UNKNOWN
Light enters my vision again as I feel something being removed from the top of my head. My eyes take time to adjust to the harsh
beam shining from right across where I was seated. I attempt to stretch my sore muscles but I find my hands and feet restrained by ropes.
"What the hell..." I groan, looking around for any sort of human presence. Where am I?
"Looks like someone finally decided to wake up," I hear a the click clack of boots behind me, a faint echo with each step.
"Who are you?" I ask, slightly intimidated by his appearance. The figure emerges before me, completely donned in black from head to toe. He had a head full of silky black hair and captivating brown doe eyes that you couldn't help but stare into. He picks up a small box from the rusty metal table next to me, taking out a cigarette and letting out a contented puff after lighting it. The man was clearly not in a rush to deal with me.
"I saw your little gore show at the gas station the other day. I heard you even blew up the whole fucking thing!" He says, cackling and clapping in amusement like a lunatic.
"Gore show? What are you talking about?" I ask, genuinely interested to know what he was rambling about.
"Tch, stop playing with me. You probably thought no one saw you do it, did you? Such a a perfectly crafted murder is not one to be forgotten within less than a week. Just what is your scale of crime?" He thinks aloud, thoroughly examining my facial features as if all the answers to his questions were written on it.
"Woah, murder? I'm sorry but you're terribly mistaken. I did see in the news that a gas station caught fire but there was nothing about a murder. You must be thinking I'm someone else," I explain, shaking my head. How do you casually accuse someone of "the perfect crime" while actually being excited about it?
Whack!
I look up with wide eyes as the stinging sensation spreads like wildfire on my cheek.
"I'm not here to play games," he growls, inching closer to me. "I need you to do something for me."
"M-me? What could I possibly do that you can't?" He had a powerful aura and I could tell that he was no ordinary Joe.
"I'm more than capable of doing what I'm asking of you. It's just that people believe I'm dead and I've risked enough being out in plain sight to get you to do it. I'm not going to be in this town for much longer." I look at him in shock. What kind of criminal was he to have to fake his own death?
"What do want me to do?" I decide to go with the flow because I had a feeling I'd only be more confused if he told me more.
"Ah, the question I've been waiting for!" He gleefully says with a clap. "You're going to abduct this guy and bring him to me." He takes his phone out of his pocket and shows me a picture. I knew who it was.
"What? Are you crazy? Why would I abduct him? What makes you even think that I'm capable of doing it?" I ask, appalled that he would even suggest such a thing.
"I'll give you 10 million for it," he casually adds and I stop mid sentence. How filthy rich was this guy to offer me such a huge sum for kidnapping someone who's not even a celebrity? The offer sounded tempting even though my morals did not agree with it. My life has always been surrounded by varying degrees of poverty, finding petty jobs so that I could keep a roof over my head. As much as I didn't want to, I was considering it.
"Wait, why am I tied up? How did you even find me?" I ask agitatedly, head hurting from the overload of information.
"Shh, less talking, more doing," he says, walking away and leaving me alone in the cold, dingy space.
"Atleast tell me who you are!" I call out.
"Oh?" He turns around, lips curving up into a smile. "The name is Heeseung. Lee Heeseung."
FELIX
"I'm tired, let's go home," Jake says. It was almost midnight and no one else was here. The flickering dim lights and the gloomy weather outside made the place look eerily like a set in a horror movie where the protagonist gets murdered.
"Give me a sec, let me just file this last heap of papers," I say, grabbing a set of sheets from my drawer and arranging them before I put them in a binder. My eyes remain transfixed on the sheets and for a fleeting moment I relive the incident from two weeks back. He sees the look on my face and frowns.
"Lix, you know there's nothing you can do about that explosion, right? Both fire and forensics departments confirmed that too much destruction occurred to revive anything."
"I know...it's just that I have a really bad gut feeling about this. Such a heinous crime has never taken place in this town and the killer is still on the loose. Something tells me this is not the end. Who knows who's next?" I sigh, rubbing my temples as I feel a migraine forming.
"You need to calm your nerves a bit. You've been so antsy and restless ever since it happened. Let's go get something to eat, we haven't eaten since 1," he says and I grab my coat before I shut out the lights and lock up the place. Snow was gently falling on the wet, slippery tarmac and a few drunks idly roamed the otherwise empty streets. I blow out a puff of foggy breath into my palms and rub them together to warm them up as Jake mimics the same. We walk in silence for a bit till we reach the 24-hour diner we frequented on late nights like these.
"The usual, sirs?" The waitress approaches us with a smile as we get comfortable on the leather couch. We nod.
"Hey, isn't that Jisung?" Jake suddenly says, pointing at the mini television mounted on the wall opposite us. I stare at the screen, intrigued by the text on the news channel.
"Breaking News : Defence Minister Cho Sanghoon announces resignation from Cabinet amidst rumors of tax fraud and embezzlement of government funds," the anchor announces as a video of the Minister being bombarded by reporters in Paris plays in a screen next to her. Jisung, Yeji and a few other officers are seen discouraging them from getting close as he enters what appears to be a court house.
"Went to France to find a painting and ended up in criminal court? I'm not even surprised," I say, shaking my head in disappointment. The corruption in the political system has been skyrocketing ever since the current party got elected.
"Looks like Paris will be intervening in the case. It says the stolen funds were kept in an anonymous account in one of their banks," Jake says, fogging his glasses with his breath and wiping it with his neck tie. The waitress arrives at our table with two plates of chicken burger, some fries and strawberry milkshakes. Not the best thing to be having when your health is your biggest priority but sometimes this has to do.
"How's Layla?" I ask.
"My dog or my ex?"
"I still don't get how you ended up dating someone with the same name as your dog. There's obviously only one Layla that matters here," I chortle.
"Don't remind me. Layla's with my brother right now cause she's sick. Is it just me or are we busier than ever these days? I feel like I have no time for anything," he thinks aloud. I had to agree with him. Crime has been rising exponentially this year.
"You're not alone on that. I've never made these many reports in my life! And that café robbery case has been giving me a headache ever since I got it."
"Hey, you really should take it easy on yourself, okay? I know that you're still bothered about that murder and it's affecting your work. If you ever need any help, I'm always one call away," he says and I smile. I was lucky to have a best friend like him.
"You really see through me, don't you?" I say, appreciatively patting his back. "I'll just wash up and be right back." I head to the restrooms and finish up within 5-10 minutes. However, I find the entire diner vacant when I return.
"...Jake?"
I find it suspicious that all the kitchen noises had abruptly gone dead and no one was in sight. All I could hear was obnoxiously loud rock music playing from the television, which was weird since it was at the news channel till a few minutes back. I go to the payment counter to see if anyone else was there. Instead, I meet with a disconcerting sight.
Dead bodies. Everywhere.
CZYTASZ
case 143 | lee felix
Fanfiction« He brings his index finger to his lips to imitate a shushing sign, gun still held between his fingers. Something about it was so hot, I really was considering getting help. "Hold this, I'll be right back," Felix says, handing me the gun and getti...
