Close To Midnight

Chapter 25

"Patrolling officers have been doubled across the city." Chief Dahyun said, sounding grim. "Mistakes can't be made from our side tonight."

The team nodded thoughtfully.

A lighting cracked the sky in distance heightening the sense of dread that was at large.

'Yellow Typhoon alert has been issued to Busan for the next two days.' The voice of the news anchor on the television that was running in the conference room drew their attention. 'Wind levels are 40 km per hour now. It's expected to reach 80 in a few hours. Citizens of Busan are advised to stay in their homes.'

"Even the weather doesn't seem to be on our side." Jeongyeon glanced at the television screen and tsked.

Chaeyoung turned to face her partner. Her eyes were oddly determined for a detective on a wild goose chase, as she regarded Jeongyeon through her glasses. "If it's not on our side, it's not going to be on the perp's side either."

Jeongyeon offered a grateful nod in return and lifted her coffee mug to her lips. Some of the exhaustion faded away with the first few sips.

"Stay alert. Stay safe. There's no room for error." Dahyun summoned a stiff smile to her lips.

'Will the Cupid murderer strike again tonight is the billion dollar question among the general public.' The presenter on the television turned to his partner. 'The police department's inability to crack this case is quite concerning, isn't it?'

Momo puffed out a breath through her cheeks. The media wasn't helping with the situation, they were supposed to contain the spread of panic among the public, not make it worse.

"Good luck out there detectives." Tzuyu hummed, patting Chaeyoung's shoulder awkwardly and nodding at Jeongyeon.

"Thank you." Chaeyoung smiled. She had a feeling it didn't reach her eyes. Her mind was preoccupied with the uncertainty that laid ahead for them.

As she hurried to the exit with Jeongyeon, she was completely unaware of just how much uncertainty and unpredictability that the stormy night was going to be filled with.

                               

                                       ------

Mina watched the rain as it cascaded from a dark and gloomy sky. It had fallen steadily since the moment she walked inside the building, without so much as a goodbye or a backward glance at Nayeon.

Normally a weather like this would bring her immeasurable delight- watching the leaves on the tree branches outside her window droop under the weight of raindrops, hearing the soothing pitter-patter of the droplets against the glass, listening to thunders rumbling in the distance breaking the tranquil silence every now and then, looking at lightning split the downcast sky like gods above were having their own heavenly photoshoot- she enjoyed stormy nights.

Tonight, her heart was raging with a storm of its own, the one outside was nothing compared to the one tearing her apart.

She needed to clear her head. She rose to her feet and took the few steps necessary to get to the window. The rain droplets flowed down the glass like tiny little streams in the wild. She touched it with her fingertip and traced the pattern they made.

A bolt of lightning lit up the darkened street outside. Her eyes caught sight of a figure in the distance. Her mind refused to believe what she was seeing.

Nayeon was leaning against her bike, drenched head to toe, only a leather jacket shielding her from the cold, one hand resting against the handlebar of the bike, other wiping the drops away from her eyebrows to guard her eyes every now and then, her head hanging low as the rain beat down upon her.

A thunder rumbled in the distance. A lighting illuminated the night. Nayeon looked up as if she sensed someone's eyes on her. Another lightning flashed between them. Mina couldn't look away. The raging storm in her chest began to sing a melody.

Nayeon hadn't gone. Nayeon hadn't taken up the last job. She'd stayed. For her.

Her lips quivered with the swirl of emotions in her chest. A shuddery sob left her throat.

She turned away from the window and broke into a sprint. It didn't matter she was wearing only camisole pyjamas. Her delicate feet covered in knitted bedroom slippers carried her through her door, down the steps and across the puddled street.

Nayeon pushed herself off the bike, her dark eyes trapping and reflecting the lightning in the sky, looking at her with something that made the racing in Mina's chest faster.

"You didn't go." Panting, she stood before her.

"I couldn't." Nayeon ran a finger through her short hair that was sticking to her face. Mina reached across, with the tip of her fingers she pushed it back behind her ears. "You were upset. I couldn't go." Nayeon whispered.

Her fingers trailed to the older girl's cheek, thumb stroking her jaw with as much as tenderness she could muster. Teardrops mixing with the pouring rain, she sobbed, "I love you." She fell around her neck, burying her face into her chest.

The rain soaked them wet. Her tears soaked the front of her shirt. Strong arms cradled her body. "I love you so much." She repeated, pressing every ounce of herself, her entire being into every ounce that was Im Nayeon. She was squeezed that fraction tighter, until it felt like they were one, melted and molded together.