Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

Junwan had summoned Gayoon into his office. She entered in her full uniform and saluted him.

"Detective Jeon Gayoon reporting to you sir!" she declared. Junwan leaned back, his forehead sweating with worry as he read the case details in front of him. The entire country was in a frenzy at the news of the Clean Cut Killer possibly coming back to wreak havoc again.

"Gayoon," he began. "You are my best detective which is why I'm putting immense faith in you regarding this case."

He wiped the sweat off his forehead. Gayoon stood there still, observing her boss. They had handled many cases together but for the first time she was seeing him visibly scared. While she was too young to remember the fright the Clean Cut Killer had invoked in the hearts of people, she had studied this serial killer briefly while she was at the police academy. He was dubbed by the media as the country's own 'Jack the Ripper' because he was never caught.

"What do I have to do sir?" she asked.

"You will be in charge of the case," Junwan stated. "A whole team will be put under your care who will take orders from you. I will hand over all the related documents and all of you must study it. It's important that we catch this killer this time."

"Sir, if I may ask," she began. "Could you tell me more about this murderer so that I can brief my teammates?"

Junwan thought for a while before starting to narrate.

"Twenty years ago," he began. "There were reports of several missing women. At first, none of us made the connection. You see, the women were of different ages ranging from fifteen to sixty five. The way they went missing was a little similar though. They went out for work and never returned home. Worried family members lodged complaints but nothing came out of it. They went missing from different parts in the city so wach case was handled by different police stations. In those days, the technology was still very new so we barely had much communication between ourselves."

"Then came a breakthrough. We found the body parts of one of the girls in a cornfield. Her limbs were cut to pieces and her head was thrown a few feet away from her other body parts. We recovered everything except for the heart which was missing. It was cut out of the body."

"After a few days, more bodies were recovered from different parts of the city. Soon we found ten bodies and thanks to the news, the police pieced the puzzles. It was the work of a serial killer."

"Was it a medical professional who did it, sir?" Gayoon inquired.

"We suspected that for a while," Junwan said. "The cuts were clean as if a scalpel was used. The tissues were cut very finely with precision. The women were probably alive when the killer cut them open and took out their heart. They died on his table. This is why we called him the Clean Cut Killer. CCK for short."

Gayoon's stomach turned at the description. Those poor women who had no idea why they were kidnapped must have been terrified at the stranger who cut out their hearts. It was a scary and painful way to die.

"Were those hearts sold in the black market?" she asked. "Maybe organ harvesters stole them for rich clients?"

Junwan shook his head. "We don't know what he did with them," he replied. "We raided the organ traders' lairs but found nothing. Finally, we had to face the fact that this man was not selling the hearts either. What he did with them is still a mystery."

But Gayoon could read the hidden meaning behind his message. It was the classic trope of serial killers. They always collected a trophy from their victims, a prized jewel which is the secret binding them with their victims. Forever.

"I will prepare the MO," Gayoon stated. "This killer won't get away this time."

Junwan nodded as Gayoon saluted him once more picking up the file and leaving the room. He stared after her for quite a while, wondering what the outcome of the case would be. His mind recalled the terror CCK had inflicted upon the masses. People were scared of letting their women out of the house. Girls were flocking around in groups and no one was allowed to go out after hours. 

Yet, the CCK managed to get his hands on fresh victims almost every month. None of his victims survived his torture and the police had little clues. They had questioned every healthcare professional and arrested suspects but none of them were the CCK. 

But his disappearance was as sudden as his appearance. No one knew why he stopped but one day, he did. The last victim, Cho Sooa, was found in a parking lot with her body parts scattered all over it. She was his last victim and after that there were no more murders. CCK stopped killing and soon, everyone returned to their normal lives. 

Until now.

"This is going to be a mess," he muttered.

….

Minho was in his bedroom, scrolling through his tab as he read on the CCK. He was following the case with keen interest. The old articles were now resurfacing about the case where the pictures of CCK's victims were being portrayed.

He knew about this case very well. A little too well. He was in his mid teens when the infamous serial killer had rocked the country with his murder spree. But his interest in the case was on a personal level.

His phone rang up. It was Kanji.

"Have you seen the news?" Kanji asked as soon as he picked up. There was a strained urgency in his voice as he tried to control his emotions. The usually cheerful Kanji was scared and tense while his heart was in a panic. The past which he had locked away suddenly exploded right in front of him and he was scared.

"Calm down," Minho scolded him. "This might not even be CCK! This guy might be a copycat-"

"This is CCK!" Kanji said with complete certainty. "I'm not wrong. I'm never wrong about him. I know it. Minho! It is him. And he's going to come for me."

Kanji was pacing back and forth in his mansion, trying to calm himself down. The secret which he had locked away was going to harm him and the people around him. This was going to be nasty.

"He was only injured that night," Kanji ranted. "He ran away but hid in the shadows, waiting to strike back!"

"Calm down!" Minho said sharply. "Why would he suddenly appear after all these years? Why didn't he just kill us then? Nah. This isn't him but a copycat. Calm down Kanji! He's not going to harm us again!"

But Kanji was not convinced. Instead, he strode towards his desk and pulled the drawer open. Inside it was a gun.

He took it out and examined it.

"Minho," he said. "This time, I'm not the weak little teenager. If he dares to come near her again, I will kill him. I'll not spare him…"

Minho sighed but did not say anything. He glanced at the clock. It was nearly 1 AM and he knew that Gayoon was probably still at the police station, working on this case. This case was going to throw all of them into a complicated web.

Question was not how they would get out of it. But rather if they would get out of it alive.