Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

Chapter 104: 11:59 (21)

Jaein was in her lab, waiting for Gayoon. The latter burst in, charging towards the doctor. 

"She was Nam Daewhi's daughter?" Gayoon asked. "The guy who's been in a coma at a hospital for over twenty years?"

"Good morning to you too," Jaein yawned. "And yes. I ran the DNA tests and her parents were listed as Lee Dami and Nam Daewhi."

Gayoon slumped back onto the chair. "I went to check up on him at the hospital," she sighed. "He was one of the doctors who has been inactive for the past two decades, shortly after the CCK disappeared. But he's in a coma so I doubt he's the killer."

"Unless the current CCK is a copycat," Jaein shrugged. "You never know."

"We haven't gotten any clues of this killer being a copycat," Gayoon stated. "But we can't discount that theory. I've wondered too if he was a copycat but then again if he's a fake, how did he know about Minho and CCK's confrontation?"

"Who knows," Jaein said. "I'm only a simple forensic doctor."

She went around the table where Nam Jiyeon's body lay. Gayoon looked at the poor thing. Barely twenty one and she had her life snatched away from her. And that too in such a gruesome way.

"She didn't deserve this," she muttered. "None of them did."

"Being prey to a cannibal," Jaein said in disgust. "Her mother will collect the body today. Maybe you should talk to her."

"I should," Gayoon said, feeling uncomfortable. It was the least favorite part of her job. Talking to the victim's family members always took an emotional toll on her because most of them would completely break down. No matter how many times Gayoon followed the procedure, it was hard to stay neutral when people were in such pain.

"How are your new living arrangements?" Jaein asked. "Did the money lover keep you up all night?"

She snickered at Gayoon's mortified expression. 

"There's a dead body in here and you're talking about my love life?" Gayoon scolded her.

"So? There's always a dead body here," Jaein shrugged. "It's not like they can hear us!"

Gayoon did not reply to her. If only Jaein knew that the corpses brought to her table sometimes did hear what the living people said about them. It was a good thing Nam Jiyeon chose to move on instead of lingering around to finish her unfulfilled regrets. Very few spirits of her age chose to go to the afterlife. They would mostly stay back, lurk around to create havoc in the world of the living.

"Get me the full autopsy report," Gayoon instructed her. "I'll talk to the mother when she arrives."

Jaein nodded and Gayoon left the lab. She reached her desk and sat down to turn on her laptop when Taejoon came over.

"How's the case going?" he inquired.

"Nothing!" Gayoon sighed. "I thought with all the advanced technology we have, we'd make some progress but"

She trailed off. No matter which approach they used, every route led them to a dead end. She was getting annoyed at the lack of progress. The more they delayed, the more victims would turn up. She recalled her encounter with Yumi's ghost. It was still lurking around somewhere, trying to get attention from the living.

"And how was" Taejoon began but hesitated.

"How was what?" Gayoon frowned. 

"You're living with him now, aren't you?" Taejoon asked bluntly. Gayoon blinked in surprise. He sounded a little angry for some reason.

"I am living there because I was assigned to protect him," she said slowly.

"He asked for you specifically," Taejoon stated in an accusatory tone. He was jealous of the fact that Gayoon was now living with some guy she had just met and it was eating up his insides. After all, he had tried to date her for years but she kept on laughing it off. And now she was staying with a random guy.

"I don't like it," he admitted. "He's not right for you-"

"Detective Taejoon, I think right now finding a serial killer is more important than my love life!" she snapped. "The topic should not be about whether someone is right for me or not but rather about how to catch the killer and bring justice to the victims' families!"

Taejoon averted his eyes in shame while Gayoon glared at him. She had enough of this nonsense from people. 

"I was just-" 

"And please do remember that I'm in charge of this case," she stated. "It's my duty to keep the witness safe. If the CCK is after Hwang Minho, then we should be protecting him and his family. We entered the police force to make sure that no innocent person is hurt by criminals. If you're more interested in the relationship I share with him rather than the case, then I think you should be taken off the case."

Her angry gaze shut his mouth and Taejoon felt guilty for asking her such a personal question. He was also taken aback by her reaction, realizing that he had crossed a line. 

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"You should be," Gayoon replied. "Now go and talk to the victim's mother. Ask her what she knows."

She deliberately delegated this task to him so that he could at least realize the gravity of the case instead of mull on her personal life. Taejoon mumbled an 'Yes' and went off. Gayoon shook her head in dismay. Even if millions of dead bodies lay on the ground, people will still care more about other people's personal lives rather than respect the ones who passed away.

No wonder the dead want to curse you all, she thought bitterly.

.

Junwan was summoned to City A's prison by the warden. They were strolling through the corridor which had a series of cells on both sides. 

The dreary and cold prison was making Junwan uncomfortable. He had visited many of them but this prison in particular made him feel claustrophobic. There was not a ray of sun coming in through the walls which were completely made of brick. The place had no windows but only a few ventilators which were connected to the police complex next to the prison. The cells had heavy metal doors, padlocked with large locks. 

But the most eerie part of the prison was its silence. Junwan could hear his breath as he walked on. The uncomfortably soundless place was making his spine chilled. There was not a single sound. He could not even hear the scurrying of insects. 

The prisoners were locked for varying degrees of crimes but it did not matter. Whether it was for petty theft or mass murder, all prisoners were treated with one thing only: disgust. They were kept in those cold cells, devoid from any contact. Unlike other prisons where the prisoners were kept in groups, here they were in complete isolation. They had no one to talk to nor were they allowed to contact others. The families were allowed to meet them only once a month.

It was enough to make anyone go mad.