Zero Encounters

Killer

       Sunshine blessed the island of Jeju while ominous clouds hovered over the mainland. Minwook looked displeased and thought of his children underneath the storm. He stomached the fear brewing inside of him and knew he had to show restraint with his children. He sat in his lawn chair, facing the seaside and calmed his mind by watching the waves gently crash along the shore. He glanced over at the sapling he had planted over ten years ago, now reaching the height of his humble home. The glistening of a silver cross hanging around the trunk caught his eye and he looked at it fondly. Memories of his youth came to him in snippets, highlighting his best moments with the person who crossed his mind every day.

"My dear friend, if Heaven is real, please send some angels down for some guidance and watch over those kids." He said with a heavy heart. Now that the children he raised are living their own lives, all he could do was pray for their safety and paths moving forward. He just hoped the two continued to hold space for each other and that their ancestors were keeping a watchful eye from above. He never believed in superstitions, but with the recent events, he prayed the Heavens protected them.

-

What seemed to be days of continuous rain, turned into a storm over night. The flash floods occurring throughout the country side and street flooding, overwhelmed all of the local emergency services. The storm reached the precinct, causing absolute disorder amongst the staff who all tried to stay afloat. Once again, Officer Kwang and his team found themselves pulled in all sorts of direction just to meet the demands of the people. Calls continued to pour in with reports of all kind and the officers had to work efficiently to prioritize the level of emergency while redirecting other calls to not occupy their lines. They were prepared to receive backlash from the public and accepted their overworked fate to appease the distress calls.

"What day is it?" Officer Kwang groaned loudly which spooked a few of his team members. They were all sleep deprived, agitated and on the verge of calling it quits. Some reeked of cigarettes and forgotten the last time they bathed. He pushed his paper work aside and rested his head on his desk. For the first time that afternoon, the phones stopped ringing. "Is it a full moon?"

"It's Friday." Yeonwoo placed a can of iced coffee in front of him and his eyes lit up. "Unfortunately, it's not a full moon today, but the result of the other precincts redirecting their cases here so they can focus on the highway accidents. There was a big collision from people evacuating from the country side." She handed him a few folders she had borrowed the other day.

"You just saved my life." He held the can endearingly before chugging it. He crushed the empty can and threw it into the recycling bin across the room. The rest of the office drank the coffees she went to pass out and the morale increased with everyone feeling the effects of the caffeine. The TV blared in the back ground with it's latest headline and caught Yeonwoo's attention.

"Convicted felon, Song, 53 will be released from prison today. His past crimes -"

Yeonwoo took off before the announcer could finish her sentence. She ran towards SIU, completely unaware she had ran by Jisung and Inspector Choi. They turned their attention to the TV and without another word, Inspector Choi followed suit. The troubled expressions on Yeonwoo and Inspector Choi's faces puzzled Jisung who hurriedly went after them.

With her heart racing, Yeonwoo barged through the door scanning for Captain Lee. He stood from the round table and immediately tried to calm her down as he had other officers in the room. Although she could see the words he formed with his lips and the concern in his eyes, her heart beat drowned it all out. Hyesoo quickly got up from her desk to distract the officers while Minhyun blocked their view of Yeonwoo who began to show signs of trouble breathing. Before she began to hyperventilate, Captain Lee waked her to his office and closed the blinds.