Title: SM-5 The Perfect Mystery 

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Mystery, Angst, Action 

Ratings: All ages 

Case #02: M e m o r i e s

Part 6

  ~~~

  Potassium cyanide.

  The two words clung in his mind as he and Yoona stepped out of the apartment, towards the car. The words had troubled him very much, despite the fact that he hardly feared anything. It was something that even he could barely understand, a strange method, a plan that was nearly impossible to comprehend.

  Cho Kyuhyun had a gifted mind. He was the epitome of intelligence, or so most people would believe. He did not care for pride, however, his curiosity was one of the things that always led him to such thoughts, such plans of his own. But this time, with the highly skilled murderer, Kyuhyun was not fuddled, but rather, he did not understand the murderer’s full intentions.

  But whether he did or did not understand, it did not matter for the moment being. He already had one suspect in mind, one suspect who seemed to be able to fit his small criteria for the murderer, and he knew he was going to have to find a way to lure this one suspect out of his hiding corner. Kyuhyun needed to search that corner before he could come to a full conclusion.

  Gazing at Yoona, a plan formed in his mind. He made a small mental apology to her, and to the ones he knew he would hurt with that miniature plan, or so he thought.

  “Yoona, Changmin’s waiting at the forensics lab.” Kyuhyun stopped his tracks. “Go.”

  “How about-“ Yoona was about to ask.

  “Yoona, who is your biggest suspect so far?” Kyuhyun took a deep breath as he asked her. “Before you go to the forensics lab, please answer this question.”

  Yoona thought slowly, pausing the moment she thought about it. “…Kris Wu.”

  “…Well, don’t forget that then.”

  “Huh?” She looked at him, bewildered.

  “Just go.”

~~~

/ Vic…? /

/ Oh hey Kyu, what’s up? /

/ Are you alone? As in… no one’s listening in? /

/ Yep, Minho went to the bathroom, why? /

/ Vic, there’s something I need you to do. /

/ Wha- /

/ It’s a plan, you can only tell Minho what I tell you that you can, okay? /

/ Okay… ? /

/ Alright, here’s how it goes… /

~~~

  “Miss Lee Yeonhee, what is this about the sudden vitamin bottles thing?”

  Changmin had gone over to the forensics laboratory after receiving the urgent text message from his friend and ex-schoolmate in university, Lee Yeonhee. She was a forensics doctor working for the police, and there were several things he had relied on her to do, especially since he joined the undercover team. As he stepped into the lab, she turned around and smiled, taking off her goggles.

  “Changmin, only you…” She looked behind him. “…I texted Kyuhyun-shi as well, because I heard you teamed Kyuhyun and Yoona, and sent Victoria-shi and Minho-shi off for something…?”

  “You hear too much.” He chuckled as he nudged her. “…Yoona and Kyuhyun are off examining the crime scenes, but I think they’ll be over real soon.” He glanced at all the papers and test tubes in the lab. “So, what’s this about potassium cyanide being found-“

  “I’m here, I’m here!”

  The both of them turned around to see a brown haired girl running as fast as she could into the lab, puffing and panting as she took out her notebook, ready to get everything down. But Yeonhee was bewildered, looking behind Yoona whilst trying to spot for Kyuhyun.

  “Kyuhyun-shi’s not here, Yoona-shi?” Yeonhee asked politely.

  Yoona nodded quickly. “…He had some things he needed to do, so he asked me to come along instead. I heard there was something concerning the potassium cyanide being found in vitamin bottles?”

  “Unfortunately, there is.” Yeonhee took a deep breath as she led them towards the laboratory table. “These two used vitamin bottles were found at the crime scenes, one was found at Park Jiyeon’s place, the other was found at Krystal Jung’s place.” She gestured towards two bottles on the table. “Definitely, it is most shocking that white, powdery substance found in both bottles was potassium cyanide, but the other forensic doctors are more concerned about one other thing, rather than the contents.”

  Changmin raised his eyebrows. “And this is…?”

  “The amount.” Yeonhee said conclusively as she held up one of the bottles. “This one was found at Park Jiyeon’s apartment, and it contained about 112mg of potassium cyanide. However, this one…” She held up the other bottle. “…It was found in Krystal Jung’s apartment, and it contained a mere 2mg of potassium cyanide.”

  “But then, such a difference, if it was the murderer who put it in, couldn’t it just be a calculation error?” Changmin asked, purging further.

  Yeonhee sighed deeply. “Kyuhyun updated me with the case matters, and it seems to me like the murderer is very methodical. For the amount to be so far apart, there as to be a reason why, yes? It has a difference of more than a hundred mg, and that’s definitely no calculation error, especially when it’s being done by someone methodical.”

  Yoona could barely say a word. “So…what you’re saying is, this small difference links up to the case as well, am I right? This difference in amount?”

  “Look, all I can say is one thing.” Yeonhee gave them both a serious look. “If this case isn’t solved soon, there’s just going to be more of these items returning, together with more dead bodies.”

  Yoona knew exactly what she meant, or at least, Yoona interpreted Yeonhee’s words in her own way. More people were going to die, and if she didn’t do anything to try and stop it now, the murderer was going to get off scot-free, and sooner or later, more evidence would disappear, more evidence was going to be altered, to be changed through the limit of time. She had to do something, she really had to.

  There was a person she needed to confront.

  “Changmin, I’ve got to go, please handle Park Chanyeol’s questioning for me.” Yoona pleaded as she slung her bag over her shoulders.

  “Yoona, what are you-“

  “I swear I’ll do my best not to overdo the whole thing, but I know there’s something more to be done, and more answers to be retrieved, and if I don’t retrieve them now, this whole matter’s going to blow up.” Yoona’s voice had a serious sense of urgency.

  Changmin nodded. “But Yoona…”

  “Yes?”

  “…Please be careful.”

~~~

  He tapped his foot impatiently as he waited at one of the corridors of the building, clutching his laptop bag. He had made his moves, he had made his plans, and he knew what he was going to do. It was for the good of everyone. He was sure of it, and he wasn’t going to alter any of his plans just because he was worried it would affect the personal feelings of one individual in the team.

  He sighed in relief as he heard the brisk footsteps of two people walking down the corridor. A lady with long bronze hair and bangs which fell just about her hazy eyes, and a muscular man with jet-black hair and a pair of deep, dark eyes – Minho and Victoria had arrived.

  “Have you done what I told you to do?” Kyuhyun said, with much seriousness in his tone.

  Victoria smirked. “…Getting in was easy because the main security guard lady was completely blown away by one smile from Minho.” Victoria nudged Minho. “But then shutting down the system was a bit difficult, because the female security guards in the room were a little bit more abstinent than the one at the main door.”

  Minho shrugged nonchalantly. “What can I say? Not all women are easy.” He stared at Kyuhyun curiously. “But hey, why are we even doing this? We can just get an arrest warrant, you know. We don’t have to do a formal break in-“

  “By the time we get an arrest warrant, the evidence we need would have disappeared. There is no time, Minho.” Kyuhyun said sharply. “So you’re sure right, Victoria? Only the cameras of the main office are off, right?”

 “Yes, and Kyu, I understand that you’re doing this with your own reasons… However I must stress to you one thing – you have to know what you’re looking for. I’m not good with machines and all those electronic stuff, but I think that there’s a specific time limit that system can be off.” Victoria stated her concerns. “…Kyuhyun, what are you looking for?”

  “…A bottle.”

~~~

  “Park Chanyeol-shi, you are Yoona’s colleague, am I right?”

  Changmin sat across a muscular boy with flaming-red hair, wearing a simple smile on his face. He was much too cheerful in a sense that Changmin wasn’t very struck by him at all. Indeed, he had a pleasant presence but Changmin was too disturbed by Kyuhyun’s decision and Yoona’s possible actions. He was deeply concerned, for he had no clue what the other four were up to.

  Chanyeol nodded, with his smile still plastered upon his face. “Yes, I am.”

  “And you started working there since…?”

  “A few days ago, or so… I think it was the day after the death of Jiyeon-sunbaenim.” Chanyeol replied. “I attended her wake and everything, really…”

  Changmin noted it down, his mind still drifting away. “So, were you close to Park Jiyeon and Krystal Jung? It seems here that Park Jiyeon was your high school sunbae, and you were in the same level with Krystal Jung, am I right?”

  Chanyeol shook his head. “I didn’t know either of them well… They were just my schoolmates, and I knew who they were, that’s all…”

  “Do you know anyone who might have possible grudges against them?”

  He shrugged lightly. “No, I don’t, but if you want to talk about grudges you might as well delve into their clique. I mean, the whole school knows that the clique always has inner problems that they don’t really tell people. They were quite popular, after all.”

  “Alright then, Chanyeol-shi, that will be all for now, do tell us if you know anything more, or if you have something you find out.” Changmin said his words quickly, briskly. “Thank you for your time.”

  Chanyeol smiled that pleasant smile of his once more. “No problem at all.”

~~~

  “Kris Wu-shi!”

  She called across the huge entrance hall, as she saw a tall figure walking through the main entrance. She was in relief when she saw that he was alone, when she saw him pause, his dark orbs sweeping across the vicinity, before his gaze finally fell upon her. She didn’t know why, but she broke into a relieved smile as she dashed towards him, standing straight in front of him.

  “...I do not wish to know what you are doing here, however I wish that you leave immediately. I do not desire to have security guards pull you out.” His greeting was sharp and curt, very fierce.

  But Yoona wasn’t taunted. “Kris Wu-shi, I beg you to give me a moment, alright? I won’t purge on with too many questions, I won’t-“

  “I have already told you that I am not the murderer.”

  “I didn’t come here to ask you about that, I came here to ask about you, I came here to continue that questioning and I beg you, really.” Yoona pleaded hopefully. “…I promise you that I will not go over the board, and I will not-“

  “Im Yoona-shi, does your insolence connect to the fact that you seem to think I am someone you know?” He asked, his tone harsh. “I am sure that even for your job you will not go as far as to harass someone in their workplace after they have already submitted to your questioning.”

  Yoona bit her lip as memories started flowing back to her mind, but no, she held it all back and kept her motive clear. “Maybe you do seem familiar…But that’s not the reason why I keep returning, or why I keep purging this matter. It’s just-“

  “Really, Im Yoona-shi?” He mocked her cleverly. “It seems to me that you’re still continuing to see me as that person, whoever I am familiar to you as but I am not, Im Yoona-shi. I am not. If you have not realized, I am the Saseum Group’s CEO, and not a filthy, lousy playmate of yours.”

  Yoona stood there, frozen at her spot the moment he said those harsh words. He triggered her anger perfectly, as she clenched her fists, biting her lip to try and control herself, though she knew that this control wasn’t going to be very sustainable. But he did not stop, giving her a cruel, mocking smile.

  “Why don’t you go off and play with that playmate instead of bugging me, Im Yoona-shi? I’m sure the both of you can have some better things to screw up with each other, instead of disturbing me.”

  Oh, he had gone too far. Yoona gritted her teeth as she glared at him fiercely, anger rising within her. His words had struck her so much to the point that it wasn’t just provocation any longer. It was taunt, it was torment, and it was making Yoona both angry and guilty. Not to Kris Wu she felt guilty, no, she felt guilty to the person he had insulted.

  “…That’s impossible, Kris Wu-shi.”

  “Why, that little playmate won’t play with you anymore? Well, that’s really none of my-“

  “Yifan is…” Yoona tightened her grip on her bag. “…Yifan is dead.”

~~~

  “This place, is as neat as a pin.”

  Victoria gaped as she stood at the doorway of the office, with Minho and Kyuhyun quickly rushing in immediately. She closed the door slowly, careful not to make any noise. As they were enveloped by darkness, all three took out their torch lights and wore their gloves, and began searching through the place, examining everything within their reach.

  “Minho, Victoria, you g