Chapter Text
She stays in a small dingy apartment, a common living place of a struggling working adult. Papers strewn across the floor, the table, with pictures and notes pinned on her wall, a line of red yarn leading one piece to another. She sleeps lightly on her old tattered couch with unease dwelling in her thoughts.
She had spent the night looking for leads regarding the death of her father, the one she looks up to, the reason why she took up this path, her hero. With nothing to be found on the internet, she'd been itching to get into the dark web again. She had been contacting a friend about this but she's skeptical about his findings. All she had been holding on to was that 10 second dream. Where it all had gone wrong. A failed negotiation. The sound of gunshots.
She shifts in her couch uncomfortably, it's 11 am and the sun has been chastising, a sheen of sweat on her skin adding to the discomfort.
Her phone rings.
She groans to the sound. It's Hyejin's ringtone. It sounds cute and refreshing, the reason she chose it for Hyejin. Although she badly needs sleep and she's starting to hate the sound of it.
She picks up before the 3rd ring ends, rubbing her sore eyes.
"What is it?" she grumbled.
"Wheeinie, I know it's your off day. I'm sorry, but can I get you to come here?" Hyejin said placatingly, really sorry for bothering her best friend.
"What for?"
"This case is peculiar. We can't find a weapon. All we have is a suicide letter. Looks like something you should look into."
Hyejin trusts her powers too much. She places her palm on her forehead. She doesn't like the sound of this.
"Send me the address. Give me 30 minutes." she slowly rises and starts fixing herself.
*****
She did not expect that the address would lead her to a church. She tried to park her car accordingly by the pine trees. Walking out from her car, she hastily texts Hyejin asking her where the crime scene is. She takes in the peaceful atmosphere, the freshness of the wind, the scent of pine trees, the sound of birds chirping.
She sees the church, looking at its marbled walls, stained glass windows and varnished wooden benches. It is no question that every place in the world could be a place where crimes take place. But still, a crime taking place in a sacred place still bewilders her.
She sees Hyejin walking beside the church. Looking tired but crisp with her hair kept in a loose bun, her dark grey blazer with a white shirt underneath, a pencil cut skirt flattering the shape of her legs. She hears her heels clack as she walks toward her.
"Wheeinie, I'm really sorry for the short notice."
"Yeah."
"You look like shit." taking in her puffy eyes and her dark circles, then gives her a firm hug.
"Just feed me later and let me sleep." she tiredly responded.
"Of course."
Hyejin leads her to the crime scene, Wheein looks around again, looking at the greenery around her, marble tiles, the sound of their heels clacking and echoing, disrupting the silence of the place.
As they enter the room, she is greeted by the cream white walls, the dark mahogany table, the faint scent of old books, a bookshelf, the shiny wooden floor, the cross on the wall, then a bed with messed up sheets. The room looks inconspicuous but the air is charged. The air is laced with rage, disgust and fear. Hyejin hands her some blue working gloves and walks closer to the mahogany table. "The victim was found dead sitting here. The bloodstains are on the table, chair and the floor."
"Here's the suicide letter." Hyejin hands Wheein a paper tinged with blood placed in a zip lock. She takes the letter and her eyes widen with shock as she begins to read the contents. It's a confession.
A confession of the multiple crimes committed by the victim. Graft and corruption, child abuse and child trafficking make it to the list. At the bottom left, the seal and signature of the priest is placed.
What the hell?
She hands the letter back to Hyejin then looks somewhere else in an attempt to absorb everything she found out in this place. She finds a book on the floor, most likely it fell from the bookshelf. Someone must have knocked it down. She makes a mental note of it, among everything else.
"Anything?" Hyejin prods.
"All I sensed are emotions, traces of energy left in the air. Doesn't quite connect if it's a suicide." Hyejin nods to this, taking it in.
"I see."
Wheein breathes heavily then sighs, "Can I see the cadaver?" They drive to the morgue.
*****
They are enthusiastically greeted by the APT and are led inside. After donning a mask, protective gown, gloves and head cap, they headed to the table.
"Hey Hyegi, so you brought Wheenie again, huh?" Dr. Min Yoongi, the Pathologist, wearing a mask, with protective gown and gloves. He looks up to them with a smile only visible on his eyes, his gummy smile obscured by the mask, then looks down again to write something on his memo.
"Hey, Doc.." she says in greeting. Yoongi then waves a hello to Wheein. Wheein nods her head to him.
"Yeah. Seemed like I needed it. The death seemed peculiar." Hyejin responded.
"It is peculiar. I've never seen anything like it." Yoongi's cat-like eyes are glittered with curiosity, he takes a scalpel and gestures to the cadaver.
"The victim's name is Chung Hyun-Shik , 58 years old, a priest of the Two Vineyards of Grace Mission Church".
"The body was found in the morning, so we had to cut some tendons to make it assume its position. We assume that it was dead for 6 hours or more." Hyejin and Wheein nodded to his explanation.
"If you look at the victim's genitals. They have been pulverized. There's nothing left." He gestures to the cadaver's crotch. They frown to this information.
What could have caused it? A bomb? A tiny bomb?
"What's more.." Yoongi takes the cut chest palate, opening the chest and revealing what's inside.
"The heart was also pulverized. The lungs were filled with blood and it drowned the victim." He gestures to the left side of the chest, where the heart should have been. He looks at them in question. Hoping they could figure out how this happened. Their faces are pinched, intrigued and disturbed by the anomalies of this situation. Wheein swallows and breathes in deep.
"Doctor, may I?"
"Now, we're getting to the scary part, and that's quite unsanitary. Make sure you wash up after." Yoongi tells her.
Wheein shrugs and removes the glove of her right hand. She then proceeds to touch the cadaver's head. Her hand softly makes contact with the victim's scalp. She feels a slight electric charge on her hand and a few moments later, she sees the room out of focus and hazy. She started to feel like she was drowning, and started to cough. She starts to taste blood in her mouth. Then she heard the old man, the victim gurgling as if he's right by her ear.
"You're the son of the devil."
She hears a loud maniacal sound of laughter as if he's right in front of her. A baritone, an adult male. She starts to feel pain in her crotch, burning pain. Then she feels as if knives are tearing her apart. She then felt her chest tighten, she couldn't breathe, like an anvil was placed on top of it.
This was the first time it happened to her. The first time that she experienced the cause of death of the victim. She was screaming her lungs out, but she couldn't hear herself. She needs to let go. Yoongi and Hyejin rush to her. She couldn't feel them shaking her. Her legs give out. She is rushed out of the room and placed on a bench. She was heaving.
"Oh Wheenie... Wheenie.. Are you okay?" Hyejin is crying and her voice is wobbly.
They're keeping her sit upright. Hyejin's hand is rubbing circles on her back. Yoongi clips a pulse oximeter on her index finger. Then walks away to get her a glass of water.
"I'm not... I'm not fucking okay.." ,she croaks. She chuckles then coughs.
"I'm sorry... I'm so, so, sorry."
Wheein shakes her head at the notion.
"Here. Drink some water." Yoongi offers. She shakily accepts it. Yoongi supports her hands as she drinks. He looks into the pulse oximeter. "Oxygen level 92%, pulse rate 140 bpm, you seemed to be in pain, do you need a pain killer?"
"No, doc. The pain's mostly gone now. I just feel... sore." She grimaces. Not the kind of sore that she would have wanted.
"Okay, rest a bit. Take slow deep breaths." Yoongi advises.
Wheein sighs and nods, then looks at the both of them.
"I need to eat."
After 30 minutes of rest. They got out of their masks, gown, head cap and gloves and washed up. They decided to eat in a diner 2 blocks away. It wasn't exactly a meal time, so there weren't many people. They found their seats right away.
"Ah I want, samgyeopsal... gopchang and a bibimbap..." Wheein muses and leans her head on the table.
"I want beef -- anything beef.." Hyejin groans as she leans her neck on the back of the chair.
"And a bucket of beer." Yoongi pitches in, as he casually leans his cheek on his hand.
"Beerrrr!" They both cheer. This seems to give them life.
"Is it on you, doc?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Aw, c'mon... aren't we friends?" They bat their eyelashes at his direction. Yoongi rolls his eyes.
The afternoon sky becomes dusk. Dusk becomes night. The thing that happened in the past hour was forgotten for a moment. They talked for hours getting the beer out of their system after they ate. Yoongi explicitly explains the pathophysiology of the oral thrush as if it's the coolest thing ever. Hyejin nodded and listened to him as if it's the most interesting shit she's ever heard.
Who the fuck wants to know about STIs ? Also, in front of my gopchang?
The bill arrives and they start to split it, Wheein making the calculations. Yoongi smooths his black blazer and reaches for his wallet. He produces his black card and coolly hands it to the waiter.
Hyejin and Wheein are in awe. "Woooow! Doc is rich,rich!" Yoongi makes a disgusted face.
"You beggars better start singing my praises for gracing you with my presence." He levels them with a look.
"Oh~ Min Yoongi, you're a genius!"
"Min Yoongi, the generous!"
"Min Yoongi, the emperor of Korea!"
"Min Yoongi knows everything about Chlamydia!" Wheein dies of laughter because she thinks it rhymes and it's true. Real mature humor.
Yoongi can't believe that he hangs with these people and deadpans," I'm done with you, motherfuckers." Hyejin and Wheein hysterically laugh at his reaction. Yoongi finally gets his card back. They say their goodbyes and part ways.
"Hey doc, be careful on the way home! Also, thanks for the treat!" Hyejin beams at him. Wheein stares at Hyejin.
"Bye doc! Thanks for the treat!" Wheein hastily tells him.
"Don't mention it. You two be careful too." He flashes them his gummy smile. He slightly waves at them then turns to get to his car. Hyejin must be going nuts by now.
Wheein looks at Hyejin and sees a stupid smile plastered on her face. Wheein makes a face, turns to the side and slaps Hyejin hard on her butt.
"Ow!!!" She rubs the injury on her butt.
"What was that for?"
"So have you told him yet?" Wheein casually asks.
"What? Told him what? What's there to tell him? Tell who?" Hyejin flusteredly replies and tucks her hair behind her ear.
"Oh.. okay".. She decides to abandon it for now. They walk toward where their cars are parked.
"Hey, Wheein...Can you tell me about what happened to you hours before?" Hyejin prods.
She pauses. "I... Can I stay with you tonight? I'll tell you later?"
"Alright, but I need to get to the station first. I'll hastily file some paperwork."
"Okay."
"Can you get to my apartment alone?"
"Ahuh."
"Are you sure?"
"Mhm."
Hyejin gives her a hug and kisses her forehead. "Drive safely, okay?"
"Okay." She gives Hyejin a warm smile.
"You can sleep before I get back, okay?"
"Okay."
"Then see you later."
They part ways.
******
Wheein drives to Hyejin's apartment. She takes out her own spare key to Hyejin's door and proceeds to unlock it. She enters and locks the door behind her. She flicks the light on. She sighs in relief. Finally! Hyejin's apartment is also small but it's not as gloomy her's is. The walls are a soft white. A warm white light shines on its interior. She badly needs to move from her apartment.
She tiredly peels off her clothes and takes a warm shower. The warm shower washes away the dust and gunk on her body, temporarily washing the tiredness and her worries. She pats herself dry with a spare towel Hyejin has for her. She slowly puts on the clothes she left in Hyejin's home for times like these. She tiredly brushes her teeth.
Feeling refreshed, she takes a fluffy blanket and lays on the sofa. Her mind drifts to what happened the whole day. Although all the tiredness and sleeplessness are catching up to her now. Her eyes close and she falls asleep.
She begins to dream, then she sees that room again. The one with the cream white walls. The cross. The mahogany table. The priest sitting on the chair. A man standing in front of him. Only this time, she sees everything vividly. The man is tall with curly black hair. His eyes are slightly obscured by his hair length. His face is gaunt and his eyes are deep. She thinks it must be the lack of sleep and nutrition.
He speaks gently, his voice a baritone, "Now if you write all your deeds in the letter, everyone will know your sins, father."
"D-do you think I'd do that? Do you think I'm --"
"Write." He says in a firm, louder tone, with a grit that expresses his rage. She feels the emotion seep through the room. It's too much for her. Too heavy.
The scratching of the pen can be heard in the room.
The priest is bewildered. "What is this? What on earth are you doing?"
"Go on."
The pen scratching sound continues. The man is watching the priest like a hawk, almost not blinking, like he is a predator watching a prey inching to run away. Then she starts to realize that the man has something within his presence. An energy that she recognizes but doesn't understand why. He's just like her, but he's powerful, too powerful for her to handle.
She is terrified and tries to make herself look small. Every single cell in her body screamed for her to run, but she was pinned to the spot, unable to do anything but watch. She hopes he does not see her.
"Don't forget the seal for authenticity, father and your signature." The priest sputters but does what he's told. He couldn't do anything about it.. "Have you been practicing black magic?"
"Why, it's only the gift of the Lord, father."
They are born with this gift -- or curse. Take your pick.
"That is no gift of the Lord." the priest severely states. He starts to cough and choke.
"You're the son of the devil." the priest gurgles, choking on his own blood.
The man's eyes enlarge and his eyebrows raise. He scoffs as if he's amused. Then he laughs. The same maniacal laugh that she once heard. The priest's body begins to shake and the sound of ripping flesh is heard in the room. He starts to claw at his chest. Blood starts to seep on the lower part of the priest's clothes soiling his white garments, into the chair and into the floor. Wheein is horrified by what she saw. Her palms were cold and sweaty. Her mind is running 350 km/hr trying to find an exit from this situation. It was then until he noticed her. He looks at her, into her eyes. Her eyes widen as they make eye contact ,then her eyes are starting to water and her hands start to tremble.
Her head shakes from left to right ,hoping that he won't do something to her, something horrifying, hoping he would spare her. His face expresses confusion, then morphs into intrigue. A moment later, his expression turns dangerous. He slowly begins to walk towards her. This startles her. She quickly steps back, her back hitting the bookshelf. A book falls into the floor with a loud thud. She wakes up from her dream screaming.