Mission J

It was again another slow afternoon at Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Precinct Station 2, capped with the usual bustling of files being pulled together and the ever lingering smell of bad stale coffee. Small petty cases on top of old cases piled up at a steady rate, the load of paperwork only refused to decrease.

For Detective Choi Mu-Won, that was good enough reason to be irritated.

“Aoish, that stupid punk,” he grouched, shutting his partner’s cell phone.

He was just getting over the irritating load of false sightings and unreliable tip-line calls from the large group of “concerned” Samaritans. And then he answers a stupid prank call on his partner’s cell.
Seriously, kids these days. Don’t they know the police take their jobs seriously?

The detective clicked his tongue against his teeth and tossed the phone back onto his partner’s desk. Where was Paek, anyway?
After he came back from his coffee break, he had gone off into the back for some files and never came back. He should sit still at his desk and answer his own damn prank calls.

A subordinate sitting diagonally across from him looked up from his laptop and noticed his disgruntled superior.
“Hyeongsa-nim, is there something wrong?” he asked.

Choi cleared his throat and settled back on his chair.
“A lot is wrong here, Si Hyun.” he sighed, aggravation shading his tone. “All this work and we’re nowhere near solving this murder case.”
He grabbed his mug for another gulp of coffee, only to find the cup empty.
“Yah, Yoo Si Hyun!” he grouched.

The young subordinate shot up from his desk and hurried to Choi’s.
“Yes, sir?” he asked.

Choi pushed the mug his way dismissively.
“Hot coffee, the usual way.” he ordered.

“Right away.” Si Hyun said, bowing his head. He took the cup and started to turn but stopped. “Ah, Hyeongsa-nim…If I may…”
Choi looked at him, irritation clear in his expression. The subordinate continued anyway.
“…Maybe too much coffee isn’t good for your stress?” he said.

Choi leveled a sharp glare at him. Si Hyun quickly bowed his head, averting his eyes.
“Right away, sir.” he said and hurried off to get the coffee.

Choi continued to glare as the young man walked away.
“Useless idiot.” Choi muttered.
He let out a sigh and sat back on his chair. His stomach let out a hollow growl then, sounding its neglect.
Right, it was well past noon and he had yet to eat lunch.

Suddenly, his desk phone rang, snapping his thought back to his job. He scowled at the phone, debating silently whether to even answer it. If it was another call from the tip-line office, he was going to have a conniption…
Thinking better of the decision though, he reached over and picked up the phone.
“Choi here,” he said.

“Hello, Detective Choi Mu-Won,” a smooth female voice answered.

Choi frowned and glanced at the phone held to his ear, as if that was going tell him who the caller was. Who was this person? It wasn’t a voice he recognized.
“Yes, who is it?” he demanded.
“Not important. I’m calling about the phone call you just dismissed few minutes ago.” the caller said.

Choi made a face, irritation and confusion creeping in. What call?

As if to read his mind, the lady went on.
“Surely you remember. I could question why you were answering your partner’s private cell phone but let’s skip to the part where you agree to take that call seriously and send help to that young man.”

Bewildered, Choi glanced at the cellphone on Paek’s desk. What the hell? Who was this lady and how did she know?
“Yah, is this a joke?” he grouched.

The person on the other end let out a long sigh, as if he was stretching the little patience she had left.
“I don’t understand what it is with you jumping to the conclusion that everyone’s joking or pulling a prank.” she said coldly.

“So you know about the prank call.” Choi said, irritated himself. “Are you in on it too? Tell your little guy friend to get a job.”
Then he hung up.
“Aish,” he grouched, getting up. He was going to go find something to eat before he continued with the work load on his desk. He wasn’t going to type up the reports on an empty stomach; that was certain.
He left his desk, heading over to the lounge room right next to the office. Usually, a huge platter of food was ordered when there was a major case to investigate. With that brutal murder case investigation still pending, no one on that case was really leaving the office.

Choi entered the lounge and his mood lifted some at the sight of some deli sandwiches piled high on a big platter. He grabbed two onto a small plate and left the lounge. He picked at the crust as he walked back to the office. Upon walking in, he saw that subordinate hovering over his desk, shuffling around indecisively. Another irritated sigh swelled in Choi’s chest.
Really, that boy was just something…

“Si Hyun!” Choi barked.

Si Hyun jolted in his spot and wheeled around.
“Ah, Choi hyeongsa-nim! I was just…your coffee…” he stuttered.

“What?” Choi nearly sneered at him.
He approached the desk and saw the coffee mug set on the desk, filled per his request.
“Oh, good. Now get back to work.” Choi ordered, setting his plate down and sitting.
Yet the subordinate lingered, practically squirming in his spot. That was just too annoying.
“What?” Choi demanded, glaring over his shoulder.

Si Hyun straightened.
“Uh, yes, uh… your phone was ringing while you were away…I didn’t know if you wanted me to answer it so I didn’t…”

Choi grunted and turned his glare back to the phone.
“Eh, leave it. Get back to work.” he said, tapping the keyboard of his laptop to stir it from hibernation.
If it was that lady again, she could just shove it and kiss his---

Suddenly, a sharp ringing broke out from the subordinate’s desk.
“Ah, that’s my desk phone,” he said, surprise clear in his tone.
“Then go answer it!” Choi barked, though he was bemused. No one has ever called Yoo Si Hyun in the months he’s been assigned to this unit.

Choi watched curiously as Si Hyun hurried over to his desk, pausing slightly before cautiously picking up his phone.
“Yeboseyo--- I mean, Yoo here…” he answered.
He stopped and glanced at his superior.
“Choi hyeongsa-nim.” he called over, covering the mouthpiece with his hand. “The caller wants you to pick up your phone now.”
He then blinked, responding to his caller.
“Oh…yes, sure. I can do that.” he said, sitting down.

Choi looked from his subordinate to the desk phone on his desk. It isn’t even ringing…
Bemused, he picked up the phone and brought it to his ear.
“Choi,” he said.

“Choi-ssi, that would be the second time you hung up on me and I’m not tolerating a third.” that female voice from before said coldly.

“You…” Choi mumbled, slightly shocked, despite himself.
He looked over at his subordinate, who was sitting at his desk, the phone still held to his ear. Choi covered the mouthpiece and hiss at him.
“Si Hyun, hang up!”

“No, I told him to hold still and keep listening.” the girl said smoothly. “Isn’t that right, Si Hyun-ssi?”

Si Hyun sat rigidly, looking unsure.
“Yes, mam’n,” he replied into the phone.

She was talking to both of them at the same time…

Choi cleared his throat and straightened his posture.
“So? Why are you calling again, huh? Didn’t I tell you to get lost?” he said coolly.

“Yes, but I assure you this is a call you want to take seriously.” the girl said. “Especially since this may tip you off to a possible lead on your murder case.”

Choi made a face and picked at his sandwich in front of him.
“So you want to make a tip,” he said.

“I suppose you can say that,” she said.

“Then you should’ve called the tip line, not us. We’re working.” he shrugged. He balanced the phone between his shoulder and the side of his head and picked up his sandwich.

“I’m not calling the tip line, I’m calling you.” the girl continued to press. “I would much rather talk to your partner but obviously he’s presently unavailable, being busy with his own work.”

Choi snorted.
“Yea, obviously.” he muttered, and lifted the sandwich to his face for his first bite.

“Choi-ssi…put that god-forsaken sandwich down and listen carefully.” the girl on the phone snarled.

Choi nearly jumped out of his chair, shocked out of his mind. In that stunned moment, his elbow caught the coffee mug and sent the steaming beverage onto his lap.
“AH!” he cried out, feeling the scalding liquid seep into his pants. Instantly he was on his feet.
Somehow in this chaos, he managed to keep the phone pressed to his ear. As Choi danced around, swiping the coffee off of his pants, a tired sigh sounded from the other end of the phone.

“Bravo, detective. That was graceful. Stale in-house coffee, I’m assuming.” she noted. “That’s probably going to stain. Don’t you agree, Si Hyun-ssi?”

“Don’t say anything.” Choi growled at his subordinate, who was staring at him with his jaw dropped to the floor and eyes wide open.

“It’s quite alright, Si Hyun. This is pretty funny…but oh, you should probably close your mouth. That’s unattractive.”

Si Hyun’s eyes widened even further but obediently closed his mouth. His eyes darted around, looking for a source of this trickery. She could see them...where was she watching from?

“I’m not in the office, not physically.” she told him, answering the unspoken question. “But that’s not really important.”

Choi finally recovered enough to answer.
“What do you want?” he demanded, practically spitting the words through his teeth.

“I’ve been saying since before, call that guy back and tell him you’re sending the help. An apology for being a dick would also be charming.” she said coolly.
“Ha! As if!” Choi growled into the phone.

“What the hell is going on?”

Both the detective and the subordinate looked up to see Detective Paek standing by his desk, his arm full of files. He stared at his partner with a mildly bewildered look on his face.

“Ah, Paek-ssi. The man I want to speak to.” the girl said. “Alright gentlemen. It was a pleasure speaking with you.”

A click sounded, followed by a dial tone of an ended call. Not even a minute later, Detective Paek’s phone started to buzz on his desk.
Paek glanced at his phone, and immediately set the files down to take the call.
“Yeboseyo?” he answered. “Ah, K…yes, I was just---”
He stopped, listening intently to his caller.
“What? Are you sure?” he demanded. “Alright. I’ll send cars his way right now. Let me call this young man and talk---”
His eyes fell on Choi, and his gaze hardened.
“Oh, is that right.” he spoke, his tone hard. “I’ll be sure to do so, thank you.”
He hung up and immediately got into motion.
“Dammit, Choi! What the hell did you do?” Paek demanded, pulling his suit jacket off the back of his chair and shrugging it on.

“Who was that? Who’s ‘K’?” Choi demanded right back, throwing the phone back onto its cradle.

Choi just received a harsh glare as an answer. Paek flipped his phone open and after a few presses of his button he brought it to his ear.
“Si Hyun, call in all available units in and send them to this address, please.” he directed as he approached the subordinate’s desk. He quickly jotted down the address on a piece of paper on the desk and handed it to him. “Now.”
His attention was then brought to the call he was making.
“Ah, Yi Jung-ssi, is it? Hello, I’m Detective Paek. I sincerely apologize about my partner earlier…” he was saying as he swept out of the office.

Choi blinked, in disbelief at what happened. Then it dawned on him that his partner had left him behind.
“Yah! Paek, wait!” he called, getting up.
He went to grab his coat when his desk phone rang again. He swore loudly under his breath and answered.
“Choi!” he barked into the phone.

“I would stay put if I were you, Choi-ssi.” that girl’s voice once again flowed into his ear.

“Yea? And why’s that?” he shot right back.

“Well for one, you need to change your pants. You don’t wear massive coffee stains that well.” she replied smartly. “And secondly, your chief wants to see you in his office immediately. He’s not very happy, see. Something about a complaint that just came in about a caller who was neglected when their urgent call was dismissed.”

“What?” he demanded, but looked up in the direction of his chief’s office.

To his horror, he saw the door open and out stepped out his unit chief. He wore a stern expression as he glared right at him.

“Oh, yikes. He really did sound like a big guy...Best not look him in the eye.” the girl said, humor in her tone. “Good luck to you, detective.”

And then, just like that, the phone went dead.