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Chan trudged through the crowded alleyway. Chan was a newbie in a neighbourhood police station that was located in the least populated town in Seoul. There was a murder reported by an old woman that was looking for her cat, and according to the advice of Soonyoung, his senior, it was best for a newbie to get used to the most heinous crime scenes that this town had to offer. And Chan was afraid that this crime was linked to the notorious serial killer in South Korea, The Scar Killer.
The killer would torture as well as leave cuts that filled up at one chosen body part to scar them and tied them up. The only common feature that all the victims have was that they did not have a nice reputation, either they were ex-con or ill-mannered people. The police theorised that there might be more than one culprit behind the identity of The Scar Killer, but there was no evidence to back it up. There was usually one month interval between each murder in different parts of Seoul, however this time, it was a week apart in the same town. Chills went down Chan’s back as he remembered the pictures of the ten victims in the files he read prior.
Chan stood in front of the body. His face distorted to horror as the body that was laid there was a replica of the pictures. Something unpleasant climbed up his throat and before long, he wretched into a plastic bag that he did not notice was there.
“There, there. It is alright to puke but I thought you already prepared yourself by peeking at those pictures?” Junhui casually commented, who was holding out the plastic bag for Chan. Chan stared at his colleague incredulously.
“Thanks but nothing can ever prepare me for this,” Chan muttered sickly as he grabbed the plastic bag and tied it up. He glanced at the bloody body and winced. The victim was a male in his mid thirties. Most of his teeth were missing, presumably plucked off, with a dirtied cloth hanging out of his mouth. His hands and legs were bound together with a rope behind his back as well as around his abdomen. Cuts were decorated all over his face and bruises at random places. Chan scanned the area to search for any type of evidence but to no avail. This town was a perfect place to commit a murder.
“It’s unfortunate to see you guys again,” a voice chuckled . Chan was startled and turned to see a man wearing a leather jacket. Junhui bowed to him respectfully and led the man into the crime scene. Followed him was another man with doe-like eyes, wearing a brown coat. Chan observed the two unfamiliar men inspected the body while Junhui shared the details they had found before their arrival. The two got up and the first man waved at Chan.
“Ah, this is our new guy, Lee Chan. Chan, these are Detective Choi Seungcheol and Detective Hong Joshua. They are from the city and they are in charge of The Scar Killer case near their area,” Junhui introduced with a rather too cheerful tone, patting Chan’s back as Chan bowed and waved awkwardly. Seungcheol gave Chan a bright smile while Joshua gave a light nod to him. Seungcheol had a dimple on one cheek with a cherry red lips. He had prominent eye bags and cheeks sunken just a little. It seemed like Seungcheol’s demeanour brightened up when his eyes laid upon Chan. Joshua on the other hand, seemed weary with beads of sweat dripping down his neck, although it was chilly in the middle of the night. It was obvious that he tried not to show his exhaustion on his face as his face was as gentle as snow and had soft features. He was polite in everything he did and looked like he could not hurt a fly, which was weird for him to be an outfield detective rather than just being a lawyer or a prosecutor.
“It is nice to see young people joining to keep this country safe. And just call us by our first names because I like you and might see you around again,” Seungcheol winked and as Joshua asked him to be serious. Chan wondered how could detectives be so friendly when there was a corpse right next to them. Junhui joined in with Seongcheol’s antics, making jokes and chatting unrelated topics, which was normal of Junhui as far as Chan knew him. He sighed and gazed around in boredom. He jerked when he realised Joshua was staring at him, eyes glinting with menace, that Chan hoped he had assumed. Chan felt uncomfortable immediately and fidgeted.
“Jun, can I take a breather for a second?” Chan whined softly to his colleague, who was busy discussing a sudden serious topic. Shooting a glance at Joshua, Chan willingly escaped the crime scene and strolled to a quiet place. It was strange for it to be this quiet, but he did not pay any mind since it was a weekday. He heard footsteps behind him so he skinned around to see it was Joshua.
“Are you okay? Sorry for staring at you like that, that is just how my eyes are when I think,” Joshua reassured. Chan suddenly felt horrible that he had made such an assumption on a person he just met, who looked kind like a pastor. Maybe he was a coward or paranoid. As a response, he apologised. He wanted to step forward to talk more with the older man when Joshua laughed with a smirk.
Thud
Chan felt a blunt force onto his head, making him collapsed onto the ground. The pain was ringing in his head which made him lose focus. He wanted to call out for Joshua to run or help until Joshua squatted down. He gripped a handful of Chan’s hair to force him to look up. A liquid was trickling down at the side of his head, slowly dripping onto the pavement. Chan looked at him weakly with puzzled eyes.
“You look so pretty like this. In fact, you are the prettiest out of all the victims we were asked to kill. I cannot wait to play with you soon. I wonder what is your limit because you might be the first one that I wish to keep alive,” Joshua giggled and gave his thanks to someone named Hansol, Chan’s eyes were wide with horror. He felt numb as he was dragged into a car, watching Joshua gave him a wink before breaking into a run with a loud distress cry. The door of the car was shut and Hansol, that Chan presumed was the name, moved into the driver seat. The car started silently and swiftly moved out of the town without a hassle.
“Do not worry Lee Chan, we will not let you die,” Hansol spoke with a low voice with a soothing tone. Chan tried to fight to stay awake, but was soon defeated into a slumber.