Misun
*In the evening*
I was at home, looking at all the information that was sprawled on the table. We had a lot of bits and pieces but nothing quite concrete. I knew Yoongi’s team was still working on trying to find a connection.
I frowned as I looked at the photos from the two cases. Both houses had burned horribly, leaving a lot of damage, making it quite the impossible task for Hoseok’s team to gather any evidence. Namjoon’s team also didn’t find much since both victims died as a result of the fire and smoke.
I stood up and paced around the room, running my hand through my hair. ‘What am I missing?’ I mumbled to myself just as there was a knock on the door.
I walked to the door and opened it, only to find Jungkook there. ‘Hey Kooks,’ I said as he walked in.
‘Hey,’ he greeted as he walked in with two cups of ramen. ‘I thought you’re probably still working,’ he said and I nodded.
‘You know me well,’ I said as we both made our way to the living room, where all the papers were. Jungkook chuckled slightly as I shrugged.
‘Maybe we should sit on the floor?’ he suggested and I nodded.
‘Not a bad idea. I’ll go get us some chopsticks and soda,’ I said as he settled on the floor while he reached for some papers.
I hurried to the kitchen and opened the drawer. I took out two sets of chopsticks and went to the refrigerator and took out two cans of Cola. I went back to the living room and plopped down next to him.
‘Thanks. Stop working for a bit and eat, then we can go through things together again,’ he said and I nodded. He handed me one of the cups.
‘Thank you for the food and company Kooks. I, um, I couldn’t stop thinking about this case,’ I admitted.
‘Don’t mention it princess and I get it because it’s the same with me too. I can’t help but get this feeling he or she will strike again,’ he said and I nodded.
‘I agree but we have nothing so far. I mean – okay, sure we have an MO but no evidence, no connection, no suspects or motives,’ I said, frustrated.
‘I know princess. Eat for now,’ he said and I nodded as I slurped away on the ramen.
‘Did you make this?’ I asked after a while, my mouth full with food. He chuckled and nodded, causing me to smile. ‘It’s good,’ I said, licking my lips.
‘Well, I’m glad you liked it. I’m not much of a cook but I can do some mean ramen,’ he said. I smiled as I finished the last bit of the food, just when there was a loud knock on the door.
I stood up, placing the cup on the floor as I hurried to the door. I looked through the peephole and smiled as I realized Taemin was there. I opened the door and waved.
‘Hey baby girl, I hope I’m not interrupting anything,’ he said as he kissed my cheek.
‘Not really. Come on in,’ I said as I led him to the living room where Jungkook was. ‘How did you find out where I live?’ I asked.
‘Come on now baby girl don’t insult me. Everyone knows that the Bangtan team all live in the same block of apartments. It was just a matter of finding which flat is yours,’ he said.
‘You didn’t seem to have any trouble,’ Jungkook commented, almost seemingly a bit cold.
‘Oh I did. I ended up knocking on one of the downstairs apartments but Mr. Kim guided me up,’ he said. ‘Are you still working Misun-ah?’ Taemin asked with a frown and I sighed.
‘Jungkook and I are trying to figure things out,’ I said and he nodded.
‘Did you eat though? You always had a habit of losing yourself in your work, barely eating or sleeping,’ he commented.
‘She did eat,’ Jungkook said, forcing a smile as he crossed his arms against his chest. He leaned against the wall as he looked at us. I really had no clue what his problem was today – one moment he was fine, the next he wasn’t.
‘Yeah, don’t worry Taemin. Jungkook takes good care of me,’ I said as I stole another glance at Jungkook who this time smiled more genuinely.
‘I’m glad to hear that,’ Taemin said as he approached the papers. ‘God, that’s a lot of documents and photos,’ he mumbled.
‘Yeah you could say that again,’ Jungkook said as he left the wall and approached us. ‘Whoever he or she is knows what they were doing. Fire destroys almost everything,’ he added.
‘What if,’ I began as I chewed on my lower lip. Taemin’s hand reached for my lips as he caught my chin in his hands.
‘Stop that. You’re going to end up biting too hard and causing it to bleed,’ Taemin scolded. I gulped and then licked my lips, trying to force myself to stop. From the corner of my eye, I saw Jungkook rolling his eyes and I could not help but laugh internally.
‘Sorry, old habit. You should know,’ I said with a wink, aimed at Taemin’s direction.
‘Oh I do know and I also know those pretty lips don’t deserve to bleed baby girl,’ he said, teasingly. This time, I rolled my eyes.
‘Shut up. Some things definitely have not changed. You’re still such a flirt,’ I said, shaking my head. Jungkook cleared his throat – loudly – making us look at him.
‘Sorry to interrupt this, well, nostalgia,’ Jungkook said, clearly not sorry, but rather annoyed, ‘but you were going to say something on the case,’ Jungkook said, pointing to the material.
‘Ah yes. I was thinking, what if we try to lure him out,’ I said, as both boys looked at me curiously, but definitely interested. ‘Arsonists tend to take pride in what they do. If we say, we have the suspect, it might make him or her come out,’ I said.
‘I agree. He or she might get *ed off that someone else is taking the credit, especially since a lot of arsonists have a big ego,’ Taemin said.
‘Makes sense but this only works if the perp is doing it for those reasons. We cannot rule out the possibility that it’s revenge for something,’ Jungkook said.
‘Jungkook is right and we have to be careful. What worries me about luring them out is aggravating them. It might cause another fire and victim if we’re not careful,’ I said, frowning.
‘It is a bit risky princess,’ Jungkook said as he pushed his tongue against his cheek. ‘It might provoke him or her too much,’ he added.
‘Yeah maybe,’ I began just as Taemin’s phone began to ring. He took it out and quickly answered. His facial features began to change as he got more serious.
‘What?’ he exclaimed forcing me and Jungkook to exchange a look. It definitely was not good. ‘Okay, I’m on my way. Text me the address and I’ll meet you there,’ he said before he hung up.
‘What is it Taemin?’ I asked, taking a step closer. He ran his hand through his hair as he looked at me and sighed.
‘There’s another fire. I need to go,’ Taemin said, going into his serious mode. I sighed and nodded.
‘I’m coming with you,’ I said, forcing both boys to look at me.
‘Misun-ah, it might be dangerous for you. He’s a firefighter, you’re just a cop,’ Jungkook said.
‘Jungkook is right baby girl. I don’t want you getting hurt. I have to focus on the job and can’t protect you,’ Taemin said, but I shook my head.
‘I won’t interfere Taemin but I might be able to see something. He or she might be there,’ I said. Taemin sighed, but nodded.
‘Fine, but you’re staying right next to me,’ Jungkook said and I nodded. ‘Let’s go then,’ he said.
Taemin
Misun, Jungkook and I arrived just as the rest of my team got here. I left Jungkook and Misun next to the crowd of people as I hurried to the truck, next to my team.
‘Here Cap,’ Minho said as he handed me the uniform. I quickly put it on and grabbed the mask.
‘Neighbours said that it’s the house of Judge Park. They believe he is still inside,’ Key informed me.
‘Okay, fire seems to have not gone out of control yet. I want everyone focused, our task being getting the judge out. Onew, Key, start getting the water pipes ready. Minho, you’re with me,’ I said as everyone nodded, ready to get to work.
Minho and I rushed inside but there was quite a lot of smoke. It was hard to see anything, making the job even more difficult.
‘I can’t see anything,’ Minho complained as we continued to walk further into the house.
‘Stay with me Minho,’ I said as managed to push open the door, only to be greeted by a violent fire. I stepped back and surveyed the area. My eyes fell on another door that seemed different. ‘There,’ I said, following my gut instincts.
We hurried towards the door and I pounded on it. ‘IS THERE ANYONE THERE?’ I yelled, but I did not get a response.
‘I got it,’ Minho said as he took out the Halligan bar. In quick, precise strokes he managed to get the door open. My eyes fell on the figure on the floor who was trying to get up but coughed.
‘Sir, we got you,’ I said as I quickly kneeled down next to him. He was coughing a lot and seemed out of breath. I reached out for the extra mask and went to put it on his face but he held my hand.
‘My…my niece…she’s in her…he—her ro—room,’ he said, struggling with the words.
‘*, okay. Minho, take him out. I’ll go get the girl,’ I said as Minho nodded. ‘Sir, where’s her room?’ I asked.
‘Up—upstairs…la last… r—room…pl—please…sa-save her,’ he said as he tried to take a deep breath.
‘I will,’ I said as I took off running. I ran towards the staircase which was already starting to burn. ‘*ing hell,’ I muttered to myself as I took a quick run and went up the stairs.
The top part was starting to burn as well, but I still had a little bit of time. I ran down the corridor as I reached the last room. I pushed it open and went inside, only to hear a scream.
My eyes fell on a young girl, barely five years old who was huddled on the floor with her panda soft toy. She was sobbing loudly and I quickly went down to my knees next to her.
‘Hello sweetie. Everything is going to be okay, you don’t have to be scared,’ I said but she shook her head.
‘I’m scared. I want my grandpa,’ she cried out and I nodded.
‘I know sweetie. My friend is taking him outside and he’s going to be waiting for you. Let me take you to him,’ I said. She looked up at me with big, doe eyes as her bottom lip quivered. ‘Come sweetie,’ I said as I reached out for her.
She took my hand and I quickly scooped her up in my arms. I grabbed the blanket from the bed and wrapped her around it. ‘Cover your eyes sweetie,’ I said as she buried her head into my chest.
I started running outside of the room towards the stairs, only to find out that the fire had destroyed the stairs completely. The stairs were not an option. I silently cursed as I ran back the same way I cam and reached for the window.
‘Key, Onew, I need you to put up the ladder next to the window on the top floor,’ I said into my mic.
‘On it,’ Key said as I managed to pry it open and lean forward. I saw my team adjusting the ladder from the truck as it slowly started coming up.
The fire had started to consume upstairs as well, reaching closer to us. The girl continues to cry into my chest, clearly getting more and more scared. I could not blame her.
The ladder finally reached us and Key was quick to start climbing up. He reached us and I handed the girl to him when suddenly, I heard barking and howling coming from a room.
‘*, there’s a dog,’ I muttered as I let go of the ladder and ran back inside.
‘CAPTAIN!!’ I heard Key yell but I just followed the sound. I was not going to let a dog get burnt inside this house. I kicked down the door, only to see a small beagle, crying in the corner. He looked at me, almost in a pitiful way.
‘Oh come here pup,’ I said as I quickly reached down and picked the pup up. ‘I got you pup,’ I said as I hurried back to the corridor. There was a lot of smoke, making it hard to see and the heat had seemed to multiply.
Before I could take another step forward, a part of the ceiling collapsed. Part of it landed on me, sending me crashing to the ground. The dog howled and cried and circled around me while I cried out in pain.
‘Ah *,’ I mumbled as I went to move. My arm seemed to scream in pain and I knew I most likely broke it. I managed to get up with a lot of force and scooped the dog in my good arm and made my way to the window where Minho and Onew were coming in.
‘You scared the * out of us,’ Minho scowled and I just smiled, even though they could not see.
‘I couldn’t leave the pup. One of you needs to take him. I think I broke my arm,’ I said.
‘*, come on,’ Onew said as he handed the dog to Minho and came to help me. I managed to get into the basket of the truck and Minho put the dog in.
I got lowered while the others started climbing down. I could hear the people cheering loudly, clapping and whistling as I removed the mask.
The dog came to me and started circling me. I picked him up with my good arm and the pup instantly licked at my face, making me laugh.
‘You’re very welcome,’ I said as I gave the pup a smooch on the head, just as we reached the ground.