#Case018 –「Missing」

There was a man who possibly in his fifty in age, walking to the basement parking lot area. He was working up late for tonight as he got a lot of works that needed his signature in order for the projects or even proposals to be validated. These all hard works were needed most for his company; as he wanted to make his company was into internationally level and got to compete with other local or even international companies as well.

Suddenly, his phone rang and he quickly took his smart phone from his coat inside-pocket. Without even looked for the caller ID, he just pressed the ‘answer call’ button, as if he had waited for the call ever since.

“So, do you possibly get several people for that?” He asked the person that was in other side of the phone line.

“Really? So, what terms and condition that he asked from us?” His face looked somewhat serious and he did frown for a bit as he heard every word with full focus from the caller.

TAP

He then nodded his head for a bit. “I see. That seemed so reasonable though. They really know how to make a good business from this.”

TAP TAP

“Then, is there any other extra information about it? Like when, how, what or anything besides what you’d tell me just now?” Once again he asked the caller with a lot of questions that did enter his curious mind.

Great businessmen really need a curious mind.

TAP TAP TAAP!

Suddenly he stopped himself from kept walking forward to get to his car. “Wait for a second. I need to check on something.” As soon as he said that, he quickly turned his head around.

There was nobody behind him.

“I’m sure I heard that footsteps well enough...” He slowly turned back his focus to the front while whispered his weirdness under his breath.

“Sir? What did you say just now?”

“A-ah... It’s nothing actually. Where were we just now?” He then got back to his phone conversation as soon as the caller was calling for him. “Yes, yes... So, how about their agreement about the payment money?”

TAP TAP

Once again, he heard that footsteps; and for this time it did felt so near to him. As he got a danger instincts from the mysterious footsteps, he didn’t ever look back and started to walk in a fast pace.

“I think I’d been followed by someone. We will just talk about this on tomorrow in my office. In our usual time.” He quickly said that to his caller and ended the conversation as fast as he could. He was now running for a bit as his ear could capture those footsteps behind him.

There was exactly must be someone....following him for sure.

Then, he could see his car not far from his current location so that he sprinted in his way in order to get into his car hurriedly. He did run towards his car and miraculously, he didn’t hear the footsteps anymore.

“Huh. You scared of me, won’t you?” He scoffed and tried to take a deep breath to fill his weak lungs.

He then slowly walked towards his car, which was in several meter from him when the footsteps were clearly be heard back. As a reflex from that distractive noise, he quickly turned around his body, just to witness that there wasn’t anybody in the basement parking lot area – exclude him.

He then sighed hard and turned away his gaze to his car and for suddenly he felt weak and his abdomen part as if numb and in a great pain. His hand quickly reached out for his abdomen part and he could felt a thick and wet liquid with an unpleasant smell covered his hand.

It’s blood. His blood.

“Urgh...” He suddenly felt all weak as soon as he saw the blood that was rushing out from his unknowingly gash.

His eyes soon blurred and he could barely shout for anybody’s help at that moment. He was already fallen on the ground, with his briefcase and also phone were lying beside him. Then, he saw someone was approaching him. “H-help m-me....”

TAP TAP TAP TAP

But that person just stared at him and did nothing to help him out. He was slightly frustrated and tried to beg for the person’s help. “Y-you...pl-please help me... I n-need help.”

Then, the person in front of him squat down and looked closely to his face. And he could swear at that moment he did saw the evil smirk on the person’s face.

And this face...was quite familiar in his eyes.

“Y-you!!” He then had finally realized who the person that he dealt with and tried to shout with his energy left. But it’s pretty useless, because soon he lifted his head; his throat was already been slashed off.

Made he couldn’t say anything, anymore.

He widens his eyes to look to the person with a sharp stare in his eyes. The deep cut to his throat was already let a large amount of blood rushed out from his body. He tried his best to call for the person’s name but he could only make out an ugly squeak.

That person was already stood up and gave a satisfaction looks to him. Then a weapon been took out from its sheath, which was the one that he used just now and stabbed directly to the upper part of his abdomen, which finally made him lied on the ground, in a frozen state seconds later.

He was already dead, by the last blow.

“WHAT???!!” Gunwoo almost fell off from his chair as soon as he heard the shocking news. “What did you say just now? Eunhwa – Miss Jung Eunhwa is missing??! How just can that incident happen; after we had put quite numerous bodyguards by her side??”

Mr. Han along with his acquaintances was just standing still and lowered their gaze to the hard and cold floor of hospital’s corridor. They were indeed felt regretful, as their main suspect had been missing or even running away just because of their slight mistake in a nick of time.

“I know that you’re supposed to change shift and that’s when she was found disappeared, am I right?” Gunwoo gave his fierce stare to every officer that stood in front of him; waited for a response from each of them.

“Yes...” They were nodding and confessed the same answer in the same time.

Gunwoo who was staring to them, was now scratching back of his head as he felt frustrated by their incompetence in solving this Madman case. And he was also feeling mad to himself, as he had promised her in hours before to protect her by all means.

“I’ll protect you. That’s for sure.”

“Damn!!” He stood up and quickly punched the wall beside him with his bare hands, and did feel nothing soon after that – eventhough his hand was for sure would bruise soon.

And that did wake up Soojung, who was sleeping near Eunhwa’s room as she was waited for an opportunity to sneak into her ward and get a short interview from her. She was stretching herself and then walked towards Gunwoo and also the other police officers fearlessly. “Hey! Hey! What’s this commotion is all about, huh? Shouldn’t that everybody had to lower the voice when being inside a hospital...?”

Gunwoo couldn’t believe his ears as soon as Soojung finished with her reprimand. He quickly pushed Soojung that was just straightening her little messy hair, harshly to the wall.

“Ouch!” Soojung yelped in pain. “Yah! Detective Lee! Where’s your manner huh? You couldn’t ever do like this to a woman, you know?”

“Shut up!” Gunwoo then snapped towards Soojung angrily. He was really fumed irritably by Soojung sentences just now, which he felt as that was to wind up him completely. “We’re facing a serious matter right now and what’d just you say? A commotion?!”

“Hey! Calm down for a bit, won’t you?” She then inhaled deeply before asked him after she saw that his tense face had loosened for a bit. “Okay. I admit that I was wrong so can you please tell me what’s going on right now? Who knows, maybe I can help you guys for a bit?”

Gunwoo looked to Soojung’s sincere eyes carefully. “I don’t think that you can help us in this case but I don’t know why; I think that you should know this for an unknowing reason. She is missing. Our main suspect, Jung Eunhwa is gone missing for a sudden.”

“Mwo?” Soojung quickly closed her opened mouth with her both hands. “For real, she’s missing?”

Gunwoo then furrowed his eyebrows as soon as he heard Soojung’s question. “What do you mean by ‘for real’? Of course it is for real, you stubborn-head!”

“Yah!” Soojung then yelled a bit to Gunwoo. Then, she muted herself as she was thinking of something. “You know what, I’m right here for a whole day and started to feel sleepy as I’m waiting too long for a chance to interview her secretly-“

“So, that did explain why you’re still here, Miss Jung Soojung.” Gunwoo cut out her sentences, which almost made her snapped out to him but she was back into her sanity as she realized that he was right.

“Okay...yes, I admit that I won’t give up in getting a short interview with her.” Soojung raised both of her hands to the air. “Back to my story just now; as my head started to lie down on top of the chair and my sight in a blur state, I saw her. She was walking in her normal attire and headed out from her ward room all by herself.”

“Oh my...” Gunwoo slowly took a deep breath in. “You did saw her and yet you didn’t tell us? We’re being in ‘lost and found’ mission just to get a clue about her disappearance hours ago and yet the clue was just in you!”

“Yah! Don’t put the blame on me! It’s your fault for not waking me up earlier before...” Soojung pouted and seemed quite sulky with Gunwoo’s reaction for her help just now. “And I thought it was just a dream that-“

“And now, what else did your mind trying to tell us?” Gunwoo flickered for a bit to give him and also her a room to relax for a bit.

“She did tell me something... If I’m not mistaken, she did say that she want to go to the place where she can put her mind in ease and also...”

“And also?” This time, it was Mr. Han’s turn to ask her about what she just remembered of Eunhwa’s last message.

“And also where she could remember her first date with someone...” Soojung then closed her eyes to remember hardly the name that Eunhwa did tell her. “Aha!” She exclaimed loudly as if she just got a jackpot.

“Her first date with someone named Yoo Youngjae!”

Eunhwa slowly walked on the stone pavement at the park that was located in the center of the metropolitan city of Seoul. She let out a sigh, almost in every step that she took.

It was cloudless and moonless night, as it was grieving over something as same as her right on this moment. But, eventhough the night was already fall upon them, every person in Seoul still used any last minutes of the day that they have to enjoy themselves all over or even having a serene walk in the park; as what she currently doing right now.

This park was indeed giving her countless memories of her and her fiancé, Youngjae. They were having their very first official date here, in this park.

“Eunhwa ahh...” Youngjae softly called Eunhwa that was leaning on his chest.

“Ne, Jae ahh~ Waeyo?” Eunhwa cutely replied to his call and even looked up to his smiling face.

“Finally, I could bring you here. It’s like a dream come true.” Youngjae slowly confessed his feelings for that day and Eunhwa quickly woke up from Youngjae’s chest to look at him straightly in his deep eyes.

“Yoo Youngjae ahh~ Every time I’m with you is also like a dream come true, you know?” Youngjae frowned a bit by her sudden confession to him.

“Why you think of that? Is that I’m probably didn’t meet your expectations or....” Youngjae then cupped her face to make her eyes stay still looked to his face. “...I’m too adorable and more than your expectations in your ideal boyfriend type?”

“Yah! You’re being so cocky, Jae ahh~” Eunhwa then pinched softly Youngjae’s nose. And he quickly flashed his adorable grin to her.

“It’s all because I know that you can’t ever resist me, Jung Eunhwa ahh~”

“Ne. Geurae. (Yes. That’s right.) I can’t ever resist you, Jae ahh... Even after these two years, my mind still thinks about you and even having a hallucination of your figure.” Eunhwa finally arrived near the lake that they were once confessing their love to each other and had first kiss there.

Her eyes were now welling with tears.

“How can I ever forget you, Youngjae ahh? You did mean everything to me, along with Daehyun oppa too...” She sobbed quietly. “And today did made your deaths period became officially two years. Daehyun oppa...Youngjae ahh...”

She swallowed hard her saliva and took a look to the sky for a while. “Can I just follow both of you in heaven? Why he didn’t just kill me last night?? All people that I love were slowly fading away from my life. I’m sick with all of this! I’m sick of my own melancholy life!!”

BAM

Suddenly, she was taken aback by the loud sound that was coming from the opposite side of the lake. She was looking to the person with her teary eyes; and unexpectedly she did wonder about that person.

That person...she did know him.

“Arrggh!!!!” Meanwhile, the person that Eunhwa saw, who was a man, did kicked his car tires, as soon as he came out from his car. He was totally incensed by everything in his life, and the only way to let out his anger is to take a break in his journey back home and yelled as loud as he could.

After he did yell aloud as his heart wanted to, he quickly turned around his face which made Eunhwa startled. Her face quickly turned white. Then, she shook her head for several time, couldn’t believe with what she just saw in front of her right now.

“Kim...Himchan.”

Petite_Star's Corner : Feel free to give comments for this chapter. Thank you~ :)

Ahh~ Madman did attack his another victim! Who's that newest victim possibly could be...? xP