Bleeding Time

The year 2070

Seoul, South Korea

Second, to Japan, being the most technologically developed country, South Korea discovered the gem of technology, Time travel. After two decades of testing and failures, finally, in 2066 the testing of Time Travel became a success. In 2067, it was brought to the consumer market for the public, in the brand name of Time. The Time Travel machine was designed in such a way it is easier for people to use. They were designed just like smartwatches, which when clicked will show date and time, and when the date and time are provided, it takes you to that particular point.

People were able to travel to the past and future and the demand for Time watches was enormous. The only rule people had to follow was, not to disturb their past. There were many controversies regarding this matter and people being curious cats, did meddle with their pasts, for some, it changed their present to a better one while for some, worse.

Time watches became as essential as mobile phones for people and there are a group of people who do not support this invention and are still protesting to stop the supply of these watches.

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The click of the boots echoed down the corridor as I walked towards the chief’s office. I knocked on the door before opening it and entered the cold room. There was a milky pine desk with papers scattered over and a man in his late 50’s sat on the swiveling chair with round specs located on the bridge of his nose. There was a shiny metal plate that read ‘Park Kyung Min – Chief Superintendent General’.

I bowed ninety degrees showing my respect and stepped towards his table and asked,” Sir, may I know the reason for the request of my immediate presence here?”

“There is a new case and I think you must have heard about it by now. Since you have been promoted to the position of Chief Detective, I was asked to hand over this case to you by the higher authorities” he said as he adjusted his specs and took the file that was placed on top of a messy stack of papers.

“Yes, sir I’m aware of the case that happened yesterday night. I will put my best efforts and solve this case” I replied with a face that showed my determination as I took the file from his hands.

He scoffed before replying,” Soo Min, I don’t believe you and I think you don’t deserve this promotion. I have been watching how you handle your cases, let’s see if you can solve this one without any mistakes. Some detectives are a better fit for your position and I wouldn’t hesitate to demote you. Be careful. Now get out”.

He spat those words with so much hate, which was very understandable. He simply hated me from the beginning and I am tired of trying to decipher the reason.

“Okay, Sir. I will do my best” I replied politely and walked out of the room to the corridor which enveloped me in warmth after spending time in that cold room.

I sighed and walked back to my cabin to look into the case. Many officers were shocked when they heard about a 30-year-old woman being promoted to the position of Chief detective. Some of them were surprised, some envied me and some were against me. But the officers against me becoming the Chief Detective were the majority.

Well, if I were in their position probably, I would have reacted the same way, knowing I have much more experience than the person they have selected. Many officers were qualified for the position I hold, but the higher authorities chose me over the qualified officers, believing I can handle this position and execute my responsibilities perfectly. And I have no intention of disappointing them.

I walked into my cabin and closed the doors and sat in the office chair. I picked up the case file and opened it to see the crime scene pictures and information of the evidence listed. I went to the evidence room and searched for the box that read the case name, ‘Gyeonggi murder’. I picked up the box and walked back to my cabin, halfway through, my best friend and colleague, came to me with her cute and smiling face.

“Hey, Min Ji! Looks like you are very happy?” I asked her as I walked into my cabin with her following behind me and kept the carton box on my table. I turned towards her with a smile on my face.

“Soo Min!” she squealed and hugged me tightly and said,” Jin Ho and I are assigned to the Gyeonggi case and we are in your team now!”.

“Wow! That’s great. I don’t have to work alone anymore” I sighed with relief and hugged her tightly.

As we were hugging each other, Jin Ho, Min Ji’s brother came inside. The three of us have been together since our university days and they are my best friends.

“How can you guys exclude me from the group hug?” he asked and joined us in the group hug. They are my family.

“Ok guys, now we need to focus on the case,” I said as I pulled away from the hug to get the items from the carton box.

Min Ji and Jin Ho sat on the chairs opposite mine and started looking through the case file together. Once I had all the evidence arranged as per the list provided on the file and I double-checked if they had missed any evidence.

“Ok guys, so let me brief you both about the case. There isn’t much information provided, so we would be required to do deeper investigation on the case” I said as I stood up and pulled my chair nearer to them so that I can show them the laptop screen.

“This is the picture of the unidentified victim, burnt completely while the body is curled like a fetus. The body had been burned after the victim was killed and there wasn’t much evidence on the crime scene, only a footprint and a rope. The killer had tied the victim before burning but seem to have untied the rope at the last minute. The footprint is being currently analyzed; hope we get a conclusive result. Obtaining the DNA is not going to be an easy task, the forensic technicians are working on it and the body is being examined, so we can’t come to any conclusions. The body was discovered yesterday at 11 pm near the fields by a man who took his dog for a late-night walk” I told while switching off the screen.

“But Gyeonggi province doesn’t come under our area, right?” Jin Ho asked as he looked at me with furrowed eyebrows.

“I know and that’s what I’m confused about. We have other serious and high-profile cases that need to be solved, but the chief wanted us to handle this. There is something wrong with this case” I told as I looked at the burnt body picture in the case file.

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