Chapter 8 - The Chasing Begins: Part 1

The next morning, as it was decided earlier, Soo Min and Hyun Woo went out into the city. First they checked the CCTV footage from the area where the bouquet sprinkled with Choi Ye Eun's blood was left.

Recording from the early morning of a day the bouquet was found showed a very similar view as previous recordings, on other girls cases - a fairly tall slim man in a gray hoodie, in latex gloves and a black mask on his face. Neatly stretched hood and mask made it impossible to see even a piece of his face, and the slightly stretched hoodie material also masked most of the details of his silhouette. It was hard to tell, but it seemed he wore the same sneakers as before, which, however, were barely visible under the material of dark denim trousers, which had clearly too long legs. As before, the figure avoided soft ground, walking only on the asphalt part of the road, clearly not wanting to leave footprints. In general, it moved so that even for a moment from under the hood did not protrude a piece of face. No car could be seen in the camera's range, but the figure entered the screen from the road side, so the car could just stand where the image from the cameras couldn't reach. Additionally, the cameras did not record sound, so even if there was a car and departed, you couldn't confirm it.

The next recording showed the day before, Sunday, but the interesting part started only in the footage from the evening. First, the image on the recording showed a figure, a girl fully matching the description of Choi Ye Eun. She was walking along the road showing clear signs of fatigue, and was shivering slightly, but no wonder - she was wearing sleeveless blouse and a mini skirt, and in the evening the weather was usually too cold to wear such clothes. According to information from Madam Lee, the mother of Ye Eun, she went to a charity event in her fiance's car, so was not prepared to return alone and wasn't wearing anything warmer. At one point, when Ye Eun disappears from the image of the first camera and appears after almost a minute in the image of the next one, a car stops on the road. Of course, in such a place that the camera manages to capture only the roof, part of the back and side of the car, as before the picture cuts before the license plates or even brand marks. Ye Eun hesitantly approaches the car in which the door opens, then it seems that she recognizes the person behind the wheel, but the camera, because of the late hour and the darkening sky causing a lack of light, is unable to capture the driver's features. Finally, Ye Eun gets into the car and closes the door. The car pulls away, but not straight, it turns for a moment into the opposite lane, so that the entire image of the car disappears between the trees that block the upper part of the camera image, and that's it. After watching, the recordings were ripped to a disc which was to be forwarded to Cyber Security Division, Digital Forensic Section.

- I have no idea how somebody can cover the tracks so well.- Soo Min said when they finished watching the recordings and already had the disc, putting it in the briefcase that was in her car.

- There has been a lot of criminals in world history who have been able to cover their tracks very well.- Hyun Woo spoke up.- That is why some cases remain unsolved to this day or are solved for years. Some even say there are many more serial killers on the loose than those who's been punished.- he added and sighed heavily.

- I know.- replied Soo Min, getting into the car from the driver's side, and in the meantime Hyun Woo took the passenger seat.- But I won't let "Cherry Blossom Reaper" to still belong to this 'hanging-on-the-loose' group. I will catch him sooner or later, even if I'll have to chase him for the rest of my life.- she added with visible determination, inserting the key into the ignition and starting the engine.

- Where now?- asked Hyun Woo, at the same time admiring her enthusiasm.

- We'll leave the disc in the Cyber Security Division, Digital Forensic Section first, so that they can check it as soon as possible. Maybe they will be able to get the picture of the driver, or see the license plates behind these trees.- Soo Min replied, entering the road.

Hyun Woo nodded, directing his gaze ahead. The first thing he noticed immediately while working with Soo Min was the fact that she was very professional in her work. She didn't seem to mix any unnecessary feelings, which made her seem a bit cold. But Hyun Woo thought it was just her way of doing the job. There were some emotions in her eyes, especially when she was watching camera recordings today. However, Soo Min clearly suppressed them, probably thinking that they would hinder her logical thinking. And all in all it wasn't such a bad tactic, Hyun Woo knew several officers in Gwangju who did their job in similar, if not the same, way. Kim Soo Min intrigued him even more and not only he wanted to learn from her about detective work, but also to get to know her better.