“You are more beautiful than all these flowers put together”, he said as he tucks a lock of hair behind her left ear, leaning in for a kiss.

“Really?” she said as she pulls him in, then playfully pushes him and runs away as she added, “Then come and get me!” She runs across the field, laughing as the wind rushes by, with flowers as far as she can see spanning the whole surroundings.

He runs after her, sweetly calling out her name. “Joo Hyuy, wait until I catch you, I will suffocate you with my hugs.”

She runs and runs and runs, laughing as she did so.

She runs until she feels like she couldn’t run anymore, but still she couldn’t stop. And for some unknown reason, fear started gripping her heart. The lovely sunny afternoon in the field is gone, and she is now running into a dark forest.

“Seo Joo Hyun, wait until I catch you. I will suffocate you until you can breathe no more.”

She runs some more, terrified of her impending doom. She runs and runs and runs, feeling as if her lungs are about to burst…

Joo Hyun woke up panting, cold sweat drenching her night clothes. It was a few moments later that she realized it was her phone’s incessant ringing that woke her up.

“Dr. Seo, we got one here in Gangnam District. I'll text you the directions.”

“Okay, I’m on my way.”

It was forty-five minutes past 3 o’ clock in the morning and she is being summoned to a scene. She hurriedly changed her clothes and grabbed her medical bag, all other thoughts forgotten as she hurried to her car.

---

Seo Joo Hyun is the chief medical examiner of the Forensic Medicine Division of the National Forensic Service whose main office is based in Seoul. With degrees from top medical schools like Yonsei University, Seoul National University, and Ohio State University, she is the youngest forensic pathologist to head the division at 35 years old.

---

Joo Hyun arrived at the scene twenty minutes later. She spotted Inspector Im Seulong, a police inspector for the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and her good friend, as soon as she stepped out of her vehicle.

“Officer Kang, this is Dr. Seo Joo Hyun, our chief medical examiner”, Seulong said when she approached him and the man he was talking to.

“Dr. Seo, this is Policeman Kang Minhyuk, the officer who was dispatched when the 112 call came through.

“Quite a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Seo.”  Joo Hyun just nodded politely as they shook hands.

“Victim’s name is Kim Min Ah. Apparently, it was around 3 a.m. when her neighbor and friend, Ms. Park Narsha, while looking out her balcony, saw that Ms. Kim’s room lights are . Thinking that she’s already preparing for their commercial shoot at 5 a.m., she called her around fifteen minutes later to tell her that their ride will arrive at 4 a.m. After ten minutes of calling and still not getting an answer, she decided to go up to Ms. Kim’s house and check on her, thinking that she might have fallen asleep again while waiting for the time. And that’s how she found her now dead friend, and then she called the police.” Seulong was giving Joo Hyun some information as they, together with Officer Kang, were walking the staircase leading to Kim Min Ah’s bedroom.

“Do you think we have a suicide case?” Joo Hyun asked Seulong.

“Most probably. We found a suicide note near where her body was found. Plus we also found a copy of her last will and testament addressed to her lawyer in her safe.”

“Oh, alright. But I still don’t want any of your guys moving her body without my instructions”, Joo Hyun answered.

“Wow boss, I’m hurt. You should know me better than that”, Seulong pretended to wipe his eyes.

“Oh stop toying with me Im Seulong, I’m just doing my job.”

“Okay boys, the boss is here. Step aside for a while”, Seulong announced to the police officers in the room.

“This is how I found the body, Dr. Seo. She was on the couch with the gun on her right hand”, Officer Kang said.

“Thank you, Officer. And would you please be kind as to send a copy of your report to my office?”

“I will as soon as I get back to the station.”

“Thanks a lot. You did really well. I’ll take it from here.” They bowed to each other as Officer Kang went back outside.

Joo Hyun approached the body and put on surgical gloves. She took out a long chemical thermometer from her bag and measured the temperature of the room and then of the body. The air was 71 degrees and the body was 93.5. She has been dead for no more than three hours. Joo Hyun also noted that the body had been cooling between one and two degrees per hour, and rigor had started in the small muscles. She then took out the camera from her medical bag and started taking pictures. Kim Min Ah was a model, a tall lady with a curvy body. She was really beautiful, even in death. The couch were she was sitting on was filled with her blood, as was the wall behind her, where blood spattered when she pulled the trigger. On the table in front of where she was seated was a bottle of scotch and a wine glass that was filled to the brim.

“Looks like she didn’t even finish what she was drinking before she decided to bust her brains”, Seulong said as he came up to Joo Hyun.

“Oh please, don’t get me started with your not-so-funny morbid jokes”, Joo Hyun rolled her eyes as she suppressed a smile.

“Oh! I saw that!” Seulong said.

“Saw what? Get the rescue unit here and send the body to the morgue. I’ll do the autopsy.”

“Not without breakfast you won’t”, Seulong said.

“You know I don’t eat before I do a postmortem.”

“Oh right. Hehe. We’ll eat after, then. C’mon, I’ll take you to the morgue and wait for you there”, Seulong said as he half-dragged Joo Hyun to his yellow Ferrari Four.

“You know what Ongseul, I’ll never understand why you always drive around in crime scenes in a flashy car like this”, Joo Hyun told her best friend as she fastened her seat belt.

“Why not? Just because I’m a police officer doesn’t mean I have to drive around in those ugly old beat-up cars that the others drive”, Seulong said as he started the car’s engine.

“Yah! Seat belt!” Joo Hyun slapped Seulong’s arm just as he was about to turn the steering wheel.

“Ouch! Be careful where you put your hands, hot stuff”, Seulong said with a wink as he put on his seat belt while Joo Hyun just ignored his remark.

---

“I’ll have ramen, kimbap, kimchi pancake, and lots and lots of coffee”, Seulong smiled as he dictated his order to the waitress.

“Ongseulie, how many times do I have to say that coffee is bad for you??? And watch what you eat, will you?? I’ll have a ceasar salad and a glass of ma shake please, thank you.”

“There, there, hot stuff. No need to be so worked up about my eating habits.”

“Pfft. Well anyway, what I recovered was a bullet from a twenty two, consistent with the handgun she was holding at the scene. Gunpowder was also found on her hand and her neck portion. Blood alcohol level is 0.4, still within our limit. I already had Hyoyeon send a copy of the lab reports to your office. Hmm, the only thing left to do before ruling this out as a suicide is to determine the authenticity of the handwriting on the suicide note. After that, we’re done”, Joo Hyun narrated.

“I already forwarded the note to our friends in NIS. We’ll probably get the result tomorrow. By the way, I’m going back to Gangnam District later, I’m gonna do a follow-up questioning on Kim Min Ah’s friends next-door”, Seulong answered.

“I don’t have any other case, I’m coming with you”, Joo Hyun replied.

“It’s a date then!”, Seulong joked.

“Tss.. Eat!” Joo Hyun commanded.

“Yes, ma’am!” Seulong saluted.

---

“Good afternoon Ms. Park Narsha. This is Dr. Seo Joo Hyun, our chief medical examiner. She did the autopsy on Ms. Kim Min Ah’s body”, said Seulong as they were being ushered in the living room of Park Narsha’s home.

“Good afternoon, Capt. Im. Nice to meet you, Dr. Seo. I’m Park Narsha and these are my housemates Kim JeA, Jo Miryo, and Son Ga-in. They were also friends with Min Ah”, Narsha answered while wiping the corner of her eyes with a flashy handkerchief. Narsha is a fair-skinned lady with curves in the right places, and with a y diamond-shaped face.

“I’m so sorry for your loss”, Joo Hyun addressed the girls as she was sitting down on the couch.

“I know this is a hard time for you but we need to ask you some more questions regarding Ms. Kim”, Seulong said.

“We know you’re just doing your job, Captain”, Miryo spoke up while hugging Narsha, who by now was quietly sobbing again. Miryo is a really pretty woman with beautiful eyes and close to perfect facial features.

“Could you tell us anything that might have caused Ms. Kim to take her own life?” Joo Hyun asked.

“I think it was because of that bastard ex-boyfriend of hers”, JeA angrily said. She is a skinny but y and beautiful woman who carries an air of authority around her.

“What happened?” Joo Hyun prodded.

“Around six months ago, her boyfriend of three years left her for another woman”, JeA said.

“Yeah, and since then, her personality started to change. She didn’t show up for work, her drinking and smoking habits worsened, and she started eating less. This went on for months”, Ga-in, a petite woman with beautiful legs and milky white skin, added.

“And then around three weeks ago, she sort of changed”, Miryo said.

“Changed? How?” Seulong asked.

“Well, for one, she started going to work and hanging out with us again”, Miryo added.

“It’s as if nothing happened. She was laughing again, and was even dating!” JeA answered.

“I see. Can you tell us about the last time you saw her?” Joo Hyun asked.

“It was yesterday morning, around 5 a.m., we went home together from a commercial shoot”, Narsha, who has calmed down enough, answered.

“Did she tell you anything worth noting?” Seulong asked.

“Hmm… Now that I think about it, there was! She hugged us one by one and said that she was so lucky to have us as her friends. We didn’t think much about it though, since she was naturally sweet to us. Had I known it was the last…”, Narsha was sobbing again.

“Thank you for your cooperation, ladies”, Seulong started getting up from his seat.

“Our deepest condolences to you,” Joo Hyun added as they were led to the door by JeA, who was the only one left calm among the girls who started crying again.

---

Around 8 o’clock in the evening, Joo Hyun is still deeply engrossed in paper works at her office. Going to the pantry to fix herself a cup of tea, she stopped in her tracks when she saw a vase of flowers on the countertop. Then she remembered her dream. It made no sense, really, but she couldn’t understand why it bothered her.

Returning to her office, she almost dropped her cup when her phone’s ring startled her. It was Seulong.

“Hey Doc? I have bad news.”

Forensics jargon and details were taken from Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta novels. I also literally spent the whole day today researching on the agencies and institutions included in this chapter. Phew~

So... that's it for this chapter. Tell me what you think ^^ And remember, BE NICE! :D

P.S. I spent about an hour staring at this page before hitting the "Save Chapter" button. LMAO