Ba Reum was checking the crime scene boxes of the first murder case. He wanted to check out all the evidence to check out if he has missed something that they missed from before.
The case seemed dead for now, they had no clues about who it could have been.
The neighbours didn't see anyone, she had been estranged from her family, no relationship, no close friends. Her colleagues said she was the quiet sort and didn't really argue with anyone.
He took out all the evidence one by one, but when he reached the bottom of the box he noticed that the pictures of the body and blood splatter had disappeared.
He grabbed the box and touched the bottom, to be sure that it hadn't slipped in a corner somewhere.
He licked his lips, he was quite sure that he had put them in the box.
Did someone take them again without signing the paper list in the box. How often did he have to tell them to go to proper channels to get the evidence. It doesn't matter when they catch the bad guy, but they corrupt the evidence.
He started his PC, to check the list, to see if someone had taken them.
When he looked up the listed evidence in the murder case he noticed that those pictures weren't listed. That was weird. He remembered quite clearly that he had put them in the system. He went to the back to ask his senior colleague.
"Du Seok, do you know if someone messed with the PC?" he asked.
Du Seok looked at him in surprise.
"No, I don't think anyone has been in here except us, and no one knows the password anyway." He said. Ba Reum frowned.
"Did someone perhaps ask for the pictures in the murder case, the one were the victim was cut open?" Ba Reum tried asking again.
"No, no one asked anything from me. Is it not listed in the PC?"
"No it isn't. The list isn't complete anymore." Du Seok joined Ba Reum at the PC and looked it up.
"Perhaps there weren't any pictures. It says that the last time it was saved is when the list was just created. Aren't you mistaken about the other murder case?" Ba Reum frowned again. He was sure that he wasn't mistaken.
"Perhaps. I'll check it out." He said.
First he went to Moo Chi's desk, to search it for the pictures. The desk was a complete mess, half written rapports and half eaten food bars where scattered everywhere.
Was that fungus growing in that coffee cup? Disgusting. He threw it in the trash can.
He piled up the rapports in order of the amount words written on them.
Put all his pencils in a nearby empty cup.
"Searching for something." Someone asked.
Ba Reum looked up and saw Moo Chi standing there, his hands on his hips.
"Yes, I am." He said without shame that he has been caught going through the desk.
"There were pictures taken from the murder from last week, but they aren't listed in the evidence anymire. I thought that since you are busy with the case, you must have them."
"No, I haven't seen them. Are you sure the forensic team doesn't have them." Moo Chi asked, pushing past Ba Reum and sitting at his sorted desk.
"I'll check with them. If you happen to find them anyway, please return them to the evidence and check them in." he said and left, leaving Moo Chi behind.
"Seriously, this guy has a problem." Moo Chi said and scattered his pile of rapports again and overturned the pencil cups.
It could not be possible that he was mistaken. He clearly remembered seeing the pictures with the body in it. He hadn't been present at the murder scene, but he clearly remembered. Someone must have messed with the evidence, but who. He decided to contact the security, and asked if it was possible to receive the CC TV for the past week from the evidence. They said that he could get it tomorrow.
Ba Reum decided to check out the crime scene again, taking his personal camera with him. He already had taken some personal pictures last time, but he had been interrupted by Moo Chi and Hong Ju, so he would like to check it a second time, just to be sure that he hadn't missed anything.
He picked the lock of the apartment and went it. It was still a bit light outside, so he could see quite well when he entered.
Not a single splatter of blood was still visible on the floor. Ba Reum looked surprised.
He crouched down and touched the ground where the body had been lying. The ground wasn't just cleaned, someone had bothered to paint the whole floor. He could see it in the grooves.
This was getting weird. First the pictures disappeared, then someone tried to erase the evidence scene.
He would keep it himself for now, first checking the CC-TV if someone went in the evidence locker without permission. He had to be sure that there wasn't a corrupt cop in their district.
For now he had the few pictures he had taken before to check out. Perhaps he could find out what it was they tried to cover up on them.
Ba Reum was going home when he saw Bong Yi entering a boxing gym. She looked a bit pale and distressed, so he decided to follow her.
He looked around and at first didn't see her, but after a while he saw her pummeling her coach in the ring. The coach was looking quite distressed and he could see that he was trying to stop him.
"That's enough for today. We can continue if you are calmer." He said, holding her back at the arms.
She huffed when he left, but then she saw Ba Reum.
"Ba Reum oppa," she said waving him closer, "you learned self defence in the police school."
"Yes." Ba Reum said hesitantly, he could feel what was coming.
"I need a partner, come, here." She said and she threw some protective gear at him.
He didn't feel like he got any way out.
Bong Yi wasn't pulling her punches and managed to floor him once, but he escaped from her grip and managed to flip her over, she kicked him and got free.
The had an interesting match, which ended in a stalemate and two exhausted people.
"I think that we best stop." Ba Reum huffed, sweat dripping from his face.
"Yeah." Bong Yi breathed out, sweat dripping from her brow, suddenly her stomach growled.
"Come, I'll treat you dinner." Ba Reum said to a blushing Bong Yi.
They went to a small restaurant to eat.
"Did something happen." Ba Reum asked with his mouth half full.
"What?" Bong Yi asked, having a first bite.
"You looked a bit shaken when you entered the gym." He said taking a chopstick of kimchi.
"Oh," she said, chewing her lip, "It's nothing, I just, I don't want to talk about it." She said. Ba Reum looked at her, chewing his food slowly. The ate further in relative silence.
"Oppa, do you want to marry me?" she asked out of the blue. Ba Reum's inhaled his food suddenly and started to cough,
"wha?" he said.
"I can clean the house, I can learn how to cook. If you want me to earn money, I can get a job. I can do everything you want me too." She said.
Ba Reum looked at her, then he put down his chop sticks.
"I don't want a maid" he said to her.
"What?"
"Do you think that having you clean the house and cooking for me is the way a relationship should be? Will you do whatever I say? Even if you resent it, even if you think it goes against your nature?" he asked her. She looked at him in surprise.
"Why should one person's life be in servitude of another. Why should you sell yourself to me like this." Surprisingly he was getting angry at her for him.
"I don't seek a maid to do my bidding." He said, and got up and left the restaurant, leaving Bong Yi sitting in shocked silence.
Ba Reum himself didn't get it why he was so angry. What she offered sounded so wrong to him, a person living how another commanded him too. His head hurt when he tried to think why it felt so wrong.
He sighed and went to his room. He got out his PC and the photocard from his camera.
He loaded the pictures from the first crime scene on his PC and started to go through them.
He knew at least how the body had looked like from the explanation he had received from Moo Chi.
From the different angled pictured and the explanation he received and the memory of the picture he started to draw the crime scene, before the details would fade.
Wait, what did he see on the picture. He enlarged the screen. Was that a partial foot print? That must have been what they, whoever they were, was trying to hide.