My (G)I-DLE Oneshots

9. The Charge Thief - sooshu

in a future world where people rely on charging their bodies like technological devices, individuals are capable of living up to 200 years, thanks to scientific advancements. however, if their charge hits 0%, they face a fatal outcome.

"good evening, and welcome to 'nightly update: breaking news at 11'. i'm your host, bringing you the latest headlines and developments from around the world. in tonight's broadcast, we bring you breaking news right from our city. as you know, a wave of mysterious deaths had struck, leaving the community gripped with fear and uncertainty. victims, one after another, had tragically reached 0% charge, leading to their untimely demises. in response to this escalating crisis, the authorities had assigned the skilled detective, shuhua, to investigate these puzzling deaths. what makes these cases all the more perplexing is the complete absence of violence or any signs of foul play. tonight, the team also revealed that there are no signs of a contagious disease. as the investigation unfolds, our city holds its breath, hoping for answers and solution to this unsettling series of events. stay tuned for more updates..."

the news report flickered on the holographic projection, projecting vibrant and lifelike images suspended in mid-air, illuminating the room with its captivating display. soojin, hidden away in her secluded hideout, watched the news report with a mix of fear and anger. all of this has started with the tragic loss of her own career and reputation. soojin, a former famous brain surgeon, had been living a life filled with dedication and compassion. however, her world crumbled when a lie shattered her dreams and condemned her as a killer in the eyes of the public. the circumstances surrounding the mysterious death of one of her patients after surgery had been twisted against her. the patient suddenly passed away in the vip patient room of the hospital. although someone had intentionally taken a life, the evidence seemed to point to soojin as the responsible party. her once-promising career was abruptly cut short, and the weight of the false accusations bore down on her like an insurmountable burden. disillusioned and consumed by injustice, soojin vanished from the public eye before the court ends, determined to only revenge upon those who had orchestrated her downfall. her anger burned within her, fueling a relentless pursuit to identify the real culprit. in her solitary quest for answers, soojin had inadvertently become a threat herself, armed with a chilling ability to steal the life force of others with a single kiss. she has an ability that no one, as she knows, has in this world. she can steal charges when she kisses someone, charging herself instead.
this extraordinary power, once a source of fear and confusion for soojin, had now become her weapon against those who had wronged her. with a kiss, she could drain the life force, the charge, from her victims, leaving them lifeless and depleted. the more the kiss intensifies, the more deadly it is. this ability granted her a dangerous advantage, making her a formidable force to be reckoned with. however, soojin was not without her own inner struggles. each stolen charge weighed heavily on her conscience, a constant reminder of the darkness that had consumed her. the line between justice and vengeance blurred as she continued her relentless pursuit. she questioned her own humanity, wondering if she had become the very thing she sought to destroy. nevertheless, fueled by her burning desire for retribution, soojin continued her hunt, leaving a trail of empty bodies in her way. with each target eliminated, she felt a twisted sense of satisfaction, inching closer to the truth she so desperately sought. but little did she know that her path was about to intersect with that of detective shuhua, who had embarked on her own mission to uncover the mysteries behind the deaths plaguing the city.

shuhua sat in her office, watching the same news report. she was one step closer to the truth, as one of the files on her cluttered desk contained the case of soojin. the accused doctor, labeled as a killer on the run, raised suspicion in shuhua's sharp mind. however, she and her team was facing a confusing challenge—the death cases displayed no evidence of homicide. it was as if the victims had spontaneously chosen to drain their own charges, not charging themselves which leads to their death in the end. yet, one particular case stood out from the rest. that person had been fully charged when leaving their office at 8 p.m., only to be discovered lifeless in an alley with 0% charge at 8:30 p.m. this puzzling scenario defied the concept of suicide of that individual because it was impossible for a charge to go 0 within just half of an hour. equally confounding was the absence of any trace of charge theft, as indicated by the data from the neurotechnological device implanted inside of the left forearm, which enables the transmission of charge to the brain and body. no incidents of charge theft, or any similar occurrence, were observed. and according to the autopsy results, there was no sign of a contagious disease either. it seemed as though a mystical or divine force was at play, defying logical explanation within shuhua's pragmatic worldview. however, with soojin's case, shuhua had enough clues to warrant investigation and interrogation: shuhua and her team, responsible for this case, had discovered a common connection among the deceased individuals. so far, there had been 20 recent deaths of this nature. although distinguishing whether they were suicides or victims was almost impossible except for that one person, shuhua and her colleagues made a startling discovery during their investigation. it became evident that a significant portion of the deceased individuals were interconnected in some way. they discovered that these individuals were either current or former employees of the same company, Cybernetix Innovations (CNI), with a high likelihood of having remote or close relationships with each other. in fact, a few of the deceased individuals were connected on social media platforms. as their investigation delved deeper, they stumbled upon a shocking revelation. the ceo of the rival company, Quantum Nexus Technologies (QNT), was identified as the patient whom soojin allegedly killed. these two companies, despite not being officially acknowledged, were notorious among the public for their deep-seated mutual hostility. after a detailed examination of soojin's case, shuhua noticed something peculiar. the possibility existed that CNI had framed soojin for the murder of QNT's ceo. while nothing was certain, the clues pointed to a injustice and suggested that soojin's motivation could be driven by a perceived wrongdoing and her personal quest to punish CNI. but how does she do that? nothing was definitive at that point, but considering all the connections, the result became clear: soojin became the prime suspect.