Guns N' Roses

1

"Today marks the 2nd year since the Red Rose serial killing incident has happened. Notorious serial killer known by the alias Red Rose murdered his first victim on the 14th of Febuary, 2021. On Febuary 15th, the 25-year-old lady victim was found dead near Han River after being shot on the head using a .45 caliber pistol..."

Kim Dahyun abruptly banged her fist against the dashboard upon hearing the news through the car radio, startling the officer who was driving beside her.

"Yah! We could've crashed with another vehicle!" The driver exclaimed, furrowing his brows at Dahyun but the girl payed no attention.

"It's been 2 years, Mingyu. 2 years since I was assigned to work on that Red Rose case and until now all my efforts are fruitless." Mingyu could hear the frustration in Dahyun's voice. She sank down on her seat, repeatedly banging her head lightly against the car window, hopeless.

"Let me remind you that no one assigned you to work on that, Detective Kim. You were the one who volunteered to handle the case and see what happened now? Just give it up already. You're wasting your time." He told her, grabbing a doughnut from the box resting on Dahyun's lap.

He had been accompanying the girl for the last 2 years in her quest of searching for Red Rose. No matter how many times he had kept on disuading her, urging her to just give up, the girl still stood on her ground, refusing to let go of the unsolved case. Not that he doubted Dahyun's skills, it's just that the case was simply impossible. Everything was all too vague.

Kim Mingyu sighed as he took a huge bite on his chocolate flavored doughnut. There's no way Dahyun was ever going to give up until she uncovers the identity of Red Rose.

Mysteries had always been intriguing for Dahyun. Even as a teenager, rather than reading love stories or watching romantic films, she buried herself in crime novels and watched every episode of the Sherlock Holmes series. She loved mysteries and that lead her in choosing to take criminology despite her family's wishes for her to study medicine. She was a smart girl and could have become a doctor, but she rather chose to have a job where it involved risking her life and worked in an environment where she was exposed to potential danger.

She wanted to have an occupation where she'd not get tired of doing for the most years of her life. And right now, she enjoyed her job -- she didn't care if she wasn't receiving the highest salary but what mattered is that she was passionate about her work. Although it was sometimes stressful, it felt like a choice rather than a burden.

Working as a detective now for the last 3 years, Dahyun had dealt and investigated different kinds of crimes: theft, fraud, arson, cases of missing people, exhortion, robberies, homicide -- you name it. Having to deal with these kinds of things on a daily basis reminded her over and over again how corrupted the human race is. The thrill of the moment when she foils the schemes of evil people felt exciting. She managed to draw out runaway criminals and solved every mystery she encountered through her brilliant deduction skill which she was so known for. She was the best yet in the business, and that Red Rose serial killing case -- or so how everyone called it -- deeply piqued her interest. It wasn't only a single murder, but consecutive murders within 5 months committed by an unknown but clever culprit who's been missing in action until now.

She was determined to handle the case that had been dropped out by the other detectives in their division, believing that she would be the one who would crack the case and find out the identity of Red Rose, take him to court and bring justice to all his 7 victims once and for all -- or so she expected. But 2 years had passed and her list of probable suspects was still empty.

Red Rose was deemed a serial killer because of the 7 victims he had killed in a span of 5 months. It all started on Febuary 14th, Valentine's Day, where he assasinated a 25-year-old journalist and disposed of her body by the bank of Han River where she was found by the police the day after. But he doesn't just leave bodies. He always left a single red rose beside the dead body of his victim, earning him the pseudonym 'Red Rose'. And since then, his unpredictable attacks began. Men, women, young or old -- his victims weren't of the same age group, gender, nor had any correlation to each other, making it hard for the police to determine what exactly was the killer's motive.

Considering that the man worked clean, leaving no bits of evidence behind his every assault, lead Dahyun to the assumption that he might actually be a professional killer of some sorts; a hitman or assasin -- which she guessed worked from some underground criminal organization the police didn't know about. There were no leads. No witnesses. They don't even know how he looked like. Apart from their assumption that Red Rose was a tall male, they know no information about the criminal. After assasinating the 20-year-old daughter of South Korea's Defense Minister -- his youngest victim yet -- Red Rose just vanished in thin air; left without no traces.

All they had were fingerprints and DNA from a drop of blood (which they were sure belonged to Red Rose) stained on a .45 caliber pistol that he accidentally left on the crime scene. But even then, those haven't proven themselves useful.

Sometimes she felt dumb of volunteering to handle that case when it was obviously almost impossible to solve, with little to no clues to follow. Even some information she got from those who claimed to be 'witnesses' and some network informants still lead her to nothing.

2 years had been a long time. Was that man even alive? Was he still living at South Korea? There were more uncertainties but even so, giving up was the last thing Dahyun wanted to do.

"The Chief Inspector from the Seoul Police Criminal Department promised to raise a promotion to any detective or police officer who'd solve the case," the rambling on the radio news continued. "And the Defense Minister offered a 1-million-dollar compensation to anyone who brings in Red Rose to law."

"The Defense Minister still isn't over his daughter's death apparently," Mingyu commented. Briefly glancing over to Dahyun, he then asked, "So, you're up for the promotion or the million bucks compensation?"

"Neither," she shrugged, taking a sip of coffee that's gonna keep her body going for the whole day. "I'm up for the fun."

"Well, it's been 2 years Dahyun, and all that case has ever given to you is head ache."

The news on the car radio was abruptly interrupted when a call came in from the station.

"Detective Kim Dahyun, please proceed to UN Village, Hannamdong apartment complex. There has been a reported suicide at 3rd floor, apartment no. 13."

Mingyu's brows raised as he glanced at her with a questioning look, mumbling, "Isn't that your address?"