( *Sunbae - someone higher in hierarchy in school or work, usually older.)
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, 55 years old Chief Superintendent General, a 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 remorsely.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 fiance, 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.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