In Gangnam, Seoul's district known for it's wealth and glamour, a series of mysterious disappearances and brutal murders occurs. The criminal is quickly called by public the 'Cherry Blossom Reaper' because of his choice for young, beautiful women and fact, that the day after the kidnapping, in the place of the disappearance, he leaves a small bouquet made of artificial cherry blossoms, slightly sprinkled with the victim's blood. When the daughter of the well-known fashion house CEO disappear, the case is transferred to Kim Soo Min, a female detective from Seoul's Investigation Departament. But as it turns out, the case is not easy to solve, even for such a talented detective as her. The list of suspects is getting longer and evidence does not clearly indicate any of them. [ IMPORTANT: This story is entirely fictional, just like its characters. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. ]
View MoreShe woke up suddenly in a large room illuminated in white light. At first Ye Eun thought she was in the hospital, but 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 going back on foot from the party, at which she quarreled with her boyfriend, felt cold because did not take anything warmer, since she came to the party with him in his car... Then 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 lost consciousness. Ye Eun felt that she shouldn't be here now. Danger - this word was unbearably pounding in her head all the time. Ye Eun didn't know why she agreed to go to him. From the very beginning she felt that something is 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 take a taxi or the bus. Unfortunately, it was too late now for that kind of thoughts now. Ye Eun didn't know exactly what awaited ahead, but something told her that she was in a huge trouble. The very appearance of this room did not bode well.
Right now Ye Eun was lying down on the cold table, strapped tightly. She still felt a little dizzy in her head, probably because of the weird-smelling liquid in which had been soaked the cloth that he had suddenly put on her lips, after suddenly stopping the car halfway 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 few metal cabinets, a trolley table like the one found in the operating room and probably something lying on it, one wooden table on which lay a small bouquet of pink flowers, and a little further you could see a large, metal door probably locked with a code, because by the door lock you could see something like a covered keyboard, similar lock to those she saw on the door of 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 being in some cheap horror movie, but didn't feel like laughing at all. She jerked the straps a few times, holding on to the stupid hope that they would finally let go. Unfortunately, all her efforts came to nothing, so she soon got into a 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, who is not afraid of the murderer.- Help me... Somebody save me...- she tried to scream, but could not let out anything but a pleading whisper, her throat tightened with fear completely.- "Oh God... Save me, please."- at the same time in her mind Ye Eun prayed as fervently as she never did in relatively short time of her twenty-two years of life. Before her eyes the memories began to fly: the mother's face, friends, her beloved boyfriend, an 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 and it was also killing her even more. Ye Eun had no idea how long she was lying down here like this, alone. Dizziness continued and it felt like she was going crazy. Ye Eun knew that if he would come here she will 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 hard to figure out a way of escape while she had at least a minimal chance. Giving up without a fight never was an option, right? Besides, maybe at least she will gain time and really there will be some hero who will save her? Maybe it was a stupid thought, but sometimes in life there were scenarios like from the movie. Being a daughter from a wealthy family, she thought was never in danger of something like this. Since childhood she was guarded by mother and older brother, 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 move anywhere without at least one bodyguard... So why was she so stupid and left this party without a word? Ye Eun doubted that someone would start looking for her, certainly not today. At most tomorrow, if she won't come back home, not answering the phone and her mother would start to worry. But did she had time 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, in all these belts - and 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 then everything else would go downhill. However, the belts seemed to be fastened tightly, and even when she struggled, they were not about to loosen a millimetre.On that day, exactly one month after they took up the "Cherry Blossom Reaper" case, Soo Min and Hyun Woo were just coming out of court after the final trial. Lee Joo Young was found guilty of course, but not entirely aware of his actions. Unfortunately, the final opinion of the forensic doctors clearly indicated his at least partial insanity, so instead of prison, he was locked up in a psychiatric hospital, but in a closed ward, and under the clear custody of the police. The court gave doctors a chance to undergo treatment, at the end of which Lee Joo Young will be examined again to see if the treatment will have any effect on him. If not, and Lee Joo Young continues to unrepent, he will be imprisoned with a life sentence.- A little bittersweet sentence, isn't it?- Hyun Woo asked as they descended the stairs and headed towards the parking lot.- Yes, very much.- Soo Min admitted, sighing heavily.- But that was the opinion of doctors. I don't really believe in Lee Joo Youn
At the beginning of the next week, a lot happened. Firstly, the court hearings of "Cherry Blossom Reaper" began, and with them a huge stir among the public. Although CEO Choi seemed to be completely cut off from his recent son and heir, the attorney firm representing the fashion house and the Choi family decided to represent Joo Young in court, specifically Jang Chang Woo himself as his lawyer. However, he did not try to prove his client's innocence, but to alleviate the punishment as much as possible, based on the preliminary opinion of the forensic psychologist that Lee Joo Young was not completely aware of what he was doing.At the same time, Kim Dong Min, the same one who stayed with Lee Joo Young in a foster family after the Gwangju orphanage burned down, came to the Seoul police station and turned himself in. He confessed of being guilty of helping the "Cherry Blossom Reaper", because Dong Min was a hacker with the nickname 'Void' and all the technical stuff - getting pla
Joo Young hated that thought, therefore, he did not want to see absolutely anyone. But that changed when Joo Young heard that Kim Dong Min wanted to visit him. He even asked for this himself so this man could be let in. His little Dong Min, whom he always wanted to protect from all evil. He knew seeing him would definitely make it all more bearable, however, he was afraid that this visit would make someone suspect that Dong Min had something to do with Joo Young's 'mission', so he had to ensure today that it was Dong Min's first and last visit. No matter how badly he wanted to see him again... Joo Young had to protect Dong Min, he was his hyung after all. Joo Young had decided so from day one, when he had defended his dongsaeng from one of those obnoxious guardians in that damn orphanage, and for that had been given a hard spanking himself in his place. Now it should end exactly the same way - Joo Young had to take the punishment for the two of them.- Dong Min-ah... - he spoke
While being in pre-trial detention, Joo Young had no desire to see anyone, especially Choi Young Sik and his wife, Madam Lee. So he was glad when they stopped trying to get a permission to visit him. He hated these people even though they made his life so good, or at least that's what all the people around him told him. While playing the role of Choi Hyun Sik, Joo Young had heard that he was extremely lucky to be born into such a family. But what these people did not know was that Joo Young was not born into this family at all. The burden of the secret that Choi Young Sik and his wife had thrown on him was a bit unbearable at times. The only thing Joo Young was really grateful for was that he met Ye Eun after entering this family's house. Normally, as an ordinary child, he would never had a chance to meet her. However, it was a bittersweet feeling as he was supposed to be Ye Eun's older brother, so could never show her his true feelings, which probably started to sprout slowly in hi
- Joo Young calmed down, but Ye Eun began to have nightmares and was afraid to approach her brother. She wanted to tell father about it.- Madam Lee replied after taking another sip of coffee.- I told her that she can't tell anyone about it, because it's just such a disease and her brother has already recovered from it. Ye Eun was such an innocent and extremely naive child, believed in everything I told her, so she believed in this too. Ye Eun stayed away from her brother for a while, but after a year she seemed to have completely forgotten about it and normally accosted him, encouraging to play with other children. As they both grew up, she even caught a great contact with him, he spoke to her more willingly than to anyone else. I was very happy about it and I forgot what Joo Young used to do. I was so proud of him, of his academic performance, and then the results of his work. He made such wonderful creations that I was very happy to give him the place of main designer in our fashi
When CEO Choi found out that his son had confessed to everything, he seemed completely devastated. It was evident that he truly believed in his innocence to the end. Madam Lee, on the other hand, seemed much less shocked and Soo Min did not understand it at first, because she thought this woman was the one who would be more devastated by the news.Soo Min went to their house on her own, without the Chief Kim's knowledge, to just tell them about their son, that a court hearing was about to take place and to find out if they would want to attend, because however little they knew about what Hyun Sik was doing, their testimony might help a bit. Besides, Soo Min also felt that although he was not their real son, they had raised him over the years and treated as their own child. No matter what their reasons were at the beginning, they surely loved him at least a little. The more she wanted to tell them what was happening with Hyun Sik, or rather Joo Young, because he himself did not
Blossom Tears by Katherine Monroe is a gripping psychological mystery novel. Underneath the glamorous facade of the Seoul Gangnam district lies a pool of blood. Young and beautiful women begin to disappear. All that is left are bouquets of artificial cherry blossoms. The unknown killer is named the 'Cherry Blossom Reaper.' Kim Soo Min, a lady detective, is on the trail of the murderer. She aims to stop this madness. What is the motive? And her being a woman herself, is she another target for the notorious 'Cherry Blossom Reaper'?
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