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Cho Miyeon sat in her chair, typing away at the computer sitting on her lap. The time was 10:32 AM. She had consumed three mochas that she had ordered from her local fast food stop. Her leg was shaking as her fingers fired away at the keys, almost as fast as her brain cells delivered signals to them as she continued on with her likely important business.“Hey, Miyeon, I’m going out tonigh-”“Damnit, I was on level 29.”“On tetris?!”“Of course, what else?” Miyeon looked up at her colleague as she typed what was probably the nickname ‘CHO’. “I was about to beat my high score…”I sighed and said the phrase spoken by me all-too often: “Pics or it didn’t happen.”Miyeon turned her computer around, showing the scoreboard. She had, in fact, reached level 29. “Extraordinary,” I murmured. “Oh, I’ll be going out tonight,” I continued, louder this time.At that moment, the doorbell rang. Miyeon stood, going to the window of our living room and pulling the curtain just far enough to the right to see out of it. She turned back to me. “Or perhaps not, Doctor.”I sighed and turned my head to the door of the flat as it was opening. Mrs. H emerged from the entrance. Behind her was Seo Soojin of Scotland Yard. “Morning lot,” She said, looking around at the mess that was our living quarters.“Morning, Seo,” Miyeon responded. “You come bearing a new case, I presume?”“When do I not?” The officer asked, picking up a couple of papers on the coffee table, which Miyeon rushed to grab out of her hands. She put the papers on the mantle.“You were saying?” I prompted Soojin.She looked over at me. “Yes, of course,” She started, pulling a few papers out of her coat pocket. “Have either of you heard of Beauregard Manor?”I thought about it. “Isn’t it supposed to be haunted or something?” In my peripheral vision I saw Miyeon roll her eyes and turn to look out the window.Soojin nodded. “There’s a legend that if you enter the mansion and open your body up to the spirits, your body will be, well, opened up quite literally. I don’t believe in hauntings and whatnot, but last night a 19 year old girl identified as Suzie Neyra was found with her intestines pouring out. The murderer left no traces, none that we noticed anyway.”“Boring,” Miyeon murmured.I rolled my eyes and turned back to Soojin. “Go on,” I told her.Soojin murmured her thanks to me before continuing. “Additionally, two females and one male around her age have gone missing. We suspect it has to do with the murder.”Miyeon turned back to us both with a new gleam in her eyes. “Now that makes things more interesting,” She said, a wicked smirk on her face. Had I not known her, I might've suspected her to be the murderer.“I'll email you the details later. I can get you access to the crime scene now, if you'd like.” Soojin looked at Miyeon for instructions.I shared a look with my comrade, who then looked at Soojin. “Why not?” ***As I followed Miyeon inside, I couldn't help but look around at the trees. Their leaves wear a dazzling array of warm hues, combinations soft on the eyes and heart. I looked forward to see Soojin knock on the door to the manor. The place was large, and I could hardly imagine what kind of folk lived there.The door opened to reveal a woman in roughly our age range, older than me and younger than Soojin. She smiled softly. “Oh, hello, Inspector.” Her voice was nice, with a relaxed tone to it.Soojin nodded to the woman. “Evening, Miss Jeon, is Inspector Yantararak here by any chance?” Minnie Nicha Yantararak was a colleague of Soojin. She was an intelligent woman in terms of practicality, but, as Miyeon had on multiple occasions so gracefully put it: “the woman had absolutely no creativity and was lacking horridly in a sense of free will”.“Yes, she arrived shortly before you, actually,” The woman, Miss Jeon, answered.“May we come in?”The woman nodded, and the three of us filed in from the porch, with myself in the rear. “Ma'am, this is Detective Cho Miyeon and her comrade Dr. Song Yuqi. This is Miss Jeon Soyeon, the keeper of the house.”“Please, just Soyeon. And it's a pleasure to meet the both of you,” Miss Soyeon said, presenting a hand to shake.“Same to you, ma'am,” I responded, taking her hand and shaking it with a smile while looking over at Miyeon, who's focus had already shifted elsewhere. I moved closer to her. Crime scene investigation wasn't my thing.“Before you ask, the body was obviously moved last night. Shuhua examined it, of course.” Soojin began to lead us to the room where the body was found.Upon entering the room, I took a moment to look around, examining the area (as best as I could, considering the fact that I was in no way on the same level of deduction and observation as my friend). The area was a sitting room, lavish, but clearly unused. I moved to the area where the body was found, where I found Miyeon kneeling down, carefully examining the floor. “What could she possibly have been doing here?” Miyeon murmured just loud enough for Soojin and I to hear.The two of us exchanged a look and sighed. “Seriously?” Soojin asked.Miyeon sat up, straightening out her back. She turned to of both, and her confused look showed that she was dead serious.I rolled my eyes. “Miyeon, you dingbat, it's obvious.”She stared back at me. “What? I, the master of deduction, don't know. What makes you so sure of it?”Soojin stuck two fingers to her temple, shaking her head in exasperation. “This house is supposed to be haunted,” She said.“And?”“And, you idiot,” I continued. “Tomorrow night is Halloween.”
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Our taxi stopped at St. Bartholomew’s hospital. Miyeon jumped out of the car, practically running to the door. Like usual, she was fast-paced, rushing to solve the case. I jumped out of the car, running to catch up.
Once we were inside, my pace slowed, while hers only seemed to speed up. I sighed, stopping by the front to sign us both in. We were familiar faces at the hospital, and we were granted unlimited access. I smiled at the woman in the office, who bit her lip and smirked back, succeeding in making up incredibly uncomfortable. I quickly walked away, frowning as soon as I was out of sight.
I was out of breath by the time I caught up with my colleague. I panted, glaring at her as I still struggled to keep up. She looked back at me and laughed. “You good there, Yuqi?”
I rolled my eyes. “Shut up, Miyeon.”
She grinned, and we turned the corner, heading for the morgue. She rushed ahead, opening the door and… holding it for me? That was most certainly new. I felt almost proud of her sudden act of consideration. “Thanks,” I said, looking at her with surprise in my eyes. She nodded, and we entered.
As expected, Yeh Shuhua was on duty. She was examining some papers, most likely the ones faxed to her by Miss Yantararak regarding the Neyra case. Miyeon cleared her throat, causing Shuhua to look up. She smiled at the sight of us, sitting her papers down. “Good to see you two,” She greeted as usual. I smiled back and glanced at Miyeon, whose lips curved up ever so slightly.
“We assume the body is still here?” I asked.
Shuhua shook her head. “We know you like to see the body as-is, but I’m afraid not all of Miss Neyra could be salvaged. Her abdomen had to be stitched up, and she’s been transferred to a private hospital to be examined. The family will need to be asked before you can examine the body.”
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Miyeon growled in annoyance.
Shuhua looked flustered. “I-I didn’t know until just now,” She defended, stuttering.
“It’s quite alright, Shuhua,” I said, and grabbed Miyeon’s arm, giving her a disapproving frown. “I’ll send them a request.”
Shuhua smiled at me. “Thanks, Yuqi. In the meantime, I can get the two of you a copy of the report,” She suggested.
“That would be awesome,” I responded, returning her smile.
“Alright then, I get right to it,” The young girl said and left to get the report.
I turned to Miyeon with a disappointed look on my face. “Dude, what the heck?”
She looked back at me, frowning. “That was mean, wasn’t it?”
“Very much so,” I replied, shaking my head at her. “And you’re going to apologize in a minute, okay?”
“Of course, m’lady,” She responded, sarcasm pouring out of her voice.
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll be in the ladies’ room,” I said and headed out the door. As I headed to the restroom, I heard Shuhua’s voice from the room. I stopped, suddenly curious. I slowly walked back to the morgue, taking light steps to keep my heels from clicking on the floor. Unlike Miyeon, I’d never been good at stealth, though this situation wasn’t too big of a deal.
I stopped where I could barely make out their words.
“I know, you can’t help that you don’t get it.” Shuhua’s voice was quiet, unlike her usual bubbly attitude.
“Still, you deserve the utmost courtesy. You’re a good friend, Shuhua.”
I smiled to myself at the sincerity in my friend’s voice. Knowing her struggle to relate to others, I was almost proud to see, er, hear her trying so hard for someone with whom she usually wouldn’t bother.
I took a deep breath and walked back into the morgue. “Right, let’s get this investigation going,” I said awkwardly, looking between the two as if I’d missed something.
“Yuqi, it’s been going,” Miyeon responded, raising a brow.
Shuhua giggled and I looked to the floor, smiling. “Right, okay. Shu, did you get the papers?”
“Sure enough,” She said with a nod and a smile. She handed me an almost empty file.
I opened it, immediately seeing a picture of the corpse. The sight would’ve been disturbing had I not been used to it.
“Thank you, Shuhua. Miyeon?”
She turned to me. “To the station.”
I nodded, watching Miyeon as she turned 180°, her scarf whipping behind her. “Come along, Yuq,” She called. I rolled my eyes and followed after her after saying my goodbyes. Miyeon put on her cap, a ridiculous looking checkered deerstalker that was several sizes too big for the girl. “Good evening, Shuhua. Have a nice dinner,” She yelled, and with that, we were gone.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Has the family responded yet?”“Patience,” I reminded my associate. “Remember, they’re mourning their deceased daughter. They probably aren’t going to be checking their emails every half hour.”“On the contrary, it’s possible they’re checking their emails more often than usual, looking for updates on the case.”With a sigh, I shook my head. “Logically, you’re absolutely right, like always. However, the family is in a distressed state of mind, not to mention denial. There’s no way they’re thinking clearly.”Miyeon responded. “That makes perfect sense. You’ve come a long way, Yuqi.” She looked up from the paperwork and gave me a smile.I returned the smile before speaking. “Miyeon, flattery will get you nowhere with me, so just what is it that you’re up to?” I took a sip of my honey-filled tea, awaiting her response.She sighed, briefly raising her eyebrows. “What makes you think it’s flattery? Is it not possible for me to praise a friend?”“Well, I suppose there’s nothing stopping you from complimenting me, it’s just out of character for you.”My colleague narrowed her eyes. “Am I that one-dimensional?”I smiled, knowing she was only pretending to take offense. “Well, you are shaped a bit like a stick.”Miyeon scoffed. “Says the cereal box.” The corners of her lips turned upward.I looked down, examining my own physique. “At least I do something other than sit in my armchair and stare at pictures of dead bodies.”“Of course, you’re too busy sitting in your own armchair, staring at the dating profiles of uninterested women and eating cereal, your own kind.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe I live with a cannibal.”I look at her, feigning offense. “What? I’m a cereal box, not the cereal itself.”“But what if cereal is the organs of the cereal box?” Miyeon’s counterclaim threw me off for a split second, though I quickly recovered.“I think I know my own anatomy, Detective.” I used the title sarcastically, almost like a jab.Before she could attack me further, Miyeon’s phone began to vibrate. She narrowed her eyes, looking at me. “Enjoy this victory while it lasts,” She said, and picked up her phone. “Hello?” She greeted in an indifferent tone. She spent a few seconds listening to someone, before she opened her mouth, most likely interrupting them. “Oh please, you know as well as I do that I have special access to police files.” She was quiet for a few seconds, before snapping a response to what the caller had said. “Seriously, Officer, just because your intelligence pales in comparison to my own, doesn’t mean you have to act like a complete idiot.” With that statement, I had a good guess as to who the target of her insults was.“Miyeon, stop insulting the subpar detective, she’s doing her best.”“I HEARD THAT!”The shouting from the other side of the phone confirmed my theory regarding the caller. “I’m only joking, Minnie, no need to send the entire police force after me.”“Yeah, yeah, sureeee. Anyway, we were wondering if you could stop by and return the files you took without asking,” The officer continued, and I was now able to hear her thanks to my friend putting her on speaker.“Fine.” Miyeon surrendered with a grumble.“Alright then,” Minnie said in an almost suspicious tone. “Please do that soon, soon meaning by the end of today. I’ll see you then.”“See you, Minnie,” I responded, and after giving a soft ‘bye’ in return, the woman hung up. “Alright, we’ll have to get up soon. I know that if either of us stay sitting for too long, we’ll forget to return those files.”“Do we have to?” Miyeon asked in response, being as dramatic as she possibly could.I gave her a ‘seriously?’ look. “Of course we do! We can’t exactly steal files from Scotland Yard!”“Why not?” My companion asked, and I had to make an effort to not slap her.“Because, you idiot,” I began. “That’s illegal, and the only reason we’re able to break so many laws is because the Yard is on our side.”Miyeon groaned, but I knew she’d surrendered, at least for the time being.Begrudgingly, I stood up. “Well, I guess we’d better get going,” I said as I stretched.My partner scrunched up her face in obvious distaste. “Can’t. Busy.” She continued to look through her phone, presumably at her pictures of the crime scene.I placed a hand on my hip and raised my eyebrows. “Doing what?”“Thinking.”“Well, you can think in the car. Let’s go.”She shook her head defiantly. “The car is too bumpy. I can't focus.”I rolled my eyes. “Fine, I’ll go by myself. Where are the files?”Miyeon handed me a folder filled with paper. “Here’s the original,” She responded, not looking up from her phone. I grabbed the file and started toward the door, murmuring a “see ya” as I left.“Wait!” I heard my flatmate’s call right as I was shutting the door. The salty part of me wanted to lock the door and keep going, but I knew that I would feel bad about it, so reluctantly, I rolled my eyes and swung the door back open.On the other side of the door, Miyeon stood. “Shall we?” She asked.I looked at her incredulously. “Seriously, Miyeon?”“Why?” She looked legitimately confused.I sighed, closed my eyes and lips, took a deep breath, and shook my head. “Nevermind. Let’s go.”
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The cab ride was quick. The two of us sat in silence, minus the tapping of Miyeon’s fingernails on the door’s armrest. We arrived at the station in minutes, as we lived close to it. Upon arriving, I had the door closest to the station, giving me a headstart and allowing me to get to the station’s doors without having to rush after Miyeon.After we got inside, I held Miyeon be the collar, forcing her to stay with me. “We’re signing in, stay put.” She rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to argue, but I gave her a look, prompting her to shut up and hand me a pen.We approached the front desk and I explained the situation. The secretary checked our IDs and called Minnie’s office, who confirmed that we were allowed in. The secretary gave us both passes and returned our IDs. He unlocked the doors and we both entered.We’d both been to the station many times, and easily navigated our way to Minnie’s office. We walked in without knocking. Minnie looked up from her paper, locking eyes with Miyeon. “I’m surprised you actually decided to come,” She commented.“I’d really not have Scotland Yard on our asses,” Miyeon responded nonchalantly, setting the files on top of Minnie’s paperwork.“Mhm,” She responded, looking past Miyeon to me.I let out a huff of laughter. “I had to drag her here,” I said, confirming Minnie’s suspicion.Miyeon gave me an annoyed look, but I simply smiled back.“Ah, Miyeon, Yuqi, I’m glad you two are here. We have a problem.”We turned to the door to see Soojin standing there, pink in the face. I assumed she’d ran here from her office, which was across the station. It was a surprisingly long journey if you didn’t decide to jump over desks. I, unfortunately, knew from experience.Miyeon took a step toward her. “What is it, Detective Inspector?”Soojin sighed and shook her head. “There’s been another one.”