Seven Days Earlier

It was the rehearsal dinner and Kim Seokjin was feeling antsy. He was tired, hungry, and stressed. He had two business deals that needed to be dealt with today but couldn’t be because he was at this damned dinner rehearsal. When Namjoon had asked Jin to be his best man, he had immediately accepted for two reasons. One: Namjoon was like a brother to him and two: Park Hyomin was one of the bridesmaids.

Jin glanced at the woman who was currently pretending she hadn’t just spilled red wine on the white tablecloth in front of her. He
laughed to himself. She was always a little clumsy. He found it endearing. As she looked in his direction, he smiled at her. She seemed surprised but nodded and smiled back. Jin had gone to school with Hyomin but never really talked with her. Growing up, she was of the popular group and he wasn’t.

Back then he was too young and scared to approach her. It wasn’t until after he graduated, that he missed seeing the
larger than life girl that was always a little clumsy, always helping others, and was never afraid to stand up for her friends. He
remembered senior prom when she was asked to attend by Joe Song, a kid with Down Syndrome. Hyomin accepted his invitation and didn’t seem the slightest bit embarrassed to have him as her date. When asked why she didn’t go with her boyfriend to prom, she responded, “Joe Song asked me first.” Jin wished that he had asked her before Joe Song. 

Tom also remembered when she was a freshman and had missed school for over a week. Later he would find out that was when her family had died in a car accident while she had been visiting her aunt. He thought for sure she would be a basket case…but she was the same old Hyomin. Always smiling and staying friendly. Jin understood what it felt like to lose family, and he wanted to reach out to her but during those years, the social divide was too great and he was just some geek that she didn’t even know existed. At that time he was content to just watch her from afar.

Jin smiled. During his college years, he still knew how Hyomin was doing through Eunjung, Namjoon’s soon-to-be wife. It was like she knew that he had a crush on Hyomin. So Eunjung always told him how Hyomin was doing. Jin had been waiting for this moment. He was rich, handsome, successful, and now all he needed was Hyomin, the girl he could never get out of his mind. He knew that she was now an elementary school teacher. Jin sighed. If things worked out with Hyomin maybe it would be him and her having a June wedding next year like his friends Namjoon and Eunjung were having this year.

 Present: Ludwig Police Station

Kim Joojin shook Jin’s hand and introduced herself, “Joojin. Kim Joojin. I’m sorry did you say your friend is missing?” She asked for forgiveness in her head for what she was about to do but she had a strong feeling this man’s friend and the lady at the murder scene were one and the same and she wanted the scoop.

Jin nodded, “Uhm, yeah since five days ago.”

Joojin grimaced, “I’m sorry to hear that. The cops here are understaffed but they try to do their jobs as best they can. I know a few officers personally if you want to tell me about it. Maybe I can get them to make it a priority.”

Jin sighed. He needed any help he could get, “Her name is Park Hyomin. We went to high school together and were supposed to meet that night but she never showed up. At first I figured she just stood me up. I called her a few times but she never answered. Then I went to her hotel room and she never answered. According to her reservation, today was her day to check out but the hotel staff said she never did. We checked her room and her stuff was still there.”

Joojin interjected, “How did you get the hotel staff to tell you that information?”

Jin actually stiffened, “Well, to be honest, one of my friends owns the hotel. It wasn’t that difficult and besides, I ended up paying for her hotel stay.”

Joojin frowned. She wished she had rich friends that could break rules and get her private information. It would definitely help her land more stories, that’s for sure. Joojin asked, “How come you didn’t file a report after two days? Why now?”

Jin explained, “I was going to file a report but when I had questioned the front desk about her possible disappearance, one of the hotel staff members said they saw her leave with a man. I figured she really did just stand me up. Our friends Namjoon and Eunjung have been on their honeymoon. I was finally able to reach them and Eunjung tried calling her and wasn’t able to get in touch with her either. To ignore my calls is one thing. To ignore Eunjung’s is another. Now her phone is off or dead. Our friends are still on their honeymoon and I told them not to worry but something doesn’t feel right. Why would she leave all of her clothes at the hotel?”

Jin couldn’t help but wonder, “Why did she have a reservation at the hotel for so long after the wedding?”

Jin shrugged. He didn’t know but during the reception Hyomin had mentioned she needed some time to herself to relax.

Joojin took a moment to soak in all the information Jin had just given her. If her calculations were correct, Park Hyomin was the latest victim of the Demon King and she had an article to write.

“What is she doing here?” Detective Jeon Jungkook looked pissed as he walked in and pointed to Joojin. Joojin took that as her signal to leave. She smiled at Jin and then turned to Jungkook.

“Well detective it looks like you have a serious case on your hands and I suspect that the Police may be taking over for you in the near future,” Joojin was trying to make an exit.

“What the hell are you talking about Joojin?” he looked pissed but Joojin didn’t care so she answered him, “Well detective, it’s not often that this small town gets its very own serial killer. Oh by the way, this here is Jin. If I were you, I would talk to him.” With that Joojin sauntered past Jungkook and out the door.

The detective watched Kim Joojin brush past him, “What a .” Then he looked at the tall man that looked both upset and confused, “What do you want?”

The man took a deep breath, “For the millionth time, I’m here because my friend has been missing for five days. I last saw her at a wedding where she was a bridesmaid.”

Jungkook looked at the man and frowned. He knew where this was heading. “What color was her dress?”

“Yellow,” the man answered.

“Well ain’t this a ?” Jungkook cursed.

 Later that Evening

Joojin finished her article. She was quite proud of herself. It read, “Demon King Seeks Queen: Who will be the unfortunate bride?” Joojin turned in her story and walked out the door. It was late but she didn’t mind. She loved the dark. According to her mindset, the most interesting stories happened when the sun went down. She walked to her car and paused. The hair on her neck was standing up. Slowly she turned around. She could’ve sworn someone was watching her. She shrugged off her fear, “This story must be getting to me.” She could feel the skin on her arms get goose bumps. She quickly unlocked her doors and was about to get in her car when something caught her eye.

It was on the passenger’s side.

A small crown of white flowers.