194 If you fail, you will go to the date

under the light rain, she runs toward the crime scene. the street is full of cops with yellow tape surrounding the crime scene. the rain is getting heavier with each passing second. she looks at the man in a hello kitty costume holding the corpse of the woman. one of the cops is trying to talk to the man. she can't see his face. she grabs the yellow tape and raises it over her head. 

"hey, you!" a cop stops her. "what are you doing? you can't enter the crime scene."

she pulls up the hood of raincoat to show her face. "officer, come on. let me in. how can a reporter work if you stop us from bringing forth the truth to the country?"

the man squints his eyes. the girl has dark brown hair and an enthusiastic light in her brown eyes. she's definitely a troublemaker. "go to the station and wait. i can't let you in and trample the crime scene before the crime scene analyst comes."

crime scene investigator? the girl looks at the crime scene in front of her. there are two dead bodies lying ahead. she turns to the cop and gives him a formal bow of apology with a wide smile. "i am sorry for interfering with your work. i won't disturb you anymore."

she steps away from the yellow tape. the officer doesn't move. he looks at her suspiciously. she pulls up the hood of her raincoat. her hair is already wet. it's twenty-five past three of in the morning. her teeth chatter in cold. she wraps her arms around herself.

who knew that she would be running to a crime scene when she is on a leave from the work? she took some days off from work because her mother called and told her that she was dying. when she came back home, she found out that her mother had faked an illness because her mother wanted her to meet a guy in t city. 

she exhales. her family is against her working in another city. they want her to quit. but, she loves her job, even if she is at the bottom of the hierarchy. she's trying to get a transfer to t city branch, but her performance isn't good enough to get a position here in t city. if she gets a good scoop and proves herself, there's a chance.

when she sees a woman walking toward the crime scene with a suitcase, she runs towards her. "elder sister!"

the woman with short hair and pale skin stops walking when she hears the voice. she clicks her tongue when she recognizes the woman running toward her. this is bad luck. why is her cousin here? 

"you are here." kinoshita iori grabs her cousin's hand. "you have to help me."

"no." the woman jerks off her hand. kinoshita iori might be her second aunt's only daughter and the closest thing to a younger sister for her. however, she will never mix personal and professional lives.

"yes." iori doesn't know the meaning of 'giving up' when it comes to her work.

"iori." the woman's voice is low and threatening. "don't bother me at work."

"elder sister," iori whines. she's aware of the fact that her cousin sister hates it.

"don't even think about it." the woman glares at her.

"i only need to…"

"nope!"

they argue for a little more until a cop arrives and interrupts them. "yamashina-san, you are here. we have been unable to separate the man from the woman. how will you collect the evidence? it's been raining too."

yamashina chiyo stares at the back of the man holding the corpse. "bothersome."

"i can help." iori chimes in. "elder sister, i will convince the man to move away. you know that i can convince anyone in the world."

hehehe! if she can get close to the man, she will be the first one to get the interview. from what she heard, this is an assassination. 

yamashina chiyo raises her brow. "when did you ever succeed in convincing me?"

"uh…" iori scratches her nose. her cousin's heart never melts. since it is turning out like this, she will use her last card. "elder sister, remember when you were seventeen, you used to buy the posters of —"

the cop's ears perk up. yamashina chiyo is an icy mystery and he always loves listening to gossip. 

yamashina chiyo covers her mouth. she leans closer to iori's ear and whispers, "fine. if you fail, you will go to the date."

since iori has been refusing with all of her strength, her mother has been trying to convince her to go to the date instead of iori. yamashina chiyo has no interest in marriage or dating. she has more interest in dissecting corpses than dating men.

iori nods her head. there's no way that she's going to the blind date. she will convince the man to get away from the corpse and she will be the first one to get his interview. then, she will use this scoop to get a transfer to the head office in t city's. 

yamashina chiyo takes her hand away from iori's mouth. she scowls at her cousin. there are times when she wants to bury her cousin to the ground. this is one of those times. she gives a nod to the cop who understands and let iori pass. iori follows her cousin who walks ahead of her with a straight back and an aloof look on her face.

yamashina chiyo stands in front of the man with red hair in the hello kitty costume. water is dripping from his hair. he has a lost look in his eyes. the rain is not affecting him. he's pretty oblivious to his surrounding. she takes a glimpse at the woman's face. the dead woman has a faint smile on her lips.

she has rarely seen any corpse with that kind of smile. this woman must have been content during her last moment. was she happy because of this man?

iori exclaims when she realizes who this man is. "kawamoto-san, why is it you?"