The Bouquet

Chapter 12

The detective across from her sighed, he realized how this interrogation was going to go. He placed a few folders down on the table in the space between them as well as a carrier tray holding two cups of coffee.

"I'm going to be honest with you," He paused to pour some sugar into his cup. "It's not looking good for you, kid."

Chae-eun held back a laugh, her lips pressed together as she looked at him with a bored stare, he wasn't telling her anything she didn't already know.

"We have a warrant and we've been through your house, all of the evidence is there. The knives, the bonds, the drugs, the collars, not to mention the DNA. Jackson's blood lit up all over the place with a little luminol. You never thought anyone would go searching in your house, did you?"

She blinked before grabbing her cup and taking a delicate sip from it.

The detective furrowed his brows in frustration at her apathy before flipping open one of the folders and spreading out several of the pictures within them.

"You did a real number on the poor guy, I've done this job for a long time and I've never seen that many healed contusions in someone's brain before. Several broken ribs, a healed femur break, a bruised lung, not to mention the scars you carved into him. All the evidence is there, you can't deny it."

She wasn't denying it, but she wasn't confirming it either. Chae-eun felt no remorse for what she did, she knew she was a sadist, she reveled in the memories of what she had done to her "boyfriend." She couldn't stop a smile from unfurling on her lips as she looked over the photos, she just couldn't help herself. Her eyes lingered on one picture, in particular, it was Jackson's profile but the focal point of the picture was the several, large, yellowing bruises that decorated his jaw.

She felt the burning embers of anger welling up inside of her alongside the fluttering of her heart at the sight of his face. It was quite the feeling, to have rage and adoration coexist within you. She wanted to gently kiss those bruises while carving her name into his skin.

"If you just admit to everything right here and now, then the judge might go easier on you." The detective said, putting the pictures away as he caught sight of the look on her face.

She knew that wasn't true, sure admitting her guilt would score her some brownie points and she was a first-time offender, but she also knew that the nature of her crimes would trump all of that.

"Chae-eun, we know about your family." He said, "Let's make this easier for everyone involved, you tell us more about them, who and where they are, and maybe we shave some time off of your sentence."

That gave her an idea. So, she broke her own rule.

"You want me to admit guilt? You want me to tell you about my family?"

"Yes, that's what I'm asking." He confirmed, surprised by her sudden willingness to talk.

"I did nothing wrong, officer. I'm just a girl in love." She said with a horrifyingly innocent smile. "But I can tell you about someone who is guilty of a crime."

It wasn't the admission of guilt he was looking for, but she could tell she had caught his interest. "Okay, Chae-eun, tell me about it."

"Jeon Jungkook, my brother, murdered our father four months ago."

"Your brother murdered your father?" He asked for clarification.

"That's what I said." She snapped, her heart still sore from the feeling of loss. She loved her father more than anyone.