Author's POV

4 weeks after Yeonjun's arrest...

The forensic department of Sentinel Division was dimly lit with the only source of light being the computer screens and a single lamp hanging above. The room smelled of strong and heavy chemicals, which were used to interrogate the most unethical crimes.

In the corner of the room, Seokjin sat on one of the tables with his eyes focused on the computer screen. He was searching through multiple databases, hoping to find one small clue about the fingerprints found on the tub.

The fingerprints weren't registered on the government's database, which meant he had to search data from external sources—data from private organizations, hospitals, and confidential archives.

He was so focused on the task at hand that he couldn't even recognize someone entering the room.

A man silently tiptoed towards him and leaned in, whispering near his ear. "Hello."

Seokin flinched, startled by the sudden appearance of someone. His hand was midway in the air, ready to punch whoever it was, but stopped when he saw Hoseok standing there with a cup of coffee in his hand.

Seokjin exhaled in relief and dropped down his hand. "Don't you know how to knock?"

"I do," Hoseok replied with a shrug. "And I did."

"Did you?" Seokjin muttered while rubbing his face with his hands. It was clear that he was exhausted.

Hoseok clicked his tongue and shook his head while leaning back onto the desk on which Seokjin was working.

"I thought that was for me," Seokjin said, eyeing the cup as if he was tempted to snatch it.

"You wish," Hoseok chuckled.

Seokjin just rolled his eyes and fixed back his focus onto the screen. He was typing vigorously without being bothered about another person's presence in the room. Hoseok leaned in beside Seokjin and started to observe the data being scrolled.

"What are you working on?" he asked.

"Park Jimin's case." Seokjin replied without looking at him.

Listening to that, Hoseok stopped his sip midway and set down the cup on the table.

He frowned. "The murderer already confessed, Jin. He is in jail and in no time the court will decide his punishment."

"I know," Seokjin said while standing up and making his way to the coat hanger at the far end of the room. He decided to continue his search the next day.

"But I don't think Yeonjun is the real murderer."

Hoseok rolled his eyes. "That doesn't really matter now. He confessed. And in court, a confession is the biggest proof there is."

Seokjin stared at him as if he just said the dumbest thing ever. "Are you serious?"

Hoseok scoffed. "Jin, you can't get stuck on one case forever. We have dozens of cases coming in every day. Holding on to a case that's basically closed? That is called pure foolishness."

"Maybe you're right," Jin muttered, while zipping up his coat. "But that tub Jungkook found near the crime scene—there were no fingerprints of Yeonjun on it."

"That's because he manipulated the scene," Hoseok replied. "Don't you know about him confessing that he planted fake fingerprints? Those fingerprints don't even exist. He managed to earn human looking fingerprints."

"What if he wasn't telling the truth?" Seokjin shot back.

Hoseok raised an eyebrow. "Why would he lie?"

Seokjin shrugged as he pulled up his winter gloves. "You're the detective. You tell me."

Hoseok stood there silently, trying to think about Seokjin's point of view. In the end, he couldn't give an answer.

Seokjin took the silence as a sign.

"See?" he said. "No reason. Unless... he was forced to. Or maybe..." his voice lowered, his eyes trailing back at the monitor he was working on, "he's protecting someone. The real murderer."

Hoseok scoffed and lifted up his cup from the desk. "You're digging for ghosts, Jin."

Seokjin now moved across the room, switching down all the computers and devices. Hoseok approached him and placed a hand gently on his shoulder.

"Maybe you're right," he admitted quietly, "but with Yeonjun's confession, there's nothing we can do. This case is nearly closed. Real murder or fake, I don't think the law cares about this when there is a clear confession made, especially by the prime suspect.

Seokjin was deep in thought. He deep down knew that Hoseok was right. Then a thought struck him. Why was he even so concerned? His job was done. The case was closed. There were already new tasks on his way. Why try to prove something wrong when there's no point?

After a pause, he murmured, "Maybe I should close this case from my side too."

"That's great," Hoseok said, relief evident in his voice. "Get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow."

Saying that, he made his leave, the echo of his footsteps audible from the hallway.

Seokjin was still standing at the same position without moving. There was complete silence apart from the low hum of the single computer, which was still not shut down. He wanted to move onto other cases, but something in him tugged to hold onto this case. He never bothered about any case as much as this one. He wasn't sure of why he even felt that way.

The monitor still displayed the open biometric software. The fingerprints procured from the tub were running in the background, being checked continuously by the external data.

He sighed as he held onto the mouse, ready to delete the data and close down the case for once and all. That was the procedure. Delete everything from a case if it's not leading anywhere. This was, there wouldn't be much wastage of data storage. 

He moved the mouse until the cursor pointed at the delete option. A single click and everything would be gone.

His finger didn't click. Something in him refused to. A voice inside him said "What if you find something, something which can turn the whole case upside down?"

He let out a long breath, straightening his posture and leaving his hold on the mouse. He decided to let the system run through the data for one more day before he would delete it permanently.

He switched off the lamp overhead and opened the door to leave. The moment he stepped out, the metal door closed with a heavy thud.

The room was now dark. The only source of light came from the monitor and the only sound in the room was its low hum.

The room was peaceful, but then came a mechanical sound of the system's scanner. The sound was rhythmic. For a few seconds the sound didn't stop, but then suddenly there was complete silence. Just silence.

Then—

beep

A green light blinked harshly on the monitor.

beep

This time it was louder.

beep beep beep

Then came a robotic voice.

"Match found."

A pause. Then again

"Match found."

The third time it was more hurried.

"Match found. Match confirmed. Identity located."

The same message was repeated for around five times, each time more rapid.

Then suddenly... the screen flickered.

It glitched.

And then everything went black.

To be continued...