What Happened to Somi?

Chapter 05

Somi's immediate family was assigned a team of officers to protect them from the culprit who knew way too much. The move made more people scared and it raised concerns regarding the safety of other artists.

Award shows were indefinitely postponed and agencies tightened their security. Slowly, the statement "no one wants to be the next Somi" began to trend and it came with a lot of backlash.

People were interrogated and everyone who knew Somi in person, no matter how little, was deemed a suspect. The investigative team searched for clues anywhere and everywhere but they kept hitting dead ends. There were no loose ends for them to catch up on and it was extremely frustrating, especially for Detective Lee.

On the eight day following Somi's disappearance, Hye-Jin was attacked by an unknown group and if people weren't already scared with Somi's disappearance, Hye-Jin's attack definitely scared them to the bones.

The police found her unconscious in her house, the message "Stop Looking for Somi and Ji-Eun" written boldly in red on her walls. It wasn't the type of the attack that could be taken lightly; it wasn't as though Hye-Jin lived in a neighbourhood known for having questionable security. Her apartment unit was in one of the most secure buildings and districts in Seoul, yet a group was able to get in, cause damage and slip out without anyone noticing until they were far away from the scene.

The doctors at the nearest hospital assured everyone she was physically fine. She only suffered a few bruises and a mild concussion. Mentally, however, they couldn't offer a statement. Somi's disappearance had already wrecked Hye-Jin and so, the attack was going to do more damage.

As soon as he left the hospital, Detective Lee went back to the station and straight to the meeting room. There were so many pictures at that point and way too many lines which they used in connecting the dots. It frustrated him that he couldn't find a leeway; something that could really be of help. He wanted them to find the culprit. He wanted Somi back with Ji-Eun. He wanted the industry to feel safe again. He was tired, just like everyone else on the team. They knew better than to give up though. That didn't mean they weren't stretched thin.

The meeting room door went open and he didn't have to turn to know who it was. Her voice reached his ears almost immediately.

"The deputy CEO of Blue Ocean called." Detective Hong walked up to where he stood, her hair in its signature quick, messy bun. She handed him a paper which contained a printed out text message. "He just received this."

Somi's here with me in Jeju, the text read. You better come alone and come fast. She said if anyone was to help, it'd be you. Text me when you get to the airport here.

Detective Lee raised his head to look at her. "Jeju?"

She nodded. "That's what the person says. It's a private number like the one that texted Somi all this time. It also seems like the number that texted Ji-Eun. We still haven't been able to unscramble the message though so we don't know where he or she told her to come to."

"Is he going to Jeju? The Deputy CEO, I mean."

"He thinks it could be a decoy; a sort of twisted plan by the culprit to buy more time and turn the case in another direction. That was what he said to me over the phone. He sounded really frightened too."

Detective Lee pulled up the mental profile he had of the deputy CEO of Blue Ocean; a man in his mid-thirties, brown curly hair, brown eyes and an obsession with music, art and books. His name was Park Eun-Seok and together with CEO Moon Shin, they ruled Blue Ocean really nicely.

"What do you think?" Detective Hong asked him. "I think he has a point. It hasn't been too long since Hye-Jin was attacked and now this. The person and his or her group definitely know what they're doing."