"This isn't anything like how I imagined it.." Mi-Yeon whispered as the doors closed behind her. She cleaned her wet shoes using the 'welcome' mat on which Ji-Sung simply stepped. Ga-Hyeon was already by the counter, ringing the bell.
She had both her passengers confused when she hit the brakes right in front of a small music shop lost in between the grey buildings at the very edge of the city. The prosecutor's lecture about the shiniest starts hidden in the darkness sky didn't seem to grow their empathy for a small but dirty business like the one they were facing, but she had no intention of bringing her friend any customers, her visit had a purpose.
"Yong-Ki! You and the sun coexisting? What a surprise!" Ga-Hyeon exclaimed, her soft cheeks getting bigger as smile born out of amusement pushed her mouth's corners up.
"Better not make my anger rise just like the sun." the male hides his smile by letting his chin touch his chest, making eye contact with the wet floor. "Why are you here? I suppose you're not going to shop for some indie rock albums."
"Can we use the Butterfly room? I need your help with something." the female requested, lowering her voice while both of them were watching over Ji-Sung and Mi-Yeon who were minding their own business in between CD's and albums. Yong-Ki gave her a nod, already finding his way to the back door. "Can both of you wait for me a few minutes?"
"Sure, go ahead." Mi-Yeon answer, waving her hand, signaling Ga-Hyeon to go already. "Oh, before I forget! Mr. Lee texted me earlier, Mr. Im called!" she informed her superior, the memory of the message she procrastinated on transmitting popping up in her head when she looked at Ji-Sung's lost face.
"Ji-Sung's father? Just tell him I'll contact him later, I'm sure lawyer Lee already told him all he needed to know. " and after her assistant's small nod, she dared to follow her friend inside the room.
The Butterfly room was a total mess, but an expensive mess, it's floor hidden under a sea of wires so old that if you tried enough, you could hear the way they're creaking under your shoes. On the two tables trapping a chair were things she couldn't name, but which indeed played a crucial role in keeping alive the computer to which they were connected, just like an old man holding onto life, both filled with knowledge of a lifetime.
"What do you need this time?" her friend asked, adjusting his chair for a better posture while working. He closed his tabs filled with recordings, waiting for a demand from the female.
"I need you to find some CCTVs footage."
"Is it about that girl's abduction?"
"No." but when she thought of it more, she figured out it had something to do with Soo-Min. "Yes, in a way. I already got the footage of the car leaving that night, I'm searching for something inside her school."
"You want me to hack into her schools CCTV system?" he asked, unsure about Ga-Hyeon's request.
"Can't you?"
"I mean, I could try." Yong-Ki started looking for the school's IP address just after she mentioned the institution's name. "Why can't you just find it legally? Maybe ask someone from NIS for it."
"I would, but it's not directly linked to the case, and I'd have to write about it in the report files. It's still a theory." she explained, palms placed on the desk, letting her weight on it while her legs took a break. Her heels were already trying to penetrate her skin, she's just letting them catch a breath when she has the occasion.
"Seems important, school's an important aspect in a teenager's life, a lot of shit happens there. Besides, everything is a theory for now, you don't even know if she was abducted, that's your intuition telling you that, just like it is telling you that searching through the CCTVs footage is a must."
"Intuition isn't always right."
"Most of the time." he corrected. "Intuition is just you making decisions in a third point of view, a you without emotions meddling in your business."
"No need to get philosophical!" she cut in between his words. "How's it going?"
"It's not working." he pointed out to the screen, dragging his fingers along it while explaining things with which Ga-Hyeon wasn't able to keep up. "Found the IP because it's connected to the internet, but the camera is from a reputable manufacturer with the latest firmware, and I'm no God in technology."
"Monkey explaining, please." she whispered, her fingers pitching the sides of her stomach.
"No default password? No access." Yong-Ki showed her the never ending alpha-numerics changing themselves each second.
The prosecutor got the idea, cracking the school's CCTVs storage was something hard to do as it was protected by a strong password formed by a strong programmer. Now, she was more intrigued by what lied in the Clout files and why someone would try so hard to protect what's happening inside an educationsl institutions. What was the determination that made them change the basic "12345" password?
"Something we can do about it?" Ga-Hyeon had a last hope that kept her from sighing loud while approaching the door. "What if the system gets viruses and they need to just restart the whole thing?"
"You're a prosecutor, you should know better." the shop owner responded, letting his headphones hang around his neck. "Theoretically, the password would be the default one as long as they don't change it, but wouldn't they? Who would care so much about some high school recordings unless there's something going on?"
"I know it is. That's why I came, Yong-Ki." she muttered, her legs struggling to place her heels in between the tangled wires occupying the ground. "Nonetheless, I need to prove it first. It's not only because I won't get the permission to search in their database, but even if I do, if there is truly something they fear being seen, they'd delete it right away. I'm sure they have planed an escaping route."
The bell rang from outside, announcing another customer that happened to enter the shop. Yong-Ki stood up, washing away the dust coloring his pants brown with his hands, and took a last glance of the computer's screen that was about to shut itself down, then to his irritating friend who kept coming back with work purposes. Once again, he was still thankful to have someone to at least recognise him if the police finds him dead one day.
"I can.." he avoided her stare, gawking at the small window. "I can develop an anti - virus program. It'll take some time, but if you can trick them into downloading it, I'll have access over everything. The passwords are memorized by the keyboard, so it's gonna be easy to get the footage."
"Great! But what do I need to do?" her shoulders jumped, portraying her confusion.
"I don't know, I'll just sent them an email about the anti - virus. You make them want it, need it." the male lastly talked, walking out of the room to greet his customer.
"How am I supposed to virus it..!?" Ga-Hyeon asked hopelessly, too late to realise the man was no longer available for a talk. She hurried outside the Butterfly room, eyes prepared to scan the shop for her two companions she left behind.
"Are we done here?" Ji-Sung asked, rotating a stand with sunglasses. If only Yong-Ki wouldn't be preoccupied by searching through his endless CD players to show his older customer, he would've scolded the teenager.
"It's still early, P. E. class is in an hour." Mi-Yeon calculated, looking up from her watch. Even with the traffic blocking the bridge, they'll still arrive earlier.
Ga-Hyeon simply walked out the shop's door, unlocking her car. The two had no choice but to follow her inside the vehicle, with the seatbelts on, but the engine never started purring under her feet, ready to storm through the city. Instead, the female sitting on the driver's seat turned to look at the backseat, but as her back refused such an uncomfortable position, she chose to just use the rear view mirror.
"One more destination before."
“Ga-Hyeon?”
“What's wrong, Mi-Yeon?”
“Could I take a few hours off?” the assistant asked, tapping her phone's screen to reveal the time displayed.
“Right now?” Ga-Hyeon was more and more frustrated with every nod received from the other woman, but she couldn't refuse to allow her request. “Sure! Go ahead, take the whole day off, I'll inform our boss thought. Where do I drop you off?”
“Lawyer Lee is picking up both me and Ji-Sung.”
“Ji-Sung too?” the prosecutor repeated, massaging her head with her nails, the situation was far from tickling the back of her brain.
Curiosity pushed her to ask about the sudden request, but Ga-Hyeon kept it for herself. She had no intention to make Mi-Yeon uncomfortable, the woman had her own life, she wasn't just a side character that's completing tasks for the prosecutor. So her eyes just watched them leave, Ji-Sung's palm protecting his forehead from the rain. And with that, Ga-Hyeon went to her next destination as well.
If the prosecutor was to compare the somber hospital Min-Sik was staying at with something, it'd be a graveyard. She used to visit her father's grave stone under which lied nothing in particular, just an empty coffin and a lifeless hope that his soul has gone through salvation, leaving on earth the sins and regrets noted under his name that will be discovered when he'll try and pass by the heaven's gates. Oh, how she wishes he'll never get in.
The building in front of which she was staying now, from behind her steering wheel, had the same aura. It smelt like death and diseases, like medicine and pills yet it was so quiet and calm. It's whiteness meant to calm your mind seemed like it leads you to insanity, maybe that's the reason why too little have the luck to leave the hospital behind and get stored under it, in it's morgue.
The rain didn't reach that side of the town yet the difference in temperature was still rather dangerous. If only the hospital's tall structure wouldn't have blocked the sun's rays, her skin wouldn't struggle to keep itself warm. But the desperate run from the cold air made her way to the destination quicker, maybe because now she has learned where her acquaintance's room was, within all the white - painted doors.
“Come in!” his voice slipped under the door at her knock, to which she reluctantly opened it.
“I see you're doing good.” she acknowledged, noticing how calm his eyes scanned the outside of the window where he stood by. His shoulders kept on rising and falling back, his warm but regular breath drawing vapors on the cold glass.
“Don't sound so disappointed! I might start to think you don't like me.” Min-Sik took the chance to joke, turning around to bow his head to his visitor. “To whom am I indebted for this visit?”
“To the nice doctor who gave me a call this morning.” Ga-Hyeon let her eyebrows fall into an unpleasant frown. “What's going on? Another theory about my workmates?” she questioned him further. There was no lie, she was indeed troubled by Min-Sik's statement about Tae-Il.
“Can I use your phone for a second?”
“May I know the reason behind this request?” the prosecutor spoke, sliding her phone in the back pocket, the end of her jacket captured in between it. “Did something happen in particular?”
“Not really, I just need to call my grandma.” was the explanation Ga-Hyeon was provided with. The tall man looked troubled, turning his back to the window now. “My phone got lost. My guess would be somewhere in your evidence box.”
He didn't reach for her phone, retraining from making any gesture. His eyes stopped blinking to wash away the sleepiness, afraid that it'll rip off the imaginary rope that kept their visual contact still. Only locks from his hair were falling, failing at hanging onto his bun. Ga-Hyeon, whose eyebrows approached her eyes even further, got the device out, handing it to him.
“Sure, go ahead.”
His fingers moved as if they feared hitting the wrong digit on the keyboard, uneven blinking was now revealed, the eyes may be able to keep the excessive amounts of water trapped but his forehead was a street on which drops of sweat raced towards his chin. Comparative to his playful words earlier, he surely seemed stressed about this one call he was making.
Even so, his casual conversation with his supposed grandmother was clean, as if they have prepared for this moment. Thoughts about his physical state, encouraging words about Soo-Min and checks up on each other with a spoonful of regrets, spiced up by soft swallowed cries.
“Thank you.” Min-Sik hands the phone back politely, Ga-Hyeon receives it with both her hands.
“Is everything alright?”
“Sure thing.”
When Ga-Hyeon has arrived at the office, the sun was playing hide and seek with her brown eyes. Her shadow rolled over the carpet, following her figure as she walked laps around the circular table surrounded by not so sober workmates. The bottles she bought must've been of help.
“How did it go?” Ji-Won straightened his back by pressing it against the chair. The few mustache hairs that weren't white by nature were covered in drops of milk, and the traces of the liquid didn't stop until they reached his pinkish shirt.
“Horrible, my meeting request was declined by the secretary.” she summarizes the events that happened a few hours earlier on a frustrated tone. “I should've called beforehand. Any news from the International Police Cooperation?”
“Not really.” the man feared to tell her the negative news, so he lowered his voice as the words left his mouth. “They probably had another car prepared in the urban area, either that or they left on foot, walked through the forest until they reached an intermediary to help them. At least that would be their guess. It was suggested to send some troops there tomorrow to search again.”
“It's useless.” Ga-Hyeon sighed, massaging the bridge of her nose to release the tension. “If they would've remained there overnight, the first troops would've found them, what's the purpose of sending others?”
“First troops?” Ji-Won's eyebrows drew a confused expression by accentuating the lines on his forehead.
“Yes, yesterday night the police troops reconstituted the car's route until the forest. I told Mi-Yeon to send them into the woods, it was obvious they weren't willing to follow the old road.”
“I'm not sure about that.” Mr. Lee - the lawyer - chained in, letting the two coffee cups he prepared slide on the wooden table. “I picked the folder from the police station after I dropped Ji-Sung, there was nothing about it in the report.”
“Strange.” Ga-Hyeon sighed, warning her neck with a few sips of the liquid. It was bitter, but warm. “Where is Mi-Yeon, by the way?”
“She came back to the office with me after we dropped Ji-Sung to continue his classes.”
“So she just wanted to skip work.” Ji-Won muttered under his breath after tilting his head to the side.
Not even two minutes later, the woman walked through the door, her face invisible because of the hallway's light hitting the back of her head. Every hair that wasn't in place standing out, she continued to approach the table on which she threw a bunch of papers, making drops of Ji-Won's coffee to pain the furniture, burning it's surface layer. She wore a confident smile that made Ga-Hyeon wonder what she used her day off for.
“Hello to you too.” the prosecutor placed an enthusiastic look on her eyes to accompany the sarcasm in her words. “What are those and why are you so happy about receiving them? Love letters?”
“Even better!” Mi-Yeon exclaimed, trying to keep her voice from going even higher. It was a cough that kept her away from waking up the whole town with her high pitched screams. “This morning, you asked who's gonna take the case, right? Well, guess what! We got it!” her lips moved back down after seeing the change in Ga-Hyeon's reaction. She was indeed the opposite of happy. “Didn't I...make the right decision? I thought it would be good for us, we're moving closer to a promotion.”
Mr. Lee swallowed his last mouthful of coffee just to have an excuse to get away from the trio, while Ji-Won was still contemplating on whether he should speak his mind or not. Tasting the silence in the room, Ga-Hyeon didn't hold back anymore, her forehead heating into a red shade because of the cuss words it was preventing from being spoken out loud.
“Us? Why did you assume a thing without talking to us first?”
“Because I assumed all of us would like a better salary or reputation?”
“Do you not have a family to worry about? That's why you always seek validation in work?”
“I work because I do have a family!” Mi-Yeon tried to keep a presentable look, running her fingers through her disoriented hair that she messed up in anger a few seconds ago.
“Then act like it! I gave you a day off thinking you might want to see them, but guess what?! You went to find more work to put on our backs!” Ga-Hyeon took the printed papers, smashing them on the ground. “As if switching from that shitty hospital to this office wasn't enough! You better not request a break for anything and feed your workaholic self!”
“Hwang Ga-Hyeon!” Mi-Yeon kept hiding her nails deep in her palm's skin, pressuring the blood to come streaming down her fingers. “Watch your words! I'm still older!”
“Really? What did you learn in those years you had as an extra? Because it surely wasn't anything about teamwork!”
“Ga-Hyeon!” Ji-Won joined to stop the altercation in between the two women, and his words did make them silent. If Mr. Lee was already minding his business, he made sure to even hold his breath this time.
You could clearly hear the clicking of the doors outside their own office. The three hours of sleep that kept Ga-Hyeon going started to float on the surface, the underneath of her eyes coloring purple as if tiredness grew fists and hit her straight in her face.
“We're collaborating with the police, so it won't be all on us.” were Mi-Yeon's last words before Ga-Hyeon proceeded to gather her things, stuffing them in her backpack.
“Ji-Won? Take care of those troops, get the work done. I'm leaving first.”
“Get some sleep.” Mr. Lee kept his head low until the prosecutor finally left.
As every second she wasted wandering around the building, gazing at the stars meant less sleep for tonight, to call an Uber was Ga-Hyeon's first instinct, but the intention was the only one left in her hand along with the device.
—Ugh, why didn't I get unlimited phone calls again? she cussed herself while furiously shaking the mobile phone as if the turbulences could make it receive enough credit to make a call.
—Ga-Hyeon?
—Tae-Il? the woman turned her head, her eyes scanning the hand that's been put on her shoulder until it reached his face, and was she shocked to see her assistant right there. What are you doing here?
—I left on foot from the hospital 'cause the weather was nice today, but it looks like the road is pretty long for me to walk on everyday. What about you?
—Just got off work, Ga-Hyeon explained, pointing her head at the building behind them, movement which Tae-Il followed, fixing his eyes on the building. I wanted to call an Uber but my phone is of no help.
—Here you go! the man ran to the end of the pavement, signaling a car to stop by putting his hand in front of it.
Ga-Hyeon stared unsure at the vehicle, until the tinted windows rolled down, revealing a kind - looking, middle aged man. The roots of his hair started to fade into an unsure shade of grey, thick eyebrows catching his sweat. The name tag hanged up on the windscreen moved in circles from the sudden stepping on the brake even after Ga-Hyeon occupied the passage seat.
—Get home safe! she lastly wished him, before the started driving off. I really need to get unlimited phone calls.