Chapter 3: The Shape of the Next Kill

The lights in the conference room went out.

As the beam projector poured out light and illuminated the stark white screen, the presentation filled the surface.

It was the first official meeting attended by Detective Division Chief Kwon Shin-yong and Violent Crimes Section Chief Yang Chan-hyuk.
The basic briefing on the case fell to Si-eon, the overall lead.
But that wasn’t the true reason everyone had gathered here.

“Beginning the criminal profiling report.”

Was this a serial murder—or not.
Was there one perpetrator—or several.
Those were the answers they needed.

Sooyoung walked forward calmly, her expression showing not a hint of tension.
Standing at the podium, she faced the sharp gazes fixed on her and spoke evenly.

“As Team Leader Baek Si-eon reported earlier, a total of three murders have occurred within the Jongno Police Station’s jurisdiction.
Based on our analysis… there is a high probability that these are serial killings.”

“……Then you’re saying all three cases were committed by the same person?”

“Yes.”

Multiple suspects would be problematic enough, but serial murder was far more serious.
It meant the likelihood of additional victims was high.

“What makes you think this is a serial case?”

At Chief Kwon’s question, Sooyoung replied in an unruffled tone.

“There are commonalities across the three cases.”

“Commonalities?
The methods of killing, body disposal, even the degree of mutilation are all completely different.
They don’t look like the same type at all.”

“I agree with Officer Woo on that point.
First of all, the weapons are different.
The first and second cases both involved knives, but the blade lengths differed… and the third involved blunt-force trauma to the head.
Calling this a serial killing by the same offender seems too inconsistent.
It doesn’t feel like the same person.”

Serial killers typically murdered multiple victims using the same method.
A unique signature—something that asserted their superiority.

However, crime came in many forms, and criminals had evolved into patterns that defied expectations.
Just like this case.

“As the killings progressed, the offender’s latent aggression appears to have surfaced, causing the methods to evolve into more brutal forms.”

The first used a kitchen knife.
The second, a chef’s knife.
The third involved repeated hammer blows that completely collapsed the victim’s skull.
Additionally, body mutilation—absent in the first two cases—appeared in the third.
It suggested the perpetrator’s pleasure response to killing was increasing exponentially.
As a result, their MO—modus operandi—had shifted.

The expression on Chief Kwon’s face darkened by the second.

If news broke that a serial killer was active in Seoul, the media and public reaction would be explosive.

Even so, they couldn’t afford to bury the investigation.
Catching the perpetrator as quickly as possible—before more victims appeared—had to come first.

“So, what’s the common ground you found, Detective Han?”

“All three victims were women in their late thirties to early forties.
And they all had a history of volunteer work.
That’s the first commonality.”

With a click of a button, the screen changed from the victims’ portraits.
Crime scene photos and images of the bodies filled the display.

“The second commonality is the near absence of defensive or resistance wounds.
If the offender was someone the victims didn’t feel threatened by, there would have been no reason to resist.”

“So the killer was someone they knew?”

“Yes. Based on these two common factors, I narrowed down the organizations where the victims volunteered. And among them—here.”

The screen switched again with a soft pop, revealing a photo of a building exterior.

[Hope Nuri Center]

Sooyoung shifted her gaze from the screen to the room.

“This is the only place where all three victims’ activity records overlap.
The victims didn’t know each other personally, but we confirmed that they volunteered at this center during similar periods.”

“Then we start investigating there!”

Chief Yang clapped his hands together and looked around at the team.

“Yes. The suspect is presumed to be a male connected to the Hope Nuri Center.”

The presentation changed once more, drawing Sooyoung’s attention back to the screen.
Using a laser pointer, she drew a wide circle around the crime locations.

“The suspect is well aware of routes that avoid CCTV coverage.
That means he knows the area extremely well.
He’s likely lived here for a long time—or is a local who’s never left the area.”

The suspect description received from Jongno Station amounted to little more than a silhouette:
a slender man, approximately 175 to 178 centimeters tall, dressed entirely in black.

That was all because the murders were committed in locations where even vehicle black boxes couldn’t capture footage—evidence of meticulous planning.

“He is also highly intelligent and committed calculated, premeditated murders rather than impulsive acts.
If he’s selecting victims through volunteer records… he may already be preparing the next murder.”

As Sooyoung concluded her analysis, Chief Kwon scrubbed his face with both hands.
He leaned back against the chair, clearly burdened.

The heavy silence in the room was broken by a sigh.

“You think you can catch him quickly?
If word gets out that this is a serial killing, it’ll be chaos.”

Though all the cases occurred in the same district, the lack of obvious commonalities had kept the media from labeling it a serial murder—so far.

Baek Si-eon straightened in his chair and set down the pen he’d been tapping against the table.
He met Chief Kwon’s gaze with steady eyes.

“Then upper management needs to block it.”

Two pairs of eyes snapped toward him in shock.
Chief Yang rubbed his mouth, eyes wide.

“Hey, how are we supposed to stop reporters?
You never know where they’ll catch a whiff and swarm.”

“We’re already short-staffed, and we’ll be busy running the field.
If the two of you can’t help with that… well, it’ll leak soon enough.”

“Khmm.”

At Si-eon’s blunt statement, Chief Yang glanced cautiously at Chief Kwon.
Kwon, lips pressed tight, fixed Si-eon with a sharp stare.

“I can’t buy you much time.
Catch him before this gets bigger.
Understood?”

A cool smile spread across Si-eon’s lips.

“Yes.
I’d appreciate it if you could also ask the riot police unit for cooperation.”

“Fine.
I’ll handle it.”

As Chief Kwon stood, every seated team member rose in unison.
The two seniors exited the conference room, passing through the line of saluting detectives.

The youngest member, Yohan, hurried over and flipped the switch.
The room flooded with light in an instant.

After sweeping his gaze across the team, Si-eon placed both hands on the table.

“Let’s start with the Hope Nuri Center.
Get a full list of staff and volunteers from the period when the three victims were active.”

“Yes, Team Leader!”

Eyes gleaming as if they absorbed the light itself, his gaze landed on Sooyoung.

“Detective Han, check if there are any overlapping individuals in the victims’ activity records.”

“Yes, understood.”

At his instruction, Sooyoung closed the notebook she’d been reviewing.

Holding freshly printed pages from the copier, Sooyoung turned and approached the men gathered around the round table.
She handed out the papers one by one.

“There are six female volunteers whose activity periods overlap with the previous victims.”

Following Si-eon’s orders, she had secured the list of female volunteers active during the same timeframe at the Hope Nuri Center.
She excluded one-time participants and focused on those who had maintained ongoing involvement.

“Four of them moved out of the area, so they’re unlikely targets…
That leaves two.”

It was unlikely the perpetrator would risk exposure by traveling far to commit murder.

“Then those two could be the next victims?”

“Yes.
Looking at the third case, there were signs of failure during the mutilation process.
If the perpetrator wants to present a more ‘complete’ result next time, he still has time.
He’ll want to prepare thoroughly and act without error.”

“Then that… what do you call it… ah! The cooling-off period! Wouldn’t that make the gap longer?”

“The cooling-off period won’t be long. The satisfaction gained from an unsatisfactory kill doesn’t last.”

At most, a week.
At minimum—only a few days before the next murder.