Chapter 4
Today was the day.
Finally Park Du Seok would get a colleague. The evidence management team had been horrendously understaffed for years now, and the evidence they got just kept piling up. One man could only sort through so much evidence, let alone running after the bunch of clowns that called themselves detectives, but couldn't be bothered about leaving all the evidence where it should be. Nor did they bother to check it out. But if something wasn't in the right place, he would be the one everyone bothered about.
The new guy would start today. And what was pleasant was that he was fairly young. He was barely 25 years old. He and Sang were about the same age, but since Sang already worked here, he would finally have a junior colleague to boss around.
Sang was already looking forward to it.
Of course, like most workplaces, the moment they got a name and a notice that someone would be starting, the rumours started to fly around.
Why would such a young guy want to be on the evidence management team and not be an active detective. Perhaps he was a lazy bum, that thought he would get an easy post;
"As if this a good place for someone lazy to be." Du Seok would say, "He'll notice what working is then when he comes here." The guy would be sorely mistaken then. Babysitting after these guys was anything but easy and stress free.
The new guy arrived, full of smiles and enthusiastic to get started to work. No sooner was the job explained to him, he got right to work. He ordered, labelled, checked, double checked everything.
Everything was neatly put in boxed, noted down and inserted in the computer system for easy referencing. Everything was done, not a millimetre out of place.
Suddenly instead of feeling that he had too much work, Du Seok felt that it was easily managed.
After just a few short weeks all the back log was as good as worked away. Du Seok could almost cry out of happiness. He first thought that the guy was a bit simple with his easy smiles, but he did the work correct and when he didn't get the evidence that was listed, he wasn't afraid to ask for it either.
"Are these your children?" Ba Reum asked one day, pointing at the family photo that was standing on his desk. A sad reminder of when he was happy. Du Seok swallowed his tears. sked one day. Du Seok swallowed the grief that overcame him every time he thought back to his beautiful children.
"Yes, they are". Ba Reum looked at the frame again.
"Oh, I think I recognize the bracelet." He said, squinting at the picture frame.
"No, it's one of a kind." Du Seok took the frame back and looked at it sadly.
"The Head Hunter took my children away from me." He said softly. Ba Reum looked up startled.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." He said.
"It's alright." Du Seok wiped his eyes and made a tired smile.
He put the frame back where it belonged.
"Let's go back to work and find out what the guys messed up again".
No sooner those words left his mouth and loudmouthed Moo Chi came to bring some evidence. Since Du Seok was still getting it together, Ba Reum went to check it out.
He took the box from the detective and looked at the list that went with it.
"It lists a knotted rope". He said after he checked the contents and list.
"Yeah, it's still lying on my desk, I'm not finished with it yet." Moo Chi said nonchalantly.
"We need it here first, so we can put it on the official listing and in the computer system. It won't take long, you can check it out afterward." Ba Reum said, putting the rest of the evidence back in the box, to prepare for official evidence listing.
"Yeah, I'll bring it over after I'm done, didn't you hear." And Moo Chi walked away with his hands in his pockets
"Tcch, pushy new guy." He muttered under his breath.
He sat down and was just going to start to examen the rope, but Ba Reum had followed him and snatch it away.
"You can have this back AFTER I put it in the system. " he said and went away.
Moo Chi stared wide eyed. "that little punk". He said, he was about to run after him to teach him a lesson about respecting his seniors, but Du Seok, who had followed Ba Reum after he heard the commotion, stopped him.
"You know he's right. This is the correct procedure. And we all know the procedure is there for a reason."
"Procedure, as if finding out the killer isn't much more important than procedure, the little punk, I oughta learn him a lesson" Moo Chi muttered to his senior, but he turned back to his desk anyway.
Du Seok looked at Moo Chi, this went to easy.
"Did you get another letter?" he asked Moo Chi.
Moo Chi sighed.
Since years he had been receiving letters about several cases, always send by post, never any fingerprint or hair available on them. He had checked and checked again.
These letters gave him clues about crimes, sometimes photo's or locations, names and witnesses information. He didn't know who send them, but they were always on point and crucial to solving cases.
At first he thought that a criminal was playing some elaborate game with him, but the number of cases were too variable and the amount of hints were immense and always helpful. And they had been going on for at least the last 5-ish years.
Some could only have been obtained by breaking and entering, and those were less useful then he would have liked, but as long as he didn't submit them to evidence, he could try to make use of them. And the amount of cases they helped him solve.
His ratings were the best in the precinct.
But something still nagged at him at the back of his head. Why would someone keep on sending those hints to him personally, why not send them to the precinct in general, or even to Hon Ju Sherlock programme.
Why were they sent to him, he didn't know. And it annoyed him.
And speaking of the devil, another envelop awaits him. A rape case he had been trying to find the perpetuator for.
- Break -
That didn't go as planned. That didn't go as planned at all. Moo Chi swore in anger and looked back over the ledge.
He swore again and just pulled out his flask of liquor and took a long drink.
Darn it, he wanted to kill the guy. Why did he have to kill himself.
Moo Chi sat there for a couple of hours, getting more and more drunk. Then the newbie turned up, what was his name Ba something, the overly obsessed with procedures one.
He snorted at himself. Everything always seemed so funny when he was drunk.
Ba Reum in the meanwhile, was annoyed. He was the youngest and therefore chosen to go up all the stairs to collect whatever evidence there could be after the perp jumped of the roof.
When he encountered a drunk Moo Chi, he sighed again. Just his luck.
"What are you sighing about," Moo Chi muttered "why did he have to jump from the roof, why does it always happen to me." He moaned again, his words where muddled because of his drunken state.
"Did you push him off?" Ba Reum asked, genuinely curious.
"Fuck off," Moo Chi said, "Of course I didn't push him off, perhaps I should have done that?" he said to himself.
Ba Reum gave him a strange look.
"Perhaps not being drunk would help you put things in better perspective?" he said, a bit too loudly.
"IC, what an annoying brat, telling me what to do." Moo Chi babbled to himself.
Ba Reum rolled his eyes.
"Is there anything worth gathering as evidence here?" he asked.
He took a quick look around, and saw that Moo Chi had fallen asleep in a drunken stupor.
Ba Reum lightly kicked him with his feet, but no response except an annoyed grumble came out. He decided that he better should go down and let the guy sleep, for now.
He would send some new evidence to start the next game with this guy. He knew that detective Ko Moo Chi wished to kill a criminal to get to jail and kill the Head Hunter.
Let's see what he does when given an chance. So far he hadn't taken any opportunity yet. Perhaps another murder case would help him find the right target. Ba Reum would look around a bit to find just the right case for Ko Moo Chi.
Ba Reum looked back at the man sleeping on the rooftop and smiled to himself.