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 1

  ~~~

   “…What the heck are you doing in front of my house?”

  Yoona was flabbergasted as she opened the door in the morning, to find a familiar figure sitting on the patio table. It wasn’t really a patio, since she stayed on the top floor of the building, in the small flat, with a lot of empty space surrounding the flat, and there was one huge table there. The person in front of her just smirked as he picked up his bag, stepping towards her.

  “Your new home is real small, ain’t it, Im Yoona?” Minho chuckled as she tried to prevent him from coming any nearer. “But still, looks pretty comfortable for a place that you just moved in to…”

  “How did you know where I was staying?” She gaped at him. “I just moved here a few days ago, and I didn’t even tell the rest of the team yet…” She thought carefully to herself. “…Wait, I told Victoria- But she’s never going to tell you!”

  He waved his hand phone in front of her. “She texted it to me when I asked. And besides, I didn’t need to.” He laughed as he looked at her. “…How’s your second job, Miss Im? Brewing coffee isn’t as easy as it looks, right?”

  Her eyes widened. “Victoria would never… And how the heck did you know I have another job?”

  “How else would I know you have a second job?”

  She gave him a good whack on the arm. “Are you a stalker or something?! Oh gawd, if it weren’t for the fact that you were my team mate and you savedmy freaking from being killed last week, I would seriously…ugh.” She frowned. “Okay fine, since you know…what areyou doing here?”

  “I moved out of my house, at least temporarily…” He said brightly.

  She raised her eyebrow skeptically. “And it’s my business because…?”

  “Because, well…” He smirked. “Come on, little monkey, just guess.”

  “…You’re not going to stay with me, are you?!”

~~~

  “Gosh, the number of stalker cases nowadays…”

  Victoria sighed as she came into the office, this time holding two cups of coffee and a newspaper she had bought that day. Flopping onto the sofa, she had been flipping through the newspaper, reading all about all the cases that had been worked on by all the other departments. Kyuhyun chuckled as he grabbed one of the cups of coffee, glancing at the page she was reading.

  “Stalkers, Victoria, have their own reasons…” He smirked as he went back to sit at his desk. “It’s something we don’t really have to understand, or care about for the time being.”

  “But it’s stupid!” Victoria said flatly. “It’s shocking and totally stupid at the same time! I mean, why stalk, you know? Really, there are so many other alternatives to get to know a person rather than stalking and spying…”

  Kyuhyun looked at her comically. “And what alternative may you suggest?”

  “Knowing the person in real life, having a conversation, like facing your fears instead of just stalking…” Victoria pointed out bluntly. “I mean, it would be better than just watching a person, and then after that, you find yourself obsessed and then after that there’s death and-“

  “You watch way too many dramas…” He laughed as he shook his head. “Stalking isn’t always bad, you know. Everything has two sides, and you just have to look at it from both sides. Besides, our department doesn’t handle such trivial cases.”

  “We are, after all, the brain of the police department, and we’re cracking all those tougher cases, right?” Victoria smiled, then she quickly turned to at him suspiciously. “Cho Kyuhyun…what are you up to? The moment you start acting like the good guy, I get really worried.”

  Kyuhyun chortled. “You’ll see…”

  “Are you even working?” She raised an eyebrow at him. “…If you’re going to do something that messes other things up or- Seriously, come clean with me, Mr. Cho, I know you’re up to something and I know it really ain’t going to be funny…”

  “Just enjoy the show.”

  “What show? What blasphemy are you-“

  “VICTORIA SONG!”

  She jumped up in fright as she heard a loud yell, a female voice shouting out her name. She turned around, her eyes widening as she saw a very furious Yoona, stomping her way into the office, followed by a smirking Minho. Kyuhyun just laughed in response to it, whilst she tilted her head to the right in confusion, wondering what could even be-

  “Victoria, you’re the one who gave him my address, right?” Yoona was exasperated. “Now he won’t get out and he’s freaking insisting that he’s going to stay with me and I’m not going to even let him set one foot in-“

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa…” Victoria held up her hands to stop Yoona. “…Why on earth would I give Minho your address?”

  “That’s what Minho said.” Yoona folded her arms with a frown.

  Minho took out his phone from his pocket. “Well, see, Vic, you did text me the address.”

  “What the-“ Then Victoria thought of it, turning around. “Kyuhyun…” She gave him a killer gaze, complimented with her serious tone. “What. Did. You. Do?!”

  Kyuhyun clapped his hands, very much amused. “My text messaging hack-in worked!” He cheered loudly. “Well, I thought it would be possible to do some phone hack-ins, so I hacked in to the mobile system, and then created this plug-in, and now I can send a text message to any number, and make it seem like it was sent from another number?” He smiled cheerfully, like a little kid. “I’m such a genius, right?”

  “How is that even possible?” Yoona said incredulously.

  “Like I said, I’m a genius.” Kyuhyun was happily swarming himself with self-praise.

  “You’d better not reveal this or start selling this or anything, if you do, we’ll be getting a lot more problems than we already have.” Victoria huffed. “…Anyway, so Minho’s staying with you now, Yoona?”

  Yoona’s jaw nearly dropped. “What on earth…? No way! Definitely no way! Did you know he’s secretly stalking me and watching my every darn movement-“

  “I did not!” Minho denied it. “I was bored, and then I just followed you around for a few hours-“

  “I could submit a stalker report, Minho.”

  “Hey, hey, you trust me.” Minho said proudly. “Stalking doesn’t count when someone you trust follows you. I mean, times are tough now, and it’s more dangerous, so it’s almost like I’m becoming a free bodyguard.”

  Yoona was indignant. “Isn’t there a high rate of stalking, nowadays? And most of the time, women are being targeted. This is stalking, Minho. You’re just raising that rate.”

  “Statistics show that the high rate of stalking comes from jealous ex-boyfriends, who want to follow their ex-girlfriends around and make sure they aren’t dating some other guy.” Kyuhyun mocked them, looking through one of the data reports. “So, did you break up with Minho, Yoona, and cause him to-“

  “We didn’t even date in the first place!” Yoona was frustrated. “He’s such a moron, why would I even-“

  “I saved your life.” Minho pointed out once more.

  “But that was to do with luck, and you didn’t even have a gun.” Yoona did not retaliate. “All I’m saying is, there’s no sane reason why he should be staying over with me, when I’ve got hardly any space, and he’s some rich guy who seems to have a load of money and can actually just buy or rent-“

  “Actually, it would be okay for Minho to stay with you, Yoona.”

  Changmin interrupted the rapid conversation as he walked into the room, holding a case folder in his hands. He had just arrived from the Superintendent of Police’s office, and things hadn’t went out as smoothly as he thought it would be. The one folder he held in his hands, he knew, was going to put the team in a big wreck once more. Slamming the folder on the table, he inhaled slowly, then gazed at the four pairs of eyes staring back at him.

  “It’s dangerous times, and being a part of the police, it makes it even more of a risk on your part, Yoona, since you’re the only one of us who lives alone.” Changmin said reasonably. “Minho wouldn’t be the best alternative to make sure you’re protected, but still… He’s trustworthy and at least, we know nothing crazy will go on.”

  “But…” Yoona was about to protest.

  “Yoona, if I could, I’d let you stay over at my place, but then, Minho still has nowhere to stay, and it’s best if he doesn’t stay alone either. I can’t have both of you over.” Changmin gazed at her. “Yoona, please? Temporarily. For your safety.”

  She sighed deeply, nodding. “Alright.”

  “So I guess we’re going to be staying together for awhile then.” Minho chuckled

  She stuck out her tongue. “Shut up, stupid. You’re lucky I’m not making you pay rent for it-“

  Victoria quickly nudged Yoona. “Listen, Yoong.”

  As they made a few more faces at each other, Yoona and Minho stopped their bickering and paid attention to Changmin. Kyuhyun stopped typing, and Victoria was already attentive. Changmin drew his breath as he made the announcement.

  “We’ve got a new case, team.”

  Victoria nodded. “We’re in…”

  “Let me guess – a stab to the heart, no clues, and just one dead body.” Kyuhyun said dramatically, teasing Victoria. “Like that movie Victoria was talking about a few days ago.”

  Changmin shook his head with a sigh. “No, it’s a suicide.”

  Minho looked at him in confusion. “We’re sent to investigate a suicide?”

  “With one look, it’s categorized as suicide, but we’ve got to investigate it before due to some reasons…” Changmin took a deep breath. “…The victim was found hanging in her apartment from the ceiling, a noose around her neck, the door locked from the inside.”

  “Seems like suicide.” Yoona shrugged.

  “That’s the problem.” Changmin emphasized. “A few weeks ago, the victim had filed a report to one of the police stations near where she lives.”

  “Really?” Victoria was curious. “What sort of report?”

  “A stalker report.”

~~~

  “And this is the place…?”

  Victoria murmured in wonder as they walked towards one of the apartments, surrounded by yellow barriers, supposedly the crime scene. The door leading to the apartment was ajar, since the forensics was yet to start searching the place. Yoona and Minho prepared themselves, nodding at each other, whilst Kyuhyun took out the case folder. Changmin watched over the team, all getting ready to begin their new case.

  “The victim’s name is Park Jiyeon, salesgirl at Lotte Department Store.” Kyuhyun read the new case details aloud. “She was found hanging from the ceiling when her neighbors tried to call her name, and then there was no reply, so they broke down the door, found her in this state and called the police.”

  “Park Jiyeon?” Minho said the name.

  “What, Minho?” Yoona looked at him. “You know her?”

  “Wh-what?” He shook his head immediately. “No…no, of course not.”

  “How about background information, Kyuhyun?” Victoria asked sharply, just as Yoona was going to question Minho even further. “Like…her issues, how she was found, everything?”

  “The forensics wanted us to look at the scene first, so we can categorize the case.” Changmin interrupted as he flipped through his copy of the case folder. “…So far, it’s just a suicide, but with the stalker report, it makes everything kind of questionable.”

  Minho gave him a serious nod. “Alright, we’re on it.”

  Pushing the door open, Minho and Yoona walked into the crime scene. A young lady hung from the ceiling, her eyes closed, her face pale. They bowed their heads respectfully, saying their rightful prayers before they went around looking at the scene. The place had been slightly messed up, here and there, but there was nothing especially drastic, except for the victim hanging from the ceiling, of course.

  “Windows closed, no sign of possible escape…” Minho walked around, examining the small place carefully. “The door has no sign of forced entry, and this sort of door isn’t like the one we had in the first case…This one requires a key-card for entry, and probably you’d need the key to be able to enter.”

  “How about the neck ma