Chapter 2 — The Chasing Begins

[Sunbae-nim – an even more polite way to address an older or more experienced colleague at work or school.

Noona – a polite way for a younger male to address an older female, usually when they're close.]

The next morning, as it was decided earlier, Soo Min and Hyun Woo went out into the city. First they checked the CCTV footage from the area where the bouquet sprinkled with Choi Ye Eun's blood was left.

A recording from the early morning of the day the bouquet was found showed a very similar scene to the previous recordings of the other girls' cases: a fairly tall slim man in a gray hoodie and latex gloves with a black mask on his face. Neatly stretched hood and mask made it impossible to see even a piece of his face, and the slightly stretched hoodie material also masked most of the details of his silhouette. It was hard to tell, but it seemed he wore the same sneakers as before, which, however, were barely visible under the material of dark denim trousers, which had clearly too long legs. As before, the figure avoided soft ground, walking only on the asphalt part of the road, clearly not wanting to leave footprints. In general, it moved so that even for a moment from under the hood did not protrude a piece of face. No car could be seen in the camera's range, but the figure entered the screen from the road side, so the car could just stand where the image from the cameras couldn't reach. Additionally, the cameras did not record sound, so even if there was a car and departed, you couldn't confirm it.

The next recording showed the day before, Sunday, but the interesting part started only in the footage from the evening. First, the image on the recording showed a figure, a girl fully matching the description of Choi Ye Eun. She was walking along the road showing clear signs of fatigue and shivering slightly, but no wonder, she was wearing a sleeveless blouse and a mini skirt when in the evening, the weather was usually too cold to wear such clothes. According to information from Madam Lee, Ye Eun's mother, she went to a charity event in her fiancé's car, so she was not prepared to return alone and wasn't wearing anything warmer. At one point, when Ye Eun disappears from the image of the first camera and appears after almost a minute in the image of the next one, a car stops on the road. Of course, in such a place that the camera manages to capture only the roof, part of the back and side of the car, as before the picture cuts before the license plates or even brand marks. Ye Eun hesitantly approaches the car in which the door opens, then it seems that she recognizes the person behind the wheel, but the camera, because of the late hour and the darkening sky causing a lack of light, is unable to capture the driver's features. Finally, Ye Eun gets into the car and closes the door. The car pulls away, but not straight, it turns for a moment into the opposite lane, so that the entire image of the car disappears between the trees that block the upper part of the camera image, and that's it. After watching, the recordings were ripped to a disc which was to be forwarded to Cyber Security Division, Digital Forensic Section.

"I have no idea how somebody can cover the tracks so well." Soo Min said when they finished watching the recordings and already had the disc, putting it in the briefcase that was in her car.

"There has been a lot of criminals in world history who have been able to cover their tracks very well." Hyun Woo spoke up. "That is why some cases remain unsolved to this day or are solved for years. Some even say there are many more serial killers on the loose than those who's been punished." he added and sighed heavily.

"I know." replied Soo Min, getting into the car from the driver's side, and in the meantime Hyun Woo took the passenger seat. "But I won't let Cherry Blossom Reaper to still belong to this 'hanging-on-the-loose' group. I will catch him sooner or later, even if I'll have to chase him for the rest of my life." she added with visible determination, inserting the key into the ignition and starting the engine.

"Where now?" asked Hyun Woo, at the same time admiring her enthusiasm.

"We'll leave the disc in the Cyber Security Division, Digital Forensic Section first, so that they can check it as soon as possible. Maybe they will be able to get the picture of the driver, or see the license plates behind these trees." Soo Min replied, entering the road.

Hyun Woo nodded, directing his gaze ahead. The first thing he noticed immediately while working with Soo Min was the fact that she was very professional in her work. She didn't seem to mix any unnecessary feelings, which made her seem a bit cold. But Hyun Woo thought it was just her way of doing the job. There were some emotions in her eyes, especially when she was watching camera recordings today. However, Soo Min clearly suppressed them, probably thinking that they would hinder her logical thinking. And all in all it wasn't such a bad tactic, Hyun Woo knew several officers in Gwangju who did their job in similar, if not the same, way. Kim Soo Min intrigued him even more and not only he wanted to learn from her about detective work, but also to get to know her better.

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When they finally arrived at the station, Soo Min Soo Min took the disc and went inside. Knowing the building well, she climbed the stairs to the 1st floor without hesitation, and Hyun Woo followed her like a shadow. They entered a corridor at the end of which was a door with the inscription 'Cyber Security Division'. Soo Min put her ID card on the reader located on the nearby wall and pulled the handle, opening the door. Hyun Woo came in with her, closing the door behind him. Several people in the main office said hello to Soo Min, and she replied, Hyun Woo bowed every now and again, seeing curious looks on himself. The first thing he quickly noticed was that definitely more women worked here. Soo Min finally stopped at the next door, this time described as 'Digital Forensic Section'. She knocked and pressed the handle, opening the door.

"Can we come in?" asked Soo Min, looking inside.

"Sure!" a female voice answered.

When Soo Min entered the room, Hyun Woo followed her and finally saw the owner of that female voice: a short and terribly thin girl, certainly not more than 30 years old, who had long hair in a ponytail, dyed fiery red. The woman wore glasses, but it didn't bother her to keep the makeup fairly strong and her facial features were sharp.

"Hi, Hye Sun. Where is the rest?" Soo Min asked slightly surprised.

"Hey, Soo Min. They went to lunch." explained Hye Sun, quite focused on the computer screen, not looking up.

"Is this already that time?" Soo Min was even more surprised and glanced at her phone. "In fact, it is..." she added, but in a moment broke away from the screen and put the phone in her pocket. "Get to know each other." Soo Min pointed to her partner. "This is Jung Hyun Woo, a new detective in our Section and my partner." she introduced him, and the girl finally looked up from her computer. "Hyun Woo, this is Min Hye Sun, 27 years old and our IT and video footage specialist." then Soo Min also introduced her colleague.

"I heard about you." replied Hye Sun, and the tone of her voice got somehow sweeter, then she approached Hyun Woo and reached out her hand to greet. "It's great that I can finally meet you personally." she added smiling flirtatiously.

"Nice to meet you too." he replied, squeezing her hand lightly.

"Wow, Kim Soo Min, how lucky you are." Hye Sun turned to her. "You will spend long hours with such a handsome man. I envy you, really. There are no such guys in my Section." she added, slightly disappointed with this fact.

"Calm down, we're still at work, don't you remember?" Soo Min turned to her warningly, but with a bit of amusement. "Besides, from what I remember, almost every guy is handsome for you." she sighed, then showed her the disc. "Besides, we have a job for you. This disc contains recordings from cameras in the area where a bouquet sprinkled with Choi Ye Eun's blood was found. We want you to check if you can get any details about the perpetrator and his car, visible on the recordings. Get as much information as possible from the footage." Soo Min instructed her while handing over the disc.

"OK, no problem. I will take care of it today and then send you along with other materials." assured Hye Sun. "I was just checking this girl's phone and I am waiting for her telephone billings." she added, taking the disc.

"Okay, then we'll wait." Soo Min replied. "Now we have to go, we still have some things to do. I have a guest list for this event Choi Ye Eun was in and we need to talk to them." she added, heading for the door, Hyun Woo right behind her.

"Hyun Woo oppa, I hope we can talk again," said Hye Sun, sending him a flirtatious smile as a farewell.

He just nodded and smiled slightly, then sighed after being out in the corridor.

"She's fast, isn't she?" Soo Min asked him, slightly amused.

"A little bit." admitted Hyun Woo and also smiled, pleasantly surprised by her tone.

Then they went through the office and left Cyber Security Division, went down the stairs and out of the station. However, before they drove off to question the guests of the charity party, Soo Min took Hyun Woo for lunch to one of the nearby restaurants.

"Wow, I didn't expect that we would go to such a nice place." said Hyun Woo, looking around the place, when they sat down at the table.

"Well, maybe I'm a bit fussy for that matter, but when I eat outside, I don't like to eat just anywhere, I like to choose only good places." Soo Min answered. "Let's order something relatively fast, because work is waiting for us." she added.

He only nodded and they both decided on a bowl of kimchi ramen, some rice and fried fish.

"Wow, it's all really delicious." admitted Hyun Woo. "Of course it doesn't beat my mother's cooking, but still, it's really good." he added with slight amusement.

"Nothing beats food made by a mother." Soo Min agreed. "However, it is difficult for me to come to my mother for dinner these days. We are not on good terms lately." she sighed.

"Hm? Why?" Hyun Woo asked, slightly worried. "If of course I can ask. I do not want to get nosy or something..." he assured right away.

"All right, it's not a secret." Soo Min replied, glancing at him. "To put it simply, my mother wants me to get married as soon as possible. So much so that she arranges blind dates for me lately and makes me go on them." she paused, sipping some water, then continued. "But I don't feel like dating, so I'm not going on them and that's what make the problem. Every time I won't go to the arranged date, my mother calls me with pretensions and grudge." Soo Min sighed. "I understand that she can be worried about me and would like to have grandchildren because I'm her only child... But at times my mom really exaggerates." she added.

"I understand." Hyun Woo said after hearing her story. "My mother doesn't insist on marriage so much, but I'm a bit younger, and men are treated a bit easier about that. At least, I think so." he noted. "After all, a man is required to earn enough first before he would be able to start a family. And of course after military service. That's what my father always says." he added, plucking with his chopsticks the remains of meat from a fish-bone.

"I know that men do not have much easier life because they are just put to slightly different requirements... But sometimes I would prefer to be a man anyway." Soo Min confessed. "Why, if a woman wants to focus on work and doesn't even think about marriage, then everyone look at her crookedly?" she continued, clearly annoyed. "I'm only 30, is it really that much? I can still start a family..." Soo Min stopped suddenly, realizing that she had already exposed herself too much to a new colleague.

"Sunbae-nim, if you want to know my opinion..." Hyun Woo replied, looking at her. "You still have plenty of time, Sunbae. There is no point in rushing with something just to please someone else, even if it's one of your parents." he continued without taking his eyes off her. "Soo Min-ssi, getting married is a serious matter, which is why you need to be sure that you want it and chose the right person." he summed up, causing by his words a clear surprise on her face.

"Jung Hyun Woo." Soo Min said every syllable of his name slowly. "You are strange, but in a positive sense, of course." she continued, still looking at him. "If all the people in Gwangju are like you, maybe I should move there?" Soo Min added with a slight amusement.

"It's not been long since I moved to Seoul, but after some initial observation, I think people in Gwangju are a little bit nicer." Hyun Woo admitted. "But except you, Noona. You are really nice, pretty and I am glad that I can work with you." he admitted slightly embarrassed because of his impudence, because he did not know how she would react to how he called her. Hyun Woo knew he should ask first, but wanted to get close to her a little.

Soo Min frowned at his speech.

"How did you call me just now?" she asked, clearly dissatisfied and her earlier smile disappeared completely.

"N... Noona." Hyun Woo replied, slightly scared by her face expression.

"You should ask first, don't you think?" said Soo Min, a little angry. "Maybe other girls like such boldness, but for me there is nothing cool about it. For me it's just a sign of disrespect." she continued, looking angrily at him all the time. "I remind you that we are at work. And we are certainly not on friendly terms yet. I don't even let Jung Mo call me Noona, even though I've known him much longer than we've known each other. That's why don't call me like that anymore. To you, I am Sunbae or Soo Min-ssi, understand?" she added. Her expression now became almost completely unfriendly.

"I understand." Hyun Woo replied, repentant. "I'm sorry, Sunbae. This will not happen again." he assured, lowering his head. Hyun Woo was sorry even though it seemed to him she was exaggerating... But he had to respect her decision.

"Okay then. Let's finish the food quickly, we still have work to do." Soo Min announced and they ate the rest of the meal in silence. Hyun Woo saddened immediately but Soo Min didn't seem to care, though it was obvious she was a bit awkward in this situation.

Finally, when they finished eating, Soo Min asked for the bill and took out the card straight away.

"I will pay." she said, seeing his surprised expression.

"Maybe we should at least split the bill..." Hyun Woo began, a little bit perplexed.

"I will pay, really. As a Sunbae, I should at least buy you a meal for your good work, right?" Soo Min replied, trying to smile lightly. "Besides, you just started work, and I know how hard it is at the beginning. Even more that you came here from a smaller city." she explained. "Besides, if you want, you'll be able to pay next time." Soo Min added after a moment.

"Okay, Sunbae." Hyun Woo replied, his face brightening again. All his sadness vanished in one moment. Yes, her earlier words hurt him, but the fact that she paid for their meal said a lot. He watched her and saw that Soo Min clearly was a bit ashamed for attacking him so much and probably wanted somehow to ease the situation. It surprised him very much and confirmed only that his partner was indeed a really nice person. Hyun Woo hoped that someday Soo Min would be convinced enough that they would be able to speak in a slightly less formal language with each other. For now, however, he decided to speak formally so as not to cause further quarrels and misunderstandings. After all, if they were to be partners, they had to be on good terms with each other. Additionally, Hyun Woo could not stand her cold look and tone when she was angry. He preferred to see her happier and smiling more.

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After eating, Soo Min and Hyun Woo got into the car and, having a guest list on hand, visited them one by one, asking questions about Choi Ye Eun. Unfortunately, only few people had direct contact with her at this event, and no one noticed her disappearance, except perhaps the bodyguard who was supposed to watch her. Many repeated that they should talk to Ye Eun's fiancé, since he was with her most of the time. In any case, talking to the guests of the event did not bring much to the case and Soo Min felt that they were wasting time. The organizer of the charity party had a guest list that was checked both on entering and leaving. And the only person who didn't leave the party through the front door, with others, was Choi Ye Eun. So it was doubtful that any of the guests had something to do with her disappearance, or could be a witness. Ye Eun managed to walk away from the mansion a good few kilometers before getting into the mysterious car and disappearing.

The security guard sent by Ye Eun's father, CEO Choi Young Sik, was first looking for the girl around the entire mansion before he went outside, and this house was huge. Then he also had to check the equally big garden behind the house. Unfortunately, while the man was still searching that place, Choi Ye Eun was already far away on the road, getting into the kidnapper's car. The security guard was clearly depressed while Soo Min and Hyun Woo were talking with him. Because of this incident he not only lost job, but in general his career was over, because no one would want to hire him, since he lost the person he was supposed to keep an eye on. Hyun Woo tried to cheer him up somehow and he succeeded a bit. Soo Min looked at her partner slightly surprised with how much empathy he addressed the man. Definitely Hyun Woo was different than the rest of her colleagues in the Section. That's why Soo Min was glad that she decided to take him under her wing. And at the same time she felt a little guilty that didn't do the same when Jung Mo appeared in their Section year ago.

Seeing the recording from the cameras one could see that Ye Eun knew the driver for sure. She talked to him briefly and without much resistance got into his car. The same was with one of the previous victims, Jung Hee Young, a daughter of the owners of Gangnam's cafe. Hee Young also apparently knew the perpetrator because she let him into her house, for there were not even the smallest signs of burglary.

Because of that, after returning to the station, Soo Min decided to check the list of people who those both girls knew and see if any names would repeat. Soo Min felt that she must find a trail that would move the investigation forward. The case of the Cherry Blossom Reaper stood in a blind spot far too long. When Min Joo Chan was taking care of it, there were not even any certain suspects, except for the short episode with Seo In Sung, who was suspected at the very beginning and it was mainly because the first victims were models from his agency. However, the only thing that could tie him to the perpetrator was his height, figure and the fact that he had a bouquet made of artificial cherry blossoms in his house. It was true that Seo In Sung was an admirer of beauty, a perfectionist, and was famous for his somewhat unstable behavior. Therefore, at that time, it was very easy to think him guilty. However, due to a lack of hard evidence, Seo In Sung was released, all the time invariably claiming that he was innocent. But Soo Min, already having a list of people who both Choi Ye Eun and Jung Hee Young knew, saw that his name also appeared on it. She knew that soon after talking to the Choi family and Ye Eun's fiancé, they would also have to question him again.

To Hyun Woo she gave the task to call Choi Ye Eun's parents to arrange the most convenient hour for the detective's visit, then also to the girl's fiancé for the same purpose. Madam Lee invited them for tomorrow's early morning, as the CEO Choi had a little bit of time only before work. Then they were supposed to go to the office of the lawyer Jang Chang Woo, who was the father of Choi Ye Eun's fiancé, and tomorrow his son did not have classes at the university and worked with him from the morning.

"I hope we can finally find something helpful." Hyun Woo spoke up, hanging up the telephone after the conversation with the lawyer Jang Chang Woo office. "For now, it doesn't point to any specific person. How can there be practically no circumstantial evidence in the investigation?" he asked more to himself, obviously surprised by this discovery.

"I am not saying this maliciously, but it is mainly because Joo Chan had this case." answered Soo Min. "And he is not suitable for solving more complicated mysteries. He is strong, seems to be indestructible, slightly unpredictable and that scares the majority of criminals... But when Joo Chan has to use his head instead of muscles, the real problem begins." she sighed lightly. "And when it comes to the Cherry Blossom Reaper case, you need your head a lot more than anything else." she added, and returned to looking at the rest of the names on the lists.

"Well, that's true." Hyun Woo agreed. "When I caught that degenerate in Gwangju, I felt like Sherlock Holmes after solving a huge mystery, I was so proud. But now I see that compared to 'Reaper', that guy is nothing." he admitted. "I'm starting to wonder if I really deserved this promotion..." Hyun Woo added, sighing heavily.

"Yah, stop talking nonsense." Soo Min scolded him. "It's difficult to get a promotion and transfer to a Seoul, especially if you come from a smaller city, so if you got it, then deservedly." she assured him. "Also, I followed the case of that Gwangju monster you caught. And as a detective with more experience I can tell you that it was also a difficult case. That's true that the perpetrator was not so intelligent and left some traces, but this doesn't mean that the case was easy. Besides, you were more of an intervention policeman than a detective, right?" Soo Min asked, although she knew the answer to that question.

"Well, that's right." Hyun Woo confirmed. "Thanks for thinking so." he smiled slightly. "Why didn't you mention that you know so much about it, Sunbae?" he asked then.

"You know, everyone around praised you so much, so I didn't want you to feel too confident. It does not really help in our work." answered Soo Min and smiled gently.

"Well, it could happen." said Hyun Woo with a slight amusement. "Wow, no wonder, that's my Sunbae. I seriously feel like I will learn a lot and be safe under your wings, officer Kim." he added, smiling broadly.