The Dancing Arsonist

1. Pilot

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear....

There. That moment when she thought she remembered her brother's name.

Hayoung was twenty-two. She was a Harvard graduate with a Master's in Law, and she graduated two years earlier. She later became a homicide detective in Seoul, and had succeeded in solving many cases and mysteries.

But the mystery of who her brother was remained unsolved since he was eight years old. Her parents told her he died, but she was so sure that he was out there somewhere, waiting for the right time to return home. But without a name or a description, it was almost impossible to find a lead on that case.

It was the day after the Itaewon Halloween stampede incident. Some victims were still not found. Hundreds of families reported missing family members. Many more were mourning deaths. Her younger sister, Jian, was found dead in the same incident along with her mother. For the first time in her life, Hayoung witnessed chaos and insecurity in Seoul from the horse's mouth.

As she ran from one family to another, she heard a call from one end of the station. It was her boss, Kim Namjoon.

"Hayoung! We have another murder case downtown," Namjoon said, running to her with a huge file full of witnesses and suspects of an arson attack. The report stated that a citywide dance competition was being held in a residential building's backyard. The fire broke out after the entire show got over and engulfed the entire building, killing most of the residents. The words "Should I let it burn brighter?" were written in blood on one of the walls. One of the top suspects was a dancer called 'Smile-Hoya', former member of underground dance group 'Neuron'.

"Why is this one suspect singled out?" She asked Namjoon, who was trying to help the troubled families who were entering the station.

"Some of the survivors said that they saw him run away from the scene completely unharmed by the fire."

"But maybe he just managed to escape the fire like the other survivors?"

"Some say that too."

"Give me a number! You know I can't work without numbers."

"Fine. Out of the hundred survivors, thirty say they saw him run, sixty-two say that he was a survivor like them and the rest have no idea."

Hayoung thought for a moment and made a statement.

"What about the Itaewon victims? Who will take care of that?"

"I will. I feel you would solve this arson case a lot faster than I would."

Namjoon ran off to the research department and was making calls from there. Hayoung was left with the huge file that Namjoon gave her. So many thoughts were rushing through her mind. Finally, she made up her mind and went to the research department. Yoongi, her close colleague, was a part of this department. He was responsible for hacking and finding information that was crucial to most cases. She went up to him and asked him to search for the dance group mentioned in the file.

"'Neuron'? I used to know a guy from Neuron. He used to help me with raps when I thought I could become a rapper and ignore what mom taught me. Do you have a suspect in particular?"

"Smile-Hoya."

Yoongi looked at her in disbelief.

"You're not serious, are you?"

"Why?"

"That's the same guy who used to help me."

"Well, what was his personality like?"

"Exactly like his name. A positive, little ball of sunshine. But he used to write the best angry raps."

"That tells you something, doesn't it?"

"That he would turn out a criminal? Like this? I don't think so. But I'll make your search anyway."

"Do you know anything about him? Like, personally?"

"I knew that he had a sister, but she was taken from him on his birthday. Talk about the worst birthday gift. But don't remember exactly which birthday. He said something about wanting revenge through his rap, but I never really thought much of it. Why don't you look up the other suspects?"

"Good point. Look up Min Sooyeon till then."

Hayoung made her way through the station once again. But this time she settled in the lounge. After hearing what Yoongi told her, she was trying to make connections to her missing brother. But it made no sense. Why would her missing brother just suddenly disappear only to rise as an arsonist in the future? And it wasn't even like he left. He just disappeared from her life. Her parents were having a conversation with him personally and he was gone by the time she returned to the room. Hayoung never really knew what actually happened to her brother. She was relying on hearsay, which was the very thing she swore to destroy. Couldn't another family have adopted him? Was he really left alone on the streets? Did he have education? Was he crazy? So many questions entered her mind. She discarded all of those thoughts, hoping that he wasn't crazy or demented in any way. Why would the killer write, "Should I let it burn brighter?" That seemed like a very targeted comment, as if he was threatening someone. But who? And she still didn't know who really lit the fire.

She was deep in thought when Yoongi bursted into the lounge and said, "We got 'em!"

At his desk, Yoongi pulled out a bunch of papers and a few websites on the laptop. "Kim Taehyung. He was caught multiple times writing with blood the very same sentence you gave me. He was caught with a lighter as well. Right now, according to a resident, he lives in a building right opposite to the building that was set on fire."

"Another case closed. Well, what are you waiting for? File a warrant and arrest him!"

"You got it, ma'am."

After he filed the warrant, she returned the file to Namjoon.

"Case closed. Taehyung is our murderer. There's a warrant inside this. Take it, and arrest him."

"Told you you'd figure it out faster than I would. Oh, and by the way, since this is done, please get into the Itaewon victims. There are just way too many even to count."

"I got you."

------------------------

As soon as she got home, she jumped on her bed. Namjoon was right, the Itaewon victims were just too many to handle. But she and the rest of the team managed to get information on all the victims and deliver the news to the families within that one day.

But a few minutes later she smelt something burning. She ran all over her apartment, trying to figure out where the fire was. Until she looked in her bathroom.

The whole place was on fire. The curtains caught it first and then it spread to the toilet seat and the basin. She managed to put the fire out, but as soon as she did that, she saw words written in blood on the bathroom wall.

"Next time it won't be your bathroom."

-End-