21st of April
Seoul City
A body of a man was found inside a black junk bag this morning floating under the Han River Bridge. According to reports, the plastic bag was spotted by local sanitation officers while doing their regular rounds of city sanitation in the morning. Thinking that the bag was just domestic waste, they hauled it into land but were surprised to find a carcass. The body was estimated to be at least two weeks dead and was already decomposing beyond facial recognition. The victim was not wearing any item of clothing but bore some tattoos which led to his identification.There are no witnesses as to who and when the bag was disposed in the river.
He was identified as Kim Jaejoong, 25 years, 182cm in height. Kim was the lead singer of an underground rock band called Maze. He lived alone in an apartment and has no known relatives in Seoul. There are no claims for his remains as of the moment. The case is now under investigation by the FBI.
-Seoul Daily
Bullfight
1800 hours
FBI Main Office Room 105
"So, what do you think? Sir?"
Top FBI female agent. Kwon BoA, 24 years old, graduated number1 in her batch. She manages to look stunning despite the hectic schedule and the stressful nature of her work. Aside from her brown Louis Vuitton bag that lies on the glass table, she wears a monochromatic ensemble of charcoal grey pencil cut skirt, a white top with its long-sleeves rolled to her elbows, thick grey stockings and black stilettos that boost her petite structure by 3 inches.
She looks at the two older men in the room while she pins her shoulder length copper hair in a messy bun.
"What do I think? Isn't it obvious? It was a well planned murder. The bag was weighted down well enough to remain undiscovered for two weeks. The body has decomposed well enough for us not to get any fingerprints or a lead of any sort. At this point it would be easy breezy for us to hunt the bastard down. That's what I think, honey." Agent Jang WooHyuk replies with sarcasm in his tone as he pulls on his necktie and winks at Kwon.
Before Kwon could protest at the word Agent Ahn ChilHyun is quick to aid to her. "Well, Agent Jang I think what BoA wants to ask is what we think the motive for the murder is. Kim is stark naked. His chest ripped open and his heart missing along with his private part. It was withheld from the papers. We also found some flowers in place of his heart. Are we smelling a love angle here? Some black widow killed her lover due to jealousy perhaps? The kid was a kkotminam. What do you say Shim?"
"Sorry for being late. Overtime shooting session at the academy.” Agent Shim pants heavily as he puts down his coat and reaches for the case's file. A man of few words, six-footer Shim Changmin towers above everyone in the room. The youngest agent in the department. Kwon is his sunbae by a year but he is nonetheless one of the best rookies the FBI has ever had. Nicknamed MAX by his colleagues; Maximum output in minimal time. He always lived up to great expectations. In merely eleven months in service he has busted three of the biggest drug dens in the city and solved two murder cases on top of teaching gunnery to trainees at the academy.
“Look who we have here. Well if it isn’t MAX. The legendary rookie Shim Changmin. Don’t tell me this case is also assigned to you? They wouldn’t be needing any of us here then if that’s the case.” Jang greets him. They have always been barely civil to each other ever since Shim was training at the academy while Jang and Ahn were instructors. Changmin was brilliant and WooHyuk was an insecure bigot. Jang makes it a point to put down Shim who was his junior by a decade every chance he gets but Shim was just too smart and favored by others like Agent Ahn to get recycled. This makes him even more peeved.
“Old Lee thinks that this is not some petty murder case. That’s why he commissioned the four of us to solve this case in the shortest time possible.” another effort by Ahn to break the tense environment. He fixes his glasses with his index and squints. Despite looking older than Jang because of stress in the field, Ahn ChilHyun is undoubtedly attractive for a man his age and profession. Maybe it was the fatherly image he shows to his juniors. Women in the department and in the academy, Kwon not exempted, find Ahn extremely endearing.
"Cause of death?"
"Extreme blood loss."
“What are the flowers you found in his chest?” Shim asks without raising head from his copy of the case.
“They are small red clusters, Agent Shim. They have been identified as Amaranthus Caudatus, a tropical Indian plant. It is an annual flowering plant, meaning they bloom only once a year, specifically in summer. They grow from about 3 to 8 feet in full sunlight. So here in Korea you can grow them indoors during the colder seasons and transfer them outdoors when the snow is gone.”
“Kwon seem to have studied her case better than Shim. Not bad for a girl.”
“You really have to insult someone every time you open that mouth of yours Mr. Jang?” Kwon finally snaps. If there is one thing that BoA can not stand, it is sexual discrimination. It is worse than physical assault. Ahn could not mediate now. “If you do not have anything that would be of any help to this case, Sir… I would really appreciate it, Sir, if you could refrain from your nasty remarks coz I’ve already had it up to here.” She storms out of the room but returns after a second to get her LV bag still on the glass table then heads for the door again. Ahn runs after the female agent, leaving Jang, Shim, and the awkwardness in the blue room.
Rolling in the Deep
1835 hours
Silence.
Clicking of pen.
Silence.
1840 hours
The scars of your love remind me of us
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all
The scars of your love, they leave me breathless
I can't help feeling...We could have had it all. Rolling in the deep.
Shim’s phone is ringing. He would usually put his mobile on silent but he was waiting for an important call that day.
Without a word Shim gathers his coat and files, leaves the room. Only then he answers his phone.
“Hyung~” there is tenderness in his voice.
“Changminah, come out and play with hyung today.” the husky voice on the other line says.
“I can’t hyung. I have a lot of work to do. Heard the news about the body found in Han River today? I’m working on it.” he suddenly has more than two sentences to say.
“How about tomorrow? Tomorrow is good right? Come on Changminnie~ hyung is really lonely. I think I just might drop dead and die of loneliness. ” the man on the other line pleads like a little child.
“Hyung? You are a famous composer. Rich and handsome. Girls can’t leave you alone. How could you possibly be lonely? And besides tomorrow is also a no. Hundred days with Mayi. I.. You know I’d be glad to have a round of drinks with you but.. I… I can’t.”
“Got it, kiddo. Aigoo… Our Changminnie has grown up so much. Can’t even come see his old hyung because he’s got a girlfriend now.”
“Hyung~?”
“I was kidding. Say hi to the foreigner for me. Tell her I can’t introduce her to Jiyoung anymore since we already broke up. Take care, kiddo. ” Then the line goes dead.
Ah, so Jiyoung broke up with him. That fool. That’s why he called all of a sudden. He would sometimes go for weeks without contacting me when he’s busy with his career and his women. Fine with it. But dating a woman 11years his senior, what was he thinking? She’s practically his aunt.
At this same moment, someone else in the city is taking a call.
The Flowers
1845 hours
FleurCœur Flower Shop
“Yunhoya~ how have you been?”
“I’m doing well, Chan-hyung. What have you been up to? I haven’t heard from you in two weeks?”
“Well, you know… business. I’m in Macau right now. I don’t think I’d be back soon. Just checkin if you’re a-okay.” He pauses. “Seems you’re fine so… yeah…Just called to say hello.”
“Are you alright hyung?”
“I’m great. I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. Haha. I’m having a good time here.” His words were carefree but his voice says otherwise.
“I gotta go. I have a transaction in a few minutes here. I’ll call you if ever I meet a fine Cantonese girl to give some flowers to. Ayt? Goodbye.” He ends the call and takes a gulp of scotch.
“See you soon.” Yunho stares at a distance as the line beeps.
He stands up, puts on his reading glasses and greets the customer with a smile.
“These are very fresh ma’am. I cultivated them myself. This variety is called love-lies-bleeding, a very good choice.”
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