TWO DAYS BEFORE THE “BOX” CASE

SolHi loves roofs a lot, for giving her freedom and for feeling that she's safe, especially after spending some time in the street, where everybody stares at her and still judges her, even if there had been already 6 years since she was set free. And this habit, of spending her time on the roof, is something that calms her down and makes her happy, even if others think that she's weird.

"The best place of hiding is on the roof," she always jokes when she's asked where she had been, and this isn't only a joke but is a reality for SolHi because it had been first the roof of Mina’s house, where she chose to spend her days, but after entering the police she “set” here her “territory” and nobody dared to interrupt her, because she generally gets on the roof when she’s upset or she needs to think about something important.

“Again hiding?” she heard Yoon Suk’s voice, who was approaching her.

“Not really. I just need to think.”

“About what? Don’t tell me: about our boss who forces you to work with the “devil”? Am I right?”

SolHi takes from Yoon Suk’s hand the juice he bought for her. “Something like that, but It’s not only this what I need to think about.”

A short silence takes control of both. It’s dusk already, but the sun is so beautiful in the sky and with the warm gusts of wind, that gently caresses their faces, it is the perfect moment for a romantic scene, but none of them is thinking about such a possibility and not because Yoon Suk is not interested in her, but because SolHi won’t love again. She decided it, a long time ago, and she’s so stubborn about it, that the young detective gave up on the idea to make her his girlfriend right after the punch he received from her after telling her about his feelings.

“Yoon Suk, do you still love me?”

Her question made Yoon Suk drown with juice. “What? I mean, why so suddenly? The last time I mentioned something similar, I had a purple eye for about a week, if not more. Don’t tell me that things changed and you…”

“Don’t be silly. It was just a question. Nothing more. I wanted to be sure that you don’t suffer because of me.”

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t you see me? I’m dying if you aren’t near me.”

“Ya, stop being ironic. It’s not funny.”

“Not funny is your remark and I think it’s related to our “new boss”.

“With Han DooSan? Why did you draw such conclusions?”

“Because it is true. Since he showed up with the news about the new team, you don’t find your place and you are here again. So, tell me: what happened between you two? Romance? Lovers? Something more?”

“A murder.”

“What? Are you idiots to argue because of a dead one?”

“Mmm. Because the dead one was his elder brother and I was the assassin.”

Yoon Suk stares at her like a perfect dumb. He heard something from the other detectives about the “dark past” of SolHi, but he never believed it. She’s too perfect for him to consider her a criminal, but it seems to be true.

“It happened 7 years ago. I still don’t remember what happened then, but the matter is that I had been charged for killing the prosecutor Han YuSan, but a Court set me free for lack of evidence.”

“His brother was a prosecutor?”

“And his mother too. I think this is “family business” or something like this, but this is not the point. He didn’t give up on the idea that I was the one who killed his brother. And here he is: after me again.”

“And you have no “voice” in this. You must accept it.”

“Something like this, but I still think that it was a bad idea entering the police, but I can’t turn back time and change my profession, even if I want to. And more than this: nobody will accept me ever doing something else.”

SolHi watched her younger partner for a while, but Yoon Suk preferred to look in front of him. It wasn’t because he started to hate her, suddenly, but because he didn’t want her to see that he felt sorry for her. She passed through a lot of shits, during these years and she doesn’t need his sorrow too.

“What will you do then? Will you accept the job?”

“I think so. At least so we will know if one of us dies soon and who enters the jail for his death. Me, in the office.”

SolHi stands up and takes a few steps, but she suddenly stops and looks at Yoon Suk. “Don’t tell our boss about it. I don’t need more “complaints” from him.”

“What about you being the one who tells me about this?” Kan’s voice was heard behind her.

SolHi makes a sign to Yoon Suk to leave them alone and the young detective left the place right away.

“So? Now we are alone. Something interesting to tell me about your plans?”

“You know them, boss. Nothing new. Just spoken thoughts loudly. Don’t tell me that this is forbidden too?”

“Nothing is forbidden, SolHi, but you promised me. You promised that you would clean your name, when you entered the police, 3 years ago, but you still are too stubborn to accept help. Now is the moment. Working with Han DooSan in the same team ... you two can find the truth.”

“Together? Sombe, you forgot about one important thing: I’m his suspect and I doubt he will help me to find another one.”

“Then help him with this. Find that evidence he needs and prove that you had nothing to do with Han YuSan’s death.”

“It will be a little bit difficult and you know why: that night, he raped me and this is not a testimony in my favor.”

***

PRESENT. NOWADAYS.

SolHi exits the building with some stuff used in Mire’s apartment for the experiment with the manikins, and she notices DooSan staring at the building.

“I told him he’s weird,” she mumbled and she stopped. Her intention was to analyze his actions, but soon after, understanding that DooSan is out of reality, thinking about things that she isn’t aware of and that can be dangerous for her, SolHi decided to talk to him. “Something happens?”

“Yeah. I lost some time.”

“Time?! Now is the time you lost here” and, staring at him, as if she saw a dumb, SolHi approached him and she looked in the same direction. “And the building, what did it do wrong to you that it became the object of your research?”

DooSan grinned at her unhappily and mumbled a “witch,” but when he saw that she didn’t like his joke, he changed the subject. “I’m talking about the case. Even if we know how the victim was killed, we don’t have an order. The General Attorney denied it.”

“So surprising. I knew that it was something strange with Min SinJu. Now I see what it was: connections.”

“Yep, and we need to work harder than playing golf to find solid evidence. And I don’t think…”

“What about surveillance cameras?” Her question made DooSan stare at her. “Neighbors. You are the one who called them “surveillance cameras” and those who are living in this building are damn good ones” and a large smile is sketched on SolHi’s face.

***

A FEW MINUTES EARLIER. INSIDE THE BUILDING.

Exiting Mire’s apartment, after she returned to take the remaining things, SolHi is surrounded by 10 women who seem to live on the same floor, but what is more surprising, is the fact that they stare at SolHi, with wild and hungry eyes, ready to kill her.

“Finally, we see you, Miss…” one of the women says while approaching SolHi and she’s watching the detective from top to toe with superiority. “What? A party? Was it interesting last night that you made so much noise and none of us could close a damn eye and normally sleep?” and the hint was for the manikin head seen in the box.

Catching the neighbor’s glance and feeling that something interesting is coming, SolHi decided to pretend and to listen to what is next.

“Slammed doors, music, scandals, parties, yells in the middle of the night and all this coming out from your apartment. Do you think that this building is only yours, huh? That only you are living here? We also live here and we also need privacy and silence” and the last part is practically yelled in SolHi’s ear and a “take a motel room if you want “diversity” came after, but the neighbor took quickly a few steps behind her when she saw SolHi’s ID and she understood that she is talking not to the right person.

“What about a nice talk, huh? And what about telling me what happened here last night.”

The women kept silent for a few moments, but when they understood that SolHi won't give up, the same brawler, crossing her arms on her chest and still suspecting SolHi, is the first talking.

“It wasn’t the first scandal heard from that apartment. In the last month, it had been every day and it was always related to the redhead that came here often and always told the other to get lost from her man’s life.”

“From what we understood, they had something to share and it could be only a man because none of them looks so decent to not be involved in something that “stinks” a second one continued the idea and when SolHi showed them the photo of Mire and SinJu, they all agreed that it was about them.

“Last night,” the first woman said, “the redhead showed up again. She was really drunk, but the other received her right away when the scandal started. Then we all heard a strange sound coming from inside. As if they were fighting or something: you know, things that suddenly fell and broke, but it didn’t last long. For about ten minutes, it was already past 11. And when the strange sounds stopped, one of them loudly cried, but soon after came the tattooed one and he slapped her right away she opened the door and she mumbled something. I’m not sure if I heard right, but I think it was an “I didn’t want it. It had been an accident.”

“I didn’t want it. It had been an accident,” SolHi whispered as if she wanted to memorize it. “And then?”

“It had been silent for about an hour and after that, they left and nothing else happened. Till you didn’t show up and again something hit was heard coming out of that apartment.”

“And they just left? Nothing else strange happened? I don’t know: somebody asking for help, the red one exiting the apartment.”

“Why? She isn’t in the apartment?”

“What? What do you mean?”

“She never left. Only those two and aaa, I remember now: he was carrying on his shoulder a carpet. A rolled one and the “sweety”, that he slapped, was all the time looking around as if she was trying to hide something.”

SolHi closed her notepad and stared at Mire’s apartment door and she was preoccupied because in that apartment they didn’t find any carpet or marks of blood left behind and it means only one thing: somebody cleaned it and that one is dangerous.