Close To Midnight

Chapter 1

Jeongyeon's head pounded with a hangover she was nursing. "Fucking ungrateful motherfuckers." She slid on her sunglasses, and kicked the car door open. Uttering some more curses under her breath, she made her way to the tall building that was buzzing with men and women in uniform.

She finally had solved a difficult case a month ago. Instead of patting her on the back and giving her a Medal of Honor for killing the rapist of a young mother, she'd been sent off on a paid leave for a few weeks and then got a transfer to a district that most detectives considered a punishment or a nightmare. She was Yoo Jeongyeon. She considered it a reward.

"Chief is waiting for you." A man grumbled pointing to a room at the end of the corridor.

She was just about to step in the corridor when a small figure dashed through the side entrance, bumping into her with a force that sent her sunglasses flying.

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry." A flustered girl said.

Picking up her sunglasses off the floor, Jeongyeon scowled at her. "What are you doing at the station kid?" She gritted her teeth. "Shouldn't you be at school?"

A amused smile was what she got in return.

"Detective Yoo Jeongyeon. Detective Son Chaeyoung." An authoritative voice cut Jeongyeon's glare short.

She recognized her as Chief Officer Kim Dahyun. "Detective Son Chaeyoung?" Her eyebrows scrunched in a frown when she finally grasped her Chief's words.

The amused smile grew bigger.

God help her. She wasn't ready to work on the biggest serial killer case the country had ever known with a seven year old.

"I'm 22 years old." The girl grinned making her dimples prominent.

Jeongyeon took a sip of her coffee to slow down the irritation that was already creeping upon her. She walked inside briskly to find a hoard of new faces crowding a desk.

After few formalities, and a welcome speech that Jeongyeon was entirely uninterested in, the chief started with the introductions.

"That's Tzuyu. Senior computer forensics officer." The chief pointed to a tall, serious looking girl.

"To your right is Officer Hirai Momo. She's the head of profiling unit." Jeongyeon gave a nod to the officer who was wearing a big goofy smile.

"And you've already met Son Chaeyoung." Jeongyeon frowned at the teasing expression she found on the younger girl. Great, she had to partner with someone inexperienced, and a total brat. "Don't get fooled by her youthful appearance. She is a prodigy of sorts."

"Can we get to the case Chief?" Jeongyeon asked impatiently.

The room dimmed slightly as a slide came on the projector screen. It was a body of a young woman, lifeless and cold, halfway through the decaying process.

"This is the first victim we can link to the Cupid Murders." Dahyun clicked on the next slide. An image of another young woman in a similar position came on screen. "Same pattern repeated. Woman in 20's. Knife in heart."

"How do we know it's the same murderer? There are crazies out there who read about a murder and try to repeat the pattern." Jeongyeon interrupted.

"The knife marks show us that the same knife was used. The style of execution is also very similar, a quick knock to the head that renders the victim useless, no sexual attack and stabbing of the heart. Everything is repeated so precisely in all the murders. Most of these details weren't published in the news, it's confidential information. The only person who would know all these is the murderer." Momo explained as they switched on to the third slide.

Dahyun paused on the fourth slide. "Until the third murder which happened on February 14, 2021, victims had only been women. After the Valentine Day murder the killer began to target men as well."

"Again the weapon used, the thickness of the wound, the depth, the style of execution, it proves that all the murders are connected." Chaeyoung interjected before Jeongyeon could open her mouth.

"A total of 6 murders so far. 3 women, 3 men and we haven't got a single clue to the murderer." The Chief turned off the projector. Crossing her arms, she looked determinedly at the officers in the room. "We need to find the murderer before the body count increases."

"Detective Jeongyeon, you'd be working with Chaeyoung on the field." Ignoring Jeongyeon's disgruntled face, she told the others, "And you two will be assisting them off the field. Your unit would report to me directly. Is that clear?" Her voice boomed in a way that commanded respect and discipline.

"Yes Chief." They replied together.