In My Arms (Hometown Cha Cha Cha fanfiction)

Chapter 33: Flames in the Air

Eun chul's POV

"Mi Seon ah?" I call Mi seon on the phone. Mi seon vanished within a few seconds of seeing Chief Hong breaking down in worry and tears. She couldn't face him. She felt immense regret for not accompanying Hye Jin or for leaving her there alone.

"Are you feeling better?" I ask her and she sniffles slightly. I bite my lip in concern. Even the slightest sniff from her can stir up all the emotion in my heart.

"I'm better. Is Chief Hong doing okay?" Mi seon asks.

"Yes, the nurse said Dr Yoon is okay. Before I left the hospital, Chief Hong was already by her side. He's waiting for her to wake up from the anesthesia."

"Left the hospital? Where are you headed to?" Mi seon asks me.

"I'm heading to the crime scene." I say as I get into the police car.
"CRIME SCENE? What crime scene?" Mi seon gasps in horror. I mentally slap myself for providing this extra bit of information that would only make Mi seon worry.

"Mi Seon ah," I start and pray that this doesn't bring her too much distress. "You see..." I say as I start to explain my suspicions.

~

"Eun chul, over here." Ha tae, my partner in the police force, calls me over when I arrive at the scene of the fire. I run over to join them.

"Let's go." I say steadily as we enter the building.

"Why the need to investigate? I thought they classified it as a freak accident?" Ha tae asks as we look at the charred walls.

"I don't have a good feeling about this accident." I say. The word 'accident' feels so wrong and sour on my tongue. "Someone called Mi seon to tell her to come to this place and the call was in fact, not from her actual agent." I say and feel my eyebrows knit together in frustration.
"Oh, Mi seon, she's your fiance right?" Ha tae asks, recalling the familiar name.
"Yes, she is." I smile.

"Did you find who frequents this building?" I ask Ha tae. Ha tae twists his mouth together.

"You know what's strange? This place has been used as a storage unit for the past twenty years..." He trails on.

"Meaning?" I ask.

"It means no one has been here for the past twenty years, except for the occasional dumping of unwanted things here." Ha tae says as he studies the charred building. As the mystery slowly presents itself to us, the building becomes increasingly eerie.

"Wait!" Ha tae suddenly stops in his tracks. "Do you smell that?" He says and holds his hand up as he breathes in deeply.

"What is it?" I ask and try sniffing for myself.

"The smell in the air. I remember. It's some sort of gas." Ha tae says and places a hand over his open mouth. "Do you know... when you burn kerosene, it leaves a residual gas." Ha tae says with wide eyes, now that he knows that my gut feeling may actually be true.

"So what you're saying is..." My voice trails off in horror.

"It wasn't an accident. Someone tried to set this place on fire."