Chaos struck Seoul on Christmas midnight when dozens of police cars assembled and blared their sirens in front of the Queen City Complex, one of the most famous and luxurious housing complexes in the city, housing many of the most renowned businessmen, political figures and entertainers of the country. The chilling winter breezes which were meant to be jovial and refreshing became ominous within a span of few minutes. Curious faces were pressed against the glass panes to have a glance at the unexpected midnight bustle. A team of officers made their way up inside the building on the 33rd floor, while others, including a firebrigade and ambulance surrounded the outer premises of the complex.
Reportedly an assassination had been schemed against one of the residents of the complex - Mr. Byungho Kim, a famous TV news anchor. Kim's opinion has always been under criticism and controversies. A large section of the population view him as corrupt and hypocrite while to some, he is the epitome of honesty who is just not scared of the higher-ups. It was not the first time that there were claims of a potential assassination being plotted against him - all of which turned out to be vague. However, this time around, the reports were not be taken lightly - especially because of the series of 'peculiar murders' that had been occuring across the country recently.
"Chief! We are ready to breach - waiting on your command" said officer Kangmin Jung as he dialled to Sergeant Jongsoo Lee through his walkie-talkie from the 33rd floor, in front of Byungho Kim's apartment, after getting no response from other side of the door.
Sergeant Lee replied "Proceed" and continued "Stay alert and keep reporting."
"Roger!" - replied inspector Kangmin as he ordered his team to break in.
The main door was shattered aloud followed by an apprehensive darkness and silence. To their surprise, the drawing room was abnormally tidy which contradicted their assumption about the situation inside the apartment. Nothing seemed out of place except for the fact that all the lights and cameras were dead.
"Was there even a murder?" one of the officers murmured.
"Whatever it is, stay on your toes. It's very possible that the killer or killers might still be hiding here in the darkness." said Kangmin as he kept pointing the gun as he was opening doors of the rooms inside one by one, and continued "Something is not right even though most of the things seem normal - the dead lights and CCTV worries me... Keep searching!".
By now more people had stopped and gathered in front of the complex just to get a hint of what actually was going on.
"Chief..." - said Yeongseok Heo - "They got any clue?"
"No... that's strange. Nothing specific yet, except for the dead lights and CCTV on the 32nd, 33rd and 34th and the ground floors".
Sergeant Jongsoo Lee chuckled and continued - "I wonder, could it be another hoax?"
Yeongseok replied in a cold tone - "I really wish that it was a hoax but I'm afraid, it might not be hoax and another precise murder like the ones we have been dealing with since the last few months..."
Jongsoo fell silent and looked up at the building. In the meantime, detective Sooah An arrived at the building on her car - she is a rookie Investigator and had been working on the 'peculiar murders' case. This was the first major assignment of her career as the lead detective.
After some time, Kangmin found himself in front of what seemed like the master bedroom. He didn't waste time to shatter the door. As soon as he entered the room he felt his boots make an unusual faint squelch. He got down to take a closer look and found something out of place.
"Rose petals? No way! Not again..." - he felt a shiver run down his spine. He held his gun firmly using both of his hands and moved around the room panic-stricken. On top of that, the room was filled with a slightly disturbing stench. Eventually two of the other officers rushed inside the room. And suddenly something happened - something which was not very unexpected for Kangmin but definitely very strange. The lights came back all of a sudden, lighting up every room and corner of the apartment - and what followed was nothing more than a nightmare to witness for the officers.
Officer Kangmin dialled to Sergeant Lee with a coldness in his voice - "Chief...we found Mr. Kim - dead. And we searched every corner thoroughly, no signs of the killer."
Jongsoo, startled by the message turned towards the other officers outside the building and said - "He's dead... Please come with me." By then, the officers inside the apartment had rescued Byungho's maid, who had been knocked unconscious by the culprit and gagged into a confined space in one of the rooms.
Inside the apartment the other officers who had just arrived participated in witnessing the horror of Byungho Kim's lifeless body being hung from the ceiling; his eyes blood red and bulging out from the socket, and a fresh rose pressed between his lips, which were stitched to each other.
Jongsoo - Good grief!
Kangmin - Our guess is that the killer escaped through that balcony. He might have used a rope for that
Yeongseok - No wonder this is one of the 'peculiar murder' series.
Sooah - The fourth one this year... It is as if the killer is toying with us; the same old pattern - lights and security facilities dying out, calling the force after committing the murder, then after some time the lights coming back and the style of murder? Roses pressed against the stitched lips of the victim and hanging the body...
Jongsoo - Without a doubt, the Killer Rose is behind this murder as well...
Amidst all the chaos a woman in her early 30s, wearing a dark crimson overcoat, walked down the carolling streets - unflinched , unbothered about the burning world behind her. After a while, she took a cab possibly to her place.
"Merry Christmas ma'am! The Cathedral right?" greeted the cab-driver
"Yeah, back at you. Well I never said that I want to go to the Cathedral..." said the lady in a cold and neutral voice.
"Oh! My apologies ma'am! Actually most of the passangers on this day-" he was stopped mid-sentence by the lady, who coldly replied with a harsher tone - "Hotel Moon Veil, please."
"Oh! Okay! Sure, ma'am..."
As she was on her way to the hotel, she dialled to someone on her cellphone and said -
"The roses have been delivered....unnoticed"
"Good job...Jangmi" - the voice on the other side of the call continued - "Please stay at the hotel until further notice. And, good night"
The lady didn't say anything in reply and hung up the call just like that. In the chilly winter weather, she felt her neck get sweaty and her heart beating fast at uneven rhythms. The snow was getting heavier and in a distance the carols sang in silent hymns.
The next morning Byungho's maid was taken in for questioning. Yeongseok and Sooah entered the interrogation room to question the maid.
"So, what is your name?" questioned Sooah.
"It's Nayoung Park..." - replied the maid.
"You don't have to stress out." said Yeongseok who was standing beside Sooah, and continued - "Just answer what you know...". The session progressed with some more general questions.
Sooah - Did you notice anything strange that day? Like, any visitor or anyone suspicious?
Nayoung - Actually I was not present at his apartment during the day, so I can't tell...
Sooah - Okay, but talk about other days... I'm pretty sure the killer has been plotting the murder for a while
Nayoung - Sorry, I'm not sure...I haven't seen any outwardly suspicious person visiting Mr. Kim lately...at least in his apartment.
Yeongseok - Hold on a second...Did you just say that you were not present at his apartment during daytime?
Nayoung - Yeah...
Yeongseok - Then...what were you doing in the apartment at night? We discovered you unconscious from one of the rooms...
Sooah - Yeah! Exactly. Be honest with us Ms. Park
Nayoung - Actually...all his servants were on leave for Christmas.
Sooah - What about you?
Nayoung hesitated to speak further.
Sooah - Please be transparent Ms. Park...You are a vital cue in our investigation as apparently you were present in the apartment around the time of the murder.
Nayoung - You want to know the truth? Well...Mr. Kim treated me differently than his other servants...
Yeongseok - Differently?
Nayoung - Rather, I'd say he used me...for his filthy desires...
Sooah - I see...
Nayoung - Mr. Kim had been doing this for a long time now. On the night before Christmas, he asked me to visit his apartment when no one would be around...
Sooah - You could've denied him as well.
Nayoung - I could definitely have but I made one mistake. When I first joined him as a maid... after a few days he called me to his apartment and convinced me to stay the night off at his place...and everything we had between ourselves after that was recorded by him secretly. He used that tape to blackmail me and said he would destroy my life and looking at his influencial background...I was left with no choice....I am sorry....
Sooah - And how did you get convinced just like that?
Nayoung - I needed money. He gave me a word that he would pay me way more than rest of his servants if I do whatever he demanded, submissively. And I really needed a lot of money for my brother's treatment. Moreover, I was already in high debts from the loansharks.
Sooah - We get it... anyways, what did you see when you arrived at his apartment at night?
Nayoung - Well everything seemed normal initially; he opened the door for me and for the first time he prepared coffee for me by himself...and then...
Sooah - Then...?
Nayoung - After a while, someone rang the doorbell. Mr. Kim was preparing coffee so he asked me to check - it was a delivery woman...yes...a woman; she was carrying a bouquet of roses.
Sooah - Roses? And did you see her face?
Nayoung - No...she was wearing a red facemask and black sunglasses, so I couldn't see her face properly.
Sooah - Okay....By the way, didn't you find it suspicious at that time?
Nayoung - I thought Mr. Kim had ordered them for me so I didn't think much of it. She seemed completely normal - until she wasn't; as I held my hand out to take the bouquet, the woman got inside the room in a split second, slammed the door, grabbed me by chokehold and I passed out, probably...I don't remember anything after that.
Yeongseok - Are you confident of what you're saying?
Nayoung - Absolutely inspector, why would I have to lie?
Sooah - Well, thanks for the time Ms. Park. You may leave for now but stay available, as we might need you later on.
After she left, Sooah and Yeongseok exchanged glances.This was the first time when someone actually lived to describe the killer. Until now, the only witnesses were the dead victims themselves. They concluded that it was very possible that the killer was not aware of Nayoung Park's presence at the apartment at that hour as all the other servants were on leave. They both realised - the meticulous and precise Killer Rose has made her first mistake, which can potentially lead to her cover getting blown away.
In the meantime, Jangmi Choi, the lady in crimson overcoat glanced through the window of her suite, straight at the towering buildings of the Queen City Complex, at a distance, while taking a sip of black coffee behind the veils - silent and menacing.