's loved ones and cracked an awkward smile. She shouldn't have trusted Jessica when she said Taeyeon could help during the interview.  

"Okay." Taeyeon stood up along with the younger woman.  

"Assistant Inspectors Heechul and Donghae will continue with the questions, Mr and Mrs Park. I am sorry." Tiffany said before leaving the room. She pulled Taeyeon outside the house. She grunted when she faced the clueless woman. "Did you really have to say that?"  

"Say what?" Taeyeon was surprised.  

"Your theories about soul!" Tiffany's voice rose. "They are grieving, Dr. Kim. Don't you understand that?"  

"I, I-" Taeyeon didn't know what to say. She forgot she wasn't in university anymore. She forgot she wasn't teaching. She forgot she was talking to a family. She bowed her head. For the first time of her life, she wasn't able to think clearly. "I'm sorry."  

"Let's just go back to the headquarters." Tiffany walked away.  

"We're not going to go on with where we left off?"  

Tiffany turned around with a frustrated face. "Do you think they still want to talk to us?" And that shut Taeyeon up. She had seen different sides of Tiffany for a day and that was too much for her to handle. First, she was a bully and next she was a serious cop.

To be continued...