Lost Souls

Chapter 1 - When People Don't Listen, Step on Their Foot

~𝒥𝒾𝓂𝒾𝓃~

I take a sip of my unfortunately room temperature coffee, sitting down beside my case partner, who seemed to be responding to texts from his mother. "Why are we here again?" I ask Hoseok, crossing my arms.

Harin, him, and I were called personally to the briefing room in the midst of our day by our commanding officer, Choi Seungcheol, with no details as to why. Turns out the other two have no clue either. Strange.

"I don't know man," Hoseok admits, switching his phone off before turning to me. "But his voice didn't make it sound like good news." he hypothesised, dragging his hand down his face, the atmosphere turning into a sense of dread and anticipation, but not for long.

"I think it's a new case." Harin walked in, holding a few files in her arms which she soon placed on the table in front of us. She dragged a chair from a neighbouring table, taking her seat to my right, opening the topmost file to read it. "Prince, real name Pasidh Vataniyapramote, head of the XTC." she read out loud. "Or... reopening of a closed one?" She changed her mind, opening another file. "M.O : overdose. Traces of MDMA, common name ecstasy, found in the bloodstreams of victims." she continued.

"Do you think they found a new lead? This case was shut down over two years ago." I ask, checking the dates of the reports. Cases like these, ones with no clues or leads, are shut down for good, never to be opened again, often forgotten. I remember my then commanding officer working as the lead investigator on the XTC, who later went M.I.A with no sign of contact. The department declared him dead, replacing him with Officer Choi. He was a great mentor, a skilled actor, making him a favourable agent for undercover operations. I only pray for his well-being.

'Why now after all this time?' I think to myself, taking a file from the stack to read myself. "Let's see what Choi has in store for us then." Hoseok says, just as the door cracks open. Officer Choi is finally here. We stand up to greet him.

"Detectives."
"Officer."

We acknowledge each other before the three of us take a seat. "So. I have received direct orders from the captain to brief you three about this case. I must say, the three of you were her best choice." He starts off, pacing across the room.

"I'm sure you've read the files that Harin brought, so I'm not going to describe much about the case. The point of this briefing is to inform you of its reopening." He finally reveals. To continue working on the case my senior was also assigned to? It feels like a fever dream. I reach for Harin's hand under the table, squeezing it. I share a glance with her before focusing my attention back on sir Choi.

"We have a lead on the right hand man of the Prince. He is to arrive in South Korea in approximately a week to settle a deal according to the deciphered texts. The task is to track his movements, and extract required information on XTC, also to find their base here, which the previous officers have failed to do so."

I hear Hoseok take a deep breath beside me and notice his hand clench. Harin rolls up the sleeves of her shirt, tossing her braid to her back. I can already feel the immense pressure upon us, but we can't turn down this case. I can't turn down this case.

"I know how uneasy it can feel to start working on a reopened case," he digresses, "but as my most skilled detectives I can tell you are going to succeed in this task. It's going to be a long week, maybe more if the case stays open, but you are going to tackle this like all other cases." he gives us the affirmations like he always does. He's loved by the whole department for this, among other reasons.

"We'll take this case, sir!" Hoseok stands up and yells, Harin and I standing with him in unison. "Yes, sir!"

"One last thing, this is confidential information. Once we're sure of their activity here, only then will the rest of the team will be informed." We looked at Hoseok, excitement flowing through my veins. He's always dreamed of working on a confidential matter; I can't wait to work it with him. I could see his eyes sparkle under his stern focus.