map of the soul

PART 1

i cant breathe, im suffocating! - I burst awake trying to catch a breath. I quickly take my phone and check the time, it's just 5:00 am. I should go back to sleep, I thought, but then forced myself out of bed and into the bathroom. I spend about 30 minutes in there showering and brushing. I stand in front of my wardrobe, staring blankly at the mess my clothes are in, I pull out everything and start folding it since half my clothes are in the laundry basket. The job was easy. I'm early today, and I feel great, I have extra time to plan out my day today. I grab my notepad and start jotting down errands. It's currently 6 am. It's still very early to work. I cleaned up around the house for about 45 mins and made avocado toast for breakfast. I grab my keys and bag to get my morning coffee. It is a 15-minute drive to one of my cafè outlets, so I guess I can check in on them and grab my coffee. It is such a peaceful day, I thought to myself. It is the perfect day to commit a murder. Minji is one of my favourite workers and my best friend comments. Geez, you scared me half to death. I  say, startled. She smiles at me and starts taking a customer's order. I thought about what she said. It looks like the sky could burst at any moment. Everything is quiet, well, at least until my phone ringing interrupted the calm atmosphere. Hello, the kai says from the other side. I greet him back, and he begins by introducing me to my schedule and ranting about how his week went. I grab my coffee and get in the car, listening to him and going on and on about everything that has happened recently. I drove to my office and opened the door to kai's room. He didn't realise I reached there until he heard his voice echoing from the call. You could have told me you were here, Lana. He throws a newspaper at me, checks out the third page of that missing girl, and we see her at the mall, right? The one who sat next to us in the movie. He's correct. The same features. We both remember her very well because of this one incident at the movies. She kept shifting here and there in her seat. She checked her phone every 5 minutes, and she kept on looking everywhere besides the movies. You don't think she got kidnapped, do you..? I ask him. Lana, you know how it works. I grab my laptop out of my bag and begin scanning her face, and I got the details. I say as kai comes over and looks at the screen. "Eunjoo Park, 16 years old, studies at ivory Academy and lives in  macheol road Busan." We stare at each other in pure astonishment, I thought we put an end to it. Kai says. I didn't reply. Instead, I looked at him, and he knew exactly what.
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I didn't mean to kill him. It was an accident. I tell Kai over the phone. It's fine. He was going to die either way, I'll be there in 5. Don't move a muscle. With that, he ends the call. I'm not like the mafia, though my family has been for generations. My brother decided to clock in for me at that part, and my family seemed to be fine with it, I own sea-themed cafes around the world, and I'm a successful marine biologist. I and Kai are pretty close because growing up in some specific conditions left us all to ourselves. The person I just killed is Christopher Miles. A filthy rich CEO who would do anything for money. He killed a student for fun and chopped the body into multiple pieces, and made the family play a game to find her. He called it the "map to the soul." The map marked the places where he hid the body parts. From the limbs to the head, it got harder to find. 14.3.2019, the day I'll never forget

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Lana, this is not good. We killed him, and dead people don't come back. Maybe it's a copycat killer. Kai says while rummaging through the files on my shelf. Here I found it. He says while handing me a blue file with everything. This can't be a coincidence, right? The same date, similar features, same school. I say, going through the pictures of the case. The whole country was shaken. An innocent child was brutally murdered, cut into pieces, and turned into a game for the police and her family to play and win. They never won. Her head lies somewhere only he knew. We need to find her before it's too late. The country can not afford to take another killer like him. Kai says. I know, but how? She could be literally anywhere, and we still aren't sure that this is what we think it is. Maybe we are just paranoid, and that kid is fine.  I say, trying to calm down. Do you want to take the chances, Lana? I can not bear to see another family play a damn game just to find their child's body parts!. I answer in less than 2 seconds, let's go to the kid's house and see if he left a map or something like last time.

It was a pretty long drive from our office to her house, I went through every single detail for a breakthrough on where the kid might be. I stared at his map, for I don't know how long, I did this for the last murder too. But I got nothing. I go through every single inch of the Map for about a hundred times when I see a tiny red letter "X." It was smaller than an ant almost impossible to see even with a magnifying glass. KAI, STOP THE CAR I FOUND IT!  He goes into the parking lot of a nearby mall and I show him. How did we miss this? Call dad, and let him know he will take care of the rest. Kai says with a sigh. But if anyone finds out he could escape, tell him and the team to move silently, and don't let the media know. I warn him while he calls dad. Our father has a lot of connections he is a wealthy and well-known businessman. You go to where the X is marked, and I'll go to the kids' house. we don't have enough time to go to both places. Kai nods in agreement and gets out of the car. He books an Uber while I go to the kids' house. I reached there in about 35 minutes and rang the bell, I was welcomed by a crying woman who seemed to be her mother. People recognise me from when I found Christopher 3 years ago, so she probably knew why I was here. She let me in and told me there was nothing left behind. She checked inside the house, and I checked outside, I called Kai to know his location. He was close by. I checked the mailbox and found a letter saying. "The beginning is at the end," I called Kai to let him know about the letter I found. The beginning is at the end? What does that even mean? "He asks, clueless.  I don't know. But we need to find out. Fast. Do you think that the end of his last game would be the beginning of this? The X spot is the last place in his game, so maybe that's the beginning of this?  It made no sense, but it had to be. I let the parents of the child know and told them to get in my car. By this time Kai and the police team had reached there and begun the search. We reached there in about 30 minutes. Kai ran over to me and said the dog squad got a scent, they're on it now. All we can do is wait. We waited for I don't know how long until an officer sprinted to us and said you need to see this. He had an unreadable expression, he looked pale, as if he'd seen a ghost. Did you find her? Is she okay? Kai asked him. Just see this. That was all he said. Since he was unclear we left the kid's parents there and went alone. There was a small cabin inside it on a table there was a head. It looked like it was there for a long time. Flies and maggots are all over it. That's not it. The officer says and walks into a room, I gasp at the sight in front of me. It wasn't Eunjoo but... A painting was made on the floor of the cabin with  blood.  It hasn't been long since this was done, the forensics and backup are called he can't be far. We'll get him. The officer says. He carved onto the wall " murder is an art ". I will get this killer at all costs. Let the parents know. And let me know what happens.  I couldn't be there anymore. I failed to save her or catch him. Another innocent life was lost to this psychopath.  I and Kai drive back home, I couldn't take any more of this. I tried to take a nap but when I close my eyes, all I can think of is what happened at the cabin. My phone rings, it's the officer. Hello? Did you get anything? I ask as soon as I  pick up. yes ma'am. He left a note that read "you were close but not close enough Lana" and the head belonged to Minji from 2019.   We found Eunjoo tied up in a room, she's okay. forensics say the blood was of some girl called Evelyn and we found another something that looks like a map. He says. What did u just say? Other kids are involved in this? I ask Unfortunately yes, there is an emergency. I will call you back madam. With that, he ends the call and tells everything to Kai.  I think we might have ourselves  a serial killer. Inform the country to stay safe. Set a lockdown and put a notice for parents to always be with their kids. Kai warns. From what I knew,  it wasn't safe anymore. A psychopath on the loose killing kids and making games out of it. A threat to the nation.