The last bus to downtown had just left. A group of girls in high school uniform got off it, chattering away as they headed for their homes.

"Yumi, look at this!" One of the girls, Sena, pointed at her camera. "It's our Suho oppa! He looks so handsome even in the military uniform!"

"I think Sehun is hotter," Yumi scoffed. "Just look at him! He's so innocent and yet, manly."

"Baekhyun is the cutest!" a girl called Soji chimed in. "His voice is so angelic."

"Kyungsoo is a much better singer!" her friend, Namjoo, spoked up.

"Have you guys forgotten Chanyeol?" Sena said, rolling her eyes. They were all gib fans of the group EXO and were eagerly anticipating the completion of their idols' mandatory military service. It was a pain to see their idols go to the military and wait for two years for their return!

"I hear Chanyeol is holding a fan signing event!" Yumi claimed. "At the XYZ tower. Tomorrow at three o'clock in the afternoon."

"We should all go!" Sena exclaimed. "We won't get another chance to see him!"

"But we have a literature quiz tomorrow," Namjoo groaned.

"Yeah," Soji sighed. "My parents will kill me if I bunk school again! My grades fell anyway."

"Oh come one girls!" Yumi insisted. "It's Chanyeol! We won't get another chance to see him. We can always pick up our grades but oppa's fan signing events are rare."

"Chanyeol is cute," Namjoo agreed. "But how will we get away?"

"We'll slip through the gates during break time," Yumi replied. "I'll distract the guard and send him away. We can get away then!"

"How will you distract him?" Soji frowned.

"I have my ways," Yumi winked. They were chatting so much that they did not realize that they had reached the intersection. Yumi's house was south while the others would head east.

"Alright," Yumi said. "It's time to say goodbye! I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Be safe!" Soji said. "We'll talk tonight on the phone."

"Bye!" Sena and Namjoo waved at Yumi. The latter waved back and began to walk up the road towards her house. Her house was far from the intersection but she regularly used the long road. There was another route through the alley but she only used it during the day. At nighttime, the alley was dark and creepy. 

It was nearly eleven o'clock. The road was fairly empty during that time of the night but she could not help it. All day school followed by private tuition was a common thing in the timetable of all students in the country. Yumi often wished she was one of those students who had a photogenic memory but to her dismay, she could only remember the names of the idol group members. Everything else was alien to her.

Her shoes made scraping noises as she walked on. It was a chilly night and she was shivering. Clutching her sweater tighter around her, she kept on walking.

Suddenly she stopped in her steps. A strange and eerie feeling crept up in her heart. She could not explain why but it felt as if she was being watched. Yumi turned around to see if someone was following her but there was no one there.

Yet, the nervous feeling in her heart would not go away. She clenched her fingers around the bag on her shoulder and walked ahead, alert of her surroundings. 

I think I should hum a tune to calm myself, she thought.

"Shimi shimi ko ko bop," she sang under her breath. She continued to hum the tune when suddenly a different tune was playing from behind her. Someone was whistling behind her!

Her senses were alert. Slowly taking out a mirror from her pocket, she held it up, pretending to check her face but in reality she wanted to see if someone was following her. To her shock, there was no one behind her. 

Yet, the whistling continued. She was being followed by an unseen person who was probably lurking somewhere around her. The girl was now terrified. Sweat beaded down her forehead and her heart was beating so rapidly that she was afraid it would explode.

Yumi gulped and took a step forward, walking away quickly. She picked up her pace until she was almost running. Her house was only a few meters away but the whistling was getting nearer. The tune was so near that it felt as if the unknown person was whistling in her ears.

Help me! She begged inwardly as she ran towards her house. All she had to do was cross the road…

Suddenly, a pair of lights flashed at her. Blinded by the sudden brightness, she squinted her eyes to see that right in front of her house was a car. It was a sedan and there was someone in the driver's seat.

Yumi barely had the time to yell when the car suddenly screeched towards her, knocking the girl over on the road. She felt the heavy vehicle hit her and she tumbled on the ground, her head cracking against the hard concrete. 

Blood gushed out of her head, coloring the grey road crimson. The girl was barely conscious, trying to raise her head to cry for help. But the words would not come out as she was blacking out. The lights on the car turned off and the door opened.

Slowly, a dark figure came out of it. She heard the footsteps coming closer to her, each step heavier than the last. The man stooped down to examine the injured girl, holding her cheeks with one hand.

"What a pretty face," he commented. "You would have grown up to be a beauty."

"P...pl...ease…" she managed to moan. The girl never felt so frightened in her life. The sight of the strange man scared her. He was going to do something to her and she would not be able to see her loved ones ever again.

"You want me to let you go?" the man guessed. "I can't do that."

He picked up the injured girl and looked around before shoving her into the backseat of the car. Yumi was too weak to scream for help. She was losing blood very quickly and was barely conscious.

"It'll all be over soon," the man promised. "But it'll be very very painful."

He flashed her a grin, showing off his white teeth. The last thing Yumi saw was that sinister smile plastered on his face.

….

*Five days later*

The whole area was swarming with police and media. They were in the middle of a construction site where another body was cut up into pieces and dumped. The body parts were scattered all over the site and the cops were searching for the head.

Gayoon just stepped off the police car and marched straight towards the crime scene. The reporters tried to swarm around her but the other policemen shooed them away from the scene to prevent contamination. 

"What do we have here?" Gayoon asked one Jaein who was already examining the body parts."

"Definitely female," Jaein stated. "From the skin texture, I'm guessing she was in her mid to late teens. Can't be fully sure since it has been over a day since her death. But it seems like that. And it's the same MO as the CCK."

Gayoon let out a curse. The body parts were laid in front of them. It was strange to think that a few days ago, the girl was alive and living a life of her own. She was probably hanging out with her friends or maybe fussing over boys and schoolwork. Little did the poor girl know that her dreams would be cut short by a maniac.

"Did anyone see the killer here?" Gayoon asked one of the on-site officers.

"We're looking into the CCTV footage but the camera was disabled last night," the officer replied. 

"Damn it!" Gayoon cursed angrily. "Who the hell owns this site? Bring him in."

"I own it."

A familiar voice caused her to spin around. Standing behind her was Hwang Minho, donning his usual poker face.

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