[Fanfic] In the Dark {Chapter 2: The White Lotus Killer}
Title: In The Dark {Chpt. 2: The White Lotus Killer}
Author: Roxy (lady_monochrome)
Pairing(s): MinJae, YunJae, YooSu, HoSu, Yunho x Boa (It’ll make sense later on.)
Length: Chapter 2 of 15 (subject to change)
Word Count: 5,218
Genre: AU, Drama, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological
Rating: R
Warning(s): Serial murder, explicit crime scenes, fucked up sociopathic individuals, drug abuse and prostitution (and just a tiny hint of het for those of you who deem that a warning.)
A/N: Let’s play ‘spot the camo appearance’!! lol AND Ladies and gents! We finally get to see our missing duckbutt! Please enjoy this one ^__^
A/N2: I forgot to mention the time frame and the ages on which the characters are based. I did make some pretty character profiles but I won’t release them all just yet. For this chapter I will release two of the profiles. Just know that Changmin is the youngest of the main characters, from there on you can imagine about how old the rest are in this story until I release the rest of the profiles.
Summary: Young Detective Shim was awarded in his short successful career with a major crime investigation. A series of murders have been terrorizing the citizens of Seoul and it’s up to him, and his team, to solve the crime before more people could fall victim to the vicious killer. But in the process he gets the help he needs from the most unlikely of characters.
Character Profile: Shim Changmin
Character Profile: Kim Jaejoong
-----------------------------------------------------------
(…)ignorance was bliss, but now I must adjust
These animals, they operate on jealousy and lust!
Lie by Black Light Burns
------------------------------------------------------------
In the Dark: Chapter 2; The White Lotus Killer
“Jungpil!! Jungpil!! Come back here boy!!” A woman was peacefully walking her dog around the vicinity when her little Shi-Tzu ran off into the trees. “Hey, what’d you got there sport?” She ran over to her dog which had stopped on a tree and was sniffing something at its feet. When she circled the tree-
“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!”
----------------------------
2:00pm
“Who found the body?” Detective Shim asked as soon as he arrived at the crime scene. It had been about two weeks since the last murder.
“A woman named Lee Hyori. She was following her dog into the foliage when she found the body.” One of Changmin’s co-workers, who had already arrived at the scene, filled him in on all the details.
“Alright, I want to talk with her, we need a statement.” Quickly moving into action was the proper way to go into any crime scene to avoid any loss of evidence. “Guys gather up! We’re going to start a sweep of the perimeter. First we’ll do a line search then I’ll do a spiral one around the body. Need I remind you to be extremely cautious? Remember we don’t want any evidence destroyed. I’ll personally skin the officer that makes that mistake. Alright everyone, gear up and let’s get to it!”
A set of four officers set out to put on protective gear, such as gloves, and along with the forensics team began a sweep of the crime scene. Changmin watched the area, trying to visualize how that body had gotten to where it was set. In the distance he spotted people gathering around and a news network van just arriving. He immediately made his way to one of the higher ranking officers. “Officer Park. Take a group of your men and make sure no one crosses that yellow line. I don’t care who they are, or who they represent. Especially the news cast. Absolutely no one gets past the perimeter until we’re done searching for evidence.”
Without a word from the officer Changmin continued his pace around the crime scene and he spotted an officer speaking with a very distressed looking woman. He guessed it had to be the woman who found the body. “Hello Mrs. Lee. I’m Detective Shim” He said with a very calm voice, extending his hand for her. The other officer bowed to him and left. The woman shook his hand but quickly brought it back to cross over her chest. “I know this has been a bad experience for you, but we need your help right now Mrs. Lee. Could you answer a few questions for me?” The woman seemed in a daze, with red rimmed eyes, like she was about to cry but she nodded anyway. After a few simple questions it was obvious that there wasn’t much for her to say and Changmin decided to just let her go. It was at moments like this one when Changmin really hated the system. The people who suffer the most, victims and witnesses, are the ones who have to relive the entirety of the nightmare over and over until the case is closed; and that could take months, even years.
The other officers were half done with their sweep. Nothing had come up yet. And nothing came up after they were done. So Detective Shim proceeded to do a spiral search starting at about six feet from the body. Every time he did a turn he swept his eyes over the man sitting under the tree. Well at least the shell of a man; a pale shell, with empty, glassy eyes, a sure sign of death. Nothing was coming up. The grass seemed perfectly green and un-touched. It was almost as if the body had flown itself there and sat under the tree. Truly it was mind boggling how little evidence there was at the scene.
A forensic expert circled around, following the same trail the Detective did until he reached him. Changmin continued and he was finally face to face with the dead man’s body, alongside the forensic technician. “Well… Let’s do this…” They bent down and the first thing they noticed was the state of the skin, besides being extremely pale, the hairs were standing as if it had goose bumps. “He certainly hasn’t been here more than 24 hours.”
Seeing as the body was placed in a complicated position, or more like well thought out, both Changmin and the technician thought of the same thing as the other two cases. “The person was moved to this location probably around 3 to 6 hours after death, before rigor mortis could set in.” The technician nodded and jotted down. “Rigor mortis is now fully set in… The body feels cold, but without much blood left inside, as I presume, and being exposed to the night temperature I’m guessing the outer temperature will be highly inaccurate. We’ll have to take rectal temperature inside the van. But I’m going to make a very wild guess and say the time of death must be approximately 12 hours prior.”
No traces of violence could be found on the body except for the slits on both wrists. This time around, they were even cuts; three on each wrist at about the same length from each other. And the ever present rope marks were also there. Taking whatever evidence they could from the body, like the lotus flower, they took all the pictures, made the scene sketches and finally gave permission to lift the body.
It was already past five in the afternoon when they were all done. The press got their feed on the murder. Another victim of the same ruthless killer.
- “A woman came across a dead body in a park early this afternoon when she was chasing her dog into the trees. The Metropolitan Police Homicide Detectives have confirmed that this could be linked to the White Lotus killer since the victim was found sitting under a tree with a white lotus flower between its hands. The victim, whom was a male, is believed to be-”
Sometimes the press just didn’t help at all. The entire task force team was sitting in the Homicide Department’s conference room looking up at the news while shaking their heads. It’s true that everyone deserved to know what was going on but there was bound to be chaos in the city. At least everyone could be in the look out but in some cases it only propelled copy cats and other sort of idiots that really craved the attention.
In the middle of the tense silence a small vibration could be heard. Everyone turned towards the source. It was Changmin’s phone going off on the long table. “Excuse me.” He walked outside the room to answer. “Yeoboseyo?”
“Choikang! How are you babe?”
“Youngwoong! Are you doing ok? Is everything alright?”
“Chillax mister. I’m doing alright. Haven’t spoken to you in while sweetheart.” The sound of a door closing could be heard through the phone. “Choikang. I heard of the latest murder.” Jaejoong was whispering into the phone. “Apparently he worked in a club close by to this one, Club Polaris. And I’ve also heard rumors that he used to work for Park Yoochun. The owner of this club.”
“Are you calling me from the club?!”
“Yes! Did you listen to what I just said?!”
“You heard about the murder, he apparently worked in a club called Club Polaris and apparently he used to work for the owner of your club, Park Yoochun. Got it.”
“Good ‘cause I have to go now. I’ll talk to you later… I kinda need it…” Changmin couldn’t even reply to that before he heard the annoying tone of the dead line.
“Hmp. You better damn well know what you’re doing Kim Jaejoong…”
---------------------------------
“Youngwoong-sshi! You’re up next. Where the hell were you?” A young man around Jaejoong’s age, with natural black, spiky hair came to look for him. “Chunnie’s getting impatient so you better head off for the stage now.”
“I’m sorry Xiah. I was making a call. You know, gotta keep the good ones happy.” Xiah smiled knowingly and nodded but then grabbed his arm to make him go faster.
“I absolutely understand, but right now you have to be on the stage.” It didn’t take long for the two handsome men to reach the backstage area and it took even less time for wardrobe personnel to put their new dancer into gear.
“Oh my god! He’s here!! Youngwoong-sshi!!” The man named Xiah walked back to him in a hurry and shook him almost violently by the shoulders. “Listen very closely. You remember what you said about keeping the good ones happy? Well there’s an important guest out there. You might know who he is, Jung Yunho. We need to impress him got it? So you better be on your best and most sensual behavior today on stage. Blow his mind! Forget the rest of the audience!” And as quickly as he had run up to him, Xiah left. Probably he was running off to Yoochun.
Left with little time to absorb the intensity of the request, the music started and Jaejoong stepped onto the stage. The lights were dim, the music was slow. People were unusually silent but that immediately changed when the single spotlight shown down on the exotic dancer on the middle of the stage.
One Jung Yunho looked up with interest. This dancer on the stage was breathtakingly beautiful. The thin, see-thru fabric that covered his body left little to the imagination. He could clearly make out the tiny waist, the broad shoulders and small, dark nipples against fair skin. Yunho’s charming pearly whites shone bright through his smug smirk. The politician obviously liked what he saw.
From center stage Jaejoong could make out that one smile among the many men and women watching him. It was blinding, it hurt his eyes. How could teeth be so perfect? That man was so fake. Regardless of his preferences the exotic dancer must continue his show and he aimed to please, he aimed for success. His manager had asked him to impress that one guest and he would.
------------------------------
“Did you like our new male dancer? He’s pretty isn’t he?” Xiah asked the prominent politician. They were lounging in the VIP area of the club, the manager trying to please his guest as much as possible.
“Oh, yes. He’s a beautiful man. Where did Park get him?” Yunho was calmly sipping a glass of cognac, rubbing his free hand up and down the manager’s thigh.
“Well, Youngwoong actually came around on his own about two weeks ago. And of course Chunnie brought him in. He’s always had a good eye for what pleases the client.” Right on queue the owner of the club, Park Yoochun, walked into the VIP area, a big smile adorning his fine, prominent features.
“Ah~ Mr. Jung. It’s always a pleasure to have you here. It’s been too long since your last visit.” The cocky owner shook Yunho’s hand. It was a familiar gesture by now. Yunho frequented the Black Dahlia, he was a regular, a VIP. It was one of the few places he had were he didn’t have to be the politician, where he could just sit back, enjoy good alcohol and beautiful people.
“It’s always a pleasure to be here and especially tonight. That new dancer of yours sure is something. Youngwoong was it? I bet he’s quickly becoming your clients’ favorite superhero.” Yunho commented with a silly grin. Yes sometimes he amused himself. Yoochun chuckled at the silly joke and pointed towards the entrance of the VIP section.
“You’ll have the chance to meet him in person if you so like.” Right at the moment Jaejoong appeared through the curtains, now fully dressed, but still looking provocative. He made his way slowly towards the three men at the comfiest couch in the place.
“Mr. Jung it’s an honor. I hope my performance was to your liking.” The exotic dancer bowed. He slowly looked up to the man sitting on the purple velvet couch. What met Jaejoong’s gaze was at first a pair of highly expensive looking shoes, along with equally expensive looking clothing. Although dressed in a casual manner one could tell each item was of a fine western brand.
“Youngwoong-sshi. The honor is mine. Please have a seat.” He was sporting that incredibly fake smile again and it was blinding Jaejoong again. Having those sharp eyes watching him from a distance was one thing, but having this man watching him close-up was entirely different. It was a whole other level of uneasiness. But even those thoughts couldn’t distract Jaejoong from seeing how handsome the man was. He had seen him many times on the TV screen but up-close and three-dimensional was so much better. “Why is such a beautiful man as you dancing in a club Youngwoong-sshi?”
“Well sir, I won’t lie. I have the face and the body. The money’s good. It’s all I need, ain’t complaining.” Jaejoong answered straightforward, unblinking. Feeling bold he spiked the ball to the candidate’s side of the court. “Now I could ask you the same question candidate Jung. Why is such a prominent politician hanging out at a joint such as this one?”
“Hey! Youngwoong. More respect for the candidate. And you better damn know well this is the best place in town. Not some lowlife, dirty strip club.” Yoochun felt offended by Jaejoong’s words, even surprised that he had answered back to the politician.
“Sorry Chunnie-ah. But it’s quite the obvious question. No matter what club it is, or how high class he’s still a candidate to be Mayor of the city. I thought you politicians were all about morals and your image.”
Apparently Yunho found the exchange hilarious because he started laughing. He laughed so hard he almost spilled his drink. No joking, the man was growing breathless from his own laughter. “I’m sorry gentlemen. But this is funny. Youngwoong-sshi, you’re right. We politicians are all about our image. That’s exactly why I come here to Mr. Park. He knows how to keep his mouth shut. He’s a smart man.” His face suddenly became extremely serious. “And you better know how to keep your trap shut as well. Bad things happen to blabber mouths Youngwoong-sshi. Don’t be one of those idiots.”
Well what do you know…? All politicians really are the same.
-------------------------------------
12:56 am
It was time to head back home, finally. There wasn’t much that could be done at the moment so the chief had sent everyone home to take good rests and prepare for the shitload of work they had the next day. Changmin was making his way down the street and into the underground train. As he waited for his ride his phone began ringing in his pocket.
“Yeoboseyo.”
“Hey, Choikang. It’s me, Youngwoong.”
“Hey. How are you? Doing ok?”
“Yeah, pretty ok… Can I come over to your office?”
“I’m not at the office I’m heading home right now.”
“I need to see you… I need someone to talk to right now…”
“Well… Where are you? I’m about to hop on the train in Sungshin University station.”
“Oh! Don’t!! I’m close to the Mia station! Wait for me there!!”
The train had just arrived at Sungshin Women’s University station but the young detective didn’t board. He waited for the call. He waited for Kim Jaejoong to let him know he had hopped on the train at Mia station. Fifteen minutes later that call came in. The now exotic dancer was on his way. Two trains later Changmin hopped in for the ride.
“Fancy meeting you here.” A beautiful male face appeared next to him once Changmin was inside the train.
“Heh, Youngwoong-sshi. It’s nice to see you.” Changmin bowed politely and Jaejoong smiled tenderly.
“There’s no need for all the formality. I’m sick of it. Smiling to everyone, not looking anyone directly in the eye, having to bow and act like I don’t have a worry in the world. I don’t mind the dancing really. It’s meeting the patrons that gets to my nerves.” Changmin listened closely and nodded. It wasn’t often he did this. He always kept his work affiliations as far away from his personal relations as possible. He didn’t think it was part of his job to serve as a counselor to the family of the victims but he was genuinely worried for Jaejoong. There he was, an innocent civilian risking his life for an investigation and Changmin could do very little to nothing about it. So why not just help him. “There’s a lot I’d like to talk about but not here. I don’t really have much people I can run to. I’m sorry if I’m being a burden to you.”
“No! No, it’s fine. I want to help you out. You’re doing far more than I would’ve ever dared to ask of you and I respect that. You have my complete support.” The detective offered Jaejoong a sincere smile. “I can accompany you home if you’d like. We can talk there.”
All that the exotic dancer offered as a response was a simple nod of the head and a small pained smile. The rest of the ride was silent, with a tired Jaejoong leaning his head on the detective’s shoulder and the equally tired detective letting him.
-----------------------------------
“It’s small but it’s home.” Two male silhouettes walked into the living room of a small apartment, appearing as Jaejoong and the detective when the lights were turned on. “Please make yourself at home. I’ll make some tea for us.” Jaejoong pointed towards the small living room as he walked towards the kitchen.
“Thank you.” Changmin sat back on the sofa, making himself comfy. He was tired, his body was tired, and his mind was tired. All the detective wanted was this case to be solved and in the past.
A few minutes later Jaejoong re-emerged from the kitchen with two mugs, the white strings from the tea bags hanging off from the side. “Here. Hope it’s ok.”
“Thank you very much. Anything warm is welcome in my stomach.” He said with an amused smile. Anyone that knew Shim Changmin personally knew that he had an undying love for good cuisine, and his palette wasn’t very picky. He would try anything at least once. “So… Talk to me Jaejoong. Is something bothering you?”
“Well, yes and no.” Jaejoong took a long sip from his green tea and sighed.
“How is that? Something to do with work I assume.” Changmin answered while sipping on his tea also.
“Um, yes. I mean, I’ve been adapting well. I can dance. I can make people horny. I can make people throw their money down my pants. I guess that’s a good sign isn’t it?” As awful as it may have sound Jaejoong was actually smiling, chuckling even. He had been working at the club for two weeks already and he had a few regulars who came to see him dance the past week. There was a certain glitter of satisfaction in his eyes, of accomplishment. “I say it’s not so bad, it pays well enough to take care of the bills, and if you’re that good, to have luxuries.” Changmin was only nodding, quietly sipping at his tea. “It’s… It’s some of the patrons that unnerve me. Like that Yunho guy! Seriously, he’s so full of himself, it’s disgusting!”
“Yunho? Jung Yunho? The senator?” The detective’s eyes were wide in surprise and mockery as his companion nodded his head. “You’re kidding! I knew he was a shady character. Talking about morale and shit to people while he’s slithering around on the dirt of his own lies.”
“Wow! Personal grudge much?” Jaejoong asked between chuckles.
“No! No, no no. I don’t even know the guy! I just don’t like him. Besides isn’t he like engaged to some pretty magazine editor? Ugh, I guess politicians just don’t sit well with me. To me they’re all blood-sucking, compulsive liars.” Said the detective, waving his free hand in the air, as if dismissing the topics, and making a face of distaste.
“But somebody has to lead the country, right?” Jaejoong stated matter-of-factly. He started laughing at Changmin’s roll of the eyes. This was the side of Changmin that he didn’t know, the one he wanted to get to know better, the personal one. If they were going to work together they had to work on the ‘together’ part. “Tell me more about yourself Detective Shim.”
Changmin quirked an eyebrow at the random request. “What…? I thought we were here to talk about you Mr. Kim. My personal life is pretty uneventful and you don’t need to worry yourself with that.” There was the barrier again. A little alarm had gone off inside Changmin’s head warning him of the dangers of becoming too personal with his client.
“Oh come on. Don’t give me that detective bull shit and please just call me Jaejoong.” Silence from Changmin. “Look, if we’re gonna be working together wouldn’t it be good if we knew each other better?”
‘No, that would actually NOT be a good idea. If we get too involved then our emotions are going to get in the way.’ That’s what he thought. That’s what he should’ve answered to the pretty man sitting next to him. But. . . “I.. guess. Yeah I guess you’re right.” Changmin couldn’t help himself. It wasn’t much to ask of him really. How could he deny this man? He had grown an inexplicable fondness and respect for him since his smartass move on the metro police to get into the investigation. “Well then I guess you can call me Changmin, BUT in private of course. We’ll still call each other by our aliases outside of closed, secure walls. And I wouldn’t say this place will be very safe later on. You never know what those club owners are into.”
Jaejoong smiled brightly and brought his bare feet up to the sofa. “Well then?”
“Alright… uumm what can I say?”
“Start by the basics. Do you have a girlfriend? Do you have kids? What’s your favorite book? What do you like to do in your free time?”
“Woah, woah, one at a time please.” He said with a chuckle. “Alright. No, I don’t have a girlfriend. I don’t have kids either. Don’t have any prospects up until now, I’m too busy to meet people really.”
“That’s a little sad Changmin…”
“But life is like that. Some people get to be happy, others get to make sure those people stay happily oblivious.”
“Oblivious?”
“Yeah. Most people live their lives without thinking that danger is right on the next corner. They never think horrible things could happen to them if they’re not careful. So it’s our job to look out for them. Ignorance is bliss, or so they say.”
Jaejoong nodded and sighed. “I understand. I never thought some psycho killer would kidnap my sister and… take her away from me.” A warm arm draped over his shoulder and the exotic dancer looked up with a sad smile. “Thank you.” He took another long breath and another sip of his tea. “And now look at me. ‘Living la vida loca’ as they say.”
“There’s more to your problem than the patrons isn’t there?” Jaejoong looked away, breaking all sorts of eye contact. To the detective’s trained eye that was a sign that he was right, Jaejoong was trying to hide away and avoid the situation. “What is it Jaejoong? If you need to talk about it I’m right here.” He changed his relaxed posture and leaned in close to the other man. Communicating only with his body ‘I’m listening.’
After one long, deep breath Jaejoong looked up at Changmin again, then down at the swaying liquid inside his cup. He was ready to talk. “Yoochun… He offered me to work as a prostitute.” Changmin didn’t move an inch; he didn’t back away or made any sound. His reaction actually calmed the dancer and he continued. “Apparently some of the patrons have been asking for me. Even- even that Yunho guy.” There was another small pause.
“You do know under Korean law prostitution is illegal right?” Of course, he had to put it out there for the other one. Just in case.
“I know! I know… But… Well… I don’t really know. It’s not like I’m saving myself for someone or anything. I’m no virgin that’s for sure. And Yoochun said I would be making a lot of money and that he would take care of everything and make sure I was always safe like with his other girls. And that I wouldn’t go to jail for it.”
“So you’re actually considering it?” Changmin asked with a raised eyebrow fighting the urge to put his cup down on the coffee table so Jaejoong wouldn’t think he was taking a hostile attitude towards him.
“The extra money would help a lot…” Again he was averting his eyes, setting them down to a random spot on the tiled floor.
“How can that man really assure you won’t go to jail Jaejoong? I know that there are silent, under the table, agreements between the police and the club owners but… If anything happens the last people they care about will be the ‘girls’.” Changmin had to voice his worries, and break the reality of the situation to Jaejoong. It was illegal; he shouldn’t even be saying this to the detective. Changmin would be in a lot of trouble if he incited the other man to participate in illicit activities. In the long run it could be unbeneficial to the both of them.
“I know but… but… I’m sorry Changmin… I know I shouldn’t even be saying this to you, of all people. But I don’t have much anyone else to turn to.”
The detective put his cup down and let his hand squeeze on Jaejoong’s shoulder. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to but; did you take the job to help us in the investigation or was it to prove something to yourself?”
Finally his eyes came up to Changmin’s face, those beautiful, rounded, brown orbs looked at him with fear and apprehension. “I’m not sure… Both I guess. I really want to help clear my sister’s murder but at the same time I was seeking to give some meaning to my life. I studied something I didn’t even like for the sake of my parents and I hated my office job. It was hell on earth. I could say… that I was probably trying to escape all that. But I wonder if this was all just another mistake.”
The hand that Changmin had on Jaejoong’s shoulder tightened around the older male and rubbed on it for comfort. Jaejoong continued. “I don’t even know what I want out of life. It’s always been one mistake after another. I’m a walking disaster according to my family. First my troublemaking years in high school, my lack of motivation in my studies, then the baby, my coming out of the closet, my mediocre job and now this.”
“Baby?”
“I find it funny that you ask about the baby and not about my homosexuality.”
“Don’t get me wrong Jaejoong but, I kinda got that vibe from you the first time we met and that’s precisely why it shocks me that you have a child.”
Both men started at each other then started laughing at the same time; Jaejoong with his usual hand over his mouth and Changmin in his typical open mouth, almost soundless laughter.
“Well yeah… I never mentioned it to you. Not like I had a chance really.” Jaejoong smiled but was blushing, apparently embarrassed at his slip of the mind. “I have a little girl. Her name is Aeyoung; adorable nine year old she is. Smart, pretty, educated, just like her mom. It was a fling back in my third year of University. That was yet another shameful episode for my family ‘cause I didn’t want to marry that woman. I love my child, to death, but I didn’t want to marry her mother. We were good friends back then and I’m good friends with her now-a-days. She recently got engaged. I haven’t met the guy. She told me she wanted to introduce us in person.” Jaejoong’s face shone with a brilliance that could only be matched by his soft smile.
“I’m glad you find joy in your child. It must be hard raising a child from afar. ‘cause I’m guessing ‘mom got the custody’ as always.” Changmin commented with his cynical roll of the eyes that Jaejoong was starting to associate with the detective’s dislikes.
“She does but it’s ok; even more so now, with my new job and all. Besides I get to see her on the weekends and whenever Boa needs babysitting she brings her to me. No better place for my princess than with her appa.”
“Boa? That’s the mother’s name?”
“Yeah, Kwon Boa. Why?”
“Oh, nothing really, sounds kinda familiar. But yeah, that’s great Jaejoong. I’d love to meet your little daughter one day. On better days I hope. These days… Ugh! This whole investigation has been giving me a headache lately. No evidence, no suspects. Nothing!”
Suddenly Jaejoong felt very sad for the detective. And to think he wasn’t doing anything to help. To think his ‘brilliant’ plan wasn’t working out at all. “Oh god! What am I doing Changmin?! I’m out of my mind!!” Changmin looked up startled by the sudden outburst. “I wasn’t even thinking of my child when I did all this. Now I’m even considering selling my body?! I must really be going crazy… This underground world… it does things to you. It fucks with your head. I’ve only been working there for two weeks and I’m not even being useful to you guys!”
“In that you’re wrong. Your call was very useful. We managed to get some info that’s still under investigation. But really, you must do this only if you’re sure you want to do it. Forget the detectives, forget the investigation, think of yourself for a moment.”
“Whatever, I already quit my other job. It’s going to be hard finding a new one… I’ll just suck it up and stick to my plan. I can’t back out now! Not when my sister’s killer is still at large.” Defeated and tired Jaejoong leaned his head on Changmin’s shoulder, sighing, cuddling into the detective’s firm body. “Don’t worry detective. Something will come up soon. Whoever is doing this will make a mistake somewhere and that’s when he’ll regret ever killing anyone.”
“Let’s hope so.” The unexpected proximity made Changmin nervous, and not because Jaejoong was gay, it was the simple fact that Jaejoong was his client. In better days he wouldn’t hesitate to admit he found the other man attractive. Maybe that’s precisely what made him so nervous. “But I seriously doubt he’ll regret it. If he’s really a psycho case then… he has no feelings whatsoever. That’s why we need to cage him, and fast.”
Only time would tell what would become of these two and of the White Lotus Killer.
---------------------------------------------
PREVIOUS / NEXT
Author: Roxy (lady_monochrome)
Pairing(s): MinJae, YunJae, YooSu, HoSu, Yunho x Boa (It’ll make sense later on.)
Length: Chapter 2 of 15 (subject to change)
Word Count: 5,218
Genre: AU, Drama, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological
Rating: R
Warning(s): Serial murder, explicit crime scenes, fucked up sociopathic individuals, drug abuse and prostitution (and just a tiny hint of het for those of you who deem that a warning.)
A/N: Let’s play ‘spot the camo appearance’!! lol AND Ladies and gents! We finally get to see our missing duckbutt! Please enjoy this one ^__^
A/N2: I forgot to mention the time frame and the ages on which the characters are based. I did make some pretty character profiles but I won’t release them all just yet. For this chapter I will release two of the profiles. Just know that Changmin is the youngest of the main characters, from there on you can imagine about how old the rest are in this story until I release the rest of the profiles.
Summary: Young Detective Shim was awarded in his short successful career with a major crime investigation. A series of murders have been terrorizing the citizens of Seoul and it’s up to him, and his team, to solve the crime before more people could fall victim to the vicious killer. But in the process he gets the help he needs from the most unlikely of characters.
Character Profile: Shim Changmin
Character Profile: Kim Jaejoong
-----------------------------------------------------------
(…)ignorance was bliss, but now I must adjust
These animals, they operate on jealousy and lust!
Lie by Black Light Burns
------------------------------------------------------------
In the Dark: Chapter 2; The White Lotus Killer
“Jungpil!! Jungpil!! Come back here boy!!” A woman was peacefully walking her dog around the vicinity when her little Shi-Tzu ran off into the trees. “Hey, what’d you got there sport?” She ran over to her dog which had stopped on a tree and was sniffing something at its feet. When she circled the tree-
“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!”
----------------------------
2:00pm
“Who found the body?” Detective Shim asked as soon as he arrived at the crime scene. It had been about two weeks since the last murder.
“A woman named Lee Hyori. She was following her dog into the foliage when she found the body.” One of Changmin’s co-workers, who had already arrived at the scene, filled him in on all the details.
“Alright, I want to talk with her, we need a statement.” Quickly moving into action was the proper way to go into any crime scene to avoid any loss of evidence. “Guys gather up! We’re going to start a sweep of the perimeter. First we’ll do a line search then I’ll do a spiral one around the body. Need I remind you to be extremely cautious? Remember we don’t want any evidence destroyed. I’ll personally skin the officer that makes that mistake. Alright everyone, gear up and let’s get to it!”
A set of four officers set out to put on protective gear, such as gloves, and along with the forensics team began a sweep of the crime scene. Changmin watched the area, trying to visualize how that body had gotten to where it was set. In the distance he spotted people gathering around and a news network van just arriving. He immediately made his way to one of the higher ranking officers. “Officer Park. Take a group of your men and make sure no one crosses that yellow line. I don’t care who they are, or who they represent. Especially the news cast. Absolutely no one gets past the perimeter until we’re done searching for evidence.”
Without a word from the officer Changmin continued his pace around the crime scene and he spotted an officer speaking with a very distressed looking woman. He guessed it had to be the woman who found the body. “Hello Mrs. Lee. I’m Detective Shim” He said with a very calm voice, extending his hand for her. The other officer bowed to him and left. The woman shook his hand but quickly brought it back to cross over her chest. “I know this has been a bad experience for you, but we need your help right now Mrs. Lee. Could you answer a few questions for me?” The woman seemed in a daze, with red rimmed eyes, like she was about to cry but she nodded anyway. After a few simple questions it was obvious that there wasn’t much for her to say and Changmin decided to just let her go. It was at moments like this one when Changmin really hated the system. The people who suffer the most, victims and witnesses, are the ones who have to relive the entirety of the nightmare over and over until the case is closed; and that could take months, even years.
The other officers were half done with their sweep. Nothing had come up yet. And nothing came up after they were done. So Detective Shim proceeded to do a spiral search starting at about six feet from the body. Every time he did a turn he swept his eyes over the man sitting under the tree. Well at least the shell of a man; a pale shell, with empty, glassy eyes, a sure sign of death. Nothing was coming up. The grass seemed perfectly green and un-touched. It was almost as if the body had flown itself there and sat under the tree. Truly it was mind boggling how little evidence there was at the scene.
A forensic expert circled around, following the same trail the Detective did until he reached him. Changmin continued and he was finally face to face with the dead man’s body, alongside the forensic technician. “Well… Let’s do this…” They bent down and the first thing they noticed was the state of the skin, besides being extremely pale, the hairs were standing as if it had goose bumps. “He certainly hasn’t been here more than 24 hours.”
Seeing as the body was placed in a complicated position, or more like well thought out, both Changmin and the technician thought of the same thing as the other two cases. “The person was moved to this location probably around 3 to 6 hours after death, before rigor mortis could set in.” The technician nodded and jotted down. “Rigor mortis is now fully set in… The body feels cold, but without much blood left inside, as I presume, and being exposed to the night temperature I’m guessing the outer temperature will be highly inaccurate. We’ll have to take rectal temperature inside the van. But I’m going to make a very wild guess and say the time of death must be approximately 12 hours prior.”
No traces of violence could be found on the body except for the slits on both wrists. This time around, they were even cuts; three on each wrist at about the same length from each other. And the ever present rope marks were also there. Taking whatever evidence they could from the body, like the lotus flower, they took all the pictures, made the scene sketches and finally gave permission to lift the body.
It was already past five in the afternoon when they were all done. The press got their feed on the murder. Another victim of the same ruthless killer.
- “A woman came across a dead body in a park early this afternoon when she was chasing her dog into the trees. The Metropolitan Police Homicide Detectives have confirmed that this could be linked to the White Lotus killer since the victim was found sitting under a tree with a white lotus flower between its hands. The victim, whom was a male, is believed to be-”
Sometimes the press just didn’t help at all. The entire task force team was sitting in the Homicide Department’s conference room looking up at the news while shaking their heads. It’s true that everyone deserved to know what was going on but there was bound to be chaos in the city. At least everyone could be in the look out but in some cases it only propelled copy cats and other sort of idiots that really craved the attention.
In the middle of the tense silence a small vibration could be heard. Everyone turned towards the source. It was Changmin’s phone going off on the long table. “Excuse me.” He walked outside the room to answer. “Yeoboseyo?”
“Choikang! How are you babe?”
“Youngwoong! Are you doing ok? Is everything alright?”
“Chillax mister. I’m doing alright. Haven’t spoken to you in while sweetheart.” The sound of a door closing could be heard through the phone. “Choikang. I heard of the latest murder.” Jaejoong was whispering into the phone. “Apparently he worked in a club close by to this one, Club Polaris. And I’ve also heard rumors that he used to work for Park Yoochun. The owner of this club.”
“Are you calling me from the club?!”
“Yes! Did you listen to what I just said?!”
“You heard about the murder, he apparently worked in a club called Club Polaris and apparently he used to work for the owner of your club, Park Yoochun. Got it.”
“Good ‘cause I have to go now. I’ll talk to you later… I kinda need it…” Changmin couldn’t even reply to that before he heard the annoying tone of the dead line.
“Hmp. You better damn well know what you’re doing Kim Jaejoong…”
---------------------------------
“Youngwoong-sshi! You’re up next. Where the hell were you?” A young man around Jaejoong’s age, with natural black, spiky hair came to look for him. “Chunnie’s getting impatient so you better head off for the stage now.”
“I’m sorry Xiah. I was making a call. You know, gotta keep the good ones happy.” Xiah smiled knowingly and nodded but then grabbed his arm to make him go faster.
“I absolutely understand, but right now you have to be on the stage.” It didn’t take long for the two handsome men to reach the backstage area and it took even less time for wardrobe personnel to put their new dancer into gear.
“Oh my god! He’s here!! Youngwoong-sshi!!” The man named Xiah walked back to him in a hurry and shook him almost violently by the shoulders. “Listen very closely. You remember what you said about keeping the good ones happy? Well there’s an important guest out there. You might know who he is, Jung Yunho. We need to impress him got it? So you better be on your best and most sensual behavior today on stage. Blow his mind! Forget the rest of the audience!” And as quickly as he had run up to him, Xiah left. Probably he was running off to Yoochun.
Left with little time to absorb the intensity of the request, the music started and Jaejoong stepped onto the stage. The lights were dim, the music was slow. People were unusually silent but that immediately changed when the single spotlight shown down on the exotic dancer on the middle of the stage.
One Jung Yunho looked up with interest. This dancer on the stage was breathtakingly beautiful. The thin, see-thru fabric that covered his body left little to the imagination. He could clearly make out the tiny waist, the broad shoulders and small, dark nipples against fair skin. Yunho’s charming pearly whites shone bright through his smug smirk. The politician obviously liked what he saw.
From center stage Jaejoong could make out that one smile among the many men and women watching him. It was blinding, it hurt his eyes. How could teeth be so perfect? That man was so fake. Regardless of his preferences the exotic dancer must continue his show and he aimed to please, he aimed for success. His manager had asked him to impress that one guest and he would.
------------------------------
“Did you like our new male dancer? He’s pretty isn’t he?” Xiah asked the prominent politician. They were lounging in the VIP area of the club, the manager trying to please his guest as much as possible.
“Oh, yes. He’s a beautiful man. Where did Park get him?” Yunho was calmly sipping a glass of cognac, rubbing his free hand up and down the manager’s thigh.
“Well, Youngwoong actually came around on his own about two weeks ago. And of course Chunnie brought him in. He’s always had a good eye for what pleases the client.” Right on queue the owner of the club, Park Yoochun, walked into the VIP area, a big smile adorning his fine, prominent features.
“Ah~ Mr. Jung. It’s always a pleasure to have you here. It’s been too long since your last visit.” The cocky owner shook Yunho’s hand. It was a familiar gesture by now. Yunho frequented the Black Dahlia, he was a regular, a VIP. It was one of the few places he had were he didn’t have to be the politician, where he could just sit back, enjoy good alcohol and beautiful people.
“It’s always a pleasure to be here and especially tonight. That new dancer of yours sure is something. Youngwoong was it? I bet he’s quickly becoming your clients’ favorite superhero.” Yunho commented with a silly grin. Yes sometimes he amused himself. Yoochun chuckled at the silly joke and pointed towards the entrance of the VIP section.
“You’ll have the chance to meet him in person if you so like.” Right at the moment Jaejoong appeared through the curtains, now fully dressed, but still looking provocative. He made his way slowly towards the three men at the comfiest couch in the place.
“Mr. Jung it’s an honor. I hope my performance was to your liking.” The exotic dancer bowed. He slowly looked up to the man sitting on the purple velvet couch. What met Jaejoong’s gaze was at first a pair of highly expensive looking shoes, along with equally expensive looking clothing. Although dressed in a casual manner one could tell each item was of a fine western brand.
“Youngwoong-sshi. The honor is mine. Please have a seat.” He was sporting that incredibly fake smile again and it was blinding Jaejoong again. Having those sharp eyes watching him from a distance was one thing, but having this man watching him close-up was entirely different. It was a whole other level of uneasiness. But even those thoughts couldn’t distract Jaejoong from seeing how handsome the man was. He had seen him many times on the TV screen but up-close and three-dimensional was so much better. “Why is such a beautiful man as you dancing in a club Youngwoong-sshi?”
“Well sir, I won’t lie. I have the face and the body. The money’s good. It’s all I need, ain’t complaining.” Jaejoong answered straightforward, unblinking. Feeling bold he spiked the ball to the candidate’s side of the court. “Now I could ask you the same question candidate Jung. Why is such a prominent politician hanging out at a joint such as this one?”
“Hey! Youngwoong. More respect for the candidate. And you better damn know well this is the best place in town. Not some lowlife, dirty strip club.” Yoochun felt offended by Jaejoong’s words, even surprised that he had answered back to the politician.
“Sorry Chunnie-ah. But it’s quite the obvious question. No matter what club it is, or how high class he’s still a candidate to be Mayor of the city. I thought you politicians were all about morals and your image.”
Apparently Yunho found the exchange hilarious because he started laughing. He laughed so hard he almost spilled his drink. No joking, the man was growing breathless from his own laughter. “I’m sorry gentlemen. But this is funny. Youngwoong-sshi, you’re right. We politicians are all about our image. That’s exactly why I come here to Mr. Park. He knows how to keep his mouth shut. He’s a smart man.” His face suddenly became extremely serious. “And you better know how to keep your trap shut as well. Bad things happen to blabber mouths Youngwoong-sshi. Don’t be one of those idiots.”
Well what do you know…? All politicians really are the same.
-------------------------------------
12:56 am
It was time to head back home, finally. There wasn’t much that could be done at the moment so the chief had sent everyone home to take good rests and prepare for the shitload of work they had the next day. Changmin was making his way down the street and into the underground train. As he waited for his ride his phone began ringing in his pocket.
“Yeoboseyo.”
“Hey, Choikang. It’s me, Youngwoong.”
“Hey. How are you? Doing ok?”
“Yeah, pretty ok… Can I come over to your office?”
“I’m not at the office I’m heading home right now.”
“I need to see you… I need someone to talk to right now…”
“Well… Where are you? I’m about to hop on the train in Sungshin University station.”
“Oh! Don’t!! I’m close to the Mia station! Wait for me there!!”
The train had just arrived at Sungshin Women’s University station but the young detective didn’t board. He waited for the call. He waited for Kim Jaejoong to let him know he had hopped on the train at Mia station. Fifteen minutes later that call came in. The now exotic dancer was on his way. Two trains later Changmin hopped in for the ride.
“Fancy meeting you here.” A beautiful male face appeared next to him once Changmin was inside the train.
“Heh, Youngwoong-sshi. It’s nice to see you.” Changmin bowed politely and Jaejoong smiled tenderly.
“There’s no need for all the formality. I’m sick of it. Smiling to everyone, not looking anyone directly in the eye, having to bow and act like I don’t have a worry in the world. I don’t mind the dancing really. It’s meeting the patrons that gets to my nerves.” Changmin listened closely and nodded. It wasn’t often he did this. He always kept his work affiliations as far away from his personal relations as possible. He didn’t think it was part of his job to serve as a counselor to the family of the victims but he was genuinely worried for Jaejoong. There he was, an innocent civilian risking his life for an investigation and Changmin could do very little to nothing about it. So why not just help him. “There’s a lot I’d like to talk about but not here. I don’t really have much people I can run to. I’m sorry if I’m being a burden to you.”
“No! No, it’s fine. I want to help you out. You’re doing far more than I would’ve ever dared to ask of you and I respect that. You have my complete support.” The detective offered Jaejoong a sincere smile. “I can accompany you home if you’d like. We can talk there.”
All that the exotic dancer offered as a response was a simple nod of the head and a small pained smile. The rest of the ride was silent, with a tired Jaejoong leaning his head on the detective’s shoulder and the equally tired detective letting him.
-----------------------------------
“It’s small but it’s home.” Two male silhouettes walked into the living room of a small apartment, appearing as Jaejoong and the detective when the lights were turned on. “Please make yourself at home. I’ll make some tea for us.” Jaejoong pointed towards the small living room as he walked towards the kitchen.
“Thank you.” Changmin sat back on the sofa, making himself comfy. He was tired, his body was tired, and his mind was tired. All the detective wanted was this case to be solved and in the past.
A few minutes later Jaejoong re-emerged from the kitchen with two mugs, the white strings from the tea bags hanging off from the side. “Here. Hope it’s ok.”
“Thank you very much. Anything warm is welcome in my stomach.” He said with an amused smile. Anyone that knew Shim Changmin personally knew that he had an undying love for good cuisine, and his palette wasn’t very picky. He would try anything at least once. “So… Talk to me Jaejoong. Is something bothering you?”
“Well, yes and no.” Jaejoong took a long sip from his green tea and sighed.
“How is that? Something to do with work I assume.” Changmin answered while sipping on his tea also.
“Um, yes. I mean, I’ve been adapting well. I can dance. I can make people horny. I can make people throw their money down my pants. I guess that’s a good sign isn’t it?” As awful as it may have sound Jaejoong was actually smiling, chuckling even. He had been working at the club for two weeks already and he had a few regulars who came to see him dance the past week. There was a certain glitter of satisfaction in his eyes, of accomplishment. “I say it’s not so bad, it pays well enough to take care of the bills, and if you’re that good, to have luxuries.” Changmin was only nodding, quietly sipping at his tea. “It’s… It’s some of the patrons that unnerve me. Like that Yunho guy! Seriously, he’s so full of himself, it’s disgusting!”
“Yunho? Jung Yunho? The senator?” The detective’s eyes were wide in surprise and mockery as his companion nodded his head. “You’re kidding! I knew he was a shady character. Talking about morale and shit to people while he’s slithering around on the dirt of his own lies.”
“Wow! Personal grudge much?” Jaejoong asked between chuckles.
“No! No, no no. I don’t even know the guy! I just don’t like him. Besides isn’t he like engaged to some pretty magazine editor? Ugh, I guess politicians just don’t sit well with me. To me they’re all blood-sucking, compulsive liars.” Said the detective, waving his free hand in the air, as if dismissing the topics, and making a face of distaste.
“But somebody has to lead the country, right?” Jaejoong stated matter-of-factly. He started laughing at Changmin’s roll of the eyes. This was the side of Changmin that he didn’t know, the one he wanted to get to know better, the personal one. If they were going to work together they had to work on the ‘together’ part. “Tell me more about yourself Detective Shim.”
Changmin quirked an eyebrow at the random request. “What…? I thought we were here to talk about you Mr. Kim. My personal life is pretty uneventful and you don’t need to worry yourself with that.” There was the barrier again. A little alarm had gone off inside Changmin’s head warning him of the dangers of becoming too personal with his client.
“Oh come on. Don’t give me that detective bull shit and please just call me Jaejoong.” Silence from Changmin. “Look, if we’re gonna be working together wouldn’t it be good if we knew each other better?”
‘No, that would actually NOT be a good idea. If we get too involved then our emotions are going to get in the way.’ That’s what he thought. That’s what he should’ve answered to the pretty man sitting next to him. But. . . “I.. guess. Yeah I guess you’re right.” Changmin couldn’t help himself. It wasn’t much to ask of him really. How could he deny this man? He had grown an inexplicable fondness and respect for him since his smartass move on the metro police to get into the investigation. “Well then I guess you can call me Changmin, BUT in private of course. We’ll still call each other by our aliases outside of closed, secure walls. And I wouldn’t say this place will be very safe later on. You never know what those club owners are into.”
Jaejoong smiled brightly and brought his bare feet up to the sofa. “Well then?”
“Alright… uumm what can I say?”
“Start by the basics. Do you have a girlfriend? Do you have kids? What’s your favorite book? What do you like to do in your free time?”
“Woah, woah, one at a time please.” He said with a chuckle. “Alright. No, I don’t have a girlfriend. I don’t have kids either. Don’t have any prospects up until now, I’m too busy to meet people really.”
“That’s a little sad Changmin…”
“But life is like that. Some people get to be happy, others get to make sure those people stay happily oblivious.”
“Oblivious?”
“Yeah. Most people live their lives without thinking that danger is right on the next corner. They never think horrible things could happen to them if they’re not careful. So it’s our job to look out for them. Ignorance is bliss, or so they say.”
Jaejoong nodded and sighed. “I understand. I never thought some psycho killer would kidnap my sister and… take her away from me.” A warm arm draped over his shoulder and the exotic dancer looked up with a sad smile. “Thank you.” He took another long breath and another sip of his tea. “And now look at me. ‘Living la vida loca’ as they say.”
“There’s more to your problem than the patrons isn’t there?” Jaejoong looked away, breaking all sorts of eye contact. To the detective’s trained eye that was a sign that he was right, Jaejoong was trying to hide away and avoid the situation. “What is it Jaejoong? If you need to talk about it I’m right here.” He changed his relaxed posture and leaned in close to the other man. Communicating only with his body ‘I’m listening.’
After one long, deep breath Jaejoong looked up at Changmin again, then down at the swaying liquid inside his cup. He was ready to talk. “Yoochun… He offered me to work as a prostitute.” Changmin didn’t move an inch; he didn’t back away or made any sound. His reaction actually calmed the dancer and he continued. “Apparently some of the patrons have been asking for me. Even- even that Yunho guy.” There was another small pause.
“You do know under Korean law prostitution is illegal right?” Of course, he had to put it out there for the other one. Just in case.
“I know! I know… But… Well… I don’t really know. It’s not like I’m saving myself for someone or anything. I’m no virgin that’s for sure. And Yoochun said I would be making a lot of money and that he would take care of everything and make sure I was always safe like with his other girls. And that I wouldn’t go to jail for it.”
“So you’re actually considering it?” Changmin asked with a raised eyebrow fighting the urge to put his cup down on the coffee table so Jaejoong wouldn’t think he was taking a hostile attitude towards him.
“The extra money would help a lot…” Again he was averting his eyes, setting them down to a random spot on the tiled floor.
“How can that man really assure you won’t go to jail Jaejoong? I know that there are silent, under the table, agreements between the police and the club owners but… If anything happens the last people they care about will be the ‘girls’.” Changmin had to voice his worries, and break the reality of the situation to Jaejoong. It was illegal; he shouldn’t even be saying this to the detective. Changmin would be in a lot of trouble if he incited the other man to participate in illicit activities. In the long run it could be unbeneficial to the both of them.
“I know but… but… I’m sorry Changmin… I know I shouldn’t even be saying this to you, of all people. But I don’t have much anyone else to turn to.”
The detective put his cup down and let his hand squeeze on Jaejoong’s shoulder. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to but; did you take the job to help us in the investigation or was it to prove something to yourself?”
Finally his eyes came up to Changmin’s face, those beautiful, rounded, brown orbs looked at him with fear and apprehension. “I’m not sure… Both I guess. I really want to help clear my sister’s murder but at the same time I was seeking to give some meaning to my life. I studied something I didn’t even like for the sake of my parents and I hated my office job. It was hell on earth. I could say… that I was probably trying to escape all that. But I wonder if this was all just another mistake.”
The hand that Changmin had on Jaejoong’s shoulder tightened around the older male and rubbed on it for comfort. Jaejoong continued. “I don’t even know what I want out of life. It’s always been one mistake after another. I’m a walking disaster according to my family. First my troublemaking years in high school, my lack of motivation in my studies, then the baby, my coming out of the closet, my mediocre job and now this.”
“Baby?”
“I find it funny that you ask about the baby and not about my homosexuality.”
“Don’t get me wrong Jaejoong but, I kinda got that vibe from you the first time we met and that’s precisely why it shocks me that you have a child.”
Both men started at each other then started laughing at the same time; Jaejoong with his usual hand over his mouth and Changmin in his typical open mouth, almost soundless laughter.
“Well yeah… I never mentioned it to you. Not like I had a chance really.” Jaejoong smiled but was blushing, apparently embarrassed at his slip of the mind. “I have a little girl. Her name is Aeyoung; adorable nine year old she is. Smart, pretty, educated, just like her mom. It was a fling back in my third year of University. That was yet another shameful episode for my family ‘cause I didn’t want to marry that woman. I love my child, to death, but I didn’t want to marry her mother. We were good friends back then and I’m good friends with her now-a-days. She recently got engaged. I haven’t met the guy. She told me she wanted to introduce us in person.” Jaejoong’s face shone with a brilliance that could only be matched by his soft smile.
“I’m glad you find joy in your child. It must be hard raising a child from afar. ‘cause I’m guessing ‘mom got the custody’ as always.” Changmin commented with his cynical roll of the eyes that Jaejoong was starting to associate with the detective’s dislikes.
“She does but it’s ok; even more so now, with my new job and all. Besides I get to see her on the weekends and whenever Boa needs babysitting she brings her to me. No better place for my princess than with her appa.”
“Boa? That’s the mother’s name?”
“Yeah, Kwon Boa. Why?”
“Oh, nothing really, sounds kinda familiar. But yeah, that’s great Jaejoong. I’d love to meet your little daughter one day. On better days I hope. These days… Ugh! This whole investigation has been giving me a headache lately. No evidence, no suspects. Nothing!”
Suddenly Jaejoong felt very sad for the detective. And to think he wasn’t doing anything to help. To think his ‘brilliant’ plan wasn’t working out at all. “Oh god! What am I doing Changmin?! I’m out of my mind!!” Changmin looked up startled by the sudden outburst. “I wasn’t even thinking of my child when I did all this. Now I’m even considering selling my body?! I must really be going crazy… This underground world… it does things to you. It fucks with your head. I’ve only been working there for two weeks and I’m not even being useful to you guys!”
“In that you’re wrong. Your call was very useful. We managed to get some info that’s still under investigation. But really, you must do this only if you’re sure you want to do it. Forget the detectives, forget the investigation, think of yourself for a moment.”
“Whatever, I already quit my other job. It’s going to be hard finding a new one… I’ll just suck it up and stick to my plan. I can’t back out now! Not when my sister’s killer is still at large.” Defeated and tired Jaejoong leaned his head on Changmin’s shoulder, sighing, cuddling into the detective’s firm body. “Don’t worry detective. Something will come up soon. Whoever is doing this will make a mistake somewhere and that’s when he’ll regret ever killing anyone.”
“Let’s hope so.” The unexpected proximity made Changmin nervous, and not because Jaejoong was gay, it was the simple fact that Jaejoong was his client. In better days he wouldn’t hesitate to admit he found the other man attractive. Maybe that’s precisely what made him so nervous. “But I seriously doubt he’ll regret it. If he’s really a psycho case then… he has no feelings whatsoever. That’s why we need to cage him, and fast.”
Only time would tell what would become of these two and of the White Lotus Killer.
---------------------------------------------
PREVIOUS / NEXT