Soo Min woke up hearing the phone ringing. Unfortunately, forgetting that she fell asleep on the couch in the living room, Soo Min fell to the ground wanting to reach for the table with her eyes still half-closed.
- Damn it.- she cursed, rising from the floor and finally catching the ringing phone in her hand and sighed, seeing who was calling, but answered.- Hello, mother? How do you feel?- she said to the person on the other side.- Kim Soo Min, you ungrateful girl!- her mother's voice sounded like a thunderbolt.- This time the candidate was really from the top shelf. Handsome, tall, nice and in addition a doctor, earning a lot... How dare you not show up?!- she said in resentment.- Mom... I asked you not to match me with anyone without my permission. But you are still organizing dates behind my back and telling me a day before to go on them.- Soo Min replied, trying to sound as polite as possible, though she was really angry.- Yah! I remind you that you are 30 years old! When are you going to find a husband, huh?- her mother shouted so loud that Soo Min had to move the phone away from her ear.- I would like attend your wedding and see my grandchildren before I die. You are my only daughter and I have to make sure you will get married to a good person. And since you are doing nothing in this matter, I must take things into my own hands.- she added a little calmer.- Mom, I understand you're worried.- replied Soo Min.- But you are really exaggerating. Does a woman really need to have a husband? I can adopt children or go to the sperm bank.- she added.- I don't even want to listen to such nonsense.- the mother replied firmly.- I will arrange your next date soon and you better appear on it, otherwise I will drag you there, pulling by the hair.- she ended and hung up.- Wonderful.- Soo Min said mostly to herself. Then she put the phone down on the table and went first to the bathroom for the morning toilet, then dressed already went to the kitchen to drink coffee, eating the rest of fried rice from yesterday.Perfect as clockwork she finished breakfast, took the elevator to the underground garage and got into the car to go to work.~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~Kim Soo Min was 30 years old woman of medium height, black eyes, also black hair that she cut so short that it barely covered her neck. Her face may not have been perfectly beautiful, but she had a lot of natural charm. Since Soo Min wasn't as skinny and pale as some of her friends, her face was also rounder, except for a sharp nose. Her eyes were large, with a double eyelid, which has been envied by many. Most of these traits Soo Min inherited from her father, including the outstanding intelligence. And from mother she certainly inherited sharp tongue and figure. Soo Min had strongly rounded physique, arms and legs clearly muscled from exercising and practicing martial arts, also because of chasing and fighting with criminals; medium-sized breasts, wide hips, too wide for Korean standards. Additionally, Soo Min's height only widened her body optically. However, she was not fat, but just simply deviated from the ideal of extremely slim person, created by the Korean media and idol culture. With all the curves in the right places, Soo Min was more suited to the western type of beauty and out there her figure probably would not be commented as 'a little bit too big'. However, Soo Min didn't care if she heard such comments about herself. As her mother always said, external appearance is insignificant, your actions are the most important since they really determine what kind of person you are. And although Soo Min generally did not agree with the old-fashioned opinions of her mother, in this matter she was one hundred percent in agreement with her.Soo Min was working as a detective in Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Investigation Departament, Violent Crime Section. She graduated from the Police Academy with excellent results, now became one of the best detectives in her department. Despite those skills, the male part of the Section still looked down on her because of gender, but it only motivated Soo Min to work even harder. Because of that treatment tough, she called her colleagues "pigs in uniforms", also they were the main reason that despite her mother's insistence, Soo Min avoided going on dates and didn't trust men, always saying she doesn't have time for 'stupid things' when criminals are roaming the streets and she decided to focus entirely on her work. Of course, Soo Min wasn't as mean as she tried to be, but didn't want to show her more delicate side because it could have been used against her as a weakness. And at the job she did, your strengths mattered the most. Soo Min maybe wasn't the Section's strongest, fastest, and most physically efficient officer, but she was certainly beyond the others in deduction and other more mental skills.Soo Min entered the police station and walked down the hall to Violent Crime Section's room, immediately sitting at her desk. In the office there was already Oh Han Eul, 32 years old detective, slim and the tallest person in the Section, measured almost 190 cm, with big black eyes and currently dark brown hair, with delicate, almost feminine, face features. He was very ambitious but lazy and behaved like the real star of the Section, with the appearance and personality of an idol, he also took care of himself more than many women Soo Min knew, even changing hairstyles much often than necessary. In general, Han Eul was a narcissist who liked to play with women and avoided the permanent relationships like fire. He liked to drink and party in clubs during his spare time, loved K-Pop and was an die-hard fan of the girlgroup GFRIEND. But one had to admit that he sang and danced well, as Soo Min learned several times when their Section went to noraebang, a Koean karaoke room. However, he
( *Sunbae - someone higher in hierarchy in school or work, usually older.)Soo Min wanted to complete the paperwork that was left after solving of her recent case but unfortunately the worst enemy, officer Min Joo Chan, came into the office holding a paper cup filled with instant coffee and as usual wasn't going to leave her alone. He finished his coffee, crushed the paper cup and dropped it into the nearby trash can, then approached closer.- Yah, Kim Soo Min.- said Joo Chan, leaning lightly on her desk.- I heard that you managed to catch another criminal. How did you do it? By the power of your PMS?- he added clearly amused and pleased with the joke he had created. The muffled laughter could be heard from the others around the room. As she thought, after the departure of officer Kim, no one even intended to admonish Joo Chan. He was probably an idol for all of them.- Wow, sunbae*, great joke.- Soo Min answered with a distinct note of sar
(**NAME-ssi - a polite way of talking to people who you don't know that well.***Maknae - the youngest person of the group.****Hyung - older brother; a polite way a younger male calls the older male. )They went to the main part of the police station, specifically to Chief's office. When they entered the room, Soo Min immediately saw a young man sitting opposite the desk, who, seeing them, immediately stood up and saluted. He looked younger, but was a head taller than Soo Min, had black hair long enough to cover his ears, and the bangs fell slightly on his left eye. With this face he could successfully become a model, actor or even an idol. Only his silhouette matched the image of the model policeman almost perfectly - broad shoulders and arms, muscular body clearly visible through the tight black shirt he was wearing, plus well-developed legs. This man certainly ran fast, and it was high
After organizing all the files, Soo Min and Hyun Woo immediately went through them to thoroughly learn about the "Cherry Blossom Reaper" case. It all started at the beginning of the year, in January, about five months ago, since it was May now.The first victim was Lee Eun Jung, a 21 year old model from an agency run by a man named Seo In Sung. The next day after her disappearance, Eun Jung was found in the same place where she was kidnapped, with a slit throat. Next to her was a small bouquet made of artificial cherry blossoms, all petals sprinkled with the girl's blood. The marks on her wrists and ankles indicated that she had been strapped to something before death. The time of death was defined as five minutes before midnight of the previous day, i.e. exactly 5 hours after she has been kidnapped. Then it seems that Lee Eun Jung was transported to the place from which she disappeared, along with the bouquet. There were no witnesses, and CCTV in this place was located in a wa
The next morning, as it was decided earlier, Soo Min and Hyun Woo went out into the city. First they checked the CCTV footage from the area where the bouquet sprinkled with Choi Ye Eun's blood was left.Recording from the early morning of a day the bouquet was found showed a very similar view as previous recordings, on other girls cases - a fairly tall slim man in a gray hoodie, in latex gloves and a black mask on his face. Neatly stretched hood and mask made it impossible to see even a piece of his face, and the slightly stretched hoodie material also masked most of the details of his silhouette. It was hard to tell, but it seemed he wore the same sneakers as before, which, however, were barely visible under the material of dark denim trousers, which had clearly too long legs. As before, the figure avoided soft ground, walking only on the asphalt part of the road, clearly not wanting to leave footprints. In general, it moved so that even for a moment from under the hood did no
(*Sunbae-nim - even more polite way to call an older or more experienced collegue in work or school.**Noona - a polite way younger male call the older female, usually when they're close.)When they finally arrived at the station, Soo Min Soo Min took the disc and went inside. Knowing the building well, she climbed the stairs to the 1st floor without hesitation, and Hyun Woo followed her like a shadow. They entered a corridor at the end of which was a door with the inscription 'Cyber Security Division'. Soo Min put her ID card on the reader located on the nearby wall and pulled the handle, opening the door. Hyun Woo came in with her, closing the door behind him. Several people in the main office said hello to Soo Min, and she replied, Hyun Woo bowed every now and again, seeing curious looks on himself. The first thing he quickly noticed was that definitely more women worked here. Soo Min finally stopped at the next door
After eating, Soo Min and Hyun Woo got into the car and, having a guest list on hand, visited them one by one, asking questions about Choi Ye Eun. Unfortunately, only few people had direct contact with her at this event, and no one noticed her disappearance, except perhaps the bodyguard who was supposed to watch her. Many repeated that they should talk to Ye Eun's fiance, since he was with her most of the time. In any case, talking to the guests of the event did not bring much to the case and Soo Min felt that they were wasting time. The organizer of the charity party had a guest list that was checked both on entering and leaving. And the only person who didn't leave the party through the front door, with others, was Choi Ye Eun. So it was doubtful that any of the guests had something to do with her disappearance, or could be a witness. Ye Eun managed to walk away from the mansion a good few kilometres before getting into the mysterious car and disappearing.The security guard
The next morning, very early, Soo Min and Hyun Woo went to the residence of the Choi family, the family home of Choi Ye Eun, for the appointed visit.- From the information we gathered, there should be 3 people. Choi Young Sik, 60 years old, the head of the family and CEO of the fashion house. Next one is his wife, Lee Eun Hee, called by everyone Madam Lee, 47 years old. She used to be a very famous fashion designer, but now she practically gave up the spot to the Choi family's only son.- Hyun Woo read the information when Soo Min was driving.- And if we're talking about a son... His name is Choi Hyun Sik but for job uses name Hyun Choi, he is 27 years old. A very talented artist and the obvious successor of both father and mother. His designs are now the face of the Choi family's fashion house brand.- he added.- I hope we will find out something important this time. We miss some point of attachment in this case.- Soo Min replied, turning from the main street into a small