Bond Made in Hell || A TAEJIN STORY || Arranged Marriage

45

So after a loooooooong break your author is back with a-chapter-she-barely-put-together-after-dealing-with-severe-writer's-block ;)

Jin

My first stop is the Office of Forensic Evidence, located a few miles away from Seoul Police Station. 

I know it's going to be a tough job, collecting the report on the evidence found by the mechanic in our vehicle, but I go with it anyway. I need to do it. I need to get my hands on the actual, concrete evidence before I can take any further steps towards finding the identity of the man who-

It's not that I don't trust the police. I do. But in this case, I am not prepared to leave the job up to them and them alone. I must do something. I must take action on my own. That is the only way I can bring myself some peace of mind. The only peace of mind I can get ever since Tae and I were in that accident. Which, I press my lips tightly together, a grim look coming onto my face, is no longer an accident, it seems.

I know people would think I am trying to bury my sorrow in action, and in truth, I am. But not all of it. Now, after the recent events that have come to light, I must get to the cause, the person behind everything, and I must do it myself. I shall need help, I know, but in the end, it shall be me and me alone who will have to drive that extra mile. And I am prepared to do so. For Tae. My Tae.

It doesn't take me long to reach the office, and surprisingly, not any longer to procure a copy of the evidence report either, contrary to my expectations. I'd have thought they would have required me to pull up a horde of agreements and signatures to get my hands on the stuff, but apparently, as the family of the affected/victim, and de facto, a victim myself, I don't have to. A quick word with the presiding officer, a few minutes spent in a musky old warehouse that smells of dusty old files and rotting paper (a rather pleasant smell) and I'm striding out of the place with the forensic report of the evidence found. I take a brief look through it: as I'm no expert on chemical explosives, I'm going to have to get someone more fluent in the subject to look through it. And I do.

My very next stop is the Forensic Research Institute in town, and here I face a significantly larger amount of wait than at the police station, which is rather ironic. There is a long, long queue of people waiting to get their respective reports examined, and while I normally like to abide by the rules, in my current, disturbed state of mind I am in no position to wait for long. I smooth-talk one of the executives into getting me a special appointment with one of their experts, Miss Ahn Hye-Jin.

'I'm sorry to bother you like this, Doctor Ahn,' I begin, as I am led into her office a few minutes later. 'I know this appointment was rather hurriedly fixed, but I am prepared to compensate-'

'Call me Hwasa,' the woman standing in front of the desk gives me a small smile. 'I understand your urgency, Mr Kim Seokjin. I also know about your husband, and the tragic incident you have gone through the aftermath of these past few weeks. And I am willing to help you, even on short notice.'

'Thank you very much, Miss- uh -Hwasa,' I am slightly taken aback by her kindness, but not for long. There is no time for me to waste, not when a hardened criminal lurks out there somewhere, free and without chains, without the sort of retribution he deserves after committing a dastardly act. My fists clench unconsciously as I think about it, but I quickly calm down, taking a few deep breaths to compose myself. I bow deeply to her, and offer her the report I'm holding. 'Would it be too much to ask if I asked you to go through this report and tell me what you can conclude from it?'

She takes the report from me, puts on her spectacles, and pores over the piece of paper for several, long minutes. After a while, she takes them back off and hands me back the document. I look at her with eyes shining eagerly. 'Well, Doctor?'