Misun
I finished talking with my informant who told me about Park Julie. She had come to live here with her son two months ago after claiming she was running away from her abusive husband. However, according to my informant, she was actually lying – both about her name and her reason of being here. She was never married and her name was not Park Julie but Lee Aera. Even more shocking was the fact that she had a son who had died. Her son would be around the same age as Dylan.
My informant had decided to check on her because something felt odd about her. He had informed the local police but truth be told, she had never harmed anyone and she was not a person of interest. So, they let it go but still kept an eye on her. However, he did recognize the boy. He was sure it was the same boy from the photo, even though the hair was different. I felt my heart race as I made my way towards the farmhouse so that I could share the news.
My phone started ringing and I looked at the caller ID. I smiled as I realized it was Jungkook. I quickly accepted the call as I kept on walking.
‘Don’t tell me you miss me already,’ I said, deciding to begin the call with a tease.
‘Hahaha very funny princess. I called to check how things are going, not for you,’ he said, which only made me smile more. I knew he was trying to tease me back because he was still annoyed that I asked him to stay back in Seoul.
‘Are you sure?’ I teased again. I heard him groan, making me laugh louder. ‘Sorry, I could not resist myself and to answer your question, I actually think I have a very good lead,’ I said.
‘Oh that’s amazing Misun-ah,’ he replied, clearly getting excited. ‘Do you need anything from us here?’ he asked.
‘No, no we’re fine. I’ll let you in on the details later. Is everything okay back home?’ I asked.
‘Yeah, yeah everything is fine. Don’t worry about here and focus on finding Dylan,’ Jungkook said.
‘I will. I just hope that I’m right about this theory I have. I got to go, I’ll talk to you later,’ I said, as I reached the farmhouse.
‘Okay, stay safe princess. Call if you need anything,’ Jungkook said.
‘Likewise Kooks,’ I said as I hung up. I took a deep breath and walked in. I could hear noise coming from the living room and I could not help but smile. It was nice to walk in and be greeted by noise instead of silence.
I hurried to the living room where I found Jin pacing around until he turned to me and smiled. ‘You said you had a lead, so do we. We want to go talk to Park Julie,’ he said, excitedly. I could see the hopeful glee in his eyes.
My eyes went wide as I smiled. ‘What? You got the same name?’ Yoongi asked as I nodded. ‘That’s good. It makes the theory more plausible,’ he said.
‘Wait, I have more. Sit down,’ I said as I also sat down. They sat down quickly and I could sense the hope growing with every word we were exchanging. ‘So my informant is someone who works with the local police as a sort of consultant so to say. He’s on the autism spectrum but the high functioning. He’s one of the smartest people I know and also someone who has amazing memory, especially pictorial,’ I said.
‘That’s amazing,’ Areum commented as she sat next to Yoongi. Hana was also sitting next to Jin, holding his hand and squeezing it every now and then, showing she was there for him.
‘So, I talked to him. He told me that two months ago a woman named Park Julie came to live here with her son. However, there was a lot of suspicious behaviour going on so he decided to dig deeper. Here’s where it gets interesting. Her name is not Park Julie but Lee Aera,’ I said.
‘Whoa so she’s lying about her identity. It definitely gives more ground for investigation,’ Jin said as I nodded.
‘There’s more. She had been saying that she was on the run from her abusive husband and that would have maybe justified the fake name. However, he found out she was never actually married,’ I said. I saw their eyes grow bigger with every little piece of information.
‘Damn. So she keeps on lying about things,’ Hana commented.
‘I have a feeling there’s more,’ Yoongi commented and I nodded. ‘Good God almighty, what else is there about this woman?’ he asked.
‘She had a son who passed away. Her son would be around the same age as Dylan is now,’ I explained. Instantly, their eyes went wide at the most shocking part of the news. ‘I have a theory in mind but of course it could be wrong,’ I said.
‘I think we’re going for the same thing. It might be the case where she lost her son and then fell into some kind of mental health issues,’ Jin said as I nodded.
‘Could be. She might have grown deluded in the sense that she truly believes Dylan to be her son,’ Yoongi said but then sighed. ‘But then, why would she hide or lie? I mean that shows that she knows what she’s doing, or at least partially,’ he added.
‘I agree,’ I said. ‘It could be that she took Dylan to replace her dead son,’ I added.
‘A part of her brain would know she needs to take precautions without even her realizing she’s doing so,’ Jin added.
‘So, what now? How are we going to deal with this?’ Hana asked as Areum looked deep in thought.
‘Well first thing first, I have her address but we cannot just barge in. We need to inform the Daegu police department and get a warrant from the local DA office,’ I said.
‘I know people there. I can get that for you,’ Areum said while I nodded.
‘Good, then the three of us can go to the police department,’ I said.
‘I’ll stay with the kids. I can start working on the article,’ Hana said.
Yoongi
Jin, Misun and I arrived at the Daegu precinct rather quickly. It wasn’t that busy but I could still hear the chattering of everyone. I could see two cops casually drinking their coffees and another one who seemed to be staring into space as he tapped his pen.
As soon as we walked in, a police officer approached us. He was tall and buff, almost bald. His shirt seemed a bit tight – maybe too tight as his arm muscles seemed to bulge out. Yet, he looked pompous and arrogant.
‘Good afternoon. I need to talk to your Captain,’ Misun began but the officer just scoffed as he put his arms across his chest.
‘And who exactly are you lady to come here and start demanding hmm?’ he asked in a very condescending tone. He even dared to lean in a little, as if he was talking to a little girl. Jin and I quickly exchanged a look, not liking him from the start.
‘Yah why don’t you show a little more respect hmm?’ I asked, taking a step closer to Misun even if I was slightly shorter than him. The officer just laughed, clearly not intimidated by my presence.
‘I just asked who she is,’ he said, pretending to feign innocence. Misun took a deep breath and shook her head.
‘I’m Detective Yang Misun, there did I satisfy your curiosity? Now, I really need to talk to your Captain,’ she said, trying to remain calm, but I could tell she was growing impatient. It was clear this * was a sexist one and I could not blame her if she gave him a piece of her mind.
‘I don’t know detective,’ he said, almost mockingly, ‘I mean our captain is very busy. I don’t think he has time for, well, you,’ he said, rather disrespectfully as he eyed her up and down. He reminded me of a perverted *.
‘Yah I’m getting sick and tired of you talking to our team leader like that. How about you go and do your job hmm?’ Jin asked.
‘How about you mind how you talk to me in my own precinct. Besides, are you telling me you take orders from her? A woman?’ he asked. Misun rolled her eyes and shook her head.
‘Yeah, do you have a problem? Because if you do, you’re sexist and need help,’ I said. I saw Misun smirk a little as she went to walk in when he grabbed her by the arm, stopping her.
‘Get your hand off of me if you value it,’ Misun said quietly, but confidently. The officer scoffed once more but before he could say anything, the Captain walked out.
‘Yah!! Sung, enough,’ the captain roared. The officer let her go as he scowled at us. ‘Hello Detective Yang, it’s good to see you again,’ the Captain said.
‘Likewise, although I can’t say the same about the precinct,’ she said, looking at the officer who looked somewhat scared now. He knew he was in some * with his own captain if his own captain was friends with Misun.
‘That * wishes he was half the cop you are Misun. Sung, instead of being an *, maybe you should learn something from her so you can actually do something with your career,’ the captain said. ‘Get to work and stop dawdling about,’ he barked at him.
‘Yes sir,’ Sung replied as he gave another glare towards Misun. Misun smiled as she tilted her head, watching him leave to his own place, like a little kid who was scolded by his teacher.
‘Please, come in,’ the captain said as he motioned us to follow him. Misun nodded as she started walking while we followed right behind her.
We sat down as we got into his office as Misun cleared her throat. ‘It’s been a while Detective Yang. I believe congratulations are in order,’ he said.
‘Thank you sir,’ she said. ‘I’d love to sit and chat and just catch up, but we’re honestly here on something urgent,’ she said.
‘Tell me,’ the captain said, instantly straightening up, showing he was ready to listen.
‘These are Detective Kim Seokjin and Detective Min Yoongi. We’re investigating the kidnapping of a child that had been reported missing for a year,’ she explained.
‘Damn, wow talk about a big one,’ the captain said as soon as we finished explaining the situation. He looked completely struck, not that I could blame him.
‘Yeah, definitely. Our friend, who works in the DA office in Seoul is already in contact with the DA office here for an arrest warrant, but since this is you territory so to say, we wanted to come to you,’ Misun explained.
‘Of course and I appreciate it. From my end, you can go ahead and do your work. What I would like to ask is for you to take one officer from ours with you,’ he said.
‘Not a problem sir,’ Misun said as we also nodded. I looked outside as I saw the douchebag from earlier as he walked out to go for a smoke.
‘Excuse me one second,’ I said as I stood up. They nodded as I quickly left the room. I hurried outside and stood next to Sung. I took out my own cigarette and lit it up as I turned to look at him.
‘What are you staring at?’ he asked, clearly annoyed. I smiled and turned to face him.
‘You. I’m wondering how you ever made it into becoming a cop,’ I said, as I looked him up and down and shook my head. ‘You’re a big guy who probably is just brawls but no brains,’ I said.
‘Listen here midget,’ he said as he came next to me but I shook my head.
‘No you listen to me *,’ I said, shoving my finger into his chest, stopping him right in his tracks. I knew I was glaring at him and although I might not have intimidated him in size, he was still paying attention to me.
‘I’m only giving you one warning. Talk to our team leader like that again and I’ll make sure to get you kicked out of the force. You see, I’m really good with technology and I’m sure I can dig up some dirt on your sexist, perverted ass. So, disrespect Misun one more time and you can kiss your job goodbye,’ I said as I threw away my cigarette.
I could see he was now scared and I could not help but smirk. No one was allowed to hurt Misun who was like a young sister to our team. She may be our leader but we were all very protective of her, especially Jungkook. None of us were going to allow some lowlife, cocky * to try and humiliate her like that.
I turned around, satisfied as I made my way back to the office. I smiled, pretending nothing happened as I sat down.
‘Sorry about that, needed to take care of something really quickly,’ I said as Jin looked at me, with one eyebrow raised. I gave him a slight nod, which he seemed to understand.
‘Not a problem Yoongi. We were just discussing what our next step is going to be,’ Misun explained.
