Blossom Tears

[Oppa – a Korean word that younger females use to address older males, usually when they're close]

She woke up suddenly in a large room illuminated with white light. At first Ye Eun thought she was in the hospital, but she soon found out that it was a completely different place. In one moment Ye Eun remembered what had happened before she suddenly lost consciousness. Ye Eun was returning on foot from a party, at which she had quarreled with her boyfriend. She felt cold because she did not wear anything very warm, since she had come to the party with him in his car... A familiar car drove past her but then stopped nearby, and Ye Eun was glad to see a familiar face. But then she began to feel uncomfortable, and at some point, she lost consciousness. Ye Eun felt that she shouldn't be here now. Danger. This word was unbearably pounding in her head the whole time. Ye Eun didn't know why she agreed to go with him. From the very beginning, she felt that something was wrong with him. So why did she agree? That was a very good question... Nevertheless, Ye Eun didn't trust him at all, even though they had known each other for some time. Ah, if she only could go back to that unfortunate moment... Ye Eun would definitely make a different decision. Instead of getting into his car, she would have taken a taxi or the bus. Unfortunately, it was too late now for those kinds of thoughts. Ye Eun didn't know exactly what awaited ahead, but something told her that she was in huge trouble. The very appearance of this room did not bode well.

Right now Ye Eun was lying down on the cold table, strapped down tightly. She still felt a little dizzy, probably because of the weird-smelling liquid in which the cloth that he had suddenly put on her lips had been soaked, after suddenly stopping the car in some remote area. Ye Eun looked around the room to see everything better and maybe come up with some escape route. This place was empty and cold, like a morgue, with only a few metal cabinets, a trolley table like the one found in an operating room (with probably something lying on it), one wooden table on which lay a small bouquet of pink flowers, and a little further a large, metal door. It was probably locked with a code because, by the door lock, she could see something like a covered keyboard, similar to those locks she saw on the door to her family mansion or her brother's summer house in Gwangju. But she wasn't sure of anything because her sight was still blurry. This place resembled an operating room or laboratory where some illegal experiments were carried out, and a strong shiver went down her spine at the very thought of it. Ye Eun felt like she was in some cheap horror movie, but she didn't feel like laughing at all. She jerked the straps a few times, holding on to the stupid hope that they would finally give. Unfortunately, all her efforts came to nothing, so she soon fell into convulsive sobs. Ye Eun didn't want to die, not in this awful place, not so fast. She was still so young, had so many plans and dreams... It couldn't end this way. Ye Eun didn't even want to let this thought come into her head. It would probably be better if it turned out to be a movie; then there would be a greater chance that a policeman or other daredevil would appear, someone who wasn't afraid of the murderer.

"Help me... Somebody save me..." she tried to scream but could not manage anything but a pleading whisper, her throat tight with fear. "Oh God... Save me, please." At the same time, in her mind, Ye Eun prayed more fervently than she ever had before in her relatively short twenty-two years of life. Before her eyes the memories began to fly: her mother's face, her friends, her beloved boyfriend, her older brother... Ye Eun squeezed her eyes tightly, trying to stop the tears that would not stop flowing. The coolness of the room was really unbearable; it was killing her even more. Ye Eun had no idea how long she had been lying down here like this, alone. Her dizziness continued, and it felt like she was going crazy. Ye Eun knew that if he came here, she would die for sure. Ye Eun had no idea where that certainty came from, but that didn't change the fact that she was sure of it. That's why Ye Eun was trying so hard to figure out a way to escape while she had at least a minimal chance of success. Giving up without a fight never was an option, right? Besides, maybe at least she would gain some time, enough for some hero to potentially save her. Maybe it was a stupid thought, but sometimes in life there were scenarios straight out of the movies. Being a daughter from a wealthy family, she thought she would never be in danger of something like this. Since childhood, she had been guarded by her mother and older brother, and her father employed bodyguards... Ye Eun knew she was a public figure and a valuable member of the Choi family. She promised her father so many times that she would not go anywhere without at least one bodyguard... So why had she been so stupid, why had she left that party without a word? Ye Eun doubted that someone would start looking for her. Certainly not today. At most tomorrow. If she didn't come back home or answer the phone, her mother would start to worry. But did she have until tomorrow? Something inside her was clearly screaming that she didn't have that much time. Ye Eun was afraid that she had only a few hours to live. To make matters worse, lying still on this hard table, strapped down with all these belts, waiting for certain death drove her crazy. She struggled again, praying for a miracle. Couldn't these belts loosen a little bit...? She could then free her hands and everything else would fall into place. However, the belts seemed to be fastened tightly, and even when she struggled, they were not about to loosen a millimeter.

Suddenly Ye Eun heard the sound of approaching footsteps, as if someone was just above her head. Had she been in the basement all this time? That explained the chill, but it also made the whole situation much worse. It wasn't enough that she had to somehow free herself from these belts, but now she also had to escape from a basement? She felt despair slowly envelop her, and her hope to escape this awful place slowly began to dwindle, but Ye Eun still clung to it desperately. She had to get out of here somehow... If she was in this horror movie, then she was going to be the main character, not some supporting role that dies at the very beginning in the most ridiculous way you can imagine.

Once again, she began to pull on her belts stubbornly, even though she had less and less strength to do it. That was when the door opened. She immediately turned her eyes in that direction, but her sight was still a little bit blurry. All she could see was the male figure slowly coming down the stairs. He had dark hair, was slim and tall, and was dressed in a white shirt and dark pants—that was all she could see. He stopped some distance away from her and seemed to be watching her from afar for some time. Ye Eun's heart began to pound harder, and terror chilled the blood in her veins.

"I see that my princess has already woken up," he spoke up after a moment. She recognized his voice right away. There was a sense of joy and excitement clearly audible in it. "Forgive me for having to put you on such an uncomfortable bed, in such a cold place, but otherwise you would try to escape, wouldn't you? And I can't let you do that, even though you are my princess." She heard him laughing lightly. Then he walked over to a nearby metal cabinet and took something out of it, but from a distance, with still blurry vision, she had no chance of seeing what it could be. However, the anxiety she had felt since getting in his car earlier in the evening increased sharply, as if her intuition was predicting the worst possible scenario.

"Oh my God, I beg you. Send somebody to save me," Ye Eun prayed in her thoughts because her throat was still squeezed with fear. "I promise I will always listen to my father. That I will not leave without a guard at night. I will stop arguing with my boyfriend. I will start talking to my brother more. And I will stop going to these damn parties. So please, save me today..." she begged, feeling tears running down her cheeks.

Finally he approached Ye Eun, holding an object in his hand. Finally she recognized what it was: a vial filled with colorless liquid. Later, however, her eyes went to the face of her captor. From the beginning, Ye Eun kind of knew it was him, but it wasn't his face she wanted to see. If it were someone else, a stranger, she could understand. But him? They knew each other so well, and despite various strange situations, she never thought that he would hurt her.

"Oppa... Why are you doing this to me?" she asked, sobbing softly. Ye Eun still wanted to think that this was some kind of joke and he would immediately release her from these belts. That their friends would pop out with a camera from around the corner and shout, "We got you!" and then everyone would laugh—just like in some stupid variety show with a hidden camera.

"Ye Eun-ah..." he turned to her, and his expression grew serious for a moment. "I won't hurt you, believe me. I just want you to be beautiful forever," he continued, smiling again, and in his eyes, a sparkle of madness could be seen. Although he was smiling, there was clearly no emotion behind it. "This process can be a bit painful. After all, you'll become immortal, so there's a price... But I don't want you to suffer, so I got something that will prevent the pain." He showed her the vial in his hand. "Thanks to this, you will fall asleep and won't feel anything. It will be a painless path to eternal life for you, my dear," he added, putting on white latex gloves and then taking a syringe and a sterile needle from a nearby table.

"Oppa, please... You don't have to do that..." Ye Eun tried to say something more, but he put a finger to her lips. When she felt the touch of latex on her skin, a strong sob shook Ye Eun's whole body.

"Quiet, my princess... Don't be afraid. It won't hurt, really," he assured her, though neither his eyes nor his voice showed any signs of concern. Then, after attaching a needle to the syringe, he drew the right amount of liquid from the vial and approached her arm. Panic swept over the girl, so she started struggling, preventing him from inserting the needle.

"Ye Eun-ah!" he raised his voice, but there was still no emotion audible in it. "Do not make this harder. You're forcing me to hurt you," he added in warning, and only after these words did something like a shadow of anger mixed with pain flash across his face. It was gone within a few seconds.

"By doing all this, you're hurting me more, Oppa. You can't make someone immortal, you just want to kill me!" Ye Eun had no idea how she had managed to gather enough courage to say those words. However, immediately after that, her body began to shake even more. Her heart almost ripped out of her chest, it was beating so fast.

Hearing what she said, he froze suddenly with the syringe in his hand, glancing at her without a word. His poker face showed no emotion, even in his eyes. One could not read what was happening in his head at that moment. Now he really looked like a mannequin, especially his face. Although his figure also did not deviate too much from that of a mannequin.

Ye Eun was lying there, staring at him, nervously expecting some reaction. Did she hit a tender spot? Ye Eun did not know whether to regret her words or be glad that she had dared to throw them out. She had no idea what his reaction would be. Would these words save her or ruin her completely? That moment seemed to go on forever, driving her crazy. If Ye Eun had more strength, she would gladly scream as loud as possible, at least to relieve the tension. Suddenly he moved, put the syringe on a nearby table, and then leaned over Ye Eun, his hands resting on both sides of her head. When he was so close to her like this, she felt so cornered, more cornered than she had ever felt in her life.

"Ye Eun-ah... You still don't understand anything," he sighed, looking at her with an expression reminiscent of sorrow, but it was too artificial to be considered real sadness. "Beautiful women are usually empty, seeming to have nothing inside. But you are different. That's why I don't want your beauty to fade away over the years. You deserve to be beautiful forever. You are a chosen one and should feel honored," he said with a very serious expression. Everything he said sounded like total nonsense. Evidently he was not right in the head and should be locked in some kind of asylum or mental hospital. Ye Eun really didn't expect such paranoia from him. She literally couldn't understand it.

Finally he straightened up and reached for the syringe again. He checked the pressure and slowly brought the needle closer to her skin. The girl's body, as if in a last attempt at self-defense, began to shake, but he held her arm tightly and stuck the needle in. Then he pressed the plunger.

"No, it's impossible... This is not really happening... Somebody help..." she thought in despair, feeling a puncture then a slight pinch in the place where the needle struck. A few seconds later, the image in front of her eyes became more and more blurred, her body grew weaker, and she was slowly losing her ability to breathe. Ye Eun looked at him one last time, pleading, and felt her muscles flex slightly as if they were defending her body with their last strength. But he only stood above her, watching intently as if waiting for something. Ye Eun tried to fight, but the poison quickly spread through her bloodstream, and she couldn't stop it by any means. Ye Eun was dying slowly but painlessly. As he said, it didn't hurt at all. Just seconds later, she drifted off into oblivion, as if falling asleep. He turned her head so that her eyes fell on the ceiling. With her last bits of strength, she watched the frightening whiteness blur her vision more and more. She closed her eyes and felt her last tears run down her cheeks, down to her neck. Not long after that, Ye Eun let out her last breath.

He just waited for it. When the girl completely lost consciousness, he checked her pulse. She was dead. Finally. He had been preparing for this moment for a long time. The other girls before her were mostly experiments that had helped him polish his skills to perfection so that he could finally bring his plan to fruition. This whole time, he had been preparing only for her, so she could become his completely perfect creation. With his hand, for the last time, he stroked her cheek, which was getting colder. Her skin was so wonderfully soft, like the best quality silk. Ye Eun's face didn't change much, her complexion had always been pale. He slightly opened her eyelids, which she had closed before falling asleep, to admire their beautiful hazel eye color again. He touched her lips gently with his fingertips. They were as delicate as rose petals, and their color also matched these beautiful flowers. With his second hand, he touched her wonderfully soft, long black hair, running his hand down her neck, breasts, and waist—all the way to her hips. He felt really excited when his hand slowly slid under her short skirt, between her legs, and under the fabric of her skimpy panties. He felt wonderful, finally able to slip his fingers inside of her, to her very center. He slid them in and out several times, feeling his growing pleasure. His lips kissed her cold body, every inch of skin that had been exposed. Then he unzipped his pants with one hand and slid them down slightly to let out his full-grown erection. He put his hand around it tightly and began to move up and down while the fingers of his other hand were still inside her. His breathing quickened, and a few low moans escaped his mouth. He closed his eyes, biting his lower lip hard. Having dreamt about it for so long, he came very quickly. His entire load landed on the floor because he didn't want to get her dirty. Ye Eun, his wonderful princess, must look perfect. He cleaned up quickly and prepared everything for the real work. He had a lot to do if he was going to make her immortal and beautiful forever. In addition, the next day, he had to leave his usual present on the road where he took Ye Eun today.

Until now, every day he had become more and more afraid that his princess would leave him. She grew older and older, and he was afraid that her beauty would be tarnished soon. She was perfect right now, so he had to stop time and immortalize this perfect image. Thanks to his hard work, Ye Eun would always remain beautiful and never leave him. In addition, he would now be able to touch her whenever he wanted.

When everything was ready for the procedure, he immediately moved the metal trolley table full of various medical equipment usually used during surgery closer to the hospital bed where Ye Eun was lying down. He put on white latex gloves, took the scissors in his hand, and began to cut away her clothes. First, he took some blood, placing the test tube filled with it on the second table, where a small bouquet of artificial cherry blossoms was already lying in the corner, ready for tomorrow.

[Sunbae – someone higher up in the hierarchy of school or work, usually older.

NAME-ssi – a polite way of addressing people you don't know that well.

Maknae – the youngest person of a group.

Hyung – older brother or a polite way for a younger male to address an older male.]

Soo Min woke up hearing the phone ringing. Unfortunately, forgetting that she fell asleep on the couch in the living room, Soo Min fell to the ground wanting to reach for the table with her eyes still half-closed.

"Damn it." she cursed, rising from the floor and finally catching the ringing phone in her hand and sighed, seeing who was calling, but answered. "Hello, mother? How do you feel?" she said to the person on the other side.

"Kim Soo Min, you ungrateful girl!" her mother's voice sounded like a thunderbolt. "This time the candidate was really from the top shelf. Handsome, tall, nice and in addition a doctor, earning a lot... How dare you not show up?!" she said in resentment.

"Mom... I asked you not to match me with anyone without my permission. But you are still organizing dates behind my back and telling me a day before to go on them." Soo Min replied, trying to sound as polite as possible, though she was really angry.

"Yah! I remind you that you are 30 years old! When are you going to find a husband, huh?" her mother shouted so loud that Soo Min had to move the phone away from her ear." I would like to attend your wedding and see my grandchildren before I die. You are my only daughter and I have to make sure you will get married to a good person. And since you are doing nothing in this matter, I must take things into my own hands." she added a little calmer.

"Mom, I understand you're worried." replied Soo Min. "But you are really exaggerating. Does a woman really need to have a husband? I can adopt children or go to the sperm bank." she added.

"I don't even want to listen to such nonsense," the mother replied firmly. "I will arrange your next date soon and you better appear on it, otherwise I will drag you there, pulling by the hair." she ended and hung up.

"Wonderful." Soo Min said mostly to herself. Then she put the phone down on the table and went first to the bathroom for the morning toilet, then dressed already went to the kitchen to drink coffee, eating the rest of fried rice from yesterday.

Perfect as clockwork she finished breakfast, took the elevator to the underground garage and got into the car to go to work.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kim Soo Min was 30 years old woman of medium height, black eyes, also black hair that she cut so short that it barely covered her neck. Her face may not have been perfectly beautiful, but she had a lot of natural charm. Since Soo Min wasn't as skinny and pale as some of her friends, her face was also rounder, except for a sharp nose. Her eyes were large, with a double eyelid, which has been envied by many. Most of these traits Soo Min inherited from her father, including the outstanding intelligence. And from mother she certainly inherited sharp tongue and figure. Soo Min had strongly rounded physique, arms and legs clearly muscled from exercising and practicing martial arts, also because of chasing and fighting with criminals; medium-sized breasts, wide hips, too wide for Korean standards. Additionally, Soo Min's height only widened her body optically. However, she was not fat, but just simply deviated from the ideal of extremely slim person, created by the Korean media and idol culture. With all the curves in the right places, Soo Min was more suited to the western type of beauty and out there her figure probably would not be commented as 'a little bit too big'. However, Soo Min didn't care if she heard such comments about herself. As her mother always said, external appearance is insignificant, your actions are the most important since they really determine what kind of person you are. And although Soo Min generally did not agree with the old-fashioned opinions of her mother, in this matter she was one hundred percent in agreement with her.

Soo Min was working as a detective for the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Investigation Department, Violent Crime Section. She graduated from the Police Academy with excellent results, now became one of the best detectives in her department. Despite those skills, the male part of the Section still looked down on her because of gender, but it only motivated Soo Min to work even harder. Because of that treatment tough, she called her colleagues "pigs in uniforms", also they were the main reason that despite her mother's insistence, Soo Min avoided going on dates and didn't trust men, always saying she doesn't have time for 'stupid things' when criminals are roaming the streets and she decided to focus entirely on her work. Of course, Soo Min wasn't as mean as she tried to be, but didn't want to show her more delicate side because it could have been used against her as a weakness. And at the job she did, your strengths mattered the most. Soo Min maybe wasn't the Section's strongest, fastest, and most physically efficient officer, but she was certainly beyond the others in deduction and other more mental skills.

Soo Min entered the police station and walked down the hall to Violent Crime Section's room, immediately sitting at her desk. In the office there was already Oh Han Eul, a 32-year-old detective. He was slim and the tallest person in the Section, measuring at almost 190 cm, with big black eyes, dark brown hair, and delicate, almost feminine, facial features. He was very ambitious but lazy and behaved like the real star of the Section, with the appearance and personality of an idol, he also took care of himself more than many women Soo Min knew, even changing hairstyles much often than necessary. In general, Han Eul was a narcissist who liked to play with women and avoided the permanent relationships like fire. He liked to drink and party in clubs during his spare time, loved K-Pop, and was a die-hard fan of the girl group GFRIEND. But one had to admit that he sang and danced well, as Soo Min learned when their Section went to Noraebang, a Korean karaoke room. However, he was the second meanest colleague after Joo Chan. Not only did he laugh at his jokes, but also teased her himself many times.

The other already present person was Kwon Dae Shim. He was 43 years old, taller than Soo Min by only a few centimeters, and had narrow black eyes and simply arranged, close-cut black hair; the rest of his face was angular, with a sharp nose. Since taking over the function of the head of the Section, Dae Shim began to arrive earlier than usual. He had a beautiful ex-model wife and 17 years old son, who looked exactly like him, was his pride and Dae Shim constantly talked about him, praising his academic and sport achievements. But generally, he was a boring companion, preferred to go fishing alone rather than spend time with others. His hobby was collecting stamps, he loved reading books, but wasn't interested in football, movies or music.

Dae Shim's predecessor, Kim Jung Ho, simply called officer Kim by everyone, was already 60 years old and retired. He was slightly thicker than the rest, short, had gray eyes and black hair lightly dusted with gray color. His face was round, most of it took the chubby cheeks and a double chin, the rest were small eyes and nose. His expression was always friendly, he looked like the kindest grandpa in the world and that was also his personality. Officer Kim was generally nice to people, unless they behaved inappropriately or were criminals. Only when he interrogated some scum did others see the darker side of officer Kim, but most importantly, he was damn good at his job, becoming a walking legend of the Violent Crime Section and maybe even the whole Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. Soo Min and the other detectives idolized officer Kim from the beginning and tried to learn as much as possible from him. Unfortunately, just yesterday he emptied his desk completely and invited the entire Section for the weekend to his wife's restaurants for a farewell party. Normally, Soo Min avoided work-related parties as much as she could, but officer Kim was always nice to her, and if heard Joo Chan's silly jokes, he would always reprimand him. She knew that Dae Shim will rather stand on the side of Joo Chan, or simply ignore the matter, that's why Soo Min missed officer Kim even more.

Another detective, 37 years old Noh Sang Kyu, came not so long after her, and as always in a hurry. He was the same height as Soo Min and had the most muscular body of the entire male section. Sang Kyu loved exercising and, regardless of fatigue after work, always found time for it. At first, he attended a public gym, but when got a substantial bonus, he created his own exercise room in the basement of his home. In addition, Sang Kyu had chocolate-colored eyes and black hair always cut as short as if he were still in the army. His character could be described as a typical macho, only entertainment he recognized was one worthy of a real man, which in his opinion were sport, cars, video games, going to football matches and meeting friends over a beer or soju and talking about women. He behaved like a master and ruler to his wife, but strangely treated his children quite gently. He had two sons, 14 year old twins and a daughter who was 12. Sang Kyu usually came to work late because of his three children that he had to drive to school every day, so nobody blamed him. But today, apparently, he managed to take care of everything faster and came five minutes ahead of time. Soo Min had to admit that of the entire Section he was the least that troubled her. It was true that Sang Kyu laughed at Joo Chan's jokes with everyone, but he never said anything unpleasant to her personally and sometimes she had the impression that he felt a little embarrassed that didn't have courage to say anything to defend her.

Lee Jung Mo, the youngest (only 26 years old) detective, came right after Sang Kyu. He was tall, but a few centimeters shorter than Han Eul, which made him second in terms of height. However, Jung Mo was a lot thinner than him, almost frightfully skinny. Han Eul was slightly muscular so it gave him a bit bigger size, while Jung Mo had more like a teenager's body. It looked as if he had stopped developing in high school. One could think that he would probably fit in his old school uniform. At first glance, Jung Mo seemed too petite for a policeman and gave the impression that during the dangerous action he could break in half. However, despite his appearance, Jung Mo was very physically fit, quickly ran and fought quite well. Furthermore, he was a partner and seemed to be the best friend of Min Joo Chan. Jung Mo joined the Section a year ago, and because back then Soo Min clearly stated that she didn't need any partner, he found himself under the wing of Joo Chan. And unfortunately, along with the specifics of the detective's work, he also learned from him the love for chauvinistic jokes. Overall, Jung Mo was a cute boy, a bit naive but at his age it wasn't that weird, he was also clearly an optimist, sometimes could be as joyful as a small child. But if the situation demanded it, Jung Mo could get to work seriously. The whole Section considered him an official mood maker for the entire unit. In general, if it wasn't for the fact that he made friends with Joo Chan, Jung Mo would be a pretty cool guy.

As for Min Joo Chan, a 35 year old bachelor and probably the greatest male chauvinist Soo Min met in her life, he was quite handsome despite the fact that his face did not stand out from the crowd. Joo Chan was a head taller than Soo Min, he had broad shoulders and a well-built chest, but from the waist down his hips and legs had the same proportions, which gave him a slightly comical look. His unofficial nickname was "tree-man" and he really looked a bit like that: a straight and thin base with an extensive crown of branches and leaves on top. He was a very good detective, but still not better at solving the cases than Soo Min. However, his personality was really terrible. Not only was he a male chauvinist, but in general was proud, he easily became angry, especially if someone insulted his concept of honor. He wasn't much older than Soo Min, but his views were worse than her mother's. Joo Chan believed that a that a woman should stay at home, look after her husband and children, and even if was going to work, she should choose a job more suitable for her gender. And according to him, working in the police, and especially as a detective in Violent Crime Section, was inappropriate and too dangerous for a woman. In addition, she should know her place even at work. Even if achieving better results, a woman was to speak respectfully to male colleagues, especially if they were older or worked longer than her. And not only that Joo Chan himself had such old-fashioned views, he was also imposing them on everyone around. And unfortunately he seemed to have a huge impact on the people around him, especially men. Some admired and wanted to be like him, others were just afraid. All in all, it wasn't a surprise that, while still at the Police Academy, Joo Chan achieved the highest marks in direct combat and martial arts. He was extremely strong and agile, therefore the most effective in directly catching criminals and immobilizing them. If someone got into his hands, wasn't able to break free. However, when it came to more mental work, deduction and resolving ambiguities, he was much worse. Therefore, more complicated and mysterious cases were not his strength. It could be said that Joo Chan for sure was the Violent Crime Section's muscles, while Soo Min definitely the brain. The rest of detectives were, more or less, somewhere in the middle.

Soo Min wanted to complete the paperwork that was left after solving of her recent case but unfortunately the worst enemy, officer Min Joo Chan, came into the office holding a paper cup filled with instant coffee and as usual wasn't going to leave her alone. He finished his coffee, crushed the paper cup and dropped it into the nearby trash can, then approached closer.

"Yah, Kim Soo Min." said Joo Chan, leaning lightly on her desk. "I heard that you managed to catch another criminal. How did you do it? By the power of your PMS?" he added clearly amused and pleased with the joke he had created. The muffled laughter could be heard from the others around the room. As she thought, after the departure of officer Kim, no one even intended to admonish Joo Chan. He was probably an idol for all of them.

"Wow, Sunbae, great joke." Soo Min answered with a distinct note of sarcasm in her voice, gently clapping her hands. "You just came up with it or did you sit and thought about it all day yesterday instead of working? I'll bet on the second option, because there is still no progress in the 'Cherry Blossom Reaper' case, which you take care of." she added, and a malicious smile appeared on her face. Everyone's surprised gaze turned to her almost immediately.

"You little..." Joo Chan's face turned red with anger. "How dare you speak like this to a man older than you and an officer with longer job experience? Do you even know how hard this case is? Of course not, because you don't take care of it." he continued speaking without taking his eyes off her.

"Maybe I don't know this case so well, but I know one thing." Soo Min replied getting up from the chair, resting her hands on the desk top and also looked him in the eye. "You can't solve a case if you're sitting in the office, thinking up stupid jokes, instead of focusing entirely on your work." she added venomously. Surprised voices of the others watching their skirmish could be clearly heard.

Joo Chan, obviously angry, punched the desk top with his fist.

"You nasty little bit..." he began, but the firm voice of the Police Chief interrupted him.

"Enough of these quarrels!" he said, then sighed heavily. Kim Dong Wook, the 55-year-old Chief Superintendent General and head of Seoul's police agency, stood in the doorway, giving Joo Chan a scolding look. He was a tall and solid man with black, medium-sized eyes, very short cut black hair with gray ones barely visible with this hairstyle, but bald spots on his head were getting clearer every day. His face was a bit square, just like his features, skin was heavily tanned and wrinkled. By personality, he was somewhat similar to officer Kim Jung Ho, former head of Violent Crime Section, perhaps because they were once partners. However, Kim Dong Wook was a bit harsher, which is probably why he was promoted to the Seoul's police agency Chief Superintendent General instead of his partner, who was older than him by five years.

"I'm really sorry, Chief." Joo Chan said and immediately bowed with remorse.

Soo Min didn't say anything, but she bowed low. Her expression expressed remorse, and that was apparently enough because he said nothing to her.

"Officer Min, I have important news." the Chief turned to him. Everyone present fell silent and listened attentively to his words. "Yesterday morning, Madam Lee, the wife of the CEO of a fashion house, arrived at our station." he continued. "She reported the disappearance of her daughter, Choi Ye Eun. On Sunday she went with her fiancé, in his car, to a charity event. She had an argument with him and left the party without a word. CEO Choi secretly sent a security guard to this party to watch over his daughter, but even he lost sight of her. When Choi Ye Eun did not return in the morning and did not answer the phone, Madam Lee began to call her friends, but no one knew where her daughter was, so she came to the station." he added.

"But why are you telling me this, Chief? I don't think the disappearance of this girl is related to the case I am dealing with now." Joo Chan interrupted him.

"I'm getting to that now." the Chief Kim replied. "Yesterday morning, on the road leading to the house where the party was taking place, a passerby found a small bouquet of cherry blossoms, clearly sprinkled with blood. He notified the police and the bouquet was immediately tested to find out whose blood it was. Due to the fact that it was found near the place where Choi Ye Eun stayed for the last time, and a card with her name was attached to the bouquet, the tests were done to determine if it could be her blood. And just now the results came, unfortunately confirming this. That is why I collected all the information gathered so far regarding the disappearance of Choi Ye Eun and personally I wanted to give it to you." he added, showing a paper folder, but when Joo Chan wanted to take her, he pulled his hand away.

"What now?" asked Joo Chan, clearly annoyed.

"When the Choi family learned that their daughter may be the victim of the Cherry Blossom Reaper they turned straight to the Commissioner General and asked that someone more competent take care of the case, because they see that it is still unsolved and are afraid that their daughter's disappearance will remain a mystery just as the previous ones." explained the Chief. "That's why Commissioner General instructed me to change the detective. I want to note that I wouldn't agree if it were not for the pressure from the Choi family." he continued, then looked apologetically at Joo Chan. "Therefore, forgive me, but I had no choice. I stand by the wall, do you understand?" and when he nodded, Chief continued again. "As of today, the Cherry Blossom Reaper case is transferred to detective Kim Soo Min." he announced.

"Why are you giving her the case?" Joo Chan asked indignantly.

"Whether you like it or not, Kim Soo Min is currently the best detective in our Section. Also, I have to admit sadly that you haven't made much progress since you received this case." the Chief admitted, sighing slightly. "Honestly from the beginning I wanted to give her this case, but Soo Min already had another one to solve back then. Therefore, please give her all files today, officer Min." he added.

"I understand. I will pass all the files to officer Kim." Joo Chan surrendered, then turned to his partner, "Jung Mo-yah, help me." he said, and they both headed toward their desks to get all the case files out of the cabinets.

"I also have another matter directly for you." Chief turned to Soo Min and she immediately focused all his attention on him. "Come with me." he ordered, then went out into the corridor, and Soo Min followed him. They went to the main part of the police station, specifically to Chief's office. When they entered the room, Soo Min immediately saw a young man sitting opposite the desk, who, seeing them, immediately stood up and saluted. He looked younger, but was a head taller than Soo Min, had black hair long enough to cover his ears, and the bangs fell slightly on his left eye. With this face he could successfully become a model, actor or even an idol. Only his silhouette matched the image of the model policeman almost perfectly: broad shoulders and arms, muscular body clearly visible through the tight black shirt he was wearing, plus well-developed legs. This man certainly ran fast, and it was highly possible that he did some martial arts.

"Soo Min, this is Jung Hyun Woo, an officer from Gwangju city in Gyeonggi Province. He is 28 years old, was promoted recently and transferred to Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Investigation Department, Violent Crime Section as a reward for solving a very complicated case in which a middle-aged man kidnapped, raped and murdered boys between 6 and 12 years old." the Chief introduced the young man.

"I heard about it on the news. A very difficult case." replied Soo Min. "Good job, I'm not surprised you got a promotion. Congratulations." she turned to Hyun Woo, smiling slightly, but since she wasn't used to complimenting others, it turned out a bit artificial and probably that's why he smiled back so faintly.

"Hyun Woo." Chief turned to him. "That's officer Kim Soo Min, our best detective. As in Violent Crime Section one spot is open, you will work there now peacefully and will be Soo Min's partner." he announced, causing Hyun Woo's slightly wider smile, and surprise on her face.

"Chief, I think I said already that I don't need a partner." Soo Min spoke up.

"I know you said that. But Hyun Woo needs to work with someone from whom he can learn a lot and you seem to be the best candidate." Chief replied, then approached a bit so that his next words could be heard only by her. "Besides, he is new and certainly not like the rest of your colleagues. I think it's better for him to land in your hands than anyone of the rest, don't you think? It would be a shame for such a nice boy to change into, for example, the next detective Min Joo Chan. I think it's enough that Lee Jung Mo is following in his footsteps..." he added, clearly knowing how to approach her.

Soo Min sighed slightly, closing eyes for a moment. He was right, it would certainly be bad. Finally she raised her eyelids and looked first at Hyun Woo and then at Chief Kim.

"All right then. He can become my partner." she finally agreed.

"Wonderful!" said Chief, smiling broadly. "I know you're good at your job and don't need much help, but if you will keep on working all alone, you might die from overworking yourself. And I can't allow it, your skills are too valuable." he added finally.

Soo Min only rolled her eyes slightly in response, but a slight smile appeared on her face.

"In that case, I am very happy to be able to work with you, officer Kim Soo Min." Hyun Woo spoke up, and joy was clearly audible in his voice.

"You can now take him with you, show the station and the Section. He should take Dae Shim's former desk, since it stand right next to yours." commanded Chief.

"Okay. Come with me." Soo Min turned to Hyun Woo and he immediately went out into the corridor with her. She showed him the station, and before they entered the room where the Violent Crime Section headquarters was located, Soo Min turned to him.

"Now we will enter our Section. I need to warn you that 'pigs in uniforms' reside here." she said.

"Pigs in uniforms?" asked Hyun Woo, surprised.

"That's what I call our colleagues. They deserve this title, and as soon as you get to know them better, you'll find out why and admit I'm right." Soo Min answered, finally opening the door. When they entered the room, curious glances immediately fell on Hyun Woo.

"We have a new friend?" Jung Mo asked, clearly pleased.

"Wait, I know your face from somewhere." Han Eul interjected. "Aren't you the policeman from Gwangju who solved the case of this bastard who kidnapped, raped and killed young boys?" he asked curiously.

"Yes, that's right." Hyun Woo replied. "I was promoted and directed here." he added after a moment.

"This is officer Jung Hyun Woo from Gwangju city in Gyeonggi Province. He was directed to us and will be my partner." added Soo Min.

"Wow, this is new." said Joo Chan. "I thought you didn't need anybody to help." he added with a bit of malice in his voice.

"I had no choice. Chief Kim urged me to take care of him." Soo Min answered calmly, not letting him provoke her again.

"Hyun Woo-ssi, you're a good-looking man." Jung Mo said, wanting to change the subject. "How old are you? I would like to know if I still remain maknae or not." he added with a slight smile.

"I am 28 years old." answered Hyun Woo.

"So I have another hyung." said Jung Mo, clearly happy, but soon Joo Chan interrupted him, urging him to go back to moving files to Soo Min's desk.

"Your desk will be here." Soo Min turned to Hyun Woo, pointing to the desk next to her. "You can move it a bit closer, we will work together after all." she added, and he immediately got to work. Then Hyun Woo and Soo Min began to sort out the files of the Cherry Blossom Reaper case that Joo Chan gave them.

"We will be taking care of this case?" asked Hyun Woo, clearly shocked after seeing the name written on every folder of the files.

"Yes, today this case was handed over to me." confirmed Soo Min. "The daughter of the CEO of the fashion house, Choi Ye Eun, is missing. It turns out that the bouquet of artificial cherry blossoms found yesterday has her blood sprinkled on it. Finding out about that, Choi's family put pressure on Commissioner General and that's why the detective was changed." she explained.

"Wow, this family is really powerful, right?" asked Hyun Woo. "I heard that the families of other missing and murdered girls also asked to change the detective, because the case got stuck, but then no one reacted." he added after a while.

"Welcome to the great world of our capital. The people of Gangnam are generally rich or have power, but in the case of the Choi family, they have both." Soo Min replied, sighing slightly.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After organizing all the files, Soo Min and Hyun Woo immediately went through them to thoroughly learn about the Cherry Blossom Reaper case. It all started at the beginning of the year, in January, about five months ago, since it was May now.

The first victim was Lee Eun Jung, a 21-year-old model from an agency run by a man named Seo In Sung. The next day after her disappearance, Eun Jung was found in the same place where she was kidnapped, with a slit throat. Next to her was a small bouquet made of artificial cherry blossoms, all petals sprinkled with the girl's blood. The marks on her wrists and ankles indicated that she had been strapped to something before death. The time of death was defined as five minutes before midnight of the previous day, i.e. exactly 5 hours after she has been kidnapped. Then it seems that Lee Eun Jung was transported to the place from which she disappeared, along with the bouquet. There were no witnesses, and CCTV in this place was located in a way that it only registered the side of the car, so the license plates were not visible, and it was a car into which the victim was pulled. The next day, the same car arrived in the same place, and a hooded man in a black mask and latex gloves put her body on the ground first, then a bouquet. The man moved as if he knew the exact location of the cameras, so that his image could not be read much except that he was tall and rather slim, and his silhouette confirmed the gender more or less.

Another one that disappeared was Kim Min Hee, a novice model from the same agency as Lee Eun Jung. She was 19 years old and one day the girl did not appear at her first session she dreamed of so much. The next day, a bouquet of artificial cherry flowers was found in the park near her home. Tests has confirmed that it was the girl's blood sprinkled on the petals, and recordings from nearby CCTV showed the same hooded man, again in a black mask and latex gloves, that puts something on the face of Min Hee, probably a handkerchief soaked in fluid that was supposed to put her to sleep, and then that she is pulled in a direction where monitoring no longer reached. The next day's recording only showed a hooded man laying a bouquet on the bench next to which he caught Min Hee a day before, but no more details could be drawn from this picture. Unlike her older friend, Min Hee's body was not found.

Joon Hwa Young, 18 years old, an aspiring model, and Min Hee's friend, disappeared two weeks later. Then the scenario repeated itself: the next day, in the place of her disappearance, a bouquet appeared sprinkled with Hwa Young's blood. CCTV footage showed more or less a similar scene to that of Min Hee, only in a different place. However, this did not change the fact that cameras in that place again did not show the entire area exactly, allowing the offender to disappear with the victim outside the frame. Hwa Young's body was also not found.

At this point, the police decided to keep an eye on the other models from this agency, so that if any disappears again, they immediately check the recordings from the cameras and the next day the police will appear at the kidnapping site to be able to capture the perpetrator, when he will be leaving his gruesome bouquet. Unfortunately, it turned out that none of the models were chosen by the Reaper and the plan didn't work.

This time, the victim was Choi Seo Yoon, the 23-year-old daughter of a lawyer, who disappeared when she and her friends went hiking in the evening in Bukhansan National Park. According to friends testimony, Seo Yoon, as usual, outrun the rest significantly, but when they reached the top, she wasn't there. Monitoring was not available, but one elderly man who was coming down testified that he had seen Seo Yoon come off the trail, going between the trees, deeper into the woods. And the next day, just in the middle of the forest, a bouquet sprinkled with Seo Yoon's blood was found, and her body next to it, with several stab wounds to the chest, and the similar marks on her wrists and ankles were also visible, just like in the Lee Eun Jung's case.

Next on the list was Jung Hee Young, 22 years old daughter of the owners of Gangnam's popular cafe. She had a cottage on the outskirts of Seoul where monitoring was not installed at all, because this place was inhabited by only few people. One day, parents simply visited the daughter and found her dead, the cause was an asphyxiation, but this time with no marks on wrists and ankles. And beside her, on the bed, was a bouquet of artificial cherry blossoms, sprinkled with her blood. No signs of burglary were found in the house, which meant Hee Young had to let the killer into the house, probably knowing him. But this fact did not make anything easier, because this girl, helping her parents in the cafe, knew many people, had a lot of friends and acquaintances. Parents also mentioned that she was a nice for everyone, sociable person and had no enemies, which is why her murder was so incomprehensible to them.

The last disappearance attributed to Cherry Blossom Reaper was the one of two girls, talent agency trainees, since two bouquets sprinkled with their blood appeared on the road leading to their dorm. The girls were 16-year-old Shim Eun A and 17-year-old Kim Hae Ran. The kidnapping of both girls again took place in a place where CCTV cameras barely reached. From the distance, it was only visible that a car stopped around the corner of one of the buildings, which again resulted in the non-visibility of license plates, and the hooded figure approached the girls that were returning to the dorm. First, Eun A becomes intoxicated by putting on her face a handkerchief, probably soaked in some liquid, and then dragged to the car, in the meantime Hae Ran escapes behind the building, disappearing from view. However, the figure follows her in pursuit and soon brings back, carrying her in his hands, clearly unconscious, and puts in the car. Then the vehicle drives away, but backing up behind the building instead of driving forward. Again, as if that someone knew that if he drove forward, his car would be too visible.

In general, none of the girls had any specific enemies who could be considered suspects, especially not among men. Each of them had similar features: they were beautiful and young. Each of the girls whose bodies were found died between 10 p.m. and 12 a.m. Although the cause of death was different, two of the three killed girls had visible marks on the wrists and ankles, indicating that they were probably strapped, perhaps to something like a hospital bed. However, no fingerprints or traces of foreign DNA were found on any of the bodies. Personal belongings of each of the victims that they had at the time of the abduction, such as handbags, documents or telephones, also belonging to those who still had the status of missing, were always found a few days later near the garbage dumps, of course in places where monitoring did not reach.

At first, when models from one agency disappeared, suspicion fell on the owner, 40 years old Seo In Sung. Mainly because this man was generally considered a weirdo and huge admirer of beauty, in addition the perfectionist to the exaggeration. There were also rumors that he had abused models if they had done something wrong. However, this could not be proved, besides the models who fell victim to the Cherry Blossom Reaper belonged rather to his favorites and he very much regretted their loss. Although he was similar in height and figure to a hooded man, and also liked to buy artificial flowers, he even had a cherry blossom bouquet in his house, but after searching his property no car was found which was even slightly similar to the one on the CCTV recordings, also none of the missing women or their bodies were found. And when the Reaper switched from the models to others, the case got complicated again.

Searching for a car without a visible brand or number plates was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Customers of flower shops who recently bought artificial cherry blossoms has been checked, but this search did not bring anything important to the case.

Now the latest victim was Choi Ye Eun. She disappeared on Sunday, on a road leading from a private property where a charity event was taking place. The next day, which was yesterday, her mother reported the daughter missing, and a few hours later a cherry blossom bouquet sprinkled with her blood was found. And this morning, Ye Eun's purse along with her phone, wallet and documents was found by a security guard working during night on the car junkyard, as he finished the shift and was about to go home. Of course, the phone went straight to Cyber Security Division, Digital Forensic Section, where it was supposed to be checked for Ye Eun's telephone contacts and messages. Results could be expected the next day because phone records were to be checked immediately and added to the files too, in particular to trace and check numbers that may not have been saved in the contacts or could even be protected and displayed as a 'private number'.

"Who is the Cherry Blossom Reaper?" Soo Min asked herself, putting down the newest folder with files about Choi Ye Eun. She glanced at the watch on her phone. It was almost 10 p.m. and the room was completely empty. She and Hyun Woo were the only ones sitting at their desks, and the darkness of the night was clearly visible through the window, slightly lit by the moon.

"Hm?" Hyun Woo pulled away from reading, hearing her words. "Going through these files, it's really hard to point anyone as the perpetrator," he continued, sighing heavily. "Do you think we can solve this case?" asked Hyun Woo, looking at her.

"I do not know. But we have to, we can't let this person continue to roam the streets freely, abducting and killing young girls." Soo Min replied. "Besides, only three were found dead. The rest can still be alive. Just because the bouquets were sprinkled with their blood doesn't mean he killed them. At least I want to believe it." she added and her voice trembled slightly.

Hyun Woo looked at his partner for a while. He saw something in her eyes that made him sure that Soo Min was not as mean as she tried to be. Hyun Woo also noticed how the other detectives were treating her, especially Min Joo Chan. He didn't understand it, Soo Min was really good at what she was doing. They should praise her, not harass like this. Hyun Woo decided that he would try to stop this practice somehow, because he did not like it at all. When Hyun Woo was working in Gwangju, at his station rules were clear that upon no one should be looked down on because of the gender.

"I think that if we join forces seriously, we can finally find out who the Cherry Blossom Reaper is. After all, two geniuses can't fail, can they?" he said with amusement to loosen the atmosphere a little and cheer her up a bit.

"I hope, genius, that you'll be ready tomorrow morning to go out." Soo Min answered a bit coldly, but she could not completely hide the smile which appeared on her face.

"Where are we going?" Hyun Woo asked, still cheerful, as if completely ignoring her cold tone.

"We will review the CCTV footage from the place where the bouquet sprinkled with Choi Ye Eun's blood was found and visit the area looking for witnesses, in particular the house where this charity event took place. We will also have to interview the guests of this party." replied Soo Min. "We have a long day ahead of us, so we better go now." she got up from the desk, hiding the last folders with files in the cabinet, and later locked the door with a key.

"Well, you're right." Hyun Woo agreed, and they both left the room, turning off the light and closing the door.

Soo Min got into a car and drove to her apartment, and Hyun Woo went by bus to the place in which he rented the room after arriving in Seoul.