Chapter Text
My dream is to go
To that place
Where it all began
On a starry night
When we kissed
With the stars in our eyes
The night
When it all began
A hand reached to turn the volume down on the car radio, the yellow branches of high trees passing by in a steady speed on the half-rolled-down window. It was almost spring. The same hand reached again, and brought the cassette recorder that was left in the passenger side closer to the man behind the wheel. He pressed his thumb on the record button, his other hand slightly turning the wheel to make a right turn to the road that would bring his long drive nearer to its end. The sign he left behind read Seoraksan.
“Ryu. 2:30 in the afternoon. Been driving for hours so I’m pretty restless. Had great coffee and reasonably fine cherry pie in a road-diner. The filling was too sweet, the name not of worth to report, I reckon. The mountain side really is a fresh breath of air though. Remind me to ask,” he reached for the leather notebook on the other seat to check the notes on the last page he wrote down on, “Sherriff Kang the type of these trees, they’re truly wonderful! I’ll also need to ask for a clean and nice place to stay in. Preferably reasonably priced.”
After pushing the button again to stop recording, he reached for the radio again, turning the volume up and then changing stations to try and find a more cheerful song, how he would justify the action if asked.
“It’s okay, San. Take a breather, we’ll take it from here.”
Sherriff Kang reached down to pet the back of the crouched, crying officer to get him to step away from the scene. He and Officer Jongho shared a look of understanding between them, the man being the only other officer in town. They did not have any actual crimes, let alone any this horrendous, and they both were aware they had to go easy on San now that they were standing in the middle of one, the said Officer not one for heavy emotions.
And horrendous it was. They had arrived after getting a call from the son of the owner of the big mill stationed at the outskirts of the town where the soil met water. The cause of the call was an unidentified shape wrapped in clear plastic. It looked too much like a body for them to not notice, to not already know. And they were certain once they turned it around to undo the tape keeping the plastic together, after Jongho, who was tasked to do so, had taken the initial crime scene photographs.
It was then that San had crouched down to cry out, trying to bury his face into his arms to will away the image he already knew was going to be ingrained in his brain forever.
“Oh, it’s horrible, Sheriff Kang. It’s so horrible,” he mumbled out behind his palms before he was ushered up and away.
The body lying on the wet and dark pebbles, mere meters away from the lake, was blue and grey in places. It was apparent the person had been dead for a while. It was gruesome and unsettling, but what had perplexed the men present, and even brought one to tears, wasn’t the sight of the said body but the lack thereof.
Its head was missing.
The other two men moved to cover the plastic again, the event’s horrifying effect and the unnerving questions of what a crime of this calibre meant for their town, for the remaining people of it, clear behind both their gazes.
“So glad to have you here, the whole town is very shaken up.”
Happy to finally be free, stepping out of the car and immersed in this happiness, Agent Song was startled by the deep voice and the hand reaching out to shake his. He had not seen anyone near when he had been parking im front of the hospital he was described the whereabouts of by townspeople.
“Sure it is, nice, quiet place, something like this...” He began, his hand unconsciously rising to meet the one that was offered.
He had to stop to take a second when he was met with the owner of the limb upon finally raising his head. Noticeably shorter than him, and way, way prettier, it was almost baffling. Maybe not almost.
“Special Agent Song Mingi.” He schooled his features into seriousness.
“Sherrif Kang Yeosang,” the man answered, taking his hand away and gesturing towards the entrance of the hospital. Big and grey.
Mingi followed until they were in the halls, where he stopped to get the attention of the other lawman. “We need to get some things straight, you ought to know that since the Berau had taken over, it means I’m the one in charge, which means you’ll be working for me. Small town officers don’t quite like this specific order of things, I’ve come to find out, so I would appreciate it if we were on the same page from the start, then we can quickly bring justice however it is needed.”
The Sherrif tried hard to not show his irritation at the words small town, he knew it was true and was the last person in town to feel negatively of the fact but it sounded near condescending coming out of the man standing in front of him.
“Like I said, glad to have you here,” he confirmed his cooperation instead. He was too nice to start a conflict, or so he had been told.
“What kind of fantastic trees do you guys have around here, so majestic!” Mingi tried, having sensed the inoffensive yet still annoyed reaction coming from the Sheriff. They were moving through grey hall after grey hall, empty of people.
“Larch Trees,” Yeosang offered, not really in the mood to talk greenery with a body presently waiting for them, which they were then only separated away from by the morgue door, having descended a floor and passed even more halls.
Behind the door was the Forensic Specialist Mingi was already familiar with, Jeong Yunho. He was standing beside the metal bed on the far end of the room, with a hand on his jutted hip, looking over the pages on the board in his hand; his thick, prescription glasses resting low on his nose, with an almost bored expression.
His face cleared upon looking up at the sound and having spotted another familiar face. “Song! You’re alive," he said and looked relieved for a reason the Agent didn't dwell on.
“Just an 8 hour drive, Jeong. Of course I’m alive,” Mingi greeted back, approaching the body fully covered by the white sheet.
Yunho looked at him with an expression that made it obvious he was stressed Mingi was not understanding something that was very clear, quickly glancing down at the body and back at him. But just as quickly, he brushed it off to walk towards the Agent.
In seconds, he had Mingi by his arm, had put a noticeable distance between them and the Sheriff, and had turned them both around to whisper, “Something’s not right here, Song.”
Mingi could not help his surprised grin. It was weird and unexpected to have the Forensic acting so frantic.
“Of course not, Yunho.” He attempted to free his arm to turn around.
“No! You don’t understand-” Yunho let go and stood more collected, like his usual self. “I need more time with the body,” he said louder, addressing both men.
Mingi took a look at the Sheriff still standing where they had left him, a furrow taking over his face, and knew what to say. “Look, Yunho. These people have suffered enough, it’s not like the city here. Here, it means something, alright? The funeral is to be held tomorrow so that’s the only time you get. Let’s not be unproffessional about this.”
Yunho huffed out, ready to argue how the town wasn’t technically equipped to even analyse the remains of the substance he had found around the left hand of the body.
“Did you look under the fingernail?” Mingi beat him to ask.
Yunho took a long second to look at him to see if he could somehow change the Agent’s mind and quickly gathered that no, he couldn’t. His time with the body would remain unchanged. The lack of resources around meant he was already done there, he would leave after giving his initial report.
He walked back to the place they had first found him, and Mingi followed to stand beside the Sheriff, on the other side of the metal bed, under where the only light in the room came from.
“I don’t get it, no one even claimed the body, it doesn’t even have a name.” He reached for the small evidence bag placed on the tray, to pass it along to Mingi.
“He is found in this town, so he is of this town,” Sheriff Kang said in a rather calm voice.
“It’s the letter S,” Mingi announced, ignoring both men and the distaining looks they threw at each other. He had already expressed his stance on the argument.
“What does it mean?” The Sherriff now had an expression of intrigue.
“The letters A, N, and G were found under the fingernails in three other separate cases before,” Yunho explained, his tone bordering arrogance.
This investigation of Mingi’s had been years in the making and Yunho knew every detail of it.
“Well, not so separate,” Mingi mumbled, eyes still on the small bag he now held under the magnifier placed at the head of the table.
A loud banging of a door sounded through the hall outside.
“This is the work of a serial killer?” The Sherriff looked surprised, something Mingi found striking. It was the most he had seen of any emotion on the man’s face so far. “What’s a serial killer doing in Seoraksan?” He moved closer to where Mingi was to personally inspect the letter the Forensic had found.
“He has a thing for small towns,” Yunho answered for Mingi, in time with a shrug.
“He? You know who it is?”
“No, of course not.” The Agent chuckled at the naive question. “Doesn’t mean we can’t not get acquainted.”
Yeosang watched as the Agent looked through the report handed to him, making various noises as he read further and further. He couldn’t put his finger on why something about the man bothered him so much, less so what that something could be. It was his unbothered attitude that undoubtedly came with being a city person, yes, but it also seemed like something more, something deeper.
Yeosang had been pleasantly surprised when he heard his town being defended by the same man who had been, and was at that moment, close to condescending of the same town and its people. He had looked nearly familiar in that moment. Someone Yeosang could have had grown up with, someone who belonged to the town, who held the same beliefs as them, as him. The thought displeased him.
He was also surprised when Mingi gave the report back to the Forensic and they both moved to exit the morgue like they were walking out of any other room. Yeosang looked back at the still covered body left behind. He guessed, with an unpleasant flutter in his heart, that the Agent already knew the corpse was missing a head.
Three missing heads. He wondered who could do such a thing, who could inspect such atrocities and not lose something humane. The man who he was now the under the orders of, seemingly.
He turned off the lights and closed the door behind him to join the two men, trying to make as little movement and sound for a reason he didn’t have the heart to try and figure out.